Bally E2296-2 Thank you, and a question.

[Cyclohm]

Just a thank you story.

A few months ago, I saw an auction for a Bally slot machine that was described as "totally dead, no response when plugged in." I figured that as a somewhat experienced electronics tech, that sounded rather odd, they are basically computers so it was probably a power supply issue. So I bid on it. I figured that it would make a good Christmas present to my elderly (82yo) aunt who loves to play slots but broke her leg this spring and has still not recovered so is really unable to go to her favorite money pit...err... casino. 

$59 and a 100 mile drive later, I to drag this surprisingly damn heavy thing home.   Of course, before I even went to pick it up but after I had won the auction, I stared searching for things like "How do slot machines work?" etc.  Quite an education.

After a minor blowing out of dust, I plugged it in and, sure enough, nothing happens.  My extreme super tech expert 3rd tier tech support troubleshooting skills kicked in, and I look for a common culprit, the mysterious but ever present "ON/OFF Indicator Switch."  Somewhat unsurprisingly, once moved to the ON position, a great deal of my problems were instantly solved!  Of course, not all of them, or this post would have no point.

Once I had the unit powered, most of the system was working but I was getting a reel error.  An internet search turned me on to this fine forum, and after a little searching, I found links to the manual and several posts describing the symptoms I was seeing.  The most common denominator and least expensive fix that seemed to match my symptoms was "Clean and Lube the Reels!" so, I did just that.  Amazing what a little PB blaster and ethanol will do.  Magically, the reel error shifted reals (from a 43 to a 41, or perhaps the other way around, I don't remember, but it changed) which encouraged me to keep cleaning and lubing.

Of course, that revealed another problem, it kept kicking out the quarters. I looked at the forum and decided that based on what other people had posted, there was something wrong with the coin acceptor module. I suppose in hindsight the wood screw, 7 washers, and duct tape holding it into the housing was clearly not OEM should have been an obvious clue. I figured that it was easier to just get a new module and be done with the problem. $18 on ebay and several days later, I had the part and low and behold, a few additional cleanings later, I had a fully working slot machine.

My big problem is, now that I have done this once thanks to the kind folks here, leads to my question.

 Is there any hope for overcoming the seemingly constant search for more broken slot machines to futz with?

[Badbaud]

You're now hooked. Welcome to the hive.