Hi Everyone! Newbie here and New Bally 809 owner too!

[MikeJames]

Long story short....my parents took me to Vegas twice a year as a kid and I saw these games all over the place.  Now in my mid-40's I picked one up the other day for what I consider a steal!  It's a Bally 809-5770 made in 1979.  It's got the black reels in it which I love.


Anyways, when I got it a few bulbs weren't working so I cleaned up connections and fixed that.  Reels weren't working so I lubed the heck out of everything that moves and the reels are moving freely.  Cleaned corrosion from the wipers and even reattached the bell.  Works like a champ.  Pays for crap as all random slots do but it works!   Glad I'm not paying to play and it's all my own money. 


So a question I have.....I pulled off the top portion with the multiplier lights and looked behind and there is some counter? or something behind it.  Could someone tell me what it is and what it may be used for.  It appears to be about 5 reels and they don't seem to advance.  It doesn't affect gameplay, just curious. 


I have attached a pic of my slot.  Can anyone also give me back more information on possibly the background on these?  I don't see very many with black reels. 


Thanks!

[slcjeeper]

Congrats on the new slot! The 809 was a fairly common machine and made the casinos a lot of money, as you have found out. So here is hopefully a not too long of a somewhat simplified explanation of how the machine works: That mechanism in the top unit is what allows the machine to payout higher wins as additional coins are played. It acts as a multiplier. At the bottom of the machine there is a hopper that pays out the coins. On the side of that hopper is a payout counter and it is set at fixed payout amounts, so if with 1 coin played and you get a win, that unit pays out the number of predetermined coins. Now, to be able to have that payout counter pay out amounts more than its set amounts, a counter system was created with several reels. As each coin is added, the next reel from L-R is activated until the 5th coin is inserted and the far right reel becomes active. Basically working with the payout counter, the reel will turn a number of clicks allowing more coins to be paid. Set the machine up for a win with a few coins played and you will see the reels turn. The numbers on the reels don't necessarily mean anything. Sometimes they're blank. Remember that as Bally made slot machines, they were making other games as well that used number reels, like pinball machines. They simply share parts. The Bally number assigned to the machine was simply the next game made. ex. they may have made Slot, Slot, Pinball, Shooter, Slot,and that's why if you look at only slots, there are gaps between model numbers.

[Op-Bell]

They look like standard pinball counters, but the second and third counters have TWELVE STEPS, instead of ten, so they can divide by 3 and 4.

[DavidLee]

Here is a video of the odds unit.


https://youtu.be/tFzVjGmQcdE

[wolftalk]

809-5770 is the serial number.   The 809-something on the top of the plate is the model number.  It could just be 809.  Paperwork for some 809 models and bally slot manuals is on http://bingo.cdyn.com/slots/.  I have more so post your full model number if it isn't just 809.


the payout counter unit under the hopper controls when payout stops ... the wipers step off the end of the powered traces and payout is done.


the odds unit with the wipers and rivets steps up once for each coin inserted.  The wipers light the appropriate payout lamps and also select which - if any - of the pinball reel-like multiplier (X2 - X5) units are used during payout.


if you play one coin, the payout counter steps once for every coin ejected.  Play two coins and the X2 multiplier is in the circuit instead.  It still steps once for every coin ejected, but it only passes a pulse to the payout counter step-up coil every other step. 


in other words, multiplying the payout is done by lying to the payout counter about how many coins have been ejected.