Help identifying machine / PE + ?

[Jkugell]

Hello all-


I just picked this up.  Based on reading some of these boards and the fact that it has a bill authenticator, I'm thinking this is a PE + machine?


Here are some pics.


Thanks in advance!

[Jkugell]

Here is the serial number plate.  567750.  The model number and date of manufacture are not in great shape, BUT I believe the date of manufacture reads 9/95.   Model number I think I'm seeing 6037 in the middle?


I found the 561382 serial number pic on a machine on this site, which sequentially would validate my guess of a 9/95 date of manufacture?


Thoughts?

[rokgpsman]

Looks like a PE+ to me. One of the best ways to id the machine is to look at the main circuit board, known as the mpu board. Pull out that metal tray that is above the monitor, it has those 2 black knobs to pull on, the mpu board is inside it. Post a photo of the mpu board and we can tell you more about it. You can leave the board mounted to the tray, so this is pretty easy to do.

Does the machine work ok? The bill validator may or may not take today's paper money (except the $1 bill), depending on how old the software chip inside the bill validator is. But the $1 bill should always work, so test with it.

[Amechanic]

Does it work? I see it powered on by the lights but don't see the screen lit up?

[Jkugell]

It seemingly works, except the monitor is not working at present.


Just about to begin trouble shooting, starting with the fuse, checking connectors, looking for any signs of bad caps or burn marks, and obviously checking voltages.


I will post pics of the mpu later today.  Thanks to all so far 

[Jim]

I,m pretty sure you can put credits on the machine with the door open, (use the small white button directly beneath the 10 pin connector on the coin optic board which is directly beneath the CC-16) if the game plays and you can't see it, then most likely the video chassis board or the crt is bad. Do you see a bright flash in the center of the crt when you turn it off?

[Jkugell]

Ok bill validator works!  Put two bucks in and played the machine.  Everything seems to work except the monitor. 


Here is the MPU


The ROMS say multi???

[rokgpsman]

I believe the "multi" means you machine will give you a menu with 5 game choices, usually 5 different types of video poker. Some of the Player's Edge machines only have 1 game installed, to play a different game you have to install a different set of roms. But your machine has 5 different games to choose from, when it powers up you will get a menu that you select what game you want to play.
 
In your photo below I've circled the Data and Program eproms in yellow, this is where the game software is located. The graphics software for the game is located in the 4 eproms circled in red, they have the data for the images that appear on the screen, like playing cards, text, etc. There is a special rom chip circled in blue that is called the "CAPX" rom, it contains color data for the graphic images.

The round blue knob on the front edge of the mpu board is the volume control. The machine has a single speaker that is located on the inside lower area of the main door.

Have you checked to see if the monitor backend is lighting up (filament glowing)? Make sure all of the cables and wires going to the monitor are connected, check to see if they are loose, have tarnished connector pins, etc. There should be a power connector also.

And make sure all of the fuses in the machine are ok.

Your machine is definitely a PE+, the labels on the game software say so. Plus, the mpu board connectors (marked in light blue) plug into a motherboard that is mounted on the back wall behind where the mpu tray slides into. On a regular PE machine (non-plus) the machine has wiring harnesses that connect directly to the mpu connectors instead of having a motherboard.

[rokgpsman]

On a PE+ mpu board I think the dipswitch isn't utilized, the various preferences are set on screen in the Test/Diagnostic menu system. This is activated by pressing the white Test button inside the machine. When the monitor is working and you press the white pushbutton you will see that it puts the machine into test mode, you can check all the inputs and outputs, plus set some options.

Below is some information about what IGT suggests to do if the monitor has a blank screen. Also there is a drawing showing what a typical video poker screen will look like.
 

[Jkugell]

Okay, next update.


The monitor cable was disconnected. Reconnected it, and lo and behold the monitor does work!  BUT it is extremely dim/ dark.  I have to turn the Master Gain control all the way up to barely see the picture.  There are two controls on the monitor board itself; one is raster;  is the other a brightness or drive control??  Haven't tried adjusting that yet.


Any thoughts on why the monitor is so dim?  Bad cap?  Resistor?


Second issue: 


Coin diverter isn't working.  I played around with the comparator and blew some compressed air in the coin slot and somehow got the diverter to drop coins into the hopper as opposed to the hole in the base/ stand that came w the machine.  However, even when the diverter seemed to finally work, the coins would not register as credits, but they were being accepted physically and as I said dropping into the hopper.   That only lasted a short while and the coins are now back to dropping straight into the base.


I turned off the "drop door present" menu function.  But that didn't help.  And the diverter IS definitely receiving power and the transformer is energized.  I also tried reseating the coin sample in the comparator.


Last issue.  The machine is set up to play 5 cent credits, but physically accepts quarters and says .25 on the belly glass artwork.   Going through the setup menu brings me to the credit value page, but because the bill suthenticator is enabled it says I need a ROM to change the credit value.  Anyone know where I can pick one up?




Many many thanks again to all of you!!!

[Amechanic]

It's good to hear you got the monitor on. It is possible that the monitor is on the way out. They tend to start to darken up as they die, but it is possible that you chassis needs caps. On the flyback on the chassis there should be two knobs if it's a Ceronix. The top one will brighten the CRT Monitor and the bottoms a focus. BUT BE CERY CAREFUL.. The flyback is high voltage. I've been bitten by them before, it's like getting shocked by a car coil.


What are you trying to use for coins, quarters or nickels? There is a coin guide in behind the coin optics. If it's too big or wide the coins will not break the inferred beam used on the coin optics. You can also try turning down the sensitivity pot all the way to the negative (-) adjustment or counterclockwise. This will allow your comparator to be less selective on what coins is accepts. The higher you set it the more coins it will reject.

[rokgpsman]

Can you post a clear photo of your coin comparitor? Maybe we can see something in the photo.  As you probably know, the coin comparitor has a sample coin inserted, the coin you play with has to match this sample coin. It can be a real quarter or a token the size of a quarter if you want to play with tokens. The deposited coin will get rejected to the coin tray on the front of the machine if it is not accepted, there is a coin rejection diverter mounted below the coin comparitor. If the coin is accepted it will go into the coin hopper in the bottom part of the machine. Also, the hopper has a circuit that tells the mpu board when the hopper is full of coins, the mpu board then activates a "coin overflow diverter" that sends the coin on another path, so instead of going to the hopper it will fall into a hole in the bottom of the machine and from there is drops into a bucket inside the slot machine stand in the casino. In home use people rarely use this overflow bucket, in fact they rarely have the hopper get full of coins. So when you mention the coin divertee it needs to be clear which one you are referring to. Both diverters are mounted on the inside of the main door.

The coin comparitor's job is simply to verify the correct coin or token has been inserted. If it is a valid then the coin/token drops out of the coin comparitor and goes between the coin optic boards. These are 2 circuit boards below the coin comparitor. There job is to signal the mpu board that a coin has passed by them and to award a credit. Often the optic sensor parts on these 2 circuit boards get dirty, you can try taking the boards off and cleaning them carefully. One board will have 3 led-looking optic transmitters. The other board has the 3 corresponding optic receiver sensors. Between these optic boards is a coin spacer that ensures the coin falls between the optic sensor. If the coin spacer is missing or if it is the wrong size a coin can fall thru without tripping the optic sensor and you don't get a credit on the machine. The spacer is needed because these machines are capable of working with a nickel, quarter, half-dollar and dollar coin.

The most usual cause of a dim monitor screen is simply the crt phosphor coating has lost its ability to glow, that happens with age and there isn't much you can do. There are "crt rejuvenators" that can bring a dim crt back to life, they boil off the coating on the crt electrodes that build up over the years so that they will emit a stronger flow of electrons. More electrons striking the screen phosphor gives a brighter picture. This practice is often an all or nothing thing, it will either make the screen better or it will kill it for good. CRT repair places have these rejuvenators, there may be individuals that also have them.

Other than phosphor getting old there may be other reasons for a dim screen, like the high voltage is too low. You can try adjusting some of the various monitor adjustments. I'd mark the current adjustment position before messing with it, then try turning it carefully to see what it does, then put it back if it has no effect. As Amechanic said, be careful when dinking around monitor, there is 15,000-20,000 volts in there and that voltage can stay stored for awhile even after the machine is powered off. To the high voltage circuit the crt acts as a very large storage capacitor, and it will zap you. Stay away from the large anode wire with the big round rubber connector that connects to the side of the crt near the big end.

I'm not sure about the 5 cent credit thing. I didn't think a SET chip was ever needed on a PE+ machine but I could be mistaken about that. Someone probably set that up so that each time they inserted a quarter they would get 5 credits, that makes it easier and faster than having to insert 5 quarters. They probably mostly played with coins because the bill validator only accepts $1 bills and nothing larger due to its software being out of date.

You can probably have the bill validator software updated so that it will accept $20 and some (but not all) other modern bills. You will need to remove the bill validator head, the black square-shaped assembly where you insert the bill. After removing any screws underneath that hold it in place you lift upward on the red handle on the left side, this will disengage the head from the transport assembly behind it. Don't force anything, and you will need to disconnect some cables on both sides that have small pins so don't damage them. Once you get the head out of the machine you can turn it upside down and post a photo of its bottom side. There will be a chip there, we can tell you how to update it after seeing the photo, since there is more than one version of these DBV-200 heads.

The coins dropping straight thru to the base, where are they going? Inside the bottom of the machine? If they are going on the coin overflow path to the hole in the bottom of the machine that means the overflow diverter is activated. Some people just disconnect the overflow diverter and wire it in place so the coins go to the hopper. I'd try to figure out what is causing the problem, check around the hopper for the "hopper full" wire and coin probe that tells the mpu when the hopper is full. If that probe or its wire are disconnected they may be touching chassis ground and that tells the mpu the hopper is full. Post a photo of the hopper showing the front area.

It's ok to post several photos, try to make them well-lit and clear so we can see details. The main areas of concern are the inside of the main door and the coin hopper. The better we can see what you have the better advice you can get.

[BrianT]

For information on multi poker games for the PE+ check out this post:  http://newlifegames.com/nlg/index.php?topic=10064.0

First half talks about the Wingboard and the second half talks about the multi-poker sets like the one you have.

BrianT