BB1 Reel Cabinet to BB2 Dual Screen 22"

[iramack]

Hello all.

I am considering purchasing a (working) reel cabinet for future conversion to BB2 dual screen 22 inch video.  I was wondering what size top box I should get? Did any of these come with a correct size top box for the 22 inch monitor install or will there be a lot of bezel on the finished game?

I have an opportunity to get a nice working reel cabinet for 450.00 that I would set aside for conversion in the future.  Any theme recommendations (other than Monkees)?

I assume I would only need the BB2 cpu and the monitors to make this conversion go............... No printer or coin handling required.  Perhaps a led bet deck??

Thanks again for the input/advice.

Steve

[BettorSlots]

It is possible to make the conversion and you want the top box that measures about 12 1/8" high.  Yes you need a BB2 board and software.  OLED button deck is not required but desirable and you will need some custom harnesses for it.  Coin and printer is not required for it to run. I will forewarn you that it takes quite a bit of work to fit a BB2 conversion kit into a BB1 cabinet.  You have to cut and modify the several areas of the cabinet.  You have to cut the door frame and speaker bar and make custom brackets to hold the top and bottom monitors in place.  You have to remove the BB1 reel shelf and harness setup and custom mount a BB2 reel shelf if you want a reel machine as an option.  You have to custom mount and power the BB2 reel controller board (if you are building a BB2 reel machine and not a video).  You have the option of taking apart the speaker assembly and repainting the grilles to black like we do to match a true BB2 machine.  If your building a BB2 video you will need custom power and comm harnesses for the top and bottom monitors.  And probably 5 other things I am forgetting to mention. 


Here's a video of a BB1 to BB2 reel conversion:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fpSl4fd75no&list=UUCzdFjlvuSDHJ6RreXD2LXA

[BettorSlots]

Forgot to mention you need a proper sized bezel for the bottom 22" monitor which is hard to come by if you are wanting either a reel or video conversion.  I'll keep thinking of stuff.


Here's a couple pics of some video conversions we did.

[coolwavepic]

As some who is going to start his BB1-BB2 conversion, can anyone chime in on what harness that needs to be changed for the 22" touchscreens? I assume this isn't like a Bally that uses a serial touch?

[Harvs]

As some who is going to start his BB1-BB2 conversion, can anyone chime in on what harness that needs to be changed for the 22" touchscreens? I assume this isn't like a Bally that uses a serial touch?

You are going to use the same pins/harness for the touchscreen itself, but will have to power the 22" monitor off of a brick or secondary power supply. The harness you have now that powers your 19" and touch does not have enough juice to power the 22" (from what I was told from a few people). I believe you can go the AVP power supply route, or a simple brick supply that matches your AMPs/WATTS on the 22.


Same goes for the topbox nontouch 22. That will need to be powered by a secondary supply as well. I think I spent $25 shipped for both the brick supplies I needed for my Kristel 22, and PowerTech? 22.


(Jim may know a bettor way to power them though. Ha    / Stare at my avatar, Jim.......... BOO!)


What make/model touchscreen monitor do you have?

[coolwavepic]

Honestly, I'm not sure which touch to get. I bought a Ceronix for a Bally machine and sent it back because it was crap..ended up getting one from Wells Gardner for dirt cheap. Cheaper than what the vendors wanted and it was BRAND NEW!


It would be nice to get a brand new one for the WMS machine. Ceronix a good choice? I see that ceronix offers an AC and DC - Wide and Standard viewing angle.  Really need some feedback on this! The price difference is $200-$300!


As far as the top screen, I am just going with a NEC monitor. Can't think of the model number.

[Harvs]

Honestly, I'm not sure which touch to get. I bought a Ceronix for a Bally machine and sent it back because it was crap..ended up getting one from Wells Gardner for dirt cheap. Cheaper than what the vendors wanted and it was BRAND NEW!


It would be nice to get a brand new one for the WMS machine. Ceronix a good choice? I see that ceronix offers an AC and DC - Wide and Standard viewing angle.  Really need some feedback on this! The price difference is $200-$300!


As far as the top screen, I am just going with a NEC monitor. Can't think of the model number.

I used a 22" Kristel that was originally a nontouch topbox monitor.. I then bought a 22" Transmissive from southernslobs and removed the touch screen and harness off of that. Plug and play..


Sizzler may have sold his, but he had that entire set of monitors for a very fair price. 

[rickhunter]

The NEC I bought was NEC Display MultiSync E223W.  It is ac powered, so you just have to run an ac cable to the top box.  For the bottom monitor I bought a ceronix.  The wideview model is the way to go, it is an IPS monitor, so you can view it from almost any angle and the colors look good.  I bought the cheaper one due to budget restraints, but the IPS monitor is well worth the extra bucks.  The other one uses a TN panel and it has a smaller viewing angle, so that if you are not within the specified range, things begin to look bad.  Most low-end LCD monitors and laptop monitors use the TN panels, because they are cheaper.  You can see the difference by yourself.  If you go to say best buy and start looking at monitors, move from left to right and on the cheap TN panels you will see the color fade.  On the IPS panels you won't notice it until you get to a really extreme angle.

For the record, the NEC is a TN panel.

For the Ceronix, I had to make my own custom cable for power and touchscreen.  I chose the monitor that is powered by the machine, so I tapped into 24 and 12 volt power.  Since my top monitor is being powered by AC, the load is not all that bad, and I haven't had issues at all so far.  But if I had to do it all over, I would opt for the AC powered version, just one less thing hanging off the power supply.

[coolwavepic]

So the question is, what ever monitor I buy, do you guys have any recommendations of where to buy one? I prefer new ones but if the price is right and the condition is excellent I would consider used.