ATARI SERVICE SCHOOL
SCHEDULE
Fred McCord, Field Service Manager,
has been busily arranging more Atari
Service Schools around the country. If
you are interested in attending, con-
tact your local distributor to confirm
details.
The following schools are now
scheduled:
Rowe, Kansas City
Aug. 1 & 2
Rowe, Denver
Aug. 3 & 4
Aug. 14
Struve, Great Falls,
Montana (at Mon-
tana Operator's
Meeting)
Central ·omaha,
Aug. 14 & 15
Nebraska
Struve, Salt Lake
Aug. 16
City
Aug. 17 & 18
Pioneer Sales
Menomonee Falls,
Wisconsin
Wk. of Aug. 28 Rowe & Robert
Jones, Syracuse, NY
Rowe & Robert
Jones, Dedham, MA
Sept. 11 & 12 Brady Dist.
Raleigh,
Sept. 13 & 14 Brady Dist.
Charlotte, NC
LOCATION PUBLICITY
''The hottest item in convenience
stores in the Southwestern Virginia
Piedmont is a five-minute game of pin-
ball.'' This is the introduction to a ter-
rific article in the June 15th issue of
Convenience Store News. It goes on to
say, "Now, it is a well respected, legal
money-maker for large convenience
store chains such as 7-11, Hop-In and
7 Days Foodline."
The article also describes the profit
potentials and how the operator-
location arrangement can work. It
might be an excellent article for an
operator to use when trying to obtain a
new convenience store location. If you
would like a copy, write to the Coin
Connection.
TECHNICAL TIP
Avalanche TM
Symptom: When the paddle gets
small, it won't go far enough to the
right.
Solution: Replace the Resistor (R25)
on the PCB changing it from 110 K
ohm to 150 K ohm.
TEC Monitor
Symptom: Monitor picture is blank,
fuse is blown and when replaced, it
blows instantly (no High Voltage).
Solution: Capacitor (C416) may be
shorted. Replace this capacitor (C416)
.0033 MF (microfarad) with 1.5 K V
(voltage rating). Then replace the
blown fuse.
PROMOTION IDEA: HANDBILLS &
WOODEN QUARTERS
Charles 0. Mathias, operator of Flipper
O'Farrell's game center in Harrison-
burg, VA, sent this promotion idea to
the Coin Connection.
Mr. Mathias has designed an intrigu-
ing handbill (5½" x 8½") which he
frequently puts on windshields of cars
in school parking lots. He reports that
it has been most effective and "There's
no cheaper way of advertising.'' These
could also be distributed at nearby
movie theaters, discos, or other social
gathering places.
Flipper O'Farrell's also has unique
"Wooden Quarters" that can be
redeemed for a free game at the center.
Mathias said, "We give them out
through schools, record shops, fast
food restaurants, etc. They can be col-
or coded to show where the customers
received them. As you know, nobody
can stop playing after one free game.''
These "Wooden Quarters" are inex-
pensive and quite clever. They are an
attention-getter that will bring players
to the location.
These are excellent ideas that can
work for many different types of loca-
tions where games can be played.
Thank you, Charles Mathias, for shar-
ing your ideas.
the lATESTNIJUII
ano eLecTronic Games
RESTAURANT LOCATIONS TO GROW
Atari's recent showing at the Na-
tional Restaurant Show stimulated
much new location interest in coin-
operated games. Atari representatives
spoke with hundreds of interested peo-
ple who requested further information
on games for their food service loca-
tions. These leads are being referred to
Atari distributors to be passed on to
local operators.
''Atari's attendance at the NRA is
part of our overall marketing objective
to stimulate expansion of the game
market," commented Frank Ballouz,
Atari's National Sales Manager. "The
response from this show was excep-
tionally promising to help meet these
objectives."
The current growth of the food ser-
vice industry is one indicator of the
new potential locations for coin-
operated games. According to Institu-
tions Magazine, there are approx-
imately 416,000 commercial food ser-
vice locations in the United States, and
this number is expected to increase by
20,000 over the next two years. The
National Restaurant Association and a
1977 study by Arthur D. Little both
project an annual sales growth of 11 %
in the food service industry. This is at-
tributed to new location growth and to
a substantial increase in consumer
away-from-home meals.
Avalanche™, Sprint 1 ™, Starship
l™, Sky Raider™ and Tournament
Table™ were among the currently
popular video games on display at the
show. Atari's pinball games, Middle
Earth™, Airborne Avenger™, and The
Atarians™ also attracted much atten-
tion. The new 2 Game Module™ was of
special interest for those locations that
are restricted by space availability.
Two new game design concepts were
presented at the show: The Wall Unit,
which is another space saving game
format, and a prototype Game Booth,
now being developed primarily for
food service locations, were on display
to obtain reactions from restaurant
representatives.
(Continued on Page 4)
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