Coin Slot

Coin Slot Magazine - #081 - 1981 - November [International Arcade Museum]
lever and its vertical finger. Locating the spring in this
fashion serves to increase the force needed to shake
the lever to the right without increasing the force
required by the vertical finger to move the lever when
necessary.
D
'RILLING — as you might imagine, if you
had free access to any area of the mechanism, you
could find innumerable ways to either play for free or
force improper payouts. The next best method is to drill
your own access holes in the cabinet so that you could
insert a stiff wire and manipulate various levers and
arms of your choice. In practice, the cheater would use
"As with any war effort,
technological advances
are rapid and both sides
must keep on their toes
to stay in the game."
a Yankee push drill to silently place a small hole in the
cabinet. By inserting a wire he could trip the payout
levers, jackpot, or coin detector arm to obtain plays or
payouts. Also popular was stopping the clock fan while
the reels are moved to the desired position, then
releasing the clock to allow payout.
To dull this practice, cabinets were lined with hardend
drill-proof plates, and sheet metal shields were placed
over strategic portions of the mechanism to repel
probing wires. Heavy chroming of the castings also
serves to blunt drilling attempts.
In today's casinos, the cheater is still a force to be
reckoned with; the staff observing closely the methods
retained to gain an advantage over the machine, and
the mechanics modifying the machines accordingly.
As with any war effort, technological advances are
rapid and both sides must keep on their toes to stay in
the game.
THIS MONTH'S HINT:
T.
he following letter was received from a
collector in Millinocket, Maine.
Dear Sir,
Help! I knew of no one else to turn to, so I figured the
people at The Coin Slot could help me. Because of the
laws and the fact that nobody knows how to repair slots
in my area, "Maine", I'm having a rough time keeping my
machine working. I own 3 slots; a Mills "Copper Chrome
Bell" 25C, a Mills 250 "Bonus High Top" and a 50 Mills
"Extraordinary Bell" Machine.
The Copper Chrome and Extraordinary are complete
but not working. However, my Bonus High Top is in very
good condition. Original paint and very clean. It had
been kept in the original packing case since the fifties.
My problem is the Bonus letters. When I first obtained
the machine, the letters B-O-N-U-S did come up but out
of sequence. I could correct it for a few plays, but it
would foul up again. I took the reels off and messed
around with the gear that operates the arm for the
letters. Now, none of them even come up.
What I need is detailed instructions on how to adjust
or repair the "Bonus" mechanism and information
about parts if I should need them. I would greatly
appreciate any information you could give me. As I
mentioned, Millinocket, Maine is about the farthest
point from slot collectors that there is, and I'm really in a
s.
'LUGGING — here is a problem which has
existed ever since coin operated machines were first
introduced. Tricking a machine into accepting a
counterfeit coin is much easier than fooling a sales
clerk or bank teller, as appearance is unimportant only
size and weight count. Escalators and goosenecks are
equipped to reject undersize or underweight coins via
bind.
Thank you,
A Collector
P.S. I am interested in selling, if you know of anyone
buying.
a series of gravity operated cradles, tracks, and chutes,
and ferrous coins are separated by a magnetic field.
But a properly sized disc of copper alloy is readily
accepted, and the machine has no further defense
from an attack of well-made slugs. In desparation, the
The bonus letters are controlled by the circular
mechanism affixed to the right hand side of the reel
assembly. This mechanism consists of a notched
machine cries for help by displaying the last few coins
metal disc with a roller detent arm concentrically
played through a prominently placed window, thus
presenting the evidence of slugging to whomever is
patroling the lines of machines.
mounted to a five position detent cam. Each detent
position corresponds to a letter superimposed over a
com
.
m
eu
m: us
o
r
f
ed a mechanical
e-m deterrent to the
The only example
d of
d
a
a
o
l
c
use of slugs w
is n on the Columbia,
which has a carousel
ar
Do //w as w it w is . filled with coins and rotates
which advances
:
tp deliver
backwards
the most recently played coins in
ht to
payout — sort of a repayment in kind when the slugger
wins back his own slugs.
November 1981
© The International Arcade Museum
Dear Collector,
symbol on the first reel. These letters are independent
of the symbols on which they appear, instead they are
merely spaced evenly in the order of their spelling
about the circumference of the reel, which works out to
every fourth symbol. The notched metal disc assembly
rotates with the first reel, the notch aligning with the
Continued on page 70
THE COIN SLOT-69
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