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Play Meter

Issue: 1977 August 19 - Vol 3 Num 16

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Volume 3/No. 16
August 19, 1977
Staff
Publisher and Editor :
Ralph C. Lally II
Managing Editor:
David Pierson
International Editor:
Tiffany
David Snook,
Editor, Coin Slot
Technical Editor:
Robin Minnear
Correspondents :
Roger C. Sharpe
Dick Welu
Mary Claire Blakeman
J .W . Sedlak
Randy Fromm
Art Direction :
Meyer Alewitz
Typography :
Skybird Typography
Circulat ion Manager:
Debbie Barnes
Advertising Representatives :
Don Randon
European Representative :
Esmay Leslie
Coin Industry Play Meter, August 19,
1977 . Volume 3, No . 16. Copyright
1977 by Skybird Publishing Com-
pany . Full editions of Coin Industry
Play Meter are published monthly the
first Friday of the month . The Update
new s edit ion is published monthly,
th e third Friday of th e month .
Publishing offices: 4136 W ashington
Ave ., P.O. Bo x 24170, New Orleans,
La. 70184 .
Tel. 5041827-0320.
Printing offices: Gibbs Inma n Co .,
P.O. Box 32030, Louisville, Ky .
40232. Euro pean Offices : Play Met er
Promotions, 15 Great Nort h Rd .,
Brookmans Park, AL9 6LB , Hertford -
shire, England . Subscription rates:
U.S. and Canada - $25; Europe and
Japan - $45; elsewhere - $50 . One
order multiple subscriptions : 2-9, $20
each ; 10-24, $17 each ; 25 or more,
$15 each. Advertising rates available
on requ est. No part of this magazine
may be reproduced without express
perm1ss1on .
The editors are not
responsible for unsolicited manu-
scripts .
Appli cation to mail at second class
postage rates is pending at N~:w
Orleans, La . and other mailing office .
Postmaster: Send form 3579 to Play
Meter, P.O. Box24170, New Orleans,
La . 70184 .
Hamill
Rowe meeting
Rowe International has scheduled
its national distributor meeting this
year for the Sheraton National Hotel
in Arlington, Virginia September
29-30 .
This year's meeting will encom-
pass both music (the new phono-
graphs) and vending (something
new about several vendors).
The meeting will begin at 9:30
a.m. September 29, with w ork
sessions all that day and a half day
September 30 .
The Wisconsin M usic Merchants
Association has introduced legisla-
tion into the W isconsin state
assembly which would impose a $10
per machine license f ee in lieu of the
existing sales and use taxes in t hat
state.
The WMMA had tried to get
approval of a similar proposal in the
1977-78 budget, but it was narrowly
defeated .
The proposal would exempt juke-
boxes and other coin-operated
amusement devices from sales and
use taxes and would mean that $10
per machine per year would be, the
maximum tax operators w ould have
to pay.
After its introduction, the bill will
be referred to a committee for
study. If accepted , the measure
would go into effect January 1.
Kurz-Kasch buys
molding plant
Kurz-Kasch , Inc. , a Dayton , Ohio
manufacturer of test equipment f or
the solid state market, has pur-
chased a thermoplastic molding
facility in Madison, Indiana .
The new Madison plant encom-
passes 35,000 square feet and has
A
14 plastic mold ing presses .
compan y spokesman said that some
shipments in the future may be
directed to the new facility .
CALENDAR
September 16-18
Florida Amusement Merchandi-
sing Association , annual conven-
tion and trade show. Deauville
Hotel, M iami, FL.
September 22-24
West Virginia Music and Vending
Association, annual convention ,
M otor Inn,
Heart-0 -Town
Charlest on, W V .
September 23-25
Mercha nts
Wisconsin
M usic
Association , fall annual meeting,
Hilton Inn, Eau Claire, WI.
September 29-0ctober 1
Music Operators of Virginia,
annual convention, Hyatt House,
Richmo nd, VA .
member
State association
October 13-16
National Automatic M erchandi-
sing Association, annual conven-
tion and trade show. McCormick
Place, Chicago, IL.
October 28-30
Amusement and M usic Opera-
tors A ssociation, annual co nven-
tion and trade sh ow. Conrad
Hilton Hotel, Chicago IL .
November 18-20
A ssociation
of
International
Amu sement Parks an d Attra c-
tions Exposition, Rivergate, New
Orlea ns, LA.
M ay 19-21, 1978
The Music and Amusement
Association of New York, re-
gional convention and trade
show , Stevensville Country Club,
Swan Lake, NY .
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TECHNICAL TOPICS
By Randy Fromm
Solid State Pinball
The decision to purchase a
solid-state pinball over an electro-
mechanical game is an important
first step for an operator. Certainly
one of the most critical evaluations
before buying one must be in the
area of service. Since downtime
directly affects income, the opera-
tor's mechanic becomes a key man
for consultation before the deal is
made .
"Can you fix it when it fails? " is a
query whose answer should have a
significant effect on the final
decision .
During the coming
months, we will take a brief look at
solid-state pins and an entirely
different way to skin a cat!
Bally's Solid-State Pinball
Who says solid-state pins have to
be bizarre and futuristic? Bally's
electronic pinball design has a
familiar game package that is easily
accepted by die-hard pinball players
and novitiates alike .
If these
computerized chameleons of Chica-
go's coin cartel didn't have seven
segment electronic readouts , the
average player would be hard
pressed to tell them from the
electro-mechanical games of the
past.
Once inside, however, things are
very different. The relays, stepping
units, and score motors have been
replaced by microprocessing units
(MPU) , lamp, and solenoid driver
modules. To the mechanic who has
always thought of the pinball
machine as his last electro-mechani-
cal refuge , this new pin design
might be a little scary. Fortunately,
the folks at Bally have put a lot of
thought into designing a game that
can be easily serviced by a field
mechanic with a V.O .M .
The service book is full of test
procedures and trouble-shooting
guides that can really help to
pinpoint the trouble.
Typical of
microprocessor controlled games,
Bally's electronic pin will run a
self-test to check for bad lamps or
lamp drivers, bad score display
segments, bad solenoids or solenoid
drivers and stuck switch contacts .
These quick checks can really help
out with routine service.
For those who are, perhaps, a bit
more knowledgeable (or daring !) the
Bally electronic pin will run an
internal sequence to examine vari-
ous circuits in the microprocessing
unit. This makes it possible to repair
a bad M PU board in the field or to
isolate the MPU board as being
faulty by exchange .
It is most
important to realize that outs.ide
world influences can produce mis-
leading results when testing the
MPU .
Before pulling the MPU
board , perform the tests that are
outlined in the manual. If you have
two Bally electronic pins in the same
location, the boards can be swap-
ped around to double-check your
diagnoses .
Switch Matrix
At first glance, the playfield and
front door contacts of the electronic
pins look much the same as the
electro-mechanical counterparts. A
closer examination, however, re-
veals that a diode has been placed in
series with each pair of contacts on
the game . Once again , things are
not what they seem to be in this
new system, for instead of having a
common wire to each switch as in
previously engineered pin games
(see figure 1) the playfield and front
door switches are part of a matrix
system that feeds directly into an
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