UP FRONT
A veteran operator lamented the fact that at one
time in this industry all you needed to fix a broken
machine was a screwdriver and a pair of plyers. That
may be a bit of an understatement, but, to a large
degree, he was right. In the " old days," things were
almost that simple . Today , a service technician's
repertoire of remedies runs the gambit from logic
probe to oscilloscope. The computer age has revolu-
tionized this industry creating a whole new world of
service problems and a need for skilled technicians to
solve them.
When digital technology first made its impact on
this industry, there was a great deal of concern over
the serviceman ' s ability to make the leap from elec-
tromechanical to digital dexterity. This was an
important concern and proved to be a determining
factor in the growth rate of the industry . Looking
back, I think it can safely be said that the transition
from an old technology to a new technology at the
operator level was not only very successful but also
took less time to accomplish than most had antici-
pated. And the ones to thank for all this are the
servicemen themselves. In fact, the service technicians
of today are the unsung heroes of the computer
revolution that took this industry by sto rm not so
many years ago. Had it not been for them, the indus-
try would never have come so far so fast.
While others may tend to overlook the vital role
service plays in this industry, we have always main-
tained that service is a cornerstone of every smooth
and efficient operation. That's why Play Meter makes
4
every effort to provide our readers with as much
technical information as possible . A game may be the
season ' s best, but if it doesn ' t work, it's no better than
the worst . In this business , downtime is lost revenue . I
hate to think of the millions of dollars this industry
loses every year because of downtime. If we can help
operators beef up their service programs and
decrease their downtime, perhaps we can get some , if
not all , of those lost millions into their pockets.
This , our annual " Service Issue," is dedicated to all
the technicians throughout the entire industry.
Technology itself is as volatile as the industry it
revolutionized. And you can be sure that the tech-
nology of the future will be quite different from
today ' s. When that day comes, you can rest assured
that our technicians will be ready and willing to meet
the challenge of another revolution . Thanks to their
dedication and determination, the industry has been
able to handle its growing pains and has come a long
way over a short period of time.
To a great extent, the future of thi s indusuy rests in
the hands of today' s technicians ; and because of
them , the future may not be as far off as we think.
.@~
Editor and Publisher
PLAY METER , Augu st 1 , 1982