Star Tech Journal

_ST._A_R_*_TE_C_H_Jo_u_m_a_l _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
,D
August 1992
BOTSS
WEAK DROP
FCC LABELS
AFFIXED To
MISSING COIN
TARGETS
VIDEO GAMES
DROPS
GOTTLIEB
Todd Tuckey
TNT Amusements
Southhampton, Pennsylvania
Todd Erickson
Summit Amusement
St Paul, Minnesota
Eugene Gaudreault
Amusement Specialties
Danbury Connecticut
GAMES
SUBJECT
PROBLEM
Royal Flush Deluxe, El Dorado
City Of Gold, Jacks To Open.
For many years the manufactur- '
ers have included FCC 15A stick-
ers to install when we do conver-
sion kits and they are supposed to
be placed on our video games.
If your BOTSS is missing some
coin drops, it could be that they
are operating the switch too fast
for the computer to detect it.
PROBLEM
You must have these stickers on
your games by law. The fine can
be in excess of$1,000 per day per
game. If a FCC decal becomes
damaged it must be replaced.
Add a 10 mfd@ 10 volt (or more)
capacitor across the coin switch
contacts. Use a meter to verify
the polarity of the voltage on the
contacts and connect the capaci-
tor accordingly.
SOLUTION
ANALYSIS
The big problem comes wh,en the
operator changes a PCB from
cabinet to cabinet. It would be
wise to have some labels printed
so you can attach them to the
replacement cabinets of your
PCB. The FCC 15A stickers must
be taken seriously.
This stretches the coin signal so
that the computer is sure to catch
it. The problem still exists with
the new revision 1.1 ROMs.
PROBLEM
Ever have an intermittent or al-
ways weak bank of 9 or more
targets which doesn't seem to
have enough steam to push all
those targets up every time?
(These are the large banks which
need 2 coils to reset them)
SOLUTION
CAUSE
Most techs,would suggest that 1
of the 2 coils would not be firing.
Well, after changing a coil, or the
2N3055 transistor you thought
may be intermittent, and still
had the problem, the solution
probably is this.
SOLUTION
I found that in these older
Gottlieb games that the intercon-
nect cable between the logic (Al-
J4) and the driver (A3-J) had
dirty, corroded or bent pin on the
wire which fires that intermit-
tent coil.
NOTE
To tell instantly if that's the prob-
lem, switch the cable with some-
thing newer, then fix your cable if
it cures the trouble.
NOTE
You may have to use staples on
the 4 comers of some stickers.
Try to place them where they
won't be damaged by moving.
C
A
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STAR*TECH JOURNAL
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