42 replies to this topic

[cardie]

Looks like il be flinging it on ebay as spares or repairs, shame because its such a good game!

[andrew96]

Looks like il be flinging it on ebay as spares or repairs

 

Really!! so that's going to cost you £25 just for the licence to be able to sell it on ebay! you most likely won't get that for the whole machine! then there be ebay listing and final value fees!

 

good luck with that

[stanmarsh14]

Bollocks, I knew this was too good to be true!

My Gridrunner has just developed a rather worrying Lamp issue..... centre line of lamps on the reels are all running high.

Reel 3 lamp was especaly bad (Bulb has gone black), so lamp holder replaced, and also changed lamp controller board for a known working one, fault still remains.

Daft question, but anyone think I may have a dodgy lamp diode (Diode in the back of the lamp holder)?

[andrew96]

I didn't think the diode going short would cause that sort of bright lamp issue? he diodes are to stop back feeding through the matrix and lighting other lamps when you just want the one lamp being lit.

 

saying that it could be a diode as personally I have never seen a diode short so could be I guess, more likely I wonder if something has caused a transistor on the lamp board to go short, one of those small surface mount ones, that usually causes one or a string of bright lamps, then you change the lamp board and the same fault then blows  the same transistor on that causing the same fault. I did have 2 lamp boards to repair which both had the same transistors blown on them!

[stanmarsh14]

I didn't think the diode going short would cause that sort of bright lamp issue? he diodes are to stop back feeding through the matrix and lighting other lamps when you just want the one lamp being lit.

 

saying that it could be a diode as personally I have never seen a diode short so could be I guess, more likely I wonder if something has caused a transistor on the lamp board to go short, one of those small surface mount ones, that usually causes one or a string of bright lamps, then you change the lamp board and the same fault then blows  the same transistor on that causing the same fault. I did have 2 lamp boards to repair which both had the same transistors blown on them!

 

Think your tranny idea is probs the most plausible, when you look at other lamping matrix's on other systems, and note how they work, like on JPM Impact, Maygay M1 a / b, etc..... I've had this sort of issue before on JPM MPS, and the types of transistors they use was not that easy back then to obtain.

Question is..... is it just bad luck and I have ended up with identical faults on both boards, or is there something else inside the machine that is causing this issue, and may even be blowing a tranny?

I'm sure I have a scrap MK1 board somewhere which I can rob parts off (One of the IC's is completaly toasted on it, and it's surface mounted crap too), and see if that gets me anywhere, assuming it is a tranny issue.

[andrew96]

Thats a good question! the 2 boards I had to repair had just gone faulty, quite coincidentally as putting in a 3rd board and all was well, If you have a meter use diode check on the transistors, its easy to find as one will be a dead short! possibly with a small crack on the top, they always fail short circuit! then once you can see which one you can then trace it to which wire on the lamp plugs, then you have something to go on!

[stanmarsh14]

Thats a good question! the 2 boards I had to repair had just gone faulty, quite coincidentally as putting in a 3rd board and all was well, If you have a meter use diode check on the transistors, its easy to find as one will be a dead short! possibly with a small crack on the top, they always fail short circuit! then once you can see which one you can then trace it to which wire on the lamp plugs, then you have something to go on!

 

Something else that has come to mind.... granted the reel drive motors and lamps are on two separate PCB in the case of Epoch, but could local interference play a part in this fault, like say one of the reel motors is beginning to struggle, and causing possible feedback issues?

Reason I say this, is because I have noticed that working from left to right, I am getting worsening reel judder when the reels stop (Bit like recoil on a gun), with reel 3 being the worst (Although not enough to cause a reel alarm issue, it's certainly noticeable enough).

[andrew96]

oh hang on!!!! I just remembered, the reel lamps are driven from the reel board, you just jogged my memory with that, so replacing the reel board will cure it and the reels!! very common for the bits on the reel board to fail, done several, so sure it is that!! they use the same surface mount transistors, AND the reel driver chips fail along with the good old 4094 chips too!

 

 epoch reel board 2.JPG   167.08KB   2 downloads

 

 

[andrew96]

chip removal using hot air

 

[stanmarsh14]

oh hang on!!!! I just remembered, the reel lamps are driven from the reel board, you just jogged my memory with that, so replacing the reel board will cure it and the reels!! very common for the bits on the reel board to fail, done several, so sure it is that!! they use the same surface mount transistors, AND the reel driver chips fail along with the good old 4094 chips too!

 

epoch reel board 2.JPG

 

 

 

Not what I wanted to hear, but least now we know what we are looking at.

Problem is, I don't think I have a 6-way reel driver board spare (Simpsons far as I know, uses a 4-way), so I may have to roll the dice on this one, and see if I can find one from somewhere.

I do have one possible contact I can try, but don't like using this source much if I can help it.

[andrew96]

The 6 way is more difficult to come by! Your most likely find it will be 2 reels that tend to suffer as one driver chip does 2 reels

 

1 and 2 or 3 and 4 that sort of thing

[cardie]

 

Really!! so that's going to cost you £25 just for the licence to be able to sell it on ebay! you most likely won't get that for the whole machine! then there be ebay listing and final value fees!

 

good luck with that

You dont need a licence if its not working do you? Ive seen plenty for sale running full auctions as non working. Ive got no other choice really I wouldnt want to break it up id just rather get rid of it whoel and let someone else try to fix it, I will change those caps you told me to replace firstt hough.

[andrew96]

You dont need a licence if its not working do you? Ive seen plenty for sale running full auctions as non working. Ive got no other choice really I wouldnt want to break it up id just rather get rid of it whoel and let someone else try to fix it, I will change those caps you told me to replace firstt hough.

 

Ebay is now red hot on removing machines if the licence number is not stated in the listing and a warning given, doesn't matter if its working or not in ebays eyes, they just remove them and I think you get a strike. I put a chip up for a fruit machine and had some ebay blurb that it will be removed if its a fruit machine bla bla bla, so they do warn before listing, but once there on to ya they keep watching!

 

Oh and they they give your details to the gaming commission and they come knocking on your door! Members selling machines have actually had this happen! personally I would not risk it!!

[stanmarsh14]

The 6 way is more difficult to come by! Your most likely find it will be 2 reels that tend to suffer as one driver chip does 2 reels

 

1 and 2 or 3 and 4 that sort of thing

 

Way you was talking earlier, makes me think I have more than a possible transistor issue.

I could kick myself in that a few months back, got rid of some epoch bits, and I am pretty sure I had a brand new and unused 6-way board in that lot

[pacuk01]

Help/Advice I have Epoch Italian Job I assume is Mk2 when it gets on to upper feature board, i get a load of crackling the dot matrix display starts filling with odd characters, or goes blank. It does something similar when i use refill key and top up hopper. I have already tried a new main board. Any ideas?

[aaamusements]

Help/Advice I have Epoch Italian Job I assume is Mk2 when it gets on to upper feature board, i get a load of crackling the dot matrix display starts filling with odd characters, or goes blank. It does something similar when i use refill key and top up hopper. I have already tried a new main board. Any ideas?

Programme corrupted?

[pacuk01]

I assume that is on the Eproms, can someone still reprogram eproms on here?

[aaamusements]

I assume that is on the Eproms, can someone still reprogram eproms on here?

They should be able to.

Have you tried doing a ram clear first?

[pacuk01]

no. would that not have occurred when the chips were put on to a new board? How do you do it?  Doesn't always occur when on top feature but more often than not. Could it be the power supply? Could it be the lamp board?

[aaamusements]

no. would that not have occurred when the chips were put on to a new board? How do you do it?  Doesn't always occur when on top feature but more often than not. Could it be the power supply? Could it be the lamp board?

 

Could be yes, if the feature board coming on suddenly means that a lot more current is being drawn...

 

Random characters usually stems from corruption of software or battery damage on the mainboard...