20 replies to this topic

[jweaver]

Again, I am sorry for all these questions.. I hope that I don't start to get on everyones nerves. You should take it as a compliment as your advice as been really helpful.

My Hot Stuff makes a strange whining/buzzing/squeeking/whistling noise which changes pitch as more/less lights come on.. At first I thought that it was only coming from the speaker but I have found that the noise also comes from the reel motors and the PSU. Interestingly, if I touch/move the reels, the noise changes (it gets louder).

It actually sounds like High Tension (High Voltage) noise that you get in a faulty monitor, but the fact that the sound comes from the PSU, Motors and Speakers is strange.

Is this normal? I was told that it was, but last night I was in a pub (which admittedly was fairly loud) and put my ear against the speaker and heard nothing.

I am not talking about a feint noise, but quite a racket which can easily be heard from 10 ft away.

Is this really normal? If not, any ideas what I can do? My guess would be the PSU!!

Jon

[dtrmad2004]

Hey, I had Crazy fruits from the same person and it did the exact same as you described, the loud buzzing and pitch changing differing with whats happeing with the lights.

Dunno if its more noticable because of when the machine was at home there is less noise than in an arcade so you hear it, anyway it does sound like its screaming for more power.

Someone should know.

Andy

[mocochoco]

yeah sounds pretty normal mate..... both my machines have done it. Not really that load though.... fine to have it on in the living room without it pissing me or the girlfriend off while watching tv.

depends how loud your talking i suppose.

[CoasterDesignerpro]

My Devil of a Deal did exactly the same.

[skabaz]

all barcrests in the genesis cabinet do this.

its normal.

baz

[Bencrest]

You should hear the noises my Impulse Hurricane (EPOCH) makes. Don't worry, it's being taken away soon

[jweaver]

Thanks all.. And also sorry Bazpeep.. I hope you don't think I was checking up on your answer.

I know taht I already asked this in a PM, but I wondered if I didn't explain how loud the noise was.. After trying to listen to a 'real machine' and just didn't want to bohter you directly again with the quesion.

Many thanks for your replies

Jon

[cools]

BUMP

all barcrests in the genesis cabinet do this.

its normal.

baz

Is it fixable? It's bloody annoying!

The noise on my Spiker comes purely from (all of) the reels when they're locked. No speaker noise, no psu noise, just this noticeable squealing emitting from the reels.

[cardie]

not fixable annnndddd if theres a louder noise than you think there shud be comming from the reels there might me somthing pulling it round while its ment to be still which retracts the motors on the reel which makes a horrible whining noise lol just check all your reels mate

[skabaz]

the sound the thead starter was talking about was the interference through the speaker due to the electrical charge when large amounts of bulbs are lit.i'm sure its to do the static electricity and the magnetics on the speaker.


the sound you are describing sounds like your reels are catching on something.

baz

[cools]

Thanks all. The noise is constant when the reels are stopped - when they are spinning there's no noise at all. Nothing's catching. Every reel makes the same noise, slightly different pitch. If you try and move one of them, the reel being touched gets louder.

Unplug the reel board, cab is silent apart from test alarm going off. Haven't tried plugging them in individually yet, if it could be one of them causing a problem for all the others?

[prizeguy2005]

My machine is very loud too its global epoch tech pheonix knights. This is the 2nd epoch machine I have had and epoch machines are pretty loud in my opinion. When on attract mode you can hear the bulbs been cooked and generally when playing the games the noise of the reels are quite loud too.

[TTX]

The reels hum because the power going to the reel motors is pulsed at a high frequency. This reduces power consumption and prevents the reel motors from overheating.

When stationary, the motors are held in position by pulsing the same two out of the four motor phases. If you manually move the reel from it's settled position, the motors will try to return to a stable position, making a louder humas they fight against the external force being applied.

The noise through the speaker is interference from the lamp drive circuit finding it's way into the audio circuit.

JPM MPS1 machines utilising the 15 digit display board make a heck of a lot of buzzing noise! MPS2 was a great improvement in this respect.

[cools]

Ahh, that makes sense. Reducing or stopping it isn't something that can be done then? New motors or pulsing at a higher frequency?

[TTX]

The only thing you can do is make sure that the reel bands are a nice tight fit. If they're slack, they amplify the vibration. I find that a small strip of folded paper stuffed between the band and the drum removes the slack nicely. Do this evenly around the circumference of the reel drum on both sides.

NOTE - dismantling stepper motors can permanently damage them by destroying the magnetic field within!!!

[spa]

A reel problem was the reason I broke my Spiker in the first place. The hi lo reels motor burn't out then the replacement burn't out aswell! Still over the time I easily put £10,000s into it. Broke it up, sold the hopper and now the reels and decals, gave Ben the glasses, swapped the motherboard for a notey for another machine I have, swapped the main reels + mpu4 motherboard for a £25 off another machine, scanned reels for emulation, sstill got a heap left over lol. Value for money

[cools]

The only thing you can do is make sure that the reel bands are a nice tight fit. If they're slack, they amplify the vibration. I find that a small strip of folded paper stuffed between the band and the drum removes the slack nicely. Do this evenly around the circumference of the reel drum on both sides.

NOTE - dismantling stepper motors can permanently damage them by destroying the magnetic field within!!!

I'll check this later, they certainly seem tight but I'll see how bad the noise is with the bands removed

[cools]

Ok, played about. It's the stepper motors making the noise - there's no noticeable vibration, and even with the reels entirely detached from the motor the noise is still there.

[TTX]

Well, there's nothing more you can do then I'm afraid. Try playing a JPM MPS machine, then you will know the true meaning of noisy reel motors! Yours will seem pretty quiet in comparison. Basically, it's the combination of voltage, drive frequency and steps per revolution which will define the motor resonance characteristics and hence the pitch and volume of the humming noise produced.

[Bencrest]

Well, there's nothing more you can do then I'm afraid. Try playing a JPM MPS machine, then you will know the true meaning of noisy reel motors! Yours will seem pretty quiet in comparison. Basically, it's the combination of voltage, drive frequency and steps per revolution which will define the motor resonance characteristics and hence the pitch and volume of the humming noise produced.

... or a Yamasa Pachislo. While I bloody love Yamasa, and the 'reel hum' is bearable sometimes, it's seriously loud. Especially when you consider there is no need for it to be.