Arrangeball (pachinko style gambling game) repair

[mrmikeman]

So I am working on another Arrangeball called Hustler (unrelated to the porn mag) from Cait. This one is SS but with very basic ICs, no CPU or clock.

What I've done so far:
- Replaced weak/burnt 2182 bulbs. By luck I had a box of those
- Cleaned (ultrasonic) the payout mech. It was gummed up and not smooth. Missing 1 spring but working ok though.
- I was sure all was working as designed until I tried specific combinations. Turns out this game is like it's EM counterpart. The lights on the bingo board are lit directly by the switches, which then send that voltage to the main board. This means the "CPU" isn't necessarily aware that the switches are on, although when playing it the board lights up so it 'seems' good. Turns out about half the switches seem like they aren't registering. Upon further investigation I realized they are muliplexed via a 555 timer and 74150. As I have no way of testing these ICs I am deducing that it's the 555 IC that's faulty. Not uncommon on other devices. This would make the "CPU" only read half the switches, which seems to be what's happening. The 555 has a weird soldering job and may be shorting so will check first but will order a 555 if that's not the problem.

More pics to follow.

[Azatotht]

So I am working on another Arrangeball called Hustler (unrelated to the porn mag)..

That's funny because at first glance I tought this was a spam post

[cait001]

another Arrangeball called Hustler (unrelated to the porn mag)

[Citation Needed]

[mrmikeman]

Well my initial assessment of the function of the 555 timer chip was incorrect. It's a blinker circuit, not part of the multiplexing. Will have to trace out the data lines and try to figure out how it's multiplexing without a clock/cpu. I also now think that the multiplexing is not the problem. It's more of an interference issue when tallying multiple wins. Each payout works as designed individually. When I combine wins (or apply the 2X bonus) then nothing works right. This is all done via TTL ICs. No CPU, RAM, or other modern components. How hard can it be?? lol

I also need to consider if capacitors could be the issue. They look newer-ish but the soldering is original so I have to assume that they are all seemingly original (1975) - need to test but when in-circuit it's difficult.

[cait001]

I wonder if it would help if I brought you the Glory Ball machine as well so you could compare? I think Sylvain had worked on Glory Ball a few years back.
Might help make it easier to test hunches via comparison? They aren't the same, but similar theory of operations.

[mrmikeman]

I was hoping to swap them out after I fix this one but maybe having both would help. I was trying to save you a road trip.

[semicolin]

Can you list the ttl chips?

It's not terribly difficult to test these in circuit with a logic probe, and if need be they can be pulled off and run through a tester.

[mrmikeman]

I can but I want to swap out the 50 year old capacitors first. I think it may be the problem. Rapid firing of the payout coil might be causing a voltage drop due to dried out caps. Removing the chips isn’t really an option unless I am replacing. 50 year old PCB. I have the right desoldering tools/station I just prefer not to take a chance.

Also I find a digital voltmeter to be better than a logic probe for these old chips. Some of these TTL fail in a way that gives ambiguous voltages around 2-3v instead of clear high-low signals. A logic probe won’t necessarily show that.

If the caps aren’t the problem then next is in-circuit probing.

[mrmikeman]

Replacing the capacitors did the job!

Also the Google machine helped. It’s all in Japanese so I didn’t realize that there was a payout limit of 5 credits. Saved me some headaches lol.

[mrmikeman]

And here are some pics of the machine:

[mrmikeman]

And here is a picture of the one I am converting to Arduino control.

[semicolin]

I can but I want to swap out the 50 year old capacitors first. I think it may be the problem. Rapid firing of the payout coil might be causing a voltage drop due to dried out caps. Removing the chips isn’t really an option unless I am replacing. 50 year old PCB. I have the right desoldering tools/station I just prefer not to take a chance.

Also I find a digital voltmeter to be better than a logic probe for these old chips. Some of these TTL fail in a way that gives ambiguous voltages around 2-3v instead of clear high-low signals. A logic probe won’t necessarily show that.

If the caps aren’t the problem then next is in-circuit probing.

You’re right — in most cases I go right to the oscilloscope but I just suggest the logic probe because it’s cheaper for most people if they don’t have one already.

If ever you need a chip off a board, drop in. I’m right around the corner and a have the right kit.

[mrmikeman]

You’re right — in most cases I go right to the oscilloscope but I just suggest the logic probe because it’s cheaper for most people if they don’t have one already.

If ever you need a chip off a board, drop in. I’m right around the corner and a have the right kit.

Thanks for the offer I will keep it in mind. I do also have a scope but rarely ever need to use it TBH.

In this case I was fortunate enough to have caps of the right rating in my parts bin

Can’t wait to get started on the arduino conversion. That’s my jam lol. Bought a string of addressable RGB bulbs so I should be able to modernize the play a little with some color/effects.