Vintage pre-electronic repair / maintenance

[69er]

Maybe nobody is interested but if you are I could record what I am doing this week?

Back in the ‘old days’ when we had candles and twin tub washing machines… long before Sega,Suzo-Happ& Namco light guns on our arcade machines with credit start and a plug in the wall …. We had coins to operate amusements , purely mechanical and perhaps never seen by readers on here?

So…. This week I thought I would get round to my Big Top shooter / gum vender machine which jammed up about 30 years ago and the back access door missing it sat exposed to damp air and rusting .. it had already had a target unit swap in the 80s before we cared about keeping for posterity and had a badly damaged Saloon one which got broken into in the arcade late one night , but we didn’t keep it very long for spares as they had already earned their cost and more by then - which is why many arcade games die over time….. but , don’t we love a challenge?

If you would like to be informed further, should you ever venture to owning a ‘Pussy Shooter’ with the W.A.Tratson ball bearing firing pistol, or maybe just a Simplex slide in coin mech? , I could show how they work or
What to do regarding maintenance or some jam up issues … ?

A lot of people still use the mechs on pool tables though home use you can adapt free play of course! But for younger collectors it may be one day you acquire a vintage slot like this … I am cleaning the whole machine but don’t want waste time recording things that nobody wants to read about, I am happy tinkering away my old age and for me this is the ‘how it works’ that preceded the modern tech of today! I just fancy seeing it work ok it’s not a full as new refurb restoration and I am maybe not removing all the rust or repainting anywhere it’s over 50 years old! …….. think we had 4 from new-ish and I still have 2 as there was a ‘Silver Dollar Saloon ‘ version too. Fully working . Let me know…

It’s simple mechanics on a fun arcade game which only arrived a couple of years before space invaders - mid 1970s so still around?

They just get buried as picture shows but over last two days this one is stripped to a shell and hoovered out years of dust and cobwebs…. Just un-jammed the gun so picture here too! Mech needs a good clean

Then I will re build it cleaning bits as I go!

 

[Lurch666]

I for one am wondering if you know anything about lining up the reels on an old mechanical fruit machine.
The bally one I recently acquired has the symbols out of line with the win lines.

 

[69er]

I for one am wondering if you know anything about lining up the reels on an old mechanical fruit machine.
The bally one I recently acquired has the symbols out of line with the win lines.

Without seeing it it’s likely one of three usually secondhand issues assuming they are the correct reels for that game?
1 if the bands have been loose and slipped round the drum? If the drum has no end of band mark? If I recall on Bally type reel stops the high value symbols have a very shallow stop notch , deep notches are usually lemon or cherry? No value. So by hand release a reel and see if a high value ‘ bell or bar’ shows when lined up with a shallow notch at rear…. Only rotate reels towards you in normal direction
2 have they been apart and put back 312 or 231 etc. ?
3 has one band been swapped with a band from another machine so no match on certain lines? you can delay reel stop timing - hold the flywheel wing spinner , pull the start handle and release all stops , it will set reels going but you stop them by hand , move reels to a desired win line and hold in place firmly then let the flywheel spinner wind down it’s time and see if it pays expected win,

For access to reel stops the whole reel unit can be slid out… it’s quite a heavy part so take care…. Hope that helps

If they have been apart the notch disc may be mid aligned with the drum as there’s 4 screw holes to fix the on if someone ever had them off ? That worst case scenario fruits 90 180 270 degrees out of sync

 

[Lurch666]

The payout mechanism on this machine is missing so that's not an issue. The reels appear to match the payout information so I'm assuming the reels are correct.
The symbol strip is held in place firmly or I would have just removed them and put them back in the correct position. It's like the glass is too high or the reels too low but there's no adjustment I can see.
Was just hoping it was something simple I had missed.

 

[Bods]

This is mad

 

[69er]

Never had these ball guns apart before so..
THIS IS HOW THEY WORK ( or should )

The machine holds 4 ball bearings.. the coin is inserted . Pushing through the mech activates linkage to the bubble gum /gob-stopper dispenser above releasing one product down the chutes to the flap and the player eats it
While the mech is fully extended it pulls the rod which slides the trigger lock release up and moves it along 10 ratchet teeth sprung to move one tooth with each trigger pull.Thus arming and loading the gun & unlocking trigger ready to shoot.

The coin mech returns ready for next coin.
Pulling the trigger compresses a heavy spring rear of barrel firing a ball out.
During the trigger pull the diagonal rod inside the gun drops down to scoop up the next ball into the firing area of the barrel.

Quite simple mechanics. It pays to take your time as it’s not time limited and the ratchet only clicks down each trigger pull.
On the tenth trigger pull the lock reaches the end of the teeth and trigger is locked.

Due to the order of action inside the gun- the first ball is pre loaded into the firing area retained by the scoop rod which only drops as trigger is pulled.

Balls return to the gun in line as shown ready to be scooped up one at a time.

If all 4 balls are in the target area due to rapid firing shots will be missed, gun empty and the next player only gets 9 shots (10 pulls) as first shot is no ball loaded by previous shot! So it pays to take your time.
There’s a sight window on top of the barrel quite accurate if you are small or bend down.. when used slowly players get 10 shots and hits on the target will move the score around 10 points per hit and upgrade to marksman skill levels. all cheap fun.
Next coin repeats and zeros the target scoring disc to 0 .. this one is staying on big 10p our other one is on 20p already since it was in use till a few years ago!
I have decided not to document the rebuild but now…. Should you need to know what makes it function it’s a brief guide?

Springs in good order and clean pivots is all it needs.. any stiff or broken ones can cause a jam.

The only main issue with simplex coin slide mechs is ‘no return’ of coin ratchet spring failure or ratchet teeth wear blunt and mech sticks when pushed in or can obviously return coin and product if full distance is not achieved due to that issue. Or screws working loose on the end of the slider.