VGT Blackjack PSR/Manual + Help

[part544]

Hello,

I've been tasked with repairing an old VGT blackjack machine that lost power and had a dead nvram battery.  The machine boots through the BIOS to Caldera Dr. DOS and then stops at ERROR: Decrypt: Security key error.  I replaced the battery on the board but the final error still occurs.  I believe I may need to either reset the board to make nvram and eeprom match or possibly reprogram eeprom.  There are two 27C801 UV-erasable ROM chips on the board.

Thanks for any help and/or pointers down the road for this old one.

[shortrackskater]

Can you post a photo of the machine and of the MPU board? Some of the guys might recognize it, maybe! I'm going to move this to Other Video Games, where it will get more attention. 

[part544]

Can you post a photo of the machine and of the MPU board? Some of the guys might recognize it, maybe! I'm going to move this to Other Video Games, where it will get more attention. 

Posting some photos of the main board.  There are three total boards, one is a sound card, the other a graphics adapter, and then this one.  These reside in an HP Vectra which appears to be vintage to that era.  Computer powers up and POSTS fine.

[shortrackskater]

Can you post a shot of the entire unit? I'm not familiar at all with these, but I can PM some of the guys that might know.

[part544]

Here's the outside of the unit, it's off obviously.  The ticket printing machine is on top of it.  It is called "Vegas Blackjack" 1995-1997.  Also including a photo of the computer that was inside of the machine.  Thanks for any help on this!

[Chris-socal]

Very interesting machine.
There are a few slot machines that are conceptually similar, using a PC as the base and adding interfaces for security and such.
I didn’t know anyone was using this type of system in the 90’s but I will throw out a few things to check.

1. When you say it boots through BIOS…have you gone into it to verify bios is set up? It doesn’t hurt to go in. One thing we learned working on a PC based slot is that you need the most rudimentary keyboard known to man! We had to find an old 5-pin din adapter! Yours might work with ps2.
2. Is there one of those tall eeprom looking components that has Dallas timekeeper printed on it? If so…gird your loins! You would need to consult a datasheet, most of those had 10-year batteries. Once dead you have limited options. Some of them used rechargeable batteries. You might try letting the machine run for an hour or two and see if it charges. If not look closely at all the interface boards, there might be another bios chip separate from the PC. If so you need to find out how to get into that bios too. It would be the base setup for devices like coin mech and bill validation.
3. You might check in with NLG member Channelmaniac, AKA, Raymond at Arcade Components, https://www.arcadecomponents.com/index.html
He has extensive knowledge of many things computer related. You never know what he might be able to help with.

Please keep us posted. This is a good one for future reference.

Chris

[part544]

Thanks for the pointers in the right direction.  After replacing the battery, I found that there was a separate security dongle, external, that needed to be plugged into the parallel port on the computer.  Once I got that, it booted right up and direct into the game.  I was able to use a PS/2 keyboard on the computer and get into the backend menu system and play a couple games on the keyboard. 

[Chris-socal]

That looks really cool. What games does it have? It looks like it would display Roulette really nicely.

Congrats.

Chris

[part544]

This board only has blackjack.  I suppose if there were other roms available for those 27C801's, the system could play other games too.  Those two chips are socket-mounted, making it possible to remove them without soldering.

[part544]

I might start a new thread, but picking this one up for now.  The machine is up and running within its console and it plays.  However, the "PRINTER (TSTSTTT)" error still shows up on the top.

[Chris-socal]

I know nothing about your machine but on many games you have to configure the printer after a reset. Or go into configuration and set jurisdiction. Is there a menu to do a printer config or print test?

Chris