PE Plus Help

[Jadman]

Hi there,

First post so hoping the amazing people here can assist me in getting started on my project.

All the way from Australia where the gaming laws are pretty tough, finding old machines to restore and work on is difficult given machines are generally detroyed when they are no longer in use. Finally i recently found an old IGT Blue Moon which i intended to just use for the cabinet and emulate all the Aristocrat Mk6, 5, 4 etc through MAME - but my curiosity got the better of me and like with most of the projects i have around my house, i get satisfaction out of making things work as they intended, but when it comes to all this slot machine wizardry, im struggling to get started.

Since i cant figure out how to embed pictures - ill add some attachments.

Firstly, the machine as you can see she was in pretty rough condition, but i gutted it, cleaned out the 30 years of grime from sitting in an old pokie/ slot den and she has come up in reasonable condition - this Blue Moon slot machine was one i remember from when i first turned 18 and was "legal" to have a punt.

I tested it before i gutted it, it turned on, you can hear a faint humm so there is power, the fluros came on and the button lights flicked on and off - but nothing else happens, just a blank screen.

Since pulling all the bits out i tried testing it again, this time with a modern monitor and a CGA/ VGA/ HDMI converter i had laying around from another project but still nothing.

From the research i did so far, it seems the Main board is a PE+, pics attached, i searched the internet for ages to identify it from another picture, then i realised it said PE Plus on the main board cover!

I assume the monitor is dead, which is no big deal to me since id upgrade to something more modern anyway, but can anyone provide any sage advice or guidance on whether or not this is likely the only issue, is there anyway to test that the monitor is getting signal but is just unable to display it?

Attached a few other random pictures of bits and peices ive found, like the mini board hiding behind the main board with the broken battery connectors and the I/O board that was hiding up in the top box - neither of these i have any idea what they do if anyone can provide me some advice.

Seems the hopper is missing, the reset key and barrell is missing and 1 of the buttons is gone, so im also looking for a few spares.

Thanks for reading and happy to have joined such a supportive community.

Cheers

[Chris-socal]

Hello and welcome!
The monitor is a Ceronix 1492, very common and very robust. It most likely needs a capacitor kit.
If you do attempt to upgrade to a LCD monitor you will need some kind of circuit that inverts the color signals, these games use inverted colors. Unless you find an LCD specifically for early IGT machines you will need to invert colors somehow.
I would start by doing a cap kit, there are only 8-10 critical caps…and only 4 or 5 will stop the board from working if bad.

I know its not practical to order parts from the US so hopefully someone sells a cap kit there. If not I can give you a list.

Chris

[Jadman]

Hello and welcome!
The monitor is a Ceronix 1492, very common and very robust. It most likely needs a capacitor kit.
If you do attempt to upgrade to a LCD monitor you will need some kind of circuit that inverts the color signals, these games use inverted colors. Unless you find an LCD specifically for early IGT machines you will need to invert colors somehow.
I would start by doing a cap kit, there are only 8-10 critical caps…and only 4 or 5 will stop the board from working if bad.

I know its not practical to order parts from the US so hopefully someone sells a cap kit there. If not I can give you a list.

Chris

Thankyou mate - i guess the simplest thing to do is to attempt to repair the monitor as you have suggested - i havent come across too many vendors down here that openly sell bits and peices for gaming machines - if you had the list of what id need to buy for the cap kit that would be really handy, thankyou - if not id be happy to purchase one from you.

Thanks again for the guidance.

[jay]

Caps (Capacitors) are used in almost all electronic equipment and the Caps are of a fairly common variety so you would not need to get anything from a specialty parts store. The inverted colors is a nut that has been only slightly cracked. While innovative, it involves messing with the MPU board. I have about 6 MPU boards with games pre-installed. This means I am not popping 7 chips out every time I do a game change and I don't want to be mod-ding one board much less 6.  You can buy a LCD drop in for a PE+ but they tend to be around the cost of another whole game. Its like putting in a $2000 transmission in a car you bought for $50.00.

I would also check the fuses. Use a multimeter to test continuity (resistance) on the fuses. I believe the second one from the left controls monitor power. If you run your finger over the screen when its on - do you feel static ? kind of like an old CRT style TV.

I have not seen the Blue Moon theme here. What are the Program and Data Chip numbers installed in your board. 

[Jadman]

Caps (Capacitors) are used in almost all electronic equipment and the Caps are of a fairly common variety so you would not need to get anything from a specialty parts store. The inverted colors is a nut that has been only slightly cracked. While innovative, it involves messing with the MPU board. I have about 6 MPU boards with games pre-installed. This means I am not popping 7 chips out every time I do a game change and I don't want to be mod-ding one board much less 6.  You can buy a LCD drop in for a PE+ but they tend to be around the cost of another whole game. Its like putting in a $2000 transmission in a car you bought for $50.00.

I would also check the fuses. Use a multimeter to test continuity (resistance) on the fuses. I believe the second one from the left controls monitor power. If you run your finger over the screen when its on - do you feel static ? kind of like an old CRT style TV.

I have not seen the Blue Moon theme here. What are the Program and Data Chip numbers installed in your board.

Yeah i can replace the capacitors if i know which ones to get, there are numerous places that i can get them from here and i did find a guide that suggestted to do the Cap replacements i need the following parts.

Caps Needed

1000uf 35v = 3
100uf 25v = 4
10uf 50v = 7
150uf 250v = 3
1uf 50v = 2
220uf 35v = 1

With the program and data chips - there doesnt seem to be a Data chip, would this indicate im missing something? Pic attached with the codes.

[jay]

I doubt that anything is missing.

On the PE+ there are two series of boards.
Regular and Superboard.

Early games simply used one chip, but more advanced games that included features like wild cards, ability to double down all used 2 chips.
The newer Superboard also had multipoker (5 games) on 2 chips but could also use any of the chip combinations from the original game.

Once your up and running you can get a superboard and just swap out your MPU.

[Chris-socal]

Your cap list looks good, one of those 100uf/25 should be upgraded to a 100/50v. The one in the power circuit….#286.
Using the 100/25 is fine we just recommend upping the voltage on that one cap

However, if you replace 286, 191,230 and 233 you will probably fix a non-boot situation.

I can sell a rebuilt board for around $100 US$, I would just need to consult Badbaud on converting it to 230v. I have no idea how much shipping would be, ebay has a process for shipping internationally, I could probably create a listing for us to see.

Chris

[Jadman]

Your cap list looks good, one of those 100uf/25 should be upgraded to a 100/50v. The one in the power circuit….#286.
Using the 100/25 is fine we just recommend upping the voltage on that one cap

However, if you replace 286, 191,230 and 233 you will probably fix a non-boot situation.

I can sell a rebuilt board for around $100 US$, I would just need to consult Badbaud on converting it to 230v. I have no idea how much shipping would be, ebay has a process for shipping internationally, I could probably create a listing for us to see.

Chris

Thanks Chris - question - what caps go in 191, 230 and 233?

[Jadman]

Not sure if it helps but some pics of the monitor board.

[Chris-socal]

Attached is the complete list.

Chris

[Jadman]

Attached is the complete list.

Chris

Thanks mate

Seems i got 1 wrong cap from the store today so ill try to get the right one tomorrow and give that a shot - so far nothing working, ive replaced all the ones you suggessed with exception of the cap at location 191.

Im concerned the MPU isnt getting what it needs or its fried, did some testing on the multimeter and numbers seem low so i was going to replace all the caps on the MPU as well. There is a little red LED on the MPU, i assume this should light up or blink or something if all is working fine, or at the least if the MPU is getting the power it needs?

Failing these repairs, i may be on the look out for a new MPU and Chris might take up your offer on the refurb monitor board. Shipping is usually pretty decent from the US.

Can the transformers be replaced? i think they are working fine but they look terrible and old.

Thanks again for all your help guys.

[jay]

Where are you in Aus ?  - I will be in Melbourne from 11-24 next month and could bring over a known working MPU as a test if this is not resolved before then.

[Jadman]

Where are you in Aus ?  - I will be in Melbourne from 11-24 next month and could bring over a known working MPU as a test if this is not resolved before then.

Mate thats an incredibly generous offer thankyou! im sadly no longer in Melbourne as i moved back to Adelaide a few years ago.

Ill keep tinkering and replacing things, most of the fun for me is reading up about how things work and physically going through it on the machine - as im sure many of these machines have been over the years this one looks like it has been chopped and changed, there are wires spliced into new ones, and some not attached to anything - gradually as i figure out what bits do what and where they are supposed to be no doubt progress will be made.

Question for anyone that knows, is the reset key wires the green and yellow ones coming out the side of the housing? Mine didnt have a key but i have a new one to install.

Also, i noticed that the wiring to the monitor board has been spliced from an old 13 wire connector to the Ceronix connectors, but this leaves 4 wires from the old harness disconnected, should these be connected to anything?

[jay]

I can't answer your question about the video harness but I am sure one of our others will jump in here. I am more of a swaptronics guy.

You will find that most of the PE+ and S+ (Slots) will have a number of cut wires as they would have had player tracking systems that get ripped out and re-used when these machines are mothballed from a casino. It appears that the people that install them do a very nice job of routing the wires just so, wire-tying them down and its too much hassle to take it out nicely so they just cut the harness(es) that feed it.

On the motherboard (small fixed board that the MPU plugs into not the MPU itself) there is a 4 wire connector that is coin in and data in + grnd (4th pin is unused) that is designed to be tied into a progressive jack pot system, usually this is fed into a player tracking system, and then the progressive components are also plugged into the tracking system, the player tracking system needs power so that is usually spliced into some harness. Then the player tracking system needs to be fed into a master computer in the casino. Ethernet is not used as its too common (easily snooped) and has distance limitations of 100m (330ft) so they use a version of RS485 (multidrop serial) with encrypted protocols. There are also other hacks for maintenance and security available. For instance the candle blinks when the hopper runs out of change or the door is open so you will often find that a fresh (poor term as nothing from a casino is fresh or clean) from the casino machine has the candle harness disconnected. Sometimes switches or sensors are left on the belly door all these things can be tied into the player tracking system - not to mention there are a wide variety of player tracking systems. Anyways the folks that are pulling these out don't have a view that some bloke is building a home games room and want these minty fresh so we are left with a lot of wires that go no where, and don't need to be used.



 

[Chris-socal]

A 1492 will start and you should hear the static at startup even if there is no video input.
I assume you are using an isolation transformer or plugging it into the machine, never connect a monitor to power directly from the wall. The isolation transformer is a gold box inside the case. They rarely fail but they do have an internal fuse on the board if ever shorted.

If there is a problem with the power circuit or Vertical circuit (191) you should hear a faint chirp coming from the board. If you don’t hear a chirp I question whether the board is getting power at all. IF 191 is bad it can cause complete shutdown but you should hear a faint chirp.

I don’t know why someone would re-wire the connector. All 1492 boards have the same connectors. Perhaps someone had to procure a monitor or the connector was missing completely.

I have a YouTube video that gives a tour of the board along with some troubleshooting tips. There is also a complete manual and schematic in the NLG file system.

Chris

[Badbaud]

Ceronix posted a ECO years ago stating that the two 150uF 150V caps be replaced with 220uF 250V

[Jadman]

A 1492 will start and you should hear the static at startup even if there is no video input.
I assume you are using an isolation transformer or plugging it into the machine, never connect a monitor to power directly from the wall. The isolation transformer is a gold box inside the case. They rarely fail but they do have an internal fuse on the board if ever shorted.

If there is a problem with the power circuit or Vertical circuit (191) you should hear a faint chirp coming from the board. If you don’t hear a chirp I question whether the board is getting power at all. IF 191 is bad it can cause complete shutdown but you should hear a faint chirp.

I don’t know why someone would re-wire the connector. All 1492 boards have the same connectors. Perhaps someone had to procure a monitor or the connector was missing completely.

I have a YouTube video that gives a tour of the board along with some troubleshooting tips. There is also a complete manual and schematic in the NLG file system.

Chris

Ok so progress - thanks to all your help with this mate - turns out the fuse was the problem, so i whipped that out and made up a rinky dink fuse holder and plopped a new one in just to test.

I get a screen that turns on with a line right across the screen as per the attached picture - i also get a few crackles and weird noises from the monitor board itself and the screen makes a sound like gas is leaking whilst its on. And to your earlier point, i only ever plug it in to the existing wire harness, im pretty handy, but i dont mess about with electrical stuff at HV.

So - i assume the line means i have monitor power now but no game signal??

[jay]

If I was to start up my PE+ without the MPU I would not get the line.
This looks more like a monitor problem.

Have you checked the rest of the fuses ?

[Jadman]

If I was to start up my PE+ without the MPU I would not get the line.
This looks more like a monitor problem.

Have you checked the rest of the fuses ?

To be honest i am just happy that something happened, now onto the next item - the fuses. I have visually checked them and used a mulimeter on them, however to be honest, im not great with the multimeter so who knows if im using it right - any guidance on the settings and the test points?

I had planned to just buy new fuses and replace them anyway, looking at the fuse box, it says i need

1.5A 240VAC
5A 24VAC
5A 7VAC
5A 240VAC

but to be honest, the electonics place i went to didnt stock the 24VAC and the 7VAC so im having trouble finding them - i know im playing in dangerous territory, but can i chuck anything else in there just to test fire the rig until i can find the correct fuses?

[Chris-socal]

That is vertical collapse. Most likely LA7830, #192 vertical IC. Jay is correct, a 1492 does not have a horizontal line when it has no input, it should have a dark screen with occasional sparkle, nothing more. The great news is that the flyback and power circuit is working. You do not need a new board. You are very close.

The sound you are describing is abnormal too, you have to replace the Vertical IC before you can proceed. There is also a surface mount capacitor on the PRA-H board. You can replace it with a radial capacitor, it looks funny but it works fine. But I doubt it being bad will cause V collapse.

Chris