Does anyone have the service manual for a Universal 8304 video poker machine?

[electronicsguy]

I just bought one of these machines and the bottom cover is missing, the black box with the hopper is there, but whatever was to the right of it is missing and there is a plug hanging there. Also when I plug it in it hums for a few seconds, then beeps like it's booting up, but the monitor doesn't come on at all. Before I tear into it I was hoping to get a manual for it. I didn't get a key with it to open it, reset, etc so i'm going to have to order one if the key to my slot machine doesn't fit it (They look similar, just haven't tried it yet) Thanks in advance

[702collector]

There are some universal manuals in the file system. You need to be a contributing member to access them though. The $10 per month is worth every penny considering the knowledge and help available on this site.

[63mini]

electronicsguy,

  I do not believe that there is any documentation for the Universal 8304 poker machine in the download area. These are kind of orphan machines now.  Can you post any photos?  I currently have one that I will be selling in the near future.  Does it look like the one attached?  If so, I can post some photos of the inside while I still have it.  If Uniman still drops in maybe he could help with the documentation.

[electronicsguy]

The machine you posted a photo of is the exact one I have except mine is pinkish white on the sides instead of woodgrain. I will have to go back over and take some photos, in the bottom part where the hopper appears to be there is a molex plug on the right and I can't figure out where it goes. I think something is missing. I don't have the key for it so I can't get it open, trying to figure out where to find the key as the 3 locks don't have numbers on them at all. I pulled the AC plug for the monitor from the spot it was plugged into inside the machine and plugged it in directly, but it still didn't fire up at all. Does you key have any numbers on it?
thanks

[63mini]

 I do not have the reset or meter keys.  As for the door lock.  Mine just has a butterfly/thumb turn lock.  There was no standard for the door locks.  It would all depends on the location or owners down the line.  Best bet is to either pick it or drill it out.

[electronicsguy]

Oh ok, so the locks can be machine specific, darn. Thanks. Here are some photos, you will see the plug I am talking about that seems to go nowhere. Also not sure what the red thing is sitting on top in the 1st pic, they handed it to me after I loaded the machine in my truck, i'm guessing it goes over the hopper?

[63mini]

 The red thing is the hopper bowl.  However, I think it is supposed to have a metal support frame around it a seen in my attached photo.  The loose plug appears to be the monitor plug.  Did they give you the coin tray too?

[electronicsguy]

Thanks, this is all they gave me. I will have to make a coin tray or find one somewhere. Maybe that plug being unhooked from the monitor could explain why the monitor doesn't power on at all. Not sure if there is a trigger voltage on that harness or not. The high voltage doesn't come up or anything, even if I plug the ac cord from the monitor directly to power instead of in the outlet on that part towards the left with the toggle switch. That helps. It looks like I am going to have to drill out that lock so I can open it and see where that monitor plug goes in and try to reconnect it. From the fact that the whole hopper assembly was laying loose in it and part of it missing, i'm guessing the issue they had was related to the hopper and maybe they just unplugged that cable from the monitor to get it out of the way. It would be a bummer if I have to repair the monitor and the coin hopper. I fixed televisions for over 40 years so fixing the monitor shouldn't be a big deal if I can get parts

[electronicsguy]

Is that monitor plug reachable with the front closed and locked? If I can figure out where it goes I may try plugging it in to see if the monitor will fire up

[63mini]

Is that monitor plug reachable with the front closed and locked? If I can figure out where it goes I may try plugging it in to see if the monitor will fire up

 It might be.  But it won't be easy.  My plug is located on the lower right front of the monitor just above the main PCB enclosure which may be blocking your access with the door closed.

[shortrackskater]

electronicsguy,
If Uniman still drops in maybe he could help with the documentation.

He's MIA. I've reached out to him numerous times via e mail and PM here. He did long in April 23rd but that was it.
He's either really busy, or really sick. I hope he's ok.
Either way he won't see this since it's in "Other Video Games" since we don't have a dedicated forum for Universal video. I can reach out to Pitts256 (the other Universal mod) and see if he had any documentation.

[Chris-socal]

Thanks, this is all they gave me. I will have to make a coin tray or find one somewhere. Maybe that plug being unhooked from the monitor could explain why the monitor doesn't power on at all. Not sure if there is a trigger voltage on that harness or not. The high voltage doesn't come up or anything, even if I plug the ac cord from the monitor directly to power instead of in the outlet on that part towards the left with the toggle switch. That helps. It looks like I am going to have to drill out that lock so I can open it and see where that monitor plug goes in and try to reconnect it. From the fact that the whole hopper assembly was laying loose in it and part of it missing, i'm guessing the issue they had was related to the hopper and maybe they just unplugged that cable from the monitor to get it out of the way. It would be a bummer if I have to repair the monitor and the coin hopper. I fixed televisions for over 40 years so fixing the monitor shouldn't be a big deal if I can get parts

Be very careful plugging an arcade/slot monitor directly to wall power.Most of these monitors do not have internal isolation transformers, they connect to the isolation transformer in the bottom of the cabinet. There are a few larger monitors where the isolation TX is inside the CRT frame but that is rare.

Connecting directly to wall outlet will typically (instantly) fry rectifier diodes on the board, so fast you probably won’t know it happened.

Chris

[Pitts256]

Unfortunately the only person that I know of that stated they had a manual was Uniman and he's MIA.

The high speed hopper on your machine is not seated in the channels on the bottom, was probably removed/replaced and not hooked back up. The plug that you see is probably for the hopper. Until you get the machine up and running you're not going to need the hopper so you can take it out of the cabinet and set it aside.

The CRT monitor has a couple of plugs, one for the 110vac and the other for the red-green-blue signals and syncs. The machine should startup and run without the monitor, ya just can't see what's displayed.

The power supplies that are located on the back wall behind the hopper are pretty robust and use common parts. The output voltages may drift off spec if the filter caps are failing, no voltage if a bridge rectifier fails or no CPU if the 5vdc regulator fails. First check the four circuit breakers on the frontside to see if one has tripped. Then check for voltages at the Molex on the frontside next to the +5vdc regulator. I do not have that plug configuration but typically for Universal machines the pink wire is 5vdc, red wire 12vdc, orange wire 24vdc and violet 32vdc. Check these to the black ground wire. There also may be an 9.5vac output, light green wire, that is a status signal wire back to the CPU for power failures.

How's the CPU board look? Did you pull and check the condition of the Nicad battery? Battery acid may have wiped the board out.

As stated earlier the keys for the main door locks are different machine to machine, the keys for the jackpot reset & accounting locks are the same. You'll need to pick the door lock or use a special hole saw to remove and replace, you won't need the jackpot reset key for awhile.

So if the power supply has output voltages, especially +5vdc, and the CPU board is clean with the battery replaced we should be able to do a master reset and a least hear the coin divertor on the door pop closed and some startup pulses from the speaker.

We'll need some photos posted while your going through the "check list" to help spot abnormalities.

Thx!

 


       

[63mini]

 The plug for the monitor will be a 6-pin (which is what it appears to be in the photo) plus there should be a 2-pin for the high voltage.  The hopper will use a 12-pin plug.  You will really need to get the door open to proceed properly. 

Added...

 And yes, the battery will be an issue if it leaked.  The other possible problem that I encountered with mine is the hi-speed hopper uses a rubber wheel to dispense the coins.  That turned to tar and I had to fabricate a new one.  Also, the hopper uses a type of universal joint between the motor and output.  There was a rubber coupler in the universal joint, and it failed too.  I had to find a similar one and put it on the lathe to bore out one side.

[63mini]

 electronicsguy,  Just an FYI. There is an 8304 coin tray and a few other parts listed on eBay.

 https://www.ebay.com/itm/234877191372?itmmeta=01JTQZQ6XY462BH0ZZ702RV3GC&hash=item36afc584cc:g:RnQAAOSwA8Bj1dqO

[electronicsguy]

Thanks everyone for all of the very helpful responses. The machine does make noise when I plug it in and I hear a hard click when I plug it in so I think the main board as at least partially working. I will drill out the lock this weekend and check out the monitor and see what I need to do in order to get it going, none of the breakers on the psu are tripped. I did check that already. The lock to open it looks exactly like the other two and it looks like a soda machine key so it shouldn't be too hard to pick. I was hoping my slot machine key would fit, but it was a little too small of a circle. Chris, I would only need an isolation transformer if plugging the monitor in while the machine is plugged in also correct? I only plugged the monitor in at that time, if that's not correct I have plenty of nte 125 rectifier diodes. I can fix that when I service the monitor and I appreciate the info on that. I do have an isolation transformer left over from my tv repair days, I just didn't think to use it in that case. I will check out those parts on ebay. I really appreciate all the help

[63mini]

 With a little practice these work really well for picking barrel locks. For me it has been worth the investment as I have used it numerous times.

[Chris-socal]

That pick set is a marvel. Once you practice a few times and understand which two pins are the latching pins you can open a barrel lock easier than picking a basic key lock.

I can walk up to most machines with my pick tool now and open it inside of 30 seconds.

Chris

[Jim]

 

a Christmas present will surprise someone here !!!   Cleaning out some boxes and I found some interesting items that I received from Universal back in the day when they were in located in Las Vegas.

Jim 

[shortrackskater]

Christmas in May! Wow. Do I have to bring out the decorations again?