Replacing Printer

[dailey]

I have a Gen 2 printer in my Bally Alpha 2 V 22/22 that I'm trying to replace due to poor print quality. So far I've purchased two identical printers (PSA-66-ST2RU RS232 Universal) and tried them out and both give an error "No Printer Communication". I'm plugging them into my existing known good harness. I'm wondering how many of these printers I need to buy to find one that works?

Would I be better off buying an Epic 950 printer? I think you can even buy these new instead of buying someone else's junk. I never had printer problems like this before, buying printers that don't work.

[Stayouttadabunker]

Not the same machine I know, but if the power supply on a WMS BB2 has any sort of a problem, the "No Printer COM" error pops up.
Try swapping out the PSU?

[dailey]

I discovered another issue. The coiled printer harness outer insulation is crumbling. Extending the printer out on its slide didn't do it any good as the cable is breaking up. It could have damaged wires. I'll replace the harness then try the printer again.

[dailey]

I replaced the printer harness and there was no change. I still get the "Voucher Printer Comm Error". I have one more printer to try but I need to get a harness for it. It is a non-universal printer which uses a different harness.

I also have an extra power supply, so I'll swap that out.

[Stayouttadabunker]

There's so much heat in these video machines the rubber coils get dry-rotted.
I've never had a Bally Alpha, but I wouldn't be surprised if switching out the power supply, gets the printer communication back on.
Rippling, flaky power output or no output with the 5 volts has negative effects with COM stuff in other machines on the floor I've found.

[dailey]

Things I've tried so far:

I've tried three GEN 2 printers (PSA-66-ST2RU RS232 Universal) purchased from three different online dealers. I replaced the printer harness and swapped out the power supply. After boot up, I still get the "Voucher Printer Com Error". My original printer, same exact model as the replacements, always worked flawlessly. It's only due to poor print quality that I swapped it out. I made no other changes to the system. I verified the printer is enabled and correct printer selected in the menu. That hasn't changed.

I have one other obvious thing to try. I'll swap printers with a known good one from one of my other Bally machines. An identical Gen 2 Universal.

[dailey]

Problem solved. Bad printers. All three printers purchased from different suppliers were bad.

I pulled an identical known good Gen 2 printer from another machine, installed it in this one and it works flawlessly. All three purchased printers must be bad. According to the test ticket, they all have correct RS232 Firmware (GURxxxx). They have no visible dip switches so that's not an issue. Both the good and bad printers were tested using the same printer harness.

[Stayouttadabunker]

wow....that's rotten luck.
Glad you figured it out.

[dailey]

Latest Update:


To date I've purchased five Gen 2 printers. 4 of the 5 don't work. The fifth one is working.

I only purchased one printer from Ebay. The others were from major online dealers which I won't name. They all came with a test ticket and the Firmware looked correct. One even had a note that it had been flashed and tried out in a Wave machine. I installed it in my wave machine this morning and got the same old message of no communication. I then installed number five (a non-Universal), and it works great. I don't know what the hell is going on with these printers but it's hard to believe they are being tested before they go out the door. Would I be better off with an Epic 950?

[dailey]

Well guess what?  Of my recently purchased Gen 2 printers, printer #5 just went bad. It's in a Bally Alpha 2 machine. It's giving me the "Voucher Printer Comm Error". Also the printer keypad Orange LED is on indicating the clamshell head is open, which it is not. Maybe the sensor is bad. As an additional test, I swapped the printer with another machine, and the problem follows the printer.

This makes a total of 5 Gen 2 printers I've purchased recently for this machine, each from a different source, and every one of them is bad (RS-232). I've purchased a lot of GEN 2 Netplex printers over the years and don't recall ever getting a bad one.

Just wondering, should I switch to an Ithaca 950? 


UPDATE:  No more used printers. I just placed an order for a new Transact Epic 950 printer (42-1034-00 RS232). I could have paid for a new one with the money I wasted on the used junk. By the way, I only seem to have problems with the GEN 2 RS232 printers. All of my Gen 2 Netplex work fine and don't give me any problems.

[dailey]

UPDATE:   

I have been frustrated with purchasing bad printers, one after another.  5 total, Gen-2 (R3232). I can't seem to get a good one, so I decided to buy new.  Seems funny, I haven't had any issues with used GEN-2 Netplex printers.

I placed an order for a new Epic 950 printer three months ago and have heard nothing. I went on the web and discovered they have discontinued them. Then I discovered Transact Technologies offers a drop-in replacement for the Epic 950. It's the TransAct Epic Edge $615.  Its backwards compatible and has both protocols in one printer, RS232 and Netplex. I ordered mine from CasinoTech Electronics.

It may seem a ridiculous price to pay for a printer, but I've had it with throwing away printers I paid good money for. All of this fuss started with pulling a printer that had such a bad print quality that no machine would accept the tickets it printed.

[dailey]

Update:

I installed my "Transact Epic Edge" printer in my Bally Alpha 2 Wave machine. It is the direct drop-in replacement for the Ithaca 950. You must connect to the serial port (RS232 14-Pin connector). In the setup menu you must select the Ithaca 950 printer as the Epic Edge will not be displayed. For Bally machines the printer dip switch #7 must be ON. All other switches OFF. For non-Bally SW #7 is OFF.

This printer has both RS232 and Netplex capability using the same RS232 printer port. It automatically detects which protocol is being used.