Printer and Tito for IGT G20

[Hawksnest2]

I have an IGT G20  with an MEI SC6602 bill validator (sticker also says IGT v2.19 Netplex)

I'm thinking about adding a Printer and Tito board to it so it will print/read voucher tickets...

curious if anyone has a set for sale...

I have the ekey 7 to set it up... but I'm not familiar with any of the other stuff like flashing the printer, etc...

Thanx...

[Stayouttadabunker]

Hopefully someone will have a printer already flashed for your IGT G20 machine. 

[sccarlso]

I have 5 AVP's.  Two G20's and three G23's.  The G23's had working printers in them when I bought them.

But the G20's I got really cheap, and they didn't have printers.  I've had to tinker a bit before finding the easiest/best solution in my situation for a printer.

The annoying part is most don't have a mounting sled that matches the machine or anywhere to just slide it in.  On my G20 v2's there's just a flat section of sheet metal where the printer goes.  Why slot recyclers/resellers can't just remove the printer itself and leave the printer mount I have no idea!

What you should do is get and install a Tito card FIRST.  You don't need a printer right away.  And you can auto add credits by pressing the service button.  And without a printer enabled, it just handpays when you cashout.  Turn the jackpot key and it resets credits to 0.  You MUST be able to zero out the credits in some way.  If you can't, most ekey options are disabled unless there are 0 credits on the machine.  It’s hard to run down the credits to 0 in games, and you'd have to clear SafeStorage and NVRAM on it and set it up again to clear the credits if you can’t otherwise.  But the loaded games remain and just need to be re-enabled.  Have the Tito and you can always auto add credits, and also clear the credits to 0 anytime.

I've always got mine from Tito@home.   Great guy who makes and sells them.    https://titoathome.com/

Can be ordered at https://titohome-100165.square.site   

I would recommend the TITO@Home Basic System with Cable  $36.   And also get the Wi-Fi Module for TITO@Home Basic TITO System (Later than version 4.1) for $20.   Then you can connect to it with Wifi to easily change how much it auto credits at will, and there are some other options you can do over wifi.  Comes with the cable to connect to the RS232 plug on AVP's (you select AVP for the cable type when you order it) and a USB power plug (you just connect it to any of the USB ports in the machine).  There are good guides provided on the site showing how to install it, and what settings to change on your AVP for it to work.

Just check your machine and ensure you have a control board with a yellow handle in there to pull it out. If you do, the yellow handle is obvious if it's there.  If it does, you have a v2 machine which has an RS232 port already built into the backplane for the Tito card to connect to.  If you don't have a yellow handle in there on the control board.  You will need an RS232 daughtercard (unless one is present in the machine already) so you have an RS232 port to connect to.  About $20 on ebay or perhaps someone here on the classifieds has one if you need it.  All mine are v2 machines where the RS232 plug is already on the backplane board.

Now you have the Tito!  And can auto credit the machine.  Then if you add a printer, you simply enable printing tickets.  And your bill validator will accept the tickets it prints.

For the actual printer, you can add it anytime later.  To be honest, for a single machine it's not really worth it unless you REALLY want a printer.  It takes some effort to do it the first time.  But after you do it once, to do it again is much easier.  I have 7 machines.  5 AVP's and 2 WMS machines.  The Tito card doesn't care what machine printed the ticket.  So with 7 machines, all have Tito cards and printers.  So I can auto add credits on any of them.  Print a ticket on cashout, and the ticket will be accepted by any of my other machines.  So it's up to you.  But you might be happy just being able to auto add credits by pressing the service button.  And just cashing out where it goes to handpay and you just turn the jackpot key to clear the credits.  It's really easy and you might be happy with that.   

With the Tito in and working.  If you REALLY want a printer to print tickets...

IMHO, the easiest to put in an AVP machine, G20 or G23.  Is an Ithica Epic Transact 950L.

Why?  In my experience.  AVP machines never seem to have the right connector for Netplex, or have been spliced/rewired.  But there are Netplex printers that have a harness that fits your machine.  Netplex is the common protocol for serial communication to the printer where it gets both 24v power and communicates with the machine on the same connector. 

The Epic 950 has USB!  No issues with having the right harness.  All it needs is 24v power and its USB connected to the machine with a standard USB printer cable.  That's it!

BUT.  You have to make sure of two things that are critical for it to work.

1. That specific Epic 950L printer has 3 different interface boards.  So you must be able to see the interfaces it has to get the correct one.  The specific one you want is easy to spot.  All the connectors are in a row and seen from the back when looking at the bottom of the printer.  It has a 4 pin 24v molex power connector.  A 6 pin (two rows of 3 pins, no idea what it's for) molex connector, but it's not used for AVP's anyway.  And a square USB plug like USB printers have on them.   If it doesn't have those 3 connectors.  It's not the one you want.   For other brands of Netplex printers, they also have to have the proper connector for Netplex that's currently in your machine.  It should be dangling in there where a printer "used to be".  lol 

Online slot part sellers usually charge like $250 or more for a "plug and play" printer for an AVP that's verified flashed with IGT firmware, and with the proper connector for the AVP.  The printers aren't expensive.  It's the work involved to ensure the right firmware is on it, and it has the right cable. 

2. Regardless if it's a Netplex printer or a USB printer.  It has to have IGT firmware flashed to it.  Any printer will print a test ticket with its current firmware listed if you hold down the paper feed button, then apply 24v power to it.  So it's easy to see what firmware is on it.   For an Epic 950L with a USB port, the firmware listed on the test ticket has to start with "IUU".

Again, just my preference.  But I only use the Epic 950L printers with a USB port in my AVP's that didn't have a printer because it was simple and painless.  No confusion about the interface.  As for the IGT firmware required.  I was lucky and was able to find the flashing utility for the Epic 950, and the IUU firmware file required.  But I had to build the programming cable.  Just 4 wires with an RS232 serial plug on one end, and a 4 pin molex plug on the other.  There's a post here on the AVP forums with the wiring diagram to build one, about $15 in parts.  Even a link to a YouTube video for the actual flashing process.  And I used a Win7 laptop with a physical serial port on it to do the firmware flash.  Most newer laptops don't have 9 pin serial ports on them anymore.  But if you get the correct USB > Serial adapter (it MUST have an FTDI chipset), that works too.  I took the time to make that cable because I had 3 of the Epic 950L printers with USB that didn't have IGT firmware.
 
With no mounting sled in the machine, but easy to see right where it goes.  It was also easy to just set it down on the sheet metal shelf with no mounting bracket.  And I just used pieces of cut cardboard (stacked about an inch high) so the printer is at the right height as the ticket out slot on the machine.  And something (pieces of cut cardboard also works), so it's held forward enough so when the door closes the printer feed is right behind the ticket out slot.  Just takes some time to get it positioned exactly right, then it's good to go.  Hacky?  Yes.  But it holds it in the right place, and you can't see it from the outside anyway. 

I've never been able to find a mounting sled that fits a G20 for the Ithica 950L printer.  But once it's "shimmed" so it's in the right position so tickets don't get stuck in the machine when they print, lol   Works perfectly, and will stay that way unless you open the main door and bump it or something, but if you do, it's simple to reposition it in the right place again.
   
So bottom line is you can pay the higher price for a plug and play printer that has IGT firmware, and the proper connector for AVP's.   But since I had many AVP machines.  I got those Epic 950L's with USB interfaces for about $45 each.  Flashed them for IGT myself.  Then all I had to do was get a 4 pin molex connector for the power plug.  The one below was the easiest way to get it with wires already attached.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07FBG943D

Clip the female molex connector off.  Just need the male end with the wires.  And on any Netplex connector in the machine there are 24v wires.  Orange is +24v, Orange/Black is -24v.  And I just used a vampire clip to connect the right power wires coming from the printer to the Orange and Orange/Black wires on the Netplex connector on the machine.  Printer gets power when the machine is turned on.  And a USB printer cable is connected from any USB port on the machine to the printer.  Done.  Was much cheaper to do that since I had numerous machines, than to get a plug and play printer online for a much higher price.

If you don't want to go through all that trouble, where the price is more reasonable.  You might take a photo of you existing printer connector just dangling in your machine.  And join the NLG group on Facebook.  https://www.facebook.com/groups/Newlifegames   And post there that you're looking for an IGT flashed printer for an AVP, and include a pic of the printer connector in your machine. 

It's quite likely that "someone" will have one that is ready to go, right firmware and connector for less than other online slot parts sellers. 

[Hawksnest2]

Wow… that was an amazing response!!!

I think I found a printer… seller said he would flash it for G20 before sending it…

I will order the Tito card…

I’m not clear what the WiFi card does… what would I use to connect to the G20 over WiFi?

[off-track]

I’m not clear what the WiFi card does… what would I use to connect to the G20 over WiFi?

As sccarlso said, it lets you connect to your machine over your home network to change free-play credit amounts and some other minor things (not real useful IMHO).  See the install manual for more detail and specific functions available.

If installed, the machine links to your home router, appears as a new network device, and you can then access it via most any browser on a PC or your smartphone.

[sccarlso]

How much is the seller asking for the IGT flashed printer?  And will it have the correct harness cable to just connect to your AVP's Netplex connector and be done?  Or is it USB?  If it's USB all you need is the cable to supply 24v power to it that will connect to your AVP's existing Netplex connector.  The USB cable is a standard USB printer cable, so cheap and easy to get from say Amazon.   

Also if you get a printer, don't forget you need blank tickets!  lol   Good to have a pack of like 6 ticket packs, you can get them on ebay or there are listings in the classifieds for them too.  A pack of 6 will last a long time.  lol


All true what Off-Track said about the Wi-Fi card.  I got it so I can easily change the exact number of credits added by the Tito from the default values that are set on it.  The $20 was cheap so I would easily be able to do that.

The Tito card has 3 small DIP switches that are pre-programmed to something like 1000/5000/10000 credits depending on the DIP switch position.  So if you don't have the Wi-Fi card, you can only change how much it credits when you press the service button to one of those fixed credit values by changing the small DIP switches on it before powering the machine on.

Before he developed the Wi-Fi module, the owner/builder of the Tito cards had an extra plug-in card just like the Wi-Fi card you could buy (which also was also about $15 extra) that plugged into the Tito card in the same way.  But it just had a simple small MicroSD card in it.  And you could plug that MicroSD card into a PC.  Which had just one text file on it that contained those default values

1000
5000
10000

So you could simply edit the text file with each of the numbers for how many credits each DIP switch position would add if you set that DIP switch position on the Tito card.  Save the edits to the text file on the MicroSD card.

Then plug the MicroSD card into the adapter plugged into the Tito card.  And the next time you powered the machine on with that MicroSD card plugged in, it would update those values set in the text file to the Tito card.  Then you could power off, remove the MicroSD card adapter, and the Tito would retain the values you set for on the MicroSD card for how many credits to add when a DIP switch was in a certain position and you wouldn't need it again unless you wanted to change those values again. 

I really needed it as I had 3 AVP’s, but also a BB2 and a BB3 machine.  But you only need one adapter, if you have more than one Tito card you can plug it into one, change the values, then remove it and the values remain updated.  Plug it into the Tito card in the next machine.  Power it on to update the values.  Power off, then remove the adapter and plug it into the next Tito card in another machine and repeat it to update the values.  Then once all 5 Tito cards had the values I wanted.  It's done and just put it in a drawer.  Just in case you wanted to change the auto credit values later.

The reason it was important to me was because on AVP's, there isn't an issue with a JUR chip.  You can disable or set the W2G $1200 forced handpay amount really high, or to 0 for never force a handpay in the AVP machine setup (which is now $2000 in casinos).  So you can hit a big win of say 400,000 credits, and on an AVP that has the force payout amount set to 0, it won’t ever force a handpay that you have to key clear off with the jackpot key to continue.  Then you can run up credits on the machine to a max of like 1,000,000 credits (whatever you set in the machine settings) of any denomination. 

But it's credits, not dollars.   So if it's set to one of those higher default values, say 5000 credits.  That’s a problem on BB2/BB3 machines, you can't just disable the forced $1200 handpay amount unless you replace the JUR chip with one from Columbia for example, that has no forced handpay amount.  Easy to do, but you have to get that Columbia JUR chip and replace the JUR chip in your machine.  Then it doesn't trigger any forced handpay at a specific dollar amount so you can have the Tito add 5000, or 10000 credits at a $1 denomination (or any denomination) and it's no problem, it won't force a handpay the moment you add credits with the service button.

But without that JUR chip replaced with a Columbia one in WMS BB2/BB3 machine.  If you set the denomination to $1.  And you set the Tito to 5000 credits with the DIP switch.  The moment you press the service button, it adds 5000 credits, which is $5000 to the machine.  That goes over the forced $1200 hand pay amount.  Which would then just lock the machine with a handpay that you had to keyoff and clear the credits whenever you added credits, which was useless...  Could never set it to add more than 1000 credits at $1 denomination showing on the machine.  If you set the denomination to over $1, there was no setting lower than 1000 credits.  So to play a $5 denomination.  You couldn’t auto add credits, unless you added 1000 credits when that machine was set to $1 denomination, then switched to say $5 afterwards.   So you could never add more than $1199 to a BB2/BB3 with the Tito card and the machine set to $1 denomination, without the Columbia JUR chip that is really limiting on a BB2/BB3 and some other machine brands.

But again, this doesn't apply to an AVP, you can totally disable the amount that will trigger a forced handpay or raise it really high in settings without swapping a chip in it.  But you're still stuck with one of those fixed numbers of credits to add.  1000/5000/10000 credits when the service button is pressed.   I did eventually replace the JUR chips to Columbia on my BB2/BB3 machines with no forced handpay which resolved the entire problem.  But I also wanted to set my own number of credits to auto add other than those default values on the Tito.   

So for an AVP, you don't NEED the Wi-Fi card.  But I would still recommend it.  Otherwise, you'll only be able to set it with the DIP switches to auto add 1000/5000/10000 credits when pressed regardless of denomination.  I wanted to set a more specific number of credits to add with the service button.

The setup info by machine, as well as the setup and options for the WiFi card are here if you didn’t download it already.
   
https://storage.googleapis.com/wzukusers/user-35771474/documents/493795150e2b4ff1b13054f0fa47a01a/TITO%20Setup%20Manual.pdf

I don’t have a screenshot, you can change the auto credit amounts on all machines with the WiFi module, but on AVP’s.   You can also issue free play credits to the machine from the WiFi module’s webpage as well as Lock/Unlock the machine.   If I recall correctly, on AVP’s you can also enable/disable the bill validator through the WiFi module.  4 other options are only available on certain machines.  But the only option I really used it for is to update the auto credit amount values on the Tito card.