First Race One Ball Horse Racing Payout Pinball: Overview and repairs

 First Race One Ball Horse Racing Payout Pinball

Thank to Cait and Danny who shared the initial post about this game. I got almost 100 views in the first 24 hours because of their efforts. It usually takes a couple of years for any of my other posts to reach that many hits. If you stumble upon this post and you are into weird and rare gambling machines, please consider sharing this post. I don't have any information about First Race. I'm looking for any information about it. Where it came from, who made it, production details, documentation, manual, schematic, score and information cards. 

As can be noticed, First Race is shown powered up. Here are the details of what's been done so far to get to that point.

Here's a short video I posted on Youtube of the machine on attract mode:

Here's a few playfield details:

Here's a better view of the payout tube and the latch bar solenoid that spits out the coins. The mechanism didn't require any work and works properly on Canadian Nickels. The electrical tape is to stop the terminals on the microswitch from shorting out on the metal mechanism. The switch is to detect if there's enough coins stacked in the payout tube.

Look at the size of the coin box for First Race. It's huge!

The shooter lane and ball shooter gauge

Just look at the shooter lane wear by the manual ball lift and the ball detector switch.

Despite the machine being fitted with a North American standard 120V plug when I acquired it. The machine's transformer is wired for 220V input only.

Plugged as is on 120V, the transformer only outputs half of what it's supposed to.

The transformer normally outputs, 6V, 14V and 24V.

The 14V then goes to a bridge rectifier. The 14V is for all the lights.

The Transformer module will require a bit of repairs to make it safe. Notice the lack of fuses!

Also it looks like this transformer is a replacement of some previous transformer that burned out. Yummy!

I had to go downtown and buy a 120 to 240V converter to properly power First Race.

1000W is more than enough.

The main board is powered by a videogame transformer that outputs +12V, GND, +5V and -5V. 

The power supply can take 120V or 240V input and will output the correct voltages either way. But without the converter none of the lamps or solenoids worked.

Here again, a bypassed fuse. This one is for the line voltage. That's super sketchy.

I had to repair that. I also replaced the marettes by closed end crimp terminals.

There was a beat up looking relay inside the head. It didn't actuate properly and the SPDT switches (in this application only one switch is used) were bent out of shape. It's a 24V relay.

Also, notice the dodgy 4093 chip and a socket, the whole thing dangling in the breeze.

I looked in my stash of parts and found a replacement relay and base. There are industrial parts.

I solder spliced and shrink tubed the wires.

Here's the completed relay swap. Once fixed. I found out that it energises and remains energised when the game is coined up. Relay is de-energised when the ball sits in the shooter lane.

Then I took apart the shutter to inspect the switches and wiring.

Shutter motor is a 25 rpm Crouzet motor. It's geared for 50 Hz so it spins 20% too fast on North American 60 Hz alternating current I think this one is faulty... it keeps spinning for a bit too long on inertia. Looks like it has a faulty brake mechanism.

One side of the switch is a panhead brass machine screw. Other side uses an high silver content alloy contact point. All the switched were filthy and had to be burnished.

All the playfield switch wiring goes to this strip....

Then to this connector in the head. The to a DB-25 connector on the main board (not shown)

First Race is a work in progress, more details to come as the repairs progress.

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