Super Wild Cat by GAMES INC. 1960 Upright Flasher repairs

 Super Wild Cat by Games INC. 1960 Upright Flasher

In the previous post,  you may have seen a video of the Super Wild Cat in action. Here's the promised background information about the game.

Why did I get this game? Because...  

I like slot machines, but not all slot machines. I don't give a crap about pure mechanical slot machines, no matter how elegant they are and I don't give a crap about electronic slot machines.

That leaves the electromechanical slot machines. From electric consoles to the Money Honey and all it's variations basically.  Why do I like electromechanical slot machines: Bueschel summarised it beautifully...

Richard Bueschel wrote:

"The Arrival of the uprights and their circuitry-based play features brought something to slot machine play that had not been there before: multiple coin, double-up, hold-and-draw, multiplier, multiple line payoffs and other advanced features were exciting play generating ideas that the mechanical slot machines of the past could never hope to handle."

More specifically, I like upright flasher slot machines. Flasher slot machines only exist because of a definition of what was a slot machine in the Johnson Act:

(1) any so-called "slot machine" or any other machine or mechanical device an essential part of which is a drum or reel with insignia thereon, and (A) which when operated may deliver, as the result of the application of an element of chance, any money or property, or (B) by the operation of which a person may become entitled to receive, as a result of the application of an element of chance, any money or property...

So what did the coin-op engineers do: they created slot machines with no reels.

It was some sort of cat and mouse game between the LAW and ingenuity that lasted a few years and that gave rise to a bunch of interesting electromechanical games along the way.

I got the Super Wild Cat about a year ago from my "favorite" coin operated amusement equipment reseller in ville Saint-Laurent (Montreal). Here's another game that sat in their warehouse for years.

The business owner kept the game as a keepsake from the good old days in New Brunswick where the game was operated for a number of years. Apparently Super Wild Cat was a great money maker. Over the years I was offered the game a number of times but the price was exorbitant. In the end they were cleaning out the warehouse and I got the game for the right price along with a Midway SAMI.

The fit was tight in the Sienna. The purchase of SWC was unplanned.

I dropped the game off at my Freundin's house and forgot about it for about a year. I just didn't feel like working on it.

The repairs

I eventually got around to working on Super Wild Cat.

All the electromechanical bits are on a insert that can be removed for service, making it easier to work on.

First thing I did was check all the relays and switch points. I look for broken switch blades, pitted points, broken wires, missing insulators on the stack. I manually actuate the switches and make sure the switches open and close properly. I clean all the switch points and check the switch stack screws to make sure they are nice and tight.

Then I clean all the stepper units. Clean off the old congealed grease. Clean the solenoid plungers, change worn out coil stops. Clean the contact dics and wipers. lightly lube the metal on metal pivot points and check the step-up and reset arm for smooth actuation. Making sure the unit can step up all the way and swiftly resets back to zero.

Then I cleaned the flasher units. I had to completely take the units apart to clean and relube the leather clutch washers.

Then I reassembled everything, played a few games, and discovered that the flasher units did not index properly. That's because of excessive gameplay: After years of continuous use the edges of the index cams had mushroomed over narrowing the gap of the slots. The index arm would not index in a number of slots. I had to take the flasher units apart again and go over every cam and give it a quick zip with a small file. Nothing excessive, just a little kiss with the file.

Gameplay impressions:

There's not much to say on gameplay impressions. It's a 4 "reel" slot machine with no holds. Pretty basic.

The super WILD Cat is for the fact that the Wild Cat is a "wild symbol", meaning it can replace any other symbol to make a winning combination. That's why it has all the other animal symbols around the cat. That's why the ad claims 115 ways to score.

Ad for Super Wild Cat from the February 8th 1960 issue of Billboard. Page 76

You might be here looking only for the value of one of these games? Basically these games have no value. They frequently dont sell at auction. One or Two hundred Canuckistan dollars max. depending on condition.

Old School webpage about Games INC.

Super Wild Cat schematics on archive.org

My other upright flasher posts

Super Wild Cat upright flasher slot machine by GAMES INC.

A visual explanation of a Upright Flasher I repaired.

Next post, all the details.

Midway S.A.M.I. Arcade intermittent problem repair

I've owned this 1970 Midway S.A.M.I. arcade game for about a year now.

When I first got it I went over the whole game. Cleaned the discs and wipers. Took apart the control unit. Burnished the connectors and perfectly aligned the film with the plane position disc.

Still it had an intermittent problem that would cause the hit relay not to energize.

I would fiddle with the connectors and jiggle the wires, check the continuity between the control unit disc and the plane position disc and the issue would solve itself for a couple months.

I can't say I play this game a lot. It's not a good game to have in a home environment. The plane pattern is too easy to memorize and then there's no challenge to the game. But I like to play it occasionally. Or like when I have some people over.  So when I turn on the game, it's always a gamble whether the game behaves or not.

So when I turned the game ON earlier this week... no dice. Again the multimeter and connector jiggle routine. But this time I finally stumbled upon the problem.

Can you see the problem in the picture below? BTW I slightly enhanced the problem to make it easier to find.

Maybe in this picture?

Turns out the problem the whole time was a broken bare wire jumper for the grey wire between solder lugs on the Hit Relay unit.

The intermittent nature of the problem came from the broken jumper just touching the gob of solder on the lug for the hit relay coil hence why jiggling the wire would "fix it" for awhile.

On the schematic, the problem would be in the red box to put it into perspective.

I completely replaced the bare wire jumper and now it's all good.

This is the kind of stuff you have to look for when working on old arcade games.

 

Nishijin Lucky Welcom arrangeball bonus feature

As promised, here is a short explanation of the bonus feature of the Nishijin Lucky Welcome arrangeball.

The bonus feature is located at the top of the playfield and starts when the first winning combination is achieved on the main card. You only get one bonus feature per game.

The bonus feature consists of 8 panels that are lit in sequence rapidly, like a really fast light chaser that goes from left to right.

The player presses the bonus feature button on the left of the cabinet to stop the feature on one of the panels. It's a kind of skill stop feature. 

Once pressed the feature animation will stop on one of the 8 panels that will stay lit for a few seconds.

There are four green panels that pay out 1 token automatically. 

That's on top the standard payout from the main card, just to be clear.

There are 4 panels that will prompt a second spin cycle localized within that one panel.

Those panels are divided into 3 different coloured sections. There is a light animation that spins clockwise during the second spin cycle. Pressing the feature button will skill stop the animation on one of the panel's section.

This panel will  pay out 1 token OR 2 tokens OR 1 token.

There are 3 panels that will spot numbers on the main card as a result of the secondary spin cycle.

By "spot" I mean that the number is lit on the main card, without having to land a ball.

Of course, these spotted number count for winning combinations on the main card and stay lit for the remainder of the game.

This panel spots 5 OR 8 and 12 OR 9 

This panel spots 1 and 6 OR 1, 4, 13 and 16 OR 7 and 11

This panel spots 2 OR 14 and 15 OR 3

  

Here is a short video of the bonus feature with only 1 skill stop landing on payout 1 token.

Here is another short video with the first and second spin cycle ultimately landing on payout 2 tokens.

Walkthrough of Japanese warehouse of vintage pachinko and pachislo

I want to share this awesome walkthrough video of a warehouse full of vintage pachinko and pachislo machines in Japan. My favorite part is 5:45 to 10:50. *Not my video*

Also check out the channel スロアフロ. Really cool videos with alot of 80's and 90's gameplay content.

スロアフロ 

Enjoy!

Nishijin Arrangeball: small repairs and flattening warped plastic in the oven

Nishijin Lucky Welcome Arrangeball Repairs

First things first: When working on Japanese domestics products, use JIS screwdrivers to avoid stripping the screws. Here's the set I use on my games.

I guess a good starting point for the repairs is the auction item description:

Translation from YJA

First issue: "there were places where the ball did not light up"

That was a funny one. The first time I played the game, I noticed the wrong number would light up on the card. Example: I'd hit a 11 and 6 would light up or hit 2 and 14 would light up.

At first I thought the connector for the card light PCB might have been plugged backwards, the wiring loom did have an unnatural kink going to the board, but I noticed the connector was keyed when I pulled it, so that wasn't the problem. Turns out it was just the whole card lamp board was installed upside down. As can be seen in the auction picture below.

Picture from YJA

Light board right side up

Second issue: "Pachinko balls can be hit endlessly."

That one was a lever to the ball release coil that was intentionally pulled by repositioning the return spring,  jamming the ball release gate in the open position, so that the balls would continuously circulate to the shooter. Flipped the lever back in it's intended position and bingo.

Ball release fixed

The MAJOR problem with this game was the card that was melted into an unsightly mess. It didn't affect gameplay but it looked awful. 

 

I guess that at some point the card number bulbs were replaced with lamps that ran too hot when lit and the game stayed on too long. The card warped and sagged from the heat.

I decided to try flattening the card using my kitchen oven. But first I had to remove the card.

To remove the card, first I had to remove the card lamp board.

With the lamp board out (again) I replaced all the lamps with new 2187 bulbs that run way cooler.

Then I removed the card besel and the pegs that held the card to the shroud. To remove the 4 chromed pegs in the centre of the card. First I had to remove nuts in the back of the shroud, then I had to gently persuade the pegs out with a pair of miniature vise-grips. To avoid damaging the chrome I put some duct tape on the jaws of the pliers. Pro tip ;) 

Here's what the front of the game looks like with the bezel and card removed.

Once the card removed I took a few detailed pictures just in case I totally mess up and had to get the card reproduced somehow.

This picture really doesn't show just how badly the card was warped. It was the elephant man of arrangeball cards 

As can bee seen from the back of the shroud, the bulbs ran way too hot!

Here's a pinside thread about flattening pinball plastics.

I used that information as a starting point for my experiment.

The trick is to soften the plastic by heating it up, close to the melting point but below the boiling point (That's when you get bubbles in the plastic).

What people fail to consider is that regular ovens suck at controlling temperature. The dial is vague at best and the heat control is awful. The temperature oscillates +20 and -20 degrees celcius from the set point in my oven.

For better control and temperature reading, I used my multimeter that came with a thermocouple

I found two pieces of thick plate glass in my supplies and sandwiched the card in between, then put it in the oven at a low (safe) temperature.

Getting the oven warmed up:

No, I didn't heat the plastic directly on the rage element. I was just illustrating getting ready

The thermocouple supplied with my multimeter.

I slowly and gradually turned up the heat in the oven and continuously monitored the temperature and state of the card. The plastic became soft at a temperature between 110 and 120 degrees Celsius (that's 230 to 250 in Freedom degrees). The card flattened out just with the weight of the glass.

The end result isn't great but at least the card is is flat now. Looks way better. I'm satisfied the result considering the state of the card.

To wrap up this post here's a couple teaser videos of the bonus feature in action.

Nishijin Arrangeball Lucky Welcome

Introducing: a mysterious Nishijin Arrangeball.

Nishijin Lucky Welcome Part 3. Actually I'm not sure what the game's name is... 

Picture from the YJA auction

I saw this game on YJA, and thought: "Never seen a Nishinjin Arrangeball before! Looks interesting"

Judging by the auction pictures... the machine looked reasonably complete and minimally festy.

The browser translation of the japanese item description was vague but it was worth taking a chance:

Translation:

Vague, but not terrible.

To this day... I still don't know what 3N stands for :-(

Conveniently, the game had a "buy it now" option at what I considered a fair price so I bought it and had it shipped via the usual method.

The machine's insides did sustain a bit of damage during transport but I don't mind.

I will bag these bits and file them under: "I don't care"

That's part of the game when importing games from Japan.

A subassembly got loose, banged around inside the game and some plastic bits got broken. Nothing two wood screws can't fix.

On the plus side. I found some tokens and a 1 Yen coin inside the cabinet.

Two of those fancy Sammy Arrangeball tokens: Score!

When I first opened the cabinet I was surprised to find a transformer AND a power supply. The transformer was added later I believe.

Power supply on the left. Transformer on the right.

The power supply has a standard power cord and plug that would fit in any 100V or 120V receptacle, but with a red tag stating that it runs on 24V.

Sadly, since this picture was taken, the graphics on the tag have disintegrated into dust. Morgul Ink!

If the tag was missing and someone unknowingly plugged it straight into the mains, that would be the end for that game.

I guess that when this game was in a parlour, it would have dedicated power plugs for that system.

As a side thought:

When this game was new, it was probably stuck in a row of identical machines, making the game generic. 

A row of identical games that, as a whole, was probably imposing.

But now the game by itself, almost forgotten and on a different continent. Somehow that gives it some kind of uniqueness.

When new this game was considered novel cheap entertainment.

Disposable.

Rows of identical games, filling dead air with electronic sounds and cigarette smoke. 

The game has a strange Art Deco Cabaret / Carmen Opera / Can Can theme to it.

Almost every element is wrapped in bright orange plastic.

In the top left corner there's a graphic of a smoking woman pointing with her thumb to the abstract motif in the back, with "Part 3" in a kind of 30's art deco style below.

Top right has a slightly different art deco styled "Stop" for when the machine is out of tokens and the payout below. This machine pays out a maximum of 10 tokens per game.

Nishijin Lucky Welcome

Apron

Top centre there's a cool feature that I will go over in details next post

Feature / side game

On the left, from top to bottom:

coin chute, coin return button, coin return slot, payout button and feature button

Nishijin door lock

Four by Four card, standard number arrangement.

Next part: Repairs and gameplay