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When any column is released to the player, the coin that releases it drops into the cash box.
So for every win, the machine gets a penny, which would give an overall pay-out ratio of around 3 to 1
i.e. for every 3 or 4 pennies the machine pays out, the machine gets 1.

Well, having just read all of that Mr P., I can only conclude there's some marathon sleuthing there....

Thank you for everything you do for our hobby.

I ordered 160 coloured marbles, 14 mm diameter. When they arrived and I filled the machine, I found 160 was sadly inadequate - you could hardly see them. So I ordered another 160 - here's the result. Frankly, I think five or six hundred would have been about the right number. So if anyone else is th...

Thank you both. I hadn't realised the gum balls would have been as small as 1/2" - a bit mean isn't it? You didn't get much for your 1c :lol: Anyway, I've ordered some 14mm marbles - so bigger than they should be but not as big as I had imagined. I'll post a pic when they have arrived and I've ...

OK, thanks J. How about size? I've had a gander on ebay - there's loads of solid colour marbles, ranging from 13mm up to 3/4" and even bigger. 13mm seems a bit small and 3/4" a bit big. I would have thought around 5/8" would be about the right size, but to be honest, I've never been a...

I have a Ford Gumball machine that has been gathering dust for 20 odd years, which is rather a shame as it is quite a nice little machine. So I'd like to put something in it - but not real gumballs. So what is roughly the correct size, and does anyone have any ideas as to what I could use that would...

200 coins played = £4
16 wins = 25p per win

Ah yes, of course - silly me
I couldn't think why they would be used for flashing lights.

Why? I can't think what purpose they would serve in a wall machine - just flashing on and off.

The bevel gear that can be seen in Mr P's pictures ultimately does two things: by turning the knob on the front of the machine, the crane's jib moves in an arc. The shaft on which the other bevel gear is fitted (driven by the one shown) has a crank on its end, which moves a lever back and forth. Thi...

As you'll probably have to buy new bulbs anyway, why not use 12v bulbs and run the whole machine on 12v?
Seems a bit odd that they would have split voltages in the first place

If you can pull the top off...you can then reach down and remove the cam from the back of the lock

But they're not cam locks, they're cabinet locks.

As far as I know, Clive's machines are still sited at the Naval Dockyard and the Brickworks. I'm rather ashamed to say that I've not seen the machines at the dockyard, although I did go down there many years ago with Clive, when he had just four machines but in a different location. I have however h...

But that's still mixing a noun and a verb, and doesn't make grammatical sense. Although I posted rather tongue-in-cheek, I think my theory is probably the most likely: Another theory might be that these machines were shipped over from Germany, all labelled-up and ready to play, and the Germans' Engl...

It's just occurred to me that 'Win' could also be a noun, the machine is announcing and rejoicing 'A Win', although that doesn't really help with 'Lost'. Another theory might be that these machines were shipped over from Germany, all labelled-up and ready to play, and the Germans' English grammar we...

'Win' is present participle of 'winning'

Sorry to split hairs but isn't 'Win' the verb and 'Winning' the present participle?

Very nice Peter, I particularly like the way the gun turret stops every time the fire button is pressed. I presume the machine basically operates in the same way as the Cromptons shooters?
........I also note you're not very good at it.

Here's my Zodiac Fortune Teller, having totally rebuilt it a couple of years ago. This would have been a Mk I model, basically a very cheaply made plywood box. The Mk II model was a bit more up-market, being plastered all round with Formica. Regarding the Comedian mentioned a few posts above, at lea...

Treefrog mentioned Carters forthcoming auction in another topic a few weeks ago.
The catalogue is now online - the auction takes place this Sunday coming (9th July) so a bit short notice.
As TF mentioned previously, there's no slots but loads of fairground artwork......and some dodgems!

Seems a bit steep to me.... Depending on condition, $3800 sounds a bit cheap to me - in real money /\UK/\ , that's around three grand. I know of two and possibly a third but there can't be many more over here. So if we double that and say six, and assume there are the same amount scattered around t...