CAM Automatics

[slotalot]

Hey Slotalot, did you end up adding any more winning combos to your friends flasher? Was it possible to do this easily enough or not? Often I've either made a game harder or easier depending on what it was like when it arrived here so that the players actually get some decent fun and thrill.

Hi gameswat,
I think it would have been quite easy to add more winning stops, but I think he was just happy to have it working again.
Mind you, I did get an email from him a day or so after I had fixed it, saying that he had managed to win his penny back quite a few times so I think he must be blessed with more good luck than me as I never got it to stop on a win, no matter how many times I tried

[wb]

lol - so he won all your money!!!!!!!

[treefrog]

Once I got the design ready, I desided on the finished size and converted it to PDF, I took the PDF to our local print shop and had it laser printed onto white crack-back plastic, (sticky back plastic), I stuck this print to a sheet of 3mm glass, I then put a second sheet of 3mm glass over the print,I sealed the edges of the 2 sheets of glass with a very small amout of clear silicone sealant and let it dry, once dry the rear of the glass should be blacked out in the areas were you dont want any light to shine through you could use paint or thick card to do this

I had thought of making graphics for machines using some kind of sticky back plastic that will work in an inkjet or colour laser... anyone know a source? ...Slotalot this looks good and certainly a lot cheaper than silk screening. I guess the question is, how good it is when a light shines through. Does it look "wishy washy"?

[operator bell]

Here in Las Vegas is a company called Suburban Graphics that specializes in one-off slot glass - curiously for a graphic arts company, they don't have a web site. They print on a thin sticky plastic film that laminates on the back of a sheet of glass. I'm sure there must be other companies offering the same service, since Suburban buys its printing machines somewhere and there must be other customers. This would be a fairly expensive way to fix up a single machine, but the results are very professional.

[slotalot]

I guess the question is, how good it is when a light shines through. Does it look "wishy washy"?

Hi tree-frog
All I can tell you about the sticky back plastic is it's called "crack back" and the print shop I used got it for me. As for what it looks like when it is lit up , I can't show you the Wild West glass, but I have put a link to my website that shows another machine that I restored. I even managed to get the mirror effect as well. Best thing to do is give it a try and see how you get on

http://www.slotmachines.bravehost.com/page5.html

[wb]

I thought it was just my machine, but the wiring in these is appalling. It is like a birds nest.... I am tempted to gut it and build a microprocessor to control the game with a universal hopper payout. Then you could run it on any denomination. Something nice like a PIC 16F874 would look nice driving this and you could also save on those expensive 12v bulbs by using white LEDs like I used on my Final Tooty Fruity project.

[pennymachines]

Gleaned from the comments in the Vince Landa piece at http://www.coin-opcommunity.co.uk/

Frank Hoy (who) started Cam Automatics together with Bob Murray.

I'll put a link to the site in the Archive. We could do with some input here from these old-timers - they know all this stuff that we can only guess at.

[dobo]

Hi,
I worked for CAM Autos from 1963 to 1967. I started when aged 15. There were just five of us then back in '63-ish. Just to correct a few things: They were known as MAC Automatics up until '63-ish when Frank Hoy and Bob Murray bought the company and reversed the name. Frank and Bob employed a few mechanics, namely Johnny Peach, Tony Clark, Tommy Murray (Bob's Brother), David Stevens, John Dobson, Charlie Stewart and myself. Later employed was a salesman called Brian Lane, and Bill Todd.

Frank teated me like a son, Bob was the same. Actually Bob's brother Tommy took me up to their home in Scotland, and Frank brought his brother and father to Seaham in later years.
These were the greatest days of my life and I only wish I could see any of those people again.

Things went downward after articles in the People newspaper and the murder of Angus Sibbet, a collector from rival company Social Club Services in Sunderland (which is now next door to the Lambton Worm pub). Frank bought Bob out and in came another person from Frank's home town of Sherringham in Norfolk called Ray Young. Any more info, I will be happy to help.

[treefrog]

Welcome to the site, I suspect there will be many who would love to find out more about the company. In fact there was enough interest in another British manufacturer by previous employees at Brenco to create a site based on the history and machines.

Also interesting is the story of the killing you refer to from the late Sixties, known as the "One Armed Bandit Murder" and from the articles on google, including Wikipedia, this was a big thing at the time, having a lot of impact locally and being one of the first underworld killings in the North East. Reading the stories and potential miscarriage of justice that may have happened, it is almost reminiscent of the Michael Caine film Get Carter... Especially as the Krays were involved.

I guess the other side of our hobby is that a lot of the gaming machines were operated by the gangs/underworld at the time. I had mentioned in a previous post, discussing the same with a retired engineer I bought a bandit from earlier in the year, who had worked for a group that ran clubs in London where he would maintain machines (obviously illegally) in the '60s and often helped shift them when likely busts would occur. All part of the history I guess.

[slotalot]

Hi Dobo, welcome to the forum
Very interesting and nice to find someone who actually worked for them. Maybe you could settle a little puzzle that I have about Cam Automatics; did they actually make any machines of their own? Or were they just agents for other slot machine manufacturers? If so, can you remember who they were?
I am sure we are all keen to know more

[treefrog]

Shame dobo, never came back with some further info on CAM, hopefully he will return soon..

Picked one up myself today, only because it was local in my town.... Another variation, "The Tankard", with beer pints for the jackpot....

The seller tried selling on ebay, but told me it was removed - no surprise, and then tried Gumtree where I saw it and managed to ping an email before they also removed it from this site. I offered a price and ended in a hard game to agree a price, so although not loads of money the seller got a fair price for a working machine of this type. When I went to collect, I was shocked to find a 12 year old was the seller I had been bartering with. Not only that, he took the trouble to explain how it all worked, very knowledgeable too... Shame he was moving away from slots, otherwise he could have been our youngest collector.

[raj]

Nice purchase,

I tend to shy away from e/m machines due to the many 'adjustments' that get made over the years. In another life I used to work for BT, and adjusting these type of operating systems took many months of training and specialist tools. I still have a few, just in case I weaken and buy one!

Incidentally, ebay have pulled most of my online sales, I tried to include 'seller refurbished' in the drop down, still including the disclaimer in the text, but that still seems to trigger a red flag. It seems any mention of 'working' 'Reconditioned' 'slot machine' 'jackpot' 'one armed' 'arcade' or 'coin operated' seems to send them into a feeding frenzy. Fairground and games room still seem OK for the moment.
Now everything is 'spare parts or not working' which is not going to help online sales one bit

[marktol]

I had to relist my machine twice. Seems to be happening a lot at the moment - even Mr Powell can't seem to keep his listings active!

Strange though, seems to be some machines still slipping though. I'm amazed the Bonus is still going!

[dobo]

Hi everyone,
Regarding the machines from cam automatics, I worked there since I was fifteen until nineteen. They were the best years of my life. The firm was jointly owned by Frank Hoy and Bob Murray. The company had an office above Valenties in Church Street Seaham Harbour and later built workshops and office at the bottom of Church Street. It incorporated a company called Cam Furnishings built specifically for the club industry. These buldings have been pulled down to make way for a new Asda.

In sixty six/sixty seven Frank bought out Bob Murray. I worked alongside Tommy Murray, Billy Baker, Johhny Peach, Tony Clark, Harry Smith, Dave Stevens, Brian Lane, Bill Todd, Ray Youngs and of course Val, who was Frank's girlfriend then. The company was originally called Mac automatics, around sixty three but Frank and Bob bought out Mac, who I think was from Frank Hoy's hometown of Cromer in Norfolk. I would give anything to meet up with Frank once again as he was like a fatherly figure to me. He taught me everything, helped me grow up very fast, and I will forever be in his debt for giving me this once in a lifetime experience. I really wish I had taken notice of him more often. Shortly after the Sibbet One armed bandit murder case in about sixty seven Cams sold out to someone who I care not to mention. Can I just point out that Sibbet worked for a rival fruit machine company in Sunderland called Social Club Services, and had nothing to do with Cam Automatics.

The last I heard was that Frank was working down Petticoat Lane and Bob had returned to his native Scotland (think it was Edinburgh). As for the machines in the photo, I can remember refurbishing, (as it's now called) many many machines.

[slotalot]

Welcome back dobo, thanks for the extra information, always good to here about the history of the old machines.

[badpenny]

Mark Knopfler's song 5.15 am refers to the One Armed Bandit Murder in Newcastle, also check it on Wikipedia for the seamier side of our hobby.

[coppinpr]

Topic moved & merged - Site Admin.

A rarely seen electro-mechanical slot on ebay today. I guess it would class as part mechanical as it has moving parts... just. Made by Cam automatics (59-64 it says). Said to be in very good condition and looks it, but overpriced. The electrics look much simpler then the better known machines in the same vein.

[brigham]

Definitely CAM Automatics, of Seaham Harbour, here in Co. Durham.
Grossly over-priced, in my view.

[slotalot]

Cam Automatics were only the agents, they never made any machines.

[badpenny]

Stuart is like the Lone Ranger.

Just as it seems everything will be too lost and complicated, in he rides to clarify what really happened ….