Nixie tubes in slot machines

dickywink · Post by **dickywink** » Thu Jul 19, 2007 8:51 pm

I also remember in the late 60s early 70s a quiz machine in an arcade in Yarmouth that had them. The questions were rear projected from slides onto a screen and the you had to push A B or C and the score was displayed on 3 nixie tubes. Impressive stuff then.

All the best... Dickywink.

operator bell · Post by **operator bell** » Thu Dec 06, 2007 8:20 am

New member here .. Apologies for reviving an old thread, but here's a machine with nixies you've never seen before. I haven't yet been able to gain possession of this, but I'm hopeful. You set a number - today's stock price, or whatever - on the nixies using the five key switches visible on the right, then the payoff depends on how many of the five numbers you match. Motor driven reels, relay logic. The nixies are gigantic, 3 inches in diameter.

operator bell · Post by **operator bell** » Thu Dec 06, 2007 9:27 am

Projector displays were first used in the USA, by Keeney. One of their engineers, Pete Sagan, saw the IEE numeric displays and asked IEE to do one with images. They first appeared in the Keeney Red Arrow machine in 1960. The reason was to get round the Federal Johnson Act, which prohibited the distribution of slots but rather carelessly defined a slot machine as "having reels or drums". I've got four projector machines. They're not sought after in the US and frequently don't get a single bid on Ebay. This one has a history, though. It's a custom made Keeney Wild Arrow. Fifty of these were made in 1961 specially for Jack Lavigna, the man who invented the hopper (ACME Novelty Co). The Wild Arrow was an amusement only machine, and normally had a replay button but no coin tray. This cabinet has a large coin tray and no replay button, and it has a hopper inside. It was sold on in about 1963 to Barney Shapiro (United Coin) who added the progressive jackpot. Both of these may be "firsts", as I haven't seen any earlier examples.

operator bell · Post by **operator bell** » Thu Dec 06, 2007 9:36 am

Here are two more machines of incredible rarity, but not much cash value. I picked up both of these for 2/3 the price of an average Hi-Top. The one on the left is a 1968 Dale Pokermatic, the first ever electronic draw poker machine. The one on the right is a Bally Computer Poker, made by Si Redd's Bally Distribution Co in about 1975 after he poached the designers away from Dale Electronics. This was the machine that really launched IGT, as Redd had a monopoly on pokers for ten years and these were selling for over $12,000 when an average machine went for under $2000.

Neither of these machines has a microprocessor in it. They're both made entirely with small scale logic chips. There are two rows of five projection displays, one for values and one for suits. The Dale has an additional extra large projection display, center, that shows playing instructions.

treefrog · Post by **treefrog** » Mon Sep 09, 2013 5:33 pm

daveslot wrote:I thought it was a great machine but nobody else thought so! I think it had a spare nixie tube with it.

Even though this is an old thread, I had read it recently and was facinated by this machine as in my first job in 1981 I operated old Xerox copiers with these displays. Never seen one of these bandits, guessing they are rare, but by chance I acquired over 300 original 60's machine flyers at the weekend, which included the company that made these. They appear to have had two other machines, one was a wall machine. Company was called Semco. Will try and scan at some point. Facinated by these flyers a real find, keeping me amused as is easily done.

slotalot · Post by **slotalot** » Mon Sep 09, 2013 6:10 pm

Just by coincidence I am looking for a type of "Nixie" machine, I know of at least 2 different models, maybe they made more??? any one got any information on them? or any leads as to any for sale, I would be interested in buying.

treefrog · Post by **treefrog** » Mon Sep 09, 2013 6:51 pm

Well slotalot, by coincidence I have a flyer for the said machines, well actually for one called "Beat the Blinkers" and the same as the one you have posted above called "Beat the Bandit"....They appear to be made by Whittaker Bros. from Shaw in Lancs. In the flyer they suggest there are many variants and the perspex screens are interchangeable.....sorry no machines

slotalot · Post by **slotalot** » Mon Sep 09, 2013 9:03 pm

Thanks for that Treefrog

I wondered who made them, and Whittaker Bros factory is/was only a few miles from where I live here "up north" I have driven past it quite a few times. Any chance of a copy of the flyer??

Anyone else got any more info tucked away??

treefrog · Post by **treefrog** » Mon Sep 09, 2013 9:39 pm

Will definitely get some scans, when I get the scanner set-up. I did not realise Whittaker still existed, but looking at their website, they're probably in their same factory looking at Google Maps.....http://whittakers.co.uk/

On the Semco topic, the other machines they seem to have done were two bandits called "Beachcomber" and "Fantasia". Also they did a wall machine called "Dial for Money" where you dialed your win on an old telephone type dial and a single Nixie would display if you were a winner. Semco stood for Sturgeon Electronic Manufacturing from Bognor Regis.

arrgee · Post by **arrgee** » Tue Sep 10, 2013 8:40 am

treefrog wrote:I did not realise Whittaker still existed, but looking at their website, they probably in their same factory

Sounds like an ideal opportunity for an intrepid slottie journalist to make contact with them to see if they still have records or any history available of their early machines. Could be an interesting project for someone who has keen slottie enthusiasm

What do think Mr S? Would make a good MMM read

slotalot · Post by **slotalot** » Tue Sep 10, 2013 8:59 am

I am on it

The biggest problem being that the original Whittaker Bros went bust in 1974 and the company has been through many changes since. But fear not, I am already snapping at their ankles for info.

arrgee · Post by **arrgee** » Tue Sep 10, 2013 10:36 am

I had an inkling that you would be Stuart

pennymachines · Post by **pennymachines** » Mon Dec 09, 2013 4:59 pm

treefrog wrote:...I have a flyer for the said machines, well actually for one called "Beat the Blinkers" and the same as the one you have posted above called "Beat the Bandit"....They appear to be made by Whittaker Bros. from Shaw in Lancs...
Will definitely get some scans, when I get the scanner set-up.

On the Semco topic, the other machines they seem to have done were two bandits called "Beachcomber" and "Fantasia". Also they did a wall machine called "Dial for Money" where you dialed your win on an old telephone type dial and a single Nixie would display if you were a winner. Semco stood for Sturgeon Electronic Manufacturing from Bognor Regis.

Just bumping this in the hope you've got your scanner set up now treefrog

Semco or Sturgeon Electronic Manufacturing (Automatics) Limited of Bognor were dissolved 21st July 1977 it seems: http://www.london-gazette.co.uk/issues/ ... 6/page.pdf

slotalot · Post by **slotalot** » Mon Dec 09, 2013 5:19 pm

The full Whittaker story will be in the Mechanical Memories Magazine very soon

thanks to Tom for his support.

So don't forget to renew your subscription, or if you don't get the magazine,subscribe now and treat yourself for Christmas
[url]http://www.mechanicalmemoriesmagazine.co.uk/#[/url]
MERRY CHRISTMAS one and all.

treefrog · Post by **treefrog** » Sun Aug 10, 2014 6:03 pm

Don't see them too often come up, but the below model was on ebay briefly before being removed. I tried to contact the seller to see if the nixie tubes worked as the pictures did not show this....

treefrog · Post by **treefrog** » Sat Aug 16, 2014 9:11 pm

Well, I managed to acquire this one today; yet another project in-line.... Always really scary plugging in one of these old electro-mechanical wall machines for the first time through all the cobwebs, dust and debris......

slotalot · Post by **slotalot** » Sat Aug 16, 2014 10:31 pm

Nice one Tom...

badpenny · Post by **badpenny** » Sun Aug 17, 2014 9:28 am

Nice one .... do the nixies work?

treefrog · Post by **treefrog** » Sun Aug 17, 2014 1:41 pm

badpenny wrote:Nice one .... do the nixies work?

One sort of slickers on and the other is dead even after swapping around. Found exactly the same replacements though on ebay, GN-4 from STC (English maker), which is the same brand as what's on there....
Found a useful guide on the bulbs online as well......

http://www.g3ynh.info/digrdout/nixie_STC.html

badpenny · Post by **badpenny** » Sun Aug 17, 2014 2:38 pm

Nixie tubes must have been a swine to manufacture ... unless someone knows better.

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