Sega Continental Jackpot and payouts

[fantaz]

Hi,
my Sega Continental works fine and I have bought on-line 300 sixpence to make it work better.

Using the original coin, the payouts should be exact.
I played a lot of games to get out all the 2 Eurocents I previously used from the payouts tube.
The low payouts now are correct 2, 5 , 10 ...
When I got 3 stars it paid 21 coins and no jackpot.
In the banner it says 20 coins + 1 token.

Token.jpg (11.64 KiB) Viewed 3200 times

I have some coins in the jackpot tube and it seems OK.

Is there something that can inhibit the jackpot payout?
I do not mean a failure but a modification or a setting.
Fantaz

[coppinpr]

This is easy to test. First don't worry too much about the one extra coin in the payout. You need to run that payout 6 or 7 times to see if it's really paying one too many. If it pays one too many EVERY time then there is a problem, possibly wear to the slides.
The token payout (for this is an award payout rather than a true jackpot) is easy to test. I'm guessing from the photos that the top slide activates the token payout so the things to test are:
1) does the top slide work the payout when the correct sequence comes up?
2) does the token mech work smoothly by hand with the connection to the slide removed?
If these are both OK and the token still does not drop then is the token of the correct size?
I find the wrong size token will almost always cause the tube to jam.
If it fails on item 1) then check that the payout fingers are working correctly from the payout discs down to the slide; that the slide is not jammed, and that the linkage to the token unit is free to move.
If it fails on 2) remove the token unit and dismantle, clean, lube (away from the coin area), rebuild and check it's all free before re connecting.
If it fails on 3) try different tokens.

[youngerap]

When i got 3 stars it paid 21 coins and no jackpot.
In the banner it says 20 coins + 1 token.
I have some coins in the jackpot tube and it seems OK.

Hi, Fabio.
Good to hear you have adopted a proper currency, rather than that modern Euro stuff
I am happy to be corrected if I am wrong, but it sounds to me as if your machine is paying out properly. In the award card it indicates that the Jackpot is made up of 20 coins plus 1 token and it can be won with any of the three stars, three Bars, three melons or two melons and a bar. If you have coins in both the payout tube and the jackpot tube, any one of those winning combinations would pay out 20 coins from the payout tube and one from the Jackpot tube: a total of 21 coins. Of course, if you have loaded the jackpot payout tube with tokens rather than coins and no token is being paid out when you win the jackpot, then I am wrong and happy to be ignored!
All the best,

Alan

[fantaz]

Thank you for your answers, and thanks to Alan for the help. As you can see, I followed your suggestion about the coins. This is the actual situation:
1 - Yes I put the wrong coins in the jackpot tube and it was blocked. I tried a half Euro coin - it was too thick.
Now I find an old 50 Liras (the old Italian currency) and the token payout mech works.
To give an idea of the coin this is the 50 Liras under a sixpence.

50 Liras.jpg (45.51 KiB) Viewed 3200 times

It fits perfectly the tube that is bigger than the payout tube.

2 - Now the token payout mech works perfectly but pays every time, all the game any combination.

Here you can see the payout mech. Note that (unlike the old photos) now it is in rest position.
1 is the termination of the token payout mech (cut?)
2 is a lever similar to the levers connected to the coin slides - actually it seems useless and cut.

Here are the same parts from another point of view.

From the first time I put the half Euro into the token tube, the token payout was blocked.
Now every game the token slide runs and the "token" is paid.
Any further suggestion?
Fantaz

[coppinpr]

Well, from the new photos we can see why it's paying the token but not what is causing it, although I have a guess.
The slide that pays the token is in the "pay" position in the photo but I assume the combo on the reels is a "no pay" one, therefore the horizontal finger that holds the slide back on a no pay is not doing its job. In the photo it LOOKS like the finger has been fed through a slot too high in the spacer that holds the fingers and it's missing the slide by being above it. Take off the 6d coin tube and see if there is a finger set to hold the top slide back on a "no pay". If the finger we can see is the token finger, then set it in a lower slot so it holds the slide back.

[coppinpr]

I've just had another look at the photos and it may be the finger is one slot TOO LOW. The normal way is for the finger to hold the slide back, but this looks like the finger might be meant to hold the bracket above the slide back and it's set too low. Yes, the second photo shows it clearly. Feed the finger through the top slot and it will hold the token payout back on a no pay.

[chris rideout]

In my younger days when I lived on the Isle of Wight, I met a few people whose job it was to service and repair club and arcade machines. Without those people, it would have taken me much longer to learn about what goes on inside after you insert your coin.

If you change the currency on the machine, it's not just a case of changing the escalator, coin tube(s), and slides. The payout slide release levers had to be bent up to line up with the slides or you would have an obvious case of underpayment. The suppliers of the conversion kits (Shefras and London Coin, for example) did not tell you this. Presumably, you were expected to know this beforehand.

[fantaz]

After reading your answers I took another look to my slot machine and I have made a try.

Here you can see the fingers. I thought the free finger was shorter (cut) than the others. Wrong - here the circles show it is long as the others.
So I bent up the finger to stop the token lever.

Here the parts are in touch. After that, I bent the finger a little more to have a more stable condition.

Now this is the token tube in the rest position.
I though this meant the tube is out of service - wrong!
I see that at any game the slider opens completely and closes to the rest position.
So I try with the coin and the slide take it like this:

The coins remains there and at any game the slider opens completely and closes to the photo position.
My idea is that when the slot must pay a token the finger moves, the token payout mech can complete his cycle and pays the token.
Now I am waiting for the next three stars.
Fantaz

[coppinpr]

That looks correct now, both the tube and the fingers. Don't wait for 3 stars, set up all the jackpot winners by restricting the fan (do you know how to do this?) and test them all in 5 mins.

[fantaz]

No, I don't know this procedure. Can you explain it to me or give me a link for this?
Fantaz

[malcymal]

You can just stop the reels with your hands and line up the token award symbols. If you miss a symbol, hold the two you have say, with your hand and get the third. If you don't have a clock stop lever (normally visible at the lower left front of the mechanism, slightly off centre from the middle of the base), and want to stop the fan as suggested: With the mech out of the machine, put a coin in the escalator, start the reels by pushing a block of wood down on where your handle would push down. At the bottom rear left of the mechanism, there is a fan that spins 'round. This is the clock. Just carefully stop this from spinning with the end of a screwdriver, or small piece of wood say. Line up the win, then remove whatever you are using to stop the clock fan. Then see what happens regarding payout slides etc. P.s. I have a genuine Sega Continental award token right here in my hand. Having measured it, it's exactly 25mm in diameter and 1mm thick, so use this for guidance regarding a substitute. It shouldn't matter if your coin is a lower diameter but if it's more than 1mm in depth it's going to snag things up.

[coppinpr]

As this is a front loader, no need to remove the mech. Simply put in a coin, pull the handle and quickly throw a cloth into the fan space to stop the fan. The reels are free at this point. Line them up and hold gently in place, remove the cloth from the fan and allow the cycle to end. It should pay. Test all the payouts to check they are correct.

[fantaz]

I am a little anxious about stopping the fan with a cloth:
Could I damage the fan or the clock?
When I take away the cloth does the clock restart by itself or have I to spin up by hand?
Does the clock restarted have the power to end the payout or could it stop half the way?
This slot works fine I would not damage by myself.
Fantaz

[pennymachines]

A long screwdriver or thick piece of cloth - in fact anything that will reach the rotating blades on the clock should be fine. If you're brave, you could use your hand, only it's better to have both free to position the reels. When you remove the obstruction the cycle will continue as normal. The geared air vane of the clock doesn't power the mechanism, it slows its progress, so there is time for the reels to spin etc.

[badpenny]

The idea of using a cloth is because it is more gentle to the spinning vane than sticking something hard into it.
The vane will start spinning very fast from the beginning and is usually only soldered in place, it's best not to shock it into a standstill.

If you are wary about doing it then the kindest way is to place a cloth over the vane before pulling the handle, so it doesn't get up to speed first.
When you come to remove it, use both hands.
One hand to reach under the cloth and hold the vane while you remove the cloth with the other hand.

BP

[chris rideout]

Here's another method. If you take the clock spring off, you will have a "duration unlimited" as we southerners put it. Line up the reels and push the clock arm gently by hand until the reel stop levers have all dropped into place. You will hear the payout fingers drop in place and you will able to check the travel of any moving part you suspect is misbehaving. A bit more pushing on the clock arm will then release the slides and there's the payout - or no payout, as the case may be.

[malcymal]

The mech slides right out on the service platform which is a turntable; probably explains why the continental case is so damn heavy as the mech will just sit there whereby other machines might topple over. Its far easier to work out what is going on with the mech outside the case. Having done up a basket case continental some years back which was very temperamental, I strongly advise doing this. Then the clock fan will be right there, easy to get at and you can figure out what is working, what is not. Just use a piece of wood to work to trigger the reels, or if you feel particular masculine, palm of hand wrapped in a thick cloth so not to maul yourself.

[fantaz]

IT WORKS!!!!!!!!!!!! IT WORKS!!!!!!!!!!!
Yes I made it.
After reading all your suggestions, I operated in this way:
I made this tool:

It is a thin wood handle with a piece of cloth bent.

I put in the coin, pulled the handle and inserted the instrument.

When the fan stopped the instrument was steady and I can work with both hands.
I lined up the three BAR and took away the instrument.
Magically the fan sped up and the slot paid coins and a "token".

At the end of the game the finger was in the winning position.

After one more game the finger was in the normal position again.

Also the token tube works fine with my "token". After paying the first token it takes the upper token ready for the next pay.

Thank you for the help and suggestions.
Fantaz

[coppinpr]

I knew we would get there in the end, this forum working as it should do once again

[malcymal]

Congrats on getting there. Always a real sense of satisfaction when it finally works. Despite us all being at distance and dealing with pictures, videos and text that perhaps uses the wrong terminology, I would say in 95% of cases these guys always deliver enough information, clues, first steps to get you on your way to resolve the problems. Getting those first fixes right also gives you the confidence to trace things for yourself. Your post in itself now gives you the ability to help others with similar problems down the line and therefore you can now become a part of keeping the hobby alive. This forum is unique and I haven't come across another quite as useful globally, so long live Penny Machines. I guess now machine number 2 will be around the corner for you (which might soon become about five within a year, or more)