Electric Amuser info

[widget2k4]

Well I finally got 'round to getting my electric amuser fully functional. What a bloody kick it gives you lol. I can't see what anyone got out of that for fun haha and I'm only running a 4v battery. Is there a way to reduce the shock? There's a hollow tube coming out of the cylinder that creates the electric shock but it doesn't seem to do anything?

I cleaned it up a bit as well. I know not everyone likes them not original but the green material was rotten and falling to bits.

So for those that are interested:

[wembleylion]

Hi Widget,

Congratulations on the super job you have done on the Amuser.

Normally moving the hollow tube in and out of the coil decreases and increases the power of the shock, although I remember that on some medical machines there were two wiring terminals: one that worked with the tube and the other was at max power; sometimes a two position leaf switch or brass link was used. If your tube does nothing, perhaps it is wired to max power all the time. Is there a spare wire coming off the coil, or a switch or brass link that might change the coil output to one of the terminals?
Dropping the input voltage will reduce the power output so the power will drop as the battery becomes discharged.

Hope this helps. John

[widget2k4]

Thanks John

Looks like the tube is fixed and has been fixed in the current position since it was made? So maybe that's the correct current. I know I can't hold onto the handles though haha. I can see the wire that goes to the tube part but doesn't change if I pull it in and out.

[wembleylion]

Hi Widget,

Looking at your photos none of my ideas above are the solution so the only thing I can think is that the battery voltage is too high and it is overwhelming the control rod; it might be worth trying a lower voltage battery.

In your very first photo at the start of this topic I thought that the way the battery box was wired with a terminal on the centre line of the box that an old two cell cycle lamp battery (EverReady 800) might have been used; I don't imagine that these are available now but I think, although they are quite large, they were only 3 volts.

John

[widget2k4]

Thanks John, I may have to look at lowering the current then.

Should this part with the arrow be sparking and making an electrical buzzing sound ? because unless it's sparking and buzzing you don't get a shock. Also, I can't get the bulb to light up. The way it works is weird, because when you press the trigger it breaks the circuit to the handles for the shock and you need to insert another coin to activate it again, but as soon as you break the circuit there is no power to the bulb, even when you win.

[badpenny]

Yes the sparking and buzzing is to be expected, although the sparking bit of it is indicative that the juice is a bit high.
You're witnessing the power arcing across the points when the gap opens and closes.

Opening the gap a bit more may slow it down a bit - get your mother-in-law to hold the terminals while you adjust it.

BP

[wembleylion]

Hi Widget,

This is the contact breaker and it has to be adjusted to supply a consistent on/off current to the primary coil; a consistent buzzing is what is required. There are two coils wound concentrically inside each other. In the on position the low voltage primary coil is energised and in the off position the energy is discharges into the secondary coil to give a high voltage output. This is the same principle as petrol car ignition systems.

I think that the bulb would be on a circuit directly from the battery not the high voltage output and would be connected to a switch which also supplies the shocker when the ball is in the winning position.

Looking again at your original photo, the wiring from the battery box goes to the bulb then from the bulb to the bracket that holds the lever. Midway down the lever to the right hand side there is a brass contact that is wired back to the battery box. I a win situation the player turns the handle and the lever is moved to the right and makes contact with the brass strip and the bulb lights.

Unless this had been changed when the shocker was removed then the only way I could see this working is that the supply to the shocker was also taken from this contact and the shock was only available when the lever contacted the brass strip and the bulb was lit. If this is the case the player would need to only rotate the handle until the lamp lit to get his shock then continue the rotation to get his penny back. However that said this doesn't seem to be a very good idea as it could be open to abuse and a flat battery because the shocker is available all the while the lever is in contact with the brass strip, so I presume that there surely must have been some timing device in the circuit, but what

I hope this helps. John

[widget2k4]

Opening the gap a bit more may slow it down a bit, get your mother in law to hold the terminals while you adjust it

Excellent idea

John
The first photo is my other Amuser which has only the battery wired up to the bulb and works fine. This one is complete and I have rewired it exactly as it came off. If you look at the picture, you can see the two ends of the wire which I presumed was to connect to a battery. If I do this, the electric shock feature works fine until you fire the ball, then it breaks the circuit and the bulb won't light. If I don't fire the ball to break the circuit and simulate a win by hand, the bulb lights up, so I can't see how to get both working going off the original wiring, unless they had it wrong. It did not look like it had been touched though?

[gameswat]

If I don't fire the ball to break the circuit and simulate a win by hand, the bulb lights up, so I can't see how to get both working going off the original wiring, unless they had it wrong. It did not look like it had been touched though?

The flaw in your logic here is that in use the player can never win without first firing the ball! There's no "simulating" in an arcade.

[widget2k4]

What I am trying to say is there is no way the bulb will light on a win. It is not possible the way it was wired because once you fire the ball the circuit is broken and electricity is no longer available for the bulb to light, so I don't understand how they would have got the bulb to light on a win.

Unless the bulb is meant to light up as soon as you put in a penny and go off after you fire the ball...

Or is it correct that the bulb lights up on a win

[gameswat]

I think you're over thinking this, the only reason the shocker was present was as a way to get around a legal ruling, just like mint vendors or any number of other examples. The shocker just had to work with every coin played, most players would never have ever used it, like they didn't often take a pack of mints each play. I'm guessing the light is there to show the shocker is running so the battery won't get run down if someone walks away, since any other players would spot the light straight away and play the game thus cutting off the battery.

[widget2k4]

I just want to get it back working how it used to when it was made. I know it was just a way to get past the gambling laws but it would be nice to get it back to the way it used to work, whether it was bulb lights on a win or when you insert a coin, I am not sure.
I have never seen one before so don't know how it's meant to work.

[gameswat]

If you re-read all the posts in this thread you'll see multiple times it was proven that the shocker works on deposit of the coin and has nothing to do with winning or losing the game. The shocker either stopped when the handle was fully turned, or a ball was released to play the game.

The electrical shock function is activated when a coin is dropped in the machine.
It will be deactivated when you release a ball or turn the knob for the electrical shock the full way...
(so this info is for the Jentzsch & Meerz version...)

SKILL OR A GAME OF CHANCE ?

By placing a coin in it caused an electric contact, which gave the player an electric shock. When he released the handle the penny dropped and released a small ball.

[widget2k4]

I understand all of that, I just don't know when the bulb was meant to light, either on a win or on coin insertion.

[wembleylion]

Hi Widget,
I think that Gameswat is right when he says that we are overthinking this. If you think that the wiring is original then his guess is very probably correct; it makes good sense to me because the arcade owner, as well as the players, could also keep an eye on the machine.

I'm guessing the light is there to show the shocker is running so the battery won't get run down if someone walks away, since any other players would spot the light straight away and play the game thus cutting off the battery.

John

[widget2k4]

Ah right, now it makes sense
I need to look into wiring the bulb so it comes on with the penny then, and not the way it was. Strange for them to have a switch on the handle though.

[gameswat]

The light was also probably supposed to be a visual way to show the machine was actually shocking. If the light wasn't working the operator would know instantly to replace the battery, otherwise the law was being broken. Real arcade shock machines always have adjustable voltage from low to high by being able to move the coil plunger in and out, but your machine is just set in one place proving it was purely a legal ruse.

[widget2k4]

I still can't get my head around why there would be a switch on the payout though.

[gameswat]

Widget, you're going to have to post up some decent size close up photos and draw a diagram of the circuit as it's hard to figure out exactly what's going on. The only mech pic you posted was far too small to see any wiring detail at all. Though I'm starting to think this could be something to do with the reserve ball feature??

But from what I can surmise you're saying the ball when released makes a circuit to start the shocker, then cuts out when the ball is fired. But you think the switch on the win hole is original to light the bulb, but can't without a ball in the start position making the circuit? If this is so then it can't possibly work the way it's currently wired - unless just maybe the extra balls for the reserve are supposed to make the circuit? You think it's all original, but the battery wires to the terminals on that shocker look like modern plastic covered to me, not cloth covered or thick old cracked plastic like under the coil. I'd guess it's been either altered by an operator and/or messed with by a previous owner who didn't understand the circuit.

[widget2k4]

I rewired it exactly as I took off the original cloth covered wires, as there was no cloth left on them hardly. I drew a diagram as I went but I am unable to upload it as I'm not at home at the moment. What happens is a coin pushes a lever which makes the circuit; the lever is below the ball release lever; once the lever is operated it makes the electric shock come to life, but that lever is then disconnected once the hammer is pressed. There are no more contacts anywhere except for the contact switch on the payout lever. I have another one the same and it had the same wires going to the contacts on the payout switch. I will try and upload some more photos when I get home.