Aristocrat Hoots Mon/Quadreel/Quartette

[gameswat]

Coppin, this machine used a timer board to keep the payout relay energised until it had spat out up to the maximum 200 coins for highest jackpot possible. I tested as many components on that board I could and all seemed to be within spec, but very slow going for me as I rarely test resistors & diodes etc. and have to look up every colour code for each one! Give me E/M any day as you can often just see the issue. I imagine that there is a small breakdown of many components which has created a domino effect and pumping corrupted info out the other end, but who the hell knows??

[aristomatic]

but who the hell knows??

Not me........I'm afraid...... These 4 reel Aristocrat hopper machine threads tend to turn up quite often, Are they all just the same machines, going from owner to new owner without the faults ever being fully sorted? I have often wondered whether old bandits should be microchipped so that they can be traced around the country and abroad............., It would be an interesting map with some machines I'm sure................

I changed my 3 reel Aristocrat hopper machine to all mechanical but have kept all the bits should that who the hell person knows actually turn up...

GP

[gameswat]

A local repairman friend who has been in the industry since the mid 1970s told me that he's had many issues with this era machine, but without schematics it's a nightmare. He asked a former employee he knows that had worked for Aristocrat about paperwork, but was told they binned it all many years ago. I'm sure 99% of large companies like that could care less about the past, it's all about right now and the future!

[bandito]

Thanks for the replies. I will try a few different things to see if I can get it working but I am no electrician.......

[coppinpr]

Topic merged - Site Admin.

Finally got round to attacking this 4 reel Aristo which, when I start poking about, looks much worse than it really is. Thing is I've never even looked inside a hopper converted machine before so the first thing I had to do was work out what had been removed intentionally and what had been robbed. I could see the clock was wrongly missing and soon found some of the parts associated with the clock were missing as well ,namely the brake arm that times the holding back of the vertical fingers and the moving bracket that holds those fingers back,everything else needed was there although badly blocked up with ancient grease(looks like it'd been there since the Parthenon was built)(good play on works there I thought ).

Aristo was kind enough to tell me the clock is standard on all these machines so I robbed one out of an "OXO" mech I had and also found the other missing parts from the same mech. After a good clean all round the mech works fine BUT I feel the fingers drop against the payout discs a little too soon,so my questions are, should part "A" in the photo below be longer at point "B" on a four reel machine? and if so, has anyone got the right part? or is there a way of adjusting the arm to stay in place a fraction longer?

[widget2k4]

On the Mills you can adjust the timing on the bar that holds the vertical fingers back with an adjustable bracket. Not sure on the Aristocrats though.

[coppinpr]

Moving swiftly along having solved the first problem (by removing an added plate on the clock end of the finger brake this increased the time it stays up).
Having never seen a hopper close up before I was quite keen to learn how it works, so I removed it, cleaned it and rebuilt it and it LOOKS perfect and turns by hand no problem BUT does anyone know of a way to test it outside the machine? Putting it back into the electrical system of the machine is too unstable a test (too many other switches and other bits that might not be working). I can't jump directly onto the wires going into the motor unless I cut them, there is no connection showing at either end and the colours of the wires are not the same as any I can see at the connector. I'm assuming if I touch the right two prongs on the connector the motor will start, but is that too risky? Will it damage anything else? Also, I'm unsure of the voltage this motor would use? Can anyone help?

[aristomatic]

Another 4 reeler e/m Aristocrat thread!

They are rarely asking for advice on replacement award cards or if anyone has a spare reject button........................................!
Nope they all tend to be 'how do I get the hopper to pay out/work?'

Well previous advice includes ensure the relays are all the same and all firmly in place and refit new fuses and that there are coins in the hopper and any reset button is thrown and I'm afraid I have no additional help.

Maybe try posting on the other coin-op forums that specialise in this era and later circuit board and electronic machines on the off chance someone can help?

Apart from one member who I think solved his by buying a new relay? Others I think have just sold theirs on so a perpetuating problem... Non working machine eventually sells at a low enough price to a new buyer who thinks 'that's cheap enough, I'll have a go', hoping it's the fuse, relay, poor connection etc.

But by posting a new thread eventually we will track down that 14 year old kid who helped his uncle look after the 20 Hoots Mon machines they had in the family casino all those years back and who is still young enough to remember where that container of new old stock of relays and circuit boards and wiring diagrams is after it arrived two days after the casino closed.....

When you do find him PC, you have my address - send him up north to fix my Beat the Bookie e/m circuit board Aristocrat that's still in the racking...

[coppinpr]

That's a very odd post Aristo seeing as it was you that suggested to me in an email to start a post on PM? Also I didn't ask how to fix the hopper just if anyone knew a way of testing it.

[aristomatic]

I did indeed suggest you start a thread, as I said I couldn't help you and really need to find someone with experience and or parts too.

That's why I said in my post hopefully someone somewhere who has experience may one day reply... however unlikely that may be.

My posted reply was for the wider audience to reinforce how difficult it has been over the years to get these models back from the dead. It also bumped it up the recent posts list too, as will this reply, which may help the thread get more responses.

As I said, if the thread helps you to get this up and running I'll be happy for you and other members with similar machines, including myself.

[coppinpr]

Well it's finished and, as expected, the electrics are not good. Like I said at the start, I bought it cheap to see what made it tick, and I did learn a lot. I tried, and you won't know unless you try. I was amazed how well the chrome cleaned up, and you have to admit, it looks the part. Mechanically it's perfect, payouts... a problem, and as I said, electrics are not my thing and I don't know anyone who can help. Disappointing, as I've never had a 4 reel machine before and this was very cheap, so worth a try.

[widget2k4]

That's a very nice looking machine Paul and if you decide to get rid of it I may be interested in it, mainly just to have a go at getting it working as I like to have a tinker with something I haven't had before

[coppinpr]

I've put it on ebay but I can pull it (if ebay doesn't) if you want it.

[widget2k4]

Don't see it on eBay?

[coppinpr]

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/112502137707? ... 1555.l2649

[coppinpr]

Removed by ebay at 8am this morning, as expected.

[aristomatic]

Oh well...

At least you will save those final value fees. (Some) sellers are delighted they still get the buyer at a price they are happy and no fees, and no threat of nasty feedback if they don't drop the price for a tiny scratch here & there.

[widget2k4]

Sent you a pm last night Paul but no reply? Did you get it?

[widget2k4]

It's totally mad eBay as a Riviera was on for a week and done its course without being removed, it's obvious depending on who's selling them.

[coppinpr]

No it depends on who wants them removed. Ebay admit they need to be reported before they even look. First one I've ever had removed, I think, my own fault. I didn't use the "sold under licence number 1234" method.