Roto-Pool, Roto-Fruit, Rotolite, Electrodart, Bingola, etc.

American, British, French or German? We want to know about it.
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emslots
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Post by emslots »

Yes, I saw it and have my eye on it as a spares machine! Could be just the solution I am looking for. I could see how the eBay machine is wired, and repair mine.....
GamesMaster
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Post by GamesMaster »

The price of the Electrodart slot game can vary dependant on its condition, for example a good condition game that doesn't work will probably go for around £100 if sold to the right person. However, I sold an perfect condition Electrodart game with its wiring booklet, to an avid collector of 60s and 70s arcade games for £500, that is the top line for an Electrodart game. There are other games from around the same time as the Electrodart such as the Conveyor that can fetch a good £500 to £800 if sold, again, to the right person. There are many other games from that era that are much more popular than the Electrodart that can fetch more when sold.
I hope this helps you
GamesMaster
garythegolfer
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Electrodart Wiring......

Post by garythegolfer »

Hi everyone,

I've just discovered your forum and discovered someone has the same problem as me! I also want a wiring diagram for an Electrodart.

A few years ago (OK, it was 44 years ago when I was about 11) I decided to build my own arcade machine. I had been a fan of the arcade machines ever since I was tall enough to reach the slots...and growing up at the seaside (Clacton), there were plenty of machines!

Anyway, I knew most were based upon the use on uniselectors so I set out to buy a couple of (cheap) uniselectors. I finally found a conpany that repaired arcade machines and made the 40 mile round trip to find them. I asked if they would sell me a couple of uniselectors. They said, "No" but that they had a few scrap machines and that I could have a look at them.

The first machine I spotted was an Electrodart, complete with its uniselectors. Now it just so happened that this was my favourite arcade machine....I used to quadruple my pocket money with profits from that machine in the early days......at least until I doscovered The Threepenny Derby!

Anyway, I bought the Electrodart (10 shillings; 50p) and struggled to carry my heavy prize on the train journey home.

I quickly gave up on the idea of designing and building my own machine: I now had my dream machine!!

Sadly, someone had shut the door of the wiring harness and cut ALL the wires. Then ,since the machine had been scrapped, the owners had cannibalised the machine for spare parts.

This Electrodart has travelled with me for over 40 years with the expectation that "one day" I would restore it. That day hasn't come yet but it is now getting MUCH closer! I did make life much more difficult for myself by starting but not finishing the restoration.

If anyone has got a wiring chart/diagram it would be MOST useful. Has anyone found a source of information for the Electrodart?

There must be some kind soul out there who is a fan of the Electrodart and either has a wiring diagram or is willing to help out us aficionados.

Thanks in Advance for all help
Gary


Slotalot's Roto Pool Wiring Diagram now in Resources - Site Admin.
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arrgee
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Roto Fruit and Electrodart

Post by arrgee »

Couple of odd looking machines on ebay at the moment, as can be seen by photos they are electronic but housed in a traditional wall machine wooden case.

Were these the early attempts at embracing the electronic age perhaps in the 1950's or early 1960's ? or just later machines that have been taken out of formica covered chipboard cases and put in these older ones.

Interesting that the green corner motifs of the Roto Fruit, draw reference on the early saxony metal motifs.

Does anyone know anything about these or have seen similar ones before ?
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coin-op
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Rotofruit / Electrodart

Post by coin-op »

They are original machines in original cabinets (not sure about one of the cash doors from the pics); made, I think by Jamiesons probably late '50s?Problems with these machines generally are that they have a lot of electrical contacts, so often need to go through these to get them going and also sometimes the screen printed backglass starts to flake.
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trevmo
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Post by trevmo »

In the past I have owned both of these. They seem to have been produced using surplus GPO uniselectors from the old electromechanical exchanges,
plus a few relays.
Rather like the Little Stockbroker, they are not random, they pay out in a fixed pattern, despite the "skill" control.
Still quite fun though.
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trevmo
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Post by trevmo »

On second thoughts it wasn't a Rotofruit, it was a Bingola!! same idea though.
stoxman22
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Rotolite help

Post by stoxman22 »

Hi everyone. The Rotolite that I bought from the auction needs a little more work than first appeared (don't they all). Has anyone got a circuit diagram? Or can someone with a working version of this game help me by measuring with a voltmeter the AC voltage on the secondary side of the transformer at the rectifier. See photo. Also I need to know where the centre tap wire goes and can you confirm that it is a centre tap for the lamps.
I would also like to know a manufacturer and date for this machine if anyone can help on that as well. :D
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Connection to rectifier
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operator bell
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Post by operator bell »

After tracking down the original auction pictures, I see it has two Post Office uniselectors and some PO-3000 relays. These normally all run at a standard 50VDC, so logically (since I see no reservoir capacitor) the transformer should be putting around 50V on the rectifier.

The lamps will not be anywhere near 50V. I would put money on it that they're standard 6.3V, in which case the transformer is probably not CENTER tapped, but tapped 0 - 6 - 50 (or 6 - 0 - 50). This was common for pinball and other amusement machines of the period that used 50V AC for motors and solenoids and 6V AC for the lamps.

I think you will find the relays and solenoids are driven off the two wires at the top of the rectifier, and the lamps are driven off the transformer tap and that extra blue wire I see on the bottom right of the rectifier.
stoxman22
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Post by stoxman22 »

Thanks for that info. I didn't realise that the machine had uniselectors. I had heard of them but not seen one. Do they click round with a trigger from another relay or do they rotate when a supply is applied? I have not seen one of these machines working so half the battle is to work out what is supposed to happen then you have a chance of fixing it......!! I can see me spending a few hours drawing the circuit out...yuk.

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operator bell
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Post by operator bell »

You can see by looking at them, but I'll describe them for everyone else. There's a semicircular bank of several rows of 25 contacts, with a shaft up the middle carrying contact wipers for each level and a ratchet to turn the shaft. There's a magnet coil on the side frame, left in the picture, with a rocking armature attached to a claw and various springs. The claw rests on the ratchet in the middle. When you apply power to the magnet, the armature pulls in against a powerful spring and the claw clicks over one tooth of the ratchet. When you take power off again, the spring pulls the claw back and turns the ratchet, turning the contact wipers which move to the next contact around on each row.

Resting on the armature is a closed contact. When the armature pulls in, it opens this contact. So if you connect 50V to the coil through the contact, the armature pulls in and breaks the contact, then drops out again because it no longer has power, which closes the contact; and the whole thing repeats, driving the wipers round at about 20 steps a second. In the telephone exchange every subscriber line would have one of these selectors, and when you picked up your phone, your selector would go into this mode and run round its contacts looking for a free exchange line. In the Rotalite, each selector will free run for some random period, probably each controlled by one of the relays. If you poke around in there, press the little rocker at the free end of the relay to close it. 50V won't hurt you. Warning: when the uniselectors run they are VERY LOUD, especially mounted on a wooden board like that. It does no harm but it's startling when it's unexpected, and you can hurt yourself when you jump back in surprise.

The circuit should be very easy to trace. There will be three parts. First, the controls, taking in the relays, selectors and coin parts. Second, the combination logic, consisting of wires running between one row of each selector. Third, the lamp wiring, coming off another row on each selector. The lamp wiring will be entirely separate from the rest, with no connection except through the big blue rectifier.
stoxman22
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Post by stoxman22 »

I am trying to get this Rotolite working. Same internals as the two other machines you show.
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stoxman22
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Post by stoxman22 »

Right I am getting desperate..... The transformer has burnt out there are wires off and some different coloured wires taped together, now I find the coil of one of the uni-selectors is burnt out also. I NEED a schematic and can anyone tell me where to get a uni-selector.

Slotalot's Roto Pool Wiring Diagram now in Resources - Site Admin.
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operator bell
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Post by operator bell »

It is possible to rewind the uniselector coil yourself by hand. Rather a tedious job, but I've done it when necessary, and it's probably easier than finding a new unit these days.
bits n bats
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Re: Rotolite help

Post by bits n bats »

I have a Rotolite machine, I have not plugged it in for over 2 years but it was working last time I tried it. I can see you live in Cheshire, I live in Dukinfield near Ashton Under Lyne /Hyde. If it will help you, I am off work this week until march 30th 2008. I will bring it to you. I can not help in any other way as I don’t understand the working of it.
Ps. I don’t want to sell it.
ed.
Rotomole
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What's missing from this picture?

Post by Rotomole »

Hello Everyone,

This is the inside of my (sadly not working) Rotofruit.
If you're familiar with this type of machine - I believe the Electrodart, Rotolite and Bingola may be similar - then you will notice it's the area inside the main cabinet just above the entry to the cash box.

Please can any one tell me what should be where the three screws are? there are also 3 unconnected wires heading in that direction. Has anyone any idea what's missing? And if what's missing is original or a later addition?

Also any information at all on the operation or component details of any of the above machines would be greatly appreciated. Especially welcome are offers to sell me wiring diagrams :eek: - whether drawn up by you, a friend or copied from the original rocking-horse manure itself.

Slotalot's Roto Pool Wiring Diagram now in Resources - Site Admin.

Can anyone confirm how the Rotofruit worked visually? I am guessing from my machine that three adjacent lamps were lit at once - they then travelled around the playfield and stopped together showing three lighted symbols: in other words there was one cycle of three lit lamps and not three cycles of one lit lamp. Can anyone confirm this please as I have never seen one working.

Many thanks,
Becky.
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operator bell
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Re: What's missing from this picture?

Post by operator bell »

Hi Becky, since nobody else replied to you yet I suppose I may as well, though I don't have the info you need. There have been other Rotofruit inquiries here in the past eg this one which you have presumably already read, since I expect you arrived here after a google search. Regrettably, nobody posted a full picture of the insides from which we could identify your missing part. Perhaps if one of the other Rotofruit/Electrodart owners reads this they might take the hint. None of the other owners seems to have found a diagram yet. It's a pity I live so far away, as if I could get my hands on one for a few hours I'd be happy to trace it out. I've reverse-engineered much more complicated games than this. :frankie:
Rotomole
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Re: What's missing from this picture?

Post by Rotomole »

Hello, Thanks for the reply.

I thought the wiring diagram was a long shot and that I would end up putting the work in myself - oh well can't blame me for looking for short-cuts.

Still keeping my fingers crossed that someone will let me know if they have any ideas what’s missing.

Have perused these pages for quite a long time before I finally plucked up the courage to speak up - and my dad is a magazine subscriber (and was of a previous incarnation - that's a previous mag not a previous dad) but you are right - as I don't speak German Google-ing 'rotofruit' only leads me here (and what a great place to be).

Thanks again Becky.
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