Wonders "Dropacopper"

American, British, French or German? We want to know about it.
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coppinpr
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Wonders "Dropacopper"

Post by coppinpr »

Just finished this Dropacopper I bought on Ebay - not the greatest machine ever made but marks a point in British machine history. Trouble with it was, in my view, it was designed to be a poor pay out AND it gave the operator a chance to make it even worse by moving the spacers. The makers of the new electric machine beginning to take over at the time had worked it out that if you give the punter 70% payout he will play it till he's lost the lot anyway. This machine makes you want to walk away after three of four coins. Still it was interesting to work on. The case was pretty much destroyed; I was going to replace at least the top which had large holes in it but decided to see if it could be restored, snd it could and looks great. I replaced the spacers, which was easy as, as you might expect, they are simply 3/4 inch cistern washers. They cost me £1.50 for a pack of 10, just the right number. I sprayed the faces and left the edges black and they look good. Most of these were designed to allow the coin to go left or right. This one is left only so forget 12d win. The payout cup was interesting - it was double sided, so by turning it round I got a brand new shiny one.

A badly thought out design all round really, unless dead level it will either lose every time or pay 6d about 60% of the time. Nothing will make it pay 12d.

The internal payout chute is too flat as designed and coins tend to stick in the chute no matter how much you polish it. On the other side the win coin run on the playfield is too steep not always giving the single solenoid payout slide time to re-set if the machine is trying to pay three times on a 9d winner. Overall the design, workmanship and materials are poor and the whole thing has a sad and desperate feel to it but it does have a place in British slot machine history... just not a good one.

Has anone any idea what the strange engraved part of the Wonders badge is meant to be? A reference to their allwin days perhaps?
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treefrog
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Re: Wonders "Dropacopper"

Post by treefrog »

I have a spare cabinet for one of these I think.

The badge is their logo and used on allwins as well. The etching is the image of the finger plate of an allwin with the flicker and they have the 'W' logo on the finger plates as well as coin cups.
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badpenny
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Re: Wonders "Dropacopper"

Post by badpenny »

You're right in everything you say.

Mine does allow the coin to go right, but it then tends to still go down a lose hole.

I don't have any issues with coins sliding down the internal chute. In the past I have had such problems and gotten around it by going to a model shop and buying a couple of lengths of tiny diameter copper rod. If you attach that like a pair of railway tracks the length of the chute it overcomes the problem because you're greatly reducing the surface area the coin comes into contact with and of course friction.

Often solving one problem causes another. Mine had been tweaked to give a more generous payout percentage, however as you'll have already discovered because the last lose hole is so low the payout tube is amazingly short.
Consequently if you get a couple of six payouts in close proximity of each other you can empty it.

The issue of the solenoid not recovering in time for the next payout may simply be the spring is not strong enough to snap it back smartly.
Mine has a hefty great blighter fitted.

The Wonders badge is the same one they fitted to their Allwins.
I do remember playing them as a child and I also recall walking away after a couple of coins. However they are what they are and as such deserve to be preserved for posterity just as much as retired Butchers and out of use by date Human Resource Managers.

BP
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moonriver
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Re: Wonders "Dropacopper"

Post by moonriver »

The Wonders badge is actually a 'cock and balls' image and was a tongue in cheek addition by the gay owners. It does resemble the handle of the allwin but once you know the secret behind it , it really stands out :lol:
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JC
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Re: Wonders "Dropacopper"

Post by JC »

I think that story is just that, a story - it's been debunked and can be found on this site somewhere. The proprietor of Wondermatics was not homosexual.
pennymachines
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Re: Wonders "Dropacopper"

Post by pennymachines »

Yes, apparently it's a cock and bull story.
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moonriver
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Re: Wonders "Dropacopper"

Post by moonriver »

Haha, just like the Davinci code, it's there for all to see once someone mentions it.
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bryans fan
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Re: Wonders "Dropacopper"

Post by bryans fan »

If looks like a duck, sounds like a duck and walks like a duck, it's a duck (or in this case a dick).

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moonriver
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Re: Wonders "Dropacopper"

Post by moonriver »

haha thats funny. Well, whatever the reality was it shows a great sense of humour (and some balls) to put that logo on so many machines at that time too
cait001
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Re: Wonders "Dropacopper"

Post by cait001 »

anyone ever seen this machine before? It looks like a Dropacopper mechanism, but with American imagery.
I'm assuming it's a drop-case machine, but that the image is too blurry to see the pins the coin falls through, but I'm unsure!
These were screen caps from some video, and I can't remember where I took them from.
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