Mills coin tube blocks when full

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sarg
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Re: Mills coin tube blocks when full

Post by sarg »

I followed the steps in this video and I do have 3 holes for plums but they're not lining up on a cycle. !PUZZLED!

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sarg
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Re: Mills coin tube blocks when full

Post by sarg »

Had a few spins with the mech back in the cabinet. Rolled in 2 plums and the finger went through 2 pay discs, which is all good.

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Then a few more spins and the plum on 1st reel and not a hole in sight on the disc. :!?!:

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badpenny
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Re: Mills coin tube blocks when full

Post by badpenny »

Do you realise that the payout discs are in reverse order to the reels?
That is to say that facing the machine reel number 1 is represented by payout disc number 3, and number 3 is represented by disc number 1. Both middle ones are connected.

With this information I'd suggest you concentrate on any win errors traceable to reel one/disc three.
You already know about the plum.
Incidentally, are there any other plums on reel one? If so, do they also fail to line up with a hole on the disc?

Now you know which vertical finger should be tripped for plums, it might also be advisable to turn the first reel (with the clock stopped) and see if there are any holes that line up with that finger. If so, then check the symbol showing on the front. It's possible someone has put the paper strip in the reel skew whiff.

Here's hoping.
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coppinpr
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Re: Mills coin tube blocks when full

Post by coppinpr »

How many payouts are wrong? If it's more than one, then check 1. and 2. below. If it's just the plums, most likley 1. or 3.

OK, 1. first we must determine if the machine has been set up correctly or, as TF said, set up to look good without actually being right. First thing to check is are they the right strips (they almost certainly are, but we need to make sure we are not looking in the wrong direction)? Look to see if there is a code number on the strips close to the join in the strip. If there is not, copy down the exact order of the three strips. I have sold my GF, so I can compare the answer but someone on here will, I'm sure. Some of these strips have only one change on them so it's possible you have a plum where there should be a lemon. So, if the wrong symbol is on reel one, it would show plum, plum, plum but would actually be lemon, plum, plum, which would be a loser, so not paying would be correct.

2., Are the strips in the wrong place? This is even less likely to be the case but we should check too, so we can discard the problem. If your set of strips has only one BAR on each strip it's easy - line them up and see if the JP pays. If you have more than one BAR per strip, not so easy. Look for a small hole near the edge of the payout discs,there will be one in each disc,they are the factory set, reel alignment holes,pass a thin rod through these to lock the reel bundle in one piece,rotate the fixed set of reels and the start position for each strip should all be together (this does not mean they are all together in the right place :dammit: ). Hopefully three of something should line up. Rotate this winning line to the front of the mech, where it would correctly show through the window and check to see if the payout holes (not the alignment holes) line up with the correct payout fingers. (This still doesn't help much, but the next stage will). Move the fixed reel set 'round till the first cherry on reel one would be in the payout window. At this point the payout finger for the cherry should be hovering over a hole. If there is no hole, the strip on reel one is not in the right place on the reel because the wrong BAR is showing in the line of three (I know this sounds complex, I'm winging it from memory as I sit here). :lol:

3. The third reel problem is perhaps the most likely. The strips are correct but the machine has been adjusted to pay less. This would mean the reel strip should have another symbol (lemon?) stuck over the plum. Usually the holes in the payout disc have been shut off and show, but on yours I think not, so you will need to set every payout on reel 1 (usually changes are only made to reel one) and see if the payout holes line up.

BP, just out of interest, is that a Mills escalator in the photo? Did they make one like that or is it a Buckley (the only one I know that would fit and have the coins so close)?
sarg
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Re: Mills coin tube blocks when full

Post by sarg »

Thanks for replying guys, I will check the reel strips and report back.
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badpenny
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Re: Mills coin tube blocks when full

Post by badpenny »

Hard to see, but could be further evidence it's the wrong denomination. I once had a Mad Money that should have been on 6d but previous owner had been forcing 1p in it. Not only were the payout numbers wrong but the coins bunched up in the escalator too.
Well spotted.
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Re: Mills coin tube blocks when full

Post by sarg »

Sounds like I've bought a right bloody lemon. !OMFG!
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badpenny
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Re: Mills coin tube blocks when full

Post by badpenny »

sarg wrote:Sounds like I've bought a right bloody lemon.
Don't beat yourself up, we've all bought something that we then spend weeks sucking our hair and pulling our teeth out over.
At its youngest a mechanical bandit will be at least 55 years old and anything up to 80+ years. In its first few years it will probably have had no maintenance and then successive operators will have started to hack the mechanism around to cheat the odds and get around sticking escalators etc.
At the end of a season the mechs would get pulled out and plonked on a bench for a fettle, and then around Easter any old mechanism would get thrown back into the nearest case. Mills Hi-top mechs would go into any non-gooseneck case that could accommodate them, Sega mechs would end up in Mills cabinets. Often nobody would realise until someone complained that the reel symbols didn't match the award card.
This mish mash would then fall into the hands of different collectors during 50+ years after it was last operated. Some of us are prepared to hunt down or even manufacture missing bits for our keepers. Some will even go to these lengths with machines we merely plan to sell on. For some, near enough is good enough, or they just tread in more than they can chew.
Somebody else inherits the problem.
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coppinpr
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Re: Mills coin tube blocks when full

Post by coppinpr »

sarg wrote:Sounds like I've bought a right bloody lemon.
No you have not!! There is not much wrong with this, no broken parts, no broken case. You fix this and this machine will mean a lot more to you than it did. !THUMBS!
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downunda
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Re: Mills coin tube blocks when full

Post by downunda »

I'm defo not the expert here, but should there not be an overflow chute running from where that aftermarket blanking plate sits, to the D shaped hole in the floorplate?
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badpenny
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Re: Mills coin tube blocks when full

Post by badpenny »

downunda wrote:I'm defo not the expert here, but should there not be an overflow chute running from where that aftermarket blanking plate sits, to the D shaped hole in the floorplate?
No, because the overflow from the tube feeds the JP bank which is sitting in the case.
The overflow from that feeds into the hole in the base plate which in turn feeds the cash box.
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Re: Mills coin tube blocks when full

Post by sarg »

Not much time today but got the reel order. No serial numbers on the reel strip coppinpr - they look like cheap laminated ones. I went from the cuts in the side of the reel edges.
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coppinpr
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Re: Mills coin tube blocks when full

Post by coppinpr »

OK, there is a problem with reel strips. That does not mean they are wrong - the machine might have been changed to match them.
That is basically the Mills CH set 537. Just to confuse things, this set has 5 strips to suit 5 different set ups (the variants usually are reel 3 only). Even with varariants, your strips don't match. On reel 1 the plum above the bell should be a lemon and on reel three the lemon 12 up from the bar should be a plum. As I said, they might not be wrong, so mark the two possible wrong symbols with blue tack then test your payouts and see if they make sense with the changes. (Interesting that the changes involve plums which have been your problem).
sarg
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Re: Mills coin tube blocks when full

Post by sarg »

Spot on with reel , should be a lemon instead of a plum above the bell, reel 3 is all good - all lemons have no holes.

Done every win combination - all good apart from reel 1, where it should be a lemon instead of a plum above the bell.
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Re: Mills coin tube blocks when full

Post by badpenny »

Good, so that's overflow tube and missing payouts dealt with.
Are we just waiting to whip the slides out and load them to determine how many are physically able to be awarded? Would 6d sort it out?
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Re: Mills coin tube blocks when full

Post by sarg »

Quick update - I tried a load of one shillings and old 5p.

I didn't take the coin slides out, I just played all the nickels out of the machine. Started playing with the shillings and all the payouts are just 1 out from the award card.

So shillings are a lot closer to the awards then the nickels.

I haven't got any 6d coins to try so I'm hunting some down at the moment.
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coppinpr
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Re: Mills coin tube blocks when full

Post by coppinpr »

If it's taking shillings, it won't take 6d - the tube and slides will be wrong. Also your machine uses an escalator, and an unusual one at that (I think it's a Buckley not a Mills, not that that should matter), but if it takes shillings it won't take 6d.

If shillings are more reliable, one option would be to change the award card for one that matches the payouts (I can do the card for you).
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Re: Mills coin tube blocks when full

Post by aristomatic »

To clarify does the x1 coin out on shillings refer to

x1 coin over..Or x1 under compared to award card
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Re: Mills coin tube blocks when full

Post by sarg »

aristomatic wrote:To clarify does the x1 coin out on shillings refer to

x1 coin over..Or x1 under compared to award card

1 coin less on each win
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Re: Mills coin tube blocks when full

Post by sarg »

coppinpr wrote:If it's taking shillings, it won't take 6d - the tube and slides will be wrong. Also your machine uses an escalator, and an unusual one at that (I think it's a Buckley not a Mills, not that that should matter), but if it takes shillings it won't take 6d.

If shillings are more reliable, one option would be to change the award card for one that matches the payouts (I can do the card for you).

Thats very kind of you to offer coppinpr but im going to keep it nickel they run through the escalator smoother.so i will look out for 5c payslides.

Only thing im struggling to find is a new set of reel strips i cant seem to find the right 3rd reel, have you got any ideas who sells them thanks.
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