CAM Automatics

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treefrog
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Re: CAM Automatics

Post by treefrog »

Shame dobo, never came back with some further info on CAM, hopefully he will return soon..

Picked one up myself today, only because it was local in my town.... Another variation, "The Tankard", with beer pints for the jackpot....

The seller tried selling on ebay, but told me it was removed - no surprise, and then tried Gumtree where I saw it and managed to ping an email before they also removed it from this site. I offered a price and ended in a hard game to agree a price, so although not loads of money the seller got a fair price for a working machine of this type. When I went to collect, I was shocked to find a 12 year old was the seller I had been bartering with. Not only that, he took the trouble to explain how it all worked, very knowledgeable too... Shame he was moving away from slots, otherwise he could have been our youngest collector.
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raj
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Re: CAM Automatics

Post by raj »

Nice purchase, !!THUMBSX2!!

I tend to shy away from e/m machines due to the many 'adjustments' that get made over the years. In another life I used to work for BT, and adjusting these type of operating systems took many months of training and specialist tools. I still have a few, just in case I weaken and buy one!

Incidentally, ebay have pulled most of my online sales, !!UHOH!! I tried to include 'seller refurbished' in the drop down, still including the disclaimer in the text, but that still seems to trigger a red flag. It seems any mention of 'working' 'Reconditioned' 'slot machine' 'jackpot' 'one armed' 'arcade' or 'coin operated' seems to send them into a feeding frenzy. :evil: Fairground and games room still seem OK for the moment.
Now everything is 'spare parts or not working' which is not going to help online sales one bit :cry:
marktol
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Re: CAM Automatics

Post by marktol »

I had to relist my machine twice. Seems to be happening a lot at the moment - even Mr Powell can't seem to keep his listings active!

Strange though, seems to be some machines still slipping though. I'm amazed the Bonus is still going!
dobo
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Re: CAM Automatics

Post by dobo »

Hi everyone,
Regarding the machines from cam automatics, I worked there since I was fifteen until nineteen. They were the best years of my life. The firm was jointly owned by Frank Hoy and Bob Murray. The company had an office above Valenties in Church Street Seaham Harbour and later built workshops and office at the bottom of Church Street. It incorporated a company called Cam Furnishings built specifically for the club industry. These buldings have been pulled down to make way for a new Asda.

In sixty six/sixty seven Frank bought out Bob Murray. I worked alongside Tommy Murray, Billy Baker, Johhny Peach, Tony Clark, Harry Smith, Dave Stevens, Brian Lane, Bill Todd, Ray Youngs and of course Val, who was Frank's girlfriend then. The company was originally called Mac automatics, around sixty three but Frank and Bob bought out Mac, who I think was from Frank Hoy's hometown of Cromer in Norfolk. I would give anything to meet up with Frank once again as he was like a fatherly figure to me. He taught me everything, helped me grow up very fast, and I will forever be in his debt for giving me this once in a lifetime experience. I really wish I had taken notice of him more often. Shortly after the Sibbet One armed bandit murder case in about sixty seven Cams sold out to someone who I care not to mention. Can I just point out that Sibbet worked for a rival fruit machine company in Sunderland called Social Club Services, and had nothing to do with Cam Automatics.

The last I heard was that Frank was working down Petticoat Lane and Bob had returned to his native Scotland (think it was Edinburgh). As for the machines in the photo, I can remember refurbishing, (as it's now called) many many machines.
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slotalot
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Re: CAM Automatics

Post by slotalot »

Welcome back dobo, thanks for the extra information, always good to here about the history of the old machines. !!CHEERS!!
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badpenny
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Re: CAM Automatics

Post by badpenny »

Mark Knopfler's song 5.15 am refers to the One Armed Bandit Murder in Newcastle, also check it on Wikipedia for the seamier side of our hobby.

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CAM Automatics Southern Belle on ebay

Post by coppinpr »

Topic moved & merged - Site Admin.

A rarely seen electro-mechanical slot on ebay today. I guess it would class as part mechanical as it has moving parts... just. Made by Cam automatics (59-64 it says). Said to be in very good condition and looks it, but overpriced. The electrics look much simpler then the better known machines in the same vein.
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brigham
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Re: unusual machine on ebay

Post by brigham »

Definitely CAM Automatics, of Seaham Harbour, here in Co. Durham.
Grossly over-priced, in my view.
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slotalot
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Re: CAM Automatics Southern Belle on ebay

Post by slotalot »

Cam Automatics were only the agents, they never made any machines. :cool:
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badpenny
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Re: CAM Automatics Southern Belle on ebay

Post by badpenny »

Stuart is like the Lone Ranger. !SHOOT!

Just as it seems everything will be too lost and complicated, in he rides to clarify what really happened …. !!HOBBYHORSE!!

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Re: CAM Automatics Southern Belle on ebay

Post by rippyspennyarcade »

The plastics on the front are also missing.
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coppinpr
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Re: CAM Automatics

Post by coppinpr »

Interesting they almost always seem to have run on 3d, a coin that was never popular on slots. Although this one did indeed have the middle plastic they definitely didn't all have the middle one. I suspect it was the choice of the operator in later life or to get round the max payout on early machines.
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brigham
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Re: CAM Automatics

Post by brigham »

They didn't all have the Gold Award, which tended to be more popular in retail outlets such as pubs and clubs.
Arcades were usually all-cash.
Just got a reply from the fellow selling the eBay one. I asked if the original artwork had been mutilated, or if the 'conversion' was on the outside of the glass.
"It was my uncle's, and he bought it like that", was the less-than-useful reply.
A further examination of the posted pics, esp. the back one, suggests that the decimal demons have indeed marred the artwork, making a simple restoration a major job.
Between that and the price, I think I'll Give it a Miss.
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badpenny
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Re: CAM Automatics

Post by badpenny »

I'm not overly worried about complete originality as it's all part of the life of the machine.
However I wouldn't have enquired even if it had been desirable, the price is symptomatic of the greed in the hobby at the moment.
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brigham
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Re: CAM Automatics

Post by brigham »

Some alteration over the years is understandable, but I draw the line at decimal conversion.
I don't think the present seller is actually 'in the hobby'. I think he's part of the "f***in' 'ell, they're worth a fortune" brigade, an attitude encouraged by sensational TV 'antiques' shows.
Still, I'm rapidly regaining interest in these CAM Automatics 'flashers'.
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Re: CAM Automatics Southern Belle on ebay

Post by pennymachines »

slotalot wrote: Tue Oct 30, 2018 6:10 pm Cam Automatics were only the agents, they never made any machines. :cool:
I don't think we can conclude that on the current evidence, unless you've uncovered some more info Stuart.

Although Craig Murray said, "I have spoken to my mother who didn't ever visit the premises in Seaham, but like me did not recall that they made their own machines at least I don't think they engineered the gaming mechanisms. I am pretty sure the machines were all Bell Fruit. My guess is that only the artwork was specific to Cam, and may have been ordered customised from the manufacturer", he also said he was only seven when his father (Frank Murray) sold the business.

Dobo, on the other hand, who worked for the company, then told us, "Frank and Bob employed a few mechanics, namely Johnny Peach, Tony Clark, Tommy Murray (Bob's Brother), David Stevens, John Dobson, Charlie Stewart and myself. Later employed was a salesman called Brian Lane, and Bill Todd."

Seven mechanics and one or two salesmen suggests some level of assembly if not production. The idea of Nottingham-based Bell-Fruit shipping mechanisms to a little outfit in County Durham for assembly sounds odd.
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coppinpr
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Re: CAM Automatics

Post by coppinpr »

Interesting clip BP, I guess you noticed the guy he's bringing in is in fact a one armed bandit!!

um boo kema sabi!
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brigham
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Re: CAM Automatics

Post by brigham »

Bell Fruit Manufacturing of Nottingham were using Watling-based mechanisms at this time. I've never seen a CAM (or MAC) machine remotely resembling one.
If the machines distributed as CAM were indeed 'bought-in', then they would more likely be from either Jamieson's or Shield, both of Bridlington.
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Re: CAM Automatics

Post by pennymachines »

That's my feeling. Again, why would a small Bridlington-based company ship mechanisms to be assembled and sold by a company 100 miles further north? More to the point, although they're electro-mechanical, they're quite different from anything Jamieson were making under their own name at the time. With two bosses and nine employees, they must have been more than agents. Wondermatics, for example, had a regular workforce of about five employees during the latter part of the sixties.
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badpenny
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Re: CAM Automatics

Post by badpenny »

coppinpr wrote: Thu Nov 01, 2018 8:28 am Interesting clip BP, I guess you noticed the guy he's bringing in is in fact a one armed bandit!!
…… oh the cruel irony of it all!
And by the way he was walking I guess he'd been converted. :lol:
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