Found A Sega Diamond 3

[andy-m]

Well after a bit of time having a look around I finaly got a Diamond 3 Star.

I dont think its that bad a state just not been used for a while and in need of a good clean and a fettle.Inside is well sprayed and oiled and chrome os excellent.
The only thing that is giving me a problem is when you put a coin in (New 1p) sometimes it just goes straight through and drops out at the bottom.Or can you send them off to someone to be set up and repaired? all new to me........

Apart from this it works ok, is there an adjustment or is it better just to remove it and give it a clean?
Its my first machine and up til now have only restored old classic motorcycles for my winter projects, well it was a good idea at the time but will look nice in the hall when done.To working on the same priciple I usually try and get the thing up and running to a acceptable level,making sure its complete then strip it down for rebuild restoraton of parts.Dont know if it will work in the same style for a bandit but probably not a bad start.

The strip lights are in place but didnt light up so I will get that sorted when I restore the case.I can do this at work . The Side panels are unmarked but the front and top could do with a repaint.
Does anyone have new reel stickers for it? or do you just remove them and get them sized and copied at a printers?
The rear door is a bit naffed so will probably fabricate another one, the one on it is a metal plate, is it ment to be wood?

Any other info would be great, I will take some pics of it and post them.
Many Thanks
Andy

[badpenny]

Hi Andy-M .............

Congrats on your acquisition, to take your questions in any old order.
No the door shouldn't be wood it is metal.
It sounds like you're saying it is rejecting occasional coins .... are you sure it is set up for 1np and not the old 6d? It may well have been but the 1np is a notoriously bad coin for old slots. They now have steel in them which means magnets will grab them if there is one fitted, more importantly the thickness of the coin can vary from year to year (my experience).
Best if you post a photo here of the mech in situ, but with the back bonnet off so we can see the coin entry from the back.
At the same time show us any pictures you have of any security devices attached to your house, and where you keep your valuables.
I imagine you'll get most satisfaction "fettling" it yourself, I know I do, but that's another story.

As we keep repeating on this forum
"After you've cleaned the dirt and gunge out of the mech; don't be tempted to grease it, grease should not get nearer than 400 yards of a mechanical bandit, just use light oil. Except on the payout slides, on those you must use copious amounts of nothing! If they are not snapping back with the ease of a woman at the wrong time of the phases of the moon then remove them and clean them, but that's all. Unfortunatley the same doesn't work with women as well"

The thing about new reels also crops up regularly. Are they really that bad? If you need to replace them, firstly are they standard? In so much as, has some ne'er do well operator pasted a lemon or two on top of a cherry at some point in the past? If they have they'll also have plugged up the corresponding payout holes on the payout reels. Sometimes reels do pop up on Ebygum-Bay, but you may have to fiddle around with them a bit. Be careful when prising open the bent over edges, it is easy to distort the wheel and get them wonky.
Well I've wasted enough time at the office here, and really should go and find something else to do instead of work, think I'll get my clipboard and walk around purposely for a quarter of an hour.

Good bye, good luck, good god, good grief, good dog

(edited almost immediately to remove the waffling about what I did at the weekend, it doesn't interest me so why should it catch your imagination? just wish me luck at The Magistrate's tomorrow morning)

[andy-m]

Hi
Thanks for the reply
will take some pics tonight and post them up.
It does have a nice fitted plate stating 1 New pence but as you say probably built before decimal and all that, but dont use it as a rule.
Just seen one of our sub contract engineers and bribed him with some extra work to fettle the lights in the cabnet once Ive done it.So all in all looking good.
Also managed to sign up to photobucket to load pics on without thumping the computer,shouting `Whats It Doing Now` and calling IT Guy.

I have PM`d the alarm codes and safe number for my house to you for reference only,also how to get into the workshop without setting off the 12bore cartridge, Elf N Saftey an all that.
Well thats my pre work Monday coffee done with so better go out for a smoke. Its no wonder I get stressed.

Edited To Say: How about Duck Oil? Cleans and is a light oil, dont like WD40 as it can cause rusting.

[malcymal]

I use sewing machine oil as recommended by fellow slotties on here, and the only place ive oiled is very likely on the clock mechanism. Oil and flying reels cause mess. I dont get any drips on the base plate so i figure im doing it right. As to the 1NP, i had an old Mills high top when i was a kid that had the 1NP badge on it and it gave me so much grief working on the 1np, often jammed in the payout slides, on 6d it was fine. I now have a Berkeley (british Sega copy) and although it can work on 1NP, it is very unreliable with jamming. I have my machine on the old 6d, when i bought it, it stated DISCS ONLY, meaning token play. It will work perfectly well on the new 5p, ever so slightly smaller than the 6d in diameter, but slightly thicker so payouts are short 10 coins, you get 8, 5 coins you get 4. If you want to run it on new 5p and you have a Shefra coin mech, PM me and i will tell you how to adjust it without using a saw, file, hammer etc. My reel strips are okay, some fruit symbols have some marks on, nicks and scrapes etc. Acceptable ageing as Badpenny once told me.... I think a bit of age useage makes it look more authentic, keeping it original is quite appealing. I think Henry Powell sells replacement reel strips, 1armedbandit.co.uk

[malcymal]

Hi Andy-M .............
The thing about new reels also crops up regularly. Are they really that bad? If you need to replace them, firstly are they standard? In so much as, has some ne'er do well operator pasted a lemon or two on top of a cherry at some point in the past? If they have they'll also have plugged up the corresponding payout holes on the payout reels. Sometimes reels do pop up on Ebygum-Bay, but you may have to fiddle around with them a bit. Be careful when prising open the bent over edges, it is easy to distort the wheel and get them wonky.
Well I've wasted enough time at the office here, and really should go and find something else to do instead of work, think I'll get my clipboard and walk around purposely for a quarter of an hour.

Interesting this Badpenny about plugged payout holes, on my Berkeley, there are plugged holes but the plugs look like they are authentic parts, e.g. they fit perfect, have the same shape and you can remove them. When i traced them to the corresponding fruit, that fruit was in fact an Orange?? Im inquisitive to why they are there, as oranges payout on another payout hole?? Oranges and Melons in most combos are wild, being the mystery win, accepting when first symbol is a melon?? Confused dot com, i am?!?!?!? Maybe they are there as an option for different reel strips with different payout criteria??

[badpenny]

Hi malcymal ..........

That is odd isn't it, although, I have come across a few like that as well. I've never been too sure as to whether they just threw them together in a hurry to make up an order. I've heard plenty of stories about odd combinations of belly castings and cases arriving, and have in my collection a Mills that I am assured by those that really do know about bandits that I have a model that was never intended to cross the pond, but is signed up for UK and sports a QI sticker confirming 6d operation.

Then my own experiences as a teenager assisting in my Uncle's arcade where the nearest mech went back into whatever case was to hand, not to mention canibalising a mech that had been dropped in order to substitute a worn part on another.
(Blast I said not to mention it, and then immediately did!)

As for the plugs blocking the holes in the payout reels, I believe they were proper made accessories.

I once owned a beautiful Sega Mad Money (wish I still did) it was reputed to have been a salesman's sample. It was stunning and had every possible add on including factory made and fitted clips that went in the star wheels so that the stop lever couldn't engage a jackpot symbol on that reel......... naughty!

[andy-m]

Ok Uploaded some pics of the coin mech and a couple of the rear.
The one of the left side rear where the pull lever is, is showing a bit of play in the linkage, will probably have a better idea when I remove it as it seems the play in it is stopping it returning fully.

Ok lets see it these work, if not the good ol copy n pastey, As I said earlier it's not that it's jamming, it's just the coin goes in and runs through to the bottom pay-out tray. Rather odd......

Thanks Again

[badpenny]

As malcymal commented earlier you do have a Shefras replacement escalator fitted. We recently went through a similar exercise with his in getting the set up adjusted. Perhaps if you pm each other he'll be able to get you started, he's become quite adept with these little blighters. Chances are that your machine has been converted to 1np which is why you have that escalator and not the original which moved the coins across one at a time insterad of rolling them down.
I'd hazzard a guess that you have the odd coin bouncing back down the return instead of sitting in the gate at the beginning of the escalator, maybe due to the sensor pin not fully retracting at the end of play.
Is it alright if I go to bed now please?

[andy-m]

Time To Get Up Again..........
Yup thats exactly whats happening.
How dificult is it to source the correct coin mech for these? Did wonder what the window was for, be nice to have the correct one for this bandit, or are they (in classic bike terms) Rocking Horse Doing`s?

I wont get time to do anything with it until the weekend so if malcymal dont mind I will Pm him later.

Cheers guys, the info here is great.
Regards
Andy

[malcymal]

I would suggest that with your 1np, it is coming into coin slot and the sprung loaded gate is sitting too close to rear plate (default for 6d coins). Therefor the 1NP does not roll into the coin detector, it bounces off and simply falls down the slug slot to the bottom tray. You should have an adjuster screw on there which will slightly move that coin gate 1 mil away from the back plate, if that, giving the 1NP clearance to enter into the coin detection phase. You can easily see if this is the problem by pulling the coin gate towards you and sandwiching a tiny piece of 80 GSM card at the bottom (this is litterally the width difference between the 6d coin and the 1NP).

When you get this working (you must clean that mech right out, it looks cruddy, use autosol, split the shefra in half and work that everywhere, it will be very dirty, the clearance on the coin runner between the two halves of the shefra is extremely minimal). With the coin in situ, when you pull the handle you will see that the coin detection pin moves towards the coin. Undo the 2 alum key screws, grip that unit with left hand and push the pin unit (might be gunked up, so give it a good push) so the pin just touches the coin surface. Tighten up the alum key screws, the handle should now fully pull operating the reels. If you can still pull the handle without a coin, undo the alum keys, tap the detector pin unit extremely slightly with the head of a screwdriver (litterally microns distance, very finicky little device but once working will work forever). This is how people put the machines on FREE PLAY, by moving the pin right foward actuating play.

As to getting a 1p escalator, you may struggle unless its been chopped about or refabricated, henry powell makes a new 5p escalator and these cost £70, you can certainly find 6d escalators from time to time, seen at least 3 on ebay this year. The Shefra, once working is quite reliable. I understand that from this forum, the escalators were used originally so attendants could see if a person was cheating the machine with foreign coin, however they could jam allowing user to empty the machine by having free plays. I wouldnt say that the Shefra is not original to your machine, it could be your machine was fitted with a shefra from new. (tiny fibre washers between both halfs of the shefra, when screwed together give 1NP clearance for coin to roll into tube!) I certainly think this of my Berkeley, it had a shefra as it was more reliable and cheaper from new. I would like an escalator, but will not part with the shefra as it does allow the use of 3 coins (6d, 1NP and 5NP with adjustment)... the escalator will just be 6d..so horses for courses on what you want to do.
Just put it all back to 6d if you want authenticity!

I reckon next question to come will be the handle slam ?? ; ) In a short period of time, Badpenny has taught be many wise things, you will certainly learn a lot from the guys on here with you carrying out plenty of exploration. Its good fun with bandits when it works, nightmare when it dont.

[andy-m]

Hi malcymal,
Thanks for the info, I will see what I can do at the weekend and let you know how I get on.
A picture is as good as a thousand words, I have not done anything to it as yet and thought I`d do some piccy`s before I gave her a clean up so you could see how it was.

I might try to get an escalator for it, Im used to searching high + low around the world for bits so will see how I get on. As you say with a little fettling the 1p coin mech is probably great anyway.

Thanks again guys
Andy

[malcymal]

Try this image for starters,

[andy-m]

Thanks malcymal thats perfect, might have had to drill a hole in my wooden eye to find that plate adjuster on my own.

Thanks Again, Spot on

Andy

[malcymal]

Marvellous, if you take the whole shefra unit off, whole lot easier. You can play rolling the coin in to see what is wedging etc. You might find slight pitting of the chrome between gate and back plate, this consequently makes the coin entry not so smooth and can snag the odd coin that is dirty, greasy (coin appears to hang in midair as it sticks to backplate). So very fine grinding paper to get this nice if it is pitted. It really is that finicky, but once you have split the mech by undoing the screws, and go it over with autosol, that cleanliness makes world of difference on the coin travel. You can also examine how different coins follow their way along the path, 6d, new 5p etc. Gives you an idea of what fibre washers to use to increase width of coin run, or reduce!. Have fun. So damn annoying that these machines didnt have a coin reject button (a post i made on here). If u get the odd coin not appearing in the shefra window, a slight thump with hand below coin slot does the trick to dislodge coin to bottom tray or appear under coin detector. That adjustment on coin gate and coin detector is miniscule, can make you swear but you will get there, all part of the fun i think.

Just got home and looked at my mech, located the adjuster location for you.

[andy-m]

Ok took it out and gave it a quick fettle + Clean.
its working much better now as yeh was very mucky. The adjuster seems a bit different and as i read elsewhere on here there is a magnet and most of the coins I have are magnetic. This was moving the coins over to the side and dropping them down and out the payout tray.
Gave it all a quick polish and took out the magnet and 95% of the coins work.
Will take it into work tomorrow and give it a propper clean up so should get it more reliable.
See pic below in case theres a few different ones knocking about.

Next is the cabnet, at the moment it has a Mad Money sigh on top in white and black+ red front, before I start sand blasting are these the correct colours? have seen one red+white.

Thanks Again
Andy

[malcymal]

Ive seen black with white stripes, black with red stripes, and red with black stripes... I always thought the mad money machine was actually embossed at the bottom of the case M A D M O N E Y ?? I dont think it really matters what colour you are painting it. I tell you what i would do thought, get rid of that 1 new pence badge!!! Powells sell denominator badges for £8.00 each, a nice small polished metal one would be nice.Why not look at these for inspiration !
http://www.1armedbandit.co.uk/70000/info.php?p=4&pno=0 Theres a diamond star machine on there with a white top box.

[badpenny]

I can see brush strokes so it's been repainted at some point anyway. I always think they look good blue and cream.

Then again I am biased, this is an ancient photo of one that was in my uncle's arcade in the late 60's that got painted accordingly in readiness for the new season. It was probably dark grey and black originally, and the flash for the top box was knocked up in the same workshop. I see that has a Shefras escalator fitted as well.
It's back to back with an Aristocrat Nevada (I think)

[andy-m]

Yeh, can see the paint has been changed, looks like original was all red underneath. Must say a great idea changing the 1p logo, chrome would look nice. Might email HP`s and see what they got.

Took the coin escalator into work yesterday and gave it a good fettling, works a treat now.
Much more reliable, with the magnet fitted is carp as most of the coins are magnetic now.We had the same problem at work a while ago when one of our cable suppliers chose not to tell us they had changed a copper video core to a copper coated steel wire. <Gits>

Anyway the case is in for a fettle weekend so that`ll keep me out of trouble. Found another red base paint from a triumph I did a while back, might have a mix and do it Red+White, that one on HP`s looked a good colour, Not sure what the Mad Money box on top is about but has the blokes face as a win on the reels? I`ll think about it. But Ducati Red is looking the favorite at the moment.

[rbrewerton]

Hi Andy, I've been reading your recent correspondance with interest as I too am currently restoring my first bandit, a Sega Diamond 3 Star. Mine is red/white and was working albeit a bit temperamentally at times so it needed an overhaul and a chance for me to get to know how it worked. I'd learnt the basic theory but needed to see the bits in my hand to appreciate it. I partially dismantled the mech, removed reel bundle, brakes, kicker, vert and horiz payout levers, payout slides and clock for cleaning then degreased the rest in a paraffin bath. Then when you reassemble it that's when you get to understand the theory. So best of luck, I'm sure you'll crack it. By the way looking at your photos, rear view bottom left, you appear to be missing 3 of the horizontal payout levers so payout slides will not function properly. These levers are all the same except the bottom one so should't be difficult to replace. Richard.

[badpenny]

Not sure what the Mad Money box on top is about but has the blokes face as a win on the reels? .

Well .. that's shown your lack of age up a bit.........
alfred e newman
Mad Magazine!
........ google it, and discover where the previous generation got some of their kicks at society and the system.