Bally (Super) Gold Award - maintenance

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garythegolfer
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Bally (Super) Gold Award - maintenance

Post by garythegolfer »

Hello again everyone,

I recently acquired a (1965) Bally 776 (Super Gold Award one arm bandit). I would like to be able to do a little maintenance work on it and I'm trying to make/buy an extension lead so that the mechanical assembly can be operated whilst removed from the cabinet. This must be quite a common requirement for repairs? Arcade workshops might have had or made these....

I have got an 18 way Beau plug. But I've attached a photo of the 18way Beau socket I'm after. It has two distinctive round sockets in the middle row rather than flat sockets. [There are plenty of suppliers of plugs/sockets without these round pins/sockets.]

My questions are:
1. Does anyone know of a source of a ready-made extension lead (about 6ft long cable with a 18 way plug on one end and a matching 18 way socket on the other end?
2. Does anyone know of a source/supplier specifically of the 18 way socket?
3. Does anyone know the part number of this variant of the Beau socket (and plug)?

Any help will be appreciated.
Thank you
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garythegolfer
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Bally (Super) Gold Award - Removal of Belly Glass

Post by garythegolfer »

Topic merged - Site Admin.

Hi, It's me again....
I am really struggling to remove the belly glass from a 1965 Bally 776 slot machine to change the neon tubes. I haven't yet found a copy of the Bally Manual No 200 though I have found quite a few generic instructions.

All the instructions I can find tell me to remove just 2 screws from the back of the door. I have done that but the belly glass frame is VERY reluctant to move. It probably hasn't been disturbed for 50 years and I am trying not to damage it with excess force.

This is quite an early EM machine. The belly glass frame looks to be in one piece! Is there some trick to removing the belly glass/frame? It is likely to be the same as the classic Money Honey I would think....

Perhaps there is a top rail to the belly frame that is deliberately "trapped" behind the main door casting? Or do I just need to be a bit more forceful trying to move the back panel away from the main door frame?

Any help?
slotey
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Re: Bally (Super) Gold Award - Removal of Belly Glass

Post by slotey »

Hi
I have had this problem a few times. It can be very stubborn. I have always found get it warm with an hair dryer, but not hot. Chances are, a cloth tape has been used to act as a gasket and gone hard and stuck it to the frame. The heat should soften it. Replace with a few layers of p.v.c tape. Should then be o.k.
garythegolfer
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Re: Bally (Super) Gold Award - Removal of Belly Glass

Post by garythegolfer »

!THANKS!
garythegolfer
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Re: Bally (Super) Gold Award - Removal of Belly Glass

Post by garythegolfer »

I have found another site that suggests that apart from the 2 screws mentioned that there are another 4 nuts at the bottom of the belly panel that need to be removed. [These may require the pay-out mechanism to be removed first!]

I have attached a photo that shows Screw 1 (there is another screw on the same level at the other end of the panel). Nut 2 is one of four spaced horizontally)

Is it possible that this 6 screw fixing method, 2xScrew 1 plus 4xNut 2, only applied to early EM slots eg Money Honey?....where the belly panel frame is one piece (comprising all four edges).
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phan000
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Re: Bally 776 EM Bandit connector?

Post by phan000 »

garythegolfer wrote: Thu May 05, 2022 2:10 pm ...I'm trying to make/buy an extension lead so that the mechanical assembly can be operated whilst removed from the cabinet. This must be quite a common requirement for repairs?
I’ve not heard of anyone trying to repair an EM like this before.

May be simpler to use a series of temporary jumpers?

What is the issue that you are trying to fix?
slotey
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Re: Bally (Super) Gold Award - maintenance

Post by slotey »

Hi
The Bally socket and plug numbers will not help you, as you won't be getting them from Bally.
But the numbers are E-574-1A for the socket and E-573-1A for the plug.
I have made a few of the jumpers. They help in repairing a Bally no end. You will find it very difficult to fix one in the case - no room to get in to see what is/not happening.
I thought your luck may have been in - I sorted through my spares and have a 24 pin plug and socket, but only with the one round locator pin, not two, and a 24 pin plug, no socket. The other ones I have have been used for jumpers and are keepers. Sorry.
Mine came from a fireman in the U.S who repaired Ballys for a hobby, but all contact was made through ebay. I do not have his email. Keep your eye on American ebay. They do come up. You can always put them on your watch list.
John
garythegolfer
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Re: Bally (Super) Gold Award - maintenance

Post by garythegolfer »

Thanks for the suggestion (US EBay).
The part number(s) I was looking for were the Beau (or successors) part number(s). I have seen some part numbers quoted but they are really for the version without the round pin/locators.....

Regards,
Gary
garythegolfer
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Re: Bally (Super) Gold Award - Removal of Belly Glass

Post by garythegolfer »

slotey wrote: Fri May 13, 2022 1:59 pm Hi
I have had this problem a few times. It can be very stubborn. I have always found get it warm with an hair dryer, but not hot. Chances are, a cloth tape has been used to act as a gasket and gone hard and stuck it to the frame. The heat should soften it. Replace with a few layers of p.v.c tape. Should then be o.k.
I have now removed the belly glass and I have to repeat my thanks to you for the advice. I am certain that I would not have been able to remove the belly light box without your tip to use gentle heat to soften the cloth tape. Fifty odd years of stiction take some shifting!

I have now got both fluorescent lights working again (it needed both starters and both tubes replacing). I now also understand why almost no-one ever replaced these tubes during the working life of these bandits. Whilst the top neon can be changed in 15 seconds, the belly lights require substantial dismantling including the payout. I don't suppose many arcade workers would have bothered, hence so many that I remember from the 1960s had flickering (or non-working) lower lights.
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brigham
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Re: Bally (Super) Gold Award - maintenance

Post by brigham »

Don't forget that the payout wasn't on there when Bally wrote the handbook; it's part of the Phonographic Equipment conversion.
I only ever buy the PE revamps now. I've had enough of hopper payouts for one lifetime.
garythegolfer
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Re: Bally (Super) Gold Award - maintenance

Post by garythegolfer »

That is interesting. I wondered what the PE logo was about. I did wonder why all the manuals talk about hoppers....

Does that mean Belly light box fluorescent changing was easier in USA....or was that a pain as well?

Thanks for the info
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scottie
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Re: Bally (Super) Gold Award - maintenance

Post by scottie »

Hi
Does any of this help you out?
Scottie
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garythegolfer
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Re: Bally (Super) Gold Award - maintenance

Post by garythegolfer »

Thank you for the information.

The thing I would really like to get my hands on is the 18 way socket that you show in your last photo. I already have the plug but I'm missing that matching socket. Would it be possible to buy it from you (so that I can make up a service lead....to check the electrics out thoroughly with the mechanics out of the cabinet)?

Thanks.
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coppinpr
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Re: Bally (Super) Gold Award - maintenance

Post by coppinpr »

brigham wrote: Tue Sep 20, 2022 5:10 pmI only ever buy the PE revamps now. I've had enough of hopper payouts for one lifetime
The original factory produced Bally "Money Honey" range never had hopper payouts, only slides.
Last edited by coppinpr on Wed Sep 21, 2022 8:45 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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coppinpr
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Re: Bally (Super) Gold Award - maintenance

Post by coppinpr »

It can be quite interesting to open up the belly glass on the early machines,as stated. They were so hard to access they got left alone. The replacement of tubes and a good clean can transform the machine. I opened one up some years ago and found a tiny motor powering a coloured spinner that caused a changing colour to shine through on parts of the belly glass. The needle-style axle had long been blocked up with dirt and fluff. A good, careful clean and away it went again as good as new. God knows how long it had been since that feature was previously working.
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scottie
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Re: Bally (Super) Gold Award - maintenance

Post by scottie »

Hi Gary
If I understand correctly, you want to operate the mechanism while out of the cabinet. So you want to make up an "extension cord" that plugs into the cabinet and onto to the mechanism ?? ,,,,,,So you will need one "male" plug to plug into the cabinet and one "female" plug to plug into the mechanism....right ?
Scottie
garythegolfer
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Re: Bally (Super) Gold Award - maintenance

Post by garythegolfer »

Yes that's right as per my initial post. I already have the 18 way male plug but have been unable to find a source of the 18 way socket with the 2 round sockets on the middle row.
Regards,
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brigham
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Re: Bally (Super) Gold Award - maintenance

Post by brigham »

I hacked one up from the socket on a scrap mech...
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scottie
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Re: Bally (Super) Gold Award - maintenance

Post by scottie »

Hi Gary
So you just need the "female" plug.
Any allwin parts to trade?
Scottie
garythegolfer
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Re: Bally (Super) Gold Award - maintenance

Post by garythegolfer »

Hi,
I'm sorry I'm not really a collector. I have restored (and kept!) a non-working Jameson Electrodart (ciruit diagram already uploaded to this site). I have now started work on repairing/restoring a Bally Super Gold Award.

Would beer tokens (£) do instead?
Regards
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