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This is my setup from left to right, metcal iron, metcal tweezers, and pace desoldering SX80

Hello well first of all let me start by saying I never realized how much interest there was in the product and the industries that I enjoyed as a younger man. As much as the industry was interesting and fun to be in, the company JPM, was something very special. Considering the company as we knew it ceased to exist many years ago, most of the individuals that enjoyed working together, and playing hard together, are still in contact with each other. Several people on this forum have suggested that stories about the early days might be interesting so I have decided to attempt to write some humorous lines about those days and the product. This is obviously from my point of view and so it's in a way autobiographical, but I started on the production line, went through to the test department, moved on to development, migrated to customer services promoted to customer service manager, was asked to take over development, was part of the Marketing team and then project managed the new SWP so I guess mine is a particularly wide view. If this seems self indulgent or self promoting it's not meant to be so be honest and re-direct me if I drift off subject. I still work, I enjoy working with a bunch of geeks, lunatics, and research amongst other things renewable energies, water purification and believe it or not mobile phones and beer brewing, however that's another subject altogether. Strangely, at least six of us used to work in the gaming industry, no one else from JPM, they are not that old 🤔 however several from Astra games which obviously I had a big hand in setting up. I'll gather some facts together and come back with more pertinent information. Regards Frank Bird .......... Continued ..........

A friend of franks and co worker has just told me that jpm had there own inhouse magazine i wonder what interesting stuff it has inside, i am hoping we will hear from frank and his co worker on the mecca again , if not and i am sent anything i will share it here its so awesome ... got me fingers crossed

Top Cherry delivered this morning! The cabinet is as clean as it looks in the pic. I'll tell you more when I've had time to take the back off.

If you press that with the refill key in it will re-float the machine to full float and divert coins to the cash box.

Nobles bought many of the Bell Fruit electro's to use as base machines for their conversions. Many of them were this style of cabinet.

Rat Race all day long

As a donor for retrofitting back to something great.

1974, My first days at JPM I was shown how to put together the component parts of the "flasher assembly" or the "reel unit" that carries the symbols that you see spinning when you press the start button. What some of you newer (MPU?) guys may not know is that it's final resting position actually enabled the win by allowing an electric current to flow through the unseen pairs of contacts that were 'wiped' over by a pair of conductive brushes or wipers not unlike the underneath of a scalextric car (remember those). This was the complete randomness of the machine, their was no percentage controller, no way to inhibit wins. When 240v mains current was used (god forbid) the circuits actually used to arc or flash hence the 'Flasher' description. In previous days the electrical rotary switch, for that is what it is, was used extensively in machines such as the “Bally Bingo” and due to the unhealthy atmosphere (in those days) in pubs and arcades the contacts used to quickly get gummed up with fluff, grease and tobacco grime. Folk lore has it that one enterprising engineer who was particularly fed up with cleaning the grease out with a cloth thought it would be a great idea to use a little petrol soaked tooth brush to clean the contacts which on the face of it might seems an entirely plausible endeavour. Unfortunately the confined area he was in concentrated the fumes and he didn't notice the build up so when he powered up the mains and the machine started up, the flashers did just that, and well the rest can be imagined. I guess Fireball is a good name for a machine? Don't be under any illusion that JPM was always the well oiled machine it turned out to be. It all started in a garage in Porthcawl in about 1972 although the guys had been 'busy' converting machines to the new decimal coinage.The new coin values didn't exactly fit with the percentage values that had been used to create the products and the minor changes or botches that were used to make the machine 'fit' the percentage often screwed up game play. One trick was to inhibit the machine's ability to stop on a winning line, this was done buy either filling in the cog on the reel unit that allowed the solenoid brake to drop, or connecting a feed from the preceding contact on the wiped surface which kept the solenoid active long enough to let the jackpot pass.In any case the guys realised that by making their own glasses, changing the reel bands, rewiring the flasher and re-programming the rotary timers the machine could be revamped and game play enhanced, hence the Conversion kit market was started although they took in a machine and revamped it over night, while still keeping their day jobs. It didn't take long before they found a manufacturer to make cabinets and buying old broken machines they cannibalized parts to build new ones eventually buying all new parts. From their to the old ACE Coin building in Ferry Road, Cardiff took quite a short period of time and the wobbly foundations of the company were laid. Regards Frank Bird ............ Continued. ...........