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Hi guys,I've decided to build myself another conveyor,I'm currently searching for the bits and have some already.i made 5 in 2010 but rarely come up for sale.this is scratch built Inc cabinet and even make my own payout mech.so who is interested in a thread following the build of this.

Back from not having an old machine to do up to having a Hit Money needing a sort out 🙂 Thought I would post some pics and vids on here for everyone interested. So far its had the basic clean, and buttons cleaned and put in order.... Here it is before starting.......

I got two from there via the fellas who with official permission managed to rescue them. Both will hopefully in time be renovated

Evening all 😄 well for the last week I have finally got around to building a line up from an clubber which I had put away some time ago,, here are just a few pictures

Some nice old stuff in there https://youtu.be/hvkpFJ3_D7k?si=95EFY-tkn9fU33z0

Originally from 1942,mine is smaller.I made 5 of these in 2010 as in pic.i will update as proceed,you can see the parts I have got so far and wood collected today to start playfield and surround.hope you find this interesting.

Mostly together now,need to put drive chain on and make a few adjustments. This is what it looks like.

Glass decals all done, very pleased with the result

I saw someone trying to track down some ROMs the other week over on Desert Island Fruits, so I've mirrored @Geddy's big fruit machine ROM collection to the Internet Archive. I can periodically upload a fresh copy to overwrite the old one... since we've got the publicly accessible Community Drive (see Dif for more info on this project), this seemed like a good companion resource Link is here: https://tinyurl.com/3jhzbueb

I've repaired a few Sp.Ace boards. They aren't too bad to work on with light battery damage. Although you do have to remove all the components. Including the box connectors. The ASIC chip seems to have really weak pins aswell,you don't get many chances removing then.

Thanks for the heads up @Player @KonixI wrote the software for Inquizitor and some of the other games as well as developing the various versions of viper/cobra/cyclone hardware. I have a Viper board which I think works. Also an Inquizitor disk but it seems to be unreadable. A don’t know if it can be cleaned up or if there’s anything which can be done ? All of the Viper/Cobra games which we have software for are emulated in MAME. I might have schematics and a manual for the Flare chipset somewhere. Feel free to ask whatever, I’ll help if I can.

Here is a quick vid.the missus can't get past first hole. 20241229_211930.mp4

I've now completed and ready to send to the printers the first 3 volumes of fruit machine flyers. These will be printed to the same high quality with gloss.paper and laminated cover as the video games and fruit machine flyes. I was particularly keen to do these because unlike video games and pinballs where there's loads of books available.there's absolutely nothing printed for fruit machines. I've collated the flyers into volumes by year and jackpot value as follows: Era Jackpot Pages 1978-1986 £1-£3 328 1987-1989 £4 384 1990-1995 £4.80, £5 384 Also, unlike the video game and pinball flyers although there are a large number of flyers included, the compilations are by no means comprehensive but do include a significant number of machines. I plan to do further volumes to cover machines up to mid 2010s when they all became digital but this won't be until sometime next year. I've attached some example pages from each of the volumes. Ignore the grey backgrounds as this is just where I took pictures on the computer. I'll be placing an order with the printers in a couple of weeks time, so please let me know if you would like any of these. It’s highly unlikely I will do another print run so it's now or never I'm afraid. Each volume will be £25 each and postage £6.50 which will cover all 3. Payment as usual by PayPal, robotgreg@yahoo.com, friends and family. I also have a small number left of the video game and pinball flyer books but do not have all volumes. I can combine postage subject to being less than 10 Kg, So do let me know if you are interested in any of these or if you have any questions on the Fruit Machine Flyer books..

Here it is done,now for the final touches.so I've got to strip it all now.

I have a new purchase arriving on Friday; The Penny Tumble. I've not seen one, but from the hazy photos it looks like a BFM console 3-ALIKE, with the later Action Line polished aluminium window frame superimposed. It's on sixpence play, but bizarrely, the front glass contains an unusual 'feature'. It forms an add-on 'dropcase' game, and inserting a penny at the top gives the player a chance to win a free play on the bandit! I can't wait to get on with this. It could be the 'missing link' between the Brewery-themed console machines, and the well-known New Penny arcade machine 'Action Line'. It MAY still have the Half-Crown acceptor, with tandem coin-switches for 1x play and 4x 6d. change!

Not written up an MPU4 for a while so .... This one came in doing all sorts of odd things before it died so I suggested sending the PSU as well just in case. The PSU was fine and all the caps had a good ESR so that rules that one out. Moving on to the board, most of the components around the battery area needed replacing and anything else with green legs. On switch on it did boot but with garbage on the alpha and then nothing. Luckily there was no track damage which was confirmed by tap'ing out the tracks to the alpha. In fact the only track damage was the negative battery pin which had become isolated. A rivet and some copper sorted that. So where do we go next? The first diag test is the triacs and all was good in that dept being as I'd alread swapped out all driver transistors, the 1nF caps and the zener diodes. This comes from IC8 which also has a drive to the alpha. The other drives to the alpha come from IC3 (68B21) so out she comes, in with a socket and a new one and bingo it now says MPU4 ALPHATEST OK. Are we done? Don't be silly, up comes the 7 seg display then it alarms with something like @@@@@ALARM 7xxxx (some other odd characters). Usually once the alpha is working it will tell you what the next error is but in this case it was garbage. The next thing the diags test is the RS232 and the meters (could be the other way round I can't remember) so I blindly changed the two IC's responsible as neither of them were producing the required outputs (IC7 + IC5 68B21). Next boot up and it's still the same.OK, I have seen a 6840 ALARM around this stage so a quick swap out and ....nope! Next thing switch on again and nothing??? The RESET circuit has failed. Should have swapped out these transistors originally, ho hum. So I'm running out of IC's to change so where next? After being on a few minutes with the alarm sound driving me mental I noticed IC6 was cold whereas all the other PIO's were warm. Hmmm, in with a new one and everything sprang to life. That was a relief.

And i managed to get another replacement top glass for another one

Well the silly season has definitely started and nowhere more apparent than in the workshop! Are you stting comfortably.... This one came in as 'stopped working and popping noises'. Usual suspicion goes to one of the tants being short and low and behold, it was. I always change at least three of the tants on these boards for the +&- 12v supplies as they suffer more ripple than the 5v line due to the caps in the PSU falling in value. I also swap out the TVS diodes if there's any signs of green plague or corrosion as these can (and do) go short! Next it's at least one if not all the 4 buffer chips around the CPU depending if they've got the green rot. Then there's the CPU chip socket which can be welded to the CPU chip if you're unlucky. So, a few other odds and sods needed replacing to get the board back to pristine condition, also removed IC35 (been caught out too many times with that one). Time to switch on and be greeted with a lamp test from the diag software except this time it wouldn't boot. It did come out of reset though which can be a battle in itself sometimes. Things now go from bad to worse and then worse still. Trying to work out why it wasn't booting led to both TMS9902 chips being removed and socketed (not a bad thing as it's handy to be able to whip these out for testing). Replacements were tried for IC10 but that made no difference. One of the other 74LS541's that drives the 7 seg looked a bit iffy and once removed and put on my chip tester showed it to be bad. While I was at it I swapped out the last one for good measure although it did test OK. So, power up again and ..... still no boot! Normally you see a quick flash of the peripheral comms on the 7 seg but it wasn't? While checking the connections for that I found it read about 40 Ohms to ground, that's not good! I'd now been on this for a couple of days on and off and thinking I've found it. Get to the bottom of this and it's happy days, how wrong can you be but I digress... After removing all connections from the peripheral comms line the remaining culprit turned out to be IC 11 (CF700045). There are two of these ULA chips and they do all the magic smoke and mirrors that drive all the different sections on the board. The only quick way of checking these is by substitution as there's so many i/p's and o/p's and they all do something depending on something else and I've not got too much of an idea what's actually going on especially at bus speeds! In with the new chip and expecting it all to start happening and ..........still no boot. Hmm, well there's always the Thames I suppose. Another weekend passed and then another day and now I've socketed all the PIO chips, RAM, tapp'd out all the address and data lines to everywhere and checked (and double checked) for any shorts which of course there weren't any. On switch on I could see a quick flash on the 7 seg but it would just drop back to the bottom left segment. It was almost like it was booting seeing something it didn't like and stopping. Next step was to remove the CE lines from the PIO chips to see what would happen. Confusion now reigned as, which ever chip I did, it allowed the 7 seg to switch to the top left segment but nothing else. Now we get to this morning and someone was shouting at me from way up above saying 'have you checked the Power fail line' ? Hmm I did check this a few days ago and it was high, so no power fail. (pay attention here as I might ask questions later) I've now checked all the SIL resistors and all others that lift a pin to 5v just in case any were broken. Attention was now directed to where the battery used to be as most of the vias here get corroded. All the tracks looked good but I've been caught out there too many times in the past so a meter check is always the best policy. There are quite a few links here but most of them are dead ends to the 64 way connector, so never used. I then found that the ground connection which joins up with the battery connection was actually broken from top to bottom and another link that joined IC5 (TMS9902) to somewhere else (one of the ULA's I think it was) was also broken. A few patch wires later and it was time to switch on again. ARGHHH, still no boot. Thames he we come. It's funny I could still hear this voice saying check the power fail and then a faint distant memory hit me that there should be a waveform here! Getting the scope on to IC37 (74LS74) showed no output so with guns ablazing a new one was fitted. Before switching on I thought I'd test the chip first as I couldn't take another disapointment. 'Chip failed' it said, by this time the excitement was unbearable. Switch on and BINGO it's working. What a relief, I think I need a less stressful activity, how about a driving instructor! PS: Reading the manual it does mention that lack of the AC voltage sense supply will cause an NMI and it is the most important one so although the supply was good, because the waveform wasn't there I assume it just shut down. Won't be caught by that one again (I hope)

Hey Nick, I tried an alternate approach to powder coating and sprayed my own frames with RAL 7001 and got amazing results on the top part of my supertubes, you tried any of yours yet? Top painted, bottom original I would say thats a 100% match and a fluke result finding an exact colour RAL match eh:

These arrived on Monday both mostly working, just need a tidy up will keep me busy!

Here is a photo, sorry it is not the best but i have not long moved house and currently building a new garage / workshop so everything that should be in there is crammed into the house ( even a petrol suffolk punch lawnmower under the stairs) 🤣

I thought I'd revive this one with a quick update. I patched the big cutout in the 10p tube with a 3D printed slotted plate, now she's fully back on old coins again.

Picked this up. Needs quite a bit of work but should come out ok. Anyone got any stories of this machine? It’s made nearly 48k profit! Managed to find a board out of the old stock room 😎

I don’t see any negatives at all with redrose bowl, the owner is a collector and enthusiast that goes back decades,you won’t be seeing Hollywood bowl getting line ups etc etc to amuse yourself while the rest of your family kids /grandkids are bowling id happily go and lose £30 on a weekly basis if I lived up that way…

Looking like a machine now,but still lots to do.

Machined playfield today, now to make the ball release bar.

Wow, I can't believe I haven't updated this thread for nearly 4 years! Anyway, back in the workshop this board came in as dead and it was, totally. First check was the 5v rail and it wasn't there! No problem as quite often the LM723 fails except in this case it was a later mod with a 5v reg TO3 transistor. Checking it had 15v (ish) on the input which it did but nothing on the output. Unusual as these things are supposed to be short circuit protected. To cut a long story short there wasn't a short on the board but the acual reg tranny had gone short on it's output. OK no problem there, slip in a new 78H05 and off we go, happy days etc!! So on power on we get about 4.5v slowly rising towards 5v (that's not right) followed by a 'blimey that's getting hot' smell. Quickly turning it off I found two of the 6820's had turned themselves into hot plates. Whip them out and replace with 6821's (slightly less rare than 6820's). Switch on again, nice 5v and nothing! I'm now off the opinion before the reg went short it passed 15v out on the 5v rail! The other two 6820's were both faulty too but cold. Once new chips were fitted there was activity so the CPU looked like it was OK? Due to the PIO chips being damaged I decided to check out all the TTL chips too. Two of them were bad but I decided it would be prudent to swap them all out as a precaution. So now I have all the chips socketed and Bingo she runs (after a few silly bits of diagnosis that we won't go into here ) 6820 CPU's are become scarce now so I was pleased it was holding out and has done after several hours per day of soak tests. There's no thyristor over voltage protection on this mod but it was brought back for MPU3 no doubt for good reason.

Druid now dumped and uploaded on DIF. https://www.desertislandfruits.com/forum/index.php?/topic/18144-mpu3-rom-dumps-druid-5p-£150-big-game-291fl-lucky-strike-101/

I am absolutely chuffed to get this beauty to restore to its former glory, cost me more than I’d like but having been looking for this machine for years I’m happy to have it and won’t be leaving me for ever lol I’ll post progress when I get round to the restoration 😁 it even has the 10p glass set too! And it works! Cab is good/salvageable just a new plinth I think and some touching up. Inside is in remarkable condition really. All the buttons are jammed and usual age stuff present. Was originally Supertubes I know most prefer MPU3 original but for me this was always the one that I grew up with 😁😁😁😁

She lives! Not got any sound but getting there

Hello Digby, We can help you with an Ace System One MPU and power supply board. This was repaired 20 years ago and then put away. We hardly have not any Ace System One machines here in the Netherlands anymore. If you are interested, you can contact me by WhatsApp on number +31642572219. When you contact me by WhatsApp I can send you some pictures. Regards Randy from the Netherlands

Hi all hope you're all ok 🙂👍 had massive issues logging into my account on here, with passwords resets sent but not received, and not being able to log in view or commenting on people's projects really frustrating 😞 just found a very old note pad with my info on and logged back in, so currently sporting a third leg with excitement! Amazed the password resets didn't mess anything up! Man I'm chuffed it worked, now lots of catching up to do from the nearly 2 years missed 🫣

BWB appear to had provisioned for an illuminated ident on the smallest glass pane under the mecs, I've finished their job for em and it looks great 🙂 before and after - minor details I know....

Echoing what Nick has said, the battery vapours can cause havoc in these boards. The causes of the reset LED stuck on are many and varied due to the reset circuit monitoring all the voltages from the PSU and some other functions. These can be attributed in some cases to the voltage supervisor chip (IC2) the 555 timer (IC1) and any of the supply feeds being missing or under par. Failure of IC3 is also a possibility. The vapours can get into all the chips between the battery and CPU and all the associated components too. Most of the the resistors along the bottom edge will usually come apart using the fingernail test!! The track under the battery invariably has no copper left in some places even though the solder resist looks clean! Work that one out. So getting the reset LED to go off is usually only half (or a lot less) of the story and in depth fault finding then begins in earnest. I have done many of these and some are good to go once all the bad components have been found and replaced. Others however have persisted with odd faults, some with contaminated boards and some just unknown which work fine on the test rig but not in the users machine???

They are holding up very well thanks being switched on 14 hours a day. There is now in full working order Line Up Frog Hop Adders and Ladders High Lights Exchange Unlimited Fire Cracker All working fine on new coins and getting reasonably used. Cash or Nudge not in the line yet but is fully working with a slight lamp fault Not about making money just good to see them for play and many people love them just for the memories they brought to them when they were younger

Why don't you come and see the machines rather than slagging everything I have said on this topic if not keep it shut

A bit more done,soon be ready to fit electrics and wire it all up.

Wheels and bearings in,motor and clutch now mounted.playfield artwork ready.soon be putting electrics in.

Moving on.i now have my metal parts.been working on cabinet today.now being assembled. Hole is now cut for top sign and mounted playfield to front pannel to make sure it fits.wheels assembled onto drive shafts.lo5s to do.

I've got all the books from back from the printers now so will be messaging everyone privately who ordered them for payment and then I can get them all sent out. Postage comes under 2kg for 1 so can send one for £3.50 or more for £6.65 total. I do have a few spares if anyone else wants them as a Christmas present for themselves or to get one of their wives/partners to buy for them? Here's a few pics from the finished books. Thanks Greg

I was watching that Penny Tumble and pleased it's going to a good home Colin. Yes much like Action Line with similar inner workings and like you say has that 1d old penny drop. The best part is it's still original and not been converted like most of the models from that era so, It has it's 6d or sixpence (2.5p) play mech plus it should still have it's Half Crown (two shillings and sixpence) or 12.5p in todays money coin mech. Bell Fruit built a version of Penny Tumble for Ansells brewery. I'm still on the lookout for an original Action Line which was also on 6d play, not the later converted 1p version

Been a while from my last release but here's a firm favourite of mine, one i've been wanting to re-dx for many years Its Fast Forward by Barcrest a "Sudden Impact" type of clone with its four hidden features and a £3 repeat chance. thanks goto the original dx creator from where i gained the majority of lamps from. @ginge for decal changes for the 5p-10p versions And a BIG thankyou to @netdent , for the images from the machine he just bought and the pink,blue bar and red seven symbols used from his image upload,. hope i've done your machine justice?? Shortcuts are as standard.. Enjoy and Happy Gaming!!!! Fast forward £6 Dx.zip Fast forward 10p-£6 Dx.zip Fast forward 5p-£3 Dx.zip

Hi guys just to say I ordered a new board and we’re back up and running thanks for your time and input

Hey everyone. Hope you are all doing ok. Sorry I haven't posted for a while,but I promise to try harder to be more active on here as this place is The Mecca for spinning those classic reels😁 Had the pleasure of visiting Sulzers Palace yesterday,and managed to play on most of his machines in his collection. Great catching up as always and the added bonus of catching up with Rob T as well. Rob says he can't log in on here and has tried changing passwords. Hopefully someone can help him by messaging him with advice,as it would be good to see him back on here. Below is some video clips I put together for you to enjoy. Thanks Massive to Nick who always puts on a fantastic day for us. Of note....I didn't break any machines😂😂😂 I

I would have thought 88 it would still have been a supertubes in 86/87 I suspect. Supertubes released 1st July 1986.

Powder coaters called me yesterday so I went and grabbed the frames, what a match i am chuffed with these! Not long now for the final reveal lol

I would really like to rebuild it as 10p play as you get unlimited nudges plus all wins can be gambled (apart from the single 10p centre reel of course) - I am having problems getting the roms as I "think" there were 2 versions based on the cab being rebuilt (mine is the supertubes which has the mechanical 10p coin mech) BWB refer in the instructions as MKI and MKII. I am unsure on this tho. I have a few folk looking/helping but if anyone knows or has the 10p file that will work on my setup please let me know I would be glad of help. Anyone got any view on what plays best 10p or 5p? I am lucky to have both glasses and a few weeks before I actually rebuild since I have the frames re-coated. The glass award/price of play is swappable but the stickers are going to be ruined once removed and I'd have to make more and I was lucky to get the second glass set same time.

Made up some brass support posts to replace previously used spares - made a few extra if anyone else missing the odd one or two ... Original spec 1/4"/4BA hex, faced both ends in lathe then centre marked, drilled and finally tapped by hand to take original 6BA cheese-head screws as per factory. Approx. 6 pairs available, £6pr posted. (be doing some of the round corner posts next week - will add details when done)

OK here we again. I said I'd been looking for 8 years, well it's now 10! Amazing what you can find with Google lens. https://www.coinoperatorshop.com/en/Spareparts---Asseccories/Connector-3473/Combo-plug-3475/ OK, what's the catch...... Shipping is £25!! Still if anyone knows someone in Austria.....