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When starting an Alpha what will go if you put on surge protector & turn on & off that way? I know your supposed to do the 3 switch
thing.

I think if you don't start up with a delay between the two main power switches you run a chance to burn up one or more of your power components.
This may not be totally correct, but I know there has to be a delay between applying power(s).

Ron (r273)   

PS: If you have a power delay from coorslight, then yes you can. I run mine from a power switch on the side of my cabinet and thru a
surge protector, then to the machine.

I have mine plugged into a surge and turn it on like that. It takes like 12 minutes. Is there a better or safer way?

I always turn mine on in left to right order with a pause between 2nd power supply switch and CPU switch. Boot time is 12 to 15 min.

I simply turn on a plugstrip. A "Start up sequence" never happens after a glitch/transfer or outage in a casino setting.
I really doubt that Bally would use a power supply design that would BLOW UP upon the power simply coming back on...


Kirk

 :331- :205-  Haven't had any issues powering it up that way for over 2 years.

In case you wondered exactly what a Alpha S9000 draws from the 120 Volt line....

About 216 watts standing by (Room/Mood lamp)

Hi All,
I just got my first 9000 alpha over the weekend. Im planning on setting it up tomorrow. What are the do's and dont's with starting it up? I too was told about the 3 switch thing from the seller. What doesnt make sense to me is what Kirk mentioned,. In the event of a power outage in a casino, wouldnt they just reboot all the machines at once? Anyway, just want to check to see how all you guys with alphas handle this. Also, do any of you who own alphas leave them on 24/7?

Pete

Nothing wrong with leaving them on 27/7/365 as long as the cooling fans are clean and airflow is not restricted.
The one I have here runs quite cool all the time.
I see absolutely NO reason to follow any kind of "Sequence" concerning power switches, and actually I would prefer ALL power supplies to come up at the same time.
Does Bally actually mention this in the install/setup directions?
Shops I have been in simply plug the primary power cord into a hot outlet. I plug mine into a switched plugstrip....

Kirk

There is a start-up procedure in the manual (see pic) that shows the switches being turned on separately.  Whether its required to be done this way or not I can't say.  I can say after going through many of these the casinos didn't bother turning them off in the 3-2-1 fashion.  But at the same time I can also say that early on (before I read the manual) I did have a couple of board power supplies that went bad and "popped" when the machine was turned on at the power strip (all 3 switches already in the on position).  Ever since that time I have followed the 1-2-3 ON and 3-2-1 OFF way of doing it and that issue with the board power supply has not re-occurred.  Maybe all just a coincidence.

That's a very long boot time and is the result of the OS and BIO's chip combination being used.  I would guess whatever versions you have is dated around 2009-2010.  There is no advantage whatsoever on the Alphas to having the most recent OS/BIOS combination (unless your game requires it...like a Cash Wheel).  In fact I would say it's a more complicated setup especially when it comes to the games with multiple progressives.  

If you switched to a version that was used around the 2005-2006 time range you will find the game plays the same and boot time is cut in half....maybe more.

Thanks for posting that....
As far as leaving them on, let's do the math...
250 watts is a quarter kilowatt. so to run it for a day would be 24 X 250 = 6 Kilowatts. at the rate in las vegas thats 6 X $0.11 = 66 cents a day to run it, $2.77 a week and about $12 a month to leave it on 24/7.
Fact is, power supplies take a beating ON POWER UP! Once running they are usually happy, it's rare indeed to have one grenade while up and running.
PROS....
They LOOK nice
Ready to play, no waiting for boot up
Easy on Power supplies...
Makes a little heat for the room.

CONS....
Costs a few bucks.
Wears out lights...
Bleaches reel strips...
Makes noise
Eats dirt/dust.
Wears out fans

I should explain the "Bleaching" problem. Flouresent lights are REALLY mercury vapor lamps.They emit Ultra-Violet light.The inside of the tube is coated in Phosphorus this is the part that glows white.A lot of the UV light gets thru and bleaches the strips! This is another good reason to switch to the LED tubes.

It's ALMOST a moot point, your mileage may vary ...


Kirk

I wonder if Bally is requiring some kind of UV protection on their strips now from their subcontractors?   :103-

I've noticed pretty consistently (after been through about 100 plus of these machines) that the S-9 generation reel strips (2005-2006 manufacture) have only very slight to no fade to the strips.  And the S9-E cabinets (2007-present) always look brand new with regards to color saturation (they still sometimes have the typical surface scratches).  You have to figure that in most cases these machines are running 24 hours a day for at least 5 years or more, especially the popular games like the Quick Hits and Hot Shots.  For me its a thrill every time I get in a new load and look at the strips as compared to the S2000's where your going to be disappointed half the time.

It's like Christmas morning every time, isn't it? That's gotta be the best part of this whole gig!

anybody know the off position for the micro ATX power switch? would off be to the left or to the right?

Left

left is off. When I did the 1,2,3 first button did not act like it did anything, When cabinet switch was turned on the reels started turning. When little switch was turned on reels stopped and scared me. Everything booted as usual.

thanks guys. much appreciated.  im going to set up my new 9000 monte carlo royale tonight. 

Here is what I do. I do not know if this is good or not. Let me know.
At night I turn off the chassis switch(#2) and leave the door open so the computer which keep running has more air flow.So all lights and reels are turned off. This should save some electricity.
When I turn it on with the chassis switch it boots up in about 10 secs. I have had no trouble with the machine.
Let me know if this will give me trouble in the long run.
Thanks,
Jerry

Thats a interesting option.......
Never thought of that.

Have had these alphas for 4+ years now.  Just hit the pwr. strip and let'em rip. Never a problem  Have numerous diff. ones exotic ones to dogs,  all the same.  As far as boot-up speed,  You can modify your brain boxes to boot up much faster.  Some of these out there may be fatigued ole dogs on there last leg-why they would fail.  I run new componets in mine so that may be a issue.  Every one I every got took and beefed up so no prob. down the road.  As all these games out there -they are used and from time to time need some attention.

Barry,
straight from the manual.

I have the manual,  Have had it way before any of you here.  I know what it says.  Thanks for calling me Barry,  LOL Winston. 

Wow...maybe were over thinking this while thing. Sounds like a bunch if us are doing it a bunch of different ways....yet, we see no more PS failures in any one particular group!!! I might have to fly the BS flag on the left to right, right it left, 1-2-3, 3-2-1 thing!

Mod: Can we get a BS flag please....I do believe it would be particularly useful in some posts...

Jim(BettorSlots) is correct about going backwards with the OS for a faster boot.I was running AVO 336-04 and went back to AVO 316-07.MUCH faster boot and MUCH easier to set up the progressives for Black Gold QH.The newer OS's for reel games are just overkill IMO.

What bios chip are you using?

I know about S2000 visions with NJ version chips taking forever to boot. Is it a version chip on these Alpha's responsible for it too? Is it as simple to change as on the S2000? 12 - 15 minutes booting is just crazy.

i have a S2000 vision with a NJ ver chip in it and mine takes about 4 minutes to boot up.

Mine had the NJ and took 9 to 12 minutes to boot. Changed version and now 2 min. 15 seconds or less.

AVBBPD-307

Cut my boot time in half.

If I were to guess, I would say the reason for the power up order has more to do with the port detection when the CPU powers up.  If you power up the CPU before the rest of the machine, it may not properly detect an active com port or monitor resulting in an error upon boot.  I have not tested this theory so I don't know if that is correct or not.
I have the delayed start relay circuit that allows me to keep everything on and use a  power strip.  Works great.

 delayed start relay circuit ??? Please explain so I understand. Still learning and not ashamed to admit it. My first 9000.

See Reply 14 of this thread ... http://newlifegames.net/nlg/index.php?topic=22202.0

There are various diff. methods that all suit diff. people.  The correct method has been posted here.   The other methods have been posted here.  Since I worked for Bally gaming for a while,  My method was stated.  Been cleaning out since no longer needed as it just takes up space.  Trashcan  was so heavy could not get half of them to the road, along with 4-tons of other things -(waiting on a dumpster).  "the manual" .   Statements here are purely opinion,  some are based on facts, trial and error, and Bullshit.  I did not see any BS in this post about this topic.  Thanks.

Oh wow, you worked for Bally? When they were developing the Alpha or was it other platforms? Please! Tell us more!  :89-  What Bally facility were you at? Cool!

Talked to Coors. He stopped the delay switch and is doing the 3 switch sequence

What was the reason?  :103-

Here is his quote " I stopped because the timer relays I used had a high failure rate. I believe in the three switch method . I get boot errors sometimes when turning on all at once. And yes always a good power surge protector.
"