New Life Games Tech Forums

Last year I started on what I thought would be a little project trying to fix a dropped S+ slot machine, thanks to many people here I was able to with a lot or reading and help fix and get running, then my wife thought it would be fun to have different games and again I was able to acquire 2 new games and a tournament chip to go with them. Have the mystery action for one game, thanks to a member here.  Got a progressive display  and bell from EBay and again with your help I have  this working in my machine now.

Working on the slot machine sometimes is more fun then playing it.

Here are my questions what else can I do to my S+
and
Should I stay with my s+ or try to get a completely different type of machine?
Should I back up my eproms just in case?
Is it hard to create my own theme for the S+ based off of a different theme? I have seen some posts on this and wonder how others have done with this one. Do I need the PSR's to do this?
What is the best mod you did to your machine? :99- please

There's not much else you can do with S+'s.  There are 4 and 5 reel games for them and it involves changing out the reel tray and getting the slimmer reels, but the 4 and 5 reel kits are very difficult to find, and frankly they are not all that.

There are also barcrest S+'s out there (with boxtop bonus rounds), but you'd be hard pressed to find kits to convert yours as these are not usually parted out and are sold as complete units.

Yes, absolutely back up your eproms.

Making your own kit is not all that difficult if you are creative.  Pick a game that has the features you like.  Then just change the reel strip symbols for the theme you like and change the graphics accordingly on the paytable.  As long as you are consistent replacing the symobols, you are good to go.  For the sake of brevity, let's say your strips have 8 symbols ( the s+ has 11 per strip in real life).  So if you had the strip that looked like this

Bar
7
Double Bar
Triple Bar
Bar
Double Bar
Triple Bar
7

You could substitute the symbols for say spongebob characters and replace Spongebob for 7's, Gary for Bars, Mr Krabs for Double Bars, and Sandy for Triple Bars.  So your reel strip would look like this

Gary
Spongebob
Mr Krabs
Sandy
Gary
Mr Krabs
Sandy
Spongebob

Then you would replace the winning combinations on the award table accordingly.  All S+ themes that are clones of each other (Triple Diamond, Triple Saphires, Triple Dollars) are done the same way.  It was a way for IGT to introduce "new games" without going through the jurisdictional certification as it uses the same software.  You do not need the PSR's if you have the game you want to clone.  If you don't then you would need the PSR to order the graphics in the correct way.

The best "mod" done on mine has been switching the tops from choptop, to 16" to roundtop.  It has let me access all forms of game kits.

If you want to do more on a Slot, you should really look into other platforms:

S2000. In those slots, you can run Vision titles (with LCD bonus tops), convert them to 5 reel machines, change the player panel accordingly to accomodate the multi-line, multi coin bet that goes with most 5 reel games. 

WMS 400 series.  These have the dotmation bonus tops on them and are readily available.

Then you go into the video reels like IGT Igames, WMS 550, WMS Bluebirds, Bally Gamemaker.

I'm familiar with the WMS games and and those you can easily change them to dual screen setups and the software is readily available and costs less than the IGames.  The Bally Gamemaker also has readily available software and has lots of multi-game sets.

To do a custom theme is pretty easy.

1. Choose the game you want to base it on..... and aquire the appropriate eproms.
2. Design the artwork for each symbol on the reel - these will subsitute the ones from the actual reels.
3. Design the artwork for belly, reel (if desired) and top glass.
4. Send your artwork off to Express Imaging - they will send you a quote and a proof (generally around $160)
5. Wait 3-4 weeks - and everthing shows up.

If you aquire a IGT Mini-Photon progressive (also known as behind the reel glass progressive) it works well with your tournament chips. It counts down the number of credits left or time depending on how you have your games set.
Along this line I have 3 slots. I put in both Wild Cherry and Cartoon Wild Cherry (same theme / same paytable / different glass) and do a real slot tournament among friends.

You can also add a Mikohn progressive to the slot. If you have more than one slot you can add a linked progressive.
The advantage of the Mikohn is that it works in any slot - doesn't have to be your S+ In my case I also link in my PE+ video poker.

Bulbs - can be changed out to LEDs along with cleaned up / replaced legends.

You can add in a slot topper - these replace the candles - some you can get with progressive meters in the topper.

Thinking outside the slot......I had been contenplating replacing my Top glass with a touch screen LCD panel - I would use an old PC/ power point to put up the paytable when it was in S+ mode. Or to play some of those other slot - game programs using the same screen. There is also then bunkos remote control - that allows you to play from an arm chair.

Hope this gives you some ideas.

May I ask a quick question about Progressive set up since the poster said that he did that to his machines ? Do all machines have to be IGT S + machines to be set up with a Progressive arrangement ? What do they need and how difficult is it to do ? If someone can point me to where I can find this info here I would appreciate it. Thanks,

Frank

Progressive systems and displays are pretty to hook up to S+'s really.
All depends on what kind of progressive boards you're using.
The easiest ones I found to set up are the CHAM44's with CON1's
using the PSP program to "talk" to them.
If you PM me a list of games/machines you'd like to link together, I can help you!
It's best if the same type of machines are linked together.
For example: a bank of say 4 or 5  S+'s linked together so they
all add to the scrolling display panel and
everybody on those particular machines are trying for the one
big progressive jackpot or maybe even even a hidden jackpot!
There's a lot more information in the forums under "Mikhon progressive systems".

From a gaming regulation point of view - there are huge problems with this. However most of us have basements outside these jurisdictions....lol.

In my case I have 3 S+ slots and 1 PE+ poker linked together. In the real world this would never be done as the Royal Flush pays off way more often than the top prize on a slot.

The problem with linking non-homogenous machines together is timing....

The IGT S+ simply shorts two pins together every time a coiun is dropped or a credit is played.
When you configure the SLOT you tell it that the TOP award is a LINKED progressive (or you tell it the secondary award is a LINKED progressive).
When these are subsequently hit those same two pins short for 3 seconds which tells the controller that the jackpot has been won.

Other platforms (IE Bally) may use different timing parameters that may be incompatiable co-existing with the S+
IE (means in example - I don't really know if Bally is or is not compatiable).

The biggest problem I have with playing with this stuff is that there is no way to get the S+ to simulate an actuall win condidtion. You just got to keep playing and hope it goes off as planned and if it doesn't you tweak it and wait some more.

 :72- reminds of a mod I did once...
I hooked up the 2 particular progressive wires that short when you win -
to the bell output on the motherboard of an S+.
I ran the bell in the test options....
bloody thing only ran credits up the ladder like crazy on the display
until I thought of turning the reset key... :96-

It's amazing I didn't burn anything out because for safety - I remembered to use a relay switch.
I imagine that's pretty much what's needed to add credits to the progressive sign
using Bally,s but to set off the jackpot?
I don't know that answer yet as I haven't had the chance to tinker with Bally ProSlots that much yet.

Thanks for the info, the remote controll looks pretty cool  I have just paid for and next week will receive my GQ-4X ,got some eproms off of eBay and will start with backing up my eproms, I'm sure I will be doing some reading on how to do this too.  than I think i will start to design a custom theme cartoonish haywire slot I guess customs sounds cannot be done,  and by the time that is done maybe something good will pop up on Craig s list to tinker with locally, I do not see many S2000's where I live that I can easily pick up but did see a wms400 posted a short time back an hour away.  :139-  time to eat.
 :181-

Please all here forgive me for what I am about to say-- :25- :97-.  The topic here is "What would YOU do next with a S+.  That being re-clarified for all here the you applies to me and all others.  I would find the tallest cliff or mountain and shove her off and video the event.  Of course this is just my thoughts on them.  I think probably 99% here love them -esp. the vendors etc.. I've heard from numerous sources as of late these things are being purchased in bulk for 20-25 bucks unshopped-working then re-sold for-----well you guys know the market.  S+ is a good step up from a pashitslo machine.  I have also heard stories of people hauling them to the dump by the 100's because they could not store them anylonger!!!.  S-2000 or even a Bally 6000 would be a better choice and are funner to play than s+ and are not that much more expensive by the time someone dumps the cash into a S+.  Strictly only my personal opinion.  B.

Where are the $25 machines at? .. or the source?

I am still new at this but I would give $100.00+ for a good theme $25.00 un shopped  machine at this time. I could use the extra parts or glass kits

 :88- I have room to store a few hundred dollars worth. And would be glad to haul any away you no longer have place to store :208- :208-

Just ask,  They may tell.  Most of them part them out and make more--- :97-.  I am not enguaged in that buying market but I could easily start a instant business for s+ at those prices.  The ones that end up in the dump have their hoppers,glass,strips,boards and a few other items quickly snatched out of them then shit-canned.  Hence the endless supply of s+ parts on e-bay.  There are enough parts available for those things for a long long time.  That is the one good thing about them for a home slot owner-cheap to maintain after the initial rip.  Those things again are bought in bulk as are most any these days does not matter what the make, theme or style-changes hands a couple times and the price goes up thru every hand- :56-. No diff. than anything else in business.  S+ can be bought direct from some I have heard by the 100's for the 20-25 dollar mark just to dump them.  The bill validators -complete set-up bring the biggest-quickest pop,  The rest you gotta sit-on or pract. give away.  You know this,  Look at your handle/name here.  Hell,  I even thought about buying some of them but I do not have the storage nor the time to fart around with them.  Parts sell quicker than whole machines anyday of the week.  B.  

I did not quote in my last post-Sorry I was responding to OhioGaming.  It is for all to read none the less.  Also as a note I also know for a fact the bally 6000's bought in bulk and when I use the term bulk you gotta get at least usually 100 machines to qualify for the prices I speak of are going for a MAX of 50 bucks each -3-reel,4-reel etc. parts-complete-bought in bulk. Same with others s-2000-usually around b'tween 80-125 bucks, reel-touch-150-300 bucks,i-game-500bucks (Not I+those are cheaper) etc. etc. etc..  All  that being said, buy the time you invest all your time,money,shipping,shopping out if that is the case and the games change hands 2-3-4 times the price goes up.  This is why most of them will hold their value.   Casino/Broker/vendor/Buyer is the usual chain but it modulates from that at times some kinda way.  To hold a Broker license is money that none of us probably have nor want to spend.  This is why I do have a lot of respect for the vendors esp. since I understand their over-head and expense involved to offer some great deals here and elsewhere.   25x100 minimum (s+)=2500.00 bucks, shipping usualy doubles-5k now,shop out/labor/parts now/advertise etc./crate/ship/time-Hence the price asked for any of these things.  Hypothetical situation but very close -Lets not mention storage/facility/overhead and utilities to drydock all these things.  Point is Very expensive to buy in bulk and buy at the reduced prices.  --All just a GAMBLE--B.

I'm not a slot dealer, just an enthusiastic hobbyist.  :3-
But from what I've seen I believe your post is misleading Barry. Yeah, there may have been a $50-a-machine deal out there. And every one of those deals turns out to be about 1 in 5 machines that could be salvaged, maybe. The rest being faded reel strips, cracked and scratched glass, chipped and scratched cabinets with parts missing. Basically mostly picked through junk. I've seen these kinds of deals. Am I not talking Uni's here.
So in the end the dealer/vendor cleans up and repairs maybe 20 of those 100 machines. And if they are a good vendor they spend several hours per machine as they are always filthy!
So now you got 20 decent machines that you have to recoup a $5,000 investment plus all the labor/time and replacement parts.
No wonder machines cost what they do.

 :210-
And every machine had it's era. Bally EM's had the 70's and early 80's. Uni's had the late 80's. The S+ had most of the 90's. S2000 late 90's and on. And Bally's was there throughout with the 5000,5500,6000's. In my opinion none of them should be thrown off a cliff.

There is nothing misleading about my post.  It is the real world dealings happening now.  There are thousands and thousands of machines that come up monthly for offer to others and some-direct-That is another story.  The "direct" machines can be purchased way cheaper if you come up on them.  This again is bulk-do not think in one ore two.  You may think this is BS but this is very close to how it goes down I KNOW.  B.

The cliff was a figure of speech on my part though I would enjoy to witness it on those. If you read all my posts you will understand what I am stating here. These machines can be found in back-rooms thru-out the us for nearly nothing.  The only appealing thing to me in that aspect myself is to make them work (the challenge).  There is NO challenge on my part or desire to fool with these boring games for me.  Been there -done that.  The upsetting thing is some folks pay a good bit for these and are proud of them as they should be and then they are ready to up grade and find out that their game(s) are not nearly worth what they had invested.  B.

I asked several vendors (not the ones on here though) if they would sell me a parts complete S+ and was quoted 250-350. That's not a bad deal considering that a shopped one goes for 600 and up depending on the theme. I have a Bally S6000 and it is different than the IGT platform. I have decided to stick with the IGT platform as it is the most familiar to me for working on it and the bally is "different" to learn and work on. I think the the 5500's had the best sound for a slot with that "dah", "dah", "dink" and the "boop", "boop" sounds. And just to let you know, I sold a Double Diamond S+ to another member on here for 250.00 in working condition. I bought it in 2000 for 1200.00 (that was the going rate then). Because of the "glut" of these machines in the market I expect the price to go down even more. When all the casinos have the "dumb terminal" games, then the source of slots will stop and then maybe in 20 yrs or so the price will rise again.

You must have asked the wrong ones.  S+ Dime a dozen-----------------Cheap,cheap,cheap.  I know I must be  :79- the pot here since that is mostly what is discussed here--Sorry about that.  Just think Back here in the last six months ago what some of our friends (vendors) offered s-2000's for---Do your Home-Work. Hey I know a good link--Chk out slotmaster's great deals on s-2000's.  WTF would you want to buy/pay 250/3 for a s+ when you could have gotten/get a S-2000 for same-- :103-.  5500 was ok but 6000 better and you can buy those cheaper by the dozen.  B.

Cheapest S2000 I saw un shopped was 550.