New Life Games Tech Forums

This was done with the help - lots of help from Jim!

Background:
I bought a Gamemaker that worked except for a bad monitor - poor horizontal positioning.  Fooled around for about a year trying to get the guy to get me a used tube from his inventory.  Finally bought an LCD monitor - looks great!  Just sitting for a while seems to have broken the hopper.  Why that should be the case is unknown.

Symptoms:
  1.   Would not drop coins (quarters).
  2.   Using the hopper bottons worked this way:
    a.   Both stirred the hopper as expected.
    b.   Hitting the button to drop coins jerked forward as if it wanted to feed coins but couldn’t.
    c.   The reverse button did the same thing.

First thing was to check for jammed coins, turned it upside down and nothing.
Took out the pin wheel plate (see below how to do this)  that actually moves the coins and found one.  Upon reassembly the reverse button worked fine but the forward button still jerked forward only  a bit.

I have a XS 1200 $ hopper from a machine I bought that came off a cruise ship.  I  took off the bin because it would not fit into the Gamemaker.  The hopper mechanism worked fine – so the underlying machine was OK.  I narrowed it down to the hopper board or motor. Changed out the hopper board and the same bad result.  Changed out the motor and it all worked!

Opened the gear box and everything seems OK - just a bunch a greasy gears that if they go in reverse will go forward just as well.  Problem has to be the motor itself.

Replacing the motor gave me a working machine!

Similarity of different hoppers:
The basic XS 1200 appears to be the same for multiple coins sizes.  The coin bin, and pin wheel are different sizes because they have to accommodate physically different size coins.  The frame, motor, and hopper board are the same so if you have a broken one any other will serve as a parts source.

Disassembly:

The coin bin may have a big aluminum pin (1/4 inch) that grounds out when the coins fill up to it to signal a full hopper.  Use a socket driver to remove the nut from the bolt and the wire connected to it.  If there is no wire connected to the bolt someone disconnected the feature.  Note the small holes going down the bin allows different full hopper levels to be established.

Bin Removal - easiest way to get to the rest of the mechanism:
Remove 2 spring loaded large headed Philips screws that connect the bin to its base. 
Remove 2 thumb screws located under the bin that connect the bin to the base.  I found on both of these hoppers someone left one of them off.  The spring loaded Philips screws have a washer that fits over the spring and a sleeve that fits into the spring.  Missing sleeve seems to be no big deal.

If the bin has stirring motor connected to it, disconnect the wires and bin is removed.

Remove Hopper Knife:
Use socket driver to remove the two screws holding it and it drops off.  Note how it was installed .  There really is only one way to put it on - it has a hole at the base and a slot for the inner screw with the flat of the blade face down.

Remove coin guide - or whatever they call it:
This guides the coins off the pin wheel and into the coin tray.  Take it off and remember how it was installed.  Again there is really only one way and if you look it is obvious.

Remove Pin Wheel:

The plate is held on by gravity so you can pull it up using the holes or tip it over.  Note under the plate are three wheels in the base plate.  The wheels are held in by gravity and the pin wheel plate that rests on them.  Each fits in a slot with the wheel and an axel.  If you tip the mechanism and the plate drops out the wheels will to - just be prepared.  They are easy to put back in.


You can now clean the entire mechanism.

Replacing the motor:
With the base plate exposed you will see 4 recessed Philips screws that hold on the motor and gear box.  You will undo these after you remove the hopper board.  To remove it lift up the hopper so the shaft will clear the hole in the base plate and wiggle out the motor.  Note mark the negative terminal on the motor with a permanent marker.

Removing/Replacing hopper board:

  1.   Turn the unit so the back is facing you and undo the two to screws that are holding the metal case to
          the mechanism.
  2.   Loosen the bottom two screws and the metal back  will swing out.
    a.   You can take the board off and replace it.
    b.   You can remove the motor.  The motor is a DC motor with a + and - and the connectors are both
          red - go figure.  Mark the negative with a black permanent marker so the new one will have the
          correct polarity.  Lift up the mechanism and wiggle the motor out. 
    c.   If you take the two lower screws out the entire hopper board can be removed.