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I bought a CDS/Aristocrat slot topper on ebay last night and I'm curious as to whether it's gonna be a problem wiring this to my S2000. It was only $25 with shipping so I figured it was worth the buy it know and find out if it's gonna work later deal. I assume that most of these companies get there signage made by the same subcontractors or at the very least they use similar operating voltages for their perriferal devices.

It should not be too hard.
the Topper probably operates on 12-13 (LEDs) and 24-25V (Fluorescents)

Candle should be easy just use your existing candle as a guide.
When you receive it post detailed pictures of the inside and existing wiring in it.
 

Assume NOTHING!
I have seen Bally and WMS use 6 volts,others use 5 volts, some use 24 volts and still others use 12-14 volts. My WMS Bluebird uses 120 volts for the topper general lighting!!
What I usually do is look up the wiring if possible. If that doesnt work, completely disassemble the topper and go searching for markings.
Polarity and voltage of caps on boards will give you a hint of polarity and typical voltages.
When you blow up a topper because someone told you they thought it was a 12 volt version...it sucks....
A few minutes of research will save a major "Aw Shit!"


Kirk

Thanks for the advice you guys! :244- I don't know if anyone saw it, but it's the "JAMAICA ME MONEY" sign that was on ebay till yestrday. Soon as it gets here I'll take it apart and see what the board inside tells me.

 :81-  That one?  I almost bought it but decided I didn't need it.  You got it for a great price.  Let me warn you when you take that topper apart.  I haven't done it but I know two people that took it apart and those little LED's are a mess to get put back on so go slow and use some masking tape to keep those LED's in place. 

I'll keep that in mind, thanks! :3- I'd of just popped the cover off thinking the lights were surface mounted directly to a board, but I'll pay close attention. Did seem like a hell of a deal though. Put in the minimum bid with an hour something left and figured I'd get sniped at the end. Works for me! :89-

I figured it would get sniped too, I don't like sniping.  I figure I will put in a bid and if someone wants it bad enough they can have it.  

Yea, I thought I would warn you about those lights.  I hear they can make quite a mess.  I hope you can get it wired.  Oh also, once you get it in hand, maybe you can look at the back of it and see if it is the snap-in type (like sliding in a hopper) or if it's wired.  If it's the snap-in type (with the hopper-like connector) I could take some pics of my wiring for that.  That's what I have on my CDS machines.  Maybe that might help you but don't wanna just post if it isn't that type.

Funny you mentioned that because one of the pics they posted kind of shows the bottom and it looks like it has two slots for some type of bracket. Would it be easier to see if someone has the bracket I could mount to my machine? Or better yet, maybe it comes with it and they didn't show it in the ad. Who knows, I'll find out in a couple days though. It already shipped

 :103- It looks to me that what you are seeing on the bottom is the mounting holes for the topper itself. This topper slides in place and has two nuts on the inside of the machine itself.  I am more curious to see the back of it.  CDS has two different types of connections.  Depending on the type of wiring I might be able to help you with a bracket from a machine I got from a friend for parts.  

I'm actually heading out to the carport to take pictures of the parts machine and maybe some pics of my good working machines so you can get an idea of what I am talking about.  I doubt they are going to send you the bracket for the machine.  I'll post a couple pics in a few minutes, let me go take some first.  I gotta get off this couch anyway before I fall asleep.   :25- :25-

OK I got 4 pictures for you but I don't know if you will have this type of connection.  This should give you an idea as to how it hooks up in a CDS and you might be able to plan on how you want to connect it to your s2000.  I hope this helps.  It might just be  :76- :76- :76-

Two more pics for ya. 

Let's try that pic again.

Good pics ashy, thanks. I'm thinking mounting bracket isn't gonna be there.  :8-After I get it I might ask you about voltages for the lighting. :99- Candle shouldn't be to tough. Sure appreciate all the help :3-

 :25- :25- :25- :30- :30- :30- :8- :8- :8- :37- :37- :37-

Ron,

Maybe I should have raped the two CDS machines that I just gave to you of that connector??? :103-

What was I thinking? :103- :79-

Just Kidding! I just recognized the machine! HA HA! :72- :72- :72-

CH :95-

Don't those CDS machines have a much sharper arc to the top than a IGT roundtop? Might take a little ingenuity just to mount it to the machine. Heck, took a little ingenuity just to spell ingenuity! :5-

You have a good point.  Yes I believe they are so you might just have to send that topper to me to hold on to until you find a way to mount it or buy a CDS machine to attach it to.   :72- :97- :72- :97-

How do you spell that again?

LOL CH There isn't much more to take off it :200- :200- You want the connector, come find me for your connector.   :30- :30- :30-

LOL! Are you sure you don't wanna just wait till I put it on a CDS machine? Then I could give ya the whole thing till I got tired of not playing it :97- :97- :97-

Well shoot.  :25- :25- :25- Now why didn't I think of that?!?!  I like it.  When can I expect it?  :97- :97-

To be crazy enough to do that I'd have to be crazy enough to carry it on my back, so if you'll excuse me I'll be lifting weights for a bit. Unfortunately, they're made by Miller and only weigh 12 oz each. Gonna be a lot of lifting :47- :47- :47-

 :149- :149- I'm still half asleep right now so it took me a minute to figure it out but I got it. :208-  You're a pretty funny guy ya know.   :200- :200-  I like it. :3-

Now back to regular programming. :97- :97-

If you'd like I can take a topper off my good working CDS game and set it on top of a s2000 machine and take a couple pics so you can get an idea of what you will be working with. Or, I can just wait for everything to show up at my door :208- :208-

Brian at Rocky Mt. Slots has some CDS toppers. A PM might get you some parts.  :103- :103-

Making fun of yourself is half the fun you get out of life :72- Pics of awhat it might look like would be great though. I've got a friend who owns a metal shop locally and some ideas on how to make a simple sheet metal bracket to adapt this thing to my machine. Mounting it will probably be the easier of the two issues. Wiring I won't know till I see it. If it runs on 24v for the lighting that would be great, because I've got an extra 24v 2.5amp supply that'll plug right into the distribution box in the belly of the game. :3- Oops, sorry Buzz, replied before I read yours. I'll drop him a line after I look and see what's gonna be involved here. Thanks!

 :88-  I gotta package up some glass for shipping (storage actually) so give me a little time and I will get you some pics.  Now you got me curious as to what it'll look like.  :103- :103-  :89-

I think it's gonna look pretty good. Depends on how high it'll have to sit above the machine with the arc it has versus the arc of the S2000 top box. Might end up having to change the double Diamond to something else to get a better color match between the sign and game. Nothing like a good challenge though :103-

I am actually surprised to see how well this topper fit on an s2000 round top machine.  The only problem you might have is the black spacer.  You'll see it in the pictures.

Now on to the pictures.

You can see in the pics of the black spacer CDS uses to hide the open space between the machine and the topper.  You might have to remove that.

More pics.

A couple more.

One last pic.

That does look pretty good, nice pics! :244- If I don't try to go with a CDS mount it might be wise to remoce the hopper plug from the back and cover it with a piece of black sheet metal. The way it looks to sit pretty tight to the top of the machine should make it easy to attach and run wires through the origional candle wire hole though. Thanks for the post. After I get it in and start working with it I'll post updates and pics of anything I do that might assist others :89- Hopefully it will be here soon, went in the mail in AZ on Saturday. Might send you one of these  :99- or these  :5- as it progresses.

And here I  thought i was the only one with a weird "Tigerwood" cabinet!!!


On a plus, changed out "Toast of the Town" for "Reel 'Em In" tonight..was pretty easy!

It does sit pretty tight.  I'm liking the the way it looks and might have to try this myself maybe one day.  Post pics as it goes and hope it all works out.


Nope, I got two round top machines with this cabinet. 

Will do, thanks for the advice so far :89-

Hey, ya know I was thinking of something.  The topper candle shouldn't be an issue of course but the LED lights run down to a box controller in the top box of the CDS machine.  I'm wondering if hooking up that box to the inside of the s2000 machine instead might be one way to wire this topper??

I do not think that would make a difference.

I would use the following factors to decide.
Can the controller be in the topper and not block the light from the topper?
Would placing the controller in the topper reduce number of wires between the machine and topper?

I had no choice in having 3 different wire sets from my S2000 into my topper.

On some machines there is a way to control how fast the LED lights chase.  The controller that I have in my machines don't control how fast the LED lights chase though.  I do not believe the controller will fit in the topper hence having it installed in the top box of the machine but I could be wrong.  I have never taken one of these topper apart.  Buzz has though.  I was just thinking since the LED wiring from the topper goes to this controller in the top box of the machine it was be a way to control the speed of the chaser lights.  I also thought it would make for a faster way to wire the topper for power.



Not to hijack this thread but would your Reel 'Em In game use a topper insert something like this??

Sonds like my best bet would be to see if someone has an extra contoller and socket that I could just mount to the s2000. Any way of knowing if that box is a controller or just a power supply? :103-

I wish it would! That one is for a DUAL screen.The one I have here is a single screen upright...

Just picked up 3 more WMS 1.5+ boards for it....thanks :)

I can't do it tonight because it's dark and I can't do it in the morning because we get Dad's CT scan results but maybe tomorrow afternoon I can get out to the old game I have outside and see what's going on inside that controller box.  I tried opening up one in my good game but I couldn't get the controller box open.  I'll also take more pictures while I am out there. I'll try following all the wires out of the top of the machine.  I'm curious to know if this will work now.   :103- :103-


Kirk, that's a bummer.  Figured it might look good with your machine.

Good luck with dad on the ct scan results. No hurry on this anyway. Sure appreciate the help and effort!

On a CDS like Ron has 10 wires go from the top box to the topper.  3 wires for the chaser LEDs and 1 ground
                                                                                               3 wires for the candle ( standard candle plug ) mine have a extension cord one male and one femaile ends about 2' long
                                                                                               3 wires for main lighting  ( black, white and green )

I would think the chaser control would be better in the top box because most chaser control do just that control the speed of the chaser lights. Much easier to remove top glass to adjust speed than to take the topper apart to adjust the speed.

Hi Buzz, you don't happen to have a control box and harness floatin' around extra looking for a nice home do you? :89-

No I sure don't. 2Moons bought some chaser controls off Ebay you might send him a PM   Ron would be more than happy to help. There is a long thread on this site about Garfield Toppers and hooking up chaser controls that is pretty good reading. Sommer even has a video of a chaser working off a CD player. It's worth watching       http://newlifegames.net/nlg/index.php?topic=3151.0

I used christmas tree lighting chaser control boxes...
You can set them to chase all kinds of different ways!  :71-
If you get the right ones, they fit into the holes nicely!
The extra ones, I just roll up and store inside the topper.

Bunker, do you belong to "SEUOA"  :103-  (Slot Expermenters Union of America)

Maybe time to draw up a simple chaser controller out of a few chips.....
I do have a Garfield topper here to play with


Kirk

Sommer had to use a cd player to make his chaser...lol
It'll be great if you could make a small board outta a few chips!
That'll be awesome really!
I'd get one from ya for sure!  :89-

I got the topper in today and the wiring was actually pretty easy. Went over to Radio Shack and bought the last of the ATT answering machine 12v ac supplies, damn things have been discontinued for about 5 years. Anyway, used that for the led's, flourescents are straight 120 and swapped the CDS candle for the IGT. Everything has it''s neccessary power! Yea! Only problem is I've got 6 blue led's that either won't light or are very dim. One is actually broken. So I'll be heading back to the Shack for some replacements, but other than that this looks like it'll work out ok. Turns out the S2000 has 120v socket in the top box for player tracking stuff so I split that for the 12v ac adapter and the 120v for the other lights. Might put this on top of the Cleopatra instead of the Double Diamond though, much better color match

Looks like I won't need to go out and take pictures afterall then.  Can you post pics of your progress??  You didn't waste any time getting it all converted.  I bet it's going to looks great when you get it all done.  Did you have any problems with the LED's getting messed up when you opened the topper?  Are you going to have new plexi-glass made with IGT symbols??

Didn't take long at all really. Maybe an hour including going to radio shack and soldering all the diode connections to see if thats why they weren't lighting. Very simple sign to take apart, all the diodes are pc mounted to a rectangularish circuit board. Cds plug had already been removed from back of sign so maybe previous owner was using it for something else also. As far as getting a new plexi, I'm not sure. We don't have those kinds of services available anywhere that would be considered nearby. Might keep my eyes open for a differant insert though. I will post pics when I get the bad LEDs replaced and gotta get a starter for the 18" flourescent also. Haven't decided yet on what type of mounting bracket, but wanna be minimally invasive to the top box with that. I'll keep this updated as I go along. Will those LEDs be 12v or is it the 12 divided by all lights on that circuit? There's actually 3 individual light circuits on the board. Thanks for the info.

I doubt the LED's are 12V.
More likely they are approximately 2.1-3V each.
I bet there are numerous parallel circuits of 2 LED's and a resistor in series in three different groups.
This schematic will give you an idea.  
Note it is for the IGT topper LED chaser lights, The one it matches is the Oval topper but the topper I have uses the same schematic they just added more LED's

No resistors on the board, each circuit has 11 LEDs with a diode link to the common for rectifiying cuz LEDs are dc of course. So, little over a volt a piece? I spose I could pull my head out and put a meter across the damn lights and see. Gonna take a little bit though as it would seem my head is pretty firmly implanted :30- This is an AC driven circuit

11 LED's and 1 Diode per circuit, 11 x 1.5-2.1V (LED's) + 0.7V (diodes)
That would be normally  17V to 24V per circuit.
I have not come across any LED's that only run on 1V.
Measure the current draw if you can, you may have to measure total and divide by the number of circuits.
Current draw per circuit should be about 20mA up to 30mA per circuit. if you do not have 20mA the voltage is still on the low side.
Normal LED's are happy with 20-30mA of current.

11 diodes per circuit and 11 diodes currently running off 12v ac supply. So  11x1.5 and 11x.7 for 24.2v minimum?

Be aware that RED LED's are rather low voltage, but BLUE LED's require usually a minimum of 3.5 volts to work. Most Regular and Hi-Brite LED's like about 20-30Ma.
Simply cut a trace and insert a DC Mil meter,adjust variable power supply for the 20 or so mils and read the voltage.
It's VERY common to series up LED's to run on 12 or 24 volts.You only need ONE resistor for each 3 or 6 LED's that way...

Kirk