Gameking with "Confetti Screen"

[Fatmoose]

Hello Everyone~
   First, Thanks for being available to help!  I Greatly appreciate it!

 A few years ago, "the kids" bought this Gameking for our Uncle from Ohiogaming and it worked great... we were all extremely satisfied.  But now its developed an issue and I'd like a crack at fixing it.

The Symptoms:  The gameking (over about a week) started to arbitrarily re-boot then went to a "Confetti Screen" and won't do anything now. The LEDs on the 3902 board are 1 slowly blinking red LED followed by (5) orange-ish LEDs.

The Info:  Board is a p/n: 75703902 REV B;  Base Chip is :M0000529 GME: G0002955 PXL:C0000351 and SND SWC00046 on a multimedia board p/n:76923201 REV A. ( It's a multi-denomination, 4.x software as far as I can determine from these forums.   Screen was upgraded to a 17" Model WFG0003 (LCD); Power Supply: IGT p/n 40009090 (MCP-8011); DBA is a WBA-12-SS; and the ticket printer is a Ithica Model 850....

What I've Done: I tested the monitor by attaching it to my Laptop...no probs.;  I believe I've tested the power supply correctly...  But i'm getting 11.6vdc and 22.8 vdc... that being said the DBA cycles... The light on the printer comes on... there is power to the Monitor, etc.;  I carefully checked the legs on the EEPROMs and there is no sign of any problems.. they are seated, no bent/broken Pins..; The battery on the 3902 board is 2.8vdc.
I don't have a second board or additional EEPROMs...

What's my Next step?: Do I assume the Power Supply just isn't doing it anymore?  Could the software on the EEPROMs have faulted?  Do I start looking for a replacement 3902 board? Crawl into a corner and cry?

I sure do appreciate any help I might get!  Thanks!!

[rjpohl]

Probably a bad sim.  I've had this happen several times. 

[Buzz]

Question, do your have PXL simms or PXL eproms ??  If it's eproms and I think it is there are two more you didn't mention, they are CG eproms and located right below where a CGF simm would go.

I don't much like your 2.8 battery reading, if it isn't a problem now it's going to be one before long.

[Fatmoose]

Thank you for responding so quickly!  I had to look up the Sim reference... I assuming you mean the cards that slip into the long yellow-ish slots (that resemble modern memory Chips...   

This machine doesn't have any...it just has the EEPROMs.. 
What are those Simm slots for anyways?

[Fatmoose]

Question, do your have PXL simms or PXL eproms ??  If it's eproms and I think it is there are two more you didn't mention, they are CG eproms and located right below where a CGF simm would go.

I don't much like your 2.8 battery reading, if it isn't a problem now it's going to be one before long.

I don't think it's a bad MPU and if all else fails I can send you a set of soft ware to test your board with. I don't have the exact set you have but we can make do. I have one set that I can think of that is a eprom game with (59) different games on it.

I have no SIMM cards that I'm aware of... looks like everything is EEPROMs... that I can see. 
Underneath the Multimedia Lite board are (2) CG1+2 C0000351 EEPROMs. 

[rjpohl]

the red LED normally means there is a software problem.  You might try to remove each eprom and re-seat it, also remove the piggyback boar and re-seat it too.

[proten]

A general rule of thumb is when a 3.6 volt battery
is down below 3.0 volts it is the first thing to replace.

[Fatmoose]

Okay..
  So I've carefully removed each EEPROM and re-seated them. I made sure that the prongs went where they are supposed to be...

  -result was the same... no Change.  Thanks Rjpohl.

  as for the Battery... its a Panasonic BR2330 (a 3vdc batt) soldered to the 3902 board... Unless there's another one floating around that I'm not aware of...?  I'm not expert on the electronics but (.2)vdc doesn't seem like I should cause this much of an issue.  Unless its really supposed to be a 3.6vdc battery. 

  So if it actually ends up being software...  I'm assuming that I can browse the forum to locate appropriate versions and/or games that will work on the 3902 board...  which brings up whether one version is recommended or is it a personal choice?

 
 

[rjpohl]

If you want, you can ship me the biard w/software. I'll be happy to test it in one of my machines. 

[proten]

Didn't see that it was the 3 volt battery and
The Varta battery has been removed.

[Buzz]

Didn't see that it was the 3 volt battery and
The Varta battery has been removed.

Paul  It's a 3902 board and never had a Varta battery

[proten]

Sorry guys , I didn't see that it was the 3 volt type and
there's a spot that the green battery goes.

[tacman]

Confetti screens are usually indicative of corrupt PXL programming.

 Dan (tacman)

[Fatmoose]

First of all...  Thank you very much to Rjpohl, Buzz, Proten and Tacman for your time in responding.

Since I've gone over this 3902 board with a fine-tooth comb and haven't found any marks, burns, cuts, nicks, etc...  I'm going to go with software being the problem like you guys have suggested...

Would anyone recommend a version? Do I need to replace ALL the EEPROMs together?  or Recommend just upgrading to 6.x?  At this point I know versions are mostly preferences' but I'm curious...  and is it better etiquette to use he Classified sections or contact one of the sellers directly from the front page?

Thank you again for your Help!

[Buzz]

I have all kinds of software, but I need a idea of what you would like to have, or should I say what you like to play. Some folks like a lot of keno games, and some won't have a game that doesn't have Blackjack. Some game sets have more video reel games than others , and in my opinion all the reel games suck. If your really not into Poker, you have a 3902 board there's nothing stopping you from putting a I Game set of software in your machine. Example of I Game is  Kenny Rogers, Pink Panther, Cops-n- Donuts, Hoot Loot just to name a few. I attached a list of most of the games I have. Be aware most of the games,, ( not all ) that I have your going to need a different MM II sound board.  Most newer games use a sound simm in place of eproms. New board is around 20  bucks.

[Tilt]

Your power supply output voltages are low.  They should be +13 and +25VDC.  You may want to change that out first if you have another one.

[tacman]

I agree with Tilt, in reviewing you original post if you are on the low side of both outputs of your power supply, that would be the first thing to change.

 Dan (tacman)

[CVslots]

Like Jim said and it went over my head, you need to change the battery on your MPU. If your getting a battery error no game is going to play.

Would that be Jim: "Proten", "Tilt", "Tacman", or "rjpohl"?????? Or did I just miss something?

[4 Deuces]

The quickest, easiest and cheapest approach would be to swap the Base chip first with a fresh replacement from Buzz or someone else.  That may solve it since that chip gets swapped more than any other when clearing or keying the machine.  Second, I'd swap the PXL chips as noted by Tacman.

I don't think a low battery or failing power supply will cause the confetti screens as I have had both and haven't experienced that symptom.  Confetti comes from bad PXL or Base (or possibly other chips).  At least that's been my experience (I'm not an expert).

So without replacing batteries or power supplies, I'd start with the simply Base chip swap.  Buzz will most likely send you more than a Base chip though, so you will have more chips to swap with.

Hope this helps!  By the way, you are very kind in your posts.  That's very nice to see.     Good Karma to you!  Welcome to New Life Games!!!

:Dave

[Fatmoose]

Latest Update:

   So, I received a PM that suggested I clean the EEPROM legs (tabs, prongs) with an eraser and give it one more try.  So during the 49er game, I removed each EEPROM, cleaned the legs (what a noticeable difference) and re-inserted them.

   I want to thank everyone for helping me realize I need glasses now....  But I did okay, re-started the machine and nothing changed... So I grabbed a beer and watched the Bronco Game...   During that game the machine initialized and ran!  (I'm thinking it was at least 2 hrs time).  For awhile at least... I cycled everything, played every game, put in money...  But this morning everything's frozen up... Stuck on my 4 Card Keno.. Tried my Key, pressed the white test button.. absolutely no change.  So I turned it off and then restarted it...  I'll see if I get game again!

   I'm pretty sure its the EEPROMs now...  My wife and I are considering replacing these and getting a couple additional Igames ... her favorite is Texas Tea , I wanted I dream of Jeannie (So someone in the house says Yes Master!)...  We think it'll be fun to find the Glass and change it up occasionally!

   That PM I received gave everyone very high reliably marks so once we figure out exactly what we want I'll contact some of you and get stuff rolling!

Thank you everyone!  Oh and Once I get it all completed, I'll write up my experience for the Repair Logs.

Thanks again!
Mike