IGT Double Blackjack Makeover... Slot Renovation Virgin... He We Go...

[j$hort]

Hi Everyone, Found this forum while searching for info on 1st slot machine I now own. Always wanted a slot for the house and after a trip to Vegas the wife was hooked. So here is the deal. I want to present to her for xmas (hopefully not too aggressive for a time table) and was able to pick up what I believe is a 1995 IGT S+ Double Black Jack machine. I will need this confirmed. It is still stored in a vehicle and will need to be secretly moved to the basement for cleaning/work. I hope to do this this weekend and will try to get some pics going. I figured this would be a good thread for others new to this topic (like myself) interested in trying to learn about machines. The machine did work on pickup and is in pretty good condition, but will need a few things to be more presentable as a gift. So any initial thoughts on where I begin, precautions, diagnostics, identity,etc. I am fairly technical. I will post pics and specifics soon. Thanks in advance.

For starters, here is what is on the ID tag:
Model: B5036CW
Date MFD: 3/95

[Foster]

Take plenty of pictures before taking things apart.

You may have scrub the remains of spilled drinks from the inside the door and machine.

Do not remove any electrical Parts while the machine is on.

A few recommendations:
Use a mild cleaner, no ammonia.
Replace the buttons with new ones with LED's Installed. The original ones are probably yellowed from age and heat.
Depending the condition of the fluorescent tubes I would replace them as well. F15T8 CW (cool white)
Keep alcohol away from any optics in the machine. Bill Validator, door, coin , reels. Just clean with a moist (water) cloth and dry completely.
Do not take the door off the cabinet. Very heavy and getting the alignment right is a pain.

[j$hort]

Still in the truck...

Thanks Foster, I have been away for the past few weeks and hope to get this unloaded and into the workshop this weekend. So good initial advise there and it is greatly appreciated. Initial items I may need some guidance on seem to be:
- Value assessment (how much time/$ should be put into it
- General cleaning and potential chrome revival
- appears to have a spot for bill validator, but no mechanics, I do not need this as it will be coin only so some way to blank that out
- has no door lock and I want one
- has token decals, want .25 cent for coin decal and "accepts"?? decal above bill validator
- seems to have a hole on left of cabinet covered with tape, need solution

picture is worth a 1000 words and I will tackle these one at a time...so I hope to have the 1st posted this weekend...

[Foster]

  of the machine before you start.
Not even sure if you have an upright or slant top.

Locks, Bill validator, and any other parts are available from the vendors on here.
http://www.rudysdeals.com/index.php?route=common/home also has some parts

You can also look on eBay just search for IGT
I cant remember if the S+ had a ventilation hole on the left side.

[Buzz]

As I recall the thread a few years ago, a fellow had his Wife a machine for Christmas and after leaving the machine in freezing cold weather for a long period of time took it into the house and plugged it in. I think he blew out the power supply.  Point being you need to let the machine warm up to room temperature before plugging it in. If it doesn't work Christmas morning the supprise may be on your face and not hers.

You ask how much time/$$$ should you invest, simple ans. is ALL YA GOT !!!!  You have one machine now your like a hooked fish.  Before New Years Day your going to be thinking, where can I set the second machine, do you think she will notice the house is getting smaller !!!    

Foster I still have a few S+ and no vent hole on them. No reason a guy couldn't put one of those louvered paanels oer the hole then it would think the machine has a fan.


 j$hort  you can pick up one of the locks at just about any hardware store, they are called a cam lock. If your buying more than one, look through all the packages and find two that are keyed alike.

ALMOST fforgot    

[j$hort]

Thanks Buzz, Foster,
Yes I am remiss as I need to get some snaps shots...this weekend. I wanted to post something to stay alive and active. No worries on the weather the truck is in the garage under and is a comfortable temp...the workshop is a basement with heat, so I should be ok. I like the faux cooling vent idea...and yes I am already thinking about a video poker machine.

[j$hort]

So another thing that needs to be added is a lock. I assume the attached pic show a hole where a standard lock can be added..there are 2 holes that the previous owner blocked up with some felt stick ons... Is there a special cam on the lock needed and why are there 2 holes? Any recommendations on what to use to remove the glue on chrome???

[j$hort]

Previous post...did not file so here it is... some general pic of the unit, was wondering how much you think it is worth in current state (how much would you have bought it for) and how much it is worth fully restored. This functions and is in good condition. Some scratches on enclosure and chrome. I will I will post each item (customization and issue) separately. Got it working on coins instead of tokens by swapping out token for quarter in comparitor and it works like a charm. Any general cleaning recommendations, chrome polishing, glass, etc to make it more presentable?? There are laminate issues and items to be replaced so cleanup when done or as we go may be better. Can I blast some air to get the dust out of the inside?

[stayouttadabunker]

2 locks go in those holes.
The front one is for the belly door while the other one over the sliding latch is for the main door lock.
If you do a search on S+ door locks, you'll see some pictures of exactly what you need or place an ad in the "Classifieds" section of NLG and someone will get in touch with you with the proper lock cams as well.

When cleaning out dust bugs, make sure you keep the can upright or you'll just end up spraying water instead of air.
See member named Yoeddy...has the "mintiest" looking machines around the planet.

[reho33]

Spray all molex connectors with QD Electrical cleaner and then DeOxit, both sides. That way you will get any oxidation off the pins that may make a reel not work.............

[j$hort]

Wow, did not even know there were 2 doors...please excuse my inexperience. I'm guessing the belly door is to remove hopper and the main door is for access to everything. I have not opened the belly door yet. This is all very new. So I was looking around and found some specs for locks. I'm not sure if standard key or socket type matters. This will just be to keep the kids out of the machine. Any comments on the difference and if it matters?
I am looking to shop around and will check the local shops first. I may need some dimensions, can anyone fill in the blanks?

S+ Main Door Lock
Slot direction - Vertical
Hole - 5/8"
Direction - ???
Barrel depth - ???
Cam length - 1 3/4" (straight)

S+ Belly Door Lock
Slot direction - Vertical
Hole - 5/8"
Direction - ???
Barrel depth - ???
Cam length - 7/8" (???)

[j$hort]

bunker, I was thinking about shop air from a compressor..will that work in place of cans of air? Lots of ??? guys, sorry, but I need the education....

[Foster]

Shop air will work fine
Make it is filtered
 Use low PSI, or hold the air nozzle back enough that you are not driving the dirt deaper into places you dont want it.

The Belly door allows access to the Bill Validator Cash Can door (the small door on the right, and the belly glass and light, and some access to the player button area.

[stayouttadabunker]

Believe me, with the belly door open, you can NOT get that hopper out through there-
there's a matter of a yet still another door panel that prevents that.

The belly door was essentially designed for access to the cashbox only.
Those guys didn't have a key to get into the rest of the machine.

[Buzz]

bunker, I was thinking about shop air from a compressor..will that work in place of cans of air? Lots of ??? guys, sorry, but I need the education....

I have seen Joey @ NLG and Brian @ Rocky Mt. Slots remove all the obvious items that water will harm and pressure wash the insides of a machine. I think Joey let's the machine sit for 24 hours with the door open to dry out. You know on second thought, where some of you folks live it may be Spring before the ice would melt. Scratch that idea !!!!

[PLUNGER BOY]

bunker, I was thinking about shop air from a compressor..will that work in place of cans of air? Lots of ??? guys, sorry, but I need the education....

I have seen Joey @ NLG and Brian @ Rocky Mt. Slots remove all the obvious items that water will harm and pressure wash the insides of a machine. I think Joey let's the machine sit for 24 hours with the door open to dry out. You know on second thought, where some of you folks live it may be Spring before the ice would melt. Scratch that idea !!!!

I tried that last winter.  BAD idea BUZZ . Its great to keep your beer cold but cold as hell to sleep in

[j$hort]

I am working on cam lock information and also am curious how much this machine is worth in current state and completely restored. Please continue to reply, but I will introduce the next item in any event (let me know if these are best done by separate topics). I found 3 holes on the top right side of the machine and the previous owner covered with electrical tape. They look factory. Anyone know what that are there for?

[crgadyk]

Price is what someone in your area is willing to pay for it. Some parts of the country (like Vegas) they are practically given away where as other parts of the country where they are harder to get, they can fetch a pretty penny. Here in Ohio/Kentucky, it looks like the average joe on craigslist wants $400-500 for an S+. I just sold my only machine with a bill validator for $400 to a former co worker. I wouldn't buy one for that much but some people will. I bought that machine "unworking" for $40 and put about $100 worth of parts into it before I sold it.

So the best way to figure out what its worth in your area, is to look around on ebay/craigslist and see what similar machines are selling for in the area.

[j$hort]

Excellent idea crgadyk, much appreciated. I am in new england and most retailers (if you will) are located where shipping costs would be an issue. These things are heavy. I got this machine for $300 and had to drive to get it. I'm guessing that if I stay under $200 in restoration costs it would make sense if I decided to move it for another at some point. The goal is to have a machine that uses coinage to act as a bank and put any proceeds toward another machine or a trip back to Vegas. My wife's big complaint is that she could not use coins in the slots in vegas and wanted to hear coins fall when winning a game.

[crgadyk]

Making the wife happy is definitely worth the money. If she's happy with the first one, she'll be more apt to be ok with the 2nd. Then once you get 2 of them and leave them alone together in the dark, a few months later you'll have 10 of them 

Enjoy it, its a fun hobby and they make great piggy banks

[j$hort]

I have my eye on a video poker machine and will be looking in that direction next, that way we can relive our vegas trip as we spent lots of time playing these machines....now if I can only get a cocktail waitress to serve me free drinks at my house!!!

I gotta clean up this one first so any advice or comments you have on any of the topics is greatly appreciated.

[StatFreak]

....now if I can only get a cocktail waitress to serve me free drinks at my house!!!
...

You mean like this?




BTW, j$hort 

StatFreak
  Global Moderator

[j$hort]

That's the right idea. Pretty obvious where to place the tip....

[knagl]

$300 for that in New England isn't horrible.  The company that the machine came through before it made its way to your house is based in Minnesota, and they likely yanked the dollar bill validator out of it to meet eBay requirements (and also to re-sell the validator with a large markup).  You can add a validator to it if you want, and there really isn't too much to it to get the machine clean and running well. 

Buy a bottle of glass cleaner and some paper towels (generic glass cleaner from Target works just fine) and have at it.  In general, leave the power off when you're cleaning so you don't accidentally short anything with a spray of cleaner or a ring on your finger touching metal that it shouldn't, etc.

Since you asked, it's easier if you keep your posts related to the same machine in one thread so that way people don't re-invent the wheel (edit: like I did in the next paragraph (I didn't see your second thread asking the same question)).


As far as the holes in the side of the machine, those would have been for a side-mounted after-market player tracking card reader.  It was a small ugly box on the side of the machine where a casino player would put their slot club card to earn comps from the casino based on their play.  I'm guessing that WWG's solution to "fix" that was to put duct tape over the holes, rather than actually replacing the laminate.

The "box" may have looked something like this:


(Image credit: rudysdeals.com)


If you're still looking for locks and cams for your machine, try placing a "WTB" ("Want To Buy") ad in the classifieds section of the forum saying that you're looking to buy a set of both locks for an upright IGT S+ machine, and one of the vendors will get in contact with you and sell you exactly what you need.  There's nothing to it to install them yourself, either.

[j$hort]

I was able to find a few 5/8" cam locks at home depot and installed them. This will be perfect for what I need and provides a nice finished look...attached.