Bally Arrow-Line? Is it a good machine?

[RiseLikeRa]

The Bally Arrow-Line  8 coin/ 3 payline Multiplier Reminds me of a cross between an 831 and an 847.  One is for sale in my area.  Are they any good?   Seems like a lot of combinations for the head unit to keep up with.  Might be more problems than its worth.  Seller is asking $600   Should I stay away from it?  What are your collective thoughts?  Photo attached.

Ra

[slotsteve]

price isn,t bad imo   least you can sell it to a 25 year state if you don,t like it  offer 400 and see what they say

[RiseLikeRa]

Steve:

Good idea.  I will see what he says.  I dont NEED the machine but it seems like an interesting one.  I have 2 809's and I would get rid of one of them and replace it with this 883.  I will keep you posted.

Ra

[OldReno]

I'd sell one of the 809s and get the 883.
It's working I presume?

[RiseLikeRa]

Reno:

I am sure you know the song.  It works perfectly, and pays 100%.  After I drive 75 miles 1 way I hope I don't get "Gee that's the first time it has acted up that way"  I am hoping for the best.  Is the machine rare or just undesirable?  I haven't seen much chatter about them on the list.  Your expert thoughts...

Ra

[OldReno]

Well, 8 coiners are not all that common, so it might be a collectible.  But then they're all collectibles to me....
Sounds like more fun than an 809, but certainly more working parts in the top unit.  Wonder if it uses X-units or an odds follower to make the pays.

[RiseLikeRa]

Reno:

I was right there with you unitil you started speaking Greek.  X unit?  Odd Follower?  Is there something that I SHOULD be looking for tin the head unit.  I will be looking at it tomorrow.

Ra

[OldReno]

An x unit is a little wheel and assembly which does the counting for the hopper when more than one coin is played.  A 5 coin machine will have 4 of these units.  If yours has 7, then it uses X units.  They're pretty visible.  If not, then it's probably an odds follower, which means after every pay, the odds follower resets the hopper and it pays again.  If 6 coins played, the hopper is made to reset 5 times.  After the 5th reset, the machine pays one final time. I'm guessing odds follower, and no X units.
Regardless, take some pictures of the top unit.

[RiseLikeRa]

Reno:

You should be a school teacher.  I understood exactly what you were talking about.  I have the X unit in my 809's and I had the follower in an 847 I owned.  I am guessing the follower for the Arrow Line since it seems the 883 might be in the Continental family.   Is any method "Better" than the other?

Ra

[OldReno]

I taught slot repair for a few years when I was younger (had the 809 schematic nearly memorized at one time). It was at least as hard as working in casinos. Harder.
I think the odds follower type is probably cheaper to build, less components so less cost.
The X-unit system however, keeps the hopper from having to reset so often, tho' you have more parts to break down overall and more can go wrong.
6 of one, half dozen of another.  They're both brilliant systems.
Those Bally engineers were true madmen.

[Neonkiss]

Those Bally engineers were true madmen.

             
                   

[RiseLikeRa]

Reno: 

You have been a great source of information.  I feel more confident about the machine now.  I will check it out from top to bottom.  $600 smackers is a lot of money these days.   I was trying to save some room in the BSMT to get an exotic (Circus or Monte Carlo) on my trip to Vegas next year.  A bird in the hand...  If all goes well I will get the 883 and fight with the wife later.   She said something about crowding her out of her own home.  Go figure.  I said who me?

[slotsteve]

I taught slot repair for a few years when I was younger (had the 809 schematic nearly memorized at one time). It was at least as hard as working in casinos. Harder.
I think the odds follower type is probably cheaper to build, less components so less cost.
The X-unit system however, keeps the hopper from having to reset so often, tho' you have more parts to break down overall and more can go wrong.
6 of one, half dozen of another.  They're both brilliant systems.
Those Bally engineers were true madmen.

bally did have the best engineers  , just loook in the back of a old bingo pinball built in 1950 , i bought my 1st bingo when i was 12 for 15 bucks not working , after grilling a few old pin guys for info i had it up and running in moms basement

[lindam1]

Steve,
Was there even electricity when you were 12??

[RiseLikeRa]

Reno and all:

I went to see this machine today as scheduled.  72 miles 1 way.  The home was nice and clean and the 883 was sitting quietly in the corner of the dining room.  The machine was perched on a beautiful locking wooden stand with a shelf midway down inside to hold your coins as they dropped in.  No damp basement of garage for this baby.  The chrome gleamed and the formica was clean without a single nick on it.  the owner powered up the beast and all of the lights worked perfectly.  The owner threw in a few coins and pulled the handle to demonstrate the Arrow Line feature that is activated by the first of 4 reels.  I asked him to step away and open the door there the inside looked clean at first glance BUT  I did notice a multi prong connector to the right of the hopper that I had not seen before in any other machine.  Seems that a "Slot Mechanic" bypassed about half of the Beau plugs and ran the connections to this contraption that was held to the bottom of the case by a self tapping sheet metal screw.  When I flipped the coin switch and pulled the handle the hopper spun like an old washing machine.  No pay out registered but the hopper spun all the time the reels were moving.

When  I did hold the timing clock and set up a pay out it was off, WAY off.  A glance at the hopper assembly showed that the pay out disk had been worn completely through to the plastic on the other side in some places and the zero stop was missing altogether.  When I pulled out the reel mech the machine shorted out his entire kitchen because of several exposed wired just to the left of the reel bundle.

I was ready to run out of the door but asked anyway, given the problems that we observed how much do you want for the machine now?  He replied, the same price $600 bucks.  No joke he was a nice guy.  I thanked him for his time and drowned my sorrows at the Texas Roadhouse.  So  I am back in the market for a new and interesting machine gang.  Thanks everyone.

Ra   

[OldReno]

Sorry to hear it was in bad shape.
If you're into a modified 742A changed into a 5 coin JPO drop me a pm.  It has dual %'s, so it's either really tight, or really loose, depending on how you want to play it.  Works great but not pristine.

[RiseLikeRa]

Reno:

Thanks for the offer.  I am going to stand pat.  I am on my way to Vegas soon.  I hope to find an exotic slot there or pick up a more popular one near me that I wont have to ship.

Ra