Futurelogic GEN2 RS232 Printer

[jiggywithit]

I have found posts suggesting that the RS232 printer can be configured for Netplex with the change of a jumper.. but I'm not finding any more information beyond that. I see two jumpers on the board: J19 and J20, but I'd like to know what they do before arbitrarily changing jumpers.

On another note, how can I program the printer templates? I think it's an older one, it doesn't have any USB ports. I do have a USB <-> RS232 adapter and could make a cable if I had a pinout.

My machine is a IGT S2K, I try to enable the printer with the keychip and it says "Configuring NETPLEX devices" and then disables the printer. So I'm sure the issue is that my printer is not set to use netplex.

[Neonkiss]

If your printer says RS232 on it, there are no jumpers to make it Netplex.
Netplex is Netplex and RS232 is RS232.
The only exception in Gen 2 printers is if you have the universal model and then the head will be molded in a red plastic.
That may be where your seeing information about changing from RS232 to Netplex.

[jiggywithit]

I saw it at the following URL: http://lawless-vegas.com/SLOTNOTE/gen%202.pdf

[Neonkiss]

News to me, but worth a shot.
Remember you will still have to flash the unit for the new protocol.

K+ for the info.

[jiggywithit]

Glad that such a noob could contribute. :-)

Which brings me to my next question. I found an older gen2 manual in the downloads area so I can now make a programming cable.

I still need the firmware and flash programming software.

[slotsteve]

wow worth a try  I been leaving  netplex gen 2 in games we sell at auctions that are set on hand pay , just to have hole filled , I need rs232 for some alphas, most of the last 50  s2000 we got had gen 2 in them

[coorslight115]

wow worth a try  I been leaving  netplex gen 2 in games we sell at auctions that are set on hand pay , just to have hole filled , I need rs232 for some alphas, most of the last 50  s2000 we got had gen 2 in them

Steve keep the Gen2 units, I have the firmware , cable and program to flash them to the alpha. I do not have the firmware to flash them to the s2000. And yes there are 2 jumpers you need to change on the board to switch from rs232 to netplex.

[slotsteve]

sent out 2 on weds that both have gen2 in them I  will not sell anymore with them , thanks tim

[jiggywithit]

I have the firmware , cable and program to flash them to the alpha. I do not have the firmware to flash them to the s2000. And yes there are 2 jumpers you need to change on the board to switch from rs232 to netplex.

Is the cable something you made or were able to purchase?

[harp]

Please remember that while it is possible to switch the GEN2 between RS232 and Netplex,
Flash the unit with the correct firmware for the game going into

NOTE:
You will also have to change the Harness from the Printer to the Game, each protocol uses its own type of cable, so if you have a Printer that came from an IGT game, the Harness will not work with the Bally configuration

[coorslight115]

I have the firmware , cable and program to flash them to the alpha. I do not have the firmware to flash them to the s2000. And yes there are 2 jumpers you need to change on the board to switch from rs232 to netplex.

Is the cable something you made or were able to purchase?

I bought the flash harness.

[harp]

You can make your own Programing Harness, attached is the Pin out from DB9 to 4 Pin

[tjlee]

Also make sure that the pinout for the 24v power to this is correct if you power this up as a stand alone device.  I just went through this process and the pinout in the manual is not right.  If you need this just PM me and I will see if I still have it somewhere.  I had to trace wires from the slot to the GEN2 to get this right.

[harp]

Also make sure that the pinout for the 20v power to this is correct if you power this up as a stand alone device.  I just went through this process and the pinout in the manual is not right.  If you need this just PM me and I will see if I still have it somewhere.  I had to trace wires from the slot to the GEN2 to get this right.

Not sure which manual you are working from, attached is information from the manual I worked from to set up my test rig

[tjlee]

Correct me if I am wrong on this.  It has been a while since I did the GEN2 programing.  That's the one I used too and pinout is wrong for the 14 pin plug power connections for stand alone.  Only part of the 14 pin harness I used when I programed is the power leads.  Programing itself was done like you said with the 4 pin connector.   I guess you could program it with it being powered from the slot itself without taking printer out. 

[tjlee]

Here is the scanned copy of the evaluation cable I made for the GEN2 printer.  Check pinouts and they are not the same as the original manual pinouts.  It seemed to work OK with the corrections I made to it.  Big thing on this is the power leads are pin 8 and pin 1 which match up to the power leads coming from the IGT S2000.  Manual shows different power connections.  I traced the power leads coming out of the S2000 to get this.  Again all I used was the power connections.  I programed using the 4 pin cable.  Again, probably would be easier just to program it with it in the slot but I never tried this and I am not sure if it can be done.  There are more people out there who are a lot more knowing about this subject than me.  This is what worked for me.  

[jiggywithit]

Thanks everyone! I was able to make a cable, and I used the firmware flash utility and was able to communicate with the printer. I flashed GNUSA5500.VFX
and now it appears to be bricked. I don't think the flash finished, upload progress bar indicated it was completed but it said 'No printer'. I waited for 5
minutes and power cycled the device.

All 4 LEDs are on solid, and the paper will not feed. Unable to print a test page. I can find the printer with the flash tool, and flash it again, but
I can't get it working.

 

[jiggywithit]

Here's a screencap of the status after restarting the flash utility.

[tjlee]

One thing good is the program is finding the printer as the green checkmark is saying this.  Use manual control of program and run it this way.  This way you can see what part of the program is working/failing.  You are using RS232 talk mode and checkmark the GEN2 box.  It's been a while since I have done this and I can't run the program on my GEN2 without removing the firmware.  Program will flush the firmware in printer and then install the new firmware.  The copy of the firmware you have is good as I installed it on my GEN2. Hope this and the email I sent you will help. This firmware is being used on my IGT S2000 and I think there are from reading different versions for Bally, etc.  I am sure there are others on here that can help out too.  

[jiggywithit]

One thing good is the program is finding the printer as the green checkmark is saying this.  Use manual control of program and run it this way.  This way you can see what part of the program is working/failing.  You are using RS232 talk mode and checkmark the GEN2 box.  It's been a while since I have done this and I can't run the program on my GEN2 without removing the firmware.  Program will flush the firmware in printer and then install the new firmware.  The copy of the firmware you have is good as I installed it on my GEN2. Hope this and the email I sent you will help. This firmware is being used on my IGT S2000 and I think there are from reading different versions for Bally, etc.  I am sure there are others on here that can help out too. 

I went into manual mode and identified the printer drops communication when I send the soft loader. It's detected as a RS232, I can flush it, but when I try to send the soft loader it becomes unresponsive until I power cycle the device. After power cycling I'm right back to where I was before.

[tjlee]

PM sent

[jiggywithit]

I was never able to re-flash the board.. no matter what I did I couldn't get it to take a flash. I ended
up buying another Netplex printer  and put the issue to rest. I wish I had the knowledge to salvage
it.. if only it had a JTAG connector!