i have 2 CEI poker machines..need help

[CHOP CHOP]

i have 2 of the older (80's models) CEI video poker machines, i have manage to get one of them up and running but its not perfect, cleaned all the interior components and swapped video monitors ( one may be bad) i have downloaded the manual for the 904 board at coin slots.com but it does not tell me what each of the dip switches on the board control. is there a service/repair manual available anywhere for these old machines??? i also need links for monitor repair or replacement.

[shortrackskater]

Check out this thread. It was right below yours.  Halfway down are DIP switch settings. There's an entire section here on NLG for Monitor repair with lots of good information. In two old video slots of mine, the monitor problem was simply dirty potentiometers. I have one that looks identical to your first one and I do have the manual for that, but it's a hard copy. Let us know your progress.


 

[SolidSilver]

CONGRATS! You have a couple of fairly scarce machines that are often puzzles but lots of fun.
Don't have a lot of time at this moment, but will post more detail  for you later tonight. For now,

Your first  machine is the most common, a "Casino Mini", probably running 23.9 software and a #7 payout table.
To be sure, open the door, press the TEST button, and see what it says at the bottom of the final screen.
Most commonly, it will say  V 23.9 SCH. 07-1T 06/06/85
(Since I'm working on sorting out CEI software, I'd like to know if it says anything else.)

Your second machine is in a short Arcade housing, probably earlier than your Mini.
I've never actually seen one; it may have been a transition unit before they got the
front door tooling finished on the Mini housing.

Replacing the monitor with LCD is not too difficult, but there are few useful instructions for
doing so. I'm working on one right now, for the primary purpose of writing a guideline for
NLG members.

And yes there are several manuals out there, none complete, at least one wildly wrong.
I'll be glad to email you the ones you don't have. I got most of mine from NLG member
DORMI. He is the absolute expert on everything CEI, and a great & generous man to boot.

and welcome to NLG!

[CHOP CHOP]

Check out this thread. It was right below yours.  Halfway down are DIP switch settings. There's an entire section here on NLG for Monitor repair with lots of good information. In two old video slots of mine, the monitor problem was simply dirty potentiometers. I have one that looks identical to your first one and I do have the manual for that, but it's a hard copy. Let us know your progress.


 

thanks i had already seen that post but it was relatively sparse on complete information as i don't want to be messing with stuff without having a semi decent understanding of what the benefits/consequences are of my actions. i have seen some of the older post where someone had posted manuals but cannot for the life of me find them anywhere, must be in a section i'm not allowed into yet?? LOL

[CHOP CHOP]

CONGRATS! You have a couple of fairly scarce machines that are often puzzles but lots of fun.
Don't have a lot of time at this moment, but will post more detail  for you later tonight. For now,

Your first  machine is the most common, a "Casino Mini", probably running 23.9 software and a #7 payout table.
To be sure, open the door, press the TEST button, and see what it says at the bottom of the final screen.
Most commonly, it will say  V 23.9 SCH. 07-1T 06/06/85
(Since I'm working on sorting out CEI software, I'd like to know if it says anything else.)

Your second machine is in a short Arcade housing, probably earlier than your Mini.
I've never actually seen one; it may have been a transition unit before they got the
front door tooling finished on the Mini housing.

Replacing the monitor with LCD is not too difficult, but there are few useful instructions for
doing so. I'm working on one right now, for the primary purpose of writing a guideline for
NLG members.

And yes there are several manuals out there, none complete, at least one wildly wrong.
I'll be glad to email you the ones you don't have. I got most of mine from NLG member
DORMI. He is the absolute expert on everything CEI, and a great & generous man to boot.

and welcome to NLG!

thanks would love to have any information you have on my machines....you or anyone else here can always pm me and get my number its a lot easier sometimes to talk than type...i will post a few more pictures for more info......

[CHOP CHOP]

screen shot of the test screen

[CHOP CHOP]

is there a way to change the payout to a more liberal pay out scheme??

[SolidSilver]

OK, CHOPCHOP, we're back from the playground, my granddaughter has had her bottle and is taking a late nap;
got some time 'till she wakes up

DIP Switches:
SW1 has no value for you: it is for external communication rate,
and should have no effect wherever it is set. Most machines have all switches ON;
7 & 8 are not even connected on the board.

SW2 #1 & 2 refer to the max number of coins credit the machine will accept before
reverting to coin payout or hand payout if hopper quantity is insufficient. Thus, it is
irrelevant to actual operation; set them as you like.

SW2 #3 & 4 are important, but you really don't have much choice: it sets the max number
of coins that can be  played, and when you drop that many in it will automatically deal.
Your machine is labeled for $4000 payout on a Royal Flush; that's the "bonus" payout
for playing 10 coins at the 300-coin RoyalFlush single coin displayed.

If you set if for fewer than 10 coins, the player can never get the advertised $4grand;
I confess I do not know what happens if you set it for more than 10:have not yet tried it.
Let us know if you do!

The rest on SW2 seem to have no useful effect on 23.9 software: I suspect they were installed
for other types of games, but do not yet know. I've just started digging into the mysteries of CEI
(Cal Omega) 903/904 software.

SW3: your 904 board probably has a socket with that label, but probably no actual dipswitch installed.
Have not yet learned what it's for: probably for "future uses" when the board was laid out.

Finally, change of payout: yes,  like every other electronic slot machine, it is possible, but only by replacing your game PROMS:
the software is built in. According to the screenshot you showed, you have Schedule 7, which matches your screen payout (as it must).

Sched 7 (94%)  is by far the most common, and is typical of the early '80s when video poker was new. Indeed, I have not yet found
a working 23.9 with a better payout, even though they exist according to the factory. I am involved at this time in trying to find
other software versions that can be copied for NLG use: that's why I asked for your screenshot.

(By the way, V 24.0 is the same game, but with HOLD buttons instead of DISCARD. It can be used in your machine simply by replacing
the button labels. The only working versions I have found have Sched 2 [96%], but I've not yet been able to get a reproduceable software copy.)

Finally, I'm guessing your first machine does not have the elusive DoubleUp option. (If it does, I want your chips!)
Your second machine (the one in the Arcade housing) apparently does, as it has the extra buttons for it (such as BIG and TAKE)
I believe (slim evidence yet) there are version of both 23.9 & 24.0  made to work in Mini housings without the extra buttons.

I will email you the other manuals I have, with a few notes.

[SolidSilver]

Oh, and for the monitor: every manufacturer bought monitors off the shelf,
including CEI. Pretty much interchangeable 9-13" CGAs at the time.
Please take photos of every label on every part of the monitor and post them here.

Lots of folks on this site are monitor-cognizant; if there's no immediate help, post on
the specialized Monitor section. I can tell you that if you have an ElectroHome GO7 series,
the world is full of spare parts, replacement monitors, and fixit-folks. If you have a somewhat
more elusive one like the KAGA/TSK, general monitor repair processes (like capacitor replacement)
work well, and monitor fixit folks will still take it on.  And, you can (usually) replace it with a modern
monitor (crt or LCD), but that introduces it's own issues including figuring out how to physically
mount it in your machine.

Basically, monitor problems on simple early machines like CEIs is a matter
of how comfortable you are with soldering & wiring; how much you prefer to preserve the original vs replacement;
and whether you'd rather just throw $$$ at someone else to take care of it.

Anyway, post pics; lots of internal pics. That is what draws the interest of folks on this site, and gives them the
info they need to chime in with helpful hints.

...and should you ever give up on a CEI, my shipping address is.......

[CHOP CHOP]

pictures of machine #1

[CHOP CHOP]

machine #1 cont'd

[CHOP CHOP]

both machines side by side in the garage where they are being worked on

[CHOP CHOP]

inside of machine #2

[CHOP CHOP]

more of #2

[CHOP CHOP]

this is the monitor that's not working

[SolidSilver]

OK, you have a Ceronics monitor. Very very common.
However, that exhausts my knowledge of monitors.
(I'm a retired mechanical engineer; I don't even believe in electronics  )

I'd post specifically in the Monitor section of this site, with model number, and
specifics of what is wrong with it.

(From your screenshot it seems to be working. If the problem is background color,
that is adjustable on your game board.  For instance, your first machine has a red
background; that could be changed to blue merely by tweaking one or more of the
pots on the 904 board)

[CHOP CHOP]

i switched the monitors from machine to machine to diagnose some of the issues with each one of them. i have no idea what is wrong with the monitor, all i know that when plugged in it does nothing, and have no clue where to begin on it.the monitor in machine #1 is actually the monitor that belongs in #2, i have a few issues with machine #2 and some of the buttons that are doing the wrong thing when pushed ( deal/draw actually discards #4, and you have to hold collect and hit deal to actually draw cards. that's one of the issues which is why i'm looking for a detailed schematic for the wiring. i'm also going to have to replace a few of the micro switches for the buttons as well as some of the housings, i can get the double up feature to come up sometimes but the high/low buttons are not working correctly. these are both $1.00 machines with a max bet of 5 credits for the hand to be dealt and max payout.

[ucanwin]

If you send your Ceronix monitor board in to the Ceronix company, they will either recondition or replace your board for $45.00 plus shipping costs. I had one done and am well satisfied.

[CHOP CHOP]

If you send your Ceronix monitor board in to the Ceronix company, they will either recondition or replace your board for $45.00 plus shipping costs. I had one done and am well satisfied.

thanks for that info .....definitely going to have to check into that if its the board that is bad....

[CHOP CHOP]

found this inside of my machine #1 on right hand side.....not sure what it does....and it also looks like it need to be replaced.....any opinions on this????

[SolidSilver]

I have one like it in a CEI Casino Mini housing like yours. It sits on a socket bracketed to the
inside wall on the player's righthand side. It is mounted above, and connected to, a honkin'
big transformer almost as big as the main power transformer. It's supposed to be connected via a
flying connector from the front-door harness bundle, but has been disco.

I do not know what it does, and have not yet traced the wiring back,  but it would appear the intent was to trigger something that required
some serious amps, beyond what a motherboard trace could handle. I can only make 2 guesses:

1. Jackpot bell.

2. Coin-by-coin "gonger," as the CEI Mini sound for coins dispensed is pretty weak.

[Hrode]

found this inside of my machine #1 on right hand side.....not sure what it does....and it also looks like it need to be replaced.....any opinions on this????

HI...

It's just a Relay.
Nearly 10 bucks on eBay (used with socket)...

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Schrack-RA-400-615-Relay-115-Volt-w-Rail-Mount-/310162745760