Mikohn computer board, need a new one or make the one I have work?

[modman]

                                    Ok I'm learning more about this. Yes my other machine that is working has a chip that says stand alone so I guess that is why it does not need this Com 1 box I've been hearing. OK now I have posted this picture of this box that was also connected to the Mikohn board that sits on top of the power supply, what is this box? now this use to work before I had sent out this computer box. So basically it was a 3 pc. setup. The Mikohn board that sits on top of the power supply, this new picture that it connects to, and the missing box I sent out. I have no picture of it and barely remember what it looks like. Would it be easier to just buy a stand alone then trying to find this missing box or can I do without this missing box and only need this board I have just shown?

[modman]

                               Also what does this box do? I has 3 nine pin connections,  one input, one output and one that says chameleon programming. Can I link this to my other machine to work both progressive machines?

[modman]

                      This is the picture of the standalone board that is working fine on my other machine.

[Foster]

Compare the 2 boards, other than the labeling and wiring mods are they identical?

[dpalmi]

I have no idea what I am talking about....lol....

But do not assume that just because your board has the yellow jumper wires on the bottom that it has been customized in some way.  Boards come from the manufacturer like this all the time - it just means they figured out an issue or a better way to do something after the board was made but before the board was shipped to the customer.  Your board is probably a standard board without any customization.  IGT MPU boards come with those type of jumper wires all the time.  It does not necessarily signify that it is something custom.

Dan #2

[modman]

Compare the 2 boards, other than the labeling and wiring mods are they identical?

                        The two boards are completely different as you can see in the pics. One board is a standalone where the other board needs the missing module or Con 1 or Con 2 board.    I believe I found a person who happens to have a standalone board available but I would like to get this one to work where it does need the Con 1 or Con 2 board. The last picture showing the square computer board with in and out 9 pin plugs, is this so you can link to another progressive machine? This was used in the machine that doesn't use the stand alone Mikohn board. I just happened to be missing one computer board that was sent out years ago that I have not got back yet. Anyone have any pictures of how it looks like because I dont' remember. All I remember is it was encased in an aluminum box. Anyone have any pics?

[knagl]

It's my guess that the mystery board you posted would be used to link multiple slots or controllers together, but again I'm no Mikohn expert and I haven't seen that board before.

Here are some pictures I found of a CON1 that was previously sold on eBay -- it matches your description of "an aluminum box":







...and for good measure a Con2i:



I do think you'd be better off finding and buying another stand-alone ChamII+ unless you really want to and plan to link all your machines together with a common jackpot.  It seems to me that the CON1/2 link setup is more complex than most home users want to deal with.

[jay]

Here is  thread that documents the hook up......
Its between a CON1 and a LED4 (Cham44).
The LED4 board looks a bit different but its the same 2 wire hookup to the CON1.

http://newlifegames.net/nlg/index.php?topic=3686.0

[modman]

                                   I attached a pic of the square aluminum computer box which looks similar to the one on top of the larger box. Is it like the one I posted? Mine does not say Con 1 but rather Checksum and Gateway. What is this box I have do?

[modman]

                   Seems everytime someone shows a board, they look different from what I have so this keeps getting confusing for me.

[brichter]

                                   I attached a pic of the square aluminum computer box which looks similar to the one on top of the larger box. Is it like the one I posted? Mine does not say Con 1 but rather Checksum and Gateway. What is this box I have do?

That's a gateway, not a CON1.

That converts signals between the machine and the controller and is necessary if the machine and controller do not both use the same protocol.

[modman]

                               OK I see. I found a person selling a stand alone board and I'm thinking of going that route to make things simple. Do I have to program it after it gets installed or is it ready to go? Any resetting should be done before using it?

[jay]

It depends on your definition of simple.

The "board" is probably a ChamII+
Make sure it comes with a power supply.
You will also need the matching meter (LED display) and connecting ribbon cable for it - the ones you have are not compatiable with a ChamII+

You will also need to build the 3 wire wiring harness between the board and the slot.
You will also need a copy of PSP to program it - same program also used for CON1, CON2
The serial cable between the PC and the CHAMII+ is also slightly modified from stock.
WIth respect to the PC you use - Windows98 is best as PSP is DOS program - XP usually works and Vista is 50/50 depending on your hardware.

[modman]

                                       I already have the power supply, now I have no software program. Wiring or soldering is not an issue. Now matching LED display, that I'm not sure about. What type of display can only work? The current display has the same ribbon cord, no more, no less in pin configuration. The LED board has 15 cells 8 x 5 leds in each. Is this board not going to work? The board I'm trying to get is a stand alone version. The only thing I can see different is the led board has 2 more cell blocks than my other progressive that is using the stand alone board.

[stayouttadabunker]

http://www.newlifegames.net/uploads/up/PSPv2.0.zip

This will take you to the PSP program in the "Submit File Section" of NLG

[modman]

http://www.newlifegames.net/uploads/up/PSPv2.0.zip

This will take you to the PSP program in the "Submit File Section" of NLG

                       Thanks!

[stayouttadabunker]

You're very welcome modman!

[jay]

Lets start at the beginning.

There are several ways to get a Mikohn progressive working.
There are Standalone controllers and Link Controllers.
Then there are Link Extension devices which connect to contollers to drive displays.
Then there are gateways which do signal conversions

I will try and outline the various components.


Standalone controller.
                                
                                      +==== Meter
                                      |                        
PC (with PSP) -----------> ChamII+ --------------------3 wire harness to slot.
                        (mounted on powersupply)



Link Controller (called a CON1 --- con stands for controller)
There are various revs of the CON1 ... some are designed for connection to 1 slot - (not sure why as this seems like a lot of trouble for 1 slot)
Some are for  4 slots, 16, and 32. They are all pretty much the same other than the number of pins on the connector.
The advantage of the CON1 is that you have multiple slots connected and multiple displays.
In my configuration I have 3 slots, each with a LED5 & display then two large overhead signs.



                                      ---- 2 wire harness to slot #3....etc up to 32 slots
                                      ---- 2 wire harness to slot #2
PC (with PSP) -----> Con1  ---- 2 wire harness to slot #1.
                             |  | |  
                             |  | |  
                             |  | |
                             |  | |             +==== Meter
      Wall Wart---------+  | |             |
     powersupply          | +----------LED 5  (also known as a Cham1 based on the etching on the board)
                                |        (mounted on powersupply)
                                |
                                |              +==== large Overhead Meter
                                |              |
                                +----------LED 4    (also known as a Cham44 based on the etching on the board)
                                         (mounted on powersupply)


Link Controller expanded with a GATEWAY
The purpose of the gateway is to provide a Data Return line to the video poker (or video slot) so you can get on screen display of the progressive amount.
The gateway can also be used to get the progressive amount on the Winner Paid LED's on the S+ slots but since this only shows up when the progressive is hit I haven't bothered


                                      ---- 2 wire harness to Slot 3
                                      ---- 2 wire harness to PE+ Video Poker------------------------------------------------+
                                     ---- 2 wire harness to slot #2                                                                                  |
PC (with PSP) -----> Con1  ---- 2 wire harness to slot #1                                                                                  |
                            | | | |                                                                                                                           |
                            | | | |                                                                                                                           |
                            | | | |                                                                                                                            |
                            | | | |             +==== Meter                                                                                           |
      Wall Wart---------+| | |             |                                                                                                              |
     powersupply        | | +----------LED 5  (also known as a Cham1 based on the etching on the board)                    |
                              | |        (mounted on powersupply)                                                                                 |
                              | |                                                                                                                               |
                              | |              +==== large Overhead Meter                                                                       |
                              | |              |                                                                                                                |
                              | +----------LED 4    (also known as a Cham44 based on the etching on the board)                   |
                              |          (mounted on powersupply)                                                                                  |
                              |                                                                                                                                  |
                             +---------Gateway ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+

[jay]

CON2 "SuperController" Link
The CON2 supports Mystery Progressives, as well as 8 levels compared to just 4 of the CON1 - Most people never use more than 1 or 2 levels.
You will note that due to the 3 wire harness nothing like a gateway is required.

                                     ---- 3 wire harness to slot #3....etc up to 32 slots
                                     ---- 3 wire harness to slot #2
PC (with PSP) -----> Con2 ---- 3 wire harness to slot #1.
                             |  | | 
                             |  | | 
                             |  | |
                             |  | |             +==== Meter
AC Powercord---------+  | |             |
                                | +----------ChamII  (Note Non + version)
                                |        (mounted on powersupply)
                                |
                                |              +==== large Overhead Meter
                                |              |
                                +----------Supreme  ----------------------------------------------------PC with Downloader software to install animation sequences
                                         (mounted on powersupply)

[modman]

                     It appears then I'm missing the link controller, the part I sent out and never got back. So now the Gateway, why was this needed then? the only thing I can think of is that on the led screen, it had a custom phrase that I had ask for installed where it would alternate between the current jackpot and the custom phrase. On your diagram it shows going to a video poker which I don't have. This is where I'm not sure if the Gateway is needed if I don't care for the custom wording. But then again you mentioned that when jackpot is kit it is used to show the winning amount which is nice to have. So without the Gateway if you hit jackpot it will not show the winning amount? Also when you mention meter, are you talking about the tiny mechanical numbers inside the head of the slot machine or the actual dotted led board that shows the progressive amount? I'm starting to understand but need more details.

[jay]

Forgetting about the gateway......(for a second). The meter (the LED dot matrix display) will show you the progressive amount + whatever wording you want. When someone hits the jackpot the "overhead" meter alternates between what has been won on what machine ..... and the new reset value that continues to increment for the other players.... The in-machine meter for the machine that won is frozen at the jackpot value - the other machines in-machine meters read the new lower progressive value.

My Meter scrolls and says "Welcome to Jays Irish Pub and Casino...."progressive value" .... Join our Pot of Gold players club .... "progressive value"... where everyone is a winner...."progressive value" .... We would like to thank our recent winners Mrs Chu with 600 coins on Double Diamond Deluxe. ....."progressive value" ....etc etc etc..

You don't need a gateway for any of the above...

On the video poker... the default win for a full house is 4000 coins. When you have it in progressive mode it says Jackpot. When you add in the gateway the word jackpot is replaced by the value on the progressive.

if you also connect up the gateway to the S+'s when you hit the jackpot the Winner Paid shows the progressive value.... your not really losing anything by not having this connected as you have your other displays that are showing the progressive amount.

[modman]

                           OK so basically with only having a Con 1 board, I can put the custom wording and not needing the gateway. I have a couple questions, I was thinking about buying a stand alone board but will it work on a 14 cell 5 x 8 led cell? also will I be able to program custom lettering on this type of board? If not then I'm probably better off finding a Com 1 board. Where can I find one? what is the actual name of the board if I went looking for one? probably need a part # better?

[jay]

The unit is a "Mikohn CON1i" (not COM). The "i" indicates its for IGT.  It looks like a metal box with a external wall wart. If you don't get the wall wart (power supply) you can always pick one up at Radio Shack so don't let the absence of the power supply be a detractor. Last time I checked Joey (NLG phone number on the home page) had a number of them.

April (see april slot sales on the home page) usually has one or two kicking around her shop as well. Her button takes you to her ebay sales so if there is not one up there any of her ads have her phone number give her a call. In both cases let people know you were referred from NLG as you typically get better pricing.

I concur that getting a CON1 seems like the logical path to follow here.

The "meter" you have is designed for the LED5 (Cham1) assuming the ribbon cable fits both ends. I never did see a picture of the connector.

If you pick up a ChamII+ (standalone board) which is mounted over its power supply the meter for these (albiet being similar same dimensions to the LED5 meter) is electrically different and the ribbon cable has a different number of pins. So you will want to get a complete ChamII+ along with the matching meter. if you go that direction.

In both cases - CON1 or ChamII+ you can program the words and progressive amounts in your choice of colors. You can scroll left, right, up, down, flash, fade and dance.

if you want animation you need to go for a CON2 and a Supreme (lots of bucks).

[knagl]

Not to threadjack, but I was under the impression that a ChamII+ could do stand-alone PE+ poker stuff, too, no?

[jay]

Yes it can.
The ChamII+ is a 3 wire setup so it displays the progessive value.

The gateway is just there to compensate for the short commings of the con1