Bally Gamemaker Problem

[whinkle]

My Bally Gamemaker V7200 was working fine the other day.  Now when I turn it on, I get the following message on the screen...

"Mains Saferam Signature Corrupted... A Saferam Clear Is Required"

I turned the machine off, pulled the board, switched Dipsw1 7 & 8 to on, put my clear chip in P10, re-inserted the board and turned on my machine.  I went through the initial setup and it told me to turn the machine off and remove the clear chip.  I did that, and switched dips 7 & 8 back off, re-inserted the board and turned the machine back on and still get the same message.

Does anyone know why I am getting this message and what can I do to fix it?

Thanks

[StatFreak]

Check the battery.

[whinkle]

I don't have no way of checking the battery until I buy a meter.  Would I be better off changing my mains back to my old ones first to see if it comes back up?  That way I would know if it was the battery or if my Mains really are corrupted.

[StatFreak]

You didn't mention changing the mains out. It's possible that the new set is damaged. I would certainly try putting the known good chips back in the board. Use the original graphics chips as well if you changed those (the idea is to install a complete known working set.)

Either way, do yourself a favor and buy a DVM (aka DMM) -- it's invaluable for basic electrical diagnoses, and they are very inexpensive*.


*Unless you demand true RMS readings.

[whinkle]

Sorry... should have been more clear.  I did NOT change the mains.  My current ones are 24's and up until today, they worked just fine. I just wondered if I took them out and put the set I used to have in when I bought my game (20's) that would help in seeing if it is the battery or not.

[Neonkiss]

Get a meter......

No other way of telling if the battery is low or not.
Just swapping around parts is a waste of your time. If you have that much time might as well just install a new battery.

[whinkle]

Well, I tried switching my mains from my 24's to my 20's to see if that brought the game back up but I couldn't get past the initial screen saying something about my graphics and meters not matching and to do a clear.  I tried doing a clear again, but now that message keeps coming up and I couldn't seem to get past it.

Unless someone has a better suggestion, I'm going to take my board down to Batteries Plus and have them check and replace my battery if needed and if that don't help, hopefully a new set of 24 mains will do the trick... if not, I don't know what else to do... I just want it back working again  

[whinkle]

Well, I took my board to a Batteries Plus location and they tested it and it was just about dead.  The guy there didn't want to tackle putting the new one in though.  Any suggestions on where else I could have someone do it?  I asked Best Buy and they said they don't do that type of work and to call an electrician 

[OhioGaming]

TV repair shop.

[Randy0777]

 
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Well, I took my board to a Batteries Plus location and they tested it and it was just about dead.  The guy there didn't want to tackle putting the new one in though.  Any suggestions on where else I could have someone do it?  I asked Best Buy and they said they don't do that type of work and to call an electrician 

[jay]

Anyone running an old TV shop should be able to pick up a soldering iron and do it. However unless you are dragging your whole machine with you - you can't really bench test it with the tech there.

Personally, I would consider sending it to one of the slot shops where they would even have a platform to plug it in and could even potentially warranty it.
just looking at your location I would say you are closest to April.

Mr. Jim in Vegas does board level repairs but that is probably overkill for a battery change.

[stayouttadabunker]

Whinkle,
Give April a phone call.
I'm sure one of their guys can solder in a battery for ya!
If not, send it to me and I'll put one in for you.
I'm not guaranteeing you it will save your problem and I don't have a Gamemaker
to test it in but you'll have a new battery in there!
Jay is right though, the Ohio dealers are closest to you and I'm sure that if you call around -
one of them make be able to take a few minutes and solder in a new battery for you.

[whinkle]

Well, I finally have a new battery for my board, but no knowledge on how to replace it.

Would anyone be interested in replacing it for me?  I would pay for the shipping there and back.  I'm desperate 

[a69mopar]

I'm sure someone can solder the battery on for you.  If you were close to me I would. (I'm in Canada).  Do you own a slodering iron? Have you ever soldered?  I'm sure you could send it to one of the dealers close to you and they would do it.

Thanks,
Wayne

[whinkle]

No... I don't own one unfortunately.  I have never soldered before otherwise I would probably give it a try.

[a69mopar]

search youtube, there must be a lot of "how to solder" videos.  I will likley make a video (specific to battery changes) in the future, but won't have time this week for sure.  I looked at the members map and you are a ways from most members.  It looks like the Chicago members are closer or Terry at slot machines LTD.(Dayton).  If you are near either place I would try to contact one of them.  Look near the top of the page for the members map and you will see.

Thanks,
Wayne

[stayouttadabunker]

Whinkle,
Can you post a picture of your board around the battery area?
I could make a short video tomorrow  and post it on youtube and link it here if you'd like.
I will show exactly what to do?
You need to go to radio shack and pick up a cheap soldering stick kit with some solder and flux.
Tell the store employee you just want to do some basic electronics
board soldering and they will give you what you need.
Once you have what you need, watch the video of me replacing a battery on a board.
It's really not hard at all!
Below is a picture of basically what you need to do simple repairs.
Click on photo to enlarge!>>>

[StatFreak]

Winkle, if you REALLY want me to do it, you can send it to me and I'll do it, but as everyone is telling you, it's not that hard. I think that I would be doing you a disservice to do it for you because this is a skill that you should learn as a slot owner. The 1/2AA and AA sized batteries that most slots use are easy to install -- it's the flat watch types that are a $^#.

Stat

[Randy0777]

That was his problem... a battery. He should be playing again by the weekend,with some new games 

[whinkle]

Lots of thanks go out to all who offered to help me with this.  Thanks especially to Randy for giving his time and more to help a fellow NLG member out. K+ to you 

[ROCKET]

I thought many years back ?? we had all figured a way to overcome the never ending BALLY DEAD BATTERY ??
without going into a long story of who ?? why ?? or who came up with idea ??

Bally gamemaker & slot boards you can pull the jumper when not in use . so current draw is not being pulled .
but a easier fix is this below !!

I have been doing this trick for yrs on battery backup memory on certain machines .

home cordless phones most run on 3.6 volt dc nickel cadmium batteries

with a simple black & red wire about 3" -inches long to a molex plug .

you plug your home phone into wall with 115 volt transformer to charge the battery of the cordless phone 24/7 .


at many discount stores --you can buy assorted batteries 3.6 volt nickel cadmium batteries for home cordless phones for 1.00 each or less
I purchased 100 batteries a few yrs back . 1.00 each never used --only 2 yrs old on production date ..

if you have a old cordless phone ?? pull out the barrel plug & battery connector --save the transformer -- solder in the two wires to the existing battery terminals on gamemaker board .
or onto existing 3.6 volt batt  ends on board --preferablely at the ends close to board . you can then plug in the two wires off a cordless phone battery .

then run your transformer wire up through the back side of machine to barrel plug that you saved and soldered in place --
find a spot & use double sided tape or mini plastic wire tie as seen on many cherry master boards .

this way you can charge your game maker battery when not in use !! or use it with aligator clips when soldering in a newer battery --so settings are not lost when replacement of standard batt .

hope this helps out some ..

[stayouttadabunker]

Excellent, excellent post Rocket! 
You've shown many Bally homeowners how to save their machines from constantly going down.
I've never seen anyone with so much cordless phone batteries! LOL That's funny!
Did ya raid Walmarts?