Need help- sound effects

[giraffe]

Hey guys, I'm so glad I found this forum- A lot of great info! Hopefully someone here can help me with a problem I'm having with my Club Rodeo machine.

I bought this one about a month ago and it has worked perfectly until now. Something is wrong with the audio. After resetting with the internal key switch, the reel stop buttons seem to deactivate all sounds entirely. The sounds remain off during play until the machine is reset- then deactivate again the moment the first stop button is pressed.
If I continue to play in silence- after several spins, the coin and spin handle sound effects come back, then stop working again on the next spin. The stop button sound effect is gone completely in all cases.
I know that the speakers are still on because of that low buzz/hum.

I've tried to troubleshoot but I'm out of ideas...can anyone here help me out?

Thanks in advance

[alstonj1]

try to jiggle the harness around a bit sounds like you have a bad connection to the audio amp or passably a short .....

[luckydog]

usually its a loose connection somewhere, double check and reseat all your connections

[slotter]

Welcome giraffe! You've come to right place for help!

[giraffe]

Hey, thanks for the reply, you're right it does seem like somethings shorting out...
Am I right in guessing that the audio amp is located on the circuit board at the top of the door?

I have tried disconnecting and reconnecting just about every accessible wire...but no luck.

I'm not an expert with these machines but it seems like the stop button are failing to trigger any event other that the reel stop. For example, Occasionally the first pull will trigger some music and animations, and if you fail to make a combo the music is supposed to stop at the end of the round. But now the music continues for an indefinite number of rounds, being the only sound effect coming out of the machine...even if you have no more credits. It will eventually stop if you keep playing. But then it's back to complete silence.

any other ideas? thanks again

[giraffe]

OK, so I've been trying to fix this thing for a week now...and I still have the same problem...

So here's the breakdown of whats happening

1st- Standard procedure reset with the odds key
2nd- Turn on machine
3rd- Insert coins- and it plays the sound effects.
4rd- Pull the spin handle- and it plays a sound effect & the reels spin.
5th- Press stop buttons -and the reels stop w/ NO sound effects
(even if I wait for the reels to stop automatically there's no sound effects)
6th- Now- Insert coin, bet, and spin, have NO sound effects.
7th- Repeat.

I have also realized that not only have the sound effects gone away but ALSO the corresponding lighting effects...

I've reseated every connection in the entire machine...all 3 fuses are fine, I've even tried running the machine with each individual wire unplugged if hopes of narrowing down the problem.

The only reason I haven't given up is because every approx. 30 spins, the sound and lighting effects come back for just one round(minus the stop button sounds). But then it's back to silence.

And as I mentioned before, sometimes music will play, but it wont stop! Even with zero credits, it just keeps going.

Does anyone know if the sound effects are handled and stored on the motherboard? or is it the circuit board located above the reel window?

Could I possibly have a bad wire somewhere?
Do these machines have any type of firmware reset?
Are there any on board batteries on pachislos?

once again, any help would be appreciated...

[Lddrizzt]

Sounds to me like it might be working the way it's supposed to.
The only time the lights and sound happen is when you are in a bonus or chance round.

[giraffe]

here's a link to a video of Club Rodeo working properly...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IKcDK3QFNxA

Every time you place a bet, pull the spin handle, press a stop button, or win a payout, there is supposed to be a quick sound effect.

1:30 into the video, he pulls & there is a looping drum beat sound & when he stops on a Replay combo- the left corner lights flash, the drum beat stops, and there is an add credit sound.

My machine is making NO sound or light effects. They all go away after I pull the spin handle for the first time, and don't come back until I reset with the odds key.

Occasionally the drum beat will start after a pull but it never stops...

My machine was working just like the one in the video before, but something is definitely wrong with it now.

[Harleybum]

How comfortable are you with working I.C.'s in/out of sockets? I suspect what has happened is one of the data busses is not working properly from the CPU to the PIA chips.
If you ARE experianced with working the big chips out of their sockets and re-seating them, This might restore everything to operating conditions.
Look for corrosion along the pins of the chips. This stuff migrates inbetween the pins and the sockets after time.Other problems can be found by GENTLY pressing on the top of chips and the boards while playing it.
I would bet this is a data bus problem, the CPU and ROM are fine..the machine plays.The data is not getting to the Sound Generator and light driver chips..

Hb

[Lddrizzt]

Ok I see what you mean.
I think you might have a bad board somewhere. I would contact the vendor where you got it from and have them fix it.

[giraffe]

Honestly, I've never tried reseating a chip on a circuit board...I don't imagine they come out without a fight. Plus all the boards in my machine are encased in clear plastic with tamper corks covering the screws. I will post some images of the boards. Harleybum, maybe you can point me in the right direction if you are familiar with Rodeo models. You could let me know which PIAs may need adjustment, I could give it a try.

As far as returning it to the vendor...I don't think Value Pawn will take it back... haha
yes, my entry to the world of Pachi started as an impulse buy at a pawn shop in June.

here's the links to the pictures...

http://www.pachitalk.com/forums/atta...1&d=1154908501


http://www.pachitalk.com/forums/atta...1&d=1154908501

[luckydog]

keep playing with your connections, that may help fix it

[minnesotabrad]

You can go to Radio shack and buy a tool that pulls your chips straight out, fairly inexpensive and makes it easier to get out without bending any pins. When reseating them make sure all the pins are in correct slot then give light pressure up and down the ROM chip until it is fully in. I have to do this to my pinball machine at times and it is not too difficult. Just take it easy on the pins and if they bend at all slowly bend them back as not to break them off.

[giraffe]

It's fixed!
My Club Rodeo is back in working order!

After working on this thing every day for a couple weeks I finally gave up and put it in the back room.
Earlier today I read a post from Slotter about capacitors loosing their charge after being unplugged for a few days causing memory loss.

So I hoped that this could work to an advantage with my situation since it's been unplugged for 6 days.

I plugged it back in, started it up...and it works!

I guess if it can break itself, it can fix itself too.

Thanks to all who offered help!

[Tulsa]

Another happy PachiTalk customer.