110v vs 100v

[arbycoffee]

cool beans

[brewboy]

There has to be some output regulation for the digital control boards. Now the lamp (LED) circuits may be a different story. Most power supplys are designed to operate at +/- 15-20% of their rated voltage. I can definitely say that I exceed that, because I'm in the country and the only one on the electrical transformer. I usually see 125 VAC.

The real question is, whether many people are seeing failures.

[teqkng]

I have only seen issues when the actual voltage dropped under 94 or 5. Just because I carry a multimeter around for just in case to these events. And only on certain machines. Taco Slot ((Gotta love that Mexican Invertibrate) I am lookin for a groan or two here), and a Babel (which I am now having wierd issues with) the rest of th more basic slots were not effected.

[Eddie]

With the exception of hooking a transformer up backwards.

I have had no problems at all!

All of my machines are connected to surge protectors.

I shut down my machines when not in use.

[takethecastle57]

That s the ticket !!

[FTKServices]

Mine are setup the same way as Eddie.. I have had no problems.

[luckydog]

Ditto

[Eddie]

As usual I was not thinking.

There are 2 machine I have that cannot use the 110v outlet direct.

Both are the Arepachis Jinn and Mars (Basically the same machine)

I have to use the step down converter to 100v. The type that Arby sells

If I dont use the converter the led numeric displays run amok.

So there are instances where a converter is necessary!

[alstonj1]

easiest way to explain the situation with surges and spikes is that the damage is only seldom immediate. The damage is cumulative, I will use vintage pachinkos as an example. Metal fatigue in the vintage Pachincos is the most probable root of the 2 year limit on machine usage in Japan after 730 days of constant stress and bouncing balls the bends and angles of all The metal pieces that contact the balls will tend to misform or change ever so slightly. This would drastically change the payout, reliabiliy and playability of the units. Electronics are similar in how much stress they can take but you need to look at Current as a source of pressure.

(Envision a water hose on the side of your house)




the Valve on the house (which will be set full open for our purpose) is the power from the electric company and everyone knows that there can be big differences in water pressure area to area. The end of the hose is a nozzle, if the nozzle is set to full flow and you water the plants you can rip off foliage splatter yourself with dirt etc. (I hope you get the picture) If you "Regulate" the pressure by adjusting the nozzle accordingly no damage is done. Using that mental image look at a Power supply again, it is a manifold for pressure(current) that allows only specific amounts of pressure to follow certain paths. The better it is regulated the less "Erosion" occurs.

Let me know if everyone understood that and what is not clear I have other ways I use to explain it to match other frames of reference.

This was an excellent medafore for current how ever we aren't talking about current . current is amperage ( voltage divided by resistance) which is a constant as long as those two values remain the same . in short your machine will only use as much current as is necessary and not any more unless a short occurs . As for voltage that can cause problems with unregulated machines . Yes your light bulbs will not last as long at a higher voltage but a regulator in your power supply doesn't allow the voltage above a certain amount so thats unlikely to happen . The excess voltage is converted to heat and dissapated by a heat sink .To much voltage and the regulator will burn up .The whine you hear from the power supply is most likely that conversion taking place .scrs have a tendency to whine while doing there job (somewhat like my workers ) THIS IS NORMAL... if you see the blue smoke how ever you over did it .Every tech knows you never let the magic blue smoke out of the machine or it will not work... the only true way to tell is open your machine and look up the number of the regulator being used and find the specs for it . how ever as i said before your with in the power supply limits .older machines made in the 70's might have a problem but those from the 80's up won't the machines your running are made to be used anywhere in japan so they are very versatile commercial power supplies . Japan runs two different power grids one running 100volt 50 hertz (compliments of the brits )the other 100volt 60 hertz (compliments of the U.S.) since the manufacture doesn't know where the machine will be it accepts both .the older machines had to be switched manually but the newer don't you might see the remnants of this system on your 100 volt flouresent ballast if your machine is an older model most have 24 volt ballast now .In short your machine is a commercial model machine not a toy it can handle the changes thrown at it by the U.S. power grid . if you are really concerned and need the added peace of mind add a resistor inline with one side of your power cord input to decrease the voltage to 100 volt thats all the variac that arbys voltage converter does (this will work with your aripachis also ).should be about 5 ohm 25 watt resistor if my math was correct (my young techs could spit this out in there sleep).and heres a supplier .

5 Watt Power Resistors 25 Ohm Lot of 4 Made In USA - eBay (item 220219043623 end time Jun-29-08 07:39:35 PDT)

[alstonj1]

im sorry the earlier url was for a 25 ohm 5 watt that was incorrect this url has the right one . you want 5 ohm 25 watt if you want to save some money the 4.7 ohm or the 5.1 ohm will work as well .
Electronics Plus - Hard to find parts and accessories, available and ready to ship!

[JohnD0406]

OK, enough speculation and time for some real measurements. I tested an IGT Tricolor RWB and measured voltage at the bulbs. Here are the results:

117.6v = line voltage (wall outlet)
117.6v = stepup/stepdown transformer 120v outlet
97.7v = stepup/stepdown transformer 100v outlet
22.2v = pachislo plugged into transformer
22.2v = pachislo plugged into wall outlet

It seems this machine has a regulated power supply, so I'll just leave it plugged into the wall from now on...

[alstonj1]

who was speculating ???

[teqkng]

I stand most graciously corrected and complimented as the case may be.

[brewboy]

"if you are really concerned and need the added peace of mind add a resistor inline with one side of your power cord input to decrease the voltage to 100 volt thats all the variac that arbys voltage converter does"

If you are referring to this converter:
VoltageConverters.com -

that can't be true. The description says that it can step down or up and the step up function could not be done with a resistor. It would have to be a transformer.

Secondly, while I completely agree that a simple inline resistor will work, I'm not sure a "one size fits all" value can be used. These machines vary a lot, some having more lights, with and without LCD displays, etc. If the input current requirements increase, the resistor may drop too much voltage. I think its a great place to start, but a multimeter should be used to look at the voltage, under different machine states, to be sure.

[alstonj1]

the resistor wasn't ment to bring every machine to exactly 100 volt it was to bring it back to it's native voltage range (japanese power companies voltage supply's are as bad as the us counterpart at maintaining a voltage output ) and that should do the trick . this was the one i was talking about Staco Variable Transformer Portable 1000, 12, 15, 25 Series
the one with out the built in dvm. a variac is for the most part a transformer with a large wattage rheostat (for those that don't know a rheostat is a large wattage variable resistor or pot if you will) it can step up as well depending the model and on the tap thats selected on some models .the basic model runs thru an isolation transformer and is adjusted by the rheostat to the desired voltage output .

[brewboy]

I agree. A variac would do a good job, but not as cheap as the resistor.

I've only been exposed to my one machine, so I'm not familiar with the input requirements of other models. I was concerned that one with a lots of lights could require too much current for that value of resistor.

[autoslot]

Actually a Variac does not have a rheostat. It is what is called a variable autotransformer. Most transformers use two sets of coils and have electrical isolation between the low voltage and high voltage side. An autotransformer has only one coil of wire. The Variac has one input wire on one end of the coil and the other input wire about 86% down the coil (120/140). The first output wire is tied to the first input wire (neutral) and the other output wire is connected to a wiper that can run the length of the coil, thus providing 0V to 140V output.

[arbycoffee]

Hanging around here I learn more than going to school

[brewboy]

You

Actually a Variac does not have a rheostat. It is what is called a variable autotransformer. Most transformers use two sets of coils and have electrical isolation between the low voltage and high voltage side. An autotransformer has only one coil of wire. The Variac has one input wire on one end of the coil and the other input wire about 86% down the coil (120/140). The first output wire is tied to the first input wire (neutral) and the other output wire is connected to a wiper that can run the length of the coil, thus providing 0V to 140V output.

I agree, a Variac is definitely not a rheostat, which is why you can achieve a step-up in voltage. With a rheostat, you can only go down.