Computer Access?

[Iguanaman]

Is there any hardware/software that I can use with my Ultraman Pachinko to link it up with my PC so I could keep track of stats, wins, ball used, etc. ?

[teqkng]

there are software-hardware packages called Parlor systems there is a recent post within the past few weeks but it looks to be just for Pachislo not Pachinko Anyone? I would love to find a dual use package.

[BigBearSteve]

Try one of Arby's battle counters in the PachiTalk auction.

[compirate]

There are connections on the back that pulse (not sure on that machine whether it's contact or voltage) for balls loaned and balls won. For the ball loan thing to work, you need the UberDongle (my name, not his) from Daverob. Then a couple of counters hooked up would do the trick.

[Iguanaman]

I noticed that there is an RJ-14 phone jack in the back. What does that provide access to?

[compirate]

It's believed that is just a way for the authorities to make sure that the programming of the machine hasn't been tampered with.

[daverob]

There's nothing on the market at the moment for interfacing a pachinko to a PC. I've been working on one for a while now, but real life has got in the way and very little progress has been made on the design (I don't expect to have anything to show for it for at least another 6 months).

Pretty much all modern pachinkos have a good selection of 'Battle counter' and 'Parlour Computer' outputs which allow the monitoring of quite a few statistics about the game in play. These are the small two pin header type connectors found on the back of the machine. These either pulse a voltage (usually around 32v) or close a switch contact each time an event occurs, ie a ball hitting the start pocket, end of a reel spin, a reach, bonus rounds, kakuhen (high probability rounds), or prize ball payout etc.

These outputs can be interfaced to a general purpose I/O card in a PC, though the software required to monitor them might be a bit more complicated. (My plan is to do the whole thing in a microcontroller with an ethernet interface, so all you need on the PC is a web browser and I don't have to worry about writing hardware drivers and multiple versions of software for Windows, OSX, Linux etc).

I wrote this post a while back describing how to identify these Battle Counter output connections, which might help if you want to try something like this yourself. Theoretically it would be possible to interface these outputs to one of the Pachicount devices that are available for Pachislos, but I'm not sure how the software would cope with the different signals.

As Compirate said, the RJ-12 connector is used to verify the software in the pachinko has not been tampered with. I'm not sure if any other information is available from this connector, I've been meaning to take a look at it for a while now but it's very low on my list of priorities so don't expect anything any time soon.

[drcrippen324]

ahh the ever intrepid dave rob pulling apart machines and re inventing the dongle now this what more can you possible produce your imagination runs deep and wild within a pachinko machine making you the living legend that you are

i call that sid as out leader should bare minimum knight you

[Iguanaman]

Ethernet access would be a nice method. I am curious though exactly what info the police could get from the phone line jack. Since this is my first (and currently only) Pachinko machine I hesitate to experiment since I'd likely screw it up and ruin it.

[Sid]

Sir Dave of Dongle?
Sir David of the CR READER?
Sir David knight of the Sphere?
Sir Dave of Pachi


so many choices...

[daverob]

I am curious though exactly what info the police could get from the phone line jack.

A pachinko typically runs on three CPUs, one runs the display and sound, one runs the 'frame' electronics (ie the payout mechanism, shooter handle and card reader interface), and the third is the one that determines when a payout is due and the actions of the game leading up to that payout (ie the fever round).

This CPU is a semi-secure microcontroller chip based on a Z80 CPU, and the software running on it has to be approved by the authorities before a machine is allowed into the parlours. Of course if this software is modified then the machine becomes illegal, so the police need a simple way of checking that the machines are running original software.

The connections on this connector are a simple three wire opto-isolated serial data interface.(Clock, Data and Reset). I don't know the protocol used, but I have experimented and got some activity out of the interface. On some machines the data line is an output only, on others it's bi-directional.

I suspect that the interface allows the ROM of the microcontroller to be checksummed, and possibly even read out in it's entirety. It might also allow access to RAM or retained data (ie flash/EEPROM memory), for readout of statistics etc (but I'm only guessing).


BTW, just Dave (or Daverob) is fine with me, there's no need for titles here. (Though if anyone has any royal connections and would like to put my name down in the Queens next honours list I wouldn't necessarily complain ).

[Iguanaman]

daverob:
How did you become so knowledgeable about Pachinko machines? Have you worked for one of the companies or just major tinkering on your own? Have you built any machines yourself?

[daverob]

daverob:
How did you become so knowledgeable about Pachinko machines?

I'm just one of those people that likes to know how things work. Most of my toys get disassembled at some point in their lives. I've also got a background in reverse engineering, and electronics/software design which tends to be useful for this kind of stuff.

As far as Pachinkos go, it's really just my own curiosity and experimentation that's got me where I am today, along with reading posts on PachiTalk and thinking 'that's a good point, how does that work?' and taking it from there.

I also taught myself a bit of Japanese as there's quite a lot of information out there on Japanese sites, but it's not easy to find it without knowing a bit of the language. I'm not proficient in the language at all, but I know enough to be able to figure out where the online translation tools are getting it wrong, and which bits to cut and paste into the search box to find out more information.

I haven't built any machines myself, it's not really my thing as I don't have the right skills for it. I prefer to concentrate on the technical / engineering side rather than the design and creativity side.