GAMERA - THE INVINCIBLE...My new weekend purchase w/issues. Hopper/HC code

[BC3]

I took the hopper out and tried playing a game..I was given a HE code and bunch of alarm type noises when I did. I spoke with someone who said some of the hoppers have a circuit board contained somewhere on it...mine does not. It says Takaden on the plastic and "Juki" down on the metal base. Is that the same brand as your Gamera Meathead?

Question: I see two wires red & white to motor for power. Then there are two sensors for armature/eject mechanism. I assume that one sensor is to cause it to eject...what does the other do?

Note: The entire machine looked really clean when I first opened it, so I don't think it has seen bad days..nothing looks hacked at all. I wonder of the sensor wire connectors were switched? Also, what is a way to test each sensor individually?

Thanks again for the help..hopefully it will just be something simple.

Bc3

[yose]

Try switching the sensor wires. you can test them by passing a token past them.the code alarm is working so the machine is good to the hopper problem. It has to be a stuck sensor or wired wrong or a bad sensor. Can you switch places with each sensor.Maybe they are in the wrong place.
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Also take the sensors out and clean them with glass cleaner. clean the entire sensor ,dry them good then put them back.Hopefully thier just dirty.Trace the wires to make sure they aren't bare or loose at the terminals check for a loose ground wire.

[BC3]

Can you explain to me where on the hopper the sensor actually "reads" or "sees" the tokens? I don't know if it is optical, magnetic or mechanical. Maybe this will help me spot the issue. Btw the hopper is juki 777a.Bc3

[yose]

Most of them are optical because not all tokens are magnetic. The sensors are usually the last place the tokens pass when ejected out of the hopper to the door tray.Most hoppers are in two to three pieces and can be taken apart to expose the coin wheel and the rollers the tokens go through to the sensors. Thats how to clean the wheel and rollers too.Adjusting the roller tension can be done too.If the sensor is mechanical it would be in the area of the rollers.

[BC3]

ok, I think it may be getting (hopefully) closer to something obvious.

here are three pics

1)The first shows the exit area. Is the middle of this piece supposed to be popped up like a turkey pop-up timer?

2) The pic of the underside shows no optical that I can see nearest the exit area.


3) I hope I just found the problem...

Is the center of this metal cog under the wheel supposed to be popped up? I just saw a pic within the search archives that shows the backside of the wheel to have a "star" shape. I would think if the pop-up pin was in the down position, it would be unable to communicate what the wheel is doing.


let me get a screwdriver...

bc3

[BC3]

uhhhh..nope.

Captain Obvious here...that didnt work. Time expired before I could edit my post. picsIMAG0069.jpgIMAG0070.jpgIMAG0071.jpg

[yose]

The third pic is the sensors clean those really good. the cog looks like it passes through both sensors as the token goes passes on the other side.The rollers open and close moving the cog.Maybe the cog is stuck.Maybe the sensor needs adjusting,those springs look like they adjust either the rollers or the sensors, it's hard to tell. clean the cog that passes through the sensors and put a little oil on the pivot.I think you're close to the problem. Just keep tinkering . clean the wheel good and make sure it spins free manunally.Make sure the sensors aren't loose,and the wire terminals are tight.In the first pic put a little oil on the rollers as well as third pic oil that area of that pin, I think that lines the tokens up in the wheel.
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Also put some tokens in the wheel and spin it by hand and see what the tokens do to the cog as it spits the tokens out then you will know what it's doing.

[BC3]

If you manually spin the hopper wheel with a token in it, it will always eject the coin. So whenever the wheel is rotating and there are tokens..they are coming out.


As far as the sensors go, I am still unsure of the proper testing method.

I added tokens for credits and started to play a game..I then put a token in the hopper thinking it might count down credits or something , but again nada. I dont know if one of the sensors turns the wheel on or off.

[BC3]

Yose... Thanks for following up on this for me. I really think I need to find out what each sensor does and how to test them. I am starting to think it is something on a pcb board somewhere that is not allowing the proper operation of the game.

[yose]

When you manually spun the wheel did you notice if the cog went between each sensor as a token was spit out.It looks like it should go into each sensor back and forth. The sensors act like intermitten switches to start and stop the hopper and count out the tokens in a payout.At least that is what i'm thinking.

[BC3]

All of the mechanisms appear to have full normal functionality in terms of proper movement and resistance (rollers and pivot points are easy to slide/move). Sill thinking of how to test sensors...Bc3

[yose]

I have been racking my brains out trying to figure it out . This problem is new to me. If you reverse the process , I don't think the sensors turn the motor on or off They just count tokens .The motor gets power from inside the power supply at 24 volts. There has to be a circiut inside the power supply that switches the motor on and off. The signal might come from the mother board but it has to activate the switch in the power supply.Without the motor turning the sensors can't work. I think the problem's in the power supply.Ithink if you can open the power supply and trace the wires back to the source ,that's where the problem starts.There is always power to the motor, a switch just a switch just clicks off and on.It's just a thought.My wife says I'm thinking to much , she can smell wood burning.

[BC3]

I am going to pull the power supply next and see what I can find there.

I want to do a manual test on the sensors themselves. Each sensor has three wires. Each sensor has two wires in common (color). I assume these are power for the sensor itself. The remaining odd color on each sensor must share the ground/negative wire in order to complete the switch. I am assuming one sensor must be normally open because the metal cog interrupts the optical sensor, and the other is normally closed as it has to wait for the circuit to be interrupted. It's tough to hold the sensor steady, check voltages/continuity and insert something in between the sensor...

Full day at work today..will ck in later..

Thanks

[yose]

Also check the token payout button it could be shorted out. Just going over all the things that activate the hopper. it's alot of trial and error without manuals.

[BC3]

Also check the token payout button it could be shorted out. Just going over all the things that activate the hopper. it's alot of trial and error without manuals.

There are two push buttons..the one on the left acts as an alert, and the one one one right acts only as a coin return for the coins imediately in the insert area. Am I missing something.?

[yose]

On all of the machines I have,there is a payout button that pays out all remianing credits back to 0.That button activates the hopper any time it's pushed.I am not sure if it is shorted out the hopper would continue to run. Just a thought.I am trying to think of simple things to try.I have never heard of the trouble your gamera is having.There has to be an answer,It's just a challenge to find it.I won't give up until you do.

[BC3]

Yose...could you point out to me from the pic in my original post of the front of the game which button may be the one I am looking for (the payout/quit game/get my tokens back button?

[yose]

It looks like you have a bet 1 bet 2 or max bet on upper left the button on left of spin knob could be it . Then it looks like button below the coin insert is a coin jam button? . The two blue buttons on the right by the lock not sure ,maybe game mode buttons. On the two machines I have that are 1 2 or 3 bet, the button says payout or cancel. These buttons let it play with credit add up or if I hold it for 2 seconds it changes to coin only no credits, and the credit count empties out tokens to 0.

[Meathead]

Bob, your token return button is the small gray one immediately to the left of the spin knob. It's the one mounted on the vertical surface. The purpose of the knob is to return any credits in the form of tokens when you wish to stop. It should not be sounding an alarm.

[SlotsRfun]

HC is a Hopper Count error, your hopper is paying out either to many or too few tokens.
Not too many manufacturers use the HC code.
i would first check carefully around the hopper where the tokens last pass out to the tray.
You should see some sort of sensor there, mechanical or opto-electrical. Make sure it is clean and that
all parts move freely! Use 3-in-1 oil to lube it generously. And a shot of silicone spray is fine as well.
With the hopper out of the machine drop a few tokens in it and spin the wheel by hand in the bottom so you
can see if the tokens are feeding through and out easily. Note how they pass by the sensor. Move a few
past it slowly.
One other thing to check is to carefully eyeball the hopper when it is in place and close the door as much as possible but
open enough to see if it looks as if the tokens can easily spit out of the hopper into the tray.
Sometimes when a hopper is put in it may be (usually) sitting on dust or a token and is then out of
alignment causing the tokens to hit the front door and jam. make sure it is seated properly and no papers or
lint, wires or anything in under it.
other causes> bent or (usually) dirty tokens. lay the tokens on a smooth surface and eyeball them to see if they lay flat.
Wash the tokens and lightly lube them with an oily cloth.
I have read back over this thread and frankly cringe when I see all the things you have already
done because i worry that you may have unknowingly created more troubles.
Anway start checking where I mentioned and clean it thoroughly.
Then do a full reset.
Lets see what happens.
PS I have been away until now. just saw your PMs