Newb with a pachislot machine; what do I need to get started?

[Jessicat]

Hey everyone, I'm a little lost after buying a pachislot machine off of Yahoo Japan auctions, as the seller has a list of optional extras that can be added/purchased for the machine. I'm not the best with hardware modification so I'd rather buy it modded.
Anyways, here is the list of optional add ons, in English and Japanese:

Transformer (New) - 2500 yen
300 Coins (Second hand) - 1500 yen
coinless operation modification (new) - 5000 yen
Non-step Volume (1 Piece) - 500 yen (If you connect all speakers to the item you will need 4 of these)
Game Counter (Original) - 2000 yen
Second hand box - 500 yen

・トランス(新品) 2.500円
・ コイン(中古・柄バラ)300枚 1.500円
・新品オートBET機能付きコイン不要機 5.000円
・無段階ボリューム(1個） 500円 　※全てのスピーカに付ける場合は4個必要
・ゲーム数カウンター（オリジナル） 2.000円
・ 中古ドル箱 500円

Essentially, help? I think I need the transformer, and would like to opt for the coinless operation, but I'm not sure about the rest. Will the speakers not work without the volume mod? It's confusing x.x Any help/advice would be great, thanks!

[Jessicat]

Derp, looks like I can't read, I posted this in the wrong forum sub-section XD Can a mod move it to the right place please? [Pachislo Technical Support Tickets]. Sorry about that ^^;

[Drunkenclam]

The transformer is probably going to be a 100v to 24v one. I don't know what you use in Canada 110v or 230v. Some of the US owners use the 100v one without a problem, But I'd prefer the correct one. If it were me I'd get the correct transformer in Canada.

A. So you get the correct one
B. Reduces shipping cost.

You will need tokens to play but 300 coins for 1500 yen. Sounds expensive to me. Have a look on eBay first and make sure seller ships to Canada. Or browse through some of the threads on this board.

Speaker Controls - Depends on how understanding your family are. If your good with a soldering iron. I'd do it my self. Some of the pots they fit as found on my pachi's from Japan are rubbish quality and can't handle the wattage. And the carbon brush inside gets burnt out.


Game counter- probably what we call a battle counter. Not needed for home use. Keeps track of wins and big bonus. Most put out a funky light show during bonus rounds, Although 2000 yen is cheap from a dealer so it's probably a basic one without the lights, I'd pass on that one.


Box? What are they going to ship if in


Ok. Now I have a question. How the heck did you manage to get one to Canada. I was looking at getting 1 or 2 to the UK, But at shipping costs of over US$1500 each, It was impossible to afford that. Canada, UK and USA normally have about the same shipping rates. Maybe your just richer than me or less of a cheapskate.

[Jessicat]

The transformer is probably going to be a 100v to 24v one. I don't know what you use in Canada 110v or 230v. Some of the US owners use the 100v one without a problem, But I'd prefer the correct one. If it were me I'd get the correct transformer in Canada.

A. So you get the correct one
B. Reduces shipping cost.

You will need tokens to play but 300 coins for 1500 yen. Sounds expensive to me. Have a look on eBay first and make sure seller ships to Canada. Or browse through some of the threads on this board.

Speaker Controls - Depends on how understanding your family are. If your good with a soldering iron. I'd do it my self. Some of the pots they fit as found on my pachi's from Japan are rubbish quality and can't handle the wattage. And the carbon brush inside gets burnt out.


Game counter- probably what we call a battle counter. Not needed for home use. Keeps track of wins and big bonus. Most put out a funky light show during bonus rounds, Although 2000 yen is cheap from a dealer so it's probably a basic one without the lights, I'd pass on that one.


Box? What are they going to ship if in


Ok. Now I have a question. How the heck did you manage to get one to Canada. I was looking at getting 1 or 2 to the UK, But at shipping costs of over US$1500 each, It was impossible to afford that. Canada, UK and USA normally have about the same shipping rates. Maybe your just richer than me or less of a cheapskate.

Ohh, I forgot about that ._. I guess I'll have to find a local transformer then.

If I go for the coinless operation, I still need tokens? huh? o.O

I guess volume control is a must for these? I've read that they can be noisy XD

The box might be for having it double boxed for shipping? I dunno.

Thanks for your help! I might just go with the speaker mod and the coinless mod ^^;

And the machine's not here yet XD But the middleman service I'm using estimates that even though most of the total cost is shipping from there to Canada with Fedex, it still comes out to just over $300...If it is that much more expensive, I think I might have to start freaking out because that's not what their shipping calculator said ;>> I threw the maximum size/weight of a pachislo machine [90x45x45cm, 40kg] and it breaks down like this:
Final bid: 4,800yen
Shipping to middleman: 2,500yen
Shipping from middleman to Canada with Fedex: 15,928yen [plus I'm sure I can expect a bill in the mail later for ~$20. Hate Fedex]
+Bank fees, middleman charges, other random costs
Total came out to 24,565yen/$305.80CAD [plus the Fedex bill]
And I'd have to add on the extra costs for the extras I go with as well ^^;

[Drunkenclam]

I guess you were lucky. I ran the figures for a 40KG box and came back as £1500
Your width is wrong though. Machines are 510mm wide plus your packaging Not sure on depth, Sorry. I think I ran size of 90x60x60 and get a price of 189254 JPY US$2421 using Fedex economy. thats to the UK

I hope I'm wrong.


Any problems, just ask a question here.

[Jessicat]

I guess you were lucky. I ran the figures for a 40KG box and came back as £1500
Your width is wrong though. Machines are 510mm wide plus your packaging Not sure on depth, Sorry. I think I ran size of 90x60x60 and get a price of 189254 JPY US$2421 using Fedex economy. thats to the UK

I hope I'm wrong.


Any problems, just ask a question here.

...That's a little terrifying, looks like I need to make some extra $ ;>> Using those bigger measurements the final total came out to 50,719 Yen／$634.00 CAD ._. Weird, but I won't complain as long as it's not hitting the 4 digits XD

I'll probably need to find a transformer next...And do I need the tokens if I'm using the coinless mod? o.O Just need to be sure before I send my extras request off to the middleman to sort out with the seller XD

[Drunkenclam]

I'm using Fedex japan website shipping to the UK

[Jessicat]

I'm using Fedex japan website shipping to the UK

Ah, now I see, when I go to the Fedex homepage with the same dimensions and weight it gives me something much different from what the middleman's calculator is showing me ._. I'm hoping they get a business discount or something, I don't see how or why it would have such a huge difference in cost. See:

I'll have to email them about it ;>>

[Drunkenclam]

Wow. Thats one heck of a discount. let me know how you get on I hope it all works out. For that sort of price I'd use that service to get a machine here.
Go get them

[Jessicat]

Wow. Thats one heck of a discount. let me know how you get on I hope it all works out. For that sort of price I'd use that service to get a machine here. Go get them

Okay, so here's what they said to me directly [spelling errors aside, their English customer service is pretty good]:

Concerning the rate of shipping from us to Canada, as we explained the shipping calculator is only an estimater. We are unable to give you a full quote before we receive the item. However, we can assure you, that if you put in certain dimensions and weights into the calculator, then if your item (plus packaging) comes to these dimensions and weights, then what is shown on the calculator is what shall be charged. The main reason it is called an estimator is becuase, once an item arrives at our office, the dimensions and weight could be different to what you expected or entered into our shipping calculater. This could be due to certain packaging methods, packaging, etc.

So unless there's a HUGE amount of packaging/size/weight difference from the 60x60x90cm/40kg I entered, I think I got a good deal I'll keep you peeps posted once it gets to their warehouse.

[Jessicat]

Okay, so the packing for the second shipping step took a *really* long time; sadly it seems FromJapan needs more staff to keep up with the packing, so they're introducing a 200yen fee per auction [or per item from an online shop to a max of 800yen per shop]; still a great deal because the cheapest rates I can find start at around 500yen.
BUT ANYWAYS you guys aren't going to believe how much [or should I say how little?] I paid for shipping to Canada! Now, I know Fedex likes to send a mystery bill once the package delivered so not all my expenses are counted for yet, but here's what the break down was that I got:


I am blown away folks! I've ordered from them before and haven't had any issues with their packaging when using the EMS shipping; hope Fedex doesn't bust anything :/ I'll be posting back again this Thursday with PHOTOS if all goes as estimated with the Fedex tracking estimator So, be sure to check out FromJapan! [would be cool if you peeps could use my referral link hehe ^^;]

Now my next order of business is finding the right power converter for Canada to Japan voltage [I think that's 110 to 100?] Anyone have any stores/webshops/brands they recommend? Don't wanna blow up my machine with something crappy, lol. Thanks! :3

[Drunkenclam]

Thats an awesome price. Thats about US$ 236, £147, Can$ 234

Can't wait for the pics. keep us informed.

[Chumsize]

For future info... Just looked... Canada has 110 60hz power... same as US. And 100v/50Hz to 24v transformers work perfectly well here due to the 50-60hz frequency effect.

[Jessicat]

Thats an awesome price. Thats about US$ 236, £147, Can$ 234

Can't wait for the pics. keep us informed.

Hmmm, Fedex is giving me some weird tracking info, though the package is still set to deliver this Thursday;

Nov. 28, 2012 12:11pm
-In Transit
Location: Narita-Shi, JP

Nov. 27, 2012 11:59pm
-At local FedEx Facility
Location: Narita-Shi, JP

Nov. 27, 2012 3:24am
-Clearance Delay - Import
Location: Mississauga, ON [Canada]

Did the package come to Canada and bounce back to Japan? What does this mean!? I'm so confused @_@

For future info... Just looked... Canada has 110 60hz power... same as US. And 100v/50Hz to 24v transformers work perfectly well here due to the 50-60hz frequency effect.

I'm trying to figure out what I need specifically for a pachislo machine; will I only know once it arrives? I figured out the difference between an adapter and a transformer, but I don't know exactly what I need for the wattage ^^;
I found this place online: American And European Japanese_Converters | Voltageconverters.Ca
But again, I'm not sure which one I need ._.; Any help would be appreciated ^^;

[Drunkenclam]

All looks fine to me

Collected, Stored at Fedex depot at Narita (I suspect the airport)
Then next stop Canada


Do you have it yet?

I suspect FEDEX will send you a customs clearance bill, Either before they deliver (as a private address) thats what they did to me when ordering car parts from the US, or your get an invoice in a couple of days.

I think Chumsize is trying to say is as long as its a mains voltage machine and not a 24 volt machine, you shouldn't need an adaptor.

[Jessicat]

All looks fine to me

Collected, Stored at Fedex depot at Narita (I suspect the airport)
Then next stop Canada


Do you have it yet?

I suspect FEDEX will send you a customs clearance bill, Either before they deliver (as a private address) thats what they did to me when ordering car parts from the US, or your get an invoice in a couple of days.

I think Chumsize is trying to say is as long as its a mains voltage machine and not a 24 volt machine, you shouldn't need an adaptor.

It actually arrived on Friday instead of Thursday because the truck left before the package arrived at the Fedex location, lol. I've got it in the box still, I'm just a little worried about plugging it it; first about the power, secondly about the noise level XD Only a teaser pic right now until I fully unbox it [hopefully tomorrow]:
CQGDO.jpg

[Jessicat]

Okay, sorry to double post, but I've finally gotten this machine out of the box, but it doesn't power on ._.; There were some parts that weren't attached, but I guess there's also a wire somewhere disconnected that's keeping it from powering on. Anyways, I made a short video and took a bunch of photos of the internals and stuff, hoping I can get some help starting this machine up! Thanks a lot for all the help so far :3


Image gallery: SMT Pachislo - Imgur

[Chumsize]

I don't have my machine I'm front of me right now... It looks close to yours inside... I'll try and post some pics later. But to get you started...

the coin mech goes in the door in the empty area at the top of the black chute. It should have pegs sticking out the sides that go into slots in the door there.

The payout dispenser whatever (big black dealie) slides into tracks in the bottom of the unit and plugs into the metal box on the bottom left... The power supply. Mine plugs in on top in the back.

Open the door on the front of the power supply box. That's where the power switch is.

[hanabi]

Here's a PDF link to a general pachislo operation guide, it also has pics of various models insides, not sure if Taiyo Elec is in there, but the guide will give you a general idea of how to operate and what the main parts look like

Pachislo Operations Guide

[Drunkenclam]

They look like instructions for the coinless or autoplay. I always get nervous the first time I unwrap a machine and plug it in. As said above. The two parts should clip straight back in. Also would be worth doing the full reset procedure as well