Proud owner of Toyotec Rocky ... Now some questions

[MadMyers]

Hello all! I've got my first Pachinko and it's Toyotech's Rocky. It's the black one and I'm quite happy with it! But I need some basic info. Here is a picture.



What is the function of the hole on the top of the game? You can see it in the picture below. I noticed that a connected is disconnected in the back and toward the top. When I plugged it in, I got lots of lots of rumbling. You can see this connected below.



While I realize these are often difficult to find, does someone happen to have a (English) manual for this guy? I'd like to understand how to set it up and how to play.

For example, I suspect there are adjustments for

(1) "Win chance"
(2) Volume
(3) ohttp://www.aaarpinball.com/Rocky/IMG_5829.jpgther things

Any input on these topics?

There is a highlighted knob that looks like I should do something with it, but figured I'd ask before messing with it. It's in the picture below. Any idea what it does?



Above the LCD and a little to the left of center is a 7-segment display with some individual dot that light up. What are these communicating?



There is a ton to ask but I feel I've asked asked too much. Thanks for your input! I really look forward to hearing back.

... Altan

Oh, I've got a preliminary page for Rocky on my web site. Right now it's nothing more than a few pics, but if you are interested it is at

http://www.aaarpinball.com/Rocky/Rocky.htm

[MadMyers]

Following up my own post. I've realized that switch in the second picture above is the volume switch. It's not a pot, but rather has 3 positions... off, high and highest.

And I've noticed this (see pic):



Any idea what this parallel port looking diode/resistor/cap thingy is (or is doing)?

Still looking forward to thoughts on this game relating to anything (and my questions above).

... Altan

[Drunkenclam]

Following up my own post. I've realized that switch in the second picture above is the volume switch. It's not a pot, but rather has 3 positions... off, high and highest.

And I've noticed this (see pic):



Any idea what this parallel port looking diode/resistor/cap thingy is (or is doing)?

Still looking forward to thoughts on this game relating to anything (and my questions above).

... Altan

That my friend is a dongle....
It makes the shooter work. Can be upgraded to teh Daverob credit dongle. A must if you are going to wall mount your pride and joy.

Oh you unplugged?plugged rumbling...might be a vibrating wheel on the side of the rear ball tank. Some have them if the machine needs to payout but can't because the tank is empty. I have one on Sanyo Sea story. If its kept topped up, It doesn't vibrate.

Change odds, No chance, But you can adjust the nails to increase the chance of a ball going in the start pocket.

[MadMyers]

Thanks Drunkenclam.

My machine has been modified (or maybe it's normal?) so that balls you don't win drop out the bottom into a little basket. There is also a area on the top where you can drop balls into. This area on the top has me confused. If I drop balls into there, it seems a few of them get diverted into some area. However, the vast majority of them fall straight down into the "ready to play" staging area.

Maybe this is the behavior one gets with the basic dongle and the "dave dongle" changes this behavior?

[Spyder138]

Thanks Drunkenclam.

My machine has been modified (or maybe it's normal?) so that balls you don't win drop out the bottom into a little basket. There is also a area on the top where you can drop balls into. This area on the top has me confused. If I drop balls into there, it seems a few of them get diverted into some area. However, the vast majority of them fall straight down into the "ready to play" staging area.

Maybe this is the behavior one gets with the basic dongle and the "dave dongle" changes this behavior?

The ball falling out the bottom is normal behavior. Normally they fall to the rear of the machine, but if this is the machine that was posted on eBay this week it looks like they are diverting them from the back and into the lower section of your cabinet. Nothing to worry about there. It makes it easier for you to refill the top tray when you're running low on balls. You should have at least 1000, but I'd suggest 2000 to get maximum enjoyment and not spend all your time refilling the rear hopper. I am guessing when you are talking about the hole in the top you are referring to the area on the top of the frame with the box and that there is a hole in there? That is where you will dump the losing balls, and sometimes the winning balls during a fever, to keep the rear ball hopper full so that the machine continues to pay out. It just makes it a lot easier, especially if you wall mount, to keep the rear hopper full of balls. I have the Rocky game, but to be honest I haven't played it a ton so I'm probably not the best guy to answer your specific questions about gameplay. Enjoy your new machine.

[MadMyers]

Spyder138, thank you.

... I am guessing when you are talking about the hole in the top you are referring to the area on the top of the frame with the box and that there is a hole in there? That is where you will dump the losing balls, and sometimes the winning balls during a fever, to keep the rear ball hopper full so that the machine continues to pay out. It just makes it a lot easier, especially if you wall mount, to keep the rear hopper full of balls.

This makes sense. Which leads to my follow-up.

When I dump the balls into the top hopper, many of them just come straight out into the shooting area on the front. Almost all of them do this. In short, that hopper is always empty except for a few balls that end up in the "tubes".

Is this normal? Or is this the caused because I have the basic dongle?

And related (and also something I brought up earlier), a cable to my upper hopper is disconnected. If I connect it the hopper starts buzzing (it's actually vibrating). I can briefly stop this by putting a bunch of balls into the hopper, but as I mentioned just above, almost all of them end up coming out and into the shooting area. Once the hopper is empty again, it starts buzzing.

Confused

Enjoy your new machine.

Thank you!

[Moparformances]

When I dump the balls into the top hopper, many of them just come straight out into the shooting area on the front. Almost all of them do this. In short, that hopper is always empty except for a few balls that end up in the "tubes".

it sounds like your machine is catching up on payout.. keep puting balls in the top back hopper.. it will pay you balls to the front tray.. at some time the machine will catch up on banked winning and stop.. then the balls will stay in the top hopper untill the player plays and wins more..

having a Daverob dongle is the only way to go.. Im a vintage guy at heart.. i have goten myself down to 20 or so machines.. (its true i dont know how many) but i have a dongle for each of my modern machines.. if your keeping the machine.. get a Daverob dongle

[Spyder138]

When I dump the balls into the top hopper, many of them just come straight out into the shooting area on the front. Almost all of them do this. In short, that hopper is always empty except for a few balls that end up in the "tubes".

Is this normal? Or is this the caused because I have the basic dongle?

And related (and also something I brought up earlier), a cable to my upper hopper is disconnected. If I connect it the hopper starts buzzing

I am assuming you mean the balls come out into the front tray that feeds into the shooter and not that they come out into the actual playfield. If they are coming into the front tray it probably means it is trying to pay out a balls that were previously won by the last person playing the game. If you keep feeding them into the top it should eventually stop once it has paid out the jackpot. This could literally be thousands of balls.

The standard dongle versus the Dave Rob dongle will have nothing to do with how the game plays aside from the fact that the Dave Rob dongle allows you to push one of the button on the front of the machine and it will trigger the rear hopper to drop balls into the front tray so that you can keep playing if you run out of balls. I may be over simplifying since I haven't bought one yet, although it's on my list.

The vibrating hopper is standard on this machine. I leave mine unplugged. I don't really know what purpose it serves. Maybe it vibrates to try to prevent balls from jamming, which I have never had occur on this machine, or to shake those last few straggling balls down into the machine until the hopper is filled. Plugged in or unplugged is just a matter of preference. It won't impact actual gameplay.

[MadMyers]

Moparformances, Spyder138,

Thanks to the both of you. It looks like you were both thinking a similar thing and posted around the same time!

I read this and started putting lots of balls into the top hopper. I probably did 1000 or so. Regarding your comment "This could literally be thousands of balls", is there no way to know the machine is running in "payout catchup mode"? Perhaps those 7-segment LEDs that display weird stuff?

It does look like I need to order more balls for this guy. I guess I have 250 or so.

Any recommendations regarding sources? I see they are on eBay and other places for about $30 for 500. Is that fair/reasonable?

I'll try putting more balls into the hopper and see if it eventually stops.

I wonder if a software reset would clear this condition? It would at least be a quick way to determine if it is the cause. I'd only need to remember where I read about software resets...

Oh, BTW... If you don't have Dave's dongle... are you expected to pull balls out of the top hopper when you need some?

Again, big thanks!

[Spyder138]

I am not aware of any way to tell if it is in a payout mode. I believe one of the sticky threads has some information on the 7 segment display, but don't recall which one or what exactly it was. If I remember properly there wasn't really anything there that a player would be concerned with which is probably why I just dismissed the information.

You will want at least 1000 balls, probably 2000. Balls average about 6 cents a piece, but you can find sellers on eBay offering them for less. There was a seller in Guam on eBay that I think was offering around 4 cents a ball and discounted shipping for larger quantities. You just want to make sure you are buying balls that are in good condition. There are a lot of sellers on eBay that found some old pachinko balls in their garage and are trying to sell them when they should really be listed as slingshot ammo. Make sure the balls, are clean, shiny, and are not tarnished and rusted. This will make a mess of your machine and don't always roll well.

i wouldn't bother with a software reset. I'd just pour balls through the machine for a while. I'm almost certain that is the reason. It has been the case with almost every modern machine I have owned.

if you don't have Daves dongle you should leave some balls in a bin at the front of the machine that you can scoop up with your hand and drop into the front tray. With your set up you should just be able to grab them from the losing ball bin as it appears to be easily accessible to steal balls from.

[MadMyers]

Spyder138,

My machine was showing a "1" on the diagnostic LED. I believe this means the game was in payout mode.

I hope I didn't sound too confused through this thread. Having never had a pachinko machine, and getting one that was in payout made, really made my initial gameplay confusing... I'd shot some balls and most everything would come back into the shooter lane. Although it would stop doing this when the top hopper was empty.

I ended up getting my Rocky out of payback mode by doing the reset. I did both resets (powered game on with one button down, then powered game on with the other button down). For the second button, the game repeated something in Japanese that vaguely had the word "reset" in it.

I definitely need more pachinko balls. Thanks for the tips. I'm looking into the guy in Guam.

Also, now that the payout behavior is understood, I understand your info regarding how to "play" without Dave's dongle.

And once again, big thanks. I'm starting to get a solid understanding of these guys now.

[hanabi]

Whilst we don't have the specific guide for you model with the correct pic on the front ,

I can give you the manual that was written by one of our members, for a different game but I believe it is in the same frame manufactured by Toyotec and so all the info is relevant to your machine:

http://www.pachitalk.com/forums/loca...=6&linkid=1554

[MadMyers]

Thanks hanabi! Good info.

What's the deal with all the errors at the top of the page? ("Warning: Invalid argument supplied for foreach() in [path]/includes/class_bootstrap.php(996) : eval()'d code on line 58")

BTW, I was told there was some good info on the "Research Center" here at Pachitalk, but I couldn't find it! Is there a link to it that I'm missing?

Also... this section is acting strange. I went back and now it's just showing a blank page for the "Secret Squadron" guide, while before it had several pages of interesting info!

[MadMyers]

(note: I posted something about an hour ago that ended up requiring moderator approval... it hasn't shown up, but this message is unrelated).

I've been wondering what the top left and top right "Rocky" targets do. I haven't completely figured it out, but I can tell you something...

The top right target does nothing! I took it off and it's simply decorative! See below.



On the other hand, the top left is an actual opto. See below.



Sadly I haven't figured out exactly what the top left rocky target does. Either it's not obvious, I'm being dense, or the opto isn't registering. On this topic, I posted in the "support ticket forum" asking about Pachinko diags. I'd expect there to be a nice diag mode to bring up and see when each of the (limited number) of switches/optos register.

I think I read somewhere that getting 3 balls through the rocky target (but no one stated only the left one!) would open the "V" thingy. Sadly, I'm not seeing that behavior. The "V" thingy seems to randomly open --- but only for a short moment, and then close.

If anyone knows more about this behavior, I'd appreciate hearing it.

... Altan

[Drunkenclam]

Thanks to MrGneiss for this

Here is my old explanation on the pass through gate and the sub roulette.. This is probably what that pass through does..

Sub Roulette

Each time a ball goes through the pass through pocket, then one of the 4 leds will light..those are stocked chances of getting the flippers around the main start pocket to open for less than a second, theoretically giving you a better chance to get a ball in the start pocket for a spin..there is usually also 2 symbols somewhere on the play field or on the screen that are usually an X and an O that will flash back and forth and then stop on one of them..if it stops on the right symbol then the flippers will open..if it stops on the other symbol then they won't open..Then if you have anymore stocked it will start again!!

On some pachinkos it will always stop on the winning symbol and on others it rarely does..like on Star Wars!!

It is often referred to as the 'sub roulette' on these forums!!

I hope I explained that ok...Its a feature on most modern pachinkos!!

Its not always an X or O it can be 2 different coloured LEDS instead, but like the main reels, you can normally bank 4 chances of opening the tulip/
Also during high probability time, It will open a lot more.

[daverob]

The Rocky target (the one with the sensor in it!) triggers the 'sub-roulette'. This will be a pair of flashing lights/or alternating symbols on the LCD screen. Drop the ball through the gate and they will flash in turn for a few seconds, if they stop on the 'winning' symbol, then the wings on the lower start pocket will open for a split second. If they stop on the losing symbol then nothing happens (until the sub-roulette is triggered again). You can usually bank up to four 'spins' of the sub-roulette and there may be indicators (again either LEDs or symbols on the screen) to show how many banked spins there are.

The sub-roulette is usually triggered from a pass-through gate to the left of the centre feature, many games had a dummy pass-through gate on the right hand side just for aesthetics and to keep the playfield symmetrical.

There aren't usually any diagnostic modes for these sensors. Most of them have a simple function to trigger a feature that can be observed when you drop a ball through them, so in a pachinko parlor setting they'd just check the appropriate feature is triggered for each sensor. This doesn't make it so easy for us collectors, where we don't necessarily know which features are supposed to be triggered!

[hanabi]

Thanks hanabi! Good info.

What's the deal with all the errors at the top of the page? ("Warning: Invalid argument supplied for foreach() in [path]/includes/class_bootstrap.php(996) : eval()'d code on line 58")

BTW, I was told there was some good info on the "Research Center" here at Pachitalk, but I couldn't find it! Is there a link to it that I'm missing?

Also... this section is acting strange. I went back and now it's just showing a blank page for the "Secret Squadron" guide, while before it had several pages of interesting info!

Sorry the RC software doesn't play nicely with the main forum software so it's not really online, old info is still there though and I use it for links now and then if I think any info may be helpful

(note: I posted something about an hour ago that ended up requiring moderator approval... it hasn't shown up, but this message is unrelated

... Altan

sorry was busy eating my tea

I have approved your post, should be visible now

[MadMyers]

Daverob, Drunkenclam,

Thanks for the sub roulette info. It's pretty subtle on this machine. There are some LEDs just below the 7-segment ones (near the top). If I have a ball go through the top left Rocky target, one more of these LEDs lights up and then two of them start flashing. They aren't marked in any way at all. I'll need to look at this more closely a bit later.

BTW, I get this same behavior if I briefly short the connect on the main board that goes to this opto. I was doing this to try and see whether the opto was working. I get the same behavior if I short the connector or trigger the opto, so the opto looks good.

This "dot" behavior is so subtle I don't think I would have noticed it. Again, thanks.

Hanabi, I didn't realize you were the moderator. Thanks for approving, I didn't mean to imply it should have been sooner... And thanks for the clarification regarding the content.

[hanabi]

Hanabi, I didn't realize you were the moderator. Thanks for approving, I didn't mean to imply it should have been sooner... And thanks for the clarification regarding the content.

was just teasing, it's a time difference thing / English girl humour

also regarding the RC, you'll find the members here are your best resource and are providing much more info, help & advice then is in the Research Centre , so you're not really missing much there really, however if you really want the manual then it should show at the link I gave , although you may have to try again and check the 'collapse' arrow hasn't been accidentally selected. ( happened to me before )

[MadMyers]

Ok... Toyotec Rocky "sub roulette" update:

When the ball goes through the top left Rocky slot, it starts "sub roulette". While nothing is shown on the LCD, and only a dot appears on the LED indicator, a 40 second timer starts. After 40 seconds, there is a HIGH probability the "wings" will open (very briefly).

You can stack these. If you have, after the wings open and close then another 40 second timer starts.

I've measured it... it's pretty darn close to 40 seconds. And always 40 seconds.

Do other pachinko games have this delay from the trigger to the wings opening?