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Thread: Tons of Questions - Heiwa Western Hero

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    Tokie Owens jademonkey33's Avatar
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    Default Tons of Questions - Heiwa Western Hero

    I am rediscovering a Western Hero machine I purchased almost 20 years ago. It has been in storage for more then ten years and I am cleaning it up and trying to give it a play again. I have a bunch of questions and I hope you all could help.

    Pictures for reference
    https://imgur.com/a/JYE8zps

    1) What do the yellow and red buttons do on the front by the ball tray (1 in the picture)

    2) On the ball field, there are 4 lights with a small digital display in the middle. During play I have seen the lights come on and the display show 0, 7, and 8. What do these signify ?

    3) (3 in the picture) There appear to be individual lights for bullets for the play area at the bottom, but I have never seen them lit. Are these just for looks or do they do something?

    4) On the back (4 in the picture) there is a small display that I assume will show error codes, is there a table if I see and error to find out what it means?

    5) On the back (5 in the picture) There is a small pin that is connected to an arm that connects inside the machine, if you push it down, a single ball will pop out to the button tray. Eventually the machine actuates this pin/arm up back into its original position. I have found that balls end up in the track for this pin/arm by entering via the USA star and sheriffs badge on the front. What does this do?

    I would also appreciate any additional information I might not be asking about related to how to play or how to maintain it in operation.

    Thanks

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    Pachi Puro Peteybob's Avatar
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    Default Re: Tons of Questions - Heiwa Western Hero

    Hello jademonkey33 and welcome to the group Nice machine

    I don't have this machine but the answer to your first question about the buttons is that they were used in the original Japanese Parlors. These were used for dispensing credits (balls) and for calling for assistance if I remember correctly.

    There is what is called a "Daverob" dongle that can be used on many modern machines to utilize the credits button and to give a user more of an original parlor experience. I don't see this connection in the picture but it would look like an old 25 pin printer connection on the lower backside.
    http://pinballdave.com/cre/index.html

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    Tokie Owens jademonkey33's Avatar
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    Default Re: Tons of Questions - Heiwa Western Hero

    Peteybob. I took a peak behind the machine and did find a 25 pin connector. Its tucked under the bottom right pointed to the right.

    I did some reading on the dongle and my machine has never had one. Does that mean it has the hardware override ( a mod to the game board) ?

    Thanks for the link. The card reader emulator looks cool!

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    Gibisans - Japan West compirate's Avatar
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    Default Re: Tons of Questions - Heiwa Western Hero

    I have this game, but not handy/haven't played in a long time.

    I don't think mine needed a dongle to shoot either, may be a thing with this gen of Heiwa.

    1. Yes, Parlor buttons

    2. The 4 lights should light up one at a time as balls go into the 'Start' pocket. This tells you how many spins you have 'banked' and should go out as spins occur. The idea being you stop shooting to prevent 'wasting' balls since you can only bank 4 spins. In a parlor, balls are rented, so every one you waste on not getting a bonus is money out of your pocket. Stopping can also be timed to prevent waste between bonus rounds. The number in the middle is part of the 'roulette' system. A ball through one of the 'Go' pockets starts this and depending on what number is lands on, the 'wings' of the Start pocket open for a bit, making it easier to get spins.

    3. Not sure about these lights, might only light during a bonus, or could be the count of the balls into the bonus door (Says 'OPEN'). I've never had a bonus on this game, so not sure.

    4. Yes, error codes. Not sure what they are.

    5. This is part of the payout system. When a ball goes in one of the pockets, does it pay out anything? It should say on the upper right hand corner what the payouts are. If it isn't paying out, moving that lever up and down for a bit will clear out the balls you've shot in, sometimes if it backs up too much they jam.




    Just looked a little closer, on question 2, I think those lights are for banked roulette spins. I see there are lights up at the top of the center feature inside the 'wanted' posters for banked spins.
    Last edited by compirate; 08-30-2018 at 07:10 PM.

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    人生に必要なもの。それは勇気と想像力、そして少しのお金だ。

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    Default Re: Tons of Questions - Heiwa Western Hero

    Quote Originally Posted by jademonkey33 View Post
    Peteybob. I took a peak behind the machine and did find a 25 pin connector. Its tucked under the bottom right pointed to the right.

    I did some reading on the dongle and my machine has never had one. Does that mean it has the hardware override ( a mod to the game board) ?

    Thanks for the link. The card reader emulator looks cool!
    I also have an older Heiwa machine (Success Story) of this era which does not require a dongle to play. I did connect my Daverob dongle (Rev 2.0) and I could add credits to the card but not dispense balls with it. This could be due to what settings I have on the dongle or I'm guessing something is incompatible with this older age of a machine. Dave may have a quick answer to this. I have several of the Daverob units in place on my 2006 and newer machines and I greatly enjoy them!

    There are certain models within older titles that do not require a dongle to be installed. Others do require a dongle of sorts or an alteration to the circuit board for the shooter knob to be enabled.
    Last edited by Peteybob; 08-30-2018 at 08:00 PM.

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    Default Re: Tons of Questions - Heiwa Western Hero

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    Default Re: Tons of Questions - Heiwa Western Hero

    Compirate - Thanks for the detailed response. All of this makes sense. You even answered my question about the payout numbers in the corner ( at the time I didnt know what they were for either).

    I remember getting the OPEN bonus once when I first got it. I had no idea what was going on. I cant remember if those lights where on then but it would make sense.

    Another question since you all have been so helpful. When I got it out of storage the balls were super weak in coming out. I tried adjusting the controls to compensate but that didn't help. Further investigation lead me to open the front to expose the shooter motor. The tip of the shooter pin had a rubbber-ish tip on it that fell apart when I touched it. Thinking I was screwed I close it up and tried it again, but this time it seemed to have good power.

    Are their risks to using it without a rubber tip? I could fashion something up I think, but I dont want to screw it up again.

    This is a great community thanks for all your help.

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    Default Re: Tons of Questions - Heiwa Western Hero

    Quote Originally Posted by Peteybob View Post
    I also have an older Heiwa machine (Success Story) of this era which does not require a dongle to play. I did connect my Daverob dongle (Rev 2.0) and I could add credits to the card but not dispense balls with it. This could be due to what settings I have on the dongle or I'm guessing something is incompatible with this older age of a machine. Dave may have a quick answer to this. I have several of the Daverob units in place on my 2006 and newer machines and I greatly enjoy them!

    There are certain models within older titles that do not require a dongle to be installed. Others do require a dongle of sorts or an alteration to the circuit board for the shooter knob to be enabled.
    Too bad it doesnt work with this era of machine. It would be super cool to have that setup in my bar.

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    Default Re: Tons of Questions - Heiwa Western Hero

    Well it could be me, my machine, or the dongle if I ever skewed the coding somehow. Dave might see this thread in the days to come and offer some further insight. But yes for me and mine it wasn't happening tonight.

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    Default Re: Tons of Questions - Heiwa Western Hero

    You should see if you can come up with some kind of replacement for the rubber part. Maybe a pencil eraser or a short spring. I forget, is it really a motor or a solenoid plunger?

    人生は恐れなければ、とても素晴らしいものなんだよ。
    人生に必要なもの。それは勇気と想像力、そして少しのお金だ。

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    Default Re: Tons of Questions - Heiwa Western Hero

    Quote Originally Posted by compirate View Post
    You should see if you can come up with some kind of replacement for the rubber part. Maybe a pencil eraser or a short spring. I forget, is it really a motor or a solenoid plunger?
    Sorry for my nomenclature - its a solenoid.

    I was thinking of putting a bit of sugru on the end to mimic it. Its a moldable plastic with a bit of 'give' to it.

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