Volume on a Nishijin Sakura

[noobie]

While I'm waiting to figure out how to get my Sakura working, I was trying to figure out how to add volume controls. It has a trimmer pre-installed for the third speaker, but the first two remain extremely loud, even with the volume switch set to low.

I spent a good 45 minutes trying to take the door apart to expose the speakers, but with no luck (meaning I can't even jam a cotton ball in there). I assume I'm going to have to trace them somehow at the connector. Unfortunately, it has 28 pins on it. It looks as if the outermost pins on each row are ground (they're all common).

Does anyone have any idea which leads are for the speakers, are any idea how I might trace it? My knowledge of electronics is fairly limited, althouh I know my way around a soldering iron.

[luckydog]

have you opened the lower part of the front door where the ball trays are???

It's usually a small lever right below the glass to do it.

you might get speaker access there?

[luckymoey]

I have the same problem on my Tiger Mask - the mid-high range speakers are tightly packed in the frame of the main door - all grey wires - bundled together with dozens of lighting wires. If you can get access to the speaker terminals, you can probably check for continuity between them and the pins on the connector. They also sell tools to pop the pins out of the connector - you could do this and see when the speakers go off. If you're really desperate - start cutting and soldering wires back together until you get lucky.

[noobie]

Unfortunately, there's no access to the speaker contacts. I actually talked to the vendor (due to another problem—the lights around the door stopped working), and he indicated which wired he thought I needed to cut to attach a volume knob. I'll play around with it more this weekend when I get a chance. Or, if it ends up I need to send it back to the vendor to get the lights fixed, I'll just have them do it for me and save me the trouble.

[sacpinplayer]

noobie, have you figured out how to access the speakers or determined which are the proper wires for volume controls? I agree with you that even with the volume switch set to low on Sakura, the sound is still too loud. Terrific machine though.

[JamesM]

One thing about Sakura,
her music stays with you long after your done playing.

[noobie]

Sorry for the delay on this!

Yes, I found the proper wires. As you are facing the back of the machine, on the right side near the bottom is a series of connectors. One of these is a wide white connector (the widest white connector down there). You can verify it is the correct one by unplugging it, and all the sound through the door speakers will stop.

This connector has 28 wires in it. From top to bottom, the ones you need are marked with an X:

XX
––
––
––
––
XX
––
––
––
––
––
––
––
––

The top two are for the left speaker (if I remember correctly), the bottom two are for the right speaker. Hope this helps!

Also, in case you need it, the bottom speaker on the shooter tray is located separately. It's a small white 2-pin connector located on that same connection panel. Unplug it to verify.

[bf_of_pf]

Thanks for putting in all the time and work to figure it out and then sharing it with us. I guess it's impossible to know which wire is the positive, and which is the negative?

[noobie]

I'm not sure how to tell, unfortunately. I was unable to determine anything using my multimeter.

[bf_of_pf]

I've only installed Syscom's volume controllers on pachislos, never on a pachinko. And I've always been able to access the speaker terminals so I could see which was the pos and which the neg. From what I read, the installer should be patched into the positive wire. That's why I asked. Thanks for checking. And thanks again for tracing the wires and sharing that.

[slotter]

I don't believe it makes any real difference which wire you pick to install the controller(s). Just use the same color wire on all speakers in that particular machine.

[coldluck]

has anyone gotten anywhere on this machine with the volume controls ? I tried the above schematic but it didn't work at all. the subwoofer is simple enough but the wires marked in above post did not work so it seems that it must be other wires....anyone know for sure?

[luckymoey]

I installed volume controls on my Tiger Mask which is the same cabinet as your machine. If you face the back of the machine, there is a large yellow connector on the right side about 2/3 of the way down from the top with numerous grey wires going into it. The wires for the top speakers (mid and high range) are the 7th and 8th ones down from the top of the connector. One of the speakers is the 7th wires down on the left and right side of the connector and the other is the 8th on the left and right side. Hope this helps.

[websherpa]

I installed volume controls on my Tiger Mask which is the same cabinet as your machine (Sakura). ... The wires for the top speakers (mid and high range) are the 7th and 8th ones down from the top ...

I just wanted to clarify that on my Sakura, Noobie's schematic 1st and 6th wire pairs was correct for the speakers, so there must be at least two different configurations of these wires.

With the proper DB pin tool (it pushes out the pin while releasing the "barb"), it is very easy to take out individual pins to test if the speaker stops working.

[Segaboy]

I too have a sakura and where is the trimmer for sub you guys speak of??

[websherpa]

I too have a sakura and where is the trimmer for sub you guys speak of??

Sakura has a loud / louder volume control switch inside the main plastic case houseing one of the motherboards towards the top of the machine. But other than that (unless a vendor put them in for you), you have to find, cut and wire in your own volume controls.

[zamBeeK]

I would start by putting a pot on the subwoofer before doing anything else. Mine was really loud; loud enough to rattle the cabinet when the main speakers were disconnected.

If I were at work I'd be telling you to build an attenuator pad, but I'm too lazy to do that for myself - so what I would say is keep the value low, maybe 10 ohms linear. A dealer gave me 5k logarithmic pots, and they have just about enough impedance when "zeroed" to cut the main speaker volume in half. Also, the amount of travel that produces a noticable difference in volume is frightfully small. Setting these was like performing surgery.

[fronzdan]

Oh my freakin ears! I'm hoping my new Nishijin Saint Maria has this same pinout. This is louder than any machine I have, but I'm loving it...I just can't hear anymore.

[luckydog]

What did you say

[fronzdan]

Yet another example of a PachiTalk member instantly getting invaluable information from the collective genius of the board....these are the same connections as my Saint Maria! Firing up my soldering iron now!

You say something Lucky? Speak up! I can't hear you!