sankyo m-577 doesn't work

[spntop]

Powers up but does not shoot. I used to own a mechanical pachinko game years ago and loved it. I have tested as much of the mechanical workings as I can and all seems to be working correctly but this electronic Mensa puzzle on the back is beyond me. According to the very short manual, the LED code on the computer indicates that "the 25 pin connector is loose or required." There is a 25 pin connector at the bottom of the board but nothing to connect to it. I have tried the reset button but nothing happens as far as I can tell. I purchased the game from a local retailer but cannot contact him as his store is closed for the holidays and don't know who the refurbisher/distributor was. I was hoping that I could get some advice here as I am anxious to rediscover the fun of pachinko after so long.

[Tulsa]

On a lot of those 25 pin connectors they have to have a dongle. We've always heard these were for card readers and the dongle simulates that being connected so the slot will work.

I have two pachinkos, one has it and won't work without it and the other does not. On the model # of your machine is there a CR in front of it?

[spntop]

one of the multitude of "model/serial" numbers does begin with CR.

[Tulsa]

Let me ask you this, when you turn the handle to shoot the balls, does it make a clunking sound like it's trying to shoot balls or is it silent?

[spntop]

No sound. The balls are loading, feeding and paying out correctly as far as I can tell but no motor activity.

[Tulsa]

Well I just verified with my Batman that requires the dongle. When I removed it and turned the knob, nothing at all. Two lights did light up on the back by the 25 pin connector that were out when the dongle was connected.

I would suggest that yours is in need of this dongle to fool it into thinking a card reader is present.

[spntop]

Thanks for the help. Looks like I'll have to wait for the retailer to get one from the distributor.

[azlew]

I believe someone read this dongle and stated a possibility of making a copy of these ? I don't have the old thread we had from the other place so excuse my poor memory if I am wrong. I think that that "Drum Crash" owner Nethippy was the person that looked into this???

[nethippy]

Yes, as a matter of fact, I did open it, there was a resistor, a capacitor and a diode connected between certain pins. If need be I can open one (My Giant Seven has one also) and detail what is installed and between what pins they are connected.

[azlew]

SO nethippy it's not just a dummy dongle then? I thought maybe it just created a continuous circuit . But my electrical-computer abilities died when the ol' C64 died :wink:

[Bilko44]

Nethippy,

Is it possible that you could post a few photos of the dongle?

If you can , please provide shots of the dongle plugged into the connector, what the dongle looks like by itself, and what modifications have to be made to fool a cr machine to function properly in the home environment.

Will every CR pachinko have one of thse goodies attached?

Will the configuration of the dongle vary from one game maker to the other?

Anything you and others can provide on this topic is greatly appreciated.

[arbycoffee]

I would CHECK your shipping box to see if the connector is in there. With all the machines I have gotten, there has always been one, sometime it is in the bottom of the box. from shipping it pops off, and I have had them need to be reseated to get a compleate connection.
All of mine were a gray cover on the plug.

[luckydog]

on my machine i found the plug stuck in a different part of the machine,

it had fallen off in shipping and got jammed between some boards

[arbycoffee]

azlew
My Fever Arabian Nights by Sankyo if the RS232 Computer Key(grey looking plug in module approx 1 1/2 inch by 2 inch long with what looks like printer or rs232 plug) on the back down by the bottom right (when you are facing the back of the machine) side is disconnected - the shooter (turn handle) disengages.
If you aren't getting the ball feeder to feed hmmm are the balls just going clear thru and coming out the back ? - if so there is a lever on mine that is in the plastic(Blue on mine)top right of the machine (looking at the back straight on) that has to be straight up in order to keep the balls correctly. Other than that I don't know what else to tell you except the usual check you fuse etc.

Hope that helps..

luckydog1940
THANKS A MILLION

you hit the nail on the head, the plug was off and stuck in another part of the machine, i didn't notice it wasn;t connected to anything before,

i found out where it goes and it is shooting balls now.

music and lights are great, i just started playing it a little

azlew
No problem Paul I am glad you are shooting those balls rapidly !

Let us know how you like it and by the way if you have less than 2000 balls you might want to get in on the auctions going right now on Ebay as they are selling for less than we have seen for awhile. Not sure of the dealers yet but 500 @ 15.00 is a heck of a deal.

As you can see we all have been there :-)

[nethippy]

Nethippy,

Is it possible that you could post a few photos of the dongle?

If you can , please provide shots of the dongle plugged into the connector, what the dongle looks like by itself, and what modifications have to be made to fool a cr machine to function properly in the home environment.

Will every CR pachinko have one of thse goodies attached?

Will the configuration of the dongle vary from one game maker to the other?

Anything you and others can provide on this topic is greatly appreciated.

So far the only machines I've seen with one of these are from SlotUSA. (Drum Crash, Giant Seven.) Machines I acquired from other vendors don't have one of these installed. (Omizu, Fever Viking.) My other machine is pre card reader era and doesn't have a connector, Only electrics is ball shooter and lights. (Kyoraku Unknown Model)

It shouldn't be a problem to get pictures of the dongle.

In any case, here's a description and location of the parts:

330 ohm resistor, 1/4 watt, connected between pins 25 and 4/5.

47uf 50v electrolytic capacitor connected between pins 4/5 and 17/18.
Negative end is connected to pins 17 & 18.

1N4004 silicon diode connected between pins 12 and 17/18. Banded end
is connected to pin 12.

[nethippy]

Here are pictures of the dongle connected to the Drum Crash, the dongle by itself, and the internal contents:

http://www.nethippy.org/dongle.htmlDead Link

EDIT: Had to make it a link. The server I'm hosted on doesn't seem to like stray images.

[Bilko44]

Sorry, just red X's are all I see.

[nethippy]

That's funny, they were just there a minute ago! Let me do some digging around and see what's going on...

[luckydog]

i keep getting debug error when i refresh site

[Tulsa]

That's what the one on my Batman looks like and it also came from SlotUSA.