Archived from groups: rec.games.pinball (
More info?)
There are a couple of sources out on these: Vic Camp is willing to send
you some info if you email him and here are the Belgium boys:
People are often confused about these machines and think they're
pinball machines too. Or they think all pinball machines are bingo
machines.
Bingo machines are gambling machines !
Pinball is only for entertainment, you pay to play a game and have fun.
Bingo machines are totally different, you put money in them (often more
features are lit when you put more money in them) and the sole purpose
of the machine is to win credits/money with it.
The playfield is very different from a pinball machine, there are no
flippers, only a plunger to launch balls which fall into the different
holes in the playfield.
You cannot compare the world of pinball and bingo machines. Bingo
machines involve lots of money, operators (certainly here in Belgium)
are the big guys.. pinball is peanuts and for most of them not worth
their time. To give you an example about the money involved: in Belgium
(Flanders) an operator has to pay 3500 euro for each machine just to
have permission to put it out on location for one year..
This also has its implications for collectors who want to repair games.
Pinball manufacturers are open and provide a lot of schematics,
collectors have made repair manuals available, ..
The bingo world is very closed. As it's a gambling machine, everything
is restricted, eprom codes are not available at all, as a collector
it's very hard to get support. Manuals and schematics are hardly
available, and people who know how to repair these machines, prefer to
keep this knowledge for themselves.. If you ask around you can find
information for some older machines (80ies and before).
Because these machines are gambling machines, they are also heavily
protected against tampering.
I had a Wimi Miss Bowling Turbo myself, it was not working, most of the
information here is about this type of bowling, although different
manufacturers probably use the same systems. Older bingos may not have
these protections, while modern bingos probably have more complicated
security !
Anyway, as far as I know, the Wimi Miss Bowling has a protection which
most people have a problem with. Part of the security code is kept in
RAM. This means that if the battery dies, or, which happens most, if
you disconnect cables (i.e. you disconnect the head from the body to
move the machine), the machine will loose this memory and refuse to
start.
If you switch the machine now on, it's 'in code' and will only show
specific numbers on the display. Nothing else happens. It thinks it has
been tampered with, and requires the operator to initialise the
machine. Without the correct tools, it is impossible to start this
machine ever !
I did get hold of a manual which explains a bit about the security.
However I've never seen exactly how to restart a bingo, so what I write
here is what other people told me, some things may be wrong..
First, I know you need a special small box with which you can disable
the checks so the bingo will start up. And.. yes, the good news is I
recently got hold of such a box ! but I even don't know if this box
will work on every type or only one specific model.. But.. there's a
BUT.. also bad news.. I also heard that these bingos can be protected
using an 'electronic key'.
This actually is a keychain with an eprom on it, holding the 'missing'
settings. This key may even belong to the machine (so you probably
can't use the key of another machine). If the bingo machine has the
electronic security key activated, you need this eprom keychain or you
will never be able to start it ?!
Again, I don't know how accurate all this information is. I have seen a
(broken) eprom keychain, so I know they exist. I haven't tested it.. it
may be possible to start a bingo machine without the keychain using
only the box mentioned above, it may not.. I don't know, have to test
it out.
I receive quite often emails from people who have bought a non-working
bingo (it's in code) and ask for more information. So here is my
default answer:
I only have a dutch manual (no schematics, it does explain the security
codes) for Miss Bowling Turbo. For the cost of copying and postage I
can send you a photocopy. However - this manual is only for the 'turbo'
version, the regular or other versions have different error codes !
However, procedures may be the same and the manual may help you to
understand how to operate the machine.
As I said above, I recently got a small box which is used to start
bingos, but have not tested it and have no instructions for it. If you
live near Antwerp and have a machine which doesn't work, let me know so
I can test the box..
If you have a working bingo, take care of it and do not remove the head
unless you really have to (but don't complain if it won't work
anymore).
If you want to when you buy a bingo machine, be careful. Non working
machines can be bought (sometimes) cheap, but may be impossible to
start. And that bargain you bought may not be a bargain if you can't
play it !
If you really want to buy a bingo machine for your home, call around
and get information before you buy !
Prices differ a lot between operators. Some don't want to sell, others
will be glad to. As the gaming law often changes, some operators may
still have a lot of machines which they're not allowed to operate
anymore.
You'll be much better off spending a bit more and buying a modern
machine, which a dealer knows how to repair, than trying to save $100
and get a 20 year old machine which no-one can repair anymore.. I've
heard of dealers selling 5 year old machines for as low as 250-600
euro, that's less than some people ask for a 20 year old broken machine
!
One remark about electro-mechanical bingo machines: these are very
complicated and even most people who repair EM pins don't want or know
how to repair them. Buying a non-working EM bingo machine to learn how
to repair them, may not be a good idea, you'd better start learning to
fix EM pinball machines first !
Btw for collectors interested in bingo flyers: If you want a belgian
bingo flyer, I have a few flyers of New GAA Bingo's. I trade these for
any pinball flyer. General playfield parts are also still available at
operators so if you need anything special you may always contact me and
I'll try to find if it's still available.
Update: Some technical information about a Miss Bowling De Luxe:
Code EE51 is about the number of balls on the playfield, there need to
be 10 in the collector underneath the playfield. In combination with
error code 21, this means the game thinks there are too many balls in
the game: 10 underneath the playfield and one in hole 21.
So probably this means the switch of hole 21 is broken/stuck closed and
therefor the game does not want to start.
Another update: for the people in Belgium who do have a bingo in code
and need someone to start it: contact Ronny from
http://www.game-master.be/ as he can repair and restart a lot of bingo
machines. Please say that flippers.be sent you.
Good luck...............................
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