Phase 4 - Reassembly
I wasted too much time refurnishing the cabinet. I’ve realised it is better to start with a ‘nice’ cabinet and get right down to the wiring.
The other problem was that I kept putting the loom down before I’d finished a specific section. This meant that when I returned to it later, it would take me 30 minutes to fathom out where I was when I put it down. Speed is the key to getting these looms done.
I used a hot melt glue gun to repair the mask, but the heat from the bulbs melted the glue which caused the mask to come apart. I solved this with a steel strengthening bar which goes from the top of the mask to the bottom in the affected area.
I finished the switch loom, but there were some errors. I had tied two of the enable lines together forgetting that they are not ground connections, instead they are switched to +5V when active.
I also had a meter problem in that I did not have a spare 6 meter set. I still have this to resolve, but I borrowed a set from Golden Award so I could test it.
The original reel set was from a Royal Exchange. This time I used Roger’s reel bands from the Mecca which worked out very well. It saved me all the mac time scanning and repro-ing my own bands.
Nick lent me a speaker and the coin face plate. I still have the face plate to fit.
Still to do are the button decals for the 3 Exchange buttons. The coin face plate. The token mech. needs adjusting. Some cabinet touching up and minor bits and pieces inside. The front glass is hinged because I just can’t do this sort of work without access to the bottom lamp mask. Generally speaking I’m pleased with the way it came out and I really enjoy playing it and it was fun to do, but it did take too long. I wasn’t trying to create a perfect Chances, I just wanted to have one to play.
Observations: Chances had 8 buttons on the bottom panel, mine only has 7. The middle panel houses the extra button. The coin slots are not accurate for Chances. I specifically did not want mine to take £1 coins and I think the round coin entries are more attractive, saying that I had no choice.