Bingo Pinballs

Created on 06-25-2020

This is interesting`Slots and PS machines were controlled just like the Bingos`

Of course, they were “gambling devices” and to help ensure profits and regulate the total payout`They

tightened and loosened the games up periodically ~ There were a few Court cases that argued this, but more

that argued other factors too, like the games having “knockoff switches” – etc`

If I was a lawyer back then, I would have made this the main focus as to whether these machines were designed

for gambling`…the Reflex Unit is the Tell …the rest of the issues can be argued, this one is pretty damning`

The Peter Simper Stabilizer Revealed

robtroi

Joined: Wed Dec 17, 2008 2:20 pm
Posts: 5
Location: South Wales

Hi Guys

If anyone is interested on how the machines percentage was controlled, it was done with an electrical mechanical unit called a stabilizer
I have just happen to have the schematics and wiring of the device from when I built and worked on them.

moonriver	Post subject: Re: The Peter Simper Stabilizer Revealed Posted: Thu Jul 31, 2014 11:17 am
Joined: Wed Oct 16, 2013 12:56 am Posts: 129	a very clever electromechanical device ahead of its time, although PS machines generally not too subtle in game play for experienced players, one extreme or the other, avoiding wins across the board when in mean phase and then throwing wins out when wanting to, even to the point of making symbols wild to do it instead of bringing in three symbol winning combinations

livinginthepast	Post subject: Re: The Peter Simper Stabilizer Revealed Posted: Thu Jul 31, 2014 5:35 pm
Joined: Mon Feb 05, 2007 7:17 pm Posts: 53	This stabilizer is very similar to the reflex unit used in the bally bingos from the 1950s to control the percentage The Bally unit had a range of stepper wheels with different numbers of teeth which could be fitted to alter the percentage

Bob	Post subject: Re: The Peter Simper Stabilizer Revealed Posted: Fri Aug 01, 2014 1:23 am
Joined: Sat Apr 23, 2005 8:06 pm Posts: 55 Location: Australia	And even before then used by Bally in the forerunner to the bingos their one ball horse race games in the thirties and forties so not really ahead of its time.

Operator Bell	Post subject: Re: The Peter Simper Stabilizer Revealed Posted: Fri Aug 01, 2014 4:32 am
Joined: Thu Dec 06, 2007 7:30 am Posts: 525 Location: Las Vegas, Nevada	It's nice to see the item revealed in detail, thanks Robtroi. But that appears to be a patent application. Someone wasn't doing their job if it was granted, because here's some prior art - even down to the miniature differential inside.

moonriver	Post subject: Re: The Peter Simper Stabilizer Revealed Posted: Sun Aug 03, 2014 2:27 pm
Joined: Wed Oct 16, 2013 12:56 am Posts: 129	moonriver wrote: a very clever electromechanical device ahead of its time, although PS machines generally not too subtle in game play for experienced players, one extreme or the other, avoiding wins across the board when in mean phase and then throwing wins out when wanting to, even to the point of making symbols wild to do it instead of bringing in three symbol winning combinations When I mentioned 'ahead of their time' I was referring to the UK amusement arcade industry of the late 1970's and meant that Peter Simper machines of the period around the electromechanical and processor change over 1979/ 1980 were doing something that the other manufacturers weren't and their games played differently for the punter. None of the other manufacturers JPM, Barcrest, Bell Fruit, Maygay, ACE , had electromechanical machines obviously forcing wins, but did go on to do that later on with processor

highfield	Post subject: Re: The Peter Simper Stabilizer Revealed Posted: Sun Aug 03, 2014 2:58 pm
Joined: Mon Apr 08, 2013 9:23 pm Posts: 31	Hi From someone who has no idea how these work it would be appreciated if you could explain. Thanks, John

Operator Bell

Post subject: Re: The Peter Simper Stabilizer Revealed Posted: Sun Aug 03, 2014 6:35 pm

Joined: Thu Dec 06, 2007 7:30 am Posts: 525 Location: Las Vegas, Nevada

moonriver wrote: When I mentioned 'ahead of their time' I was referring to the UK amusement arcade industry of the late 1970's and meant that Peter Simper machines of the period around the electromechanical and processor change over 1979/ 1980 were doing something that the other manufacturers weren't and their games played differently for the punter. I absolutely agree, Moonriver. Peter Simper took EM technology further than any other manufacturer, that's why the machines are so interesting to me.

Operator Bell

Post subject: Re: The Peter Simper Stabilizer Revealed Posted: Sun Aug 03, 2014 7:16 pm

Joined: Thu Dec 06, 2007 7:30 am Posts: 525 Location: Las Vegas, Nevada

highfield wrote: Hi From someone who has no idea how these work it would be appreciated if you could explain. With pleasure, J. If you look at the pictures you see two solenoids with ratchet wheels on one side, a complicated gear thing in the middle and a switch disk on the other. The PS device is functionally identical except its more compact and instead of a switch disk, it has two microswitches and a cam. Looking at the gear box, one ratchet is geared to the top bevel gear, the other is geared to the bottom one. In between is a small gear on a short shaft. In the middle of that short shaft and pinned to it is another shaft at right angles that drives the wipers, or in the PS case the cam. Let's say a solenoid clicks the ratchet attached to the top bevel. The bevel turns a small amount and that turns the small gear, but since the bottom bevel didn't move, the small gear has no choice but to roll around between the two, turning the center shaft and the cam a small amout. When the other solenoid clicks the same thing happens, but in the reverse direction. One solenoid clicks every time a coin is inserted. The other one clicks every time a coin is paid out. Thus the position of the small gear and cam reflects the difference between coins in and coins out. When more comes in than goes out, the wiper/cam moves one way, and when more is paid out than comes in it moves the other way. If you look closely at the photo of the ratchets you'll see they have numbers written on them - that's the number of teeth. Obviously a ratchet with fewer teeth turns its bevel gear further per click than the one with more, so for equal numbers of "ins" and "outs", the cam moves steadily towards one end of its travel until it operates one of the microswitches. Let's call this the "tight" switch. Other circuitry in the machine operated by the "tight" switch cuts off some of the payouts by preventing the reels stopping on them. So now for a while there are more "ins" than "outs" and the cam moves the other way, off the "tight" switch, and the blocked payouts can be hit again. In the event of a long run of losers, the cam gradually works its way all the way back and operates the other microswitch - let's call it the "loose" switch. More circuitry then operates to enable additional wins, and the resulting payouts work the cam back off the switch to the middle. The overall result is that the payout percentage of the machine is regulated to the ratio of the number of teeth on the two ratchets. To anyone familiar with playing PS machines, it should now be clear why the machine plays normally for a while, then goes into utterly tight mode where the same losing combinations show up game after game, then becomes normal, then gets so loose to the point where if you don't hold a likely combination, it will probably come up on its own within the next few games. Normal play, unaffected by the regulator, was probably set different from the regulator percentage in order to give the game this cyclic variety, because if they were the same, the regulator would spend nearly all its life in the middle region and hardly ever hit the microswitches.

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