Techno Stuff
How They Work - Reflex unit
Stepping the unit
The reflex unit is also unlike most of bingo steppers in that it steps up and down. Most other stepper units step up one ratchet tooth at a time, but reset all the way in one operation.
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| stepup/down mechanism |
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On the other side of the reflex unit housing are the coils and ratchets that step up/down the wipers. Operation is standard - pulse the coil and when the relay plate returns to the "up" position, it pushes the ratchet wheel around the distance of one tooth.
The top coil drives the step-up ratchet, and the bottom coil drives the step-down ratchet.
If you look closely, you'll see that the ratchets have different tooth sizes. The step-down ratchet has more teeth, and it also has a #3 stamped on it. You could get ratchets numbered from 1-5. A #1 was identical to the step-up ratchet, and a #5 had more teeth than a politician.
So what? Well, if the coils are pulsed once for every coin/credit won or played, then having different numbers of teeth on the ratchets mean that the distance the wipers rotate for each coin/credit is different when stepping up and stepping down. Simply put, the reflex units were generally set up so they stepped up faster than they stepped down. If it starts at position X, and you win 100 credits, you may need to play 150 credits to return it to position X.
This concept is called "profits".
Resetting the reflex unit manually
You're testing the game, and you want it to be awarding scores/features/extra balls as often as possible. The pic shows how to wind the wipers back as far as you like using your thumb while you hold down the relay plate. Eventually they will hit an internal stop and you can't wind any further.
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| stepping down the wipers |
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We'll look at the internals of the unit next to see why it stops, but as an aside, what do you do if you want the game to be permanently as easy as possible?
You have a few options. You can solder a jumper wire from wire #21-3 to wire #75-5, but that would require taking off the wipers and contact plate to get to wire #75-5.
Another option is to take advantage of the adjusting screws
on the step-up/down mechanisms. They are normally adjusted so
one tooth on the ratchet is grabbed for each coil pulse, and
the ratchet is pushed far enough for the hold arm to
engage the next tooth (keep ratchet from turning the wrong
way). You can just loosen the adjusting screw and turn it
in so the relay plate is almost touching the coil. When the
coil loses power, the plate won't be able to travel "up"
far enough to push the ratchet . Just don't screw the
plate hard against the coil top. It won't hurt anything if
you do, but the thing may make an annoying buzzing sound when the
coil powers if the plate is not seated squarely on the coil top.
