I loved amusement arcades when I was a kid, so it made sense that when I started my apprenticeship and had money to buy components I built a small slot machine. It was based on CMOS logic chips and had proper payout functionality.
I can remember building this at the family table, which was not ideal since I kept having to move all the stuff at meal times.
Please excuse the less than ideal visual and audio. I'm filming where I can at the moment.
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16 thoughts on “9-lite. an early diy slot machine from my past.”
  1. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars Jerry Ericsson says:

    Man just watching the video makes me want to take a trip to the nearest Indian Casino (124 miles north east of here) and throw away fifty bucks so the Indians can perhaps buy a can of beans from what they get from the mob that runs those places. The sound and feel of those slots make my heart race as I dream of seeing the 777 come up.

  2. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars Alex says:

    Of all your videos, I find this one particularly fascinating. I've always seen you as very clean and methodical which contrasts with your resourcefulness and flourishes of chaos in an earlier iteration of you. It's very cool to see where you started and where you ended up. It's a poignant example of what dedication will net you.

  3. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars Wisteela says:

    That is excellent.

  4. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars John McCann says:

    Lets see you build a new one!

  5. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars MrMegaPussyPlayer says:

    Dafuck? This video appeared twice for me on the video page of Clive

  6. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars Hola! Cucumber Man says:

    "focus you f**k" (aVe) lol

  7. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars Flat Finger Tuning says:

    Interesting. Too bad there's no good way to analyze the circuit. Using 4017s for the spinners would seem overkill, since they can count to ten, but perhaps those were more available than e.g. divide-by-eight chips? It would be interesting to know what chips were available to work with. Otherwise, I would guess in addition to the 4017 for the lights, there was probably a another used for game sequencing, which stopped each "wheel" and then hit the solenoid as needed for the winning combinations [e.g. on steps 5 and 6, hit the solenoid if any winning combo is showing].

    Do you remember your thought process about winning combinations and probabilities? The special six-coin payout for yellow seems curious. Was that intended to show that you could do such a thing? I remember doing some "slot machine" computer programs around that time, and biased the wheels toward certain outcomes so as to allow more frequent low-value payoffs. Yours, though, had the added interest of a coin-dispensing solenoid.

  8. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars MegaWayneD says:

    That's fab! It's nearly as dodgy as my Doctor Who-themed fortune teller machine.

  9. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars code beat says:

    Your beard was talking

  10. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars Sk8erGoat says:

    My first thought was "Oh that's such a simple job with an Arduino". Then I realized which era it's from. Shame. SHAME! Please forgive me…

  11. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars TheBlackadder Edmund says:

    Dont know what is most impressive, that you could build that as a kid or the shape it is in (working, no dust, no rust, no yellowing of the connector etc… )

  12. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars wickedxe says:

    I would love to see you build a 2.0 version now days 🙂

  13. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars \0 says:

    How are the odd's controlled?

  14. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars WaRRiorZ_HAMMER_ says:

    I think you should make a new project like this one 🙂

  15. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars Attila Asztalos says:

    I would build a visible "slowdown and stop" into a future machine though…

  16. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars rev0head says:

    They would go so well in chip shops or any space where there's a short wait to receive a order and it can be made to take any spare coins players have to use I'd be building some out of small safe boxes an seeing how they go

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