Games Inc King Tap

[bandito]

A non working King Tap has just been listed on ebay. Item number: 120879064048

[flashbk13]

Thank you slotalot (I removed the extra S from your screen name) I will keep you all posted. I did email Steve from Swallow Amusements (who put up the King Tap video) to see if he can walk me thru this game). Doesn't have to be a King Tap, any same or near vintage flasher should work/ be the same "thinking" sequences as the Tap (enough to get me on the right track)
I wonder how my pics got posted? I just put up the photobucket link as I was not sure how to post them, yet, here they are * That was me - site admin.
Thank you bandito for the ebay link, I saved it and emailed the seller about parting it out and if he had schematics for it. Rick.
thank you admin

[flashbk13]

Hi slotalot,
I just reread one of your earlier posts about contacting Swallow Amusements and notice it lists his machine as being made in 1970, while mine is stamped 1965 on the back door data plate. I wonder if they are still the same innards (looks like it in his video) and sequence thinking? Thank you, Rick.

[flashbk13]

Hi all,
I did some poking around in the game and so far found 2 problems (not how to fix them mind you, just narrowed down the choices ).
1. the timer disc is gummed up where the motor (motor is good, it drives the opposite pulse wiper OK). Can't turn it, so the game does not play. Manually turning it activates the various parts of the game, and even pays out properly.
2. Coin does not start the game. It does pull in the coin relay and nothing more, but if I hold down the next relay in the stack (the credit relay), then the coin chute magnet de-energizes like it should to reject a miss dropped coin, and I can then activate the paddle sws. and the timer then tries to start. So I will need to partially disassemble the timer to clean and relube and that should take care of alot of problems, but I need to know what should happen after the coin relay activates/ how to get the credit relay to operate to start the game.
So there you have it for now. Thanks for listening (reading) Rick.

[flashbk13]

hi all,
Well, the damn thing started working all by itself All I did was to move it out of the garage into the driveway so I could see better and fire it up and the credit relay energized when the coin relay energized (as I thought it should), and I could start the game from the paddle (sometimes, due to that sticky timer wiper, but even that is working way better than just last night...that lube must have worked its way in somewhat). At least it's working enough to loosen up the moving parts and give me a clue how to play this thing I checked various payouts and they seem right on.

Now for a couple of questions 1. I tried the bonus play (manually set it per the instructions in the cabinet) and it does give 1 token (on any combo, except first reel pear like listed), but if also on a winning set, does not pay out (except the 1 token). Is this normal? It also lists on the glass "GOLD AWARD 5/- with bonus play" (you get 10 of these plays, that part works/counts properly). What does this mean? All I get is a token, but no extra (free) play (if it means that, or does it mean you get a token on the bonus play round?). Can someone please explain this and what good are these tokens (if on site, not at home)? What did the player do with them?

2. This has been modded to give an extra spin when pushing those "stop" buttons; just the opposite of what it's supposed to do. Anyone know how to put this back to stop mode? There are 4 plug adjustment areas in this, but they don't say what they do, just cons, mod, lib. I tried moving them all to the same 3 settings, no change, except lesser payouts).
Thank you, Rick.

[badpenny]

As a genius in this hobby once said ............

"They forget what to do"

[operator bell]

This machine would be from the late 1960s where the maximum cash payout was a shilling (12 old pennies) but it could pay 5 shillings in "trade". That would be what the "gold award" token is for. If the machine was in a pub you could use the token to buy beer, or in an arcade you could exchange it for a "prize" like a small plastic frog. The "bonus play" is something called a Time Jackpot, an attempt to get round the British payout limit by giving you a series of practically guaranteed wins that in total should be worth a lot more than 5/-. It normally kicked in when you hit a secret non-paying combination. The government of the day - Harold Wilson's, I think - made that illegal. The other thing these machines had was hold and draw, where you got a second chance if you drew 2 to a win. They tried to make that illegal also, but when the Tories got in under Edward Heath they let it stay as long as the hold was random, ie you didn't know if you were going to get it until you put another coin in. This whack-a-mole approach to regulation played havoc with the payout percentages so people were always fiddling with the mechanism to try and put it back to meet the government-mandated 80% ... In your case they probably changed the hold function to respin.

I have a Games machine not dissimilar to the King Tap, and I have a circuit diagram, for what it's worth. When I first got it I spent a week tracing out the circuit one wire at a time. I must have had way too much time on my hands.

"con-mod-lib" changes the payout percentage - conservative, moderate, liberal. It does this by switching in different symbols. You might for example have an extra cherry on "liberal" and it's a lemon otherwise.

[badpenny]

Good to have you back Op Bell.
You can never have too many plastic frogs!

[operator bell]

Here are some notes I made a while ago on the King Tap, updated with Rick's picture and some comments on restoring.

[flashbk13]

Thank you sooooooo much OB for this great info.! Now I can fix that won't start problem as you tell just where to look (I figured it had to be in that timer disc, but I may have a bad coin sw.) The coin energizes the coin relay, but not the credit relay (did work for a couple days after I moved the game around, then just quit again). I will try another coin sw and proceed from there. I did run a jumper from the signal lug of the coin relay to the signal lug on the credit relay and that works, but I don't like jury rigging (except for testing), that just causes problems later on and just looks hoky. Thank you again for that great info., Rick.

[flashbk13]

On a somewhat different note, how much would it cost to buy 200 "new pennies" and have them mailed to me over here? Not having much luck getting them here. OR, where do I try to get them (besides the airport)? I tried a couple banks, and they only deal with paper money, not coins or didn't carry foreign money. Thank you, Rick.

[operator bell]

On a somewhat different note, how much would it cost to buy 200 "new pennies" and have them mailed to me over here? Not having much luck getting them here. OR, where do I try to get them (besides the airport)? I tried a couple banks, and they only deal with paper money, not coins or didn't carry foreign money. Thank you, Rick.

No need for that. The British penny is 20.32mm in diameter, 1.52 or 1.65 mm thick depending on the year. The US cent is 19.05mm diameter, 1.55mm thick. US pennies will work in the machine just fine, though you will have to make some adjustments to the cradle of the coin mech with a pair of pliers. The US cent is also lighter (2.5g instead of 3.56g) which may require some surgery to the cradle counterweight. The payoff for all that work, apart from that you probably have 20,000 pennies already in a jar somewhere, is that they won't stick to the magnet in the coin mech - British pennies are made of steel since 1992.

Alternatively, you could consider using nickels, if the slicer will handle them, though they are a little larger (21.2mm) and thicker (1.95mm). Nickel mechs are dime a dozen. I have about ten in a box in the garage. You would probably need to replace the tube. Dimes (17.91mm) are another option, though dime coin mechs are quite rare.