Green Ray Television

Building a slot machine from scratch? You're not alone in your madness.
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arrgee
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Re: Green Ray Television

Post by arrgee »

badpenny wrote:Sadly when I went to Wookey Hole a couple of Summers back, only the hole was working
Strange, the photo was taken in August 2015 and, as I mentioned in my article, that was in the December 2015 issue of MMM. Every machine was working fine - no 'out of order' sign anywhere. :!?!:

Hell - I hope my grandkids didn't screw up the machines!!! :lol:
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brigham
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Re: Green Ray Television.

Post by brigham »

I'm still hoping to post pics of this 'creation', which is making progress.
I wanted a penny coin slide for it, but these seem to be unavailable. I can import one (at great cost) from the USA, but it's on US quarter. Will that take a shilling, do you think?
Otherwise, I'll have to build one. An old penny payout slide might be a good place to start?
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brigham
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Re: Green Ray Television.

Post by brigham »

This machine is coming on really well. I'm still not confident about uploading pictures, but I'm going to give it a try:
This is the basic frame, before any mechanism was added.
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ddstoys
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Re: Green Ray Television.

Post by ddstoys »

Nice. This build is going to be epic.
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moonriver
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Re: Green Ray Television.

Post by moonriver »

Hold out for an old penny coin slide. They do come up on eBay, usually a few together and then none for a while.
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treefrog
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Re: Green Ray Television.

Post by treefrog »

Got a few penny slides and have been selling lots of spares over last 6 months which I am sure people have noticed, may list some again with next batch of items to go over next few weeks. Most stuff I sell with no reserve as just need stuff to go, so if anyone is after anything let me know........
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ddstoys
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Re: Green Ray Television.

Post by ddstoys »

treefrog wrote: Sat Mar 24, 2018 10:15 pm Got a few penny slides and have been selling lots of spares over last 6 months which I am sure people have noticed, may list some again with next batch of items to go over next few weeks. Most stuff I sell with no reserve as just need stuff to go, so if anyone is after anything let me know........
I'd love a couple of penny slide mechs if you have some to spare. I'm assuming English pennies are the same size as the old aussie pennies.
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badpenny
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Re: Green Ray Television.

Post by badpenny »

Yes, they are the same size.
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brigham
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Re: Green Ray Television.

Post by brigham »

I've solved the coin-slide problem by importing an American example on US quarter.
A slight turn on the adjusting screw, and it works fine on English or Scottish shilling. (Presumably on 5 new pence too, although I haven't tried it).
A bit steep for 1931, I know. It's going to be a 'premium rate' machine!
(The pic. has a fictitious date, by the way).
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Re: Green Ray Television.

Post by pennymachines »

I could have sworn that date was real. !PUZZLED!
Looking forward to seeing how this shapes up. Keep us posted.
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brigham
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Re: Green Ray Television.

Post by brigham »

The concept didn't enter my addled brain until the last week in December, 2017. It's booked in to an exhibition on 7th. April, so work is having to proceed more rapidly than I'm happy with. I suppose I can always go back and do it again, properly.
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moonriver
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Re: Green Ray Television.

Post by moonriver »

Are you going to make your deadline?
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brigham
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Re: Green Ray Television.

Post by brigham »

The exhibition was held by a mechanical television enthusiasts group, so I compromised, and only took the actual 'television' part of the machine.
It ran beautifully, and the rest is now making rapid progress. I'll try to load more pictures soon.
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Re: Green Ray Television.

Post by oneswitch500 »

brigham wrote: Tue Jun 19, 2018 6:51 pm The exhibition was held by a mechanical television enthusiasts group, so I compromised, and only took the actual 'television' part of the machine.
It ran beautifully, and the rest is now making rapid progress. I'll try to load more pictures soon.
Did you ever complete the Green Ray build?

And to anyone who might know....

1. Was this a British machine from 1931?

2. Did the pen actually write on the card, or is this claim "Handle your card carefully on damp days as the special ink which has to be used does not dry very quickly." just part of the deception?

3. "For a true reading insert one penny in the slot then stand in front of the green ray then press the return switch and keep it pressed till the card is delivered from the pocket below.

If you do not carry out these instructions the reading will be a poor one of the person pressing the return switch."

Question being, does the push-button switch actually do anything, and if so what?

Would love to know.
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JC
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Re: Green Ray Television.

Post by JC »

1) Yes. Hope-Bradshaw.

2) No, the pen just wobbles about a bit to make it look like it's writing.
Thick pre-printed cards are dispensed in much the same way as bars of chocolate or
packets of cigarettes are dispensed from vending machines.

3) What return switch? There are no switches or knobs or levers for the punter to play
with - he merely stands in front of the machine and waits for his fortune card.
oneswitch500
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Re: Green Ray Television.

Post by oneswitch500 »

Thanks JC.

Regarding the push-button, you can see in the picture here: https://auctions.morphyauctions.com/Lot ... yid=483561 if you zoom in, "KEEP YOUR THUMB ON THE RETURN SWITCH". I was curious if it was wired up to anything.

Image
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JC
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Re: Green Ray Television.

Post by JC »

That's interesting, although I'd have to question whether that switch is original - it certainly looks like it's been slapped on the front of the machine as an after thought.
I've come across many of these machines over the years, and have operated one on three different sites in the past 15 years, and have never come across such a switch.
It should be noted that all the mysterious gubbins behind the window does differ from machine to machine - they presumably used whatever old electrical crap was to hand as each machine was built. Some were more elaborate than others.
oneswitch500
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Re: Green Ray Television.

Post by oneswitch500 »

That makes a lot of sense. Such an imaginative machine. I suppose the push-button might be as simple as turning an extra light-on... but actually do nothing much in reality beyond add to the sense of mystery/old-flannel depending on how well you can suspend disbelief.

Lovely machine on Twitter, seemingly with no push-button as you suggest is the norm.

Image Image

Link here: https://twitter.com/tonysvintage/status ... 1885278208
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Re: Green Ray Television.

Post by pennymachines »

oneswitch500 wrote: Sat Feb 13, 2021 10:10 pm I suppose the push-button might be as simple as turning an extra light-on... but actually do nothing much in reality beyond add to the sense of mystery/old-flannel depending on how well you can suspend disbelief.

I've often thought Bradshaw missed a trick by not incorporating such a device on the Green Ray, so it's interesting to see this. John Brenner made great play with this idea, providing a handle you had to grip for an accurate reading. If you released it, you got a card admonishing you with an invitation to insert another coin and follow the instructions.

The instruction card looks original and in keeping, so maybe this was a Bradshaw afterthought. It seems evident from the other Morphy Auction pictures there isn't anything behind the button.
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tim575
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Re: Green Ray Television.

Post by tim575 »

A museum restoration of a Green Ray was documented in detail and is a wealth of information for the machine mechanics as well as the fortunes it dispensed. Over 53 Mbyte of info in the PDF on it. Very good reference for anyone doing a restoration or re-creation of one. PDF at link below.
The restoration of a Green Ray Television Wonder, a 1930s Fortune-Teller slot machine from the Deutsches Technik museum Berlin PDF

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