Smash N Wins external hopper is designed to allow the operator to store extra balls onto of the machine to reduce the frequency of the needing to fill the machine. The hopper uses a linear actuator to control a door that when opened will allow the balls to fall into the upper tray inside the game. When the game is coined in it will check the state of the extra hopper signal line after 3 games of seeing the sensor signal line not blocked it will open the upper door to release the balls.
The Extra ball sensor is located on the top of the ball chute and is shown below.
The extra ball sensor has a red indicator LED. The indicator LED will illuminate when the sensor is blocked and be off when the sensor is aligned. The indicator led will flash during the game power on sequence this is an indication that the board has sent the enable signal.
The sensor voltages can be read using a digital multimeter, please see below for a listing of the wire colors and description of the signal lines.
The upper hopper mechanism uses a linear actuator to control the door to allow the balls to release. Upon power on the door is moved to the closed position. When the main board determines that the game need to be filled the board will open the door for approximately 60 seconds to allow the balls to roll in.
The Linear actuator is drive signal comes from the main board at connector P15 between pins 2 and 3. The output signal will be 12vdc when told to open and the polarity will reverse to –12vdc when told to close. You can force the game to open and close the door on the hopper in the diagnostic mode. To enter diagnostic mode press the up and down buttons located next to the games power switch, once in diagnostic mode pressing the “smash” button on the front of the game will cause the door to open or close. The linear actuator itself has internal limit switches to detect its distance of travel if the switches fail it will stop the actuator from moving in that direction, these switches are sealed internally in the actuator and are not user serviceable.