The staff and their friends are typically the ones responsible for breaking in!

100% true. The only caveat to this is: If you build up a good location by introducing pinball and another operator notices its success, they are more than likely to come along and offer newer equipment to the location to steal it out from under you. You may be forced to buy newer equipment to keep the location. In the end, there are often few loyalties out there when it comes to location owners. They want the best equipment for maximum profit. However, some may learn that the small time operator can offer far better "customer service" than the big guys. And most of the time, properly maintained older equip. is a better earner than a broken "new" game.

I suggest you invest in Imonex coin mechs. They have no moving parts and will typically accept most of the coins you expect. They do not keep all unwanted coins out, but they greatly reduce coin jams. And the point is to accept money, not make the customer fight to insert their money.

Since they don't have magnets in them, you will get Canadian Quarters if that is a problem for you. You may also see a number of other foreign coins since other countries often have coins almost the same size as a US Quarter but are worth considerably less so they come back to this country with a lot of them in their pockets some times.

As was suggested, a Bill acceptor is your best investment in today's market. It eliminate the need for the customer to have coins and reduces their need to rely on the location to supply coins. It also helps you make $1 off a customer that may only spend 50 cents and then leave. It also allows you to offer a bonus for $5 is you decide to operate a game like WOZ. Who is going to sit there and pump 20 quarters into a game to get the bonus. 4 or 8, they will do, but typically not 20. But, as they get used to using $1 bills, it might not be a big deal for them to insert a $5 if they are playing with friends. On that note, we prefer MEI (Mars) over ICT or Apex. They definitely do a better job of not getting jammed with well worn out bills.

you should also be worried about the bar going out of business with back rent due. The landlord will not let you have access to remove your game as they will expect it was the property of the bar.

Not sure exactly what type of coin mech you are using but if its the old mechanical "Cradle" type and weight is a problem, you can experiment by grinding down the weight disc on the cradle. The lighter coin should be able to overcome the lesser weight. Obviously, if it is an electronic coin mech, never mind!

You can always get the "low security" type stacker-less units and just let it dump the bills into the cabinet. The ones with stackers must have a magazine present to function (at least as far as MEI is concerned).

I understand your theory but it probably depends on the location. In other words, if the location is run and worked by the owner(s) themselves, what you say is probably true. If the location is instead manned by the "average" employee, they don't want to be bothered in any way in regards to dealing with quarters, either by giving change directly, or having to stock a cash draw with extra rolls. Just too much hassle for their paycheck. In these cases, a good, working, used Bill Changer can greatly pay off. Obviously, many locations can't justify the purchase of a brand new changer.

For the cost of a used working DBV on ebay, it is a good alternative and investment. You can always get most of your investment back if you end up selling the games. Just remember to keep the cover plate inside the game.

Both problems you describe can often be caused by a failed Electrolytic Cap in the power supply section (at least for the 120VAC models). I am at home so I can't tell you the "C" location but it is a 470ufd at 35VDC as I recall. Probably the largest cap on the boards. Even if the ufd tests within limits, its a good idea to replace it for the first time any time an MEI goes through the shop. Very common failure.

This bad cap will: cause the DBV to begin to power up and then die, or, attempt to turn a motor (stacker) on and then die, or allow you to get to the point of inserting a bill and then die (and then reboot and spit the bill back out). Sometimes, even a totally dead one can be fixed by changing the cap. But usually when it gets really bad, it takes out other components in the power supply section.

IF its an APEX DBV, their power supplies tend to make a sound like there is a Rattle Snake inside. So, if APEX, yes, that is normal until they die.

Without some re-working, I do not think 2 coins for 1 play is an option on a game like Capt. Fan. It is long past the 2 nickels 1 play. It was around the time where a second coin would award 2 plays (25c one play, 50c 3 plays) but again, it may take a bit of rework to turn that into 2 coins 1 play.

Since it is not some old Wedge Head or single player where the rules were based on 5 ball play, I would say just go 1 play for a quarter at 3 Balls (unless 3 ball play is totally unheard of in your local pin market). If you want, reduce the replay score to a single one (not 2 or 3) as there is still an on playfield special (which is where a good player may kill your profits). Also, limit the replay wheel to 5 replays to prevent a good player from racking up a ton of credits and either selling them or leaving them behind (you don't make money on left credits).

You may even want to turn off the Match feature (I wouldn't) which is what Clay recommended when he was operating a batch of EMs in the wild since many players don't even know what it, or a replay, is. Let alone find the start button!

Remember, you won't be throwing your EM away after it has been operated so you shouldn't be worrying about making 100% of the cost back. There will be resale value in it if you take care of it and you would probably get all $600 back when you go to sell it in a few years. $600 seems cheap for a clear coated Capt. unless the playfield was all roached out and was badly retouched before CC.

Remember, the Ball Times on EMs are typically much shorted than contemporary games so single quarters tend to spend a lot faster! Keep the game clean and fast for Max. profits.

Can't believe they are using a stacker-less bill acceptor. That makes for a big mess when its time to collect. You may want to find out the brand they are using to see what the support is like in the US (MEI, ICT, Apex/Pyramid etc.) otherwise, if it fails, you will have long down times or have to purchase a new one to get back up.

You may want to find out if they have parts for the hopper or if you have to purchase a new one to fix it. Looks like it might be a foreign slot hopper.