Database Help

Instructions for using the Roms Database

My opinion is that the roms database page will always be under construction as long as we have people willing to share information with others. There is no charge to use this database, it is placed here for all to use in the hopes that it will benefit you in your search for data.  The intent of this page is to aid you in searching for the data that you need.

As you enter the database page, RomsDB (clicking on this link will open a new page for the database ) the inital display page will show with the first 15 records of the database being displayed on your screen. The database section shows the various fields.

Looking at the top row you should see a search button, clicking on this button as shown below

db_head

With out doing a thing, the only method of browsing the data would be to use the scroll buttons at the bottom of the page

db-footer

 

The items outlined in black are grayed out on the first page since you can not go backword. View , outlined in red, it is a valid option that I will discuss a bit later.
The 4 items outlined in blue  are used to navigate the database without doing a search (searches will be discussed shortly) the > arrow will advance to the next set of 15 records, >> will advance to the last page of records. The number of records on that last page is dependent upon the total number of pages the database contains. The last box is a drop down style box that will open and allow you to select any of the available pages, or a method of allowing you to jump to a specific page.  Notice that once you move off of page 1, the two  arrows (< and <<) now turn from grayed out to black meaning that you can scroll to the page which is previous to the page that you are currently on.

The remaining buttons, Add, Change, Copy and Delete are intended for the database manager and not available to the general users.

Performing a Search

Prior to performing a search it is necessary to open the search bar.This is done by clicking on the search button. You must click on that before the query windows will open beneath the fields

What you should see is a screen that looks like this

 

db-expand

 

It is not required to fully populate the data that you wish to find. The only requirement is that you put in enough information so that it can be displayed
As an example, you want to look for the game Goldmine. The first thing you might note is that goldmine could also be spelled Gold Mine. Entering just the word Gold under Chip Name would show all records where the word Gold or gold was used. You will find many records so be sure to use the scroll buttons at the bottom of the page to scroll through the pages where this word appears. You can look at the bottom right hand section of the data screen and it will show you the number of pages contained in your search.

IMPORTANT When doing a search, the data entered in the search field will remain there until you erase it. If you do a search for one item be sure to CLEAR the search terms previously used, unless that is to be used in your next search. Use the Clear button to clear you last search terms. Failure to clear the term may result in no data being found. A successful search is one where data is returned for all items requested in the search criteria (i.e A+B+C) so if you do not want B delete the data in that field.
Many game chips will appear to be repeated but this is because though the game is the same, they will have different options available such as payout percentages or perhaps the maximum number of coins which can be played.

Also you will find that it is also possible and more than probable that different Makes (Bally, IGT) and different Models may have games which use your search word. You can narrow your search down and include the Make of the machine and the Chip Name. Even this may show that different models still use your search term in their name. To narrow it down further you can enter the Model so if Make = Bally, Model  = 6000 and Chip Name = Gold your search  results would show only Bally 6000  where Gold was used in the  name. The more items that you add to your search term, the more narrow your definition becomes.

The search function matches data by fields where a search term has been issued. What this means is if you are searching under the Eprom field and entered 27C512 all records of all Makes and Models that used that Eprom would be displayed. I would suggest that if you are seeking data such as this that you use the search term 512 so that you would get Eproms listed as 27512 and 27C512.

The notes field can be useful though it is barely populated for most of the machines it is populated with all of the Bally E2000 machines. On these machines the reel tape numbers are listed so if you have a few reel tapes lying around and have no idea what the heck it goes to, just enter the reel tape number. These E2000 machines have part numbers starting with M-xxx-. It is not necessary to enter the full number, the last 4 digits of the reel number will show all E2000 machines that would use that particular reel strip. Be cautious when doing this, you will find that there are reel strips that have part numbers that are similar such as M-239-1111 and M234-1111

When searching for E1000 or E2000 machines, the model number written on the slot machine will show E2xxx-x but in the database it is listed as E2xxx-xxx
(i.e E2214-4 would be listed as E2214-004) Entering E2214 will show all versions of that machine as well as the base configuration which shows cabinet type (high, standared etc) size of the hopper and the size of the reels (standard, wide)

Viewing Records

While it is nice to see the data on the screen there are times when it may be helpful to see just the information a record may contain. Provisions have been made so that this is possilbe for those that need or desire to do so.

db_view

 

To view a record in an easier to read format, click on the V to the left of the record you wish to look at, this will open up the record so that it looks like this

db_drill

 

To return to the database just click on the Cancel button

While these  instructions may be considered to be brief, they are sufficient to get you going and on your way discovering your way around. coinslots.com hopes that find the database useful and that you return often. If you have questions, comments or complaints please feel free to contact our database administrator at DBAdmin

A PDF file of the database is available that contains all of the 6145 records and is about 488 pages/ if you are interested in obtaining one you can find it here DB-PDF It would be a very handy item to have in the shop.

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