How do the coin acceptors work with a PC? I'm in the process of trying to work out if a simple coin slot and switch would do the job or do I need one of those. Any info appreciated as I've seen them listed on eBay.
you need some kind of encoder to interface to the computer to either emulate a keyboard key press or some kind of data your program can pull from the port.
these coin acceptors simply close a switch when a valid coin is inserted and accepted.
this "switch" can be wired to a microcontroller or other interface to let the computer know what's going on.
a popular encoder/microcontroler is the "kade" microcontroller. (
http://www.kadevice.com/) it plugs in via USB to your computer and depending on how it's programmed will insert data to your computer when it's inputs are triggered. (mainly it emulates a keyboard or a joypad) so if your software expects you to press "X" to register a coin, you program the microcontroller to spit out an "X" on the inputs you've wired the coin mechanism to. that way, when you insert a coin, the computer gets a keypress of "X" and the software issues a credit.
how you will program the microcontroller will depend highly on the software you intend to use and what the computer needs you to do to issue a credit.
for instance coin1 on my software is "F1" and coin2 is "F2" so i have the microcontroller to "press" the correct F-key depending if i put a coin into one slot or another.
you could just as easily program it as the "space bar"...or "5" or "backspace" or whatever.