Real Coin Door Vs Fake Coin Door

[wordsworth]

Your thoughts on putting an actual working coin door in a Mame cabinet versus a completely fake setup consisting of only push buttons or any variation in-between.

[Le Chuck]

Doesn't matter in the slightest. Go with what makes you happy. Even a real coin door on a home machine in a red herring.

[bulbousbeard]

If you're building a cabinet as opposed to converting an existing one, I'd argue that fake coin door push buttons are objectively the superior option.

Not only does the cabinet look authentic, but they're actually functional and useful buttons for the few games that don't have free play.

[JDFan]

Only reason I can see for a real coin door in a home build is if you have kids and want to limit the game play (ie. give them x number of coins for chores, etc. and when those are gone the only way to get more is other tasks you come up with  )

[Le Chuck]

It's too easy to use a real coin door and modify non-permantly the returns into push buttons also so if you have one... Also you can plug a small rat shack push button into the lock cylinder hole as well. Food for thought.

[SavannahLion]

Your thoughts on putting an actual working coin door in a Mame cabinet versus a completely fake setup consisting of only push buttons or any variation in-between.

Depends on the cab and on your intended purpose I guess.

I prefer real coin doors myself but I recognize it isn't always practical.

My second choice is to add the coin slot, return and button as separate components. The best example I can think of is Computer Space since those guys kind of had to put it all together without any sort of industry support. Casino style machines are similar but I dislike the style of coin slot/reject they use. But that set up is a real bear to work together right. My test setup has all sorts of problems.

I've only used just buttons once so far, for a retrofitted Z-style (I always forget their damn names) cabinets. I didn't really trust the guy enough to not try and put it on location (he's one of those ---uvulas--- always looking for an "angle" and a quick buck) and I didn't want any responsibility for the cab if it did. The front panel had severe damage so I ended up cutting a new front panel and rebuilding the cab. Far far far more work than I wanted and I'll never do it again. Unfortunately (or fortunately? ) it was destroyed because the dumbass left it out in the rain while he went to Vegas. At least he paid me.

I've never tried to the buttons that look like coin return buttons. Never had the opportunity (or would that be desire?) to use them in any cab.

I can't remember who has a coin door sticker but it's not something I ever really considered. To me, it's kind of like having a car sunroof sticker (Google it, they exist) or those fake auto vents. I consider them... well... lame. Why go through all that trouble to get the "look" when you can just get the real deal?

[yotsuya]

I have all real cabinets so I have all real coin doors. If I were building something from scratch that wasn't really arcade authentic, or if the cabinet were wider than two feet, I wouldn't bother with one. Buttons should suffice, unless you're striving for realism.

[wordsworth]

Doesn't matter in the slightest. Go with what makes you happy. Even a real coin door on a home machine in a red herring.

True. Maybe I should evaluate my motivation first. Am I trying to convince someone it's an actual arcade machine or am I just making a cool cab?

It's too easy to use a real coin door and modify non-permantly the returns into push buttons also so if you have one... Also you can plug a small rat shack push button into the lock cylinder hole as well. Food for thought.

I considered putting buttons behind the coin return flaps but never in the lock cylinder. Brilliant!

[wordsworth]

 

I can't remember who has a coin door sticker but it's not something I ever really considered. To me, it's kind of like having a car sunroof sticker (Google it, they exist) or those fake auto vents. I consider them... well... lame. Why go through all that trouble to get the "look" when you can just get the real deal?

Totally agree. I'd rather have nothing at all instead of a sticker

[PL1]

I can't remember who has a coin door sticker

GGG has them.


Scott

[bulbousbeard]

http://groovygamegear.com/webstore/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=295

I think that product is a great idea and very functional. If I ever build a cabinet from scratch as opposed to converting one, that's probably what I'll do.

[Louis Tully]

.

[Jimbo]

real coin door/mech for me...

I can't count the number of times friends have come over and said "wow you've actually gotta put a coin in... that's so awesome!"

[stripe4]

DaOld Man made a really cool "door" with usb inputs

This is the route I took, too, and IMO it is the next best thing after a fully functional coin door. USB inputs can be used for gamepads, or a keyboard and a mouse (for config changes).

[keilmillerjr]

2 year old step daughter loves plunking quarters in my hall over under, and I haven't even made a cabinet yet. She knows I save quarters for it and reminds everyone when she sees a quarter.

Although I can argue that having an arcade machine seems pointless without a real coin door, those are some pretty cool coin door panels posted above.

[jdbailey1206]

I have push buttons on both my builds.  These on my weecade and this idea I copied from chopperthedog's DK build.  When the coin return button is depressed it acts as a credit button. 

Without a concise reason why you asked the question in the first place I can only say that I would go with having a real coin door.  The stickers I feel are kind of a cop out.  It gives the feeling of the cab not being finished.  And there are so many ways to make a coin door function as you want it to I don't see why you don't purchase one and adjust it to your needs. 

If you still want to go with it being truly authentic don't forget that you SHOULD have the key to the coin door.  Leave the coin door unlocked and when you, or others run out of coins, they can reach in the coin bucket and grab some coins for a quick continue.  Or, just an idea, have two rolls of quarters next to the machine.  Once one roll has been dropped into the machine open the next roll and have a friend retrieve the other roll from the machine and set it aside for the next round. 

Yots - I am also curious on what you do as far as quarters are concerned when you have a large group of people over.  I believe I have heard you mention a 'Bucket O Coins' before.

Sorry for the wall of text guys.  No sleep and espresso does that to a man.

[mgb]

I'm very partial to real coin doors.
I have a real coin door with switches behind the coin reject buttons and it works great for me.
One day I may do my original plan which is to have coin mechs in there too, along with a switch to turn off the push credits so only coins work
but for now the push credits are fine.
The thing I like the least are cabinets with no coin door, they just look weird to me
I also think the sticker is cheesey.

Louis,
  Those homemade coin doors look pretty cool.

[pbj]

Anything is better than that coin door sticker.  No coin door is better than the sticker.

[n3wt0n]

The cab I have been working on on came with a fully functioning coin door. I am really excited to have it up and running and accepting quarters. For me, the nostalgia factor is very high and helps the overall experience.  I am hoping to build something that appears to be arcade worthy so a working coin door is a priority for me, otherwise I would probably go for buttons - but not something that looks like a coin door but isn't.

[lamprey]

I have used both and unless you are going to put coins into it, I don't see a reason for a real one. I think the real decision is if you want one at all and then go from there. I happen to like the "fake" ones (real door with no coin mech) as it gives me the arcade look and it is functional as an easy access point to the internal of the cab.

 

[wp34]

The thing I like the least are cabinets with no coin door, they just look weird to me

I agree.  Even if it is non-functioning the coin door still serves an ascetic function.

[yotsuya]

Yots - I am also curious on what you do as far as quarters are concerned when you have a large group of people over.  I believe I have heard you mention a 'Bucket O Coins' before.

I use mechs that take both quarters and .984 tokens. I have a working change machine stocked with quarters, but I also have a large jar with tokens as well. People rarely use quarters when we have shindigs.

And while I like to see coin doors on projects, I think they look weird on super wide cabinets and that space would be better served by kickass art.

[Vigo]

Nonstandard cabinets don't need them, but anytime you make a standard cabinet, I don't think it gets any better looking than a real coin door.

Besides, who doesn't love that beautiful sound of clinking cold hard cash.

[wordsworth]

Thanks for all the input! The cab I'm working on is a fairly authentic Galaga replica but running Mame. http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php/topic,133319.0.html

After reading all the advice here I think ultimately I'd like a real, fully functioning coin door. There really is something special about dropping that quarter in. The reason I'd consider anything else is the need for admin buttons. I know I could hide them inside the coin door but the one button I feel needs to be accessible without opening the door is an exit button. Just so you can exit the current game and choose a different one. I don't want to add buttons to the control panel which would take away from what authenticity we have already. Right now I've mapped the player 1 and 2 buttons together to exit but this causes issues at times.

[pbj]

Mount a switch behind the coin reject button, map it to game exit.  Fairly intuitive.

[DeLuSioNal29]

I've modded two of my coin doors to have push buttons from GroovyGameGear.com.  However, I modified the inserts to be sideways instead.  You can grab the Photoshop file from the File Repository section here.


Here's a video of the coin door.


DeLuSioNaL29

[RandyT]

The coindoor decal is indeed one of my creations.  Obviously, it's not going to be for everyone.  It's there for folks who don't desire, nor need a a real coin door, and who might otherwise just have a big empty spot on the front of their cabinet.  I've also had folks tell me that when guests see their machine for the first time, they are surprised when they get a couple of feet away and realize that it's not a real coin door.  IMHO, it's better to have a decal which completes the appearance, than to have nothing at all.  It's also easier to install, and usually less costly . 

They are also fun for the arcade aficionado to apply to things which wouldn't normally have a coin door on them.  I put one on the door of the trailer I use for hauling, to see how they hold up when exposed to extreme conditions (it has held up well).   There have been a couple of times when coming out to my vehicle in a parking lot somewhere, when I noticed someone looking at it with a puzzled look on their face. 

[pbj]

It's there for folks who don't desire, nor need a a real coin door, and who might otherwise just have a big empty spot on the front of their cabinet.

That's what avery labels and clip out pacman digdug collages are for.

[keilmillerjr]

The cab I have been working on on came with a fully functioning coin door. I am really excited to have it up and running and accepting quarters. For me, the nostalgia factor is very high and helps the overall experience.  I am hoping to build something that appears to be arcade worthy so a working coin door is a priority for me, otherwise I would probably go for buttons - but not something that looks like a coin door but isn't.

Buy token mechs and some tokens. Problem solved.

[Dawgz Rule]

I agree that there is something about dropping quarters (or tokens) into the coin slot. 

[Loafmeister]

Almost every guests first time visit to my basement mini-arcade usually have a variation of the same three comments:

- Holy cow, pinballs machines!
- Wow, this multi-arcade cab actually takes quarters?  Very cool!
- Where the F is the Tron trigger stick / SW yoke?

Loaf

[knightrdrx]

I went xtension xarcade route and chose a cabinet door with a coin door sticker. It looks ok. But why couldnt they make a cabinet door annd with a hole for a coin door. I didnt think itd be so easy to push it away from the wall to get behind it. My friends are confused when they try to start the game. I say u cant play without a quarter and make them hit the  the 25 cent button.  Id have a door but having to add a quarter would slow things down ..maybe if im daring one day ill try and make a hole in it. I though t I could fit all my nintendo powers in the cabinet but I cant. My computer is huge

[wordsworth]

Definitely going with a real door since it's a authentic-type cabinet. I'll find a place for an exit button. Might even mount an extra button on the door itself.

If/when I do a non-authentic type cabinet I think I'll use one of the cool "fake" coin doors you all have posted here. Ingenious stuff!

As far as the coin door sticker I never thought of putting it on my vehicle. Now that is an idea there!

[Vigo]

A lot of people just do a key combination rather than a dedicated exit button. P1 start + P2 start is pretty common.

[paigeoliver]

Most machines just look wrong without a coin door. Used ones are pretty cheap too, so there isn't a lot of reason not to install one. I usually have them available for $20-$30 each for generic styles (Logo and game specific doors are much higher when I even have them).

[WindDrake]

All of my machines sport working coin doors and token play.

[Yinzer]

Go with the real door.  It looks better and isnt hard to get working.

[DaOld Man]

+1 on the real coin door.
However when the cabinet is small (such as a bartop or my "A Little Rage"), a regular coin door wont fit or just doesn't look right.
I saw a mini TMNT cabinet at a bowling alley and it had a regular (two door) coin door and IMHO, it looked like the coin door took up nearly all the front kick panel.
I wanted to use a coin door on A Little Rage, but I didn't want it to look funny. The coin door should not stick out like a sore thumb.
But I could not find a small coin door that looked like a regular sized coin door.
Even the single door (Williams) coin doors were too big.
So I opted to steal Louis Tulleys idea and build my own.

[keilmillerjr]

+1 on the real coin door.
However when the cabinet is small (such as a bartop or my "A Little Rage"), a regular coin door wont fit or just doesn't look right.
I saw a mini TMNT cabinet at a bowling alley and it had a regular (two door) coin door and IMHO, it looked like the coin door took up nearly all the front kick panel.
I wanted to use a coin door on A Little Rage, but I didn't want it to look funny. The coin door should not stick out like a sore thumb.
But I could not find a small coin door that looked like a regular sized coin door.
Even the single door (Williams) coin doors were too big.
So I opted to steal Louis Tulleys idea and build my own.

Some candy cabs had small coin mechs on the control panel and bar tops like the mega touch have small ones as well. This could be an option for smaller units.

[Saneless]

My scratch built cabinet doesn't have one and I couldn't care less.  If I were building a more standard looking machine I'd probably put one in.