POLL: Do you REALLY use your coin chutes?

[RayB]

I too am going to have a fully working coin door but I really doubt I'm going to want to fish for quarters all the time. So I want to know what people do "in the real world" once the novelty wears off.

[quarterback]

I've got coin mechs set up for quarters and tokens of all sizes.  I use them half the time and the other half of the tiem I use the credit button that is hidden on the left side of my CP.

It's cool to have the working coin mechs IMO.

[Doughbroz]

If you want something simple that requires no drilling, and can easily be removed, here's what is commonly done by vendors who sell new equipment.

[Megaweapon]

The guy I inherited my MAME cab from insisted on real coins, all the time.  I honor his memory by running it just as he did.

Beyond that however, I think using real coinage (or tokens if you have 'em) keeps you in touch with your roots.

[missioncontrol]

I use coins in my pinball but keep the key in the coin return.

once I get my cab done I'll use coins bat keep the key handy

[JustMichael]

I use the Mame and BYOAC tokens in my cab.  I have a small plastic container to the side of the cabinet that has them in it.  I tried using a button but it just didn't feel right.  To me, feeding the machine is also part of the experience.

[brian23]

Even if you do not use your coin door all the time, you still need it. Why? You always have some friend who says - "You know your arcade machine is ok, but it would be cool if you had a working coin door". But then you install it, and nobody uses it because the free credits is a lot easier!

It's also good to have a working coin door for completeness. It just isn't an arcade machine if you don't have a working coin door at least. If you're not going to have a working coin door, then why not skimp on other parts of the cab?

[mmmPeanutButter]

I agree that you need a coin door even if you wont use it.

I installed switches behind my coin reject buttons and a switch on the inside of the door to turn them off and on (freeplay off/on).  I'm extremely happy with it.

[daywane]

My coin doors are working.
key in door
open door and inside is a 2 buttons also
(coin) (power)
I keep my .25 cents in a logenburger basket at each cab.
about $10.00 in each basket

I would not advise on the baskets I use
TO DARN expensive. any old dollar store basket will do.
What in the world was I thinking.

[PetitMorte]

I installed switches behind my coin reject buttons and a switch on the inside of the door to turn them off and on (freeplay off/on).  I'm extremely happy with it.

I did the same thing with my coin door.  I put credit switches on the return buttons, and wired them through on/off switches inside the cab.  The cab came with "test" switches on a little panel inside the coin door. 

These let me turn off the "Free Credit" effect of the coin-return buttons, and limit the amount of play to the number of quarters/tokens I have in a jar next to the machine.  This comes in handy when the neices and nephews want to spend all day playing and/or refuse to leave!

[Hoopz]

This is the last piece on my list to finish. My cabinet has been 95% done for a while now but with 3 little things left to do.

[brian23]

A longaberger basket?! Those are expensive and why not use like a old plaster butter tub ?

[mahuti]

Since the ipac has the ability to use shifted buttons, I use those for credits, myself, sometimes. Most of the time I use my shiny Williams coin door, though. 

[Hippo]

Once my cab is finished I intend on using my coin chutes. But I modified mine so that a token will trigger the microswitch and then return to the reject coin hold (where a single coin can be stored safely and out of sight).

Pictures:





forgive the forum image resizing..

[RayB]

I'm glad I did this poll. I have heard a couple ideas here I had not already heard of!

Hippo: very cool! Still need the quarter pumping without all the quarters! This was one of the reasons I did the poll. I was thinking to myself what a hassle it would be to have to empty the coin boxes every time I run out of coins.

The other idea to put alternate switches behind the coin reject was one I was going to do, but it never occurred to me to add a switch to turn this feature off. Another great idea!

[thebrownshow]

Since I just installed my token mech last night, I can't really back this answer up yet, but I think I'll be using a mixture of both.  Since I've got a J-Pac, I usually use the built-in shift functionality when I'm playing solo, but when my friends come over, I'm pretty sure I'll make them use my MAME tokens.

[daywane]

This is the last piece on my list to finish. My cabinet has been 95% done for a while now but with 3 little things left to do.

[eccs19]

I have yet to convert my cab to mame, but I have the existing game set to "Free Play", and yet I still put the odd quarter into the coin mech.  It just feels right.  I kind of look at it as a safe place to keep my loose change. (quarters)

 

[ginno]

To me re-creating the arcade experience was the whole idea, for this reason I have no shortcut keys for credits, you must insert a coin to play.

[Level42]

Think Hippo's solution is pretty smart, BUT it is still not completely original, since you do not hear the coin drop into the bucket with coins (meaning coin accepted, and a credit) but you hear the "rejected coin" sound and you still get a credit. Mabe just details, but it's just a feeling. It's the same thing why I like the mechanical coin proofs above the electronic one's....you hear the coin going through the mechanics...and then fall into the bucket with coins...you anticipate on that sequence of sounds, since you "know" how it should sound......

[TurboC--]

Hopefully my machine will be functioning in like a week, and yes, I will use my coin mechs.  I even have an official Bally/Midway Pac-man hologram cup I've had since '80 or '81, for holding the quarters.    I think I might try to use only 1980 quarters. 

[Mr. Dude]

Unfortunatley I've been to lazy to hook up my coin mechs.  I just use the coin buttons on my CP for now.  Hopefully down the road I'll ger around to hooking up the mechs, it would be a nice touch to have that real arcade feel.

[HaRuMaN]

I use real quarters... and use the machine as a big piggy bank.  I just pulled $85 out of there the other day to add to the Christmas fund, which was pretty cool.

[Crowquill]

I'm just completing my cab (wired up coin slot lights last night), and I'm still debating this as well. As my new toy I'm trying lots of new games and using a credit button for the time being (the "flipper" buttons on the side). There are three things I keep thinking about:

1. Challenge...see how far I can get through a game on a limited amount of credits.
2. Winding down at the end of the day..empty out my pockets and play a few games before bed.
3. Nostalgia...What would the experience be without the coin drop noise? The cabinet I have had a working coin door from the start and I found myself just dropping quarters in it just to hear the noise (even before the cab was working).

[missioncontrol]

I brought my coin mechs in to work with me tonight and modified them. Now the take both quartes and tokens


Yeah for me

[Wade]

All my games are set to tokens and I have a plastic bin of tokens in the gameroom.  This is far easier than having people ask questions about how to start each game (it is impossible to make every game in the gameroom operate on Free Play the same way, since some games don't even have free play settings).

The average person hasn't ever seen a game on free play, so not using coins just means you have to explain the process.  Even the 5 year olds in my family know how to put tokens in and start a game, because they've all been to Chuck E Cheese.

Wade

[Stingray]

I use tokens every time. It's how arcade games are supposed to be played.

-S

[subcriminal]

I use tokens for tournament use only on fighters n stuff. Otherwise I use a hiden credit button.

[Harry Potter]

I got a jar full of 20 cent coins.

It's now half full. I gotta catch the bastard who's helping himself.

[skippy]

I'm way too lazy to run a wire all the way from the encoder to the coin door.

[sharkus]

Although I haven't completed my cabinet yet, tokens were essential in convincing my wife that an arcade cabinet is a good idea.  We will be using tokens as a positive reinforcement for the kids. 

[aumameman]

I dont have a cab yet but I plan on having it setup for either exclusive token operated (.984") or both tokens and 20c coins.

[Daniel270]

My cab's in storage currently, but when it's up and running, the coin mech is actively used.  I keep an old coffee can full of quarters just for that reason.  The bucket under the coin mechs holds the can AND the coins pretty well.

[Kremmit]

CONTINUE ?

10

9

(reaching into pocket for one more token)  "Gotta beat this level."

8

7

(pulls out 3 pennies, 2 nickels, and a dime) "Darn it, I know there's at least one more in there.."

6

5

4

(pulls out 6 more nickels and a wad of lint) "AAAARRGH!"

3

2

(pulls out a token)  THERE!
(pushes token towards coin slot, drops it) "AAAARRGH!"

1

0

(finds coin on floor, rams it home with left hand while simultaneously slapping the snot out of the start button with right hand)
 "Boy, you sure get more out of this with coins than you do with a credit button."
(drinks more beer)

[Wade]

Really, who plays "continue" games anyway?

Wade

[brophog]

Use your coin mechs or santa won't come visit you.

[TalkingOctopus]

Really, who plays "continue" games anyway?

Wade

Exactly.  I always use my coin shutes, but I almost never continue b/c I am going for a high score.

[pmc]

Although I haven't completed my cabinet yet, tokens were essential in convincing my wife that an arcade cabinet is a good idea.  We will be using tokens as a positive reinforcement for the kids. 

Same idea here. I can give my daughter a stack of quarters to limit her time playing games. But she quickly learned to access the cab from the back and retrieve quarters. She actually cried when I put a lock on the coin door.

For me, the sound of a quarter passing through the mech and then plopping into the coin bucket is essential to the game experience. The hustle to get another quarter in 10-seconds is also part of it for me. I have free-play buttons, but they are disconnected and have not been used in a year.

-pmc

[rescue161]

I do not have a hidden credit button.  Quarters all the way.  I'm in the Navy, so i use one of my old "white" hats turned inside out to hold a bunch of quarters.  I have a slot machine here too that I clean out every once in a while and fill up the hat so there's always quarters.  I agree that it's not an arcade experience unless you're pumping quarters into the game.  I also have a Pac-Man machine and a pool table that I also use quarters on.  My wife laughs because I even have a coin op pay phone...

[danny_galaga]

when im in the mood i like to use the coin mech. nothing like having a cold drink sitting on the glass top, playing 'back in black' on the stereo and dropping in a coin to play galaxians (",)

but for other times, and friends and fam who dont 'get it' i just have the ipac default (from memory its P1 and fire button?)...