Coin "Acceptors"

[cpetzol2]

How do coin acceptors work in general and what is the difference between all of the stuff. There are coin mechs, coin assemblys, coin doors, coin acceptors, coin comparators. What do I want if I just want a functional coin door on my cab.

Also, I noticed some have wiring, and others look completely mechanical. Do all coin "acceptors" include some type of switch, such that when a coin is dropped, it is like a pushbutton being pressed. If not, what do I need to get in order to have this functionality.

[RayB]

Did you read ANY of the articles over in the left side menu there
<------ http://www.arcadecontrols.com/

Read the Wiki too.

[Chris]

My understanding is that the main purpose of electronic coin comparitors/acceptors is that they can accept more than one kind of coin. You don't need that.  All you need is a coin door that accepts a standard 3x5 coin mech; the coin door should have a microswitch with a wire actuator underneath the mounting brackets for the mech.  You wire this switch like any other button.  So the coin door provides the coin entry, a chute that directs the coin to the top of a coin mech, a return chute, and a slot with the switch actuator.  In between is an empty space to plug in the coin mech, who's job is to validate the coin and direct it to either the return slot or the slot with the switch.  The coin mech is designed to be easily replaceable to make it easy to change which coin is accepted.

A mechanical coin acceptor such as a "rolldown" unit may combine all of these functions into a single unit, but the end result is the same: a microswitch that acts like any other button.

Electronic acceptors are more expensive and harder to wire, so avoid them.  Most new coin doors will come with mechs installed.

Here are examples of mechanical coin mechs that fit into most coin doors:



Here is an example of an electronic comparitor (avoid these):



Here is a picture of a coin door with mechs installed.  The black and brass parts are the "coin door" and ther grey parts are the installed "coin mechs":



Here is an electronic "coin acceptor" (avoid):



Here is a mechanical "coin acceptor"; you could use one or two of these instead of a coin door:



Here is an "acceptor" without a mech; I'm including it because it's a great example of what the coin door looks like without a mech installed.  Think of this as a "slice" of a coin door:



Note that the door (or in this case acceptor) includes the coin chute at the top and the switch and coin return chute below.  Here's a similar acceptor with the mech installed:



Expect to pay no more than $20-$25 for a mechanical coin mech; any more and you're getting an electronic one. 

Does any of this make any sense?

--Chris