Wiring Coin Controls coin door counter **wiring diagram added**

[mountain]

I have a Coin Controls coin door and want to wire the coin counter. I was able to reset it to 0 by taking it apart (not recomended  ). I know that I need to wire the ground pulse from the mech switches to the counter and diode isolate everything. What I am unsure of is whether the counter uses 5v or 12v. There are not any markings on it to indicate. I know they come in different flavors. Does anyone happen to know what type Coin Controls used in there coin doors?

[Ken Layton]

Coin Controls, as with other coin door manufacturers, provided coin counting meters in several voltages as required by the original game cabinet manufacturer. All coin door manufacturers use coin counting meters from several different meter manufacturers in order to meet production quotas so you could have 1 of 4 different meter brands in there.

As with all coin counting meters, the meter manufacturer's name, model number, and voltage are silkscreened or engraved into the meter case (may require dismounting the meter to look). Typical voltages of amusement applications are 4.5 VDC, 6VDC, 10VDC (Atari specific), and 12VDC.

Some meters have a built-in blocking/spike suppression diode and will usually be printed on the meter case "with diode" or it will have color coded red and black wires. If the above conditions are not present on your particular meter then assume it does not have this diode and a seperate one will need to be installed external to the meter to protect your circuitry.

[mountain]

Thanks Ken,
I will look at it again. The spike suppression diode goes across the coil, correct?

[Ken Layton]

Yes, with the cathode side of a 1N4004 (or higher rated) diode going to the power source positive (+) side. Power source voltage must match the meter specs (i.e. 12 volt meter connects to 12 volts).

[SavannahLion]

Thanks Ken,
I will look at it again. The spike suppression diode goes across the coil, correct?

I don't think I've ever fully understood what that phrase means exactly.

[mountain]

Spikes are basically the release of stored magnetic energy from a coil caused by fluctuating current levels. These can generally create problems with sensitive electronics, noise in audio circuits (pops, static), and noise in video circuits.

In the Aviation industry, all relays are to be equiped with a diode across the coil.

*Edited for spelling errors*

[bfauska]

If/when you get your meter working will you post some info on the process please?  I have a Coin Controls door and am going to be wireing it soon and would like to have the counter work.  I realize that yours might be a different counter but I would still get the basics and the only variation would probably be the voltage.

Thanks,
Brian

[grantspain]

there is real good chance your meter will not work after taking it apart.
you would be better off getting a new one and matching it to the most handy dc volts you have

[bfauska]

Since the OP seems to have an idea of the basics of how the counter is meant to function, but the title of the thread is so perfect... I will ask.  How does the coin counter get a signal to add one to the display?  I understand basic electronics/wiring so pretend I know what the terms mean I just haven't hooked up a counter before and don't know the principles behind it.

[mountain]

Since the OP seems to have an idea of the basics of how the counter is meant to function, but the title of the thread is so perfect... I will ask.  How does the coin counter get a signal to add one to the display?  I understand basic electronics/wiring so pretend I know what the terms mean I just haven't hooked up a counter before and don't know the principles behind it.

There is a coil inside the counter. When the proper voltage is applied across the coil it magnetically pulls a lever (much like a relay) which in turn triggers the counter mechanically. So on a 12v counter you would have 12v sitting on the high side of the coil. When a coin is inserted it triggers the switch which will send a ground pulse to the counter.

there is real good chance your meter will not work after taking it apart.
you would be better off getting a new one and matching it to the most handy dc volts you have

No worries, it is a very simple design. The frustrating part is getting all of the digits lined up at the sime time since they are very light action and move with the slightest vibration. Matching the voltage will be easy, I just need to start off with the lowest possible used voltage and work up. (thanks again Ken Layton for the voltage info)

If/when you get your meter working will you post some info on the process please?  I have a Coin Controls door and am going to be wireing it soon and would like to have the counter work.  I realize that yours might be a different counter but I would still get the basics and the only variation would probably be the voltage.

Thanks,
Brian

I will post my progress here as soon as I get back into it

[bfauska]

So:

If the counter were the only thing being triggered, the coin switch would be normally open, and part of the ground side of the counter circuit, when the switch closes it makes a full circuit with for the counter.  If I were to use my counter and the coin in terminal on an encoder with the the coin switch how would I wire it?  It seems like I could either use a 2 pole switch or add a relay.  Could I wire the common on the coin switch to the ground and the normally open on the switch to both the counter and the encoder?  I imagine I would need a diode on the encoder side so that I wasn't allowing the voltage to go into it.  I am not quite sure of this technique, the ground would also have to be the same, which I would expect the ground of the encoder to be the same as the PC power supply ground, if the counter is 5v then I suppose I could even run it from the encoder 5v post.

Does this all sound way off base, or am I on the right track?  I know that there isn't much point to using the counter with an emulator machine, but it seems like it may be fun to know how many coins I actually use in the machine.  I suppose I would have to wire it separate from any credit buttons if I want a true count of coins.

Thanks for any help, I hope I don't sound dumb about this.

[Ken Layton]

Randy Fromm has an excellent write-up on connecting coin counting meters on his tech website. It's called, "Meter Methods", but it's recently been moved to the pay section of his site.

[SavannahLion]

Spikes are basically the release of stored magnetic energy from a coil caused by fluctuating current levels. These can generally create problems with sensitive electronics, noise in audio circuits (pops, static), and noise in video circuits.

In the Aviation industry, all relays are to be equiped with a diode across the coil.

I think I understand. The diode acts as a drain for the excess current. I looked up a schematic example of a diode across a coil and the circuit was on the ground side of the coil. The way it was explained was that as the coil switches to an "off" state, there's excess current that tries to run through the coil but has no where to go. That's what the diode is for. I think I understand why a cap isn't used because you don't want the excess potential just sitting there. Another schematic used the diode to prevent arching. Essentially, the same function, draining excess current and supressing spikes to less than 1V.

Is that correct?

The cool thing is while I was figuring this out, I came across an explanation for a confusing diode symbol that had me stumped.   However, I still don't know exactly what it's intended purpose is yet  

[mountain]

bfauska,
Hopefully I will be tackling this section of my cabinet this weekend. I will take pictures and draw a diagram of how I do it as I go.

It will be interesting to see how often a coin has been inserted over the life of my cabinet. I have read in other threads about doing this through the software. However, the mechanical counter will follow the machine even if a fresh version of MAME is installed.

[mountain]

Spikes are basically the release of stored magnetic energy from a coil caused by fluctuating current levels. These can generally create problems with sensitive electronics, noise in audio circuits (pops, static), and noise in video circuits.

In the Aviation industry, all relays are to be equiped with a diode across the coil.

I think I understand. The diode acts as a drain for the excess current. I looked up a schematic example of a diode across a coil and the circuit was on the ground side of the coil. The way it was explained was that as the coil switches to an "off" state, there's excess current that tries to run through the coil but has no where to go. That's what the diode is for. I think I understand why a cap isn't used because you don't want the excess potential just sitting there. Another schematic used the diode to prevent arching. Essentially, the same function, draining excess current and supressing spikes to less than 1V.

Is that correct?

Here is a picture a diode installed on a 12v relay for reference for isolation.



Here is a suppression diode installed.

[mountain]

A combination of the two is ideal in this application.

[SavannahLion]

In the first example, is the intent to isolate the coil from the circuit or to isolate the circuit from the coil?

In the second example, does diode distance from the coil have an affect on its function?

Too many questions? 

[mountain]

The first example will isolate the coil from the circuit. Sorry, forgot to mention that. As far as distance, I don't believe that any distance within a cabinet would create any issues.

[SavannahLion]

Randy Fromm has an excellent write-up on connecting coin counting meters on his tech website. It's called, "Meter Methods", but it's recently been moved to the pay section of his site.

That's the section that runs ya about $30 a year?

How many people here have signed up for membership?

[mountain]

I wired my coin door and coin counter this weekend and everything works like I had planned. The coin switches trigger the coin counter and the encoder. I decided to throw in a relay to isolate the counter's coil from the entire circuit. I wasn’t sure if the 12volts sitting on the coil would mess with the ipac. After wiring it up I realized that the 12volts feeding through the coil will not reach the encoder because of the diodes. I decided to leave the relay in the cabinet and on the drawing below.  I also put a switch on the coin1 return but I didn’t want it to trigger the counter so I wired it in after the diodes.




EDIT: see next post for a more detailed picture.

[mountain]

Here is the original image. For some reason the detail sucks on the previous post.