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NEWBIE!!!!! Help PLS
enzo1109:
I wish to make one of my PC's coin operated. I would ideally like th Keyboard and Mouse to stop functioning after a set period and start again once a coin has been issued.
Please can anyone offer me advice as to how I would go about doing this.
Thanks for looking and thanks in advance for the advice.
paigeoliver:
You would need either a memory resident program that times usage, and then shuts off input if it doesn't get another quarter. BUT, you would have to lock down the PC to keep the user from disabling it.
Or, a hardware timer that did the same thing.
Simply making MAME games coin operated is much easier, you just wire up the coin mechs like any other button?
Now, I simply must ask WHY? What is your master plan here?
kspiff:
Hm.. you would need to get some kind of coin door/validator and hook it up to a PCB with a timer that controls the keyboard and mouse (which you'd have to make yourself, AFAIK no one makes such a device), probably with a little LED timer display.
If you mean to make something that can recognize when a 'game over' or some other type of event occurs, the PCB becomes more complicated and would also require drivers that can recognize these events and trigger the PCB to turn the kbd/mouse on/off.
LOL.. yeah.. good luck! Also, most people here will assume that you plan to use this to make money off of MAME or other games. You will find that no one will support you on such an endeavour if that's the case as it breaks the MAME license agreement and is illegal.
About the only way I can see you finding something like this without making it is if they make that kind of stuff for Internet Cafe kiosks.. but I doubt it.
enzo1109:
In answer to your question why???? the masterplan is as follows.
I share a house with two friends, one of my friends lost his job in January and instead of concentrating on finding employment (thus enabling him to pay the rent) he has spent about 12hours a day perfecting his counter-strike skills on my PC. As you can imagine, this is becoming rather irritating. I don't want to lock him out from my pc but as seen as its always me that pays for the upgrades and him that gets most benefit I thought that putting a coin meter on the PC would help achieve both of the following.
1) No job = no cash and nocash = no gaming :-)
2) His gaming addiction will help towards the cost of the network connection and upgrades of the system and when he has thrown enough money into the slot, I can build him his own PC.
To some people this may seem cruel, but I am really trying to usher him into finding another job and not freeloading. I don't really want to ask him to leave but unless he can start to earn money then I have no choice. I am just trying to be a good friend.
Thanks to those who have offered advice thus far. Keep it coming.
BillyJack:
Ok, i can't help with the design or source for this idea... but i knew where you were coming from immediately. Unfortunately, being that I have a criminal's mind... i automatically assumed that:
1) the keyboard / mouse would be plugged into the coin op device.
2) the coin op device would be plugged into the appropriate inputs on the mb.
3) he could just unplug those inputs and plug the kb / mouse directly into the mb.
So you're gonna have to make that tough to do... On a side note, I was picking my parents' computer's keyboard lock (yeah i know it's not hard) with a toothpick in 6th grade... then locking it back before they got home from work. Ground me from the computer will ya!? I'll show you!
Why don't you just put a padlock on your case and set a BIOS password? Sure, you're not getting an endless supply of quarters and plugs that way, but you could "sell" him the password every day then change it every evening...
Mwuhahahahaha!
BillyJack