Using real coins as MAME credits

[danp]

I've been able to find past discussions on the topic, but I haven't found a tutorial that explains how this can be done.  I have a coin door that looks to be in mint condition and would like to make it operational for my MAME.    Anybody know of a site that details this project?

[SirPeale]

It's not a big deal.  There are switches on the door that give you credits.  You have to wire them into the coin inputs.  They work like any other switch/input.

[Fozzy The Bear]

Like Peale said...... Connect the switches on the door to the coin inputs on your KeyWiz or Ipac or whatever encoder you have and if your door doesn't have a coin mech to accept or reject coins based on the type of coin inserted then put one on it.

The above is almost the simplest way to do that.

If you want to accept multiple different coins of different values, then you need an electronic coin mech and a credit board.... That however, is when it starts to get expensive.

This doesn't really merit a tutorial, it's very basic stuff.

Best Regards,
Julian (Fozzy The Bear)

[slsimon]

I bought a 1 slot token coin door that will also allow for a $1 or $5 dollar bill to be used.  The coin door is not wired up yet due to my lack of knowledge of how to wire the power to the coin door.  If you guys don't mind, a couple questions below?

1.  I understand and know that the coin is detected by a micro switch that needs to be wired to the appropriate coin slot on the Ipac.  How does the bill selector work?  Do I need to wire it in anywhere specific on the Ipac to get the coin and dollar selector working?

2.  Does mame have support for a bill selector such as the one mentioned above that supports both $1 and $5 dollar bills?

3.  Can anyone provide a link to or provide knowledge of how to ground/power the coin door?  I don't have a part number but am sure I can provide some more information if needed off of the coin door/bill selector? 

I mainly bought coin door so that I could visualy get the most of the cabinet but the more that I think about it, I think it would be nice if I could get this working with the BYOAC coins. 

4.  By wireing up the coin door, would that disable any coin button on the control panel for that player and or would they interop together? 


Thanks for any help you guys can provide.  Thanks, Shane

[Fozzy The Bear]

Thanks for any help you guys can provide.  Thanks, Shane

Forget the bill selector...... There's no way to get that to work with your Ipac without adding a lot of expensive hardware. They're mostly designed to fit gamblers that have the software to understand them built in.

I doubt that you would be able to find a credit board that will take a bill selector without having to pay litterally hundreds for it. And this is assuming that it works properly anyway. If it's been slung out and sold like this it probably doesn't. They're tempramental little swines even when they do work.

So at the end of the day, unless you have pot loads of money to waste, don't bother!

Best Regards,
Julian (Fozzy The Bear)

[phishpac]

refer to this thread and its first two links:

http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?topic=77403.0

helped me wire up my coin door!

[amadama]

Depending on the model of the bill selector it may be possible to operate it in "pulse" mode. In pulse mode a dollar bill will be recognized as four quarters and then four "pulses" will be sent out to interface. Do a google search for your particular bill selector and try to find the docs online.
Good luck!
Alex

[shardian]

Pull the bill validator and sell it for $100+. 

[CrazyKongFan]

I just wired my coin inputs to the same spots as the 2 coin buttons I put on the cab. One for each switch in the coin door. I only have one coin acceptor, so it only works on one slot. I did 2 push buttons next to the coin door, using some bolt holes that were there (most likely from a security bar). Some games need to have separate coin inputs if you plan on playing 2 (or more) players (like Gauntlet/Gauntlet 2, for example)

[MameMaster!]

see the tutorial on retroblast.com---

http://www.retroblast.com/Articles/RetroBlast-Article-Converting-to-Token-Operation.php

that's how I wired mine. Good luck...it's actually pretty easy. 

[danp]

see the tutorial on retroblast.com---

http://www.retroblast.com/Articles/RetroBlast-Article-Converting-to-Token-Operation.php

that's how I wired mine. Good luck...it's actually pretty easy. 

This is exactly what I needed!  Thank you very much for referring me to the site. 

[GAJoe]

If you don't have or want to get coin mechs, or you want to use any kind of coin/slug/token, you can add an extension to the coin chute that directs all coins across the microswitch lever.  I couldn't find the project where I'd seen this done, so no pictures to share, but  I believe the guy just bent some thin sheet metal into a kind of tube and glued it to the chute.  You could probably do it even easier and cheaper with some tin foil, carboard, or paper.

[protokatie]

If you don't have or want to get coin mechs, or you want to use any kind of coin/slug/token, you can add an extension to the coin chute that directs all coins across the microswitch lever.  I couldn't find the project where I'd seen this done, so no pictures to share, but  I believe the guy just bent some thin sheet metal into a kind of tube and glued it to the chute.  You could probably do it even easier and cheaper with some tin foil, carboard, or paper.

Odd that you bring that up, that is exactly the thing I was going to do before thenasty offered the coin door/mech/etc thingy I bought off of him. I was planning on using cardpaper myself. It seemed the best suited for such a hack (also it is "free" since once you go through a lined paper pad you have the card paper backing).

As per the seperate coin inputs for player one and player two, there are a good number of 2 player games out there that do rely on which coin slot you activate. I will actually have to do a little modding of the coin system I got from thenasty as it is wired up for a game that didnt care which slot the coin went into and I intend on having it support 2 seperate coin inputs. (BTW, thenasty, any idea what game that system came out of? Just curious)

[Fozzy The Bear]

If you don't have or want to get coin mechs, or you want to use any kind of coin/slug/token, you can add an extension to the coin chute that directs all coins across the microswitch lever.  I couldn't find the project where I'd seen this done, so no pictures to share, but  I believe the guy just bent some thin sheet metal into a kind of tube and glued it to the chute.  You could probably do it even easier and cheaper with some tin foil, carboard, or paper.

Yeah..... That was me..... but the tubes are made from cardboard. The only downside is that you get no coin reject and it'll take anything. At home that's not a problem. The reject pushes are also connected to the microswitch lever via a piece of coat hanger wire, so you can get a credit by pushing reject as well.

I've got a lot of mechs hanging about, but I'm just too lazy to be bothered with them.

Best Regards,
Julian (Fozzy The Bear)

[protokatie]

I've got a lot of mechs hanging about, but I'm just too lazy to be bothered with them.

Im much more of a newb than you! And Atleast I will be dealing with coin mechs!

* protokatie takes away your ticket to the next showing of Yahtzee-on-ice.