Speaking of Coin Mechs

[Xochi]

The cab I'm cannibalizing has one built in, now that I think about it, it would be cool to make it functional if it's not too much work. Looks like mine has a fair number of wires like 4 per side (2 for coin switch, 2 for return light?).... Does anyone know how they typically interface? Is it just a simple switch/button press type of signal or is something more complex going on?

Any info or pointers to cab sites with info appreciated.

Thanks!

[Apollo]

What interface are you using IPAC?
Anyway, one of the switch wires is the ground and the other interfaces to the insert credit command button i.e. number 5 for 1 up. You need to make sure the micro switch still has the wire attached ( the wire the coin hits when it goes passed the switch. The lights are permanently on and probably require a 12v power supply to run them. So just get a working bulb and hook them up, simple.

[Justin]

I wired one of the Hard Drive 12V connectors to the light bulbs on coin door.  Followed these instructions:
http://www.movielocity.com/mame/power.htm

I also wired the switches to the I-PAC, so inserting a coin produces the same effect as a real arcade machine.  This all took me less than 15 minutes.

[Chris]

I wired one of the Hard Drive 12V connectors to the light bulbs on coin door.  Followed these instructions:
http://www.movielocity.com/mame/power.htm

Check the actual bulbs first!  Mine turned out to have 6V bulbs, not 12V, so I had to tap into the 5V line on the hard drive power connector.

--Chris

[Justin]

Mine originally had 5V bulbs... I just went into AutoZone and bought a pair of 12V bulbs.  They where an exact match in size and shape.  

[IceCold]

It's just as easy to hook up a coin mech as it is any type of pushbutton, it's very easy(and I'm using a gamepad hack, so if you're using something like an Ipac, it's even easier).

Since we're talking about the lights, I would like to hook up 2 superbright LED's instead of normal lights.  I would like to use the 5v off of the PC power supply to power the lights.  The only thing is, they're much lower than 5v(I can check exactly what they are if needed).  How would I hook them up?  Using a resistor?  What type of resistor would I need?(sorry guys, I'm not very good with electronics  , so please help me out )

[Xochi]

Thanks for all the tips guys. I think I should be able to get it wired up. It does turn out this particular mech is much more complicated than I remembered. The cab is a Stargate, and in addition to being really old, has the funky Williams' Advance, Reset, etc buttons wired to the mech.

It also has some kind of weird  electromagnet type mechanism to force the coin out through the return if power is not on.... Anyone have any ideas what voltage that's looking for? I'll probably do the power supply hack for the bulbs, so hopefully I would be able to just use the 5 or 12V line from it.

It was easy enough to identify the light bulbs and coin 'switch' lines... So, I figure if worse comes to worse, I can remove the magnet mechanism and ignore the control buttons.