How do coin slots work???

[cpetzol2]

Here is the main question; How do coin slots work? Is it something that mame handles, your frontend, or  is it the rom itself that is seeking coins.

My next question is this, does anyone know of any type of front end or piece of software that would allow for me to charge money for other emultators, such as a NES, SNES, or a SEGA emulator. I was thinking of something that was perhaps time based, like 30 minutes for a quarter.

The Ideal front end in my mind, is one that can open several emulators, including MAME,and other popular ones, cover up or cancel any payment within the ROMS themselves, and enforce its own payment scheme, such as a quarter for a certain amount of time, and when that time is up, you are prompted for more quarters or booted from the game, and sent back to a ROM selection menu where it awaited more quarters before any ROM can be started.

 I know these are wierd questions, but I am just trying to learn more about charging money for games, but yet I want it to be a somewhat simple process, and something that is very consistent.  I am donating about 700 of my own dollars into an arcade that is going to be in my frat house, and I would like to have some kind of income so I can improve the thing.

[diverdown]

I may be wrong but isn't this against the whole philosophy behind MAME and BYOAC?

[loadman]

Here is the main question; How do coin slots work? Is it something that mame handles, your frontend, or  is it the rom itself that is seeking coins.

Each Rom

  I am donating about 700 of my own dollars into an arcade that is going to be in my frat house, and I would like to have some kind of income so I can improve the thing.

You may have to ask for donations as you have potential legal issues selling other peoples work, and as 'diverdown' pointed out is frowned apon here big time.

[NightGod]

If it's in the frat house, put a coin door on there and coin buttons and let people decide whether to drop in cash or just hit the button. Apply alot of guilt and call insult their manhood when the box shows up empty too often and people will eventually just start using it to dump their loose change.

Anything else is really against the whole MAME concept and likely to meet with ALOT of negativity in pretty much any MAME community you find.

[Space Fractal]

Some frontend have features like this, but this got scraped, since mame developers and many of us diddent againt features like this.

There was a hated debate like this, so I can only recommede to use TOKENS for it.

[brian23]

The whole charging for gameplay while using MAME goes against the MAME license agreement. If you wanna charge your frat buddies for playing games, that should be cool except don't blame anyone if a MAME lawyer comes banging on your door.

You can register coin drops by attaching the microswitch that is located under your coin mechs, to your keyboard encoder. MAME registers keys 5 and 6 ( I believe) for one and two player coin drops. When a coin is dropped, it is checked mechanically if it is token, quarter, etc. If it passes, then it is passed through a smaller metal chute that has a wire. When this wire is tripped, it activates the microswitch and the coin drops into the coin bin. The microswitch sends the signal to the ipac (in this case) where the ipac translates the drop into the key 5 or 6.

[_) (V) (-)]

Why not get a whole room full of them? Then you can stand outside calling to the passers by "Hey Meesteer, you like my seesteer?" "How about you play some games with her?" 

Opps, I think I misread the title question? Oh what the heck, it'll still work about the same.

[Space Fractal]

Just to say, you also voliate lincence for using it with I-Pac. Even Andy do not like it, and is only allowed for using with a button for the coin (personly I can see a problem with using tokens, as long you dosent changing them).

There are other thread, that have a hated debate about this one. Since I can see you are new, try to find these thread, so you can see, why it unpopular. I can

[Howard_Casto]

I would be more worried about the actual manufacturers of the games themselves.  Midway and nintendo in particular will take legal action against you. 

[Spaz Monkey]

Just spend the $700 on an actual arcade machine.

[brian23]

Bottom line is that you can't charge for these games under any auspices. More than likely, if it's just a local thing you are doing and not putting it in a place of business, most companies wouldn't even bat an eye as there are bigger fish to fry. It's your choice, but it is frowned upon in the community.

[myka316]

Is it still frowned upon if it is just for authenticity use?  I'd like my mame cabinet to have the option of taking tokens/quarters/etc but it's strictly residing in my house.  Does the method Brian suggested still work?

[Chris]

Is it still frowned upon if it is just for authenticity use?  I'd like my mame cabinet to have the option of taking tokens/quarters/etc but it's strictly residing in my house.  Does the method Brian suggested still work?

Yes.  A coin switch is just like any other switch on your cabinet, unless you have electronic coin validators.

[myka316]

Is it still frowned upon if it is just for authenticity use?  I'd like my mame cabinet to have the option of taking tokens/quarters/etc but it's strictly residing in my house.  Does the method Brian suggested still work?

Yes.  A coin switch is just like any other switch on your cabinet, unless you have electronic coin validators.

Ok so it works, thanks.  Just curious, was the 'Yes' to the frowning question or to the method question?

[Chris]

Is it still frowned upon if it is just for authenticity use?  I'd like my mame cabinet to have the option of taking tokens/quarters/etc but it's strictly residing in my house.  Does the method Brian suggested still work?

Yes.  A coin switch is just like any other switch on your cabinet, unless you have electronic coin validators.

Ok so it works, thanks.  Just curious, was the 'Yes' to the frowning question or to the method question?

Hooking up the coin slots isn't frowned upon; using MAME to try to make money is.  It's not the journey, it's the destination.

My coin slots are hooked up, but I've also wired the coin reject buttons to add credits, so I don't have any visible "credit buttons".  I also have a switch inside the door that turns those reject button switches off, so if I want to limit my daughter's play, I can.  ("Here's 20 tokens, go have fun.")  I've only used that switch when she and my niece used to play Wheel of Fortune all day long.

[brian23]

If you wanna know what a coin switch looks like, look at this exploded view of a single entry, over under door. This is the same type door I have on my machine and it works great.

http://www.happcontrols.com/coindoors/40051200_exploded.htm

The coin switch is part num 42-7087-00.