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DIY coin mech?
biktorrr:
I am currently finishing my cabinet. I recently bought a nice second hand coin door, but I don't have a coin mech. Buying one in the Netherlands is pretty expensive and shipping used coin mechs from the States will also cost a lot. So I was wondering if any of you guys have any experience or ideas about how to make a working coin mech...
I now have the 'return' button on the coin door wired up to my I-pac's coin input, but it would be really nice if any 'donations' would result in credits as well.
My initial attempts include a 'coin ramp' built from cardboard and two pieces of wire that connect when something falls past it, but this is hardly a sturdy solution.
any schematics/thoughts?
shardian:
They've been done before, but I would still recommend you look for a real coin mech. Do any businesses have video games near you? If so, then you still have a vending/arcade operator in your area. Find out who they are and bug them for a coin mech or two.
There are also several members on this site in your area. I'm sure one of them has a good source, or even a few spare sitting around.
biktorrr:
--- Quote from: shardian on August 26, 2008, 10:23:46 am ---They've been done before
--- End quote ---
Really? I have been looking like crazy, but I have yet to find any description of a DIY coin mech. If you have a link/post or something, could you post it here please?
shardian:
If you have a coin door, then you should have the credit switches on the door-they are not part of the actual mech. A coin mech is really only a coin comparator. Its main purpose is to guide the coin to the actual coin switch.
All you have to do is guide the coin from the coin slot to the credit switch. How you do that is up to you. I have heard of people using paper, cardboard, wood, metal. Whatever material you use, it just has to be a chute that gets the coin there.
ratzz:
I've racked my brain about this for weeks, and cannot come up with a solution that would validate a coin as a manufactured coin mechanism would.
I ended up buying a coin mech, mostly to see how it works and see if there is any kind of DIY solution to it, but it just doesn't look like there is one - it's too mechanical and there is too much bent, welded and twisted metal in there for a DIY'er to tackle. Its a bit like trying to build a DIY monitor, it just can't be done in a build yourself kind of way.
I've also seen the other "solutions" with paper, card and other materials, but shardian is right, they are all just a chute to guide the coin past a switch, and will not validate a coin.
I'd be really interested in anyone else's solutions to this, but I would also recommend bugging and begging anyone you can.
I went to Blackpool Pleasure Beach this weekend with my family, and there must be thousands of the damn things. I thought there must be a stockpile of these things somewhere that are old / broken or just a little TLC would fix.
Good luck buddy ...
EDIT: Here is my coin mech to show you what I mean ... The microswitch fits just below where the coin goes through, but I've removed it for storage because there is a thin wire to activate a credit when the coin passes over it.
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