Coint Mech Hack

[Upo]

Hi guys and gals

I've build my onw pc based mame arcade cabinet, using Ultimarcs iPac etc. etc. Everything is working fine, monitor, buttons, coins slots galore... but the coins stots can only use 1 type of coin, as expected. I was thinking of using the machine as an additional "piggy bank" where I can eposit any type of coin without having to change the identifyer coin inside, or using a button or the keyboard.

I'm surrently using 5c coins, which is the cheapest currency we have available in South Africa. The 5c coin however is not the lighest/smallest coin we have here (i.e. the 10c and 20c coins are much smaller and lighter, then we have the 50c, R1 and R2 and R5 coins which is bigger - more is better, R1 = 100c).

I was wondering if anyone knows how to hack the coin mechs to use any type, weight and size coins?

I'm using the small, simple coin mechs, with identifyer coin slot and a seperator to determine weather the coin falls through or is accepted.

Any help would be greatly appreciated

[Adultery]

To be honest, I think there's a switch in there that is used to determine the weight and then allow or deny what you put in. I don't think it's possible to do this unless you somehow make the coin switch stick so that it doesn't reject anything, but then the problem will be to trigger the sensor when the coin goes in.

[Draco1962]

What coin mech are you using? You might try a web search based upon the mech you have installed.

[simbamame]

AS said use the net to search for the mech you have as i have seen before that a lot of the mech's have a setting to allow any coin to go threw, and still trigger the credits. You might try utube and search for coin mech repair thats what i did before but cannot remember the link. sorry.

[Adultery]

Wonder if I can do this with my Happ coin door?

[Draco1962]

Upo, you may just want to do a web search to see what you come up with. It sounds like you may have a coin comparitor. This would require some sort of modification (for some, it is a simple as inserting a coin into the comparitor like the one you desire to use and the comparitor detects coins passing through based on the coin you provided as a template. Unfortunately, I am not aware of any way to do this and, likely, you may have to check with the manufacturere's site to see if they can provide a means of making such modifications to your hardware.

[bkenobi]

You could always remove the coin mech and install a very basic coin chute. This could be as simple as a cardboard channel with the coin detection switch mounted such that it gets triggered whenever a coin passes. Real coin mechs can be complicated since they are trying to keep people from stealing games. You don't have that concern, so any way you come up with to trip the switch will work fine!

Yes, I have also seen some mechs that can be overriden to accept any denomination of coin, but you will likely be hit or miss for your specific unit. Good luck!

[Draco1962]

From what I have seen, the Happ with plastic internals is probably the easiest to manufacture a shoot that will accept any denomination and detect it to trigger a coin insert response. Why couldn't my dad have made me a piggy bank like this? I'd be a gazillionaire by now!

[Adultery]

Only bummer there is I took the bucket out so I could access the subwwoofer and the SuperJoyBox that's mounted in there. If I could do that though it would be worth trying to rearrange things. I gotta put LEDs in the coin door already since the bass seems to blow out the lights in the slots rather quick.

While we're on the subject though, anyone know how I can get a new key for mine? It didn't come with one so it rattles because it's unlocked. Do I need a whole new lock?

[starbuck]

Adultery

Had the same problem, It was cheaper to go to the local Home Depot and buy a new lock then have a key made.

[Draco1962]

Dang, dude. How much power is that beast sucking up?

[Adultery]

5 speaker surround... It really kicks out the tunes! It's funny because my neighbors have called the cops on me already when I had a gathering and people were playing hip hop on Rhapsody.

The subwoofer is powerful enough to blow the lights out on the coin doors after about 15 mins (especially since there's not many places to vent the air out of there).

So how would I go about taking the old lock off? And can you maybe give me a cost estimate of a new one if you've already been down this road before? I'm certainly no locksmith!

And oh by the way, didn't mean to hijack this thread.

[bkenobi]

Since the door is open already, all you have to do is remove the latch and jam nut. The latch should be attached with a philips screw. Then you should be able to put a socket over the back of the lock to remove the jam nut. If you don't have the right size in deep well, you can always use a wrench or pliers.

If you want to get a new key, you need to get the number off the face of the lock. That's probably enough to know what brand it is so you can then call a lock smith or go online to get a new one. My guess is that it's going to be cheaper to buy a new lock from Home Depot (as has been stated). That's what I did on my first cab since I didn't have keys to the front. I think the locks are ~$5 each. Oh, and if you get new ones, you might want to look for matching lock numbers so you only need one key for the upper and lower doors. You might even consider replacing the one on the back door (if you have one) so you only need one key for the whole cab!

[Draco1962]

And may as well rekey the car and the house so only one key needed for EVERYTHING!

j/k as always!

[IMBerzerk]

Hi guys and gals

I've build my onw pc based mame arcade cabinet, using Ultimarcs iPac etc. etc. Everything is working fine, monitor, buttons, coins slots galore... but the coins stots can only use 1 type of coin, as expected. I was thinking of using the machine as an additional "piggy bank" where I can eposit any type of coin without having to change the identifyer coin inside, or using a button or the keyboard.

I'm surrently using 5c coins, which is the cheapest currency we have available in South Africa. The 5c coin however is not the lighest/smallest coin we have here (i.e. the 10c and 20c coins are much smaller and lighter, then we have the 50c, R1 and R2 and R5 coins which is bigger - more is better, R1 = 100c).

I was wondering if anyone knows how to hack the coin mechs to use any type, weight and size coins?

I'm using the small, simple coin mechs, with identifyer coin slot and a seperator to determine weather the coin falls through or is accepted.

Any help would be greatly appreciated

Most coin door have a set screw in them to change the width of what passes through it. Width determines the weight of the coin, which then allows the coin to either pass through, or be rejected. Speaking with US currency in mind, the quarter is heavy as it's been made of nickel plated steel since 1965. So the magnets in the door recognize the thickness by weight as size. Hence why pennies and nickels do not pass through.

I'm pretty sure you can set the depth by looking for the set screw and testing. But it's a real pain in the a$$ as it's not an exact science.

Another option is to use the BYOAC MAME coins if they still make them... BUT... you definately have to modify the coin slots to fit them as they are larger than a US Quarter. I had bought about 200 of these and returned them because of having to mod my cabinets. All three of them use the original door mechs, the oldest being my BerZerk cabinet... so there was no way in hell I was going to cut anything on them... total Bummer as they were really cool.

Adultery... why not order a new set of locks from Happ? They make the correct looking keys and locks for Arcade cabinets. Anything you get from Lowe's or Home Depot doesn't look the same at all.

IMB

[bkenobi]

Adultery... why not order a new set of locks from Happ? They make the correct looking keys and locks for Arcade cabinets. Anything you get from Lowe's or Home Depot doesn't look the same at all.

The ones from Home Depot and Lowes are simple locks that fit and look fine. They are not exactly what came in a HAPP coin door, but remember that there were different coin doors out there with different locks. The ones I'm talking about look very similar to the original HAPP locks for both of my Atari cabs.

If you want actual arcade locks, there was someone over at BYOAC that was either selling them or putting together a group purchase a while back. Perhaps he has some available?

[bkenobi]

Here's a recent thread asking about locks:

http://forum.arcadec...?topic=107606.0

Looks like you can get standard or cam locks for ~$2 each plus shipping.

Here's one example from Home Depot:

http://www.homedepot.com/h_d1/N-5yc1v/R-100173693/h_d2/ProductDisplay?langId=-1&storeId=10051&catalogId=10053

[Adultery]

Never thought to order locks directly from Happ. Good call! Wonder if I can get a new lock in the back door of the cab without too much trouble? Or maybe even green plastic (or clear even) coin acceptors?

Good call. Thanks for the advice everyone!

[IMBerzerk]

Here's a recent thread asking about locks:

http://forum.arcadec...?topic=107606.0

Looks like you can get standard or cam locks for ~$2 each plus shipping.

Here's one example from Home Depot:

http://www.homedepot.com/h_d1/N-5yc1v/R-100173693/h_d2/ProductDisplay?langId=-1&storeId=10051&catalogId=10053

The other problem with the Home Depot stuff is matching. All 3 of my units have Happ locks on the coin doors and share the same key for access. My Data East unit has the upper and lower doors, my Strata Bowling (cafe) unit has the main coin door, plus the keyed 'deposit box' on the bottom, while the Stern cabinet is 1 door for access. All-in-all I have 5 locks all on the same master key. When you order them, you can state how many locks and keys, so buy as many as required +1 key for a spare to hide elsewhere, just in case you loose the others. They're numbered like auto keys as well, so you can always get another made by calling Happ with the key number on it.

Meanwhile the HD stuff works great around the back of the cabinet for the access panel... or you can do another Happ as well. All depends on budget.

IMB

[Adultery]

I'm in the same boat as you are with your Strata Bowling cabinet. I think I'm just going to order the Happ locks and keys and see if I can't get a third lock for the rear of the cabinet (although I already have a key for that one). Three locks with one key just seems more practical to me.

[bkenobi]

If you are buying more than 1 or 2, I'd definitely order from someone. Home Depot will be way too expensive for bulk quantities (more than 2 really). You can get matching locks from HD, but you have to hope that they ordered enough with the same number which is obviously no guarantee. If you want HAPP stuff, be aware that they have a minimum order and a hefty shipping rate. I think DiveMaster on BYOAC sells all the HAPP catalog for less and cheaper shipping.