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Optical sensor for simple coin/token detection


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Hi guys, I just thought I'd run this by you all to see if there's any advice... I'm looking to build a custom "coin slot" for my 4 player arcade cabinet, using this part

http://www.electronickitsbychaneyelectronics.com/prodinfo.asp?number=G18726

suggested by this tutorial

http://www.retrobuiltgames.com/porta-pi-arcade-help/add-coin-acceptor/

 

I figure I don't want a real coin mech, not just because of the cost, but also I don't want real coin detection. I want to put most any coin sized object in and have it work. Eg. some plastic colour coded poker chips I bought - 4 colours, for each of the 4 players. Also I think a real coin mech will be too bulky for where I plan to mount the coin slot and I can keep it smaller with my own DIY solution.

 

Here's the reason I'm doing this;

 

I've made a 4 player arcade cabinet, it's going well, but when you play, say, the SNES version of Double Dragon (for example), once your lives are up, that's it. When you play the Arcade version of Double Dragon, suddenly you have to exercise self control so as not to cheapen the game by continually pressing the credit button and making the game easy (and therefore, boring).

 

People have "cheated" by pressing the credit button in the heat of the moment "Just one more!". And while everyone understands the concept of agreeing to a fixed amount of credits - it still feels awkward having to apply this self control when the "put credits to continue" counter is ticking down. Like "We could keep playing, but... we better obey the rules and stop now..." But to help with this, a nice little barrier of entry would be a simple coin mechanism. Not a real one, just something that requires you to put tokens in, and go to the trouble of opening a door underneath to get them all out again, rather than simply pressing a button to keep going. Once its dropped in, and the credit jingle plays, it creates more of a sense of commitment. To keep playing beyond those credits, rather than press a button, you'd have to duck under the cabinet between everyone's legs, and it's more obvious psychologically that you're circumventing the natural way the game is supposed to be played. It also gives your friends a chance to kick you while you're under there for trying to cheat while everyone else is still playing legit on their original credits :) Because they're good enough that they haven't died yet. It's a psychological thing.

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Thanks guys. Appreciate the Ozstick link too, my usual go to is in2amusements, but they don't seem to have such a thing.

 

I'm going to consider both options - does anyone have an opinion on going the optical switch route?

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Thanks guys. Appreciate the Ozstick link too, my usual go to is in2amusements, but they don't seem to have such a thing.

 

I'm going to consider both options - does anyone have an opinion on going the optical switch route?

 

K.I.S.S.

 

Optical switches are more complicated to wire and will give more problems long term.

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K.I.S.S.

 

Optical switches are more complicated to wire and will give more problems long term.

 

Serious?? Wow ok. See, I assumed optical would be simpler because doesn't matter how light the token is, so long as it will roll through the sensor it will trigger it.

 

With my little plastic tokens I'm wondering if their edge is too round and they are so light that they won't trigger that rotary switch lever. It could be that I should just invest in some decent metal tokens or just use actual silver coins. Which of course I will if it's better to use the rotary switch.

 

But what do you mean about problems long term? Is the optical part prone to failure?

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An optical proximity switch will work and is completely sealed, light can break beam through or even proximity sensor on ebay, they are cheap but not really industrial quality or you'd be paying a very high price and it will do your job and sense plastic .But as others have said a micro switch is simple and proven to work, go with that super light action micro switch.
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Some plastics are also transparent to the IR light used in optical switches - as WMS found to their horror with the flipper type 2 opto actuators.

 

The ones they made in white didn't work as the IR light shone straight through them.

 

A simple microswitch is easy to wire, easy to adjust and reliable.

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Ok since there is unanimous support for the microswitches I'll go with that.

 

Any suggestions for a physical design that's guaranteed to trigger the switch? I just need to see a concept... how the switch is arranged...

 

I've found a few examples but not quite happy with those and thought I'd ask here.

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just make a narrow U shaped channel for the token to slide down and fall across the the wire leg actuator to register a a momentary pulse/ closed circuit the rest prior to that relies on gravity so give it a long slide if they are extremely light.
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  • 2 weeks later...

Just an update - I got the physical switches from OzStick (thanks again for the link, @Homepin) and I had a wooden design made up, but I also found a 3D print on Thingiverse. This is made for European coins and is too small for our coins, so I modified it in 3DS Max and had it printed by finding a local guy at 3DHubs.com (his name is Ewan, for anyone in the Brisbane CBD area, highly recommended), even with my first pass which I threw out (too narrow, coins wouldn't fit) cost $6 for just one by itself so no great loss, and took me all of ~$20 in total to have 4 of these printed, since I want 4 coin slots. Ewan's prices are unbelievable, seriously.

 

I've finished one, and this setup works great! I hot glued the switch to the side of the 3D print. I'll take photos of the real thing when I've finished the rest. I'll attach a screenshot of my design in 3DS max and also the modified print files, for anyone else who wants to go this route. I think the coin slot could be a couple mm narrower and still work with all our coins. It may be a little on the wide side at the moment but it works great.

 

Download coin slot 3D print files

 

Sorry for the huge-arse images, if there's a way to make them clickable thumbnails, let me know.

 

b56debf8d95ab8f167c7c7ac5429eac2.png

b2104e5881b5b3096d888775561d86ad.png

 

To clarify; the 3D print files contain 3 files just for the coin slot itself. The faceplate, the neck, and the tube that angles down. They are bolted together with nuts and bolts from Bunnings, (3/16" 30mm) use a 5mm drill bit for the holes on your wood. Will need to run the drill bit through the 3D print holes to clean them out too.

And the actual box is my design, made of MDF. The bottom is a little trapdoor with a simple butt hinge (costs next to nothing) and a magnetic "latch" that requires a 4kg pull strength to open, hahah, those are $2 for a pack of 2 :D

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