Insert coins into coin mechanism for credit(s)

Questions about the RaspberryJAMMA adapter.

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ArPiUser
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Insert coins into coin mechanism for credit(s)

Post by ArPiUser » Fri Jul 27, 2018 6:03 am

I have a 60 in 1 cocktail table that I converted to an ArPiCade/RaspberryJAMMA unit. Just for fun, I would like to see if I can map the coin mechanism so that when I insert a quarter into the coin mechanism, it registers as a coin insert and provides a credit in the various emulators ranging from FBA to Mame192.

Currently, if I load the game to the demo screen where it is waiting for the push of a button to add a credit and I insert a coin, the coin drops to the collection bin but no credit(s) register in any emulator.

I'm not sure what a real quarter insert registers as on the Jamma harness. I would like it to either accept a coin as a credit or the buttons I have already mapped as a credit.

It would be really cool to have a guest over and have them insert a quarter to play! Makes it feel more authentic.

Has anyone already done this. If so, how?

dee2eR
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Re: Insert coins into coin mechanism for credit(s)

Post by dee2eR » Fri Jul 27, 2018 8:46 am

Coin mechs should work with the default setup, they're wired up on the RaspberryJAMMA already. I assume the coin mech was working with the 60in1, if you haven't tested it on the 60in1 that may be worth doing. What kind of mech do you have? If it is electronic and has an output pulse adjustment try setting it to a longer pulse. If it is mechanical and has 3 connections (ground, normally open, normally closed) you could try swapping the normally open and normally closed connection (switch the connection from whichever is currently connected to the other) although I'm not sure it will help.

You can test if the mech(s) are getting any signal through to the RPi from the command line using jstest with the command
jstest /dev/input/js0
this should allow you to see the state change from any player1 input or the 2 coin lines and will be the easiest way to see if the signal is getting through to the Pi at all.

On the technical side of things a credit from the coin mech registers the same as a button press to a JAMMA board. It's just a voltage change that registers as either a 1 or 0 to the hardware.

What is your current credit button hooked up to and is it working? I would have thought both it and the coin mech would be connected to the same coin1 input but sometimes credit buttons are on the service credit line (which should also work, depending on if the original games had service credits).

ArPiUser
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Re: Insert coins into coin mechanism for credit(s)

Post by ArPiUser » Sun Aug 05, 2018 10:27 am

dee2eR wrote:
Fri Jul 27, 2018 8:46 am
Coin mechs should work with the default setup, they're wired up on the RaspberryJAMMA already. I assume the coin mech was working with the 60in1, if you haven't tested it on the 60in1 that may be worth doing. What kind of mech do you have? If it is electronic and has an output pulse adjustment try setting it to a longer pulse. If it is mechanical and has 3 connections (ground, normally open, normally closed) you could try swapping the normally open and normally closed connection (switch the connection from whichever is currently connected to the other) although I'm not sure it will help.

You can test if the mech(s) are getting any signal through to the RPi from the command line using jstest with the command
jstest /dev/input/js0
this should allow you to see the state change from any player1 input or the 2 coin lines and will be the easiest way to see if the signal is getting through to the Pi at all.

On the technical side of things a credit from the coin mech registers the same as a button press to a JAMMA board. It's just a voltage change that registers as either a 1 or 0 to the hardware.

What is your current credit button hooked up to and is it working? I would have thought both it and the coin mech would be connected to the same coin1 input but sometimes credit buttons are on the service credit line (which should also work, depending on if the original games had service credits).
Very helpful advise. Thank you dee2eR!
justest /dev/input/sj0
Using the above command let me confirm which buttons on my arcade were assigned to which number. Interestingly, not all buttons registered. When I inserted a coin, it did register and added another line which indicated to me that something was happening. Good news!

In the case of my coin mechanism, I learned some things that I thought I would share.

1. My type of mechanism will only work if the coin used as the sample coin area matches the coin being dropped into the coin slot. My iCade 60 in 1 was set to free play so I never had a need to use it until now.
When I tried inserting a coin, it immediately got caught. After careful examination, the manufacturer of my cocktail table had a arcade token as the sample coin and not a real quarter. Once I replaced the sample with a real quarter, it would allow a real quarter to drop through to the collection area (by the way, the arcade token would not drop) - meaning the mechanism works exactly as it should - which was to only accept quarters and nothing else.

2. I was able to get some games to work with the game on the screen and when I dropped a quarter into the coin mech - it registered as a credit as expected. Great. However, it didn't work with all games. I found the solution.

Solution:
Start game
Select Player 1 button and Joystick right - gets into settings menu
Select Input (This Machine)
It may have 5, 6 and or 9 for Coin 1. My coin selector is Joy 1 button 6. It can not be manually typed in.
I selected Coin 1 and hit button 0 which let me enter another value for coin drop. I then dropped a quarter into the coin mech and it registered as Joy 1 button 6. Once I exited the settings, that game now works when I drop a quarter into the coin mechanism. Now I just have to repeat the same steps for any other game that may not be accepting a quarter insert as a credit.

Ultimately, being able to accept coins as credits made the arcade experience more authentic.

Can't say enough good things about ArPiCade (software), RaspberryJamma (hardware) and support provided by this site and dee2eR and his wealth of knowledge and quick responses!

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