Using token mech to trigger working model

[classicgambler]

Hello guys.
I know this might sound a bit technical, anyway, I have a token mech here with me and I would like to know how I can rig this up to something and make it work, for instance, let's say I want to make a carousel turn and play music for about a min or two with only putting in a token. Like I say, I have a token mech and the loom too, so can anyone suggest how I can achieve this? Is there anything else I need, or is it just too complicated ?

[slotalot]

Do you have a photo of the mech??? Also, what are you trying to use it on?? i.e., mains power, battery power, electric motor, lights, both?? A bit more info would help.

[badpenny]

You could use self energising relays.
A coin through the slot trips a micro switch that pulses the relay which in turn does two things.
1 it self energises it's own coil and stays on
2 it also switches power on to the motor you want activated

However you'd also need to build a cancelling circuit. Wiring the self energising circuit for the relay through another micro switch that is normally closed until the end of the cycle would do.

Alternatively if you want to go Old School then use mercury tilt switches. The coin entering can tilt it over and the motor it's running can raise it back up again turning the circuit off.

The easiest way is probably silicon CPUs with printed boards and funny little blobs of coloured plastic glued on them. They however are the work of Beelzebub and his flock of fallen angels. Tampering with these tools of Witch Craft could award you with a justified knock on the door from Matthew Hopkins.

As usual slotalot is bang on the money with his questions as you don't really want Mains Electrickery doing anything other than powering a beefy motor if you have no other option.
You could use low voltage/amperage relays to power switches on 240 volt AC circuits. However the higher Voltage and amperage you have passing through switches higher the degradation of the contacts due to power surging and arcing. Also you will witness Radio Frequency Interruption generated by the spark. You should incorporate resistors and capacitors across the relay contacts.

However I am not a qualified electrician, and my opinions other than what I want for dinner should not be trusted.

BP

[coppinpr]

Actually, it should be dead easy, although as slotalot says, type of power is an issue to be addressed. You simply need to set it up like one of the later fruit machines. It would work like this - insert a coin, if the coin is the correct coin for the coin mech, it passes through the correct slot and into the coin box; as it leaves the mech it pushes past a simple wire switch which switches on the unit you wish to use. This would work best if the said switch is connected to a solenoid which would then stay in the on position, until its circuit is broken. This is achieved by the unit you're powering breaking the circuit via a switch after it has done its job, i.e. - after so many turns of the carousel, the switch it tripped and the circuit is broken. The machine then waits for another coin.

As usual, BP beats me by a few seconds.

[classicgambler]

Yer sorry, I should have said that first. Right, I will put photos up tomorrow of the token mech. 20p's will go through this mech as well - not sure why though, but anyway, I have an old power supply from a fruit machine. Could this be wired up to mains and, if so, how? I have had to smash up a Bar X fruit machine as I have too many things and projects on the go. I live in a communal set of flats with no sheds or garages so I'm having to make do with my spare bedroom. So the coin mechs are coming out and the power supply and all the mother boards and looms, so what is the best thing to do? So, basically, all I want to do is place a coin slot in and place a coin in and get it to play. So how do I do this please? Do I need the loom and the coin mother board???

Sorry - I didn't see your posts there. I understand those. I have had a look on ebay and there are timer switches that can also go into these, so I've got my eye on a couple of them.

[moonriver]

You have a set of working fruit machine Electrocoin 'Bar X' spares, a switch mode power supply, 240 volts in and 12 volts and 50 volts output. You could possibly use this power supply if you really wanted to but it's a big lump and easier for your project to use something much more compact and cheap to buy.
You can re-use the wiring loom to your coin mech but you only need two of the wires from the micro switch (assuming you're talking about the mechanical coin mechanism and not the electronic Mars mech). The motherboard is of no further use to you, so if it's working sell it on ebay as old Electrocoin boards are still used in arcades to keep the older machines running and therefore still have a value. You could sell your power supply on there as well and pay for other bits you need.
Your coin mechanism is in effect just a micro-switch. Go to Maplins and get an electronic timer and a cheap power supply to run it and their helpful staff will run you through how to wire it together, then your carousel or whatever will just plug into that. Hope that helps.

[glittering-prize67]

Last year I did a job for someone, putting four large animated birds into two cabinets and making them coin operated and timed. They were parrots and originally were a display item at a car wash in the USA. They play music as well. I put a button on the front so you can choose one of three songs they play, all digital, no moving parts, except the birds. I will see if I can dig a few pics out and post them. Wiring working models, even from scratch, is not hard and most do need upgrading, especially if they are going back into public use, like all Darren's stuff I get.

[classicgambler]

Thanks - looking forward to the pictures.