Author Topic: Creating a 'Virtual Hopper' and printer interface for an S plus - project. (Read 2172 times)

marcdavis · « **on:** May 06, 2019, 06:30:57 AM »

Quote from: Stayouttadabunker on November 11, 2017, 08:59:23 PM

It's entirely possible.
I once hooked up an ICT GP-58CR Thermal Printer w/ Cutter to a switch attached to the coin hopper.
All I did was modify the topbox award glass holder to accommodate the exit hole of the printer slip.

I never utilized the pin-outs on the motherboard at that time.
I saved that project for another time because that would work better as one would only use the credit signal fom the internal accounting to the printer whenever the Cash/Credit out button was hit.

Presently, with a switch attached to the coin hopper, it sends a signal to print a slip even if there is only one credit on the display - waste of thermal paper really.

NEW TOPIC STARTS HERE, SPLIT FROM ANOTHER TOPIC.
Original topic here: http://newlifegames.com/nlg/index.php?topic=17507.0

"The goal of this project is to create a plug-in replacement for the S+ hopper that will output credits-won to an ICT ticket printer."

Do you happen to still have the wiring details for this - which pins on the hopper plug did you attach to?

Stayouttadabunker · « **Reply #1 on:** May 06, 2019, 08:02:16 AM »

I didn't use the hopper beau pins.
I modified the hopper to utilize a round piece of plastic with cut-outs on the wheel to go thru the hopper optics - each cutout represented one credit.
Because it was made of plastic, it was strong enough to push the momentary switch tang when each cutout passed by it.
I then ran two wires back from the momentary switch to the ICT printer....one for ground, and the other for coin data.

jay · « **Reply #2 on:** May 06, 2019, 08:29:40 AM »

I have heard that people have had success using the lid from an ice cream bucket as a coin simulator.

marcdavis · « **Reply #3 on:** May 06, 2019, 08:34:56 AM »

Thanks - I think I saw your photos of the hopper modification; I was hoping not to have to modify my hopper; rather do something the way the HCU-100 did - plug right into the hopper connector in the cabinet and send the pulses to the printer. Looks like the company that created the HCU-100 is out of business; finding one of those is like hens-teeth.

Do you (or Question to group) happen to have the pinouts for the hopper plug - what each one does? Thx in advance.

MD

Stayouttadabunker · « **Reply #4 on:** May 06, 2019, 09:22:59 AM »

I was one of the original testers for the HCU-100.

Do you know what he charged for them units?

I'll look for the hopper beau pinouts in my library for you if someone doesn't post one before I do.

It's pretty simple tho.

The beau plug bottom two pins were the 120vac and ground.

Top left pin=orange/yellow stripe
Top right pin= white/yellow stripe
Middle left pin=Green ground pairs/ yellow stripe
Middle Right pin=red/black stripe

The hopper optics uses red, yellow and ground wires to the beau plug.

Optic Red = Middle Right = receiver optic (+?) and data out?
Optic Yellow = Top Right = emitter optic power?
Optic Green = Middle Left= ground

On the 15-pin Molex connector, pins 1, 3 and 5 look like the ones that might be carrying coin-out data that you could use for the ICT printer?

Just stick a multimeter on the top four pins and see what's coming out as you run 10 test coin payout.

marcdavis · « **Reply #5 on:** May 06, 2019, 10:12:24 AM »

Last price I saw for the HCU-100 was $79; which did not include the printer.

Really appreciate the info; esp for the pinouts.

Marc

marcdavis · « **Reply #6 on:** May 06, 2019, 10:30:10 AM »

Stayouttadabunker - check me on this - should it be possible to use a 555C pulse generator circuit so when power is applied to the hopper it will send the pulses to both the printer and to close the coin-out optic circuit so the S+ registers the coins as leaving?

Stayouttadabunker · « **Reply #7 on:** May 06, 2019, 10:33:18 AM »

I don't know...I wouldn't use the pulses from the power supplied to the hopper...that's 120vac.

That's only to power the motor and the relay shuts it off when the proper credits are counted thru the optics.

Try to use the signal coming from the hopper optics instead.

marcdavis · « **Reply #8 on:** May 06, 2019, 10:41:04 AM »

I wasn't going to use the pulses coming from the 120vac - I assumed that was constant power when the hopper was running and it only shut off when the coin-out optics count reached the desired number (or the hopper became empty). The power would only tell me when to start and stop the 555c timer (id have to use a transformer to get the voltage to something like 12vdc).

Stayouttadabunker · « **Reply #9 on:** May 06, 2019, 11:15:18 AM »

I sent you a PM you may be interested in about the HCU-100.
Below is a drawing you wanted.
Click on photo to enlarge if needed...>>>

rickhunter · « **Reply #10 on:** May 06, 2019, 11:45:02 AM »

I don't understand the fascination with trying to install a printer on an S+. The software does not support tito. If you are successful and manage to use the coin out pulses to figure out how much to print, what then? It's not like you can take the ticket and use it for anything other than say "look, it prints a ticket!" With the cost of an S2000 fully equipped with a printer going for under $500, why bother? Use the S+ as it was meant to be used coin in/out, it's the reason why I keep two of them around. They are built like tanks and will probably outlive everyone of the more modern machines I have.

jay · « **Reply #11 on:** May 06, 2019, 11:51:33 AM »

That's a good point Rick.

I started off in this hoppy with a Pashilo - that is a Japanese slot system known as a skill stop.
It takes "metals" which is the translation for Tokens.
You play your metals and then hit the stop button on each reel. There is no auto-stop.

The use a coin mech (

mechanical) and there are tons of articles on how to alter these for quarters.

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Others hook up slot arms to spin the wheels and auto-stop circuits.

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The machine is quite light weight compared to a North American slot so if your using a slot arm you need to bolt the slot down to the stand.

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I was inquiring about all of these mods when someone spoke up to me and said - if you want Vegas, buy Vegas. Don't try making the machine into something it isn't.

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Appreciate it for the art and era that it came from.

Cheers / Jay

marcdavis · « **Reply #12 on:** May 06, 2019, 12:17:41 PM »

Quote from: rickhunter on May 06, 2019, 11:45:02 AM

I don't understand the fascination with trying to install a printer on an S+. The software does not support tito. If you are successful and manage to use the coin out pulses to figure out how much to print, what then? It's not like you can take the ticket and use it for anything other than say "look, it prints a ticket!" With the cost of an S2000 fully equipped with a printer going for under $500, why bother? Use the S+ as it was meant to be used coin in/out, it's the reason why I keep two of them around. They are built like tanks and will probably outlive everyone of the more modern machines I have.

Hi Rick - completely understood that this is not TITO and could never be with the S+; This is purely for the novelty of it - and for me to see if I can build it. Just a hobby; and if it is simple to do I'll even share what I figure out; not looking to make a commercial printer solution for the S+

I'd love to buy an S2000; and if I could get it for $500ish shipped it would be a no-brainer - but when shipping is $300 or more from some places it takes the wind out of my sails. I know they are big and heavy machines so I don't fault the shipping - just not in the budget unless I can source one locally.

rickhunter · « **Reply #13 on:** May 06, 2019, 12:51:04 PM »

My comment was not mean to bring down the thread. It is just that sometimes good intentions, turn into really expensive solutions when the obvious solutions is just there with a much lower cost. I get the novelty, I've sunk a lot of money putting in linked progressives on my S+ pair (Mikohn linked progressives back in the day), and like I tell my wife whenever she sees me build stuff when she asks, why not just buy one already built? My answer "For entertainment purposes only!" LOL.

What part of the country are you at, maybe you could drive a couple of hours and find a local source?

marcdavis · « **Reply #14 on:** May 07, 2019, 08:45:44 AM »

I'm in New Jersey; closest s2000 I found so far was in Virginia; or Ohio...

jay · « **Reply #15 on:** May 07, 2019, 09:17:37 AM »

I don't live in the US anymore, but there are shipping companies that will move for cheap. It requires a bit of coordination.

Basically you go to the web site - put in the dimensions and weight of your shipment, from-to, and various truckers bid on the package. Typically these are guys doing a inter-state run. Their load is already paid for, but they have capacity to take more so they stop, grab your stuff and then drop it off. You can go to Uship and get an idea of prices.

Where the coordination comes in:
1.You first you buy your machine with no real idea of how your going to get it or how much its going to cost you.
2. You have to tell the seller he may have to hold on to your package for a couple of weeks while you arrange shipment. This is typically more like days but you don't want to speculatively tell the seller Wednesday and have him P*ssed at you because the arrangements worked out to be Friday.
3. You will want to ensure the slot goes on a pallet and if the seller has a loading dock - not all truckers have hydraulic lift gates and some of the less healthy truckers wont want to dolly up a pallet on their ramps. Remember the trucker is a driver not a mover - usually there are movers at each end to load / unload.

Here is how the bid process works from a truckers perspective.
https://bizfluent.com/how-6967282-bid-loads-trucking.html

marcdavis · « **Reply #16 on:** May 10, 2019, 02:22:15 PM »

So I thought I would share my progress with building my 'Virtual Hopper' and printer interface. The goal of this project is to create a plug-in replacement for the S+ hopper that will output credits-won to an ICT ticket printer.

All of the parts came today and I have most of it together. I had it running on the bench (without the slot machine) and had the printer spitting out tickets for X number of credits (X being the number of pulses coming out of the square wave generator; had it set for about 1 pulse a second; Will probably tweak that. Also have the SSR that will take the place of the coin-out optics working - again not on slot hardware but with a simulated load. Will probably try to plug this into the slot machine sometime tonight. My next post should be interesting.

If and when I get it working I will share the complete parts list and build instructions for anyone interested.

Some Pics. Full disclaimer - I have no background in electronics; Smarter people than I build these circuits (ebay) and I'm just putting them together in a way I think will work. I am sure I could be doing hundreds of things differently or better.

jay · « **Reply #17 on:** May 10, 2019, 02:38:16 PM »

This is a very nice and welcome contribution to the forum.

Once you have a working solution this might be worth discussing with the Bettor people as there are more than a few S+ owners that might want to make their machines TITO.

Jay

marcdavis · « **Reply #18 on:** May 10, 2019, 03:08:28 PM »

Thanks Jay - but to clarify - this is NOT TITO - this only prints out a novelty receipt - which you can customize - with the number of credits (or dollars) won. It is not something you could stick back into the bill validator.

Stayouttadabunker · « **Reply #19 on:** May 10, 2019, 04:58:45 PM »

That's pretty cool Marc!

I'd like to see how the circuit board works!

I think I'll make one for fun when you have it figured out!

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Author Topic: Creating a 'Virtual Hopper' and printer interface for an S plus - project. (Read 2172 times)