Return to Q&A Database
Question
Question from James: Hi, I’ve really enjoyed your Arcade Repair Tips podcast. This question is a bit different but maybe you’ll have some experience that can help me.
I’m just starting on a project and I’m a newbie when it comes to working with electronics and the Raspberry Pi. My project is to make a coin operated arcade machine for my family game room. I just started playing with it and have a few games working in MAME using the PI3.
My question is how would I wire up a coin acceptor like this one? https://www.sparkfun.com/products/11719
My understanding is that they use different voltages (12v?) for the coin acceptor and 3 or 5v for the Pi. If you could give me any tips for this it would be a huge help.
Thanks,
James
P.S.- Hope you’re doing well!
1 answer
Response from Jonathan: James,
Yes, it looks like you will need a separate 12 VDC power supply in order to power this coin acceptor. You will need to connect the ground from the external 12 VDC power supply along with the ground from the Raspberry Pi together on the ground pin of the coin acceptor. Of course, the 12 VDC voltage pin of the coin acceptor only needs to be connected only to your external 12 VDC power supply voltage wire. The coin pin should go to the GPIO on your Raspberry Pi (3.3v). I’ve read that some Raspberry Pi units need a pull-up resistor (10K) on the coin pin depending on the version but most should have the option to turn on the built-in pull-up resistor which makes this unnecessary. I believe the counter pin on the coin acceptor is only if you want to use an external counter and is not necessary in most cases.
OK, quick disclaimer. I haven’t actually played around with this setup so I’m not 100% sure it will work. This is just what I’ve determined from looking at the information on the coin acceptor itself. I highly recommend verifying this information with someone who has more experience with the Raspberry Pi to make sure it is correct.
Hope that helps. Thank you for your question and good luck with your project.
This question has been closed
