Cabinet build

[cja272]

@Regso on the hopper side then on the grounding touch the ground terminal on pacdrive with multi meter see if it buzzes then touch ground terminal on I pac see if it buzzes if it does buzz on one of them there is a problem ??

 

[Reg]

If touching the ground on the pacdrive and the ipac with a multimeter you get a buzz - that shows there is a common ground and I believe that is correct and how it should be which rules out a problem.

If you get nothing, then that is potentially the issue.  I have no easy access in my cabinet to these parts to do a video.

This is a problem that I believe I had that @Wizard helped me on - may not be an issue here - but my belief is the iPac and the Pac-Drive need to have a shared ground which they should do via the USB connectivity - just something that happened with me once and maybe could rule out a problem you had.

[cja272]

1 hour ago, No1Stoney said:

The green wire as @Reg has pointed out, shouldn't be there. Pin 7 isn't used for this so should be left empty. Double check your wiring. The mech you have is 21 pin, the diagram I created was for a 17 pin version, however its exactly the same except you connect pins 18/19 to ground as with the other inhibit lines. I believe (although  not 100% right now) that the last 2 pins don't need connecting.

@No1Stoneymine has only got 20 pins , there is a gap between pins 4 and pin 5 as there is not pin there just a gap , so do you count the gap as pin 5 ? as it’s not used and that is why the gap is there ? 

Edited January 23, 2022 by cja272

[Reg]

Yes - you count gaps as pins in this instance.

The gaps are present for connectors - sometimes you have a connector with a block within the pin slot that means you cannot put the cable in the wrong way around.

Look at this ould IDE cable for example....

That block in the top centre will not have a pin on the systemboard so the cable fits in and that block in the header stops the cable from being inserted upside down.

[cja272]

Ok thanks very much for your help much appreciated, at work now but will have another look tonight

[cja272]

@Reg @No1Stoneywell a bit of better news first I have wired the coin mech up and that it working perfect !!!
however the hopper is still not working , I’ve looked for the ground connection on the I pac and can see one of my ground wires already connected so if you mean that connection that buzzes , on the pac drive I can’t see a ground terminal unless you mean on the back ?
thank you 

[Reg]

Ok - buzz from the shielding on the iPac that the USB connects to to the ground terminal on the PacDrive.

Good news on the coin mech - halfway there.

It might not be a fix to the problem - but this is something that is nagging me that there is no common ground between tyhe Pacdrive and the iPac.

[cja272]

Do you mean those 2 terminals or the actual connection ??

[cja272]

[cja272]

@Reg I have tried both those and they are showing power so that seems to be ok …if I’ve checked the right bit

so I’m hoping it’s a faulty hopper and I have  emailed the seller 

Edited January 23, 2022 by cja272

[cja272]

Just realised I’ve not done that correctly ! Will have another go tomorrow

[cja272]

10 hours ago, Reg said:

Ok - buzz from the shielding on the iPac that the USB connects to to the ground terminal on the PacDrive.

Good news on the coin mech - halfway there.

It might not be a fix to the problem - but this is something that is nagging me that there is no common ground between tyhe Pacdrive and the iPac.

@Regso just to clarify I probably need to put a wire from shielding on the I pac to the ground terminal on the pac drive then test this wire for power ? 

 

[Reg]

1 hour ago, cja272 said:

@Regso just to clarify I probably need to put a wire from shielding on the I pac to the ground terminal on the pac drive then test this wire for power ? 

If that was my setup - yes - I would do that as I am of the opinion that both the signal from the iPac to the hopper and and the signal from the PacDrive to the hopper have to have a common ground and effecticely be on the same loop for the [ or the ] to register and send the signal to the hopper via the PacDrive.

Think about it on a normal keypress.

The iPac to send a signal has two connections - a ground from the ground terminal and a signal wire from whatever keypress that has been configured.  If you don't have the ground plugged in - the signal wire will not trigger.

You are only plugging one wire into the iPac and the other wire goes into the PacDrive, it makes sense that the ground is shared on how I see this for them both to be on the same "loop" across the whole system for the [ or the ] to work from the PacDrive.

[cja272]

Ok at work now will try this evening thank you for all your help 

[cja272]

Hi @Regso the shielding on the I pac is where I have put the arrow so touch my wire there?  then on the pac drive which is ground please ??? 
thank you 

[Road Hog Mad]

£63 for a hopper, there was someone on here who got some cheap wing wong hoppers working, who was that?

[Reg]

READ ALL OF THIS FIRST AND A FEW TIMES

THE PURPOSE OF THIS IS TO CHECK A COMMON  GROUND AND IF NOT PRESENT CREATE ONE AT YOUR OWN RISK.

IT MAY NOT BE A SOLUTION TO YOUR ISSUE.

OTHERS MAY NOT HAVE HAD TO DO THIS STEP - THIS IS THE PACDRIVER MOD I HAVE IN MY CABINET.
THIS IS BASED ON A PROBLEM ON MY FIRST MACHINE THAT I CANNOT 100% REMEMBER AND MAYBE YOURS - WIZARD GOT ME TO DO THIS AND ALL MY HOPPER ISSUE WENT AWAY.

On your first picture - assuming the [ and ] is wired into the top row the buzz point on that is the screw head on the GND terminal.

On the second picture ... and all of this is at your own risk on steps 3 and 4... ...this is just checking to see if we have a common ground  based on my experiences that have been different from others as this has not come up before.

So, if you have one connection on the multimeter on the iPAC GND on the bank of connections that [ and ] are connected to - try the following...

Touch the other end of the mutlimeter to the point I have double circled on 1.

- If that buzzes out you have a common ground between the iPac and the Pacdriver to the solder point in circle 1.

Assuming the answer is yes on this move on - if the answer is no - then I honestly don't know anymore.

Next stage is to check on the bank of connectors that the hopper is connected to.  I assume it's the left side from the yellow wire I see, if not use the other side.

If you touch the connector marked on the iPAC GND on the bank of connections that [ and ] as before, you should have nothing on point 2.  That shows there is NO common ground to the bank of connections that you have wired the hopper into.  Note - the flipside of this should actually be the + terminal for the iPac ( I know that's not a ground symbol but the iPac is being used to work the hopper ).

Now here is the risky if you can't solder and not comfortable with cutting traces.

Assuming that point 1. from the PacDriver and the GND on the iPac give a buzz, I would do this.

- Solder a cable from point 1. to 2. on the back of the PacDriver.

Try it all again - if it does not work then.

- Cut the trace at point 4.

This may fix it all - this is just a grounding check with a solution.

I OFFER NO 100% SOLUTION AND ECHO - ON MY FIRST MACHINE I HAD A GROUNDING PROBLEM AND THE HOPPERS WOULD NOT WORK.  WIZARD GOT ME TO DO THIS AND IT FIXED THE PROBLEM.  THE OLD PACDRIVE FROM THE FIRST MACHINE IS ACTUALLY IN THE SECOND MACHINE.

 

[cja272]

Thanks @Regfor this ; leave it with me I’ve got a few days off work later in the week so I will let you know how I get on

[Amusements]

5 hours ago, Road Hog Mad said:

£63 for a hopper, there was someone on here who got some cheap wing wong hoppers working, who was that?

Properly me?
The last hopper I bought was exactly 20 Squid new with postage, but the coin sizes I use differ from the UK.
The big black "wing wong" hoppers are actually very reliable as they only have a 240v motor and a 12v opto sensor on them. The one in my cabinet has been running for over 3 years now, and I have only recently had to replace one of the external relays so far. The other hopper I use (Blue one) holds less coins has had no issues so far.

[Road Hog Mad]

6 hours ago, Amusements said:

Properly me?
The last hopper I bought was exactly 20 Squid new with postage, but the coin sizes I use differ from the UK.
The big black "wing wong" hoppers are actually very reliable as they only have a 240v motor and a 12v opto sensor on them. The one in my cabinet has been running for over 3 years now, and I have only recently had to replace one of the external relays so far. The other hopper I use (Blue one) holds less coins has had no issues so far.

Yes I believe it was you lol, I was looking for an alternative to those £63 hoppers. Dunno if they'll work with a 12V PSU I have.

[No1Stoney]

I believe you can also use money controls universal hopper and suzo's cube hopper. (Parallel versions) but wiring will be slightly different. 

Dont go buying these until someone confirms this though as I'm not 100%. I'm sure @Reg you are using universal ?

Edited January 25, 2022 by No1Stoney

[cja272]

On 24/01/2022 at 21:37, Reg said:

READ ALL OF THIS FIRST AND A FEW TIMES

THE PURPOSE OF THIS IS TO CHECK A COMMON  GROUND AND IF NOT PRESENT CREATE ONE AT YOUR OWN RISK.

IT MAY NOT BE A SOLUTION TO YOUR ISSUE.

OTHERS MAY NOT HAVE HAD TO DO THIS STEP - THIS IS THE PACDRIVER MOD I HAVE IN MY CABINET.
THIS IS BASED ON A PROBLEM ON MY FIRST MACHINE THAT I CANNOT 100% REMEMBER AND MAYBE YOURS - WIZARD GOT ME TO DO THIS AND ALL MY HOPPER ISSUE WENT AWAY.

On your first picture - assuming the [ and ] is wired into the top row the buzz point on that is the screw head on the GND terminal.

On the second picture ... and all of this is at your own risk on steps 3 and 4... ...this is just checking to see if we have a common ground  based on my experiences that have been different from others as this has not come up before.

So, if you have one connection on the multimeter on the iPAC GND on the bank of connections that [ and ] are connected to - try the following...

Touch the other end of the mutlimeter to the point I have double circled on 1.

- If that buzzes out you have a common ground between the iPac and the Pacdriver to the solder point in circle 1.

Assuming the answer is yes on this move on - if the answer is no - then I honestly don't know anymore.

Next stage is to check on the bank of connectors that the hopper is connected to.  I assume it's the left side from the yellow wire I see, if not use the other side.

If you touch the connector marked on the iPAC GND on the bank of connections that [ and ] as before, you should have nothing on point 2.  That shows there is NO common ground to the bank of connections that you have wired the hopper into.  Note - the flipside of this should actually be the + terminal for the iPac ( I know that's not a ground symbol but the iPac is being used to work the hopper ).

Now here is the risky if you can't solder and not comfortable with cutting traces.

Assuming that point 1. from the PacDriver and the GND on the iPac give a buzz, I would do this.

- Solder a cable from point 1. to 2. on the back of the PacDriver.

Try it all again - if it does not work then.

- Cut the trace at point 4.

This may fix it all - this is just a grounding check with a solution.

I OFFER NO 100% SOLUTION AND ECHO - ON MY FIRST MACHINE I HAD A GROUNDING PROBLEM AND THE HOPPERS WOULD NOT WORK.  WIZARD GOT ME TO DO THIS AND IT FIXED THE PROBLEM.  THE OLD PACDRIVE FROM THE FIRST MACHINE IS ACTUALLY IN THE SECOND MACHINE.

 

@Reg

Ok , so ive done the tests,,,

The first one - touch ipac ground to the point 1 - that Buzzes.

Second one touch i pac ground [to point 2 that buzzes.

So from what you have put you was expecting the second test to show nothing but it buzzed so im guessing ive got ground.

So i thought i would try soldering the wire from 1 to 2 and cut the trace just in case it made any difference but it didnt the hopper still did not work.

So the only thing i can think of is that the hopper itself is faulty so ive ordered another so i will try that and see if it makes any difference  if that does not work i think i will have to admit defeat as i cant think of anything else, which is a shame as coin mech is working perfect , so fingers crossed the hopper when it arrives works.

 

Edited January 26, 2022 by cja272

[Reg]

17 minutes ago, cja272 said:

So the only thing i can think of is that the hopper itself is faulty so ive ordered another so i will try that and see if it makes any difference  if that does not work i think i will have to admit defeat as i cant think of anything else, which is a shame as coin mech is working perfect , so fingers crossed the hopper when it arrives works.

I agree - I think this is a hopper issue now.

[cja272]

@Reg well my new hopper arrived this morning and it’s still not working .

I also need ordered a new special pacdrive as mine was the on at start up and fitted that but still not working .

I’ve also tried it on my other laptop and still nothing .

so obviously there is something wrong somewhere but I just don’t no what it could be .

The transformer has 100 w of power I’m guessing that should be enough for a hopper as that is the only other thing I can think off???

[Reg]

@cja272 my last suggestion before being out of ideas is that PSU then - but I got to be honest - that maybe a hail mary at this point as I can't see that being the problem - but maybe.

Are you absolutely sure that it is giving out power ?

This will get fixed one way or another - remember the journey I said about my T7 - but the last thing I can suggest is go for the PSU that I linked and try that - but before that - give it a little while to see if anyone else has ideas - again - I can't see what the problem is as you said the PSU was ok - so all roads lead to the hopper.