davep180 Posted April 30, 2022 Report Share Posted April 30, 2022 During the week, one of my hoppers jammed. No biggie. Except. I took the offending hopper out, cleared the coins and put it back. Went to play a machine. No payout. WTF? Opened it up today had a fiddle, and now all works in test mode. Nothing in real play, but, I'm now getting rows of [[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[ appearing in any dialogue box. Could this be the dreaded common ground issue? I didn't have any problems before, despite using seperate psu. Could it be a dodgy connection from ipac to hopper? I've been messing about all day so far and seem to be going round in circles with it. Any ideas / suggestions will be gratefully received. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
woodsy Posted April 30, 2022 Report Share Posted April 30, 2022 Have you tried turning it off and on again? living the dream Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davep180 Posted April 30, 2022 Author Report Share Posted April 30, 2022 32 minutes ago, woodsy said: Have you tried turning it off and on again? Lol. From PM's you'll know I have tried everything I can think of. There is a head shaped dent in my wall now. I thought I'd fixed it about 3 hours ago, but I was wrong. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davep180 Posted April 30, 2022 Author Report Share Posted April 30, 2022 I don't seem to be getting [[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[ in diologue boxes now, but if I win, hoppers just keep chucking coins, nothing seems to stop it. Tests ok in led blinky too, so I think it is the common ground thing, but it worked before with the same setup. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davep180 Posted April 30, 2022 Author Report Share Posted April 30, 2022 If it's a common ground thing, can anyone see where i can ground the ipac inside my pc please? Picures are in this link..... Thank you! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
woodsy Posted April 30, 2022 Report Share Posted April 30, 2022 23 minutes ago, davep180 said: I don't seem to be getting [[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[ in diologue boxes now, but if I win, hoppers just keep chucking coins, nothing seems to stop it. Tests ok in led blinky too, so I think it is the common ground thing, but it worked before with the same setup. you were promised a wind up.. but you know very well i'm on your side here. couldn't imagine anything worse tbh.. hope it gets fixed and if you need to remain positive you have possibly discovered the first home cabinet emptier method 1 living the dream Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davep180 Posted April 30, 2022 Author Report Share Posted April 30, 2022 I tried to respond, but I plugged my £1 hopper back in before hand and just got rows and rows of]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]] coming up, which is weird because the 10p hopper is set to that, £1 is set to [ . This thing is f*cking with me now. Dammit Jim I'm a green keeper not a feckin' electrician/ person who deals with smaller scale wiring, whatever that is called. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cja272 Posted April 30, 2022 Report Share Posted April 30, 2022 I had the same problem with all the £1 coins coming out in one go the other week and one of the wires (ground I think it was ) was not connected properly once connected it worked fine , I no you have probably checked them a million times already! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davep180 Posted April 30, 2022 Author Report Share Posted April 30, 2022 Thanks @cja272I'm thinking it's a ground problem too, but what confuses me is that it wasn't a problem before the hopper jam. Trouble is I have messed with so many wires now, i got myself lost! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cja272 Posted April 30, 2022 Report Share Posted April 30, 2022 I think when my hopper was paying all the coins out in one go the wire what went into either the I pac or the pac drive had come loose (can’t remember which ) so the hopper got the notification to start paying out but was not getting the notification to stop hence all the coins coming out Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
No1Stoney Posted April 30, 2022 Report Share Posted April 30, 2022 Sounds almost like some wires are bridged somewhere ? If there's nothing in the way of the coin out sensor and its still pressing the [ or ] key and its from the wrong hopper then I'm not sure why else it would be doing that. I'll have a think. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davep180 Posted April 30, 2022 Author Report Share Posted April 30, 2022 During the day it has swapped from [[[[ to ]]] and vice versa. I thought I had it at one point, put it all back inside and it f*cked up again. Something is touching or not connecting properly somewhere! Probably. ?????????? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davep180 Posted May 1, 2022 Author Report Share Posted May 1, 2022 The continuous [[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[or]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]] has now been sorted, the connector end of the wire from the ipac to 10p hopper was dodgy. The hoppers work ok in test, but just dump their contents on payment when playing a machine in mfme. It doesn't show anything in notepad when the coins are firing out, so it's not registering the outputs. Any ideas why please? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davep180 Posted May 1, 2022 Author Report Share Posted May 1, 2022 When i say it works in test. If i highlight each hopper in mfme then press test, then the hopper spins. If i just press the test hoppers button, nothing happens. I've also tested in ledblinky and it fires off ok, so i assume the pac drive part is ok. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Road Hog Mad Posted May 6, 2022 Report Share Posted May 6, 2022 Sounds silly @davep180 but have you pressed 'r' on the keyboard when the said game is loaded to reset it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davep180 Posted May 6, 2022 Author Report Share Posted May 6, 2022 Thanks for the response. ctrl r? Resets the game ok, but I just can't get it to stop chucking out coins indefinitely in real play. I'm wondering if the ipac is buggered, but it accepts coins and the buttons work ok. I am stumped to be honest and close to saying f it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
woodsy Posted May 6, 2022 Report Share Posted May 6, 2022 Can you change the number assigned for the hopper on your PaC drive? Maybe that will at least eliminate it being a issue with the PAC drive living the dream Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davep180 Posted May 6, 2022 Author Report Share Posted May 6, 2022 The pac drive is sending out the signal to start up. As far as i know, it's waiting for a [ from the ipac to get it to stop. I moved it over just in case, but same result. Looks like i need to invest in a volt meter and test each wire / connection individually. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
woodsy Posted May 6, 2022 Report Share Posted May 6, 2022 12 minutes ago, davep180 said: The pac drive is sending out the signal to start up. As far as i know, it's waiting for a [ from the ipac to get it to stop. I moved it over just in case, but same result. Looks like i need to invest in a volt meter and test each wire / connection individually. can't you just use your tongue like you do for the windows? snarff really though surprised it's still ongoing really.. i'd be unable to stay calm tbh haha 1 living the dream Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davep180 Posted May 6, 2022 Author Report Share Posted May 6, 2022 2 minutes ago, woodsy said: can't you just use your tongue like you do for the windows? snarff really though surprised it's still ongoing really.. i'd be unable to stay calm tbh haha I'm tearing my hair out, but my windows are clean. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amusements Posted May 7, 2022 Report Share Posted May 7, 2022 If the Pacdrive errors and you reconfigure something, remember to unplug the USB power to it, or it will not reset (rebooting PC wont reset it). If the hopper is spitting out non stop coins, have a keyboard handy so that you can manually press the [ or ] to at least eliminate certain faults. 1 Treat every day like your last, because one day it will be! Fruit Machine <<<My new project! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davep180 Posted May 7, 2022 Author Report Share Posted May 7, 2022 Right. I've changed the wiring to the hoppers. I have several 12v Azkoyen parallel hoppers and they are each finding a different way to be broken. I tested the wiring with buttons and deduced the ipac is sending the right message from each "slot". I have a 24v Universal hopper and that is running fine with the wiring in place. Therefore, I am asking here, and I'll put a post in real fruit machines too, is there anyone out there who can test hoppers and look at the connections/boards to these hoppers, and see if there is a fix possible? I know there are some people here who are good with electronic components, but would you have the time or inclination to take a look? I will gladly pay money to anyone who can fix one. Or can anyone recommend a company that might be able to do it? Thanks to everyone who has tried to help me. I am truly grateful. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MPU_FIVE Posted May 7, 2022 Report Share Posted May 7, 2022 Been following this topic offline for a few days... i feel frustrated for you, matey! Think i'd of chucked the damn thing out of the window! Hope you get it fixed and if (no, WHEN) you do, please share how as all these build topics help others with their future builds... in fact, i've just bought some buttons for a future cabinet build (tho not gonna lie, this is probably a 2 to 3 year project because of cost - buying bits as and when i can afford them)... I ordered the buttons full of optimisim for a future cabinet of my own then this topic bought me crashing down to the ground with the reality that hoppers & coin mechs look to be a major headache at times! Look forward to hearing you have the problem fixed and how you achieved it! All the best matey! Gary. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davep180 Posted May 8, 2022 Author Report Share Posted May 8, 2022 Thanks Gary. First off, I did it exactly the same way as you are doing, getting a new bit each month if there was anything left in the bank. My biggest mistake really, was using an existing mame cabinet for the build, and trying to bodge it all together in one. I seriously have had no problem with the coin mech, and providing you get the one recommended on here and follow Stoney's diagram, it's quite straight forward, especially as you already know how to set up buttons. My hoppers on the other hand...... The Universal hopper (Money Controls) was setup for me by a member here, and is huge, but didn't fit inside my machine lol, so is used for testing at the moment. The 3 Azkoyen 12v came from Poland, and I fear may have been abused in their past life! I had one working, and the others were incase anything went wrong and needed replacing, sadly as replacements, they are as bad as the now defunct original! Hence the plea for someone to test them. I also have an Azkoyen 24v which runs slower, but does actually work. If you do a build, make sure you design it with easy access in mind, and you'll have less hassle than me! Part of the problem is limited access to get to anything inside the machine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amusements Posted May 10, 2022 Report Share Posted May 10, 2022 @davep180 Just out of curiosity are you using one of them external USB hubs with 3-4 sockets? If so, that may, or may not be a problem? I have had a lot of Pacdrive faults (just keeps paying out) when I use one with a layout with fast hopper payouts. 1 Treat every day like your last, because one day it will be! Fruit Machine <<<My new project! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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