Guardians of the Galaxy (Pro)
Stern, 2017
Star Wars (Pro)
Stern, 2017Quoted from Aniraf:If you wanted 12VDC where do you pull that from?
It should be on the 9 pin connector already. If you have a 12 volt DC bill validator it's plug and play on Stern Spike games.
Quoted from Aniraf:Also wouldn’t you have to repin the connector to work with a different voltage?
No.
LTG : )
Quoted from LTG:It should be on the 9 pin connector already. If you have a 12 volt DC bill validator it's plug and play on Stern Spike games.
No.
LTG : )
I'm not really getting this either.... So the 9 holed connection on the coin door of a SPIKE game (to plug in a Bill Validator) only has 4 wires going into it (see picture posted earlier in the thread). This is the same way the 9 pin connection is pinned on my SAM Spider-Man. It seems the 4 and 6 holes are to provide the +120v AC (IF the power extension cable is run and connected to the connection in the backbox of a SPIKE game) and the other 2 wires (in hole 7 and 8 ) concern the credit pulse wires.
I don't see how there is +12v DC on that connection as it is from the factory. There is nothing in the number 5 or 9 holes where the 12v DC should be.
Having said that, there is a +12v DC connection for DBA (Dollar Bill Acceptors) on the cabinet node board in SPIKE games. It is CN9. I have been using that connection to power the +12v speaker light kits I have been selling since January of 2015 when WWE was first released. In all of that time I have not had one person (and I do sell my light kits to many ops) that have said that connection has been used by a Bill Validator. I always assumed that connection was there on the cabinet node for some new type of +12v Bill Acceptor that no one is using. Here is a picture of the connector and it's pin out as well as a pic of what the 9 pin connection holes are.
9 pin connection (resized).jpgDBA CN9 SPIKE 2 (resized).jpg
Quoted from Aniraf:If you wanted 12VDC where do you pull that from?
The Stern Harness.
Sorry, I didn't have a Stern Harness to check until the picture was posted. It comes with a new 9 pin connector wired for 12 volts.
LTG : )
Quoted from DugFreez:I'm not really getting this either....
Quoted from DugFreez:I had just assumed the +12v DC bill validators plugged straight into the CN9 connection.
I hadn't seen the Stern Harness until you posted the picture. The 12 volts is coming off the new 9 pin connector with that harness.
I'm sorry I made a mistake. I thought wrongly the new Stern harness was for 120AC.
Thank you for helping clear things up.
LTG : )
Quoted from KenLayton:A friend has the new Elvira and a Munsters. I will have to double check the bill acceptor connector sometime to see what voltage it is wired for.
The picture Aniraf posted earlier is of one from an Elvira's House of Horrors. It has the 4, 6, 7 & 8 pins only (or possibly the bottom row is 8 & 9 pins....but I don't think it would have the 9: 12VDC NEUTRAL without the 5: 12VDC HOT).
So it is 120AC. It is wired just like the connection in my SAM Spider-Man is.
I went to my friends house with camera in hand. I can confirm Elvira's House of Horrors LE, Munsters Pro, and Iron Maiden Pro all come from the factory wired for 120 volts ac bill acceptors and have coin doors with the full sized bill acceptor hole in the door. This allows any upstacker or stackerless bill acceptor to physically mount to the coin door.
There is nothing in connector position pins 5 and 9 (where 12 volt dc power would be). Only pins 4, 6, 7, 8 are wired. All other positions in the connector are empty.
These machines conform to Mars/MEI wiring standards for 120 volt ac bill acceptors.
EHOH ba connector rear (resized).JPGEHOH ba wiring (resized).JPGEHOH front door ba cutout (resized).JPG
Quoted from KenLayton:I went to my friends house with camera in hand. I can confirm Elvira's House of Horrors LE, Munsters Pro, and Iron Maiden Pro all come from the factory wired for 120 volts ac bill acceptors and have coin doors with the full sized bill acceptor hole in the door. This allows any upstacker or stackerless bill acceptor to physically mount to the coin door.
There is nothing in connector position pins 5 and 9 (where 12 volt dc power would be).
These machines conform to Mars/MEI wiring standards for 120 volt ac bill acceptors.
Thank you Ken !
LTG : )
Quoted from Dr-Willy:Here is the cheapest refurb'd mars i have found so far.
https://www.vendingworld.com/mars-vn2511-bill-validator.php
$153 with the harness, and you can upgrade to a large 500 stacker for an extra $25, I would double check to make sure it comes with a 300 stacker if you dont upgrade to the 500 as it does not specify.
There is no point having more than a 300 stacker haha, anything bigger may not fit.
Stern has a cable available that runs all the way to the backbox power supply that then adds 110v to the pre-existing 9 prong bill acceptor connector.
Call 1800kickers or any big distributor.
Quoted from HighProtein:There is no point having more than a 300 stacker haha, anything bigger may not fit.
Well, this is true, yet I have answered a service call where the acceptor would not take any money on my WOZ. It turned out the stacker was full, and it only took three days to fill it up! Probably my best service call ever.
Quoted from BrianBannon:Well, this is true, yet I have answered a service call where the acceptor would not take any money on my WOZ. It turned out the stacker was full, and it only took three days to fill it up! Probably my best service call ever.
Those are *good* service calls!
Quoted from KenLayton:I went to my friends house with camera in hand. I can confirm Elvira's House of Horrors LE, Munsters Pro, and Iron Maiden Pro all come from the factory wired for 120 volts ac bill acceptors and have coin doors with the full sized bill acceptor hole in the door. This allows any upstacker or stackerless bill acceptor to physically mount to the coin door.
There is nothing in connector position pins 5 and 9 (where 12 volt dc power would be). Only pins 4, 6, 7, 8 are wired. All other positions in the connector are empty.
These machines conform to Mars/MEI wiring standards for 120 volt ac bill acceptors.
[quoted image][quoted image][quoted image]
It is not “hot” though? At least when I plugged my device in it didn’t power up like it did on the 120 line. I imagine it needs that extension from stern?
Sorry I am such a noob on this, it is a bit confusing.
Quoted from Aniraf:It is not “hot” though? At least when I plugged my device in it didn’t power up like it did on the 120 line. I imagine it needs that extension from stern?
Sorry I am such a noob on this, it is a bit confusing.
Correct. No power to that 9 pin connection if you don't have that wire run (from behind the AC cover in the backbox to the front of the cabinet) on a SPIKE game. For the electrical certification that they got on the SPIKE games...there is no high power allowed to be in the cabinet from the factory. That is why the power switch is on the bottom of the backbox and not on the bottom of the cabinet. If you want high power for your bill validator connection....you have to run the cable yourself.
It should be easy to look in the coindoor and see where that cable plugs in (SEE PICTURE of cable connected).
When you do connect that cable (on both ends), you will be getting 115VAC to the 9 pin connection (no 12VDC) when the game is powered on.
9d8822b8dc3a16b9eba7c437774cc17fedf2b066 (resized).jpgCheck out my post here:
https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/best-dollar-bill-acceptor-for-gb-pro#post-3778911
Quoted from DugFreez:Correct. No power to that 9 pin connection if you don't have that wire run (from behind the AC cover in the backbox to the front of the cabinet) on a SPIKE game. For the electrical certification that they got on the SPIKE games...there is no high power allowed to be in the cabinet from the factory. That is why the power switch is on the bottom of the backbox and not on the bottom of the cabinet. If you want high power for your bill validator connection....you have to run the cable yourself.
It should be easy to look in the coindoor and see where that cable plugs in (SEE PICTURE of cable connected).
When you do connect that cable (on both ends), you will be getting 115VAC to the 9 pin connection (no 12VDC) when the game is powered on.[quoted image]
That explains everything! Thank you. I have the cables ordered so hopefully I’ll get them soon.
The bill acceptor connectors are AMP "Mini-Universal Mate-N-Lok" series.
Amp # 172169-1 Plug Housing 9 position
Amp # 172161-1 Cap Housing 9 position
Amp # 770987-1 Crimp pin terminal
Amp # 770988-1 Crimp socket terminal
Mouser Electronics stocks these.
I wanted to add a little update to this thread. It seems with Avengers:IQ Stern has started using the CN9 (DBA) connection on the Cabinet Node Board. The wires from that connection then run to the 9 housing connector on the back of the coin door.
So it seems that in the cases where they do have that connection on the CN9 from the factory...the 9 housing coin door connection is now wired to be used with 12vdc or 115vac dollar bill acceptors.
Quoted from DugFreez:I wanted to add a little update to this thread. It seems with Avengers:IQ Stern has started using the CN9 (DBA) connection on the Cabinet Node Board. The wires from that connection then run to the 9 housing connector on the back of the coin door.
So it seems that in the cases where they do have that connection on the CN9 from the factory...the 9 housing coin door connection is now wired to be used with 12vdc or 115vac dollar bill acceptors.
But the 115v cables are still offered from Stern free for the asking by original buyers of the machine. You just give them your serial number and address through your distributor and they send it from Stern direct. That cable can be run from the power supply in the head through the cabinet to the door, as before. But it's pretty clear it's only a matter of time before the 115v connection at the power supply is eliminated and the 12v one from the node board by the coin door is all there is for DBAs on the newer Sterns coming at some point in the near future.
Quoted from PinMonk:But the 120v cables are still offered from Stern free for the asking from original buyers of the machine. That cable can be run from the power supply in the head through the cabinet to the door, as before. But it's pretty clear it's only a matter of time before the 120v connection at the power supply is eliminated and the 12v one from the node board by the coin door is all there is for DBAs.
Yeah, if the 115vac cable is run from the back box (behind the AC cover) to connect at the front of the cab AND the CN9 connection on the cabinet node board is being used from the factory, that means the 9 housing connection on the back of the coin door is then wired with 12vdc and 115vac.
As for the 115vac connection being eliminated in the backbox....I expect there would be some resistance to that. I know a lot of ops use the 115v bill validators (way more than people using the 12vdc models from what I have seen) and I don't think they would give up that option without a stink. Especially when you consider they have had the 12vdc connection on the node board for 5+ years at this point and they are just now getting around to wiring it as a usable option IF a person would want to use it.
Quoted from DugFreez:Yeah, if the 115vac cable is run from the back box (behind the AC cover) to connect at the front of the cab AND the CN9 connection on the cabinet node board is being used from the factory, that means the 9 housing connection on the back of the coin door is then wired with 12vdc and 115vac.
As for the 115vac connection being eliminated in the backbox....I expect there would be some resistance to that. I know a lot of ops use the 115v bill validators (way more than people using the 12vdc models from what I have seen) and I don't think they would give up that option without a stink. Especially when you consider they have had the 12vdc connection on the node board for 5+ years at this point and they are just now getting around to wiring it as a usable option IF a person would want to use it.
I can see Stern making the cable not free soon, then raising the price of the cable, etc until it becomes cheaper/less hassle to just switch over to 12v DBAs (which are not currently anywhere near what I would call cheap), then delete the connector in the backbox.
Quoted from DugFreez:I wanted to add a little update to this thread. It seems with Avengers:IQ Stern has started using the CN9 (DBA) connection on the Cabinet Node Board. The wires from that connection then run to the 9 housing connector on the back of the coin door.
So it seems that in the cases where they do have that connection on the CN9 from the factory...the 9 housing coin door connection is now wired to be used with 12vdc or 115vac dollar bill acceptors.
Was messing around with a Mars AE2411 DBV. I got it used from a local operator to use on my AIQ. I ran the cable from the back box to the front. Checked voltages and got 120V up front. Plugged that into the plug under Node 1 up front. Had switch 3, 7, 8 all OFF. Turned game on and did not get the DBV to talk or even turn on. No LEDs on the back. I know it's not the game but something with the validtor. What should I be looking for next?
Quoted from nick_k:Was messing around with a Mars AE2411 DBV. I got it used from a local operator to use on my AIQ. I ran the cable from the back box to the front. Checked voltages and got 120V up front. Plugged that into the plug under Node 1 up front. Had switch 3, 7, 8 all OFF. Turned game on and did not get the DBV to talk or even turn on. No LEDs on the back. I know it's not the game but something with the validtor. What should I be looking for next?
The black harness on the DBV make sure it’s plugged in tight and in the correct spot
The other end of that wire connects to the white 9 pin connector that’s attached to your machine. And runs to the board that you connected that white and black 2 prong cable.
Have you done all that? Also the 2 prong cable is plugged into the head behind that silver metal shield?
The MEI cable black that connects to the side and runs to the white 9 pin. I’ve had those be bad before where if you wiggle them they will give power but not perfect. I had to get another cable.
Quoted from nick_k:Was messing around with a Mars AE2411 DBV. I got it used from a local operator to use on my AIQ. I ran the cable from the back box to the front. Checked voltages and got 120V up front. Plugged that into the plug under Node 1 up front. Had switch 3, 7, 8 all OFF. Turned game on and did not get the DBV to talk or even turn on. No LEDs on the back. I know it's not the game but something with the validtor. What should I be looking for next?
Make sure you have the correct adapter from the Stern to the DBV. The AMUSEMENT one is the one you want. The VENDING one has a totally different set of pinouts.
Quoted from Vernisious:I went through these posts and still couldn't get my Mars 2411 to work on Deadpool. I finally looked up the manual and set the switches as it says 3,7,8 off. The rest on and it worked for me. Maybe this will help someone.
[quoted image]
Why are you using a Rowe document to set dip switches in a Stern Pin?
There’s a decal on the side of the DBA where the switches are that indicate what the switches do. Set them to 4 way accept, hi accept, and always enable. I can’t remember off the top of my head, but I think you want one pulse per dollar. On a 24xx, accept $5’s. On a 26xx, accept $20’s. If you accept $10’s and $20’s, make sure the max credits allowed by the machine is 30 or so, otherwise you’ll have a service call because someone put in a $20 and only got 10 credits (assuming you’re at $1/play.)
Quoted from ryanbrooks:Why are you using a Rowe document to set dip switches in a Stern Pin?
There’s a decal on the side of the DBA where the switches are that indicate what the switches do. Set them to 4 way accept, hi accept, and always enable. I can’t remember off the top of my head, but I think you want one pulse per dollar. On a 24xx, accept $5’s. On a 26xx, accept $20’s. If you accept $10’s and $20’s, make sure the max credits allowed by the machine is 30 or so, otherwise you’ll have a service call because someone put in a $20 and only got 10 credits (assuming you’re at $1/play.)
I don't know but it didn't work with 8 on. Works as described above. Not sure.
Quoted from Vernisious:I don't know but it didn't work with 8 on. Works as described above. Not sure.
what’s the decal say switch 8 does?
Quoted from ryanbrooks:what’s the decal say switch 8 does?
First rule of Fight Club, don't talk about Fight Club.
Quoted from ryanbrooks:what’s the decal say switch 8 does?
Dip switch 8 says enable. Everywhere in this forum it says to always enable. I've put 2 different Mars 2411 on two different Stearns (Deadpool and Star Wars) with 3,7,8 off and it works.
Here’s a summary of what I’ve learned so far, and a question. Here’s the 9-pin connector inside the coin door, next to a harness I found online. You can see that one edge pin is keyed as square. That’s pin 6 in the photo earlier in this thread. Also I can confirm that this 2022 GZ Prem has +12V in the center, pin 5. And bridging pins 7 and 8 triggers “center coin” in switch test.
The VN 2511 U7 I found has an online PDF that doesn’t say much about its header—
It looks like this—
I couldn’t find any guidance about how to orient the harness I found. Seems like it goes in the 12-pin section of the header. The only orientation clue is that the bill acceptor’s header is missing a pin where the connector is missing a wire. I couldn’t find a pinout diagram.
While I wait for an AC cable from Stern (hopefully they still send them out?), how is one to know how to orient this harness?
Edit: I think I found it.
https://www.reddit.com/r/cade/comments/4cscyg/can_someone_help_me_with_wiring_a_mars_ae_2411/
The key pin is above the ground pin and I appear to have guessed right. Stern still sends out those cables. If I don’t post back in a week or two then everything worked.
Quoted from spblat:I couldn’t find any guidance about how to orient the harness I found.
I believe all the manuals for the 2000-series has info on this, and some (most?) should have the pinouts.
However, this should help regardless! Other pages have the pinouts, and show how to connect the smaller (18-pin) harness.
AppdxA.pdf
Thank you. Now that my AC cables have arrived my VN2511 is starting up but blinking red twice. This, I believe, means that because it's designed for vending machines ("VN"), it's waiting for a signal from the machine that it's ok to accept money. We don't want this in an amusement machine so yet another cable is needed, an enable jumper with original part number 250074011. Man has this been a journey.
Hopefully the cable I just bought on eBay pictured above has a key on the opposite side to confirm orientation. Here's another picture from elsewhere that provides a nice clue—
pasted_image (resized).png
A few posts down from the link above, Ken Layton (who has also helped us in this very thread) posted some handy information for making one's own enable plug, but you can see that it's not jumpering as many wires as what I just bought—
Late model Williams pinball machines like Dirty Harry and Demolition Man were shipped from the factory with a "goodie bag" of spare parts & accessories. Inside that goodie bag is/was a jumper plug pre-wired for plugging into the black sidebox of Mars VFM series bill acceptors. This enables the bill acceptor to accept bills. The Williams part number of that jumper plug is 5797-13606-00.
Here is a picture of that jumper. I have verified that this wiring is correct and does indeed make the bill acceptor work properly & accept bills. There are only four wires and they are all tied together.
With the index or locking tab of the jumper pointing downward here is the wires to jumper (indicated by "O"). The "X" means nothing connected and is empty.
X X X X O X O X X
X X X X X O O X XAll of the "O" are connected together.
Summarizing newbie tips for installing a bill acceptor/bill stacker in spike2 games—
If I don't post again in a few weeks then it means I finally won 
Quoted from spblat:Thank you. Now that my AC cables have arrived my VN2511 is starting up but blinking red twice. This, I believe, means that because it's designed for vending machines ("VN"), it's waiting for a signal from the machine that it's ok to accept money. We don't want this in an amusement machine so yet another cable is needed, an enable jumper with original part number 250074011. Man has this been a journey.
[quoted image]
Hopefully the cable I just bought on eBay pictured above has a key on the opposite side to confirm orientation. Here's another picture from elsewhere that provides a nice clue—
[quoted image]
A few posts down from the link above, Ken Layton (who has also helped us in this very thread) posted some handy information for making one's own enable plug, but you can see that it's not jumpering as many wires as what I just bought—Summarizing newbie tips for installing a bill acceptor/bill stacker in spike2 games—
VN2511 is one of several acceptors that can be found on eBay at reasonable prices used (mine was $157 shipped)
Don't forget the harness to get from the 9 pin connector in the game to the header on the stacker. Mine was another $15 shipped, "MEI Mars VN 2511 110 Volt Pulse Bill Validator/Bill Acceptor Power Harness"
Don't forget the AC cable, which you can get from Stern. One end goes to a plug behind the panel containing the main fuse in the backbox and the other end is tucked away near the coin door.
Don't forget to make or buy an enable jumper if you bought a "VN" stacker made for vending machines, part number 250074011 or 5797-13606-00. Mine was $15 shipped.
"1 way", "2 way" and "4 way" refer to whether the stacker makes you feed bills in a certain way, or whether any orientation is permitted.
Maybe 50ms timing will work but the slower 200ms timing is probably better for a game looking for coin drops.If I don't post again in a few weeks then it means I finally won
Moving forward, don’t buy VN validators, but rather look for the AE series. These are amusement interface. Really, they’re the same, just a bit different software installed. You won’t need the harness enable jumper that you’re having to use.
Also, a few things to remember-make sure you get a bill stacker which will clear the playfield (200 note-anything larger and the coin door won’t shut) and make sure you get a bezel which clears the contours of the the coin door or else you’re taking a hacksaw or angle grinder to the bezel. I’ll try to post some pics of which one fits and which doesn’t. No one wants to hear this, but the way the new Happ coin doors are, we’ve had to trim a bunch of DBA bezels to fit just because I didn’t see any reason to order 100 bezels.
Wanna join the discussion? Please sign in to reply to this topic.
Great to see you're enjoying Pinside! Did you know Pinside is able to run without any 3rd-party banners or ads, thanks to the support from our visitors? Please consider a donation to Pinside and get anext to your username to show for it! Or better yet, subscribe to Pinside+!
This page was printed from https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/new-stern-pins-bill-validators/page/2?hl=ryanbrooks and we tried optimising it for printing. Some page elements may have been deliberately hidden.
Scan the QR code on the left to jump to the URL this document was printed from.
Hopkins, MN