Arduino Coin Acceptor

Projects General Guidance
1

Hello,

I'm trying to build a coin acceptor. I'm building this with the goal of replicating a simple piggy bank that would display the inputted balance on an LED screen and I also want that balance to be displayed on a webpage (WiFi connected).

Here is the list of parts I've came up with:

*Arduino UNO, I have one purchased, but I know that I need some kind of a wifi shield, after doing some research I found: WiFi Module - ESP8266 (4MB Flash) - WRL-17146 - SparkFun Electronics
*Coin Acceptor: Coin Acceptor - Programmable (3 coin types) - COM-11719 - SparkFun Electronics
*LED Screen: Basic 16x2 Character LCD - Black on Green 5V - LCD-00255 - SparkFun Electronics
*Battery (to power the Arduino without having to hook it up to my computer): Lithium Ion Battery - 2Ah - PRT-13855 - SparkFun Electronics

I have two questions:
*Does the coin acceptor hook up directly to the Arduino or do I need some sort of converter?
*In terms of sending the data to a computer in realtime (after every inserted coin), I looked online and found that an Ethernet shield was the recommended solution, however I want to know if this is possible wirelessly?

2

With regards to the coin detector; the datasheet states that it runs on 12V so the output is more than likely 12V as well (and that will kill your Arduino).

It should be possible to use wireless; other option is serial (but I guess you don't want cables).

3

sterretje:
With regards to the coin detector; the datasheet states that it runs on 12V so the output is more than likely 12V as well (and that will kill your Arduino).

Thanks for the reply,
Are you sure that the Arduino can't handle 12V? I might be wrong but, powering the Arduino Uno with a 12V battery - Project Guidance - Arduino Forum

4

Yes, I'm sure.

There is a difference between

  1. powering the board (yes, you can power it with 12V)
  2. IO levels on the pins

The 12V power on the barrel is reduced to 5V for the electronics on the board; and that is the maximum voltage that you can apply to the IO pins.

You can power the Arduino with 6V; the regulator will bring it down to below 5V (safe for the microcontroller); it will probably be around 4.5V and that will be the maximum that can apply to the IO pins.

5

so the output is more than likely 12V as well

.
Less than likely. According to the video on the Sparkfun product page, the output of the coin acceptor is 9600 Baud (RS232) serial, compatible with a USB-Serial adapter like the FTDI. That strongly implies that the output levels are 0 and 5V, but I would check with an oscilloscope or multimeter first.

6

Ah ok, so I'd need some sort of voltage regulator to drop the 12V down to a ~4.5V right?

A friend gave me one of these, would this do the trick?


7

Ah ok, so I'd need some sort of voltage regulator to drop the 12V down to a ~4.5V right?

No. Please reread reply #4.
And watch the video on the Sparkfun product page.