Dongle news and parlour questions.

[daverob]

The version 2 dongle hardware is coming along nicely. I've just finished putting together a handful of samples and I'm testing them to make sure that they all fully comply with the specification. If all goes well I expect to be posting a request for beta testers sometime next week.

Next week I'll be turning my attention to software updates, I've already got the dongle code running on the new hardware and have added a few new features, such as auto-detection of the smartcard option and setup mode is now accessed by holding both buttons on power up (this can be disabled by using the setup jumper). My next objective is to improve the emulation of the smartcard system and to try to make it more accurately replicate the parlour experience.

Now, I've done quite a bit of googling (in both English and Japanese) and YouTube searches to look for videos, but can't really find the detailed information I need. While I'd love to fly over to Japan and check these things out for myself (and one day I will!), it's slightly too high an expense to justify right now. So I need the assistance of those of you who have visited the Japanese pachinko halls and used the prepaid cards and card units.

Anything that can be remembered about the system would be great, but I'm specifically looking for information on what is shown on the credit display at various times, when the 'Ball Loan Available' LED next to the credit display is lit, and if the shooter handle is disabled at any time.

I'm interested in operation with a pre-paid card, and also on the machines that take cash directly.


Specific questions are below, for the questions asking about the display I'd also like to know if the Ball Loan Available LED is lit or not...

Are balls usually dispensed in an appropriate amount for a single credit count, or are other amounts used? (eg normal pachi is 25 balls for 100 Yen credit, ichipachi is 100 balls for 100 Yen credit.)

Are balls automatically dispensed (without needing to press the ball loan button) at any time? eg when inserting coins/card into the machine.

Does the credit display count down when you press the ball loan button, or is it after the balls are paid out?

What is shown on the display when no card is inserted?
When card/cash is inserted does the display just show the credit available?
When you run out of credit, what is shown on the display?
When you eject the card, is anything shown on the display?

What happens to the display/ball loan available LED if the machine cannot make a payout (in a parlour this is most likely due to the ball shooter tray/lower payout tray being full).

Is the shooter handle disabled at any time (eg when there is no card present in the card unit).


I realise that this is a lot of questions, but any answers or any other comments about your parlour experiences will be gratefully received. It doesn't matter if you can't answer all of the questions, or if you are uncertain of your answers, every detail will be really helpful to me.