Card Reader Dongle - progress update.

[daverob]

A little teaser pic of the first batch of 'Rev 2' dongle PCBs ready for their burn-in test. These are the ones made from the small batch of circuit boards ordered for the beta test units, and will (hopefully!) be available for sale in a couple of weeks time, with the money raised from these to be invested in ordering a larger quantity of PCBs to start full production of the rev2 dongles.

CRE2-boards.JPG

The beta testing of the rev2 dongles is nearing it's end. Dongles from this sample batch with what should be the final version of the software code are now on their way to the beta testing team, and with a bit of luck I should get confirmation that the reported bugs have all been sorted out, and the dongles will be ready to be released.

I'll keep this thread updated with the status of the final testing, and details of when they will be available and how to purchase.

I'm currently writing the new operation instructions, and adding pages to my website detailing the new features of the rev 2 dongles.

One of the features I particularly like is that the new dongles will be able to have their internal software updated by using a small 'update key' that can be plugged into the expansion connector. When this 'update key' is used the dongle can reprogram itself with the updated software contained in a small memory chip inside the key.

This will allow me to update the dongle code to support new features and add-ons (like the ball counter module I'm working on), without having the logistical problems of needing the dongles to be returned for updating. These update keys should be quite simple to produce (1 chip and 1 connector on a tiny PCB) so won't be expensive, I'll probably be able to include one free with any orders for new dongle add-ons that require a software update, and each key can be used to update as many dongles as you'd like.

I'm putting together the production PCB panel for the rev 2 dongles, which includes PCBs for the dongles, the update keys, the new battery powered standalone smartcard reader, and a small update to the smartcard reader board so that it has a full 10 pin expansion connector on it, just in case this is needed for any future accessories, and also to make it fit better in the enclosure I'm working on for it (see pics below),

enclosure.jpgenclosure+card.jpg

The enclosure will be available as a complete reader for £20 (~$30), or as a kit to fit your own smartcard option reader board into for £10 (~$15). With the kit you will have to make a small modification to the board (file a notch into the PCB to give clearance for the ribbon cable), and also bend the header pins out of the way, as the plastic box is a very tight fit for the reader board.

This standalone reader (prototype pictures below), is still in the really early stages of development, but the prototype hardware is built and tested so I'm happy to order a few 'production' PCBs for it. At the moment I haven't started on the software for it, so all it can do is display '1234' and light a different decimal point depending on which button you press. But I'll be working on this as a background project, and it should be able to do a lot more when it's finished.

CRE-SA.jpgCRE-SA_on.jpg

The intention is to make it able to edit the credit available on a smartcard for use with the dongles/card readers, so you don't have to add credit on the pachinko machine itself. This was really just a project that I wanted to build for my own use, so I haven't thought much about things that other people might like to use it for.

At the moment I can only think of two 'features' for it. Firstly the 'credit editor', where you use left/right buttons to choose which digit to edit, press centre 'select' button, then left/right to adjust it's value up/down, then 'select' again to save the modified setting back to the card. Secondly storing a 'Backup value' for each card used. For example if you have a card printed with a 10,000 yen parlour card design, you could store a backup value of 100 credits on the card. When you put the card into the standalone reader it will allow you to set the amount of credit to the backup value with just one button press.

If anyone can think of anything else that might be a useful feature to add to it, then please post your thoughts here, as I'm very open to suggestions right now. Also some idea of the level of interest in it would be useful, as I'm not sure how many PCBs to order for it. I'm expecting the final price to be around £50 (~$75) as the translucent plastic box, blue LED displays, buttons and smartcard connector are quite expensive in small quantities (the parts to make the prototype cost me £80/$120!), but I might be able to get better prices if I know that there is enough interest for a larger production quantity.

[daverob]

I've just updated my website so that the Card Reader Emulator pages now contain all the extra information for the Rev.2 dongles, and added them to my store pages so they are now officially launched and available for sale.

I only have a limited quantity 30 units available, and once these have sold it is likely to be about a month before I will have any more, as I will need to order the production batch of printed circuit boards (which will take about 3 weeks to be manufactured and shipped).

I also have 8 of the new enclosure kits for the smartcard option board for sale, and will be making a larger batch of them if these prove to be popular (should only be a 1 week wait if these sell out). They will initially only be sold as kits for you to fit the board into, but if you buy one along with the smartcard option reader board, I'll fit the case for you before sending out your order.

The cases have also had an additional machining operation on them to provide extra clearance for the ribbon cable inside the box, so you won't need to modify the PCB of your current smartcard option board to fit them into the enclosure. The only modification required is to angle the four pins of the header connector up by about 45 degrees, as they stick out a little too far for the reader to fit into the plastic box. The next batch of smartcard reader boards will have a different header on them, so this won't be necessary.

There are still about 50 Rev.1 dongles remaining in stock, and these have been reduced in price to £20 (20% discount over the previous selling price). They will be available at this price until they are all gone.


I haven't had anyone express an interest for the standalone smartcard reader/writer (as shown in the post above), so I will not be continuing with this as a production project. I have 3 additional prototype PCBs, so if someone is really interested, then I might be persuaded to assemble one for them, but I still have to finish the software for it.


I'm also working on mounting kits for the smartcard reader boards. This will be for people who make their own pachinko cabinets, and will consist of a small panel with slot to insert the card through and a couple of mountings to fix the smartcard reader's circuit board behind it.

I plan to make the panels in aluminium or plastic (with the possibility of a wood being a made to order option), and may also offer them painted in various colours.


I'm also just about to order some materials to make a start on prototyping the ball counter module. This is designed to sit under the ball drain hole, and count the balls as you drain them from the shooter tray. This counter module will be connected to the expansion connector on the Rev.2 dongle, and it will count the balls back as an increase in the credit showing on the display.

In the future, I may also produce a 'counter' board, to which you can connect up to four of these counter modules and an optional smartcard reader, to produce your own ball redemption counter. This will allow you to empty an entire parlour tray of balls into the counter, and for the number of balls to be displayed, and then credited onto your smartcard.

[tovictorliu]

I would like to buy your new dongle ver2 for my Sanyo machine with card reader and card reader box by Paypal, could you deliver them to my China address? and how long does it take after I paid through Paypal? any updates to the new card reader cable and mounting tools?

[daverob]

could you deliver them to my China address? and how long does it take after I paid through Paypal?

Delivery to China is ok. It should take about a week and a half for them to arrive, but I have heard that customs clearance in China can be quite slow, so it can take around two and a half weeks for the order to arrive.

There may also be some delays at this end as well, as it's a bit snowy over here, and us English don't really cope that well in the snow. It's forecast to clear up at the weekend, so it should only be a couple of days like this.

You can order as normal from the store page on my website, but it may also be useful to email me (contact details are on my website) with the shipping address, as sometimes the PayPal shopping cart makes a mess of non Roman alphabet addresses.

If you could send your address as you would like it written on the package and also a second time in English/Roman alphabet, as the ladies at the local post office have tended to look at me all confused when I have sent items to Japan and Russia in the past, as they are required to type part of the address into their computers so it can be printed on the tracking/proof of postage receipt.

any updates to the new card reader cable and mounting tools?

I have the PCBs for the new smartcard readers, and have built and tested a few samples. They are essentially the same as the old style ones, the only difference is the dimensions have been adjusted slightly to allow them to better fit the enclosures, and a different style of header pins have been used. I will be assembling a production batch of them soon as stock of the old style reader boards is starting to run low.

The mounting plates for the readers are currently on hold, waiting on me getting some tooling and parts to make machining fixtures for them, as making the prototype version without the correct tooling was too time consuming. I wouldn't be able to make them like this and sell them at a reasonable price without making heavy losses on each one.


I'm making good progress on the design of the counter and display module. I've had some promising test results from some optical sensors I am trying out, and have built a mock up of the counter module to test it for ball flow. The counter module needs a few modifications to some of the internal angles, as you do get occasional ball jams when you try and dump a whole tray of balls through it, but overall I think that this design will work.

Once I am happy with the mechanical design of the counter module, I will run some more tests on the optical sensors to make sure that they will work reliably at the distance away from the balls that they will be in the module, then I'll order some custom PCBs for the sensors so that a prototype for the entire design can be tested.

This counter module can be connected directly to the rev.2 dongles, and can be positioned under the ball drain hole on the front trays of the pachinko to count the drained balls and add credit back to the display/smartcard, but it will also be able to be used along with a standalone display module to make a separate ball counter.

Due to the snow over here making it much more preferable for me to be sitting here in bed under a nice warm duvet, with a laptop and a development board hanging off one of it's USB ports, the display module is getting a lot more attention. The alternative of venturing out into the cold back-garden workshop to work on the mechanical side of things, doesn't really excite me that much right now.

It's still early days on the display module code, I've only really got as far as designing the display layout and font rendering code, so haven't managed to get as far as displaying anything of interest on the actual LCD panel I'll be using, but here are a couple of display mock-ups to show what I'm working towards.

Display_Layouts.png

With a bit of luck, I'll have actual photos to attach to the next progress update.

[tovictorliu]

Hi Deverob, Thanks for your news updates, I have just purchased your products through paypal:

1.Ver2 Dongle, 2. smart card option, 3.Enclosure of SCO, 4.one more smart card.

Please write "game card set" as item name on the post office shipping sheet, and value as "£10.00" for goods value customs declare box on the shipping sheet

Please send me an email once you deliver the goods, a post office tracking number provided will be appreciated

I also send an email to your gmail box for my China shipping address

Thanks and waiting for the goods coming….Victor

[tovictorliu]

Hi Deverob,

I have just received your products. I have to say its really a good accessory for anyone own a pachinko machine. everything works fine.

Only one suggestion or question: I charged a IC card too much values, does your dongle has an option to decrease the value from the IC card by holding any button? If it doesnt have this function I would suggest if your next firmware upgrade time add this function for just in case some users miss add proper value to the IC card

Anyway, thanks a lot. Victor

[daverob]

I charged a IC card too much values, does your dongle has an option to decrease the value from the IC card by holding any button?

This is a new issue with the Rev.2 dongles as they allow the smartcards to be used in the 'cash unit' operation modes ('o-6' and 'o-7') where credit can be added to the total each time the return button is pressed. If you keep pressing the return button you can get the smartcard set to a very high credit value, with no obvious way of decreasing the credit on the card (apart from paying out a whole load of balls!).

The solution is to go into the setup mode (hold both 'ball loan' and 'return' buttons down when you power the pachinko machine on) and change the operation mode. Either set it to 'o-5', and the next time you press the return button the card value will be reset to the values set in the 'h-t-u' settings, or set the dongle to the 'Ball Counter' mode 'o-3', and the return button will reset the card value to zero.

Once you've finished resetting the smartcard values, change the operation mode back to the default 'o-7' for normal operation.

[JamesM]

BRAVO Daverob! I can not wait to place my order next week.
Thank you for all your work!

[enderval]

BRAVO Daverob! I can not wait to place my order next week.
Thank you for all your work!

I ordered a dongle and the smart card reader yesterday. I got an email this morning from daverob that it has shipped out already! (Thanks!!) I look forward to receiving it in a week or two (I should have the instructions memorized by then).

For all the existing users out there, what mode do you prefer?