Smartcard System

[MrFixit]

Does anyone know who makes a smartcard loader and reader system that will go with work with the pachinko interface? I do not want to use an emulator and would like to have the read deal.

[Moparformances]

y not use DaveRobs system.. It has way more options...

if i rember it right you can set it up so only the credits on the card can be used... you would have to add credits first.. that way the player can not add his own credits..

[MrFixit]

y not use DaveRobs system.. It has way more options...

if i rember it right you can set it up so only the credits on the card can be used... you would have to add credits first.. that way the player can not add his own credits..

Because i want the system to be as realistic as possible. In essence I want to charge people credits for playing.

[compirate]

then do that, get some smart cards and have them printed in pre-set amounts (which you can refill yourself), set up the dongle to not allow changes at the machine.

[Drunkenclam]

You get yourself a ball dispenser? But you would have to insert tokens, not monies :wink: then pay as you play

http://page8.auctions.yahoo.co.jp/jp/auction/h151673286


http://page18.auctions.yahoo.co.jp/jp/auction/w57877302

[daverob]

I looked into getting a working genuine parlour prepaid card system from Japan before I designed the card reader emulator system. The system would have costed me about $4000 (for a single pachinko machine, adding additional machines was around $500).

You would have to buy the cards at full face value from the card system manufacturer. Once the cards have been used in the reader, the system would dial home (latest systems require a 24/7 connection to a server in Japan to verify the cards are genuine in real time), and you would get the value of the cards credited back into your bank account (minus the administration fee).

None of the manufacturers I contacted would consider selling abroad (unless you wanted to equip a whole parlour of 100's of machines), so you would need to add the costs of a trusted Japanese buying agent, obtaining a Japanese bank account, and most likely a VPN server in Japan so the machine could connect back via a Japanese internet address.

To me that was completely unrealistic, and even if I was planning to build my own commercial pachinko parlour over here, I would have found an alternative way of getting the customers to pay.


If there's something about the dongles that you would like changed so that they fit your model of being as realistic as possible, then send me a PM and I'll let you know if it is already possible, or I can see about producing a software update or the necessary accessories to allow it.

[MrFixit]

You get yourself a ball dispenser? But you would have to insert tokens, not monies :wink:

Awesome work-around. I just might buy one!

I looked into getting a working genuine parlour prepaid card system from Japan before I designed the card reader emulator system. The system would have costed me about $4000 (for a single pachinko machine, adding additional machines was around $500).

The only feature i would like to see added to the emulator system would be for the reader to removed credits from the card. The cards would then have to be reloaded by some other smart card device thus making transactions possible. I don't know much about the smart card system. Does this sound possible? Is the smart card a standalone wallet or is a smart card system a networked service?

[daverob]

The only feature i would like to see added to the emulator system would be for the reader to removed credits from the card. The cards would then have to be reloaded by some other smart card device thus making transactions possible. I don't know much about the smart card system. Does this sound possible? Is the smart card a standalone wallet or is a smart card system a networked service?

The cards used with my dongle/smartcard system are 'stored value' ie a standalone wallet, as there are no facilities to network the dongles together. The only problem is that they are simple memory smartcards, and have no protection against anyone modifying their contents, or copying the contents of a 'full' card onto an 'empty' one. It would be possible to modify the system to add a bit more security, but it will also add extra costs, and as a product for collectors and hobbyists it isn't really necessary for these users.

I did produce a prototype standalone smartcard reader/writer, and announced it in this thread, but there wasn't any real interest in it and the software hasn't been completed. I have the PCBs/hardware to make three more, and the project could be resurrected.

Also if you're not completely sold on the smartcard concept, it is also possible to connect the dongle up to a coin/token acceptor instead of the smartcard reader, which takes out the complexity of transferring the player's credit onto a smartcard. A bit more information about how to achieve this is on my website.