Credit card readers Q’s

[Magiccity726]

I have a new account. It’s actually a credit card processing company. It’s a large office with roughly 100 employees. They want cc readers and I am willing to provide them. However, I have never placed cc readers on my machines. The machines are installed already. It’s a royal 660 & a crane I believe model 158 that is mdb. I want to get the bill acceptors that have the cc reader on it. My first question is will that bill acceptor that has the cc reader on it, fit on a snack machine or should I get just a regular cc reader for the snack? Second, where should I purchase the readers from? 

[Southeast Treats]

The card swipes you are talking about just replace the regular validator bezels so they can fit the existing cutouts without modification.  The bezels are specific to the type of validator, you can buy the validator and bezel complete together, or upgrade an existing validator with the proper bezel.  Not all telemeters work fully with all bezels, and may need an adaptor or power supply to function properly.  Installing the swipe bezel is a matter of 4 screws, and the wiring attaches to the telemeter with no wiring to the validator.

Where to purchase is a matter of opinion, but after much experimentation I settled on USA Technologies for my telemeters.  The nice thing for you is that USA works with MEI and sells their 4 in 1 bezel as an option, and it is fully compatible with their telemeter.  It will come with instructions and everything you need to make it work, and you can install the bezel on any MEI 2000 series validator.  USAT's current product is the G10 telemeter, it is 4G wireless using dual antennas, and gets terrific signal strength almost anywhere you can find service. 

For any purchase, know which cellular providers have good coverage in your area and check that the telemeters you purchase use a locally available provider. 

Installing the whole thing is pretty easy if you know how to swap/install a validator.  As always, power off when breaking or making your wiring connections, and also be sure not to power up the telemeter without the antenna(s) attached.  The telemeter likes to be connected at the top of the MDB chain, so the wiring order goes control board/telemeter/validator/changer.  

If you need to mount the antennas externally on the machine you will need a drill to open up about a 1/2 inch hole on the top of the machine (big enough for the antenna connectors to run thru).   The standard antennas have magnetic bases, and on the royal you should be OK just putting them inside the top of the door (upside down) and just behind the front panel.  You will probably have to exterior mount on the snack machine.  I use black gorilla tape to secure the antenna coax on the outside to protect the cables and keep the antennas where I place them.