VendingNewBe Posted September 9, 2019 Share Posted September 9, 2019 Good evening. I have a Dixie Narco 501e soda machine. The bill collector will no longer accept bills. The current bill collector is a Coinco BA30B. Is it even worth attempting to repair it? Or just I just buy either a new one. If so, can I buy anyone or should I purchase another Coinco. Thanks everyone for your help. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AngryChris Posted September 9, 2019 Share Posted September 9, 2019 Whenever my Coinco BA validators crap out on me, they go into the trash. My records indicate that I have 15 Coinco BAs and 1 Mag left in the field, with probably 3 more Mags sitting around at my house. I have probably trashed over 20 BAs in the last several years. They aren't the worst bill acceptors in the world but they aren't as good as many other options out there either. Since you have a 501e, I am going to assume it has an SIID board in it. If your machine already has MDB connected, then my recommendation is to get either a Mars 2502/2512 or a mars 2702/2712. As long as it ends in a 2 and you have a mars MDB harness to go with it (you can buy them separately if needed), then you should be good to go. If the machine is not already setup for MDB, then I recommend buying the validator mentioned above and pair it with either a Coinco 9302-gx or a Mars CF 7512. You can buy all of these refurbished for a lot cheaper than buying them new and they are all reliable components. You will also need an MDB harness for an SIID board if it isn't MDB already. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AZVendor Posted September 9, 2019 Share Posted September 9, 2019 He already has it connected as MDB since the front connector is empty. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fhamann Posted September 9, 2019 Share Posted September 9, 2019 My experience with the Coinco BA30 or BA50 is that they work for a while and work fine when you test it on the bench, but every $50 or $100 accepted will jam due to a wrinkled bill. Are these worth "refurbishing"? I have replaced belts on these but it usually doesn't solve the problem. The only solution is to replace them with Mars VN 25 series units. That solves the problem. Funny that I have an old BA30 in a snack machine that does about $5000 per year for the past 5 years and it has never had a stuck bill in it yet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AngryChris Posted September 9, 2019 Share Posted September 9, 2019 14 minutes ago, fhamann said: My experience with the Coinco BA30 or BA50 is that they work for a while and work fine when you test it on the bench, but every $50 or $100 accepted will jam due to a wrinkled bill. Are these worth "refurbishing"? I have replaced belts on these but it usually doesn't solve the problem. The only solution is to replace them with Mars VN 25 series units. That solves the problem. Funny that I have an old BA30 in a snack machine that does about $5000 per year for the past 5 years and it has never had a stuck bill in it yet. I have a similar experience. I only throw away the ones that stop working because once it starts, they are never reliable again. But then there are ones that just won't quit Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AZVendor Posted September 9, 2019 Share Posted September 9, 2019 Repairing them yourself is how you guarantee another repair is needed shortly after. Find a reliable rebuilder or a Coinco repair depot to get them fixed correctly and completely. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VendingNewBe Posted September 10, 2019 Author Share Posted September 10, 2019 Thank you everyone for your response. This is helpful. I will go and look for pricing for a Mars VN 25 series units. As this is the first vending machine i have how do I know if it is MDB? Someone said that it must be because the front connector is empty. Is that right? Thanks again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AngryChris Posted September 10, 2019 Share Posted September 10, 2019 AZVendor usually has a pretty good eye on stuff like that so if he says it's already hooked up with the MDB plug, then it probably is. The two ways to tell if it's an MDB connection is to look at the plug coming out of the validator. It should have 6 pins (don't disconnect/reconnect it with power on). You'll see a plug that connects to the bottom of the rectangular "box" mounted to the bill acceptor. That harness should have one male MDB plug and one female MDB plug coming out of it. One plug is hooked up to an MDB harness that goes straight to the control board and the other plug is hooked up to the coin mechanism. If that's exactly how it looks, then it's MDB. If the coin mechanism and bill acceptor are both hooked up to the board separately, then it's not MDB. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VendingNewBe Posted September 10, 2019 Author Share Posted September 10, 2019 Thank you everyone. I am off to go find one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AngryChris Posted September 10, 2019 Share Posted September 10, 2019 You want a Mars that ends in a 2 (2502, 2512, 2702, 2712,etc.) And a mars mdb harness. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VendingNewBe Posted September 22, 2019 Author Share Posted September 22, 2019 Good evening everyone. I so. I bought the following : MARS MEI VN2502 U5 bill validator 24volt MDB, will take $1, $2 & New $5.00 But I am really new to the vending machine world. I clearly did not buy the one that works with my setup. Attached are the pictures from the old and new one. Can someone help me understand do I need different connectors or should I return the changer and buy a new one. Sorry for being so lame on this. First two photos are of the new bill changer I bought. Second two are the old one. Thanks again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AngryChris Posted September 22, 2019 Share Posted September 22, 2019 On 9/10/2019 at 8:33 AM, AngryChris said: You want a Mars that ends in a 2 (2502, 2512, 2702, 2712,etc.) And a mars mdb harness. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VendingNewBe Posted September 22, 2019 Author Share Posted September 22, 2019 Thank you. Clearly I am learning. I will order a MARS MDB Harness. I really do appreciate all of your feedback. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AngryChris Posted September 22, 2019 Share Posted September 22, 2019 When you get it, notice that, just like the coinco, it has two mdb plugs (one male, one female) and a plug that goes to the bill acceptor. The coin mech connects to one of the mdb plugs on the Mars harness and the harness coming from the control board plugs into the other side. It's really common sense when you have some experience but you might get confused. Just make sure power is off before you start plugging/unplugging devices. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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