X-Mark Code Reading
A fist full of lead slugs is neither a welcome sight for honest customers nor for casino management. In spite of the well known nearly identical inductive alloy signature between common lead and nickel-silver alloy tokens, many casino properties continue to use this alloy (see upper left token) leaving their machines open to garage-shop counterfeiters who produced lead slugs as pictured in the right hand column and found in the hoppers of slot machines throughout the industry.

 Industry Articles On Counterfeit Tokens

X-Mark tokens have a machine readable optical mark minted into the surface of the token in a circular band near its periphery. These minted marks are read by optical sensors in X-10 and X-60 X-Mark Xeptors as the coin passes through the coin chute. The reflective requirements and angular geometry of the X-Mark tokens prevents them from being easily duplicated in a garage-shop by pressing a real X-Mark token into soft metal, pouring lead into crude molds, or by cutting surface grooves with a lathe. Over 250,000,000 X-Mark tokens have been sold based on its proven ability to eliminate troublesome slugging and the back-room costs of separating tokens when crossplay between casino tokens is not prevented.

See also the X-Mark Encoded Token page for more information..

 Bi-Metal Coin Signature
The unique small inductive sensor of IDX Xeptors (only 0.3" in diameter) allow them to separately measure both the edge and center metal alloys of the coin. This is not possible with the large inductive sensor coils found in most competitive products. This is an important security feature that should not be lightly discarded. Both governments and casinos have gone out of their way to produce bi-metal coins and tokens for added visual security from counterfeits. However, security is needed most is in the unattended slot machines and vending machines where counterfeiters can work unnoticed. Having a separate signature of the edge and center metal alloys prevents counterfeiters from making slugs of from a single alloy which reads the same as the single reading from less sophisticated coin acceptors. A second benefit of IDX's unique small inductive sensor relates to the fact that most mints have problems bonding the outer and inner metal parts of a bi-metal coin together in a repeatable manner. The variability in this metal seam cases a reading repeatability problem when sensor coils take their reading over this metal seam, as do the less sophisticated coin acceptors with large sense coils. Conversely, IDX Xeptors avoid the metal seam by taking measurements on the edge and center which provides for tighter discrimination windows because there is inherently less variation in reading from coin to coin. 

 Clad Coin Signature
The X-20 and X-22 use advanced multi-frequency sensing technology to resolve separate layer signatures from clad or plated coins, such as the nickel clad copper construction of the US 50¢ in the picture. Most currency produced today for US, Canadian and the new Euro coins is clad or plated. While the counterfeiters have been able to find sources of stock sheet metal that register the same readings as a clad or plated coin when only a single sensing frequency is used, such single alloy sheet metals can never produce the same signature as a clad coin with IDX multi-frequency sensing technology having multiple depth sensing fields. A distinctive signature means security from slugging and counterfeiting.

 Optical Diameter Measurement
The right hand side quarter has had about 0.040" shaved off its diameter in order to trick the machine into ejecting coins form the hopper without counting them. Most casinos have fallen victim to this scheme for emptying the slot's hopper without know it was happening. The change in coin diameter is small enough to escape casual visual detection. Inductive comparison type coin acceptors cannot distinguish such slight coin diameter changes and can be tricked into accepting shaved coins by "slamming" them. Shaved coins go in for credit and come out free.

 Industry Articles On Coin Shaving

The best way to stop this is to prevent shaved coins from entering your machines in the first place. IDX Xeptors have advanced diameter detection optics that precisely measure the diameter of each coin, typically to within +/- 0.005". In order to accept the coin, it must fall within a +/- 0.015" window of the average diameter of the sample set of coins used in the training session to learn this coin type. The result is that if George or any other of your tokens gets a shave, IDX Xeptors will cleanly and reliably reject them, thus preventing your profits from being shaved as well.
 

 Coin Programming
"Learn 'n Run"
IDX Xeptors can Learn 'n Run any coin or token right in the field. A simple procedure of turning a rotary switch, pushing a button, and dropping a few sample coins through the unit does the job. If you have a nasty coin that is nearly identical to your desired coin, the Xeptor can even lean not to take the close cousin unwanted coin in the same way.

Pushbutton - Copy & Clone
Coin programming has never been so simple! Coin Selectors allow you to change the acceptance parameters in a coin acceptor at the press of a button. Coin programming has never been simpler. Thanks to innovative patent pending mathematical transformations that take place between the Coin Selector and the Xeptor, the new coin signature is downloaded and adjusted for minor component variations in the particular Xeptor resulting in user simplicity without compromising acceptance security, first time or any time. Because the data is transformed to the exact needs of the specific Xeptor this transformation technology is called XactData^TM.

Coin Selectors were then designed to save time and reduce errors in programming large numbers of Xeptors without sacrificing either acceptance or security performance. They will never become obsolete because in addition to being able to download updated coin signature profiles to the Coin Selectors, the Copy & Clone^TM technology lets you manually program one Xeptor in any way that they like, push a button to copy it into the Coin Selector, then using it to clone other coin acceptors also at the push of a button. Coin programming has never been so simple!

 Extreme Speed
It is easily shown in the lab that your best customer can really insert up to 10 to 15 coins per second. Yet, some of our best competitors claim their speed enhanced units for the casino market can take 6 or 7 coins a second....  are you buying that? More than once we have heard customers and slot tech say that some coins aren't accepted the first time because they have a static charge on them, but if you rub them on your pants or the side of the machine first, then it will take the coin. But, you know what the real problem is..... the coin acceptor just isn't keeping up with the customer's ability to insert coins and rejects those that come to quickly on the heels of the prior coin... not because it has a static charge on it.

IDX coin acceptors utilize what we call Triple Track Technology to measure, track, and properly credit as many a 3 coins simultaneously  traveling down the coin chute, resulting in an unrivaled speed of over 20 coins per second for US Quarter sized coins, a bit faster for smaller coins, and a bit slower for larger coins. You can't beat that! Your best customers deserve a coin acceptor that can work as fast as they do.

Built-In Field Test The Four Forms of Built-In Field Test. 4First The indicator LED status can report 6 different operating conditions, as shown in the table below. 4Second The rotary selector switch has 9 different positions that each relate to self-testing a key function of the Xeptor and displaying the test results on the LED indicator for a quick specific diagnosis which may result in a quick field fix. 4Third Our Xaminer pocket diagnostic tool can be connected to the serial port of the Xeptor to examine its configuration, coin programming, maintenance codes, and failure codes. 4Fourth If the Xeptor does need to be removed from the machine, it can be easily diagnosed and repaired on the bench using an oscilloscope and the waveforms produced during self test as described in the bench test procedure. LED Status Indicator Color Codes No light probably means no power. Duuhh!  Plug it in, check your wires, check your power supply. Verify your Personality Plug. Solid green is good. It means normal operation for either switch position 0 (Run) or switch positions 7 to F (Field Test). Green with short red flash means the unit is normally operating and is Secured from coin programming without using the X-Key. This is available starting with V3.0r firmware. Solid red is normal in switch positions 1-6 for coin programming. A red flash during coin acceptance indicates credit has issued. Alternating red-green means that the unit has detected some sort of malfunction. See Field Test to diagnose.  Blinking yellow means Inhibit. It is inhibited from acceptance in switch  position 0 ,inhibited from coin programming in switch positions 1-6, and Credit Optics not available in switch position 8.

 Self Defense Logic
IDX Xeptors implement a number of Self Defense strategies to defend against tricksters who would try to string, slug, or otherwise try to cheat the coin acceptor by triggering an Xeptor to produce a Tilt Output and activate its Self Inhibit feature. These Self Defense strategies include:
  4Slow Coin Detection
  4Reverse Coin Detection
  4Correct Coin Path Detection
  4Excessive Bad Coin Count Detection

Tracking data from the Xeptor's primary 3 diameter sensors, 2 credit sensors, and its inductive metal sensor are used to determine if the speed, direction and path of the coin is within normal bounds. The Bad-Coin-Count Self Defense feature of Xeptors provides a means to defend against slugs that are pretty good, but not perfect. It works by keeping track of the acceptability of recently deposited coins by maintaining a "BadCoinCout" which counts up 2 for every rejected coin, and down 1 for every accepted coin. The count is limited to values from 0 to 8. If the count ever reaches 8, an internal flag is set to indicate that the Xeptor is possibly under attack with slugs. This flag causes the operation of the Xeptor to be changed in two ways. First, the tolerances are tightened a bit on all sensed coin parameters in an attempt to better ward off a possible slug attack while only slightly (if at all) affecting the acceptance of good coins. Second, any time a coin is rejected when the flag is set, the Xeptor will Self Inhibit for the time set by the TiltTime parameter (see Serial Port Protocol for setting this parameter.) The idea is that if a slugger has a fist full of slugs, and one is rejected, then for a few seconds (as he is inserting other slugs) the Xeptor will self inhibit and reject all of the coins inserted so that not even a good slug in the batch will be accepted. Typically about  1 to 3 seconds (TiltTime = 3 to 9) is recommended for best performance. The factory default setting for TiltTime is 4.

By significantly reducing the acceptance rate of slugs that are marginally pretty good, the slugger is likely to get up and go to another venue to try his luck with his slugs there. By the time he leaves, the Self Inhibit TiltTime will have expired and the Xeptor will be ready to accept coins again. When the BadCoinCount goes down to 0 after sufficient good coins have been deposited, the flag is cleared and the defenses are brought back down to normal. The algorithm of this counter allows the flag to be set with 4 bad coins in a row, or alternatively, if the coins are mixed good/bad, in order to not set the flag, on average, at least 2/3 of the coins must be accepted. See Tilt Timer for more details. 

 Denomination Diverter Driver
IDX Xeptors can be ordered with a built-in Diverter Driver (see How To Order page) to control an external coin diverter for the purpose of sorting the end destination of two classes of accepted coins. There are two primary situations calling for this capability. First, one may wish to accept multiple denominations, and direct only one to a change hopper, and the others to a vault drop. Second, one may wish to accept a promotional token in addition to the usual coin, but always have the promotional token diverted to the vault drop. The Diverter Driver works in tandem with existing controls for the "hopper full" diverter as without the need for formal communication or software changes in the host machine. 

Diverter Driver Features
  4Optically coupled AC/DC FET circuit switches up to 400mA, 60V, AC/DC.
  4Output FET device is snubber protected from inductive load fly back spikes.
  4Diagnostic green LED indicator shows when Xeptor activates Diverter Driver.
  4Two-wire connection into diverter solenoid circuit. (see installation notes below)

Detailed operation is described in a downloadable application note. All Xeptors can optionally be manufactured with a diverter driver output. It is controlled coin-by-coin where coins matching the coin signature in Coin Memory 1, 2, and 3 will not activate the diverter, but those matching the coin signature of Coin Memory 4, 5, and 6 will activate the diverter. The diverter output is controlled by two timing parameters called Diverter Delay and Diverter Pulse, both of which can be set with the P command (see Serial Protocol). As shown in the example below, these parameters are 10 and 50 respectively. Keep in mind that these are hexadecimal numbers which are 16ms and 80ms in decimal respectively. The timing starts at the same time the gate relay is activated to accept the coin. In this case, the Xeptor will wait 16ms after activating the accept gate relay before activating the diverter output, and then will keep the diverter output activated for an additional 80ms.