Where do you buy 12 volt siemens contactors in the US?

[pinballlooking]

Where do you buy 12 volt siemens contactors in the US?

How much should they cost?

[Numiah]

these things are hard to find in the States.

Wolfsoft sells them and I believe he ships overseas. Price is $50 excl. shipping.

Machinenshop sells them too. Thats where I bought them for $28,- a piece, thats $34,- including shipping. But you have to ask them if they ship across the pond. I believe they do though.

[pinballlooking]

Thanks.

Is there a good substitute for them that people in the States use?

[DeeGor]

I had found these a little while back, but I ended up purchasing some extra Siemens contactors off H4ck3r instead.

I have no idea how they sound, but they seem comparable.

Back when I originally found them they were only $30.

Alternatively, there are the cheaper solenoids from allelectronics.com that Mameman uses in his cabinet. Just be aware that you'll need to use a relay as the draw is too much to run directly from the ledwiz.

[zebulon]

Easiest solution is to find some 24v contactors on ebay and use a 24v power supply to run them. 24v is pretty standard for industrial use (elevator motors, hvac, industrial equipment).

[mameman]

Easiest solution is to find some 24v contactors on ebay and use a 24v power supply to run them. 24v is pretty standard for industrial use (elevator motors, hvac, industrial equipment).

yup you can pic you slightly used 24v ones for around $18 a pop.

[pinballlooking]

yup you can pic you slightly used 24v ones for around $18 a pop.

Does it matter what kind or will they all give the desired sound.

[mameman]

we usually use the 3RT1016 series. on the face in the bottom right corner it will be marked if they are 12 or 24v models. i'd try to stick with these as the others are an unknown.

[maxxsinner]

They will all give the desired sound but you want fast triggering ones, which are a little hard to find. Some have a lot of lag before they make contact and the thump that we are after.

[pinballlooking]

When looking at used ones how can you let if they are the fast triggering ones?

This is all new to me but I am reading lots and learning for your builds.

[zebulon]

Pretty much anything styled after the siemens ones are fast trigger, anything that has a nut and washer for cable connections is going to have a slower coil.

How long it was used for is going to make a difference as well, as the coils can harden from the heat over time, increasing the resistance and making the relay go "soft".

[pinballlooking]

Has anyone tried these? I would like to try to stay with 12V is possible.

GE MINIATURE CONTACTOR CR6ZBV3B 3P 12V DC 1NC

http://www.ebay.com/itm/NEW-GE-MINIATURE-CONTACTOR-CR6ZBV3B-3P-12V-DC-1NC-/390091161448?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item5ad33ebf68

[maxxsinner]

I would be worried that they wouldn't give the thump you are after because the coil is tiny

[pinballlooking]

That was my concern and it would be worthless without the thump.

[wierdo]

With any luck, I'll be able to tell you how well they work tomorrow. I have to finish wiring the cab first, though.

[pinballlooking]

This would be a great help. I am thinking about 6 of the 24v solenoids from allelectronics.com.

But I want to use something different for the flippers. Maybe starter solenoid or these if they work good.

I don’t want feedback in attract mode but I don’t want lag.

Can this be done?

With any luck, I'll be able to tell you how well they work tomorrow. I have to finish wiring the cab first, though.

[zebulon]

This would be a great help. I am thinking about 6 of the 24v solenoids from allelectronics.com.

But I want to use something different for the flippers. Maybe starter solenoid or these if they work good.

I don’t want feedback in attract mode but I don’t want lag.

Can this be done?

optocouplers on the flipper buttons to the contactors and a relay on the output of the ledwiz to hold the circuit open while in hyperpin. That would do it.

[pinballlooking]

optocouplers on the flipper buttons to the contactors and a relay on the output of the ledwiz to hold the circuit open while in hyperpin. That would do it.

Yes I have been eying up this optocoupler

http://www.hyperspin-fe.com/forum/showthread.php?t=7572&page=15

But I am not clear how I would set up ledwiz to hold the circuit open while in hyperpin.

[wierdo]

I finally got my LEDwiz set up, and I can say the GE contactors work to my satisfaction. There's a gratifying "thunk" and a reasonable amount of force feedback transmitted through the cab.

[pinballlooking]

I finally got my LEDwiz set up, and I can say the GE contactors work to my satisfaction. There's a gratifying "thunk" and a reasonable amount of force feedback transmitted through the cab.

Do you have any others you can compare them to? Are you able to run them straight from the LedWiz?

Are the fast acting?

Thanks for the letting me know how they work!

[wierdo]

Do you have any others you can compare them to? Are you able to run them straight from the LedWiz?

Are the fast acting?

Thanks for the letting me know how they work!

I don't have a point of comparison, but I see no reason to look for another solution.

I'm using the LEDwiz to trigger them, using 12v from my PC's power supply. All my lit buttons are also 12v, so the ledwiz wiring was just a matter of hooking 12v from the PC to the bank select terminals and to all the devices and connecting the molex connector's ground pin to the GND terminal. I also wired diodes across the terminals of the contactors as instructed by the guide. They trigger essentially instantly, so the force feedback is pretty effective.

Thanks to PixelMagic's tool, it was dead simple to generate the ledwiz ini file.

[zebulon]

Yes I have been eying up this optocoupler

http://www.hyperspin-fe.com/forum/showthread.php?t=7572&page=15

But I am not clear how I would set up ledwiz to hold the circuit open while in hyperpin.

This is Wolf's schematic for his optocoupler circuit on his website.

insert a relay into the line triggering the contactor and use the normally closed line. Trigger the relay you inserted with an output from the led wiz that isn't used for anything else. Assign that output to Exit_out in the hpledcontrol.ini (stays on during attract mode) and you will be breaking the circuit to the contactor during attract mode but leaving it closed during gameplay.

[pinballlooking]

This is Wolf's schematic for his optocoupler circuit on his website.

[ATTACH]9093[/ATTACH]

insert a relay into the line triggering the contactor and use the normally closed line. Trigger the relay you inserted with an output from the led wiz that isn't used for anything else. Assign that output to Exit_out in the hpledcontrol.ini (stays on during attract mode) and you will be breaking the circuit to the contactor during attract mode but leaving it closed during gameplay.

Thank you for your help on this! This is exactly how I want it to work.

[zebulon]

You'll need 2 optocoupler circuits so for the second I'd recommend using the HowToPlay_out in the hpledcontrol.ini . I've got lights hooked up to both the exit_out and HowToPlay_out and can verify that they aren't blinking, just steady on.

[DeeGor]

Hey Wierdo,

Can you take a video of those GE contactors? I'm curious as to how they sound.