AES Ticket Validators

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mubd
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AES Ticket Validators

Post by mubd »

I've recently gotten my hands on a green AES Prodata ticket machine. Just wondering if anyone here would have some idea on how I might get it to fire up again and at least get the mechanism dipping tickets?

From what I understand once the Datafare 2000 driver consoles were replaced with the new Wayfarer units, the ticket machines did away with printing sections on the tickets, but they still seemed to have some kind of interface with the units because they still were able to print the bus route number on the tickets (along with the date and time). Was there some kind of intermediary unit between the ticket machine and the driver's console to facilitate this?
Eastgardens to Kingsford is a 1-2 section fare.
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Swift
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Re: AES Ticket Validators

Post by Swift »

They were used far too long by the STA. They were great...in 1990 but in the 2010s? They were getting problematic and they even resorted to acquiring used consoles from Brisbane just to keep going with this system that should have been replaced not long into the 2000s.
Thank goodness for contactless finally forcing out this equipment.
NSW, the state that embraces mediocrity.
BDAT
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Re: AES Ticket Validators

Post by BDAT »

Hi mubd
Many private operators used the AES machines you may need to get your hands on the machine itself to make the green unit work.
Private operators did not have the green unit so my knowledge is limited on that part. I would think if you were to contact a few companies there would be and old unit somewhere. I would start with the likes of Baxter's even CDC. Best of luck.
Rjevski
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Re: AES Ticket Validators

Post by Rjevski »

Hello, I've got one of these machines and am attempting to get it running too. I've got a thread on the EEVBlog forum if you'd like to follow along: https://www.eevblog.com/forum/microcont ... hd63b03rp/
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Sydney_Buses_CB60
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Re: AES Ticket Validators

Post by Sydney_Buses_CB60 »

G'day,
I have also acquired one of these machines, brings back many memories, and am keen to get it to work again both for personal reasons and for my year 12 major work in art. At the moment I'm trying to figure out how to actually get power into the machine, as the plug looks quite unique as you'll see in the link I've attached. From what I understand, the other end of this plug was built-in to the buses they were fitted to, hence why it couldn't be provided.
Any help or suggestions would be very much appreciated! :D
Cheers.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1IaGnr6 ... sp=sharing
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Gusbus
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Re: AES Ticket Validators

Post by Gusbus »

Sydney_Buses_CB60 wrote: Tue Jul 20, 2021 2:41 pm G'day,
I have also acquired one of these machines, brings back many memories, and am keen to get it to work again both for personal reasons and for my year 12 major work in art. At the moment I'm trying to figure out how to actually get power into the machine, as the plug looks quite unique as you'll see in the link I've attached. From what I understand, the other end of this plug was built-in to the buses they were fitted to, hence why it couldn't be provided.
Any help or suggestions would be very much appreciated! :D
Cheers.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1IaGnr6 ... sp=sharing
You need a base plate for the green machine. Then you can tap into/re-wire the wires that would connect the base plate to the bus' battery for power. It will make powering it up much easier.
Good riddens to Westbus...
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Sydney_Buses_CB60
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Re: AES Ticket Validators

Post by Sydney_Buses_CB60 »

Gusbus wrote: Tue Jul 20, 2021 8:16 pm You need a base plate for the green machine. Then you can tap into/re-wire the wires that would connect the base plate to the bus' battery for power. It will make powering it up much easier.
Thanks for that, at least it points me in the right direction for now. Would you be able to suggest anywhere I could look to find a base plate? I am assuming this is the part containing the other half of that plug, in which case, wasn't this built-in to the bus?
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mubd
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Re: AES Ticket Validators

Post by mubd »

Yeah, you'll need to find a bus with that connector and then a Datafare 2000 terminal.

I read that someone was able to power it using 12 or 24 volts (can't remember), but because it requires the Datafare terminal to do its magic all it did was turn on and go boop beep with the red cross illuminated. I would imagine that using an Arduino to run the machine's logic might end up being easier than trying to reverse engineer it.
Eastgardens to Kingsford is a 1-2 section fare.
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Gusbus
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Re: AES Ticket Validators

Post by Gusbus »

Sydney_Buses_CB60 wrote: Wed Jul 21, 2021 11:33 am
Gusbus wrote: Tue Jul 20, 2021 8:16 pm You need a base plate for the green machine. Then you can tap into/re-wire the wires that would connect the base plate to the bus' battery for power. It will make powering it up much easier.
Thanks for that, at least it points me in the right direction for now. Would you be able to suggest anywhere I could look to find a base plate? I am assuming this is the part containing the other half of that plug, in which case, wasn't this built-in to the bus?
It wasn't built into the bus, more like an attachment that was screwed into the pole or luggage rack area, so the green machine could be mounted to it. Wires then connected the base plate to the power connection and datafare 2000 console.

Maybe contact the Sydney Bus Museum, they maybe able to assist with the base plate for the green machine. It will be harder to find a datafare 2000 console and even more so to find the base plate for one of those (different to the base plate for a green machine).

Heaps of green machines were saved, but much less of the datafare 2000 consoles. Most of those base plates were thrown out with the transition to Opal years ago. Most ex STA buses still have the green machine base plates installed, but covered over with a plastic cover.

You can run both off 12/24v, as people have re-wired them back onto their preserved buses and I've actually got a datafare 2000 console hooked up to a 230v converter so I can plug it into the wall socket at home.
Good riddens to Westbus...
mubd
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Re: AES Ticket Validators

Post by mubd »

Gusbus wrote: Fri Jul 23, 2021 1:08 am
Maybe contact the Sydney Bus Museum, they maybe able to assist with the base plate for the green machine. It will be harder to find a datafare 2000 console and even more so to find the base plate for one of those (different to the base plate for a green machine).
They actually sell them at their shop (that's where I believe most people will be getting them) and the online listing explicitly states they can't assist in finding the connector because it's attached to the buses.
Eastgardens to Kingsford is a 1-2 section fare.
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Swift
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Re: AES Ticket Validators

Post by Swift »

What about the paper rolls? I had a few at one stage.
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Rjevski
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Re: AES Ticket Validators

Post by Rjevski »

Sydney_Buses_CB60 wrote: Tue Jul 20, 2021 2:41 pm G'day,
I have also acquired one of these machines, brings back many memories, and am keen to get it to work again both for personal reasons and for my year 12 major work in art. At the moment I'm trying to figure out how to actually get power into the machine, as the plug looks quite unique as you'll see in the link I've attached. From what I understand, the other end of this plug was built-in to the buses they were fitted to, hence why it couldn't be provided.
Any help or suggestions would be very much appreciated! :D
Cheers.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1IaGnr6 ... sp=sharing
Sorry for not replying earlier - I assumed the forum would send me an email notification for any replies/PMs but that's not the case.

Regarding your question about the connector, I couldn't find it - I have asked here: https://www.eevblog.com/forum/projects/ ... msg2390802 and they came close but no success. I ended up just soldering to the connector's pins directly, which is reversible and can be removed with some desoldering braid/wick (if anything, it'll leave the contacts nice and tinned which probably improves the connection) if you ever obtain the original connector.

I can find out the pinout of the connector for you if that's still relevant - I have wires soldered to it but haven't touched it for over a year now so will need to get a multimeter and double-check everything to make sure I don't give you the wrong info. I've got both power as well as data (some 2-wire bus, most likely RS485 according to the transceiver on the board).

Did you manage to make any progress on your project? On my side so far I haven't made any progress beyond what's on my EEVBlog thread linked above. My next step would've been to make an EPROM emulator so I can start experimenting with tweaking the firmware as well as getting a decent logic analyzer but I haven't had the time to get back to it since.

If anyone's got any more info about this please email hi@rjevski.io as it doesn't seem like I'm receiving email notifications for this forum so I'm unlikely to see your reply otherwise.
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