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Cash drawer opening manually without printers

Posted: Wed Jul 18, 2007 4:05 am
by Modulator
Hey!

Is it possible to open a cash drawer by button which you could solder to a cash drawer's "phone" jack? I am working on a outdoor marketplace where my employer have bought some used cash drawers. We do not use any computers nor POS systems, just cash drawers, calculators and credit card "machines". Would be nice to just push a button instead of turning a key.

Thank you!

(Sorry of my bad english :oops: )

Posted: Wed Jul 18, 2007 9:38 am
by Nick
What kind of drawer is it. Most use either 12 or 24vdc to open them on certan pins of that connector. One way would be to see if you can find a manual or pinout online or just take the cover off and trace the wires to the solinoid and see if it says what voltage to use.

-Nick

Posted: Wed Jul 18, 2007 11:31 am
by Modulator
I don't have a chance to open those drawers. There is no kind of manual there and the main thing, no manufacturer or model information of any kind. Does every cash drawer have the same pins to open the drawer?

Posted: Wed Jul 18, 2007 11:51 pm
by daleadmin
Modulator,

Is your cash drawer able to be connected to a printer even though you don't want to?

If so then you should be able to open the cash drawer by applying 5 volts across 2 of the 4 wires in the cable. I do not know which two.

Dale

Posted: Thu Jul 19, 2007 12:25 am
by Nick
What I would do is get ahold of a multimeter and set it to ohms (the 1k scale shoud do (I think) if not you can step it up to a higher scale). Then get a cord that plugs into the jack with all of the wires comming out of it and systematicly test the resistance accross different pairs of wires. One will probably show really close to a dead short (same as touching the probes together) this woud be a state switch to tell the computer if the drawer is open. The pair you will be looking for will have some resistance across it. Now find either a series of batteries (2x9 volts, and 2x12 volts) or a variable power supply up to 24vdc and starting with both 9 volts hookuped in parell (positive to positive, negitave to negitave) hook the leads up to the pair you found then reverse how you have them, and work your way up in voltage (9, 12, 24) untill it pops.

Good luck

-Nick

Posted: Thu Jul 19, 2007 4:23 am
by Modulator
daleadmin wrote:Modulator,

Is your cash drawer able to be connected to a printer even though you don't want to?

If so then you should be able to open the cash drawer by applying 5 volts across 2 of the 4 wires in the cable. I do not know which two.

Dale
No ability. We have no receipt printers of any kind. Nick's solution would be helpful though i don't have my multimeters or PSUs here. My home is about 200 km away from here :D I just have to search this house from top to bottom to find those things ;P