ACCEPTOR TOOLS INSTRUCTIONS

How to program, configure, and diagnose your acceptor

SETUP

Download and run Acceptor Tools Installer for Windows. This requires .NET framework 4.0 or newer to operate.

CONNECTING

  • Connect your Bill Acceptor to your PC, using the PTI USB Flash Cable (Part Number 05AA0026). You may see a series of messages indicating the new hardware is found by Windows at this time.

  • The program should automatically detect if you have your device connected. If an acceptor is not detected, check the connections and use the “Reconnect” option to try again. If you are unable to connect, look in the Device Manager and look under “Ports (Com & LPT).” You should see one item that says “USB Serial Port”, followed by the port number in parenthesis. If not, you may need to uninstall and reinstall the FTDI Virtual Com Port (VCP) drivers. You can download the latest drivers from FTDI’s website (http://www.ftdichip.com/Drivers/VCP.htm.

  • The program has three main functions; Status/Diagnostics, Configuration, and Flash Programming. Along the side bar of the application you will find navigation buttons to each feature.

STATUS / DIAGNOSTICS

  • On launch, the application will retrieve all available information from the acceptor. This screen will tell you what type of acceptor is connected, which currency is accepted, and the revision level of the firmware in the acceptor. Additional information may be displayed, depending on the firmware in the acceptor. Along the bottom of the screen, the status area will display a summary of the acceptor along with any errors. For certain interface types, your acceptor may be disabled (no lights flashing) until you connect it to the host system (vending controller, kiosk computer, etc.). Therefore, it is common to see the error: "Acceptor Disabled by Host" with a blue exclamation point.

CONFIGURATION

  • Click on the Settings Gear to view this screen. To see how the acceptor is already configured, click on the button which says, “Read”. To change the Configuration settings: Each box corresponds to a group of configuration options. Select the interface, bezel flashing, security, and direction options. Finally, choose which bills you wish to enable. For example. To accept all bill except the USA 10, be sure to check box 1,2, and 4. This will enable $1, 5$, and $20 provided you have USA firmware. If you are using a Pulse Interface: Select “Slow Pulse” for 50ms / 300ms timing, and Fast Pulse for 50ms / 50ms timing. Enter the pulse multiplier in the “Pulses per Dollar” box. Example: For the Euro, if you enter “1” in this box, the acceptor will issue one (1) pulse for the 5 Euro, two (2) pulses for the 10 Euro, and four (4) pulses for the 20 Euro. If you want 5, 10, and 20 pulses to be issued, then enter “5” in this box. When you have finished modifying the configuration, click on the button which says “Send”. After configuration is complete you will hear the acceptor restart. You should see a “Configuration Sent Successfully” message. If not, the check the connection to the bill acceptor, cycle power, click on reconnect, and try to configure again.

FLASH UPDATE FIRMWARE

How to update your Apex bill validator's firmware from *.pti file provided by our team. These instructions are for version 8.x of Acceptor tools.

  1. Install Acceptor Tools

  2. Launch Acceptor Tools

  3. Wait for Acceptor Tools to discover your Apex

  4. Click the Firmware tab on the right-hand side of the app (v7 Acceptor Tools click the lighting bolt)

  5. Drag and drop the firmware file on this page or click "browse" and select the firmware

  6. Click the blue Update button to begin update

Legacy Acceptor Tools instructions available here