Coin-op timers with auxiliary contacts?

[cornutt]

Thinking about something I remember from a long time ago... there was a laundromat in town that, because of the building it was in, was divided into two rooms. The dryers and the waiting lounge were in one room, and the washers were in a separate room. The waiting area had a big indicator board with light bulbs, one for each washer. The light for a given washer lit up when you started the cycle, and it went out when the cycle ended. All the washers had numbers on them, and if you noted what the numbers were on the washers you were using, you could tell by watching the board when they finished. I don't remember for sure, but I'm thinking the washers were GE.

So now that I think about it... how did they do this? Did the timers have a set of auxiliary contacts that controlled the light bulb in the waiting area? (Maybe something that was quasi-standard in coin-op machines of the day?) Or did the operator of the laundromat come up with some sort of hack? What could you tie into that would be "on" at any point in the cycle?

 

[cfz2882]

lights wired across the timer motor?

 

[bigfoot]

Coin op timers

I can't think of any coin op machine that doesn't have an "in use" light. You would just take connections from that.

Coin op machines were always much simpler than home washers, so no two speed or other options. Just wash, rinse, spin and off as quick as possible.

Time is money.