How to configure coils & drivers (Stern SPIKE)

Related Config File Sections:

To configure coils, drivers, motors, and/or magnets (basically anything connected to an node's driver outputs) for Stern SPIKE machines, you can follow the guides and instructions in the Coils (Solenoids) docs.

Warning

Please ensure that you have established common ground between logic and coil power before turning on high voltage on your coils (especially on homebrew machines). Ignoring this might lock on your coils, overheat them, burn down your house or kill you. We are serious, floating grounds are dangerous. If you are not an electrical engineer read the guide about voltages and power.

In a nutshell: You need to connect your logic ground (5V/12V) and your high voltage ground (48V or 80V). A power entry or power filter board is a convenient solution to solve this (and more) issues.

Always turn all PSUs off when connecting power or you might fry all boards at once. This is generally a good idea but even more important when connecting more than one power supply to a board.

IF YOU DID NOT UNDERSTAND WHAT THIS WARNING MEANS STOP NOW AND TRY TO UNDERSTAND IT. OTHERWISE YOUR HARDWARE WILL LIKELY BURST INTO FLAMES AND YOU NEED TO WAIT A FEW DAYS FOR A REPLACEMENT OR EVEN WORSE IT MIGHT KILL YOU. IGNORING THIS IS THE MOST COMMON CAUSE FOR BROKEN DRIVER BOARDS.

However there are a few things to know and some additional options you get with SPIKE hardware that are discussed here.

number:

The number: setting for each driver is a combination of the node it's connected to and its address from the manual. For example, here's the driver reference table from Page 11 of the Wrestlemania Pro manual:

The address for each driver is in the highlighted column. To enter the number for the driver into MPF, remove the middle "DR" letters so you just have the node number and address number (with a dash between them). For example, the driver for the left flipper coil with the address 8-DR-0 would be entered into the MPF config as 8-0, etc.

coils:
  c_shaker:
    number: 1-10    # Node 1, coil 10
    default_pulse_ms: 100
    allow_enable: true
  c_flipper:
    number: 8-1    # Node 8, coil 1

What if it did not work?

Have a look at our SPIKE troubleshooting guide.

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How to configure coils & drivers (Stern SPIKE)

number:

What if it did not work?

Related How To guides