Video explanations of the MDB interface

Dear reader,

we are getting enquiries and technical questions about the MDB bus and our available MDB interfaces almost daily. I am talking about the “Machine Data Bus”, which is a pretty old standard by the vending associations (NAMA http://www.namanow.org and EVA http://www.vending-europe.eu ), which is used typically to connect payment acceptance devices to the vending machine controller. So we decided to do some quick and unedited video tutorials to explain the basics of that MDB bus, as well as roles of devices.

These are really short, simple explainer videos around MDB interfaces, no bells and whistles.

Connecting and sniffing

In Video 1, we connect the MDB-USB Interface and log the MDB communication.

Basic theory of MDB

Video 2 will approach MDB from a theory view and we will explain the different components in a simple graphic. We also cover MDB cabling.

MDB as a Master

Video 3 explains the “Master” use case of our MDB-USB interface, which is the major use case. The MDB USB interface is connecting a PC or linux controller (such as our Linulus, but also Raspberry Pi an others) to MDB peripherals - if you want to build an innovative vending machine and use a coin acceptor with an MDB interface, this is yours.

MDB as Slave

Video 4 explaines the use of the MDBUSB interface in a “peripheral” role, commonly called slave, for example, to add a mobile or barcode payment system to an existing vending machine.

MDB as Logger for Debugging

Video 5 is the “bonus track” and it quickly explains how the MDB-USB interface can be used to monitor/eavesdrop on an existing MDB bus/application, without interfering with the setup. This can be used to “log” or analyze the traffic, for example, to gain statistics about products sold, when what is sold, how much cash is in the machine etc etc. Another application is debugging of an MDB implementation, to find problems. A simple application to output the MDB traffic, in linux “C” source, is available for free from us. We offer a demoversion of the new MDB Tool Chest with Analyzing und Simulating Function.

Have fun, and let us know how you like those videos, and of course, what you want to see next.

Johannes Rietschel, Qibixx AG

The datasheet of the MDB-USB Interface can be found here.