Are you an engineer Jack, possibly educated at Rolla? ;-) Gale ----- Original Message ----- From: Jack Anderson To: geocaching@xxxxxxxxxxxxx Sent: Wednesday, July 18, 2007 9:32 PM Subject: [GeoStL] Re: Was "KSDK feature - Don who?" Now Vending Machine Abuse The best one that I ever heard of was the Engineering student at Rolla years ago. Their class had one of the 236 electric cigarette machines and they opened it up to pick an area to redesign it better. This kid found where the vend solenoid (they used solenoids back then) was and measured exactly where to put a hole in the back of the machine to trigger it with a wire. Then he went to his dorm building that had the same type of machine and drilled his hole. He would get 1 or sometimes 2 packs a day. The route man could not figure out how he was loosing about a carton a week in product. They even replaced the machine, took it back to the shop to check it out and of course it worked fine so they put it back on a different floor. He then found the new location of his special machine and went at it again. It went on for almost the full school year until they finally caught on, then they pulled all the machines out of the dorm. The kid was not greedy, he only needed to support his habit. They never caught him. Edwin Biesemeyer <singer1ed@xxxxxxxxx> wrote: Yeah, I had one account in Kirkwood several years ago that every week when I got there the coils on about three of the trays were popped loose and the product about half the way back on each tray was gone. It took me about a month to find out the problem. Some one had drilled three holes just big enough to get a wire with a hook on it in the top of the machine right behind the edge of the top body panel where I couldn't see them just standing there with the machine open. I got there early one day because I ran my route backwards to change it up a little. I must have almost walked in on the culprit(s). Some one left a wire sticking in one of the holes. I put three small carriage screws in the holes and took the wire to the manager's office before taking it with me to my office. Jack Anderson <pandyandy3@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote: The extension glass kit for the 140's to get more space between trays and glass for the product to drop was the first thing that I did for them back in 1977, before that the product used to vend and just lean against the glass and stop. Ah, they were dependable machines back then ;-), but the new ones now have Sure Vend. It's an electronic sensing program that assures a customer of getting their product. If it does not see a product drop then you can try again for the same product or a different one, then again a third time, then get your money back. That way if there is just one empty space you can get the next one, or if you push the wrong buttons you can try again, then if nothing else get your money back and insert it again. With that system there is a lot less damages done to machines like when people used to get ripped off and they took it out on the machine. I myself have kicked and shook many vending machines. We also have to learn how to steal from them so we can try to prevent it from happening. But the thief's are so inventive now. Edwin Biesemeyer <singer1ed@xxxxxxxxx> wrote: When I quit over 3½ years ago, some of the 140 series models and some of the 430's were still being used. at one of the companies I had worked for. In a sense I preferred them over some of the newer stuff. Jack Anderson <pandyandy3@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote: You did vending for a living. You probably used some of the machines that I helped to design from National Vendors. PS: Hope they worked OK. Edwin Biesemeyer <singer1ed@xxxxxxxxx> wrote: I've got a couple of friends here in St. Louis that Geocache but do not log their finds on GC.com. Also, when I did vending for a living, I ran the machines at KSDK for a while. I don't recall seeing this guy named Jack while I was there but then I never got to go to certain areas. I do know from experience though that KSDK many times uses their own people to do stories partly because of the "Glory Suckers" that are in the general public. I was asked on a couple of occasions to be interviewed for different stories but turned them down because of no interest in the subjects. Many times they use their own people or their friends and family members on stories like cover stories where the subject has to be contacted several times over a certain length of time. -Edwin "What can you do for God today that it is going to take Him to get it done?" -------------------------------------------------------------------- Be a better Globetrotter. Get better travel answers from someone who knows. Yahoo! Answers - Check it out. -Edwin "What can you do for God today that it is going to take Him to get it done?" ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Boardwalk for $500? In 2007? Ha! Play Monopoly Here and Now (it's updated for today's economy) at Yahoo! Games. -Edwin "What can you do for God today that it is going to take Him to get it done?" ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Be a better Globetrotter. Get better travel answers from someone who knows. Yahoo! Answers - Check it out.