> > How is this so? > > > > SO, THE QUESTION: Is the behavior of that wad of cash typical of coin pusher > > machines... or were we a victim of a particular scam? > > > > Magnets?
I repaired a few crane games some years ago so I know how they work...... Inside at the bottom is a small pot to adjust the 'force' of the crane grabber which connects to a DC motor. It's almost always set as low as possible or just a little bit above minimum. This means the motor has only a small amount of voltage available to turn the motor forward via a couple of gears. The pulling force when the crane latches onto a prize is greater than it can handle and the motor/gears turns backwards opening the claws and the prize drops. Therefore you will only ever be able to win the smaller/lighter prizes. The key to winning is to go for the (physically) smaller items..... After repairing them I usually increased the voltage slightly via the pot before it was sent back hehe ;-)