Correct. Mars obsoleted the AE series a few months ago and the Talos is the replacement......if you can find them. They are having the same supply issues as everyone else.
Mars/MEI validators are just about as scarce as hen’s teeth. Mars discontinued the AE2400 series validator about two years ago. I’ve had the 24 volt MEI Talos are order since April and I got one 110 volt the test.
Not really, I found a couple used or refurbished ones but not sure I trust that.
The ones I saw were used, not refurbished, and he's asking what they cost new. I used to get them refurbished like new for $125.
Mars/MEI was bought by Crane vending, it is now called Crane PI and they discontinued the AE series of validators and has come out with the Talos. yes it's made by the same people who made the AE series validator, just a different name and more expensive. They like every manufacture is having upply issues and the Talos validators are hard to come by. I suggest that you just keep getting your AE series repaired as long as you can. Crane PI recently had a 20% increase across the board on parts and validators. The Talos validator should fit in your American changer.
Thank you Randy that was very helpful!
There are a number of differences between the AE2000 series validators and the Talos validators. The LED lights on the bezel are a lot brighter. There aren’t any switches on the side of the validator to change any of the settings, it’s done now with a programming coupon. The Red LED status light on the back of the validator is no longer there, now you have to look at the LED lights on the front of the validator. The lower LED board that always got corroded is gone, in its place is a reflector assembly with white rollers. On the plus side the bill boxes are still the same so you can use a bill box from a AE2000 series validator on the Talos validator. Bill acceptance and escrowing the bill are a few seconds faster.
appreciate the Detailed analysis! As long as it works out of the box I am happy but will note the changes for when something goes sideways.
Cleaning cards do nothing but degrade or shorten the life of the belts. A 3 year old validator is about due for a tune up. Yes the Talso is a plug and play validator if you order it with a VFM bezel and have it programmed to your spec.
Gotcha, good to know about the cleaning cards. To have them tuned up, I'd probably need a spare to juggle them around for no down time. Rebuild or buy new? After a rebuild, does the bill acceptance rate significantly increase noticeably? It probably declines 10-20% of bills currently. Thank you
Sounds like a plan, thank you.
