Wireless UHID or similar?

[Sark]

I guess this is for Andy/Ultimarc primarily, but would it be possible to add battery-powered RF or IR transmission/reception to a keyboard controller like the UHID.  Of course I could hack a wireless keyboard but I'm looking for a more elegant solution, and I love the IPAC and UHID.  I'm working on a set of lap-based arcade controls where this would be perfect, and I imagine there would be quite a bit of interest from other users.  I'm currently hacking wireless 360 controllers for a temp solution, combined with the wireless 360 PC receiver dongle and some key-mapping software.  Any other suggestions to achieve a similar result using keyboard commands without software mapping?  It seems all the current wireless USB transmitters either require AC power or are made for laptop video transmission.  Thanks for your thoughts!

[Bender]

I think your using the best solution available already
If your using mame you don't need any keyboard mapping, just hit tab and reset the functions to the gamepad buttons
I've been using this set up to play Mame on in My home theater for years, plus you already have a rechargeable battery and charger
The only thing I'd like to figure out someday is hacking the analog stick

[Sark]

Right, good point Mame doesn't require software mapping, nor do most stand-alone games or NES/SNES emulators I'll use them with.  However, the 360 stick is a little limited by its number of buttons when you get into making dual-stick/trigger-stick configurations; and triggers and joystick push-in buttons aren't recognized in MameOSX as far as I can tell.  (whine)  I'm mapping the right stick to the XABY buttons as a work around, which makes the available inputs barely adequate but it works.  Thanks for the feedback. 

The main brick wall I run into with the 360 controller is analog/optical controls.  I'm trying to come up with a different wireless option so I don't need to plug in a 14' cable to use a trackball or spinner.  I'm right there with you wanting analog mapping for the 360 joysticks, but that's way over my head translating the pots to whatever I'd use.

[Sark]

Another issue with the 360 hack, the way I have it, is the lack of a sync button for moving between PC and actual 360 use..  Any ideas?

[Bender]

I just wired the sync button to the back of my CP

[Sark]

Right on, I'll try soldering that sync button, and I'm sure I can get the RC/LC buttons working.

Any thoughts on wireless arcade trackball/spinner options?  Thanks.

[HaRuMaN]

Sync button can definitely be soldered.  Done it 100 times.

[Bender]

Sync button can definitely be soldered.  Done it 100 times.

Did a couple of mine

[HaRuMaN]

Sync button can definitely be soldered.  Done it 100 times.

Did a couple of mine

[AndyWarne]

A wireless solution would need a dongle on the PC which actually does all the work, and a fairly "dumb" unit on the remote side to connect the controls to. The remote would need to be designed to be low-power. There is nothing re-usable in a wireless design from non-wireless. Then you have to mess about with battery connections etc on the remote. I am not sure the demand is all that great.
Another alternative is Bluetooth which could be made to work without a dongle I believe. I am working on a Bluetooth device for one client and this might feed forward into some kind of arcade device if there is a demand for it.

[MonMotha]

There do exist wireless "USB extender" products.  As most of Ultimarc's devices are full speed (including, I assume, the UHID), you'll need to make sure any device you get is compatible with full speed (12Mbps) USB.  Some devices are designed only for typical keyboards/mice, which are generally low speed (1.5Mbps), and won't work with full speed devices.  Costs vary and are typically "not cheap", but this may be an option.

[Gray_Area]

There do exist wireless "USB extender" products.  As most of Ultimarc's devices are full speed (including, I assume, the UHID), you'll need to make sure any device you get is compatible with full speed (12Mbps) USB.  Some devices are designed only for typical keyboards/mice, which are generally low speed (1.5Mbps), and won't work with full speed devices.  Costs vary and are typically "not cheap", but this may be an option.

I think Ultimarc devices are Hi-Speed 2.0 = 480mbps .

[drventure]

Hmm, not to hijack the thread, but if they are hi speed devices, it is possible that they'd work for a while, but then "disconnect" eventually after a little use?

[MonMotha]

I think Ultimarc devices are Hi-Speed 2.0 = 480mbps .

The part used in the picture of the AIMTrak on the website is a full speed 12Mbps device, but other devices may be based off of different parts.  Even if they are high speed, they should degrade to full speed gracefully as they don't need to move anywhere near that much data (low speed would probably be sufficient if it weren't for the fact that Windows treats low speed HID devices specially in some ways).

Remember that a device conforming to USB 2.0 does NOT imply that the device transfers data at 480Mbps high speed.  USB 2.0 permits even low speed devices (in fact, most modern low speed mice, keyboards, etc. conform to USB 2.0).

[drventure]

Yeah, I kind of figured as much. I'm doing a bit of grasping at straws. I'm having cases where I have controllers that work perfectly fine under diagnostics, but when I actually start using them together, they eventually drop out (as if they were unplugged). I've replaced hubs, upgraded hubs, verified power requirements were met etc, and it's still happening. Very strange....

[Sark]

Thanks for the input.  Andy, I'd love to hear more about the possibility of Bluetooth-enabling chips like the UHID.  I'm considering building a whole mess of panels using UHID's if I can find a wireless solution for them.  I'll post more info about the project after I finish some prototypes.

All of the options I can find now require the device end to be connected to a wall wart or hacked dc power supply, with the pc end being more mobile:
http://www.cellxpo.com/SbCategory-all-all-Wireless_Routers-F5U301.asp
Mostly made for laptops since it's the receiving end that's really mobile, for use with static devices (printers, etc).  But it should go the other way for what we're talking about - transmitting end is mobile and AA powered or similar.

I'm going to order one of these and see if it works out in any way:
http://www.cablesunlimited.com/products/Prod_Individual3.aspx?groupcode=I4098

Please post a link if anyone sees something that would make a wired keyboard/mouse combo wireless (all the ones I see have the wireless capability built-in and would negate the convenience of using the UHID in the first place if you went to that trouble).