Replacing 49-way sticks with OMNI-sticks, GP-wiz 49 controller

[Benevolance]

Hurrah! It's Help an Idiot Day! Let's celebrate!

I originally went with the Happ 49-way joystick and the GP-Wiz 49 control interface. I'll be up front: wiring intimidates me. Part of the reason I chose the 49-way sticks originally was because Randy included pre-wired plug & play cables. But despite the grommet upgrades, one of my joysticks has never centered properly. I also disliked how loose the controls felt. I kept an eye out on the forums, and eventually settled on the OMNI-stick basic.

Having done this all once before, I'm a little less intimidated at the thought of wiring, but I'm still at a loss for where to hook the joysticks up. I am keeping the GP-Wiz 49 as my control interface. The Omni-stick has the same micro-switches on the bottom as the buttons use, so I get where and how I'll connect to the joystick.

I guess what is confusing me is that the GP-Wiz has 8 inputs labelled 1-8 that the 49-way stick currently plugs into. Then, opposite side of the board, it's got another 8 inputs labeled U1,D1,L1,R1,U2,D2,L2,R2. My brain is trying to tell me that's Up, Down, Left and Right. Finally, there are 16 more inputs along the base of the control interface, labeled A-P. Does it really matter which of the inputs I plug the stick into? Or can I hook up the joystick switches to any of the available inputs and its simply a matter of configuring it in MAME?

[RandyT]

Finally, there are 16 more inputs along the base of the control interface, labeled A-P. Does it really matter which of the inputs I plug the stick into? Or can I hook up the joystick switches to any of the available inputs and its simply a matter of configuring it in MAME?

That's the ticket.  You can use any of the available "non-49way" inputs with your joysticks.  Just configure the directionals in your apps accordingly and you will be all set.

[Benevolance]

Awesome. Thanks, Randy!