Author Topic: DIY keyboard encoder (Read 77443 times)

404 · « **Reply #120 on:** July 08, 2012, 03:29:24 pm »

Quote from: degenatrons on July 08, 2012, 03:01:31 pm

Quote from: 404 on July 08, 2012, 11:51:25 am
I'm probably doing something wrong as i still dont understand all of these groups. I tried a few times now and can't get it to switch over to the last group to get an LED or buzzer to work.

Hey thanks for looking at this.

Just to be sure you have the latest firmware and keymappings, you can get v1.4.1 at
https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&pid=sites&srcid=ZGVmYXVsdGRvbWFpbnxkZWdlbmF0cm9uc3xneDoxYWJiM2FmODcxMWU1MTY0

After firmware is loaded, you can switch groups with a long press of the HWB button. The LED's and sound are in group F so you need to do a few long presses to set this group. After you change groups the onboard LEDs should flash to give you indication.

The 1st LED flashes the number of the active group, then the 2nd LED flashes the number of the active mode.

Maybe if this is too complicated I may have to simplify.
PL1 has suggested having different firmwares instead of groups.

I hope this all makes sense. Let me know if you need some more info.

Cheers

yes, i have your latest firmware. downloaded a fresh package today just to be sure. No matter what i do, i cannot get it to work. Tried about five or six times already. I'm not too worried . I just wanted to check it out, i only used the basic first mode and have no plans on using any of the other modes.

degenatrons · « **Reply #121 on:** July 08, 2012, 03:40:04 pm »

404, that's a little odd, if it works on my AVR devices. All I can think is that you may have some eeprom in the avr from some other program. You could try erasing the eeprom memory.

Does it flash to acknowledge group 1, mode 1 when you plug it in?

Thanks

404 · « **Reply #122 on:** July 08, 2012, 05:04:04 pm »

i erased it and tried again. i think i managed to get it into that mode but still got nothing from the buzzer or the led. if i feed them into vcc, they work fine.

degenatrons · « **Reply #123 on:** July 09, 2012, 04:54:48 pm »

Quote from: 404 on July 08, 2012, 05:04:04 pm

i erased it and tried again. i think i managed to get it into that mode but still got nothing from the buzzer or the led. if i feed them into vcc, they work fine.

ok, I figured out the problem and can't believe I never noticed it before

... The pins on my AVR did not match my pinout. I had B1 acting like B10

. I fixed this now so sound should come out of B10.

B10 is the pin next to the VCC (+5V).

I updated the firmware (v1.5) at https://sites.google.com/site/degenatrons/controller-interfaces/usb-keyboard-encoder/resources

Painful

404 · « **Reply #124 on:** July 09, 2012, 06:32:19 pm »

just gave it a shot. still cant get any lights or buzzer to buzz. i also get random inputs triggered.

degenatrons · « **Reply #125 on:** July 10, 2012, 03:36:38 am »

Quote from: 404 on July 09, 2012, 06:32:19 pm

just gave it a shot. still cant get any lights or buzzer to buzz. i also get random inputs triggered.

I just went right through all the modes and tested everything as working. No issue found with v1.5 firmware. I can't explain why you have random inputs 404.

degenatrons · « **Reply #126 on:** July 10, 2012, 03:52:44 am »

Just a thought. If you have buzzer connected to pin B10 and you are not in group F (6 blue flashes) then you will probably get input from B10 as you are bridging the pins. This is to be expected.

DLinkOZ · « **Reply #127 on:** July 11, 2012, 09:14:37 pm »

This is an excellent project! Quick note that I'm building my first proper mame cabinet, and just ordered this board. Love doing it myself whenever possible

degenatrons · « **Reply #128 on:** July 12, 2012, 03:35:03 am »

Quote from: DLinkOZ on July 11, 2012, 09:14:37 pm

This is an excellent project! Quick note that I'm building my first proper mame cabinet, and just ordered this board. Love doing it myself whenever possible

Great. If you have any specific requirements I can build a custom a custom firmware for you.

degenatrons · « **Reply #129 on:** July 12, 2012, 03:42:33 am »

Quote from: 404 on July 09, 2012, 06:32:19 pm

just gave it a shot. still cant get any lights or buzzer to buzz. i also get random inputs triggered.

Hey 404, I fixed this. I found that this happened after switching from group F back to group A. The B10 pin did not get entirely reset and was still processing sound. Now Resolved.
This probably would not have been spotted without your input.

v1.5 is stable now.

degenatrons · « **Reply #130 on:** July 13, 2012, 01:08:39 pm »

I was thinking about adding a couple of extra features to my encoder and would be interested in feedback...

Joystick swapping: To swap the joystick mappings between player 1 and player 2.
When playing single player games on a 2 player cab, I often prefer to use player 2's joystick. This positions me in the middle because I'm right handed. Stuff like pacman plays better for me like this. I would have a simple swap action to swap the stick mappings.

2-4-8 way joystick switching: I may be able to emulate 2 and 4 way joystick in software. I would have a swap action to switch between 3 settings.

Cheers

PL1 · « **Reply #131 on:** July 13, 2012, 03:30:37 pm »

Quote from: degenatrons on July 13, 2012, 01:08:39 pm

Joystick swapping: To swap the joystick mappings between player 1 and player 2.
When playing single player games on a 2 player cab, I often prefer to use player 2's joystick. This positions me in the middle because I'm right handed. Stuff like pacman plays better for me like this. I would have a simple swap action to swap the stick mappings.

Seems like overkill since you can just remap joysticks in MAME for games that you prefer to play this way instead of having to press HWB to set the Mode then press HWB again to change back.

The variety of Groups + Modes that are in use now are already a little overwhelming.

Quote from: degenatrons on July 13, 2012, 01:08:39 pm

2-4-8 way joystick switching: I may be able to emulate 2 and 4 way joystick in software. I would have a swap action to switch between 3 settings.

2-way software restriction isn't worth the effort IMHO.

What would be AWESOME is if there was a way to combine these three ideas:

1. Your idea of 4-way software restriction with the AVR.

2. DaOldMan's Control Choose or JoyChoose - Use to call a batch file that sets software restriction mode on AVR.

3. Tron 4/8-way autoswitching (see this thread) - This already works with JoyChoose

Hmm. . . AVR Encoder + Import Flight Stick + mouse hack spinner = inexpensive TRON standalone controller. No more FrankenPanel temptation!!

Scott

Edit: Another idea based on DaOldMan's ControlChoose announcement.

Quote from: DaOld Man on February 02, 2012, 02:14:48 am

This is a new plugin for Mala that could be called the next version of JoyChoose.
ControlChoose controls more than the joystick, so this is a big step up from JoyChoose.
. . .
Here is an example:
. . .
If Emulator = Mame Then Run (your program to do whatever you want when mame is selected.)

If you can use a batch file to set AVR Modes instead of using the HWB, you can use MaLa for automated seamless Mode switching between MAME, Pinball (VP/FP), and Generic Alphabetic/Hexadecimal (other emulators).

My only concern is if you have several AVRs connected at once, such as a 4-Player setup using one AVR for players 1 + 2 and another for players 3+4. With this setup, you'd need some way to set an AVR ID# so you can switch them independently.

404 · « **Reply #132 on:** July 13, 2012, 04:35:29 pm »

its your project. I say you do what you want with it.

i will test out the latest code when i get home.

degenatrons · « **Reply #133 on:** July 15, 2012, 02:17:52 pm »

Thanks for the feedback. I won't bother adding those new features. I agree that it will add complexity and is probably overkill when you can achieve same in emulator config. I will just let things settle down a little.

PL1 - Interesting idea to control the AVR from the host. This is something I may pursue. This is good for switching modes from the frontend and could maybe be used to configure your own mappings via a simple user interface.
Each device has a unique ID assigned so it would be simple to differentitate between multiple connected devices.

terrible1 · « **Reply #134 on:** August 05, 2012, 12:08:33 pm »

ive been looking into the icade for ipad controller and it seems its just a keyboard. what i would like to do is plug this into the ipad and use with with the icade games. from what i can find out it sends a character on a key press and different one when the key is released. you can get these keys from here: http://www.ionaudio.com/downloads/iCade_Dev_Resource_v1.3.pdf is there source code for this project available id like to modify it to add this feature. this is all assuming this actually lists its self as a standard HID compliant keyboard?

degenatrons · « **Reply #135 on:** August 23, 2012, 11:29:50 am »

Quote from: terrible1 on August 05, 2012, 12:08:33 pm

ive been looking into the icade for ipad controller and it seems its just a keyboard. what i would like to do is plug this into the ipad and use with with the icade games. from what i can find out it sends a character on a key press and different one when the key is released. you can get these keys from here: http://www.ionaudio.com/downloads/iCade_Dev_Resource_v1.3.pdf is there source code for this project available id like to modify it to add this feature. this is all assuming this actually lists its self as a standard HID compliant keyboard?

Thanks for your post and sorry for the delay in getting back to you.

The spec looks quite simple to implement and would be a variant of the this encoder firmware. The complication arises with the way the device is connected to the iPad. From what I understand, the iCade interface has to connect via BlueTooth.
This is not a showstopper because there are BT modules that can be bolted on. It will require some changes to the hardware though. I will be taking a look. Would you be happy to test this out if I can get it working?

ids · « **Reply #136 on:** October 22, 2012, 06:33:28 pm »

Were you going to post source code? Sorry if I missed it.

rablack97 · « **Reply #137 on:** October 22, 2012, 07:16:25 pm »

This project has advanced, please look at link

http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php/topic,122023.0.html

ids · « **Reply #138 on:** October 22, 2012, 07:34:56 pm »

so....no source then? Been waiting for some time, but if you want to hold back, that's fine

rablack97 · « **Reply #139 on:** October 22, 2012, 08:00:40 pm »

I think he stopped coding for this model. You might just PM him or send an email and see what he says..

PL1 · « **Reply #140 on:** October 22, 2012, 08:09:21 pm »

IDK about the source code, but the firmware update for programming the board is located here.

Degenatron's been pretty focused on the KADE project which rolls in this project with the ability to easily customize your own keymaps or select from a wide range of presets.

Scott

ids · « **Reply #141 on:** October 22, 2012, 08:13:27 pm »

Thanks all.

My needs extend beyond MAME and consoles and I have waited a while for the promised source code to make use of this.

Such is life. I will seek other sources since the OP has bailed.

thx

rablack97 · « **Reply #142 on:** October 22, 2012, 09:18:16 pm »

Send him a PM or an email...

degenatrons · « **Reply #143 on:** October 23, 2012, 05:08:17 am »

Quote from: ids on October 22, 2012, 08:13:27 pm

Thanks all.

My needs extend beyond MAME and consoles and I have waited a while for the promised source code to make use of this.

Such is life. I will seek other sources since the OP has bailed.

thx

Hey ids,

It was always my intention to post source on completion of the project - or when the development had stabilised. The development has taken a sideways step and has grown into something bigger. This will be an open source project and I will post details here so you know were to find sources when it is released.

In the meantime, let me know if there is anything I can help out with. Interested to here what you have planned. Can send me a PM if you want to discuss.

Jon

degenatrons · « **Reply #144 on:** November 19, 2012, 06:45:25 pm »

USB Keyboard Encoder has now become part of the KADE project.

Please refer to this thread.
http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php/topic,128745.msg1316035.html#msg1316035

Thanks to everyone who contributed to this thread.

terrible1 · « **Reply #145 on:** November 20, 2012, 08:41:40 am »

Quote from: degenatrons on August 23, 2012, 11:29:50 am

Quote from: terrible1 on August 05, 2012, 12:08:33 pm
ive been looking into the icade for ipad controller and it seems its just a keyboard. what i would like to do is plug this into the ipad and use with with the icade games. from what i can find out it sends a character on a key press and different one when the key is released. you can get these keys from here: http://www.ionaudio.com/downloads/iCade_Dev_Resource_v1.3.pdf is there source code for this project available id like to modify it to add this feature. this is all assuming this actually lists its self as a standard HID compliant keyboard?
Thanks for your post and sorry for the delay in getting back to you.

The spec looks quite simple to implement and would be a variant of the this encoder firmware. The complication arises with the way the device is connected to the iPad. From what I understand, the iCade interface has to connect via BlueTooth.
This is not a showstopper because there are BT modules that can be bolted on. It will require some changes to the hardware though. I will be taking a look. Would you be happy to test this out if I can get it working?

Wow sorry it look forever to reply i didnt get a email to say someone had responded. ANYWAY

the Icade is from what i can tell a bluetooth keyboard. And i dont think the ipad cares if its bluetooth OR indeed a usb keyboard. From what ive found out all you need to do is get a camera connection kit (which i have) and then emulate a keyboard with the correct key commands. This i guess would mean you could create a custom iCade. The only limiting factor is that the games are i guess hard coded to use certain buttons for certain actions but im going to guess these are all fairly generic.

degenatrons · « **Reply #146 on:** November 20, 2012, 11:09:20 am »

Quote from: terrible1

Wow sorry it look forever to reply i didnt get a email to say someone had responded. ANYWAY

the Icade is from what i can tell a bluetooth keyboard. And i dont think the ipad cares if its bluetooth OR indeed a usb keyboard. From what ive found out all you need to do is get a camera connection kit (which i have) and then emulate a keyboard with the correct key commands. This i guess would mean you could create a custom iCade. The only limiting factor is that the games are i guess hard coded to use certain buttons for certain actions but im going to guess these are all fairly generic.

Hey, no worries. This is really interesting what you are saying about the connection kit. Can you post some more info on that? or PM me the details.
If you check out the link to the KADE project (above) you will see that we now have an encoder that supports multiple systems and it would be great to add iCade support via USB.
I should be able to implement the key input commands by referring to the spec. you previously sent. Only thing is connecting to iCade. USB cable would be cool if it works.
Cheers.

degenatrons · « **Reply #147 on:** November 20, 2012, 12:08:34 pm »

Quote from: terrible1

From what ive found out all you need to do is get a camera connection kit (which i have)...

Found this camera kit with USB plug.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/5-in-1-Camera-Connection-Kit-Card-Reader-Adapter-USB-SD-TF-MS-MMC-fr-iPad-1-2-3-/170796721513

terrible1 · « **Reply #148 on:** November 21, 2012, 08:26:42 am »

so check this link out http://biosrhythm.com/?p=933 it shows an arduino as a usb keyboard plugged into the camera kit working with icade games. Of course this would be fairly simple but the board you use would be significantly cheaper.

degenatrons · « **Reply #149 on:** November 21, 2012, 08:57:30 am »

Cool. I can get this up and running pretty quick. I just need to adapt our USB keyboard firmware to use the crazy iCade inputs.

Would you be happy to test this for me if I send you the firmware?
I think you already have minimus AVR, right?

We ordered a camera adaptor for testing ourselves too

Thanks

terrible1 · « **Reply #150 on:** November 21, 2012, 09:12:01 am »

i don't actually have a minimus AVR at present but would be more then willing to test this out if I can get hold of one? I have a couple control panels I can wire up to it to test though

gazz292 · « **Reply #151 on:** December 19, 2012, 08:31:02 pm »

Please please please, pretty pretty please with cherry's on top, can you share the source code for this,

i bought my minimus board specifically for this proggy you wrote,
but i am not using it on a mame machine (i use a U-hid on my mame cabinet)

I want to use it on my bus simulator, as it'll be ideal for the inputs from my money changer and ticket machine, i use a joystick board for all other inputs, but i specifically need to send key strokes for these items, as i need to utilise the shift key along with some of the inputs.

If you can't share the source code, much as i'd love to have a look at it and figure this board out, change the bits i need then flash my board and use it, could you make me a custom version of the code as follows?

USB
+----+
| |
| |
+--+ +--+
SHIFT: |o o| N/A (VCC)
Numpad 0: |o o| 11: Numpad .
Numpad 1: |o o| 12: Numpad ,
Numpad 3: |o o| N/A (Reset)
Numpad 4: |o o| 13: Numpad ENTER
Numpad 5: |o o| 14: Numpad +
Numpad 6: |o o| 15: Numpad -
Numpad 7: |o o| 16: Numpad /
(HWB) |o o| 17: Numpad *
Numpad 8: |o o| 18: #
Numpad 9: |o o| 19: '
GND |o o| 20: ;
+-----------+

Regards,

Gazz

degenatrons · « **Reply #152 on:** December 19, 2012, 09:01:07 pm »

Bus simulator sounds cool. Please post some pics of that.

I'll make up a custom firmware for the mappings you posted and upload it tomorrow. It's way past my bedtime right now.

KADE will be open source hardware and software when it is released in the new year. We will post information on where you can access the sources so folks like you can adapt it and hopefully contribute to the project.

Tickets please.

Jon

gazz292 · « **Reply #153 on:** December 19, 2012, 09:27:39 pm »

Video of me driving my sim, which is of course Omsi, der omnibus simulator, based in Spandau, Berlin.

I've since been to berlin and ridden that bus route, and will do an update video soon, but the sim has got the roads and surrounding areas spot on,

Thanks very much for doing a custom keymap for me,

i just wish i could figure out this bloomin board, i've played about with an arduino, got that working as the output board from the computer to the instruments and lights on the dashboard, but for some reason i am struggeling to make any progress with writing anything for the minimus.

degenatrons · « **Reply #154 on:** December 20, 2012, 05:56:49 am »

Thanks for posting the video. That's a totally cool setup you have.
Can I suggest you add a scenario for keeping the speed above 50mph at all times to prevent the bus from exploding.

I 've attached your custom key map.

Jon

ids · « **Reply #155 on:** December 20, 2012, 11:10:15 am »

Quote from: gazz292 on December 19, 2012, 08:31:02 pm

Please please please, pretty pretty please with cherry's on top, can you share the source code for this,

If you google enough, you will find source code out there. That's what I ended up doing. Still scratching my head over this secret "open source" idea

, but at least I now have sources to work with.

degenatrons · « **Reply #156 on:** December 20, 2012, 11:29:23 am »

Quote from: ids on December 20, 2012, 11:10:15 am

If you google enough, you will find source code out there. That's what I ended up doing. Still scratching my head over this secret "open source" idea , but at least I now have sources to work with.

There's no secret to it. KADE will be open source when it is released. We talk about this stuff on our Kickstarter Project

At the moment, the software is not stable for general release and is being BETA tested.
I'm not purposely trying to hide anything, sorry if it comes across that way.

In the meantime, I'm happy to assist folks with custom mappings, if the stuff I already make available on my project site is not suitable for their needs: https://sites.google.com/site/degenatrons/controller-interfaces/usb-keyboard-encoder

ids · « **Reply #157 on:** December 20, 2012, 02:56:22 pm »

The point of some requests for code is to avoid the difficulty in creating the USB structures required and other challenges when faced with a new piece of hardware such as this. I don't think everyone is looking for polished, debugged code, just a head-start on whatever project they might have in mind. A very long time ago you promised code and continue to do so, with no real reason for the delay. Please forgive, but one can only wonder what there is to hide?

In any case, when I get back to my other computer, I will post all code links I've found to date to help those who want to play with code and not wait forever.

Open source means open. If you need help "stabilizing" (or whatever), why not open it up for others to help with? That's the real beauty of open-source - it's openness and the availability of others to improve it.

sharpfork · « **Reply #158 on:** December 20, 2012, 04:04:22 pm »

Quote from: ids on December 20, 2012, 02:56:22 pm

A very long time ago you promised code and continue to do so, with no real reason for the delay. Please forgive, but one can only wonder what there is to hide?

In any case, when I get back to my other computer, I will post all code links I've found to date to help those who want to play with code and not wait forever.

Open source means open. If you need help "stabilizing" (or whatever), why not open it up for others to help with? That's the real beauty of open-source - it's openness and the availability of others to improve it.

Ids-
I appreciate that you are wanting Degenatrons' source code but he has transitioned from working on his own to working as a part of a team. The KADE team will be releasing sources after the KickStarter rewards have been received by all who have pledged. This should be the end of January or early February. Releasing old or partial code isn't something we are interested in doing at this point. If you want to check the team's track record, you can see that BootSector has released his code after launching his main product: https://gitorious.org/usb-retropad-adapter . I ask that you please be patient as we prepare our initial release.

gazz292 · « **Reply #159 on:** December 20, 2012, 09:26:24 pm »

Thankyou very much for that custom key map,

i've wired my coin changer up to my minimus with that hex flashed to it, and she works fine...

keypad 0 - 5 sent for the lower, single coin levers of 5pf, 10pf, 50pf, 1DM, 2DM and 5DM,
and SHIFT sent when an upper lever is pressed, plus the 0-5 keycode of the bottom lever for multiple coins, i.e. to dispense 2DM, press the relevent lower lever,
To dispense 8DM, the lever above the 2DM lever is pressed, which sends SHIFT whilst the upper lever is depressed, plus the 2DM lever when the upper lever contacts the lower one, and keypad 4 is sent , and in omsi it spits out 8 deutsch marks into the change cup,

Next job will be to wire up the ticket machine,

I am very happy that the author of this code is available to make custom keymaps so quickly, it's solved my problem in one go,

But i would love to see the source code sometime, just to figure out how it does what it does so i can learn from it, i plan to use more of these minimus boards in the future as usb input boards, so i would like to be able to change the keycodes sent my self so i get a little sense of achievement from modifying the code,


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