Control panel problem

[chris-Faribo]

Hello all, well after about 10 years i finally completed my first MAME cabinet.  I'm using an iPac-2 and just fired it up and everything was working great for about 5 minutes.  Now all of a sudden everything works great for player 1 but for player 2 the only controls that are registering are "Right Joystick" and "Down Joystick".  I've gone into test mode on the iPac and only those two controls are registering there.  Same thing in the admin menu of MAME.  I've taken a quick look at my connections and they are all solid (soldered).  My next step will be a more in depth look at the connections for player 2 but i was hoping someone else had run into this so I could get back up and running....the "kids" are anxious to play!   

[PL1]

Welcome aboard.

Power your cab down, set the multimeter to ohms/continuity, and hook your multimeter leads to the ground on a functioning player 1 control and to the ground on one of the non-functioning controls.

If you don't have continuity (<2 ohms), the daisy chain ground path was broken somewhere.

Find a working input where the ground then goes to a non-working input.  You'll probably find the fault somewhere between them.

Based on the symptoms you describe, best guess without a picture is the ground between P2 Down (functioning) and P2 Left. (non-functioning)

Another way to check is to jumper ground from a known good point on the daisy chain to the middle of the non-functioning ground.  If the whole thing starts working again, it is definitely a break in the daisy chain.

Worst case scenario, manually short a non-functioning input to ground with a piece of wire -- If that doesn't work, the problem is definitely in the encoder.


Scott

[chris-Faribo]

Thanks Scott, I'll give that a try.  After I posted my problem I rebooted and checked the connections to my encoder and then everything worked perfectly.  Then two minutes into a game the joystick controls on player 2 started going haywire and now again all player 2 connections are dead..... 

I'll try your suggestion tomorrow, need to take a break from it for awhile. 

[chris-Faribo]

Well I just couldn't stay away....I took Scott's advice and checked for continuity on the daisy chain grounds and was finally able to locate one connection that had come loose (I guess my first time electrical solder job wasn't so stellar after all!!).  I repaired that connection and bingo!!  Everything working now.

Thanks again for the quick tip!

[CoryBee]

"Pl1" should get an award for most helpful forum member

[PL1]

That's why good electrical and mechanical contact when soldering is always your friend.

Glad you found/fixed the problem.
Any    of your "baby" you're willing to share?

Thanks, Cory, just trying to give a bit back to the community for all the entertainment and education that Saint has made available to us.   


Scott

[CoryBee]

Saint

 

[chris-Faribo]

I'll try and get some pictures up this weekend.  I picked up an old cabinet that had countertop laminate applied to the sides and it was currently running Golden Tee.  I gutted the cab and found the original Galaxian side art under the laminate.  It was a shame they did that....i've found paint thinner will remove the laminate adhesive rather nicely but I may have to wait till Spring so I can do that outside (bit too cold here in MN right now).

One small issue I've discovered is that MAME is not remembering my Player 1 buttons and I have  to reset them each time.  I've set them both in the overall settings and game specific settings but no luck so far.  Player 2 buttons are remembered though. 

[PL1]

One small issue I've discovered is that MAME is not remembering my Player 1 buttons and I have  to reset them each time.  I've set them both in the overall settings and game specific settings but no luck so far.  Player 2 buttons are remembered though. 

Are your mame.ini file properties set to "read-only"?

Are you trying to change from or to the default settings for MAME?

Did you change the keymap on the I-Pac or is it the same as the link above?


Scott

[chris-Faribo]

not sure if my mame.ini files are read only....how would i check?

When I start a game it defaults to everything preset and working except buttons 1-6 of player 1.  All buttons for Player 1 say "N/A" in the input screen when I go into the "Tab" menu.

I have not changed any keymapping on the I-Pac, using it straight out of the box so all my keymaps are like the link you provided.

The odd thing is Player 2 controls are being remembered just fine....it's just buttons 1-6 for player 1.

[CoryBee]

Right click mame.ini and click "properties"

Down where it says attributes there is a check box for this

[chris-Faribo]

nope, they are not read only....it is also not saving player 2's button 5 and 6 settings....odd...

[CoryBee]

What version are you using? Sounds like you should re-download MAME.

[PL1]

Sounds like you should re-download MAME.

+1 

If that doesn't help, what version (0.147?) and type (plain 'ol MAME, MAMEUIFX, Groovy MAME, etc.) are you using?

What front-end are you using?  It may be doing something on exit that rolls back your settings.

Just to clarify, exiting a game then going back in without leaving MAME doesn't roll back the settings, right?


Scott

[chris-Faribo]

My  version is 0.122 (just plain ol MAME) and I am using Hyperspin as a FE.  I thought about downloading the current version of MAME but worry about my ROMs not working, etc.  I'm guessing there is probably a thread somewhere that explains the process to update to the current version so I'll do some digging in this forum.  I was thinking of switching to Mala for a FE but that website seems to be down.

When you say redownload MAME do you mean the current version or redownload version 0.122? 

[CoryBee]

I meant re-download the same version

can get it here -

http://mamedev.org/oldrel.html

direct link to your version -

http://mamedev.org/downloader.php?file=releases/mame0122b.exe

Just replace your old files with these fresh ones. I bet it will cure your ailments.

[chris-Faribo]

Thanks for the links!  I'll give that a try later today.

[chris-Faribo]

That fixed the problem!     Thank you both for all your help!!