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Switchable controls idea
DracoDan:
History (non-technical):
I've been working for quite a while on my arcade cabinet (some day I'll get around to posting some pics and details) and after getting my CP done, I started thinking about how I wanted to wire it. I had originally bought a mini-pac for key encoding, but later on after learning about how a keyboard acts versus a joystick/control pad, I decided that I would rather use a joystick encoder instead and bought a pair of ZD encoder boards. After thinking about it further, I decided that I wanted to somehow do both of these and have it easily switchable.
Technical:
My first idea was to use something like this 24 pole double throw relay to switch all the buttons at once, but then I realized that since both are negatively grounded, I should just be able to switch the grounds to change the inputs from going to one encoder to the other. I think there could be a couple of problems with this though, which I describe below.
Example setup:
Encoder A has its ground connected, encoder B does not. there is a single NO button with one side connected to SW1 of both encoders and the other side connected to a switch that switches between the common ground of encoder A or encoder B.
First potential problem:
When button 1 is pressed, SW1 of encoder A is pulled low, does this mean that SW1 of encoder B would drain (be pulled low) to SW1/ground (since the button being pressed means they're now connected) of encoder A and detect a key press? My guess is yes... If so, is there an easy way to avoid this?
Second potential problem:
I fear that connecting the positive terminals of both encoders together would cause unpredictable and erratic behavior. Although both controls have 5v positive, there is the high likelihood of there being small differences in circuitry that could cause a small voltage difference between the two, possibly causing one or the other to detect that a button is always being held down. An easy way to fix this (I think) would be to use an array of diodes on all the positive terminals, ensuring nothing drains to them.
Let me know if my description is too confusing and I'll throw a quick block diagram of my idea together.
Thanks!
BadMouth:
--- Quote from: DracoDan on January 07, 2013, 10:44:58 am ---After thinking about it further, I decided that I wanted to somehow do both of these and have it easily switchable.
--- End quote ---
I'm all for cool technical projects, but why?
What can a keyboard encoder do that a gamepad encoder can't? And vice-versa?
DracoDan:
my concern with the keyboard controller is with key repeat when a key is held down. After some research I learned that you can use the accessibility options to disable key repeat, but then the problem is the opposite, some games are designed for you to hold certain buttons down. The best solution from what I've read is to use a joystick encoder instead, and this is when I decided to purchase the ZD encoder.
The problem with the Joystick/ZD encoder, is that hyperspin doesn't currently (from what I read) support joystick input. Many builders get around this by adding another control just for game selection, but my cabinet is designed to be as slim as possible, the CP measures only 8" x 30" (total cabinet depth is under 20"). In fact, I'm having to put the 1P, 2P and coin buttons on the screen bezel as I simple don't have any more room on my CP without crowding the game controls. While I am considering the option of adding a tiny joystick and buttons to the bezel for game selection, I would REALLY like to avoid this... I like a clean look!
BadMouth:
I've never heard of the key repeat issue before. ???
Is there a specific emulator this is an issue with?
I'm sure there are a ton of Hyperspin users using only gampads.
Have you tried using a program like joy2key, xpadder, or autohotkey to have the ZD encoder post as keyboard keys?
brad808:
--- Quote from: BadMouth on January 07, 2013, 01:13:52 pm ---
I'm sure there are a ton of Hyperspin users using only gampads.
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I do it on one of my cabinets. Works the exact same as my other cabinet that uses an ipac. No other programs or modifications needed.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus