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Author Topic: Help figuring out this CP  (Read 783 times)

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Setton

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Help figuring out this CP
« on: May 14, 2013, 06:08:54 pm »
I'm new to the forum, so sorry if I overstep any bounds.

Some backstory:
Sometime around 2004, my mother got lucky at a casino and netted herself a custom MAME cabinet, I fell in love with it an all was well. Flash forward to this month; I was helping my parents move out of their current house, and I stumbled upon the same cabinet. They said they couldn't take it with them, that they hadn't started it in years, and if I wanted to take it. Naturally, I said yes and took the machine home. The OS wouldn't boot so I reimaged the whole thing (Windows XP) and found that everything was working perfectly, except the control panel.

The problem:
The control panel's P1 (yellow) and P2 (black) are programmed to the same keys, the same issue applies to P3 (green) and P4 (red). I recalled that WinIPAC had been installed on the cabinet at one point, but since I didn't actually build the cabinet I didn't know much about reprogramming them. Also, I couldn't identify what kind of IPACs (if they are IPACs) were in the CP after I opened the thing up. WinIPAC gave me timeout errors but I'm pretty sure this has to do with my ignorance more than anything.

Here's the information I was able to gather, if it helps (sorry if some of this stuff is dumb/obvious, I'm very much out of my element):
- The trackball and spinner connect via USB and register as mice, these have no problems working.
- The CP uses two boards (IPACs?) daisychained together for all of the controls (excluding trackball and spinner, of course)
- The two boards connect via PS/2 and register as a keyboard
- The machine was built sometime around 2003
- P1 and P3 are on a single board, as are P2 and P4, I believe this is why P1 and P2/P3 and P4 have the same output

I'd appreciate any help at all, even if it's just identifying what the boards are.

PL1

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Re: Help figuring out this CP
« Reply #1 on: May 14, 2013, 08:11:14 pm »
Welcome aboard, Setton.

If you're wondering about proper forum decorum, review the rules here, but it looks like you're already on the right track.  ;D

Your encoders look like the old-style Mini-Pac.

This thread (5th diagram) has a pic of the board and a pinout if you need to chase any wires.

Ultimarc's download page has the "legacy" programming utility for pre-2004 I-Pac/J-Pac -- looks like it might work for the Mini-Pac as well. :dunno

IIRC you need to have only one Mini-Pac at a time plugged in while re-programming.


Scott
« Last Edit: May 14, 2013, 08:21:35 pm by PL1 »

Setton

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Re: Help figuring out this CP
« Reply #2 on: May 15, 2013, 10:14:26 pm »
Brilliant, this is exactly what I needed to know; I just finished reprogramming the controls and it's working beautifully, as per your direction. I can't possibly thank you enough. ;D