Sega Turbo Outrun "mini" cabinet

[Fursphere]

I picked up one of these cabinets last night for $30.  It supposedly works..  I haven't tried it yet.   The control panel needs some help though.    (I picked up an Area 51 one too for the same price - but its a scrapper - cabinet is trashed unfortunately)

http://www.basementarcade.com/arcade/auction/a40/Turbo%20Outrun%20Mini.jpg (thats not mine, but same cabinet)

When I bought it I was considering converting it to a 360 degree wheel MAME machine - but the control panel is a 270 degree wheel setup.   Anyone ever converted one of these?  I thought I saw a pick of one here.

[BadMouth]

That was Vandale:
http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php/topic,133948.msg1380443.html#msg1380443

I don't care for upright driving cabs, but somehow a 360 degree upright feels more right to me. 

[Fursphere]

thanks!  you know this subforum all too well. 

[Fursphere]

My control panel is missing the steering wheel (I have another that might work?  dunno yet) and the "shaft cover".  The steering wheel shaft has a lot of surface rust too, so I'll need to be stripped and possibly sand blasted.  No biggie really. 

[Fursphere]

So I tore into this more last night.  The game powers up, but no video, and sound "somtimes" works - and its all messed up.   So I'm guessing its got more than just a few problems.  MAME it is!  (anyone want the guts?)

The guy I bought the game from also gave me a control panel from a Tatio Grand Champion (http://www.gamesdbase.com/game/arcade/grand-champion.aspx).  The steering wheel from that looks like it'll fit the shaft to the Turbo Outrun.  Its got a little rust poking through the chrome though, so I may just end up buying a new one.

So the plan is to MAME this thing.  The controls are as follows:

Wheel - its currently a pot setup for 270 degrees, but some of the parts are missing.  Thinking 360 opto conversion.
Hi/Lo Shifter /w Thumb Button
Gas pedal (pot)
Brake pedal (pot)
Start button

Any idea on the best way to interface this all together?  And has anyone tried playing pot based games with a 360 opto wheel?   I'm wondering if thats even possible.   

[baritonomarchetto]

I love outrun mini! Never seen one here around, but it's the nicest upright outrun version for me.

Why you want to convert it to a 360 wheel? Wouldn't it be better to keep it as original as possible by hacking the pot wheel with a joypad?

If it was mine, i would convert it to jamma first by creating an adaptor (no original cables/connectors should be cut...), interface it with a JammASD PCB and, as said, hack a pad.

[Fursphere]

I love outrun mini! Never seen one here around, but it's the nicest upright outrun version for me.

Why you want to convert it to a 360 wheel? Wouldn't it be better to keep it as original as possible by hacking the pot wheel with a joypad?

If it was mine, i would convert it to jamma first by creating an adaptor (no original cables/connectors should be cut...), interface it with a JammASD PCB and, as said, hack a pad.

I have a sit-down driving cabinet with a Logitech G27.  Pot based games are no issue for me.  360 degree games are.  If you want it to stay orignal and Jamma it, come buy it from me. 

[BadMouth]

There are some notes in the stickied driving cab thread about using a 360 degree wheel for 270 degree games.

geecab also had a custom MAME build that played nicer with 360 degree games:
http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php/topic,130956.0.html

[baritonomarchetto]

I have a sit-down driving cabinet with a Logitech G27.  Pot based games are no issue for me.  360 degree games are.  If you want it to stay orignal and Jamma it, come buy it from me.

I would, but shipping costs would kill the joy 

All our problems with the optical games (I have the same problems with my cab) COULD be solved (i am going to test this solution) using joy2key or xpadder to simulate a mouse movement with your wheel axis... with most frontends you can launch an application (joy2key or xpadder in this case) before the emu and you are golden. To avoid pot games be controlled with the emulated mouse you can create a separate folder with a copy of mame and only optical games in there...

Wait a minute, isn't G27 an optical wheel? Why you have problems with optical games?

[Fursphere]

Its not optical games.  Its 360 degree wheel travel games (meaning it just spins freely - no stops).

[BadMouth]

Wait a minute, isn't G27 an optical wheel? Why you have problems with optical games?

It technically uses an optical encoder, but is limited in travel and reported to the PC as an analog controller no different than a pot.

The problem with the arcade games that used 360 degree wheels is that the wheels could spin endlessly and had no real center point.
The game only knows if the wheel is moving left or right and how fast.  It doesn't know where center is or how far the wheel is turned.

If you crash in Pole Position, whatever position the wheel is in becomes the new center point.
So if you're playing on a G27 or any limited rotation wheel and had the wheel turned all the way left when you crash, the new center point is all the way left.
To keep the car going straight, you'll have to hold the wheel all the way to the left.  It's then impossible to turn the car left because the wheel can't physically move any farther left.  The original wheel spun endlessly, so it wasn't a concern.

Personally, a workaround for this is one HACK I would like to see in MAME.

[baritonomarchetto]

Personally, a workaround for this is one HACK I would like to see in MAME.

I am aware of this problem. Did not know about the 270°-optical behaviour of the G27 (i prefer to use hacked analog pads).
I made some test in the past for RacerMAMe to face this but never ever ended with real solutions for this.

Anyone have tried to use joy2key to simulate a mouse movement with the pot and solve the problem before i start to made some (useless?) attempt with it?

[baritonomarchetto]

Anyone have tried to use joy2key to simulate a mouse movement with the pot and solve the problem before i start to made some (useless?) attempt with it?

Yes! Me! 

Joy2key can help to control optical games with a pot wheel (I have almost succesfully played championship sprint and pole position on my cab today) BUT it has a big disadvantage when used for such pourpouse: the emulated mouse speed is pre-defined by the user and is not variable with the pot position. Do you know if there's another (freeware) mouse emulator that can simulate a variable speed of the pointer?