connectivity

[brisk20]

Hi All...

I'm sure this is going to seem like a very newbie question to most and I appoligize.. I'm trying to understand the basics first.

I've been reading thru some of the project pages ppl have made and some of the sections but there's one thing I have not been able to figure out.

1) You essentially have your computer w/ an os to run the games off of inside the unit.  Well what connects the joystick/buttons to the computer in order for it to tell the game what to do?  Is this what they keyboard encoder is for?  
2) Do you lose the option of using a keyboard and mouse to select the games and if so how are you able to load more games onto the unit?
3) For powering up the arcade machine this requires a typical computer power supply?
4) last.. does ne one know of any canadian (preferabily ontario canada) supplier for any of this equipment or is it typically U.S. based??

Thanks for the help!
Mike

[screaming]

1) You essentially have your computer w/ an os to run the games off of inside the unit.  Well what connects the joystick/buttons to the computer in order for it to tell the game what to do?  Is this what they keyboard encoder is for?  

  Yes. You wire each button and joystick switch into the keyboard encoder (I-PAC, Keywiz) and you run a standard PS/2 or USB cable from that to your computer.

2) Do you lose the option of using a keyboard and mouse to select the games and if so how are you able to load more games onto the unit?

   Nope! Most keyboard encoders that I'm aware of have some sort of pass-thru mechanism that lets you run a keyboard in parallel with the rest of your control panel (with joysticks and buttons, etc).

   If you use the USB variety, you can simply plug in the keyboard and mouse into the computer just as normal.  All the input devices will (or should) coexist happily.

  Personally, I'm going to be uploading from my main computer on my home network. Lots of people don't go this route and simply sneakernet load new stuff via CD/DVD ROM.

3) For powering up the arcade machine this requires a typical computer power supply?

  Well, the 'arcade machine' is your computer and just like any computer, requires a computer power supply. The compnents of your arcade cabinet that require power, like the marquee light and monitor/TV plug into a standard outlet... Which means you're going to need a power strip of some sorts that is close enough to these components.

  For this piece, most people who don't build thier own solution seem to go with a Bits Limited SmartStrip or a Sears' version.

  And here's a general link that talks about both of them.

4) last.. does ne one know of any canadian (preferabily ontario canada) supplier for any of this equipment or is it typically U.S. based??

  No idea, eh.

HTH.

/Steve

[Tiger-Heli]

>I'm sure this is going to seem like a very newbie >question to most and I appoligize.. I'm trying to >understand the basics first.

They aren't so much newbie questions, as that there is no single, only, correct way to do this.

>1) You essentially have your computer w/ an os to run >the games off of inside the unit.

True, for an arcade cab, there will be a computer, usually running MAME.  I'll get to inputs later, but there are basically 4 types of outputs to consider.  The simplest to visualize is using a standard PC monitor.  Next is an S-Video card outputting to a TV.  There are also video cards that can output to a standard arcade monitor like the cab originally came with.  Finally, if the original cab is in good shape and JAMMA (most mid 80's and newer), you can use a J-PAC (www.ultimarc.com) to connect to the existing arcade cab PS, monitor, and even control panel.

>  Well what connects the joystick/buttons to the >computer in order for it to tell the game what to do?  Is >this what they keyboard encoder is for?  

Yeah, that's usually the best and most popular option.  Others are a gameport or (more often) USB gamepad hack, or a keyboard hack, or a Playstation gamepad hack with a PS2/USB adapter.

>2) Do you lose the option of using a keyboard and >mouse to select the games and if so how are you able >to load more games onto the unit?

Depends, the mouse would still work, but many people use a trackball instead.  Many people run MAME through a front-end (MameWah, Dragon King, EmuLoader, etc.) and most of these will allow game selection and launching with arcade controls.  For loading more games, so encoders have a keyboard pass-through, or you can unplug the encoder and plug in a keyboard, or use a USB or wireless keyboard.

>3) For powering up the arcade machine this requires a >typical computer power supply?

The computer requires a computer power supply.  The arcade machine may have it's own PS if you are using an arcade monitor.

>4) last.. does ne one know of any canadian >(preferabily ontario canada) supplier for any of this >equipment or is it typically U.S. based??

Not sure, but I think there are some.  For Encoders, the KeyWiz and MK64 are U.S. based, and the I-PAC and J-PAC are U.K.-based.

[aricade]

Canadian company that I would reccommend buying happ stuff (www.happcontrols.com)  would be starburst coin.

email partsdept at starburstcoin dot com

They are in toronto..  If you want new arcade parts from happ ordering with them will save you on shipping as opposed to directly from happ.

If you dont know yet Happ is a US manufacturer of arcade parts.. I would say you would find there products in most arcades across north america..

Else just walk in any arcade and ask to speak to the manager.  Sometimes they will sell used cabs parts etc...  This is how I got started.

Cheers,
Aricade