Which interface is best for a low requirements build?

[Mitkraft]

I'm using a computer in a slot machine cabinet to run some PC slot machine games, online video poker, etc.  My plan is to enable the buttons on the deck and since there are so few I wonder which encoder would do that job the cheapest.  I'm not terribly familiar with the Kade but I was trying to read up on it last night.  Looks like it would be cheaper if I assembled it myself but not by a huge margin.  Any recommendations?

[Slippyblade]

How many buttons are we talking about?  Something that seems to have been forgotten is the good old "keyboard hack".  Interfaces like the KADE, iPac, and KeyWiz are all awesome products, but honestly can be overkill if have a project that only has a few buttons.  So, yeah, if you are wanting like 5 buttons then just pick up a $1 keyboard and rip the controller out and hack away.

[mgb]

Yeah, I would think this would be a good candidate for a keyboard hack.
Usb keyboards have a limit of 6 simultaneous key presses but that won't really be an issue here.

Or you could go with a kade or even one of the cheap chinese ones available on eBay but those chinese ones show up as joysticks, I'm not sure if that works with what you'll be running

[Mitkraft]

Outstanding suggestions! Thank you!  I had completely forgotten about the old school keyboard hack and it might just be the thing here.  I only need like 8 or 9 buttons and at least 6 of them have to be keyboard buttons (1,2,3,4,5 and Space/enter) so the ones that show up as joys probably wouldn't work.  I'm glad you pointed that out.  Omg, I had the tools to hook these up all along just sitting in the closet.

[paigeoliver]

"Deck" isn't an arcade term.

The keyboard hack hasn't made sense since the late 90s. Spend $20 worth of time to save $15 on your project with the result being fragile and much harder to deal with then just using some sort of encoder in the first place.

[dmckean]

"Deck" isn't an arcade term.

The keyboard hack hasn't made sense since the late 90s. Spend $20 worth of time to save $15 on your project with the result being fragile and much harder to deal with then just using some sort of encoder in the first place.

+1

I hacked a keyboard when I built my first stick around 15 years ago and it was fragile as hell.

Get a zero delay USB encoder off ebay, they're like $11 and work great.

[Mitkraft]

"Deck" isn't an arcade term.

Deck IS however a slot machine term. Which is what I was describing when I used it.  This isn't anywhere near my first rodeo btw, I just haven't kept up with all the encoder options that have popped up over the years aside from the ipac (was the only game in town when I started in the hobby) and the keywiz.

+1

I hacked a keyboard when I built my first stick around 15 years ago and it was fragile as hell.

Get a zero delay USB encoder off ebay, they're like $11 and work great.

This is the info I was hoping to hear about when I posted this.  What exactly am I looking for in regards to an $11 usb encoder?  I didn't know such a thing was out there.  At that price point I would certainly go that route.  Thanks!

[dmckean]

This is the info I was hoping to hear about when I posted this.  What exactly am I looking for in regards to an $11 usb encoder?  I didn't know such a thing was out there.  At that price point I would certainly go that route.  Thanks!

I referring to one like this:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Zero-Delay-Arcade-USB-Encoder-PC-to-joystick-for-MAME-Fight-Stick-Controls/251241991403

People here have had good experience with these. They show up as a gamepad in Windows and they're also compatible with consoles.

[JDFan]

This is the info I was hoping to hear about when I posted this.  What exactly am I looking for in regards to an $11 usb encoder?  I didn't know such a thing was out there.  At that price point I would certainly go that route.  Thanks!

I referring to one like this:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Zero-Delay-Arcade-USB-Encoder-PC-to-joystick-for-MAME-Fight-Stick-Controls/251241991403

People here have had good experience with these. They should up as a gamepad in Windows and they're also compatible with consoles.

Also if you need them setup as keyboard input you can use software like JoytoKey to capture the gamepad input and change it to keystrokes.

[Mitkraft]

Haha, you beat me to it.  I was writing this as you posted that:

Ah, well that may be a problem.  If they are detected as joysticks then they might not work.  I need them to read as the 1,2,3,4,5 and space keys specifically.  But maybe I can use joytokey and even gain the benefit if dynamically changing the mapped keys when I load a given application via SimpleFE.  That might work.  I'll have to test that out with a joystick and if so I'll go that route.  Way cheaper than the other encoders I referenced in the op.

Also if you need them setup as keyboard input you can use software like JoytoKey to capture the gamepad input and change it to keystrokes.

[JDFan]

IT should work OK with JoytoKey (I use one in my bartop build and use JoytoKey when using the Fix it Felix game wrapper that Howard posted and it emulates the keypresses fine.) --- One thing to keep in mind when ordering is they do have a couple versions - one with a 5 pin wire for the joystick for Japanese type joysticks and another with 4 2 wire connectors for Happ type joysticks - and then they also have either the button wiring for japanese buttons or larger connectors for Happ type - so be sure to order the one that comes with the type of wiring you want to use.