JPAC newbie

[MikeMelga]

Hi everyone.

I was given a Jamma Arcade machine and I bought a JPAC and an ArcadeVGA.

Wired everything up but I am having trouble with the controls.


When I test the controls with notepad I seem to get every P2 button (P1 does not send any ascii but they seem to also work) but I cannot get controls in-game nor the shift functions. 


From what I've read I must have one (or more) stuck or bad connected buttons.

When I redefine keys in MAME it show a "SPACE <the key I press> NOT BACKSPACE" or something like that everytime.

When I start a game like Bubble Bobble the controls are very erratic and sometimes I get 'Tilt'.

Any ideas on the best approach to eliminate the offending button(s) or what the problem may be?

Thanks.

Mike


Edit: My JPAC is an old version... so I guess I can't use WinIpac to check buttons.

[AndyWarne]

If you can drop me an email we can try to help.

The first thing to check is the self-test LED on the J-PAC. If this is not staying lit it indicates one or more shorted or stuck switches which will cause shift functions not to work.

Andy

[MikeMelga]

AndyWarne,

Thanks for the reply.

The J-Pac flashes 1 or 2 times when powered and then stays always lit.

I've done some further reading and this weekend I am going to test the controls with a keyboard test app and will begin to test button by button. If I'm lucky I will find the stuck/broken switch and replace it.

if not... I will let you know
My email is mike.melga.pt  at  gmail.com

Thaks again.

Regards,
Mike

[MikeMelga]

Ok... I've done some more testing.

The J-Pac flashes 2 times on startup and then remains lit. According to the manual it's normal operation.

I tested with a keyboard test app (keythis) and every button worked. When you press and hold any button the app shows as the button being pressed which is correct.
However... when I press and hold the Start1 button (the one which should access the shift function) it shows pressed but immediately returns to the non pressed state.

 

Is this normal behaviour?

As a test I disconnected ALL buttons (removed ground) except for Start1 and Joystick 1. Same behaviour, still no shift functions.

 

What can I do more?


Thanks.

Regards,
Mike

[Titchgamer]

When you are not pressing any buttons are any being lit up as active?
I had this problem with a Mini Pac and it turned out to be a weak switch on my joystick toggling on and off.

[MikeMelga]

Titchgamer,

Thanks for the reply.

When I am not pressing any buttons no key is being lit. The keys only light up when I press the buttons.

I made a final test: I disconnect EVERYTHING except for the Start1 button and it still does not hold when I keep it pressed 
Replaced the button with another one: same thing.

Don't know what to do next

[Titchgamer]

When you press and hold any other button does it stay on?
Or do they all just blink on and off?

[MikeMelga]

Every other button stays on (pressed).
Only Start1 goes on and immediately off.   

 

[Titchgamer]

Maybe its the microswitch then? Try swapping it with one of the others.

[PL1]

I disconnect EVERYTHING except for the Start1 button and it still does not hold when I keep it pressed 
Replaced the button with another one: same thing.

On the J-Pac, that is normal.

P1 Start is the default button for "shifted functions".

If you press and release P1 Start, the J-Pac sends a "1" keystroke. (un-shifted function)

If you press P2 Start, the J-Pac sends a "2" keystroke. (un-shifted function)

If you press and hold P1 Start then press P2 Start, the J-Pac sends an "ESC" keystroke (shifted function) instead of a "1" and "2" keystroke. (un-shifted functions)

http://www.ultimarc.com/jpac.html

Shift functions. Holding "Start1" and pressing other buttons sends a range of codes for MAME functions such as "escape", "Coin 1", "tab", "enter". This means no extra buttons are needed on the cabinet. In programmable mode any input can be the shift key and all keys can be programmed with a shifted code.

List of J-Pac shifted function defaults. (right column)
http://www.ultimarc.com/jpac2.html


Scott

[MikeMelga]

Maybe its the microswitch then? Try swapping it with one of the others.

Done that. No change.

If you press and hold P1 Start then press P2 Start, the J-Pac sends an "ESC" keystroke (shifted function) instead of a "1" and "2" keystroke. (un-shifted functions)

PL1,

Yes, I know that. The problem is that I cannot HOLD P1 Start. I can hold every other button, but P1 Start does not hold.


Now I am having a different problem: I reconnected all buttons, rewired the whole thing and as soon as I enter windows, it seems that F1 is being pressed. I get dozen of help windows open 

 


EDIT: running the key test app shows that F1 is repeatedly  being pressed.     

My J-PAC is not the newer one: was bought in 06/2010

[pbj]

This is an old and well known issue with JPACs.  Nothing will fix this besides replacing the encoder or your PC.

[MikeMelga]

This is an old and well known issue with JPACs.  Nothing will fix this besides replacing the encoder or your PC.

pbj,

What do you mean? Are you saying the J-Pac is incompatible with my PC setup? If I change the PC's motherboard it would work?


EDIT:  When I enter J-PAC's test mode it starts with "Coin 1 « 5" which would indicate a problem with the P1 B1 button, but that button is disconnected 

[Scassidy24]

I'm Probably off base here but just in case.... you wouldnt Happen to have any switches accidentally wired to the "normally closed" terminal would you?  I had a problem getting my coin door switches working  until I realized that the leaf switches (although appearing to be exactly the same as all other switches on my cabinet) actually had NO and NC terminals in the opposite locations.  Just on those two leaf switches.  Maybe you have one of those "backward" switches.  Just confirm it's not in normally closed position.   

Maybe a long shot sorry if that's no help

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[mahuti]

I've had problems with joysticks that had the NO and NC positions swapped as well.

If F1 Is popping up all over the place... then that would be the place to look. Ultimarc's docs shows F1 maps from the service connector:

https://www.ultimarc.com/jpac2.html

So... what is wired up to the service connector?

[MikeMelga]

Hi.

Thanks for the replies.

I gave up on the shift functions. Could not get them to work.
Everything is wired up properly. No NC switches. Shift functions just don't work. Every buttons works fine on it's own

The 'service' problem I already sorted it out: it appeared because I wasn't powering the arcade (jamma and monitor). Once I powered up the rest of the arcade...it was gone

So... thanks for all the suggestions but I am still stuck with no shift functions. Got to live with it