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MAME, DC, PS2, all-in-one cabinet.... my planned attempt
Negativecreep0:
beautiful let us know how it goes, I can wait.
dema:
If you are wiring an IPac and an XBox (or Dreamcast) to a switch box and then running a single db cable out to the control panel, swapping between the two with the dial, how do you deal with the ground wire? I am guessing you wire them up to the same pin in the cable, to ensure that they both utilize the same ground on the arcade controls. I want to make sure that sharing the same ground wire won't cause it to fry, but I'm guessing it will be okay if you switch between the two with the switch box.
Dave_K.:
Each system (PC and Xbox) must use its own dedicated ground...just include it in your db connector.
dema:
--- Quote from: Dave_K. on April 19, 2004, 01:28:04 pm ---Each system (PC and Xbox) must use its own dedicated ground...just include it in your db connector.
--- End quote ---
So I'd include a ground pin in the db cable from the Xbox controller hack to the switch box and I'd map out the same pin in the db cable from the Ipac to the switch box. Then on the output from the switch box to the controls I could just have the one ground wire running to the controls, right? They'd share the same pin on the connector, but the switch box would give each connector its own ground? I'd need two grounds to handle the 1p and 2p controls, right?
Dave_K.:
You had it right, one ground from switchbox to control panel, and a seperate ground for each system going to the switchbox. P1 and P2 sides can share the same ground since they ultimately go to the same system (either the PC or the Xbox).
The situation you are trying to avoid here is potentially hooking up the ground from the PC to the ground of the Xbox while both systems are on. I believe the switchbox will isolate the grounds just fine, as long as you have a dedicated ground wire in the cable (do NOT use the shield ground of the cable as this might be shared inside the switchbox's ground own ground).