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Author Topic: Aimtrak guns losing button assignments after PC reboot  (Read 4343 times)

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TheElectricMonk

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Aimtrak guns losing button assignments after PC reboot
« on: August 03, 2018, 01:43:32 am »
I bought two Aimtrak guns a few days ago and while they're a lot of fun when they work, I have the following problem:

After rebooting the PC, the guns seem to lose important configuration information. Most of the time, the button assignments for "on screen" have turned blank (and show up as such in the configuration utility), and sometimes one of the guns reacts very choppily until recalibrated.

I've tried different USB ports on the back of my PC, booting with only one gun or the other... the problem seems to remain. Firmware is 9.19, which as far as I gathered is the latest one. Running Windows 10, latest update.

Is there some sort of third-party script I can run at startup to write the relevant information into the guns or something?

I'm itching to build a gun-only cab and want it to boot up and be ready to play without having to recalibrate everything every time I boot up, so any help would be greatly appreciated!  :)

AndyWarne

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Re: Aimtrak guns losing button assignments after PC reboot
« Reply #1 on: August 03, 2018, 09:19:51 am »
This sounds like loss of USB data.

The question is, are the controls actually inoperable or are they only being mis-reported in the config utility? I would suspect the latter.

For optimum USB port operation the USB controller drivers need to be properly installed on he PC, and if the PC has USB 2.0 and 3.0, its best to use 2.0 owing to the unusually long cable length.

The guns should not need to be calibrated each time, it would be recommended to first try the "manual gain setting" method which is mentioned on www.ultimarc.com/aimtrak.html because the initial response might be affected by the gain self-adjusting on first use.

I can help further by email if necessary: andy@ultimarc.com

TheElectricMonk

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Re: Aimtrak guns losing button assignments after PC reboot
« Reply #2 on: August 03, 2018, 09:47:33 am »
This sounds like loss of USB data.

The question is, are the controls actually inoperable or are they only being mis-reported in the config utility? I would suspect the latter.

Andy, thanks for the quick reply. Unfortunately it's the former. The guns move on reboot, but don't send mouse clicks. Second gun sometimes moves as if in a 640x480 window trapped on my 800x600 desktop. Other times it reacts really "choppy", i.e. if I move the cursor slowly along the x axis on a 800x600 resolution desktop it goes 0....nothing...jumps to around 300....nothing...jumps to around 600....nothing...jumps to 800. As soon as I recalibrate it, it works fine.

If the info helps, the other back USB ports have a keyboard, a mouse and the LED bar in them. Front USB ports are empty.

For optimum USB port operation the USB controller drivers need to be properly installed on he PC, and if the PC has USB 2.0 and 3.0, its best to use 2.0 owing to the unusually long cable length.
I've used DriverEasy to install the latest USB drivers (it's not a very new machine - a 2011 Intel i5), and the PC has no USB 3.0 ports.

The guns should not need to be calibrated each time, it would be recommended to first try the "manual gain setting" method which is mentioned on www.ultimarc.com/aimtrak.html because the initial response might be affected by the gain self-adjusting on first use.
I'll look into this once I get back from work tonight.  I'll also try a PS/2 mouse and keyboard and see if that changes anything.

I can help further by email if necessary: andy@ultimarc.com

Very much appreciated, thanks. I'll contact you directly if I have any more problems, and if any solutions come up, I'll post them here.

TheElectricMonk

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Re: Aimtrak guns losing button assignments after PC reboot
« Reply #3 on: August 03, 2018, 02:18:57 pm »
Seems like my PC's USB ports (or Windows' way of handling them) are indeed the trouble:
Once I boot up and experience the loss of pre-defined keys, unplugging and replugging the gun solves the problem every time.

I think I'll go and buy a powered USB hub, put it on a master/slave power strip with the PC as master and see what happens. If the guns are turned on "from zero" every time the PC boots up things may work better.

TheElectricMonk

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Re: Aimtrak guns losing button assignments after PC reboot
« Reply #4 on: August 03, 2018, 06:32:10 pm »
..and sadly, no change.

I've used USBDeview to remove all traces of former USB devices, switched to a PS/2 mouse, changed the energy settings so that Windows doesn't control how much power USB devices get, bought a powered USB hub and installed it on a master/slave power strip.

No change whatsoever. I boot up and it's a crapshoot whether both guns work or one or both guns have lost their settings for the on-screen buttons.

The upshot is that I now have a powered USB hub with a nifty on/off switch. I might just fix that to the back of the cab and train myself to switch the cab on and then do a power cycle on the USB hub while Windows is booting. So far this is the only solution that has worked.

Titchgamer

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Re: Aimtrak guns losing button assignments after PC reboot
« Reply #5 on: August 03, 2018, 06:43:47 pm »
Out of interest have you tried locking in the USB ID's so they are always the same?
Windows will randomly assign them otherwise.

TheElectricMonk

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Re: Aimtrak guns losing button assignments after PC reboot
« Reply #6 on: August 03, 2018, 07:50:03 pm »
Out of interest have you tried locking in the USB ID's so they are always the same?
Windows will randomly assign them otherwise.

Not sure I have, actually. The guns always show up as PID_1601 and 1602, but apart from writing the recommended configuration file for MAME.INI (where they work beautifully once I unplug and replug them), I haven't done anything to configure the IDs in Windows.

Do you have a link to a tutorial? When I google "usb id lock" it just gives me pages on how to block USB ports to prevent people using their flash drives on company PCs :-)

Titchgamer

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Re: Aimtrak guns losing button assignments after PC reboot
« Reply #7 on: August 04, 2018, 02:05:36 am »
Afraid I dont (at work atm) but theres a USB controller program that locks the USB ID’s in windows upon start up that the name of which escapes me at the moment.
But I will have a look later when I get home if you cant google fu it.
I run it on mine to stop the controllers changing in mame but it might help with your issue to.
Not sure as I never had that problem with my 2.

TheElectricMonk

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Re: Aimtrak guns losing button assignments after PC reboot
« Reply #8 on: August 04, 2018, 05:34:45 pm »
Afraid I dont (at work atm) but theres a USB controller program that locks the USB ID’s in windows upon start up that the name of which escapes me at the moment.
But I will have a look later when I get home if you cant google fu it.

That would be great, thanks!
In the meantime I've tried deactivating and reactivating the USB ports using USBDeview, but that just kills the guns completely and they won't come back on until I've done the unplug/replug (or the USB hub off/on) thing.
I've also read a lot people praising DevCon, but I haven't been able to get it to work - it lists the USB devices but claims it doesn't find them once I try to get it to do anyting with them.

Titchgamer

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Re: Aimtrak guns losing button assignments after PC reboot
« Reply #9 on: August 05, 2018, 07:32:19 am »
Sorry never got around to doing this last night but this is what I use to keep all my USB ID's the same.

http://hyperspin-fe.com/files/file/11305-tur-game-controller-order/

TheElectricMonk

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Re: Aimtrak guns losing button assignments after PC reboot
« Reply #10 on: August 05, 2018, 06:58:55 pm »
Alas, no change. Thank you for your tip though, it may very well come in handy for later troubles.

Titchgamer

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Re: Aimtrak guns losing button assignments after PC reboot
« Reply #11 on: August 06, 2018, 01:56:43 am »
Alas, no change. Thank you for your tip though, it may very well come in handy for later troubles.

Dang...

Hopefully Andy can sort you out.

And yeah it will defo come in handy in the future to keep them mapped correctly in MAME.

As a side note, Andy would it be possible to add something into the drivers or the firmware to fix the ID’s in the future?

TheElectricMonk

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Re: Aimtrak guns losing button assignments after PC reboot
« Reply #12 on: August 29, 2018, 01:47:08 pm »
Just an update:
The problem remains, but Andy has been nothing but a champ throughout and offered support way above and beyond anything I've ever experienced. Just wanted to leave that praise here.

My boss is a former electrical engineer and has offered to build me a small relay that powers the USB hub off and on after Windows starts up. I'll post it here if he ever gets around to it :-)

Titchgamer

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Re: Aimtrak guns losing button assignments after PC reboot
« Reply #13 on: August 29, 2018, 02:53:30 pm »
Just an update:
The problem remains, but Andy has been nothing but a champ throughout and offered support way above and beyond anything I've ever experienced. Just wanted to leave that praise here.

My boss is a former electrical engineer and has offered to build me a small relay that powers the USB hub off and on after Windows starts up. I'll post it here if he ever gets around to it :-)

Yeah Andy really stands behind his stuff.
Thats why I keep buying his stuff time and time again.

Sorry you not fixed your problem though :(

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Re: Aimtrak guns losing button assignments after PC reboot
« Reply #14 on: July 30, 2021, 12:55:05 pm »
Did you ever find a solution.  I have the same issue. For me every third power cycle removed the on screen button mapping.