How long can wires be between buttons and IPAC?

[jagnogg]

Would 10 feet be too long?

And which would be better for longer distances - 18 gauge or 22 gauge wire?

[Tiger-Heli]

Would 10 feet be too long?

Doubtful - There are several people building laptop controllers with printer cables (DB-25) that long or longer.  If you go that route, I've heard it's recommended to also connect the shield ground of the cable to the I-PAC ground terminal.

And which would be better for longer distances - 18 gauge or 22 gauge wire?

Theoretically, thicker (18 gauge) wire will have less signal loss.  Realistically, DB25 cable has something like 28 gauge internal wiring, so I don't think it matters.

[Darkstalker]

Yea, you should should be fine either way.  If you are really worried about it, go with the 18 gauge wire to play it safe.

[Hoagie_one]

can i ask why 10 feet of wire between ipac and buttons is nessesary?

[jagnogg]

can i ask why 10 feet of wire between ipac and buttons is nessesary?

I'm using an IPAC in my skeeball project, and some of the controls (start button, buttons to enter initials, coin mech, etc) will be down at the end of the ramp, which is pretty long.

I'm using a very old PC and a 15 inch monitor to keep score since the machine I bought had no electronic components ($75 on ebay . I'm writing some custom games in addition to having the traditional scoring system.

Here's my web site, where I'll post my progress:

http://tinyurl.com/2kekr

[SirPoonga]

Did you build that skee ball or found one?  Just curious as it wouldn't be that hard to make your own skee ball, just need to know how to make the smooth jump S-curve transition.

The bigger the gause the better for that length I'd think.  But either way you should be fine.  I've seen long wiring in an arcade cabinet to run the wire along the edges neatly.

[jagnogg]

Did you build that skee ball or found one?  Just curious as it wouldn't be that hard to make your own skee ball, just need to know how to make the smooth jump S-curve transition.

The bigger the gause the better for that length I'd think.  But either way you should be fine.  I've seen long wiring in an arcade cabinet to run the wire along the edges neatly.

I got lucky and found one on Ebay for local pickup only. I plan on posting measurements of the machine on the site eventually, as people were asking for them in a previous thread.

[SirPoonga]

Cool, can't wait, I just want to know how to make that curve, it wouldn't be hard to make your own after you get that.