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Uh oh... ran out of buttons on my I-PAC2...
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PedroSilva:
I thougth of something that might give 4 extra buttons and I would like to know if has anyone tried it and if it works:

Could it be possible, if we are using both I-Pac and Opti-Pac, to use the mouse buttons of Opti-Pac for both players leaving the two players buttons 1 and 2 free on I-Pac ?

Assuming a 6 button configuration, that should leave 8 extra buttons for admin functions on I-Pac (Buttons 1, 2, 7 and 8 of both players)

Tiger-Heli:

--- Quote from: PedroSilva on July 14, 2004, 05:48:20 pm ---I thougth of something that might give 4 extra buttons and I would like to know if has anyone tried it and if it works:

Could it be possible, if we are using both I-Pac and Opti-Pac, to use the mouse buttons of Opti-Pac for both players leaving the two players buttons 1 and 2 free on I-Pac ?

Assuming a 6 button configuration, that should leave 8 extra buttons for admin functions on I-Pac (Buttons 1, 2, 7 and 8 of both players)

--- End quote ---
That will work, no problem.

EDIT:  That will work, no problem as long as you are using MAME or an emulator that can handle mouse clicks as action inputs!
SoundDoc:
Just my quick  2 cents, Andy's extra button shift works great, I have 28 additional inputs at my disposal for "extra" things.
Just to help, heres the protoboard layout I used (just keep adding parts for more inputs) use the res/cap values on his page and you'll be fine. red lines are "traces" you need to make on the backside of the protoboard, the rest is just components. The circles are just used hole locations.
This is just a quick cut out of a much larger control board I'm building up for my cab, if you need values etc, let me know and I'll throw them on.

sd
Tiger-Heli:

--- Quote from: SoundDoc on July 15, 2004, 04:24:54 pm ---This is just a quick cut out of a much larger control board I'm building up for my cab, if you need values etc, let me know and I'll throw them on.
sd

--- End quote ---
I didn't know this could be used for more than one button.  Just wanted to point out (mainly for new people to the hobby):

There is no free lunch - you don't get 28 more action buttons, but you do have an additional 28 available inputs for coins and admin functions, etc.  The major drawbacks are as follows:

There is a slight delay built into the I-PAC shift function (that's why you need the RC circuit).  Not a problem for accessing the Tab menu, but maybe bad if you're trying to kill the last Invader.

The shift functions shift all the other keys.  In other words, if Coin 1 is Shift P1B1 and Coin2 is Shift P1B2, then if someone presses and holds Coin 1 and then presses P1B2, two coins will register instead of the P1B2 action.

Because of the above, it's a good idea to map shift functions to the same function as the basic button (unless you need them to be different) and to not have shift functions activate pause or escape (at least not by shifting a commonly used button).

Also b/c of the above and b/c of how the I-PAC shift function is designed, it's a good idea not to use your shift function button for regular game play (P1B1 would be a very poor choice), so with extensive shift button use, the I-PAC really ends up with only 27 useable action inputs.
PedroSilva:

--- Quote from: Tiger-Heli on July 15, 2004, 11:32:05 am ---
--- Quote from: PedroSilva on July 14, 2004, 05:48:20 pm ---I thougth of something that might give 4 extra buttons and I would like to know if has anyone tried it and if it works:

Could it be possible, if we are using both I-Pac and Opti-Pac, to use the mouse buttons of Opti-Pac for both players leaving the two players buttons 1 and 2 free on I-Pac ?

Assuming a 6 button configuration, that should leave 8 extra buttons for admin functions on I-Pac (Buttons 1, 2, 7 and 8 of both players)

--- End quote ---
That will work, no problem.

EDIT:  That will work, no problem as long as you are using MAME or an emulator that can handle mouse clicks as action inputs!

--- End quote ---

Great ... I've finished the wiring of the two joysticks of player one, spinner, trackball, all the admin buttons, coin 1 and 2 and the buttons 1 and 2 of player 1. I've programmed I-Pac and I'm triled ... everything is working fine so far ...  :D

Just one question:
I've notice a little delay on first response (on Windows) when you pass from the trackball to the spinner and vice versa ... once it starts working then it stays fine. Is this normal?
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