iPac2 or KeyWiz??

[cbmeeks]

Money is tight (new baby).

Two players - 6 buttons each  (12 inputs)
2 credit buttons (2 inputs)
2 start buttons (2 inputs)
pause button (1 input)
exit button (1 input)
2 8-way joysticks (8 inputs)
1 4-way joystick (shared w/player 1)
2 4-way fire buttons (shared w/player 1)

I guestimate I will need 26 inputs total.

The iPac would be $51 ($12 S/H)
The KeyWiz would be $41.45 ($6.50 S/H)

Thats only $9.55 difference but like I said, money is tight.

What are the pros/cons of each?  All things being equal, I would go with the cheaper one.  

Thanks

cb

[sc1103]

I never really considered the KeyWiz - it required solder from what I saw of it...I think...so I dont really kno...I used the IPac2 b/c I knew that it fit my needs and still was relatively cheap ( i am on a shoestring budget too).  I guess its based on your preference.  Also, I dont know if KeyWiz retains EEPROM like IPAC2 so you might wanna look at that...

[DarkKobold]

This will start a flame war. Both are excellent products. Both have slight advantages and disadvantages over the other. The Keywhiz MAX doesNOT require soldering.

If you are buying more of Andy's products, buy an IPAC. otherwise, the keywhiz will sit you fine, and save a couple bucks on shipping, customs, etc.

It is not a hard choice. You will be happy with either.

[Zathras]

This has been debated much on the boards - do some searching but long story short - they both should do what you want them to do.

The Keywiz Max version has screw terminals and doesn't require soldering (there is a cheaper version that does)

I've got an IPac4 in my cabinet and a Keywiz Max in my jukebox.  They both work fine.  Keywiz requires programming on bootup each time (if you aren't going with default controls).  IPac does save it but I have had IPac "lose" its programming a few times so I've considered going ahead and adding programming to the startup anyway.

[cbmeeks]

Thanks...not trying to start any flaming.....just a frugile spender.  :-)

But, sometimes cheap isn't better

[maraxle]

Money is tight (new baby).

Two players - 6 buttons each  (12 inputs)
2 credit buttons (2 inputs)
2 start buttons (2 inputs)
pause button (1 input)
exit button (1 input)
2 8-way joysticks (8 inputs)
1 4-way joystick (shared w/player 1)
2 4-way fire buttons (shared w/player 1)

I guestimate I will need 26 inputs total.

The iPac would be $51 ($12 S/H)
The KeyWiz would be $41.45 ($6.50 S/H)

Thats only $9.55 difference but like I said, money is tight.

What are the pros/cons of each?  All things being equal, I would go with the cheaper one.  

Thanks

cb

They are pretty much the same.  The KeyWiz Max has 4 more inputs than the I-Pac (32 vs 28), but the I-Pac has LED connections for the CAPS and NUM lock keys.  This lets you have buttons that light up when coins are inserted, like on the old Centipede machines.

Personally, I am using a KeyWiz because it was cheaper, and I don't need the light-up buttons.  Those 4 extra inputs don't hurt either.

[bitey]

Anyone know if these encoders are any good?

http://www.hagstromelectronics.com/index.html

[Tiger-Heli]

Agreed - both are fine and capable products.  Agreed topic has been discussed at length and could start a flame war.  In addition to what's been said -

I-PAC supports USB, KeyWiz is PS/2 only.

I-PAC has an active keyboard pass-thru, KeyWiz has a switched keyboard pass-thru, but you can get around this with a USB or wireless keyboard.  I-PAC's can be daisy-chained, though.

I-PAC has 28 inputs, one of which doubles as a shift key, KeyWiz has 32 inputs plus an additional shift key.  KeyWiz IMHO has a more versatile shift function, but I don't see that you require this anyway.

Keywiz has a screw terminal for +5V output, I-PAC has a pin header for this.

There is also the I-PAC VE which has 32 inputs and has lower shipping, but uses SDRAM and is USB only.

[cbmeeks]

Keywiz has a screw terminal for +5V output,

Whoa whoa whoa here....does that mean I can simply plug a wire into that terminal and get me some juice?

If so, I plan on wiring two NES controllers up that need 5V.  That would be sweet (and a selling point) for me.

cb

[Tiger-Heli]

Keywiz has a screw terminal for +5V output,

Whoa whoa whoa here....does that mean I can simply plug a wire into that terminal and get me some juice?

If so, I plan on wiring two NES controllers up that need 5V.  That would be sweet (and a selling point) for me.

cb

That's what it's for.  It's more for P360 sticks or Opti-pacs, but as long as you don't overload the PS/2 port it's a power source.  Not sure how the NES controllers will interface, but if you just need +5V power, you got it.

[NoOne=NBA=]

Looking at the configuration you are going to do (without seeing a picture of the layout you proposing), you might think about a future upgrade to a three player cab.

I'm not sure what you meant by (2) 4-way fire buttons (shared w/player 1); but, if you are talking about firebutton JOYSTICKS, you may want to have them separate later, to allow more players--or to support multi-player, multi-stick games like SmashTV.

If you are talking about just 4 fire buttons (ala Vanguard), you could swap out the 4-way only stick for a T-stik later on, and support a third player using those buttons.

Anyway, if this is a possible option down the road, I would definitely go with the I-pac.
As Tiger-Heli mentioned, they can be daisy-chained to provide support for two more players.
I'm not sure if you can run a KeyWiz and an I-pac together.
My thought is that inputs from one will disable the other temporarily, which would make the whole system unworkable.

[cbmeeks]

I'm not sure what you meant by (2) 4-way fire buttons (shared w/player 1); but, if you are talking about firebutton JOYSTICKS, you may want to have them separate later, to allow more players--or to support multi-player, multi-stick games like SmashTV.

What I meant was the 4-way joystick would have two buttons out to the side that are shared with the first 2 buttons on player one.  My 4-way is going to be in the middle.

Don't think I would want three player...but then again, my CP is going to be detachable.

cb

[NoOne=NBA=]

If you're going to go detachable, you might consider going modular.
That will save you from rebuying a whole bunch of controls for different panels, and make a I-pac 2 or Keywiz more than adequate.

With modular, the most player control connections you would probably ever have at once would be 20.
8 for two sticks, and 12 for two 7-button panels.

[cbmeeks]

I like that guy's modular approach but it is too much work for what I want...and the seams really bug me.

[Tiger-Heli]

As Tiger-Heli mentioned, they can be daisy-chained to provide support for two more players.
I'm not sure if you can run a KeyWiz and an I-pac together.

I'm not sure either.  My guess would be that you could daisy chain the KeyWiz into the I-PAC, but not vice-versa.  And you would probably have to use the default codeset on the KeyWiz and reprogram the I-PAC.  This would be the I-PAC/2, all bets are off on the VE.

And it's not much more than a guess anyway . . .

[NoOne=NBA=]

Different people are bugged by different things.

My personal pet-peeves are playing one player games off-center to the monitor, and using controls that "work", but aren't RIGHT for games.
RIGHT is determined solely by ME, on my cabinet, btw.

The seams don't really bother me on the CP, as long as the controls feel right.
I am planning art for mine that will be similar to the Neo-Geo, where the controls are individually surrounded by a background, to minimize the appearance of the seams.
With the art surrounding each control like that, the overall appearance will be more continuous.

[Tiger-Heli]

Anyone know if these encoders are any good?

http://www.hagstromelectronics.com/index.html

Yep, although they were around before MAME and arcade gaming.  They're fine, high quality components, but much pricier than either the I-PAC or KeyWiz and not as catered to Arcade controls.

[Jakobud]

cb, check out the IPAC VE.  $35 with free shipping...

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

[SirPoonga]

It's kinda like SlikStik vs Oscar Controls spinners.  They are pretty close in quality and features.

[Tiger-Heli]

It's kinda like SlikStik vs Oscar Controls spinners.  They are pretty close in quality and features.

Hey now, one flame-war per thread.  If we want to debate spinners we can start a new thread for that