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RandyT:
--- Quote from: Bgnome on August 15, 2004, 11:54:31 am ---this talk of bandwith has got me worried..
if i have a splitter on my ps/2 port for my trackball and encoder, will i suffer performance issues? keeping in mind that i intend on using it in a 4-player situation and that the data/clock lines are all separate..
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If you are talking about a laptop style splitter where there actually are separate lines for clock and data and the "splitter" just routes the wires to the right places, then no, it's the same as separate connections.
I would say that this is your case, as the trackball and keyboard encoder use completely separate interfaces and couldn't share one even if they wanted to.
So stop worrying ;)
RandyT
Bgnome:
thanks for clearing that up randy!
patrickl:
Would you even use that trackball in a 4 player situation?
BTW that's something to keep in mind with USB. If you connect several USB devices to the same USB host controller (and they are used simultaneously) they might interfere. Again something that's hard to quantify, but it would make sense to use different USB host controllers for each device if you can (most computers have the USB slots in pairs connected to the same USB host controller)
Bgnome:
i most likely wont be using the trackball while 3 other people are banging away at the controls but it could be a concern. i finally got this two bit encoder soldered and wired up and redid my splitter and everything seems to be working so far.. cant wait till i get my buttons and sticks in..
Bgnome:
--- Quote from: Bgnome on August 14, 2004, 09:44:09 am ---
--- Quote from: Tiger-Heli on August 14, 2004, 09:00:09 am ---
--- Quote from: Bgnome on August 12, 2004, 05:23:33 pm ---i would be interested in seeing an updated review.
i just got the Two-bit encoder and soldered a ps/2 splitter for it last night. i am now waiting on my joysticks/buttons so i can test it out on a temp cp..
if you need more info on it, i posted a fairly informative email about it in another thread and am willing to post whatever other info i have, (pictures, key map, etc.).
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Yep, I'd like the info. Also, I was curious whether the grounds are common on it (There are two grounds on each of the eight 10-pin Molex connectors). Are the grounds on Connector 1 common with the grounds on Connector 8?
Having said the above, I would prefer to concentrate the updates more on the minipac, I-PAC VE, and KeyWiz Max 1.5, as the two-bit encoder is about 40 units, NOS from the early 80's and only available on E-bay for probably the next six months, while the others are current production models.
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i posted the keymap here:
http://www.arcadecontrols.org/yabbse/index.php?board=1;action=display;threadid=22871;start=msg188768#msg188768
original email about how it works:
http://www.arcadecontrols.org/yabbse/index.php?board=1;action=display;threadid=22851;start=msg186817#msg186817
pins 1 and 10 are common ground and connected to eachother on each bank, so you really only need to hook up 1 ground wire. my best guess is that there are still over 60 left, but it is in short supply. also, judging by the keymap, A, E, F, and G are repeated so that in essence only gives you 60 independent inputs. i havent gotten my buttons in yet so i havent been able to do any thorough testing but i did manage to get at least 36 keys pressed using strips of aluminum foil and my fingers. at the moment, i am soldering wires to it and will be mounting it into a plastic vhs box from blockbuster, (barely fits), along with barrier strips.
one thing i will note, but i dont know if it is just my setup. i am using it with a laptop which has only 1 usb input and 1 ps/2 input. i soldered a ps/2 splitter together according to a schematic i found online which lets me use a mouse and kb at the same time. i have a usb kb plugged in the usb slot. my splitter works but my encoder board seems to stop working sometimes. i have been testing the board by pressing the f1 button that is directly on it. i am fairly certain the soldering job is ok. but my trackball unit does have 3 superbright red leds in it so im wondering if its just an issue of limited power supply..
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the creator has elaborated on some information in his ebay listing:
--- Quote ---Additional Information. Since I have listed this item I have received hundreds of E-mails asking some common questions. Here are the answers to some of these questions in paraphrase format:
Does this encoder use a matrix, and how does it send key data to the PC?
This device encodes each input as a single keystroke. When the input pin goes LOW (pulled to GROUND) the encoder will send the corresponding keycode ONCE, then remain inactive until the input pin goes HIGH (open). At that time, the encoder will send the BREAK CODE to the PC. The encoder is NOT typematic. The encoder operates on the SINGLE IDENTITY principle where each input sends only the make code once. The encoder does NOT use a matrix, nor is it built around a matrixed chip that has been "dematrixed" by external circuitry. This encoder will not ghost, block or drop keystrokes. Since it is not a matrix, the problem with matrix key "duplication" does not exist. This encoder was designed originally to be used on very expensive, very high end gambling machines used in Las Vegas, Atlantic City, Monte Carlo and other famous places where gaming machines are played. Therefore, since the board would be used in gambling and would be responsible for handling REAL money, special precautions were written into the code to protect the single identity operations and to be absolutely sure no keystrokes would drop.
Will this encoder overrun the PC's keyboard buffer and cause lost control of the buttons?
Since this encoder only sends the keystroke once (non-typematic) it is very difficult if not impossible to overrun the PC's keyboard buffer (overrunning the keyboard buffer is a common problem with MAME, the results is lost keystrokes, missed "moves" or the loss of joystick control). Once the PC receives a key MAKE code and acts upon it, the keyboard chip will remove the keystroke from the buffer. How the keyboard buffer overruns in the first place is through the overuse of the typematic function, where too many keystrokes are sent too fast. Since this board has ALL of the PC keyboard command interpreters on board, the encoder can interpret the STOP command, where the PC tells the encoder to WAIT until a free buffer spot is open. The encoder can hold up to 400 keystrokes in its buffer, so with the combination of the large keyboard buffer and command interpreter, this keyboard encoder will not overrun the PC's keyboard buffer and thus drop keystrokes.
I cannot "guarantee" the usefulness of this board for your particular application, but when I used one of these boards to build myself a MAME play-all cabinet nearly 2 years ago, I haven't had a single problem whatsoever with it, and I am playing complex control panel games like Mortal Kombat, Street Fighter II, Time Killers, Gauntlet and a variety of others, and have plenty of inputs left over for future expansion. When playing games like Track N' Field, the encoder does not miss a single lick of the RUN button no matter how fast it is tapped.
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