Am I in trouble? Minipac question

[traig]

I just finished physical construction of my control panel. It has

Two 8-way sticks, each with six buttons
One 4-way stick w/ two buttons, one on each side
Trackball with left and right buttons
Spinner
p1 start, p2 start
p1 coin, p2 coin
Three admin buttons

I bought a trackball-ready Minipac with harness for my cab and recently discovered, on the surface, it's short on inputs for this setup. However...

The 4-way stick is supposed to mirror the P1 8-way stick, and the two buttons with the 4-way are both supposed to mirror the "weak punch" button for P1.

Is there any way I can share the inputs on the minipac to make this work? In other words, share the P1 8-way inputs with the 4way inputs, and share the P1 button with both of the 4-way buttons?

There are enough inputs if I can. Has someone done this with the Minipac, and with its harness? If not, I'm afraid I'll have to get the IPAC4 and Opti... Help!

[zaphod]

Daisychain them like you are doing with the grounds.

[microwrx]

The easiest thing to do without cutting connectors on the harness would be to make up Y cables for each input you specified.  Male connector on the single leg end and female connectors on the two leg ends.  Or you could have a h cable (male on one of the two leg ends and females on the other two) which would save on wire.  You may run out of connectors on the ground harness but you can do the same with that too, the difference being that you don't need seperate Y or h connectors for each one, they can al come off the same point.

[traig]

Okay. Know first that I am a total novice when it comes to anything related to wiring. I don't have a soldering iron, for example. With a little generous guidance I can get this done but at the moment I am rather confused.

Daisy chain the connections: That sounds like the right idea but I'm not sure how I'd go about it. I currently have a wiring harness that connects each point on the board to a single prong on a button or joystick. I don't know how I would connect, e.g., the "left" prong on the 4-way to left prong on the 8-way, before that one in turn goes to the board. Would I have to strip and splice into the wire that runs from the board to the first prong with a separate strand of wire from the other stick?

Y-connectors: This seems simpler... would I be able to find male-to-2-female connectors that will work with the connectors that came with the minipac (in, say, a Radio Shack??)? The leads on the wires from the harness are connected to plastic-covered female connectors, but I don't know what they're called...
 

[pcates]

Okay. Know first that I am a total novice when it comes to anything related to wiring. I don't have a soldering iron, for example. With a little generous guidance I can get this done but at the moment I am rather confused.

Don't worry it is not that bad... All the switches do is close the electrical circuit and allow the 5v current to pass through when you push the button, thus sending a signal. That being said.....

1) Look at the end of the wire from the minipac that is supposed to connect to the switch. These are female connectors. You can buy these at any Hardware store. Buy 4 for each extra switch that does not have a dedicated spot on the minipac. They usually come in packs of 50 or 100. You need 4 because you are going to connect 1 to th NO of the 8way up, and one to the NO of the 4way up, and 1 to each of the grounds on the same switches.

2)Now look for a male connector that will slide into the connector on the minipac. It looks just like the connection on the switch. Buy 1 of them for each extra switch.

3)While at the store buy some wire to match the wire on the Minipac (looks like 16 or 18 gauge from the pics, but bring the harness to match it up.

4)If you do not already have some, buy wire strippers also.

5)Cut the wires to the desired length, and strip both ends according to the directions on  the connector box( there should be a guide to tell you how much to strip)

6)Crimp a female connector on 1 end of each wire.

7) Get 2 wires with female connectors alraedy on them and twist the other ends together. Stuff this into a male connector and crimp the male connector on.

You now have your "Y" connector. Connect 1 female to 8way up, and 1 female to 4way up, then connect the male to the female of the minipac. Then just repete for each set of switches.

Hope this helps...
Sorry after all that I should have read the question better... Yes they should have those at Radio shack, but they may be cheaper at Home Depot or Lowes. They are just called crimp on connectors, you just need to match the size to the size wire you are using. Bring your harness with you and make one of the employees open a box to make sure they will fit before you buy them.
Good luck....

[Tiger-Heli]

I'll try to cover all your questions.  This is fairly simple, but post back if you have more concerns.

Okay. Know first that I am a total novice when it comes to anything related to wiring. I don't have a soldering iron, for example. With a little generous guidance I can get this done but at the moment I am rather confused.

You don't need soldering with a mini-pac (especially with the included harness.)

Y-connectors: This seems simpler... would I be able to find male-to-2-female connectors that will work with the connectors that came with the minipac (in, say, a Radio Shack??)? The leads on the wires from the harness are connected to plastic-covered female connectors, but I don't know what they're called...
 

They are called Quick-Disconnect Terminals.  Specifically, the ones on the I-PAC are 0.25 (1/4-Inch) female Q-D's.  The ones for smaller wires have red insulation and the ones for larger wires have blue (or yellow for really big wire) insulation.  If necessary, you can double over the end of thinner (higher numerical gauge) wire to fit a larger diameter Q-D.  You won't find pre-made harnesses, but you will find packs of 10-20 of these at Radio Shack or Auto Parts Stores, or Wal-Mart, K-Mart, etc. for about $2 per pack.  I would also recommend picking up a cheap set of crimping pliers for $5-$8 (http://www.mameworld.net/tigerheli/arcadepanels/tools.htm#Electrical Tools) but you could also get the job done with vise-grips, or in worst case, smashing the ends with a hammer.

Here's what you do - Get a blue male 0.25-inch Q-D.  Strip back about 1/4-inch of insulation from each end of two wires (length to reach from I-PAC to 4-way left microswitch and P1 Joy Left microswitch) and insert both wires into the Q-D and crimp.  Get two red female 0.25 (or 0.187 3/8-inch, depending on your joysticks) Q-D's and crimp one on the other end of each wire.  Plug the blue male Q-D into the Mini-PAC harness wire going to P1 Left and Plug each red female Q-D to the respective Joystick microswitch.

Repeat the above as required for the other directions and the shared action buttons.

Daisy chain the connections: That sounds like the right idea but I'm not sure how I'd go about it.

This is mainly for the ground connection and similar to the above - I think the existing harness has the grounds daisychained, but you will need more terminals for your added switches.  Similar to above, start with a Male Q-D and insert two or three wires into it and crimp, now on each of the bare wires insert an additional one or two wires and crimp on a female connect until you have enough female terminals on your plug-in adapter to support all the additional switches.

[traig]

Thanks a lot, guys. I'll head to the HW store tonight and pick up the quick disconnects (thanks, I didn't know the name), a crimper, stripper, and some wire. 18-gauge wire, correct? I'm sure it'll seem easy once I'm doing the actual work.

Tiger-heli, I'm glad you brought up the ground chain. I tried running it last night and was three connections short (duh). I'll do what you advised to get the last few connections on the chain doubled up to cover the remaining switches/buttons.

Does it matter where the little ring at the end of the ground chain is mounted, or if it's mounted to anything at all?

It's funny, I've finished 80+% of the work on this cab, but I nearly flipped out when I thought I'd bought the wrong encoder and would have to shell out for another and wait the week+ to get it.
 

[Tiger-Heli]

Thanks a lot, guys. I'll head to the HW store tonight and pick up the quick disconnects (thanks, I didn't know the name), a crimper, stripper, and some wire. 18-gauge wire, correct?

I prefer 22 or 20 gauge (cheaper also), but 18-gauge will work fine also.

I'm sure it'll seem easy once I'm doing the actual work.

Agreed!

Does it matter where the little ring at the end of the ground chain is mounted, or if it's mounted to anything at all?

Huh???  I didn't see a ring at the end of the ground chain at http://www.ultimarc.com/minipac.html and I don't think there should be one.  Unless I am misreading your question (?).  If I understand correctly, there shouldn't be a ground ring and it shouldn't be connected to anything.  Basically it works like this:

Power comes in through the USB port or PS/2 port - It is then split and sent out the individual inputs to each button.  When the button is pressed, current flows through the button and back to the GND input port on the Mini-pac.  The encoder then interprets this as a key press and sends that to the PC.

I don't believe the GND terminal is supposed to connect to GND.  A better term would be COMMON, since basically the same wire connects to the COMMON terminal of each button.

BTW, I assume you know, but you want to connect the individual wires to the NO (not NC) terminals of each switch.

[zaphod]

This page might be of some assistance, too.

http://www.darkravenwind.com/cdvision/madcatz2.htm

[traig]

My ground/common daisy chain looks similar to the one in the pic, except with a small difference. It starts at one end with a female connector, but at the other end it ends with the wire crimped or soldered to a small, flat metal ring, almost like a metal washer. I can't be more precise since it's not with me right now.

Perhaps it's meant to be stuck into one of the female connectors coming from the minipac's harness? Maybe the first one, the one that stands by itself on the board instead of in a pair? I don't have it in front of me, otherwise I could look at it and see if it works.

Looking at the pic, I can't see what the left end of that chain looks like, since it's connected to a harness wire.

[Tiger-Heli]

My ground/common daisy chain looks similar to the one in the pic, except with a small difference. It starts at one end with a female connector, but at the other end it ends with the wire crimped or soldered to a small, flat metal ring, almost like a metal washer. I can't be more precise since it's not with me right now.

Perhaps it's meant to be stuck into one of the female connectors coming from the minipac's harness? Maybe the first one, the one that stands by itself on the board instead of in a pair? I don't have it in front of me, otherwise I could look at it and see if it works.

Looking at the pic, I can't see what the left end of that chain looks like, since it's connected to a harness wire.

Hmmmn, nothing helpful here either: http://www.ultimarc.com/mp_inst.html

Looking at the pic on the previous ultimarc page, it seems like the gnd harness starts with a male plug that connects to the female plug on the main harness.  (Although maybe what I'm assuming is a male plug is actually the metal ring that you are describing?)

What you are describing sounds like a grounding lug, maybe for trackballs or something.  I would think it shouldn't be connected, but maybe it won't hurt anything.  If I were installing it, I would either cut that off and recrimp from the previous connector, or electrical tape it and tape it to the existing wrap.

I will e-mail Andy at www.ultimarc.com and hopefully he will confirm what it's for.

[traig]

I will e-mail Andy at www.ultimarc.com and hopefully he will confirm what it's for.

That's great, thanks. I'll look at it more closely later today.

Thanks for your link and zaphod for his. Until I saw those I was able to find little in the way of pics out there for this kind of wiring and the tools needed. I will put some up on my site once this is completed.

[zaphod]

I will put some up on my site once this is completed.

Please do.  This is one of those questions that pop up semi-regularly and is very difficult (for me) to even try explain in words.  

[AndyWarne]

There should be no "ring" on the end of the black ground harness. It should end with a male connector, which is plugged into the correct Ground female conector on the main harness. (according to the wiring details on the wiring page). I am wondering if your Male connector has been damaged (painfulll!!).
Drop me an email if necessary and I can send a better pic of the harness.
Andy warne

[Grasshopper]

Andy, this is slightly off topic , but can you give us any news of when (if ever) the 36 input Minipac you announced last Xmas is going to appear.

Thanks

[traig]

An update...

Andy et al, you were right. I've learned through this that I can't trust my memory anymore. The one end of the ground chain is a flat metal prong that is basically rectangular. It's got a hole in it but is essentially the same as the prongs coming out of the buttons, etc. I'm sorry I didn't look at that thing long enough the first time around.

I went to Home Depot and spent a while scrounging in their mess of a connector rack before I finally found a couple of packs of red QD (all they carry are .25 in. ones). When I asked about 22 gauge wire they basically laughed at me, so I went to Radio Shack. It was there I got the wire as well as a bunch of .187 in. red QDs.

Late last night I made a couple of y-connectors, with a male .25 QD, a .187 female QD (for the Happ Super) and a .25 female QD (for the T-stick, the 4way). It was a cinch.

Thanks for the help. When I can I'll make a special page on my project site with pics of the process.