PS2 controller to PC question

[zmartin34]

  I have a control panel that is interfaced through two ps1 digital game controllers for use with my playstation 2 and it works great. I want to hook up this same control panel to my computer for use with mame. I've seen a few products through searching the web that convert two ps2 controllers to a usb for use with a computer. Will this work right with mame? I am very new to this and any suggestions are greatly appreciated. Thanks alot.

[m3talslug]

most of the PS adaptors I've tested DO NOT work with DIGITAL PS controllers.

If you do come across one that actually works, please send me a personal message to let me know.

[SNAAAKE]

http://levelsix.com/pc.shtml
many adaptors here and all seem to work.

[toilet]

I do this and it works fine. There is a caveat though. I've ordered 6 of these and the results are mixed.

2 PSX/N64 adapters from LevelSix.com
3 PSX Only adapters from LevelSix.com
1 PSX Only adapter from Lik-Sang.com

Both PSX/N64's work fine with the D-PAD of a dual shock controller not in analog mode.

Only 1 of the one's from LevelSix does as well. The other two don't. The one from Lik Sang works great.

The 4 PSX only adapters are all the Super Joy variants http://www.lik-sang.com/info.php?category=55&products_id=605&. The working ones work great. I even have a MAME controller config for them that maps all the buttons correctly (coin to select, start -> start, etc).

On a side note, I don't recommend ordering from LevelSix. I have enough of these adapters to know what's going on and how they behave. I won't go into it here, but they're very indignant about taking things back and working through things.

[m3talslug]

>http://levelsix.com/pc.shtml

>many adaptors here and all seem to work.

The magic box and the green USB PSX to PC adaptor don't work with digital control pads.  i.e. no dual analog.

Tried and tested by me .  WOrks perfectly fine with the original dual shock though.

[m3talslug]

>Both PSX/N64's work fine with the D-PAD of a dual shock controller not in analog mode

Yeah, this is a dual shock not in analog mode.

What I have is a purely digital controller.  I bought it for like $5... now I'm thinking I may as well have spent an extra $10 and purchased a controller with analog just for adaptor compatibility.  <-- even though I had no intention of using the analog controls in my control panel.

[zmartin34]

I am in the exact same situation. I wish I would have spent the extra money for dual shocks just for the compatibily w/ ps2 games (many of which don't work with psx digital control pads). I'm probably just going to buy an ipac2 and interface my controls through that. Will this cause a problem if the switches of my cp are hooked to the ps2 controllers also? I can't think of why it would (as long as the other system is turned off while I'm playing either ps2 or pc mame of course). Any suggestions are appreciated and thanks for all of the feedback.

[Beley]

If your not set on useing usb, you counld build a parallel port adapter,
the directpad pro drivers work great for all psx pads(and most other game controllers)

[m3talslug]

========== QUOTE ===========
I am in the exact same situation. I wish I would have spent the extra money for dual shocks just for the compatibily w/ ps2 games (many of which don't work with psx digital control pads). I'm probably just going to buy an ipac2 and interface my controls through that. Will this cause a problem if the switches of my cp are hooked to the ps2 controllers also? I can't think of why it would (as long as the other system is turned off while I'm playing either ps2 or pc mame of course). Any suggestions are appreciated and thanks for all of the feedback.
========== QUOTE ===========

It may cause problems if you have 2 controller guts wired even if only 1 system is active.

My problem wasn't compatibility with games... it was compatibility with the adaptors for other systems.  I have, what I'd like to believe to be, a "universal" control panel that will work on ANY platform(PS1, PS2, GC, DC, XBOX, PC).

The easiest way to do this was to wire a hacked PS controler to my arcade control panel.  Instead of hacking a dual shock, I hacked a NON DUAL SHOCK Digital PS1 controller and bought adapters to all the other systems. i.e. PS1 > DC, PS1 > Xbox, PS1 > PC, etc.

THis saved me a TON of wiring work and I had something that would work on EVERY system with a simple change of adapter.  <-- plug and play .

WHat I realized at the end was that most of the adaptors were only guranteed to work with orignal Sony controllers.  A good number of 3rd party controllers work, but they HAD TO HAVE THE ANALOG portion.  Wheter or not the pad was in analog mode or not was irrelevant because the adapters would work regardless of which mode you had it in.

In the beginning, I was a cheapass and lazy(original Sony guts were coated with some crap which made it hard to work with) and just went for a $5 3rd party DIGITAL PS controller. <-- absolutely NO ANALOG STICKS.  To my dismay half the adapters DIDN'T work.

On my second control Panel, I decided to fuss with ORIGINAL Sony guts and I have myself a UNIVERSAL CONTROL PANEL!

However, if ANYONE knows of any PS to USB adapters that work with PURELY DIGITAL PS Gamepads, please let me know.

[zmartin34]

I'm not set on anything. I don't understand enough about the different configurations at this point. What are the ups and downs of usb, keyboard, parrallel port, etc; whats best? I just figured the ipac would be very easy to hookup/get up and running. Would having the switches of the cp hooked up to psx controllers as well as the ipac cause any problems? Can someone take some time to explain these things to me? Thank you

[toilet]

Yeah, this is a dual shock not in analog mode.

What I have is a purely digital controller.  

I actually have PS1 non-dual shock pure D-Pad controllers hooked up. They work fine.

The magic box and the green USB PSX to PC adaptor don't work with digital control pads.  i.e. no dual analog. Tried and tested by me .  WOrks perfectly fine with the original dual shock though

These work for me http://home.attbi.com/~dholden/briefcase/bc4.jpg (lower right-hand corner). My sticks are D-Pad only controller hacks.

This is what I was talking about. These things are all over the road, especially LevelSix's stock pile. I've gotten 4 of those green ones. 1 has been completely broken, 2 have worked only with the analog controllers, and 1 works fine with D-Pad only and Dual Shock adapters.

The one I just got from lik-sang works with cheap d-pad only 3rd party controllers.

[m3talslug]

I'm not set on anything. I don't understand enough about the different configurations at this point. What are the ups and downs of usb, keyboard, parrallel port, etc; whats best? I just figured the ipac would be very easy to hookup/get up and running. Would having the switches of the cp hooked up to psx controllers as well as the ipac cause any problems? Can someone take some time to explain these things to me? Thank you

My preference was USB by far.  Although, a lot of people use hacked Keyboard guts with PS2 interfaces, I find it to be a hassle if you don't have some sort of "pass through" adaptor.  On top of that you have to deal with mapping out a matrix so you don't run into ghosting issues.  <-- this may not give you enough keys and could result in a very unintuitive key assignment.  i.e. you may not be able to get the cursor keys representing your directional controls without "ghosting".

I decided to go PSX guts because there were PSX to USB adapters(you can pretty much buy PSX to anything adapters).  I also play a lot of the fighting games on the Dreamcast and the PS2 so I wanted system compatibility.

If you decide to mount a combination of PCBs into your joystick I would discourage you from having both PCBs mounted simultaneously.  Most people who want multiple PCBs in their joystick, usually have some sort of plugging interfaces built so that only 1 PCB is connected at any given time.

Hope that helps.

[m3talslug]

This is what I was talking about. These things are all over the road, especially LevelSix's stock pile. I've gotten 4 of those green ones. 1 has been completely broken, 2 have worked only with the analog controllers, and 1 works fine with D-Pad only and Dual Shock adapters.

The one I just got from lik-sang works with cheap d-pad only 3rd party controllers.

heh, so you're saying you got 4 of the same green adapters and only one of them work with the Cheap 3rd party digital controller?

Perhaps my adapter is defective then since it only works with Dual shock controllers and not 3rd party digital controllers.

I doubt I'm going to return mine though... a bit of a hassle to mail it back and ask for a new one.  I'll probably put in an original Sony PCB before I end up doing that.

[zmartin34]

Toilet, the link in your first post is to the exact converters you are using with psx digital controllers right? Also, do you have two units plugged into two different usb ports (this may not work for me because I have a printer plugged into one)? I'll probably order them soon as long as someone can confirm these issues (although it could be awhile because they are backordered).

[Darkstalker]

Also, do you have two units plugged into two different usb ports (this may not work for me because I have a printer plugged into one)?

Get a USB hub...You can get a 4 port for $15 at CompUSA...It looks cheap, but you get 5 USB ports out of your computer...Just make sure you get one with an AC adapter, so it has outside power and doesn't draw off of the USB slot.

[toilet]

The ones I have are:

http://www.lik-sang.com/info.php?category=55&products_id=605&
This is the one that I most recently bought. Works great for all controllers. Even says in product description for PS1 controllers also. If I were to order more I'd get these.

http://secure.fragism.com/store/product_info.php?cPath=21_32&products_id=40
A friend of mine just picked up one of these. Works only with non-analog controllers. He has the PS1 dog bone controller plugged in and it's working fine.

http://www.levelsix.com/products/playstation/pcusbadapter.shtml
This is the combo N64 adapter. These work with 3rd party PS1 D-Pad controllers. I have two of them and they're both good. The only issue is one of them is kind of loose, so I have to secure the controller plug with a rubber band.

http://www.levelsix.com/products/playstation/PSXPC_Adapter.shtml
This is the one that I have 4 of. I wouldn't recommend going that route because you don't know what you're gonna get. It seems the newer versions of these don't support the PS1 D-Pad controllers.

Oh on a side note, I'd be careful of the USB hub. Some of the adapters may not work happily through one.

http://store.unet.net/shop/showdetl.cfm?&DID=12&Product_ID=125&CATID=14
I don't know about those, but that may work if you only have one open plug.