Electronics Question

[AmericanDemon]

Alright so I have the PCBs for 2 of the PL-950 pelican universal arcade sticks.  I know that these do not have 5v on them, so normally a p360 is out of the question.    However since this pcb will be connected with my mame arcade controls, how should I present the added 5v to the p360 so that it will work with my ipac and my pelican pcbs?

can I simply wire up the +5v from separate source?  If so would I need to ground it to my source or to the pcb/ipac?  Do I need to ground to each or will only one ground do for both?

Thanks in advance to those who have done this or to those who know how it SHOULD be done.

[cholin]

If Im getting this correctly, you need 5 volts running through a joystick, correct?  If so, and you are using an Ipac, theres a small header on there that supplies +5v and GND mainly used for the lighting harness.  If you do not wish to use one, tada, you have a source of five volts and a ground for it.  I dont quite understand the last part of the question, although if something needs 5 volts, and you use the iPac to give both joysticks that, hook them both up to the same line on the iPac, and you can use common ground (meaning you use one ground for all of them since they all lead to the same place anyways)

[AmericanDemon]

Alright.  I caught that.  Let me rephrase this.

1 P360.
1 Ipac
1 Pelican PCB (multiple console connections)

Typically the console pcb would provide a 5v supply.  This one does not.  My question is this:

Can I steal power from the IPAC to power the joystick for use with the console pcb?

If so, how would I wire this?

[cholin]

Sure you can

[Kremmit]

Ive never seen a Pelican PCB or P360 before so Im not sure why you need external power, but im sure theres a reason.

The P360 needs the 5v to power it's optical sensors, used in place of microswitches or leafswitches.

Demon- why use the Pelican at all, why not just connect the P360 to the Ipac?   

[AmericanDemon]

I want to connect it to the IPAC as well.  In this cabinet I plan to have my PC, PS2, Gamecube, and Xbox.

So I should be able to just use the IPACs power or a 3rd source in order to use my P360. Thats great news.

One of the reasons I have asked this is because I have a spare AT power supply that I plan to use for LEDs, lights, and for powering other objects.  Considering having this power supply, well supply the 5v and ground for the P360 and connecting the left, right, up, down to the IPAC and to the Console PCB.  Anything wrong with this statement?  What other factors have I failed to consider?

I think I am missing something in that thought though.   I apologize for my elementary understanding of electronics and diagrams, but this is the only way to learn.

[ShinAce]

It doesn't matter where the P360 takes its 5 volt from. However, it is very important that it shares the same ground as the encoder being used.

[cholin]

As long as it gets the power it needs and the grounding is the right one, then its fine.  If you decide to use a BATTERY PACK for some reason, it will still work.  Good thing about electronics: 5 volts means 5 volts, doesnt matter where, not like "This controller requires 5 volts filtered through a brand new 56 inch television set".

[ShinAce]

I'll just explain why.

If you a transformer supply, or battery, that becomes what's called a "floating" source. So I can put 2 batteries in series and they add up in voltage. You can't do that with a non-floating source(direct from wall outlet).

So what you do is take a wire and join the ground on your battery(-) to the ground of your encoder. By doing that, you lose your "float" on the battery and now the P360 and encoder can communicate. If you don't do it, the P360 will not be able to send signals.

[cholin]

One thing Ive always wonderred, why does a standard American plug have 3 socket holes while you only use + and -, and if the - side is ground, whats the other one?

[AmericanDemon]

Thanks guys.  I greatly appreciate all of the information given to me.  I should be able to figure it out from here. 

[Kremmit]

One thing Ive always wonderred, why does a standard American plug have 3 socket holes while you only use + and -, and if the - side is ground, whats the other one?

It's a safety feature- the third hole is (more or less) earth ground.  If your 3-prong power tool has some sort of unpleasant short, it's supposed to run down that third wire, instead of your arm.