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LED-Wiz USB LED and Output Control Device now available. *Blinky lights*
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RandyT:

--- Quote from: SirPoonga on October 24, 2005, 12:51:31 pm ---Though, it could be as simple as something like set49mode.  There will be preset lwa files the user creates (like joy4way.lwa, 4buttons.lwa, diagonal4way.lwa) and the utility would run LWSend with the correct file based on controls.dat...  I might just do that. 

--- End quote ---

Now you're firing on all eight ;) (J/K)   This was the idea behind the LWSend utility and much of the way the software is structured.  You could literally have a separate animation, looping, looping for 5 times and staying on, or just turning them on.  Most everything can be done at this very moment, but even fancier stuff will be possible once the animations can be called from a script.


--- Quote ---For instance, lets say I setup LEDs for each of 8 directions of a joystick (yes, only need three outputs for this as discussed earlier) and 6 lit buttons.

My normal setup is
456
123

So I'd have a 1button, 2button, 3button, 4button, 5button, 6button lwa files.

But for neogeo I do this
XX4
123

--- End quote ---

And if you were really cool, you could use RGB leds in white (or clear) buttons and they could light up the actual colors used in the games.

This would require way more info than controls.dat could provide, but perhaps an add-on for colors would be an interesting diversion.


--- Quote from: SirPoonga on October 24, 2005, 12:59:06 pm ---Randy, is it possible to blink a led, say 4 times, then stay on steady?

--- End quote ---

It is possible to do this with the software in it's current state.  It'll take all of about 30 seconds to make with the editor ;)

Thanks for bringing up the stuff you have thought of.  The interesting part about this device is that people haven't even begun to realize the cool stuff that could be done with it, especially with the addition of some relays. 

Here are some examples.

Have your monitor power on only after the machine is booted (no more Windows screens)

Power on the monitor only after you know PowerStrip is up and running.

Use it to control things on a homemade SkeeBall (Basketball, Redemption, whatever) machine  for sending pulses to a ticket dispenser or turning on a rotating light, running mechanical doo-hickeys....etc.

Couple it with a KeyWiz (GP-Wiz, IPAC, whatever) and have a 32-zone alarm system controlled by your PC

Chase lights on a JukeBox, or control the mechanics of a REAL jukebox :)

Control the lights and coin dispenser of a Slot, Video Poker, etc  machine (entertainment purposes only, of course)

Control the sliding blind in a live Peep Show (hmmm...second thought, that should be left to the professionals)

Anyway, you get the idea.  With the possibility for up to 500ma to be delivered by each output, it's good for more than just LED's.  We will probably look at adding a relay board to go along with this eventually but not right away.  Should be interesting to all the cool gadgets that end up attached to this thing :)

RandyT
SirPoonga:

--- Quote from: RandyT on October 24, 2005, 03:39:44 pm ---And if you were really cool, you could use RGB leds in white (or clear) buttons and they could light up the actual colors used in the games.

This would require way more info than controls.dat could provide, but perhaps an add-on for colors would be an interesting diversion.

--- End quote ---
Someone asked me about that some time ago.  I said i am not going to put it in controls.dat.  It would only be useful for less than 1/3rd of the games in controls.dat.  It would best be done as a seperate project/dat file.


--- Quote ---Anyway, you get the idea.  With the possibility for up to 500ma to be delivered by each output, it's good for more than just LED's.  We will probably look at adding a relay board to go along with this eventually but not right away.  Should be interesting to all the cool gadgets that end up attached to this thing :)

--- End quote ---
That would be cool if you came out with a relay board.  You'd probably have to have relays that could handle high voltage, in case someone wanted to power a 28v pinball knocker... or whatever...

"Chase lights on a JukeBox, or control the mechanics of a REAL jukebox"
I could see someone writing a VU meter to do this :)

Also, if one could modify mame to create a universal output messaging system (which I think should be part of official mame as it would help document how the game interacted with the players) one could do T2 recoil, Irritating Maze puff of air, Afterburner step motors, Q*Bert knocker etc...
SirPoonga:

--- Quote from: RandyT on October 24, 2005, 02:41:52 am ---The above command will play the animation file called "test.lwa" a total of 3 times and stop.  This command will play a big role in generic output control.  For example, a relay connected to a q*bert knocker might have a 2 frame animation defined where an output is turned on for 100ms and then turned off.  This command would be used to play that animation for one cycle when required.

--- End quote ---
FYI, if someone wants to try this, before I get my ledwiz, and is willing to "roll your own" mame I can tell you how to modify mame's source code to turn on and off a LEDWiz output using the clipboard interface.

Otherwise, this will be the first thing I do when I get an ledwiz...

If anyone knows where I can find a 27v-30v ac-dc power adaptor that would be great...  wait, radioshack has that 9v-30v one....
MrTroy:
Ok... I feel like such an idiot asking this but... Why aren't my lights changing on my keyboard?

If I put.....I can't even paste it  >:(
LWZ-S02:1 in my clipboard. My keyboard lights aren't changing. Is it because I don't have the correct hardware? Oh the command Monitor does pick it up when I do so. But my keyboard itself doesn't do anything.
RandyT:

--- Quote from: MrTroy on October 24, 2005, 08:55:49 pm ---Ok... I feel like such an idiot asking this but... Why aren't my lights changing on my keyboard?

--- End quote ---

Ummm....why are you expecting the lights on your keyboard to change? 


--- Quote ---If I put.....I can't even paste it  >:(

--- End quote ---

Heh.  Sorry, that is one of the more humorous side effects of using the clipboard.  Here's a trick:  If you want to cut and paste an LED-Wiz command, either turn off the clipboard monitoring or copy everything but the first character (L).  Then you can paste in the command and then tack the L back in.

For the uninitiated, clipboard function isn't affected until you copy or cut something into it with "LWZ-" as the first 4 characters.  The resident software thinks you are talking to it and intercepts the command.


--- Quote ---LWZ-S02:1 in my clipboard. My keyboard lights aren't changing. Is it because I don't have the correct hardware? Oh the command Monitor does pick it up when I do so. But my keyboard itself doesn't do anything.

--- End quote ---

The LWZ-S02:1 command doesn't turn on your keyboard lights, it turns on an LED (or some other device) physically connected to output 2 of the LED-Wiz!  If you want a nice high-output LED on output 2 to blink when MAME or some other app blinks the CapsLock LED on your Keyboard, you select 2 for the CapsLock Keyboard LED Emulation and then enable the feature.

There's not much value to having the LED-Wiz Resident software control the Keyboard lights, but it is quite useful to have it work the other way around.

RandyT
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