50 Way Centronics...

[Minwah]

Has anyone used 50-way Centronics cables for switching controls etc?

Since adding my DC to my cab I have been thinking of trying to use a standard connector for audio/video/controls for both PC and DC (& in future XBOX).  For this I need 40-something connections.  I thought this should work well for switching between systems:

http://www.mycableshop.com/sku/DSS%20C504.htm

Just wondering if anyone has used these before or if there is anything I should watch out for...

[Paul Olson]

I don't know anything about that product, but be carefull when you choose the wires.  I tried to use a patch panel with the c50 connectors on the back.  I found out the hard way that SCSI cables are not fully populated.  Only 32 wires if I remember correctly.

Paul

[JoyMonkey]

Do you really need 40-something connections?
Couldn't you leave most of the controls connected and just switch audio/video and a couple of the important buttons (like start, exit, select, tab)?

[AlanS17]

No you'd need it all switched.

The controls could be switches seperately from the A/V using seperate control an A/V switches. You can buy A/V switches straight out of the box anywhere. That would reduce the number of lines required for switching. It's not as clean, though. Besides, if you're already switching 30+ cables, what's a few more?

I haven't heard anything bad about them. Have you found a source for connectors?

[JoyMonkey]

Why do you need everything to switch?
I've switched jamma boards using a parallel switch before with only power/audio/video being switched.

If you've got console controls permanently hooked to your controls what harm would it do?

[AlanS17]

So you would have seperate controls on the CP for each game system?

I've wired up JAMMA boards in parallel before like that but never consoles. Don't know what would happen. I guess it would be safe as long as the other systems are already off. Of course, I don't want to give someone else that advice and then find out later I was wrong.

[JoyMonkey]

So you would have seperate controls on the CP for each game system?

I've wired up JAMMA boards in parallel before like that but never consoles. Don't know what would happen. I guess it would be safe as long as the other systems are already off. Of course, I don't want to give someone else that advice and then find out later I was wrong.

No, say you wire a DC pad and an XBox pad to your CP- together without a swirch switch. Playing with your CP has the effect of controlling both the DC and the XBox controller at the same time; it's unlikely that this would hurt (you could accidentally delete a save-game or something on the console that's not switched to the monitor though, but there's a slim chance of that). Keeping the consol you're not playing on turned off would ensure nothing bad happens.

Edited for a typo pointed out by the smart-arse below.

[AlanS17]

No, say you wire a DC pad and an XBox pad to your CP- together without a swirch.

A swirch! Of course! Why didn't I think of that? j/k j/k j/k

[Minwah]

I always thought you should not wire controllers up at the same time....in fact I'm sure this has been discussed to death although I can't find any threads with the search function   Perhaps I am wrong but I recall discussions of diodes etc. and other methods to try to prevent problems...maybe I'm mistaken and this only applies if more than 1 system is on 

Can anyone please confirm?

Edit: I found a thread here: http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php/topic,11847.0.html - which answers my question really.

pcolson: The switchbox I linked to says it has all 50 way switched, so in theory I just need to check link cables I use, or make my own up.

[Paul Olson]

pcolson: The switchbox I linked to says it has all 50 way switched, so in theory I just need to check link cables I use, or make my own up.

I just wanted to make sure you didn't waste money trying to use SCSI cables like I did. 

Paul

[richms]

Can always use the 50 way flat IDC cables, as they have all wires present.

[Grasshopper]

I used 36 pin Centronics cables to connect my control panel to a converter box. Even though I used a reputable brand (Belkin) I found that the cables only used about 18 wires (basically all the earths were joined together, and some obscure signals were missing). The same applied to a switchbox that I bought at the same time. This sort of thing really annoys me. If a cable is advertised as Centronics then it should fully support the Centronics standard.

In future I will only buy cables from companies that supply pinouts. One company that is good for this is Farnell (www.farnell.co.uk). I'm not sure about 50 pin Centronics cables but they sell 36 pin Centronics cables with 25 separate wires which is much closer to the Centronics printer standard.

[CJK]

I used 36 pin Centronics cables to connect my control panel to a converter box. Even though I used a reputable brand (Belkin) I found that the cables only used about 18 wires (basically all the earths were joined together, and some obscure signals were missing). The same applied to a switchbox that I bought at the same time. This sort of thing really annoys me. If a cable is advertised as Centronics then it should fully support the Centronics standard.

IMO, Belkin isn't all that reputable. A lot of their stuff is actually junk. They do have a good marketing department, though, as their accessories are now available everywhere.

-- Chris

[Grasshopper]

Check out Farnell part number: 961322. It appears from the datasheet that all 50 wires are used.