Problem with X-Box Adapters with P-360's

[Knoxximus]

Hey Fellas,
     I'm trying to get this review together for Kev Steele and Retroblast!  Basically, I have a fully-modded X-Box and the X-Box adapters from Ultimarc.  No problem with picture at all!  Problem is with my joys!
     I'm running P-360's which are powered by the arcade board power supply in the cab, meaning that I don't need to have the computer on while jammin on the 'Box.  The sticks work PERFECTLY with my Cab PC and MAME, but don't work at ALL with my X-box.  At first I thought maybe the adapter was bad, but I was able to play some NES games with my arcade buttons and keyboard arrow keys.  I know that my 1st player joy is set to the arrow keys by default.  Sometimes, if I wiggle long and randomly enough, the cursor on the menu might more a space up or down, but that's it!

Any ideas?

Knoxx P.

[CJK]

How are you getting +5V to the P360's if the computer is off? The P360's need to be powered by and grounded to the same device that the optical sensors are hooked up to -- the optical sensors and the joystick itself use a common ground.

-- Chris

[Knoxximus]

The 360's are powered by the arcade board power supply that came with the cabinet.  And the joys are grounded through the Mini-PAC.  They work fine with my PC....why wouldn't this setup work with the X-Box?

[CJK]

Is the MiniPAC grounded to the arcade board power supply also?

-- Chris

[Knoxximus]

I'm not sure come to think about it....the Mini-PAC doesn't have a specific ground implied.  There is a common ground ON the Mini-PAC for all the controls, but not sure where the encoder itself grounds at.  Here is the diagram to help illustrate my observation:

http://ultimarc.com/mp_inst.html

[CJK]

Are you using a USB connection to the X-Box? That might be the problem -- the Mini-PAC is probably grounded to the X-Box via the USB connection (which has +5V and GND in the cable) while the P360's are grounded to a different power supply. The joystick circuits are therefore always open.

-- Chris

[Knoxximus]

Interesting point....I'll try a rewire and let you know how it goes.

[CJK]

They actually draw very little current (enough to power four infrared LEDs, basically), so wire them in parallel to whatever's providing the +5 V and GND for the MiniPAC. (You can make a cable to plug into a USB port that will do the job for you. Or you can buy one like this.)

-- Chris