Hacking X-Arcade

[clonestar]

I have found the x-arcade on sale in the uk at

[Grasshopper]

That's a very good price can you tell me where?

The answers to your questions are as follows:

(a) For

[markrvp]

It's very easy to hack.  The PCB inside has .100 5pin headers that you can either buy new plugs for - OR - just make extension cables for the wires it already has inside.  The wires connected to the buttons and joysticks already have quick disconnects on them.

[clonestar]

Thanks for the info guys, Grasshopper I will send you a pm with the storename as the branch I went in today only has 2 left and I just got the ok to buy it so I don't want them selling out before I get there again.

Also the x-arcade I saw is bundled with a ps2 adapter, being in MAME mode I was thinking of ps/2 as in keyboard but of course it menas playstation, what is the native connector on the x-arcade is it 9 pin serial?

[Hippo]

I recently bought one from maplins in the UK for

[clonestar]

what did you have to re-program.  I have a player 1 joystick problem that is not consistant, it acts as if the numlock is being switched on and off.  Any suggestions?

[Hippo]

The player one controls were set for the numpad direction keys and not the normal directional keys.

I changed to a different profile (switch on the back) and programmed all the buttons for mame use using the normal directional buttons for player one joystick.

[clonestar]

Ok I solved the problems.

[myrmidon]

One warning about the X-Arcade PCB. There are various 5-pin connectors, and each of these contain 4 components and a ground. (Eg: P1 Up, Down, Left, Right, Ground).

This is fine if you want to wire the PCB directly to your control panel, and be done with it. However, you cannot use the ground wire from one group, with the signal from any other group (this results in interesting random results), which means you CANNOT build a panel with a single ground to all the controls - you have to do this in groups.

I am currently building a JAMMA-spec cabinet, that can support both original Arcade Game PCB's as well as MAME (via XBox), and I just ordered the JPac (and have to return my X-Arcade because it cannot do what I need).

[clonestar]

Although that 4 components and a ground wouldn't be a problem if I was using cat5 cables to enable multiple cp's.

Hippo, I have programmed my x-arcade like yours but was wondering if you switch on the pc with the x-arcade in mode two do you still have to push the program button twice as this would be a bit of a pain.

[Hippo]

No, once the X-Arcade is in a mode you do not have to change to that mode everytime you switch on. Mine has been in mode 4 since I first programmed it and the PC its attached to has been switched on and off multiple times.

[Necro]

Very hopeful I will get an x-arcade for Christmas and noticed this thread.  So, aside from the having to have grouped grounds, the overall view is the controller is very amenable to hacking into a mame cabinet at a later date right?

(this is one of the main reasons I'm getting it now...live in an apt. where I can't really fit a cabinet...once I get a house I'll work on a cabinet and build the controls into it).