Does OptiPac suck or is it just me?

[erictrumpet]

Hi guys, I have an issue with the OptiPac and it seems like such a horribly glaring design flaw that I am thinking I might be missing something. Please let me know if I am misusing or have possibly misconfigured my OptiPac...

The way the optical input goes to sleep if not touched for a few seconds is deadly in gameplay. For example, I was playing Wheel of Fortune last night. The spinner acts like spinning the big wheel. The problem is, you often take a few seconds to think about your next move in this game (Should I guess "S" or "R"? Hmmm...), during which time the the spinner GOES TO SLEEP! Then the game is waiting for you to spin, while the turn countdown expires, and you lose your turn... all while you are frantically spinning the spinner, waiting for it to wake the hell back up. It totally sucks. This happens in other games as well, all the time. For instance, playing a game of Tempest? Phone rings? Hit pause. Take the call. Come back to your game. unpause, and... SUPRISE, THE SPINNER'S DEAD! OOPS, SO ARE YOU! GAME OVER! (Solution: spin spinner and count to ten... then unpause. Gimme a break!!!) What gives?

I am thinking of ditching this thing and just connecting my individual optical devices to USB directly. Am I missing something that would make the OptiPac less utterly infuriating to use? Can I configure the "sleep" time for the devices to be like 10 seconds, or 30 seconds, or whatever? Can I completely disable this "feature"? Why do I want the OptiPac at all, if I only use one spinner and one trackball?

Thanks,
Eric.

[walls83]

I use the Optipac with my Trackball and Ive never seen it "GO INTO SLEEP MODE"  and I take quit a few breaks playing GT and World class bowling.  I think something isnt right on your because I havent heard anyone complain about their spinners and the optipac

[whammoed]

How many devices are you using on your optipac?  If you are just using a trackball and a spinner, you can hook up the spinner to the player 2 trackball connection and they will both be active at all times.

It doesn't seem like its working quite like it was designed though, maybe contact Andy?
Could you be moving the trackball by accident during the down times?

from ultimarc:

Automatic switching between devices on one port.
If devices are connected to Port 1 Trackball and Port 1 Rotary, they are both routed to serial port 1 or one USB mouse device. The active device is automatically switched as follows:
The first device to be moved becomes the active device. The other is disabled to prevent it from interfering with the game.
If neither device is moved for 5 seconds, the first to be moved after this time becomes the active device and the other is disabled. This also applies to devices connected to Port 2 inputs.

[hulkster]

Hi guys, I have an issue with the OptiPac and it seems like such a horribly glaring design flaw that I am thinking I might be missing something. Please let me know if I am misusing or have possibly misconfigured my OptiPac...

The way the optical input goes to sleep if not touched for a few seconds is deadly in gameplay. For example, I was playing Wheel of Fortune last night. The spinner acts like spinning the big wheel. The problem is, you often take a few seconds to think about your next move in this game (Should I guess "S" or "R"? Hmmm...), during which time the the spinner GOES TO SLEEP! Then the game is waiting for you to spin, while the turn countdown expires, and you lose your turn... all while you are frantically spinning the spinner, waiting for it to wake the hell back up. It totally sucks. This happens in other games as well, all the time. For instance, playing a game of Tempest? Phone rings? Hit pause. Take the call. Come back to your game. unpause, and... SUPRISE, THE SPINNER'S DEAD! OOPS, SO ARE YOU! GAME OVER! (Solution: spin spinner and count to ten... then unpause. Gimme a break!!!) What gives?

I am thinking of ditching this thing and just connecting my individual optical devices to USB directly. Am I missing something that would make the OptiPac less utterly infuriating to use? Can I configure the "sleep" time for the devices to be like 10 seconds, or 30 seconds, or whatever? Can I completely disable this "feature"? Why do I want the OptiPac at all, if I only use one spinner and one trackball?

Thanks,
Eric.

its just you

[Zakk]

I seem to remember that if you were using the spinner, then jiggled the trackball, it would momentarily knock out the spinner, then there was a pause before it realized that you wanted to use the spinner again.  I think this is what is happening.

I -did- remedy the problem, however it was some time ago (I've ben using minipacs since then).  Definitely try hooking it up to the player 2 position and see if that takes care of it.  Or try asking Andy, he's always helpful, and doesn't mind answering questions.

Good luck!

[boodroe]

I ordered an optipac and it was defective. It would pause before hitting the trackball and it made trackball games almost impossible. It even lagged when you would hit a mouse button, it would respond to the mouse click about 3 seconds after you hit the button. I got rid of the optipac and use the ps2 port now for my trackball, works great.

[Santoro]

No issues on 2 cabs. Email Andy.

[erictrumpet]

Thanks for the suggestions guys, I will try different connections, and also email Andy (probably should've done that first anyway!)

Eric.

[walls83]

Andy will take care of you.  Hes great at helping out.

[telengard]

Hi guys, I have an issue with the OptiPac and it seems like such a horribly glaring design flaw that I am thinking I might be missing something. Please let me know if I am misusing or have possibly misconfigured my OptiPac...

The way the optical input goes to sleep if not touched for a few seconds is deadly in gameplay. For example, I was playing Wheel of Fortune last night. The spinner acts like spinning the big wheel. The problem is, you often take a few seconds to think about your next move in this game (Should I guess "S" or "R"? Hmmm...), during which time the the spinner GOES TO SLEEP! Then the game is waiting for you to spin, while the turn countdown expires, and you lose your turn... all while you are frantically spinning the spinner, waiting for it to wake the hell back up. It totally sucks. This happens in other games as well, all the time. For instance, playing a game of Tempest? Phone rings? Hit pause. Take the call. Come back to your game. unpause, and... SUPRISE, THE SPINNER'S DEAD! OOPS, SO ARE YOU! GAME OVER! (Solution: spin spinner and count to ten... then unpause. Gimme a break!!!) What gives?

I am thinking of ditching this thing and just connecting my individual optical devices to USB directly. Am I missing something that would make the OptiPac less utterly infuriating to use? Can I configure the "sleep" time for the devices to be like 10 seconds, or 30 seconds, or whatever? Can I completely disable this "feature"? Why do I want the OptiPac at all, if I only use one spinner and one trackball?

Thanks,
Eric.

I haven't seen this myself, but I find the OptiPac has some sort of short lag.  To me it's very noticable.  Andy was very nice in trying to help me figure it out.  We tried serial/usb, upgraded chips.  I was never able to nail it down.  Definitely email him though, he is very very helpful with issues that come up.

~telengard

[Brax]

I seem to remember that if you were using the spinner, then jiggled the trackball, it would momentarily knock out the spinner, then there was a pause before it realized that you wanted to use the spinner again.  I think this is what is happening.

I -did- remedy the problem, however it was some time ago (I've ben using minipacs since then).  Definitely try hooking it up to the player 2 position and see if that takes care of it.  Or try asking Andy, he's always helpful, and doesn't mind answering questions.

Good luck!

The mini-pac. Can it run a trackball and a spinner? From what I understood I thought it could only run one device. Am I mistaken?

[Zakk]

Runs both, trackball and spinner.  I'm actually hooking one up right now.  I think it's 2 sticks, at least 8 buttons per player, player 1/2 start, spinner and trackball.  Works well.

[Brax]

Runs both, trackball and spinner.  I'm actually hooking one up right now.  I think it's 2 sticks, at least 8 buttons per player, player 1/2 start, spinner and trackball.  Works well.

Man, couldn't ask for anything more. It's almost hidden on the Ultimarc site. Thanks, I think that's the most economical choice for my next cabinet.

Wiring one up now? Does that mean we're going to see some progress on the House Cab? Hmmm?

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