I-PAC shift function vs. KeyWiz Shazaam Function for Howard C.

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Kane:
Sorry I'm so late with this guys. I was gonna do a small site but before I finished the page the damn computer crashed and I wasn't starting over. The following are just my thoughts and opinions if you have questions send me an email.-

I ordered the KeyWiz Max from http://www.groovygamegear.com/.
First of all, let me state that I have absolutely NO prior experience in wiring of any keyboard encoder or buttons. With that said lets get on with my thoughts.

First things first, the encoder came well packaged in a USPS priority mail box. In the box were the Encoder, an instruction sheet, floppy diskette, 6ft. PS/2 cable and a receipt.
Hook-up of the encoder took only about 10 minutes (2 joysticks and 18 buttons). The first problem I noticed was some of the terminal screws were very tight, almost too tight. A few times I thought I was gonna crack the encoder trying to hold it and turn the screws. Once all screws were loosened the rest was a breeze.
After hooking all the wires up I inserted the floppy to install the software and there was the second problem. This error may be because of the version of windows I was running, or something else but I received a

rampy:
Hey Kane,

Thanks for doing a write up. Glad you were able to get yours up and running with only minimal/solvable issues.

Of course, we probably won't hear from you for days now that your controls are wired =P

rampy

_Iz-:
Days? I think you mean weeks... ;D

Kane, are you in Canada? Did you get dinged for Duty or Brokerage? How much?

Kane:
Not in Canada- in Pennsylvania

On a side note I have NOT used the Shazaaam feature yet (Happs back oreder some of my buttons) but I should be getting a hold of a couple of buttons today and will hook them up as soon as I do.

Grasshopper:
I'm surprised how much hostility there has been to the KeyWiz. In the long run competition can only be to the benefit of BYOAC customers.

My own thoughts are as follows.

Things I like:
First and foremost the price, it's significantly cheaper than the Ipac. The lack of screw connectors is a useful way to keep costs down. I'm guessing that most people who build their own controls are not afraid of soldering.
More inputs than the standard Ipac.

Things I don't care about:
the whole Shazaam vs Shift key debate. Both systems provide more than enough functionality for me.
Lack of USB support. It would be a bonus for future-proofing, however USB is not a priority for me at the moment.

Thing I don't like:
Lack of keyboard pass-through on the cheaper models. In my opinion this is a serious deficiency. Even the most expensive model only provides a system activated by a switch which is a bit clumsy. I don't see how this facility can add significantly to the cost, or significantly reduce performance.

RandyT: Please could you answer a few questions for me. I know you suggested that people should email you as you weren't going to post on this topic again. However I think other people on this board might be interested in the answers. If you don't wish to post again then please can you PM me.

First of all, will you be selling to people outside of the USA, and if so can you give us an approximate idea of the shipping costs? I live in the UK.

Do you accept payments by Paypal? This method is particularly convenient if you are ordering from abroad as Paypal does not make a charge for converting currency.

Going back to the keyboard pass-through issue, why don't you adopt the approach taken by Stephan Hans? His keyboard splitter can be built for a few dollars and as far as I am aware it does not affect the performance of the keyboards attached to it.

If I bought the cheapest KeyWiz, could I then add keyboard pass-through functionality by soldering my own DIN socket to the circuit board?

Thanks in advance

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