Newbie Question

[Nomen]

I'm about to order a keyboard encoder and I was wondering which one of these two boards was better.

http://www.ultimarc.com/ipac1.html
http://www.ultimarc.com/ipacve.html

One thing that I noticed was that the IPAC^VE was different from the IPAC^2, in that, "When a custom codeset is used, it is stored in RAM instead of EEPROM, meaning that storage needs refreshing after power-down (this does not apply if you always use the built-in default MAME code set of course, the settings revert to MAME on power-down)." Does that mean that I will have to reprogram the board after every shutdown if I plan on using DOS?

If anyone has decided between these two boards and wants to comment on which is better, I'd really appreciate that. Let the voting begin!

[Quarterhorse]

If you plan on changing the inputs much on it I would go with the IPAC 2.  Once it is stored on the EEPROM (via the program utility) it always stays programmed that way no matter what the software is doing.  I believe makes it worth a few extra bucks in the end.  I tinkered with mine a bit to have some administrative buttons (e.g. pause, tab, escape, etc) and liked only having to program it once and it being done on the card itself. 

[AtomSmasher]

Does that mean that I will have to reprogram the board after every shutdown if I plan on using DOS?

If you plan on using DOS, then your decision should be easy since the ipac ve doesn't work in DOS.

USB connection only. Suitable for all Windows versions and Linux, Mac. (Not DOS).

[Nomen]

Well, I don't think I'm going to be using DOS. But from what it sounds like, the IPAC^2 is better. The only advantages the IPAC^VE has is the four additional inputs and the better shipping. I guess I'll go with the IPAC^2 though unless anyone has anything else to say. Thanks for the input guys.

[Tiger-Heli]

The only main questions are:

1) Do you (or might you ever) need the 4 additional inputs? - then the VE is better.
2) Will you be using DOS or not have a USB port available? - the the VE is out.
3)  Will this be for a removable CP or desktop CP that gets plugged in and out often? Then the /2 is better (unless you are okay with 31 inputs).

The drawbacks are the same as the KeyWiz (you need to reprogram to use a non-default codeset) but the default codeset on the KeyWiz is more compatible with MAME, and one input is repeated on the VE, so you only have 31 discrete inputs available without re-programming.

Reprogramming is no problem from a startup routine, IF the unit is plugged in at boot-up, but with a removable panel, that might not be the case.

[Nomen]

I think you're right. I went ahead and ordered the IPAC^2, I think that it will be better in the long run. Thanks a lot for the input.