A couple of quick IPAC and keyboard questions

[sealslayer]

My cab is now complete except for the CP so its question time regarding the IPAC and the best connection type.
I've just had a quick look at ultimarc and see you can get the IPAC 2 with either the USB or PS2 leads, is either more preferable than the other?

Second question.... I need to get a new keyboard for the cab and don't know whats the best route to go down, is a PS2 keyboard plugged into the IPAC ok or is better to keep the IPAC separate and just get a USB keyboard to avoid any potential problems?

BTW I'll be playing in winxp not DOS

Cheers in advance 

[shardian]

The IPAC only comes in ps/2

The "usb" Ipac, is just a special cable that has ps/2 on the end for the ipac, and usb on the other end. It is handy to have the usb cable if you want to keep a keyboard hooked up to your computer at all times. I use the usb cable for my desktop control panel.

[Tiger-Heli]

My cab is now complete except for the CP so its question time regarding the IPAC and the best connection type.
I've just had a quick look at ultimarc and see you can get the IPAC 2 with either the USB or PS2 leads, is either more preferable than the other?

I have a huge rundown on my site - http://www.mameworld.net/tigerheli/encoder/index.htm

The USB cable is only $5 more, and gives you both options, so I would buy it regardless of which you actually use.

USB has something like a 16 simultaneous keypress limitation, but USB is the standard and PS/2 ports are not available on all mobo's, so USB may be required in the future.

Second question.... I need to get a new keyboard for the cab and don't know whats the best route to go down, is a PS2 keyboard plugged into the IPAC ok or is better to keep the IPAC separate and just get a USB keyboard to avoid any potential problems?

Doesn't matter.  Wireless is a good option for a cab.

BTW I'll be playing in winxp not DOS

Won't matter for a cab, but USB would be preferable for a desktop controller here.  XP does not load the PS/2 Keyboard driver if one is not present at bootup, so you can't hot plug in a controller under XP, unless you have a PS/2 keyboard to swap.

[sealslayer]

Thanks for that, I'll go with the USB lead, time to get ordering

[Bill Mote]

I've been using the USB IPAC/4 for ~2 years without any problems.  I built a 4 player cab and have had 4 players on numerous occasions without incident.  What you'll find more irritating is that many keys are reused throughout the 4 player setup.  Make sure you remap keys so they don't overlap.

With 16 inputs, I'd never heard that before by-the-way, you could have 4 players registering an angle plus 2 buttons before you'd bump into that limit.

dot

[Tiger-Heli]

What you'll find more irritating is that many keys are reused throughout the 4 player setup.  Make sure you remap keys so they don't overlap.

OP is buying an I-PAC/2, but excellent point, and applies to both the PS/2 and USB I-PAC/4.

With 16 inputs, I'd never heard that before by-the-way, you could have 4 players registering an angle plus 2 buttons before you'd bump into that limit.

You won't hear much about it, because it varies from something like 14 to 20, changed at various times over the product's life cycle, without model updates, so the actual number is tough to determine.  (And I didn't say it caused problems, just that it is a limitation of USB over PS/2).

[Bill Mote]

You won't hear much about it, because it varies from something like 14 to 20, changed at various times over the product's life cycle, without model updates, so the actual number is tough to determine.  (And I didn't say it caused problems, just that it is a limitation of USB over PS/2).

I hope you didn't take that as a flame.  It was just part of the, "you learn something new every day" information.  I was being matter-of-fact with my comment.  If I had read more closesly I'd have probably noted he was buying an IPAC/2

dot

[Tiger-Heli]

I hope you didn't take that as a flame.  It was just part of the, "you learn something new every day" information.  I was being matter-of-fact with my comment.

Actually, I didn't take it as a flame at all, I was just adding more clarification.  No harm, no foul.

[AndyWarne]

The IPAC only comes in ps/2

Just to clarify this... The I-PAC is a true "dual-interface" device which detects the type of interface it is plugged into and switches to a different internal firmware to match.
I do sometimes get questions from people who have attempted to use a standard PS/2 to USB keyboard converter with the I-PAC. This does not work very well and is of course not necessary since all I-PACs will operate in full USB mode.
There are two reasons why these converters don't work, firstly because they are subject to a low maximum key-presses, and also because every 2-3 seconds they cancel any held-down keys to avoid the PC getting false "stuck-key" situations which, in USB mode, would cause an infinite repeating key. In gaming of course cancelling held keys is not a good thing.
Andy