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question about controls
Polokus:
I just bought a cabinet and i want to use the origenal controls to use for mame. Now my question is what are my options to connect those to the pc, without an encoder.
Reason for this question is that i don't have a visa and it would be very difficult that way to order an encoder :(
thx in advance
radiator:
...keyboard hack...
is it a case of "I have the money for an encoder, but no Visa card"?
where abouts do you live?
*m
Tiger-Heli:
--- Quote from: Polokus on April 02, 2003, 05:32:08 am ---I just bought a cabinet and i want to use the origenal controls to use for mame. Now my question is what are my options to connect those to the pc, without an encoder.
Reason for this question is that i don't have a visa and it would be very difficult that way to order an encoder :(
thx in advance
--- End quote ---
Easiest option would be to use a J-PAC, but that's about as complicated as buying an encoder.
Next option would be hacking a USB joystick (if you can solder decently). (Wal-Mart sells a hackable one and check other posts in this forum).
Hacking a keyboard would be another (non-recommended) option. See http://www.mameworld.net/emuadvice/keyhack2.html if you want to go this way.
Simplest would be wiring directly to the gameport, but you're limited to 4 buttons and 4 analog axes. (Maybe you can wire buttons to the axes inputs for a total of 8 inputs?)
See here for description of how to do this: http://www.gunpowder.freeserve.co.uk/wheels/wiring.htm
neuromancer:
I've hacked both keyboards and gamepads. The gamepads both took longer, are less functional, and cost more, but the differences arent' that great.
If I were in your situation and I wanted to interface a one or two joystick panel to a PC, I would use a keyboard hack. Especially if you can find an old IBM AT style keyboard in a thrift shop for $2. I can send you the encoder matrix and save you the time of figguring that part out.
The mameworld link in a previous post is mandatory reading before trying a keyboard hack.
Bob
Tiger-Heli:
--- Quote from: neuromancer on April 02, 2003, 09:41:46 am ---I can send you the encoder matrix and save you the time of figguring that part out.
--- End quote ---
Been my experience that the matrix might not be the same even for the same model keyboard unless they use the exact same encoder chip.
That's a good starting point, but I would want to verify the matrix before assuming it would work.