I just want to be sure on this...

[Jeff AMN]

Ok, I got my control panel box assembled and I'll be priming it at lunch and painting it tonight. I'm going to start wiring soon, but I don't have an encoder yet. Obviously that's something I need to get ordered today, but I want to make sure I have the right stuff.

My panel has the following:

-2 Perfect 360 sticks
-1 Happ Super stick
-1 Tornado Spinner
-1 USB trackball (lighted)
-7 pushbuttons per 360 stick
-2 pushbuttons next to the Super
-1 and 2 player coin buttons
-1 and 2 player start buttons
-Admin panel, but I haven't decided on what buttons yet (going to be 3 or 4 buttons)

Could all of this be handled by an I-Pac or KeyWiz encoder? What about my spinner?

Also, I'm going to light my buttons. I can handle that with an LED-Wiz and a bunch of RGB-Drives, right?


Sorry to ask all these questions. I have been reading, studying, and going over the Wiki; I just want to make sure that I understand things correctly. Anybody that can back me up on this would give me some peace of mind and it would be much appreciated.

[ahofle]

If I'm not mistaken, a MiniPac would take care of 2 players worth of controls and your spinner.  There is a killer deal going on right now on the boards for that.  I assume your super stick is a redundant player 1 stick (4 way or something?).  If you have 3 players, you'll either need an IPAC4 or multiple KeyWizes and a separate optical interface for your spinner.

[Jeff AMN]

If I'm not mistaken, a MiniPac would take care of 2 players worth of controls and your spinner.  There is a killer deal going on right now on the boards for that.  I assume your super stick is a redundant player 1 stick (4 way or something?).  If you have 3 players, you'll either need an IPAC4 or multiple KeyWizes and a separate optical interface for your spinner.

Yeah, the Super is redundant, as well as the 7th button on each side and the two buttons next to the Super. Really it's just a matter of me knowing that I am going to have enough inputs. How many buttons can a MiniPac be encoding? Is it basically a full range of the keyboard? I don't know why I am not grasping it as clearly as I should be...it seems like a simple enough concept.

[(+_+)]

Not sure what you mean by "what about my spinner".

[leapinlew]

If I'm not mistaken, a MiniPac would take care of 2 players worth of controls and your spinner.  There is a killer deal going on right now on the boards for that.  I assume your super stick is a redundant player 1 stick (4 way or something?).  If you have 3 players, you'll either need an IPAC4 or multiple KeyWizes and a separate optical interface for your spinner.

Yeah, the Super is redundant, as well as the 7th button on each side and the two buttons next to the Super. Really it's just a matter of me knowing that I am going to have enough inputs. How many buttons can a MiniPac be encoding? Is it basically a full range of the keyboard? I don't know why I am not grasping it as clearly as I should be...it seems like a simple enough concept.

The minipac does 28 inputs. That should be enough for what you got going on - unless you get crazy with admin buttons.

[Jeff AMN]

Not sure what you mean by "what about my spinner".

Yeah, never mind about that part...

I guess I was confused about the joysticks. I think I had it in my head that the joystick took up 8 inputs (one input for each direction) and that between the two 360s I would be at 16 already. That's where this whole confusion stemmed from.

So, how do those joysticks work?

[leapinlew]

Not sure what you mean by "what about my spinner".

Yeah, never mind about that part...

I guess I was confused about the joysticks. I think I had it in my head that the joystick took up 8 inputs (one input for each direction) and that between the two 360s I would be at 16 already. That's where this whole confusion stemmed from.

So, how do those joysticks work?

They are all digital. 4 inputs only. When the optics detect your at an angle, lets say the top right, it'll send inputs as if both the right and up are being pushed.

[Jeff AMN]

Thanks. So between my 3 joysticks I'll only be taking up 8 inputs...that leaves 20 for buttons.

I guess the MiniPac is plenty then. I'll get that ordered and hopefully get to wiring by next week. Do I need the LED-Wiz for my LEDs?

[horseboy]

Do I need the LED-Wiz for my LEDs?

You don't need it if you just intend to light the buttons. You will however need it if you want to do fancy attract modes or light only the particular buttons being used in a game.

[Jeff AMN]

Do I need the LED-Wiz for my LEDs?

You don't need it if you just intend to light the buttons. You will however need it if you want to do fancy attract modes or light only the particular buttons being used in a game.

That's what I figured. I'll probably just light them all up as this is my first cab and I want to simplify things where possible.

Thanks guys.

[shorthair]

Don't know if you know this: at least for an I-PAC (and maybe the smaller ones) there is a place on the board to wire in your 5v leads for the P360's.