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Lighted Buttons - Per Game
Valence:
Pretty kewl software. It will make it very easy for people to light up leds. I was working on something like this ( more just for myself than making it for everyone else) Good job on thinking of your fellow mamers, but there is only 1 problem.
Unfortunatly, it is a very big problem (which is why I gave up on it) The only buttons that I could get any light to shine through was the white player buttons. I used 12 candleras high intensity super bright lights ( The highest candleras that I could find at Fry's) I even used a decade resistor box that went from 1omh to infinite with a variable 6 amp power supply trying to see if I could get some light to shine through. I even went as far as to turn out all the lights and work with just a red lamp to see what it would take to get some light to shine through. I eventually burnt out all the led's. I tried it on white, orange, yellow, red, blue and black happs horizontal buttons. The white buttons lit up pretty well but I could only get a very faint with the yellows and absolutly nothing with the other colors. I've even thought about thinning out the plastic some way but have not done it. So someone come up with a way and I'm all for it.
By the way Here is a really good place for a usb chip.
http://www.delcom-eng.com/products_USBIO.asp#USBIOKITS
controls 16 I/O and is only 8 dollars for the chip itself.
The site even includes a DLL with source code for controlling the chip in C++ and VB and a few others. This is what I was going to use.
My program was a VB front end for an access database that intercepted what the name of the game was and then parsed the database for the led configuration for that game..
Not trying to put a damped on anything. Maybe someone knows how to get them little buggers to show some light better than I do.
Valence ::)
DinoRoger:
OK Im going to try and answer all the questions above in this post, but please keep bringing them.
--- Quote ---I like this idea. How about an option for blinking or alternate/blinking lights?
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I can write a WIN32 program that can apply timer and blinks to the LED's and even design it to execute with a screen saver. Unfortantly this will not work for the DOS users.
--- Quote --- think going USB would be better than serial though. Im suprised that motherboards still have serial ports on them... and surely they will probably dissapear someday.
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Serial may be the best method because it will allow the hardware to function for both DOS and Windows users. If your PC does not have a serial port you can purchase a USB to serial adapter fairly cheap these days. Windows will mimic this as a regual serial port so the program should still function.
--- Quote ---I might have missed this while excitedly reading through, but can you test which LED is which? Like you click on the icons of each of the LEDs and the LED in the cabinet blinks or lights up?
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Yes the program will actualy active a LED every time a check box is clicked. This way it makes it easy to create a batch file and perform diagnostics.
--- Quote ---What about the pure DOS users ? Could the executable run in pure DOS?
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Yes, the program I displayed will only function in Windows but the batch file and LED ON/OFF application will function at a DOS level.
--- Quote ---When you exit a game will the lights go back off or would you have to run another game to reset them?
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Currently this will be dependent on your front end. I beleive there again GLAUNCH allows an execution of a file before and after loading the rom. So you can execute another batch file after the game has exited. Somthing to consider to all the FE creators when desiging features.
--- Quote ---So would you need to create a batch file for each individual game? Or, say, 6 different batch files by the number of buttons? (like, 1button.bat 2button.bat 3button.bat etc..) And so how would you go from a game that uses 3 buttons to a game that uses 6? Would that be a front-end implementation to figure out which batch file to call before launching the game?
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There should be only so many combinations of button layouts. I was thinking about a dozen different layouts but the possibilites are endless. Just need to write as many batch files that will be needed. The front end will decide what batch file will get launched. If I have time I will try creating my own FE soon. I may ask the community to help later with batch file creations. I would like to embed a universal mame feature into the app where you specify your layout and the program spits all every batch file for every current mame game.
--- Quote ---Oh yeah, will this only be in 'kit' form or will you release the software, as well?
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Because of the compleity of the program/hardware allot of my creation will be propritairy. Meaning I would need to sell the hardware and software as a package. I'm not trying to do this to make money but you understand its not free. I will be lookign around after getting my proto type built for a sells partner. Maybe even include it in already built CP's. We will see!
--- Quote ---How about us big 4 player control panel users which have 4 start, 4 credit, 26 player buttons . Will your program be able to handle all those? Will the hardware be able to support that many outputs?
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The method I am using will allow the hardware to be daisy chained. Each piece of hardware will allow 14 LED's to be lit. 32 led boards can be plugged together to equal a possible combination of 448 led's. Wow light the entire house with that.
--- Quote ---Not trying to put a damped on anything. Maybe someone knows how to get them little buggers to show some light better than I do.
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I just started on this project today but believe I can find a good combination of power/led/brightness. Once I am finished I will have recomendations of different LED's and button color combinations. Worse case scenerio I cant get it to work you can use the leds to light up a drawing of your CP and mouse it somewhere on your bezel or CP to show what buttons are active. I am sure it wont come to this but its my plan B if the worst happens. :)
SirPoonga:
Hey, if controls.dat happensand FEs use it it would be really easy then to incorporate something simular to this.
)p(:
Ah that is great...I never bothered with the leds before because the current way mame handle's was just not flexible enough for what I wanted...
--- Quote from: DinoRoger on May 08, 2003, 02:05:16 pm ---Wanted to show you something I am working on that may be of interest. I am working on hardware/software that will control LED lights for arcade buttons. The software will generate a batch file that will turn on/off a series of LED's. Some MAME front ends have the capability to execute an application before running the rom.
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luckily mine is one of them...so I only need to work on my cab again...uhm I have not changed anything in years to my cab...so I might become a real byoac again soon againthanks to you ;D
peter
Carsten Carlos:
Love to see that this idea finally becomes alive!
--- Quote ---Worse case scenerio I cant get it to work you can use the leds to light up a drawing of your CP
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Very cool idea, might work, I really have to experiment with this! Would also add a touch of pinball-simulation, which I really began to enjoy with. :)
As I go with leaf-buttons now, I got out of the whole LED-buttons-idea. (No, I don't wanna have the actionsbuttons with translucent leaf buttons) The interface I use has already the capability to light LED's, though I use it now only for motor rotation and coindoor lights.