Happ ps2/usb clarification please...

[QuarterJunkie]

After reading several posts here recommending not to use dedicated buttons for the tracball, and instead just use p1 - 1,2,3 buttons, that's what I decided to do. Now, my Happ trackball has connections for the 3 mouse buttons. Am I correct or wrong that if I connect these to the P1- 1,2,3 buttons that this will not work in Mame and in windows only?  Someone set me straight in how I can use my trackball for Windows and Mame use together using these buttons.

Thanks!

[Turnarcades]

Connect up as you have described and just edit the controls in the in-game MAME menu (press TAB) to respond to the buttons you have wired the trackball wires to.

[QuarterJunkie]

Sorry. I'm bringing this thread back because I'm a knucklehead and still don't quite understand...

I now understand that if I connect the buttons to my trackball connections, I can use these buttons for mame because in the mame config menu it lists for example P1- button 1 = CTRL or MOUSE B0. Now what if I want to re-use those buttons for other emulators that would need a keyboard input? Can I wire these buttons to my I-pac in addition to the trackball connections or will this fry my I-pac? Thanks for your help....

[Turnarcades]

As long as everything is properly grounded somewhere, then yes it's fine. This is how it's possible to have coin doors running simultaneously with 'credit' buttons. You feed a wire from the button to the i-pac, then from the coin mech to the i-pac. It's basically the same premise. Just connect the button to both your i-pac and the mouse button connection on your trackball.

[QuarterJunkie]

Ok cool. The only difference between the coin door analogy and my situation is that I just thought I recalled reading on another thread that there was some voltage present on the trackball button connections that could (or will) fry an encoder chip. If not, all is good and I'll just parallel connect them. Have you wired this type of setup in practice and are certain it is ok? I'm just scared of ruining my encoder due to some voltage on the trackball button connections. Thanks again..

[Goshen]

If you don't have one, I highly recommend you get this, its your best friend when working on electronics

http://groovygamegear.com/webstore/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=72&products_id=190

[QuarterJunkie]

Thanks Goshen, that's good advice and I will certainly check for voltages myself, but I was really looking for people that have done this already and share their first hand experience so others may benefit from the knowledge as well as myself. I hate it when I am doing a search on a topic only to find the exact subject I need an answer to but no answer....

So, Who's done this before, or who can definitively say not to?

[SavannahLion]

....I just thought I recalled reading on another thread that there was some voltage present on the trackball button connections that could (or will) fry an encoder chip.

You don't really need to wire one button to both the trackball and an encoder board. It's a waste of resources and an additional configuration to contend with. You should wire one button to the trackball or the encoder board, no need to do both. You can, of course, wire individual buttons to each of the button connections. Just try to avoid having your CP look like skittle barf  

There is a way to wire the same button to both encoders, but again, why bother?  It's a waste of resources.

[QuarterJunkie]

Well, here's my dilemma. I want to be able to also use the trackball as a mouse in Windows, so I can't just wire the buttons to the encoder exclusively. If I wire three of the Player 1 buttons to the Trackball and have them effectively be mouse buttons, I lose the ability to use these buttons in other emulators.

I could have put in dedicated buttons for the trackball, but I really wanted to not complicate the panel too much and make it look like like a button city and have to give everyone a twenty minute usage class before they could play on it.

Sure, I could just use a mouse in the pull out tray, but if I don't have to, I'd rather navigate windows right through the panel....Am I trying to do too much here ?? Should I just get over it and wire the buttons to keyboard inputs and use a mouse in the drawer?

Thanks everyone for your answers...

[TelcoLou]

When I get my new PC installed, I'm just going to use one of those wireless keyboard/mouse thingies, and keep them in a closet unless I need to use 'em; being lazy and stupid, this is the optimal solution for me 

[QuarterJunkie]

Thanks Lou. That certainly is another alternative. Unfortunately, it doesn't address my specific dilemma. Do any other Guru's have any words of wisdom for what I am trying to accomplish?