Using an I-pac and a J-pac together?

[chairhome]

Okay, I have a 4 player cab that I'm trying to set up, and I have a J-pac, an i-pac, a PS2 to USB cable, and a PS2 to PS2 cable.  I've tried what I think is every combo of plug/port combination, and I still can't get it to work.  My J-pac works fine by itself, but when I hook both up, windows won't boot up.  So I unplug the USB cable until it boots up, plug in the USB (which stabilizes the video, too, since the J-PAC was off), and the I-PAC lights up but seems to do nothing (inputs on the 3rd and 4th don't work).

Can someone tell me if I'm going about it the wrong way?  What needs to be hooked up to which port of which card?  Can someone show me some kind of diagram or something?  Thanks.  Sorry if this turns out to be a dumb question.

[Turnarcades]

The problem could be with your combination of PS/2 and USB connections. The i-pac in particular likes to run in one mode or the other, but is much more reliable in PS/2 mode. Having it run by PS/2 to the J-pac then using a USB connection from there is most likely what's causing the problems.

[chairhome]

Thanks, I'll try it with another PS2 cable.  I appreciate it.

[AndyWarne]

The problem could be with your combination of PS/2 and USB connections. The i-pac in particular likes to run in one mode or the other, but is much more reliable in PS/2 mode.

The I-PAC is fully reliable in either PS/2 or USB mode.
Both boards should work together in any combination. Remember you need to re-program one board to send player 3 and 4 keycodes.
If you are still having problems drop me an email and we can try to help.
Andy

[chairhome]

Thanks for the response.  Which board should be going to the PC?  Or does it matter?  And any idea as to why I have to disconnect the Jpac/Ipac when starting the PC (otherwise it won't boot.  This is only when the Ipac and jpac are both connected.)?  Thanks again.

EDIT - Never mind about the not booting up part.  I just re-read the installation instructions saying to leave it unplugged until Windows starts.  Is that for every time, or just the first time?

[AndyWarne]

You should not have to leave it unplugged until Windows starts.

It should work with either board nearest the PC. If it does not, can you try one board into USB? If you dont have the USB cable drop me an email and I'll send one.

Andy

[chairhome]

I just tried it now with just the JPAC plugged in through USB, and it won't boot up to Windows.  I can't exactly see what its saying since I have it hooked up to the arcade monitor.  Please let me know if you might know what the problem is.  If you'd rather communicate through email, let me know.  I'm leaving town for a week, so I won't be able to try anything till next Thursday, though.

[mrclean]

I was thinking about doing the same thing, currently i have a mini-pac, and i wanted to also run a dedicated pcb.. however I think that I might wait and do a brand new non mame / rather dedicated build

[AndyWarne]

It might be flagging a keyboard error. So we need to find out why. If you can drop me an email with the behaviour of the self-test LED on power-up I should be able to help.

andy@ultimarc.com