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New builder, CP questions
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mr_doles:
Well I have decided to BMOAC and am starting a square 1.  I have spent the last week reading tons or articles on the board and have learned a lot.  After playing around with the software side of things I am looking at starting with the CP.  I have a few questions:

1)Encoders:  What is the “best” way to go here?  Seems like I-PAC + Opti-PAC or the KeyWiz + OptiWiz seem to be a popular choice.  Hagstrom Electronics stuff looks nice but is way to pricey compared to these others.  Are there other good options that people use?  I am going with a two player setup (6 buttons each) plus a few misc others so I don't need a million inputs.  I want to run multiple emulators so changing maps easy is high priority.

2)Joystick:  I know this is another preference question, but I have read a lot of people talking about 2/4/8 way and restrictor plates, u360's, HAPPS, optical, etc.  Is a separate 4-way and 8-way the best way to go, or are there ways to switch on the fly, i.e. not take the case apart to flip a switch.  I would not kill me to not be able to play Q-Bert, but I would hate to die a lot because I went diagonal rather then up.  Then to throw flames on the fire what about a 49way joystick.

3)Buttons:  Again I want a fairly simplistic CP so I am going with 6 buttons per player, Player 1/2 start and Player 1/2 credit, and a pause button (does a double pause equal play or do you need play button?).  What other “essential” buttons would you recommend?  I have seen volume up/down that I really like, is that easily mapped?

4)Trackball:  This probably depends on the encoder but I want a left and right mouse button.  No real question here I guess.

I am sure the answers to these will spark a million other questions.  Thanks in advance.
javeryh:
Welcome to the forum!

1.  You can't go wrong with any of the choices you listed.  I use Ultimarc encoders but only because that's what I'm used to.  Just make sure whatever you choose can support enough inputs you plan to use.

2.  This is really personal preference.  If you are making a 2 player panel I would personally recommend using 2 U360s - they can be mapped however you like and you never have to worry about switching from 4-way to 8-way or even to Qbert controls.  It's all automatic.  Some people can't stand not having microswitches though. 

3.  You press pause a second time to resume play so only one button is needed.  I always put 4 admin buttons on a CP - P1 Start, P2 Start, Pause and Exit.  If I need to change settings (which is almost never) I pull out the keyboard.  You can also "shift" lesser used functions if there are other things like "tab" and "enter" you feel you have to have on your CP.

I hope this helps.   :cheers:
u_rebelscum:
1 & 4: If you want TB and joysticks one one encoder, minipac has been a good choice, but even more flexible is the new U-HID encoder.

But note that most TBs now come in (or at least have) a USB model, so you don't need an optipac/optiwiz type encoder for them.  So if you get a TB USB model, you can go with just a keywiz or ipac.  The ultimarc and GGG usb TBs default come with great encoders (well, they basically come with u-hid nano and optiwiz, respectively), but be careful about the happs usb TB; people here have had problems with happs usb board that is supposed to be fixed with newer boards, but the older usb boards can be out there.

2. Yeap, very personal preference.  Is feel important to you?  If so, what do you like?  Is circle feel okay in 4-way games, or do you need it diamond or even plus shaped?  Personally, I like the u360 and it's switching maps.  If you do go 2 u360s, you might not need an encoder; depends if the other emus can take joystick/gamepad inputs, and maybe if they can be remapped.

3. Rather than shifting for enter in mame, I just remap mame so mame also takes player 1's button 1 for "UI Select" (what mame calls the UI key that people are talking about when we say "enter").  Of course, other emus might need enter (or not).
mr_doles:
I have done a lot of reading on the U360 today (probably should have done some work at work, oh well) and I really like the way they appear to work.  The USB Trackballs did catch my eye as well.  Looks like I'll need to add a USB hub to my list.

Looks like I am going to have to do some more playing with MAME and what you can do with it.
BASS!:
If you get a usb hub, don't scrimp. Buy a powered one by a big name like dlink. If you use a smart strip or other smart switching power brick your usb devices may still draw power and cause it to think that your machine is on, and not shut down your other components.
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