Anyone ever kill a controller interface / static issues

[ghettodish]

SEE MY UPDATED POST BELOW
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I've just killed my 3rd controller interface. First was a GPWiz32, second and third were GPWiz40s. All 3 died the same way..first thing to go way Joy1 Left.

After the GPWiz32 died I rewired my panels thinking that it would solve the problem. I figured it was a mistake I could have made during the initial build. I then install a GPWiz40 and it works for about a month. The final one lasts a few days...

My monitor and computer are both plugged into SmartStrip that is plugged into a properly grounded outlet. I have wood control panels with Plexi tops.

I think that static may be the problem. I have fake-wood laminate floors that seem to make a very good insulated floor. Could my cabinet be be storing controller-killing doses of static electricity? Recently I wiped the monitor with a dry, cotton cloth and I received a very powerful shock that went all the way thru me, hand to foot.

I think the shock I got is related to my dead interfaces. I have checked around thru the archives but did not find much help on the subject.

So my problem is: how can I eliminate the static?



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SEE MY UPDATED POST BELOW
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[shardian]

You can run a ground strap in the machine and tie all metal parts to a common ground such as the PC case, or monitor frame.

I personally have never had a problem with static. I've broke every static rule in the book and never fried a component.

[ghettodish]

I'll try and ground everything to the pc case.

If that's not the problem why are my GPWizzes dying? Anyone?

[whammoed]

What kind of joysticks are you using?
Are you using anything else that could send current through the encoder like a coin counter?

[RayB]

Maybe it's poorly wired ? Maybe youre grounding it to AC ground and its causing problems?

[ghettodish]

check my link below for my control panels and joysticks.

No coin counter, no coin mechs.

All my joy switches and buttons are double-grounded to the interface: ground wire goes from GND to all button/switch grounds and back to the 2nd GND. I know everything is wired right. I re-wired everything while waiting for my GPWiz40s to show up (I switched from CAT5 setup to DSub25) and still ended up with the same issues. It's not my USB hub, I switched that, too.

Anyone ever get a bad shock while wiping the monitor?

Actually, I think it may be a problem with the computer itself...It's the only thing I haven't changed.

[SavannahLion]

Hhmm.... Could be a couple of things.

A static shock from a monitor isn't too big a deal. I've received some pretty nasty ones that are just nothing more than bad hair days.

I know you said the outlet is properly grounded, but is the ground circuit complete? Check your grounds all the way through and make sure the appropriate grounded points are actually grounded and not floating. That means checking all your power connections, check the power strip, check your USB cable, so on and so forth.

I'm out of ideas actually....

Maybe the wiring or the switch is defective? Seems bizarre that it's the Joy1 Left that fails. Did you try physically swapping Joy1 with Joy2 to see if the problem follows Joy1 or stays the same on the GPWiz? Or try putting new cherries in there.

Maybe it's a software issue? Hokey install or driver or whatever interfering with the GPWiz inputs. Did you try a different PC?

[CheffoJeffo]

Was it a static shock or is the monitor chassis perhaps hot ?

[ghettodish]

This time Joy1 Left is stuck in the ON position. My control panels are swappable and I get the same result with whatever one is plugged in, so I know it's not a bad switch.

This problem did not happen after doing anything weird. It worked fine for a few days with the same panel attached. It just stopped working one morning after turning the whole system on. This weekend I'll try and bypass my quick-connect setup and directly wire in a button to Joy1 Left....and ground everything to the PC case, any every other suggestion everyone gave, although I'll have to do some reading on "hot" monitor chassis.

PC swap will be my last resort.

Oh, another thing..My cabinet had a TV in when my first 2 interfaces died. 3rd one died with the monitor installed...I don't think they were the cause. I've narrowed it down to two problem   a) bizarre static problem, or b) bad PC. I don't want to think about c)...

[RandyT]

Are your joysticks powered or the normal switch type?  Has it ever happened *before* the panel was ever swapped? 

BTW, static is rough this time of year.  Cold weather takes the moisture out if the air and static can get bad.  Make sure the PC has a properly grounded outlet, and make sure that there is a physical connection from your panels to the chassis of  your computer.

But I'm leaning in the direction of a deeper issue here, and the more info you provide about your setup, the more likely it is that a connection can be found.

RandyT

[ghettodish]

I decided to mess with the wiring today...To begin I started up Robotron and saw that it was auto-firing to the left, as it has since my (last batch of) problems began. I then crawled in the cab and wiggled some wires...Robotron kept firing away, still giving indication that Joy1 Left is stuck in the "on" position.

Can someone please tell what the heck is happening? What can I do to fix this? Why does my computer think Joy1 Left is always on, even though nothing is plugged in?



Note: I'm running nlited XP per SpyStyle's instructions, mameui32, and mala

[pmc]

I blew a chip on an IPAC a couple of years ago. I think it was a control panel wiring thing, but never figured it out for sure. Sometimes I have to hit ESC a couple of times before the PC will accept a mouse click. I think something somewhere is stuck, contacts are touching, or grounding is poor. But I never found the issue and my problems are intermittent so I don't dwell on it.

I hope you figure it out...

-pmc

[isucamper]

Can someone please tell what the heck is happening? What can I do to fix this? Why does my computer think Joy1 Left is always on, even though nothing is plugged in?

Is Joy1Left the only thing you have mapped to "Left" in MAME?  Is it also mapped to keyboard left and your keyboard is malfunctioning? 

In the test you described, can you exit the game, come back in, and is Robotron still firing left?

Just for the record, I've been using a GP-Wiz40 for a few weeks now with no problems (when are we going to do a Tin Star competition?).  And if anyone is going to screw up the wiring, it's me. 

[ghettodish]

Last I checked it was still auto-firing left...even with the input wire pulled out!

[drawfull]

Check the input pins on the PS2 keyboard connector for shorts. Maybe.

 

[severdhed]

this is a gpwiz, so it doesn't connect via the ps2 ports...so that shouldn't matter.  mame is seeing that the joystick is pressing left, even when it is not connected?  what happens when you look at the game controllers applett in the control panel?  does it still show up there?  does the problem happen with anything other than mame?    what happens if you do a fresh install of mame into a new directory and launch a game using that version of mame, without any customizations...does the problem still happen?  it sounds to me that your mame controller mapping may be screwed up

[protokatie]

I may be speaking out of turn, but the program called "Ghostkeys" is always a good first check for troubleshooting any keyboard/controller problem. It is like 30K and should be on every MAME HD that anyone sets up.

[ghettodish]

It doesn't seem to matter if mame is running or not.

The Game Controller applet shows (at rest) the joystick crosshair in the lower left corner.
I can only make it go to top left, bottom left, and bottom right.

I cannot re-calibrate it.

I'll check into ghostkeys.

I'm gonna pull the computer apart, blow out the dust bunnies, give a good shake and kick, then put it back together.

Can someone tell me how (after unplugging gpwiz) how to remove the gpwiz drivers? What are the drivers named and where are they kept? Maybe reinstalling them will fix it...

[RayB]

That would happen when using an analog joystick that hasn't been calibrated.

[ghettodish]

OK...

It is the controller.

I unplugged it from my cabinet and then plugged it into my laptop.  Same results.

It just doesn't work.