Interfacing a 3" arcade trackball to PC?

[dmworking247]

Hi guys,

I bought a second hand 3" arcade trackball (with the connector for the PCB on it) a while back, and have since bought new rollers, a new ball etc. I believe it came out of a Golden Tee '97 cab originally so not sure if that is Happ or some other?

I'm planning a 'hybrid' cab where I can switch between a jamma setup and MAME in the same cabinet, and I'm wondering where I'd get a converter to take the input from the arcade trackball/plug and pass it to the PC (via PS2 or USB plug, I don't mind).

I know I've seen them before but I cant seem to find where. Does anybody know where to get them, or better yet, have a spare one they can sell me?

[Todd H]

Try the optipac...

http://www.ultimarc.com/optipac1.html

[CheffoJeffo]

Are you hoping to use the trackball for both the MAME rig and arcade boards ?

[u_rebelscum]

Lots of choices.  The top ones include: (already linked) optipac, optiwiz, u-hid (or the u-hid nano), and even minipac.

[dmworking247]

Are you hoping to use the trackball for both the MAME rig and arcade boards ?

Yes thats the plan.

Thanks for the options guys. I had thought I saw a tiny PCB that converts the arcade plug to PS2/USB at one stage, but the minipac might be an option (although I already have a kb encoder). I'll look into those.

I just wish the $AU/$US dollar wasn't so bad at the moment.

[CheffoJeffo]

Are you hoping to use the trackball for both the MAME rig and arcade boards ?

Yes thats the plan.

OK, so you are going to need a switching mechanism for the trackball that kicks in prior to the encoder / arcade board, and then you'll still need the encoder to interface to the PC. Have you thought about how you are going to swtich the main harness  (manual, MultiJAMMA, Mike's JAMMA switch, 6-in-1 JAMMA switcher) ?

Do you have an idea of any specific arcade boards that you are looking to interface with (some connect via the JAMMA harness, some connect directly to the PCB, pinouts may vary) ?

Waay back, I thought about sharing a trackball between a MAME rig and a GT2K. Never ended up doing it though.

[dmworking247]

Ok I've got a new option:

I have an early model GGG Turbo Twist (not the new tiny ones), and it has an "OptiWiz" on the side of it.

I intend on using this spinner only for the MAME side, not the Jamma boards.

The spinner has 10pins (two rows of 5) which are theoretically there for hooking up other optical devices. What would be absolutely perfect is if I could hook up the trackball AND two super-sprint steering wheels I have to these pins.... but lets start with the trackball.

I assume I need to somehow hack the actual IR reciever of the trackball, and pass that to the pins of the OptiWz inputs? In other words, I need to pass the "raw" signal from the encoder and pass it to the inputs of the OptiWiz?

Does anybody have any experience with using the optional input pins on the OPtiwiz/TurboTwist?


Regarding your questions on switching, only one machine (Jamma OR MAME) will be able to be turned on at once (through a toggle switch that will switch the mains power from the MAME side to Jamma). If I have to hard-switch all of the controls/wires Id intending on using a parallel port switchbox, but unless I'm missing something I don't see why a joystick/pushbutton etc couldn't be wired to the harness, and the encoder, at the same time (providing only one is on).

[u_rebelscum]

I have an early model GGG Turbo Twist (not the new tiny ones), and it has an "OptiWiz" on the side of it.

As I understand it, a special version of optiwiz, but yea, an optiwiz.  (Randy, or am I confusing the TT2 optiwiz?)

The spinner has 10pins (two rows of 5) which are theoretically there for hooking up other optical devices. What would be absolutely perfect is if I could hook up the trackball AND two super-sprint steering wheels I have to these pins....

Not quite.  Four of those pins are gnd and 5v+ (two each), and each axis uses two pins, so that leaves 3 axes, X, Y & Z, enough for a TB + spinner.  HOWEVER, and this is a big however, windows multiplies the Z axis by 140, so for all intents and purposes, isn't a viable option without hacking mame.

but lets start with the trackball.

I assume I need to somehow hack the actual IR reciever of the trackball, and pass that to the pins of the OptiWz inputs? In other words, I need to pass the "raw" signal from the encoder and pass it to the inputs of the OptiWiz?

You need the raw signal, yes, but that's what arcade TBs output.  (Well, most, but GT is one of them.) 

So all you need is to wire directly from the 6 pin molex to the optiwiz.  GGG has a harness exactly for this, or you can wire your own.  Do not hack the sensor board.  If you want, you can cut off the 6 pin molex and hook the wires directly to the optiwiz, if you want.


Also, be careful about leaving inputs hooked up to both PC & PCB; besides shorts, the TB needs 5V+ power to work, and without a switch that power can run across into the turned off side and do "stuff".