What's needed to start Shoebox testing?

[HanoiBoi]

Newbie here looking to get moving on ordering parts to begin hooking up and testing controls in a shoebox.  For now, I'm just looking to grab a joystick (Mag-Stik Plus) and buttons (Happ concave).  I don't know exactly what else I need.  I have a PC running MAME.  I believe I need a arcade to PC board.  Do I need wires too?  Harness of some sort?

I will eventually have more than 32 inputs, so for the board I'm figuring on an IPAC4.  Are there any major pros/cons between that and a KEYWIZ?  (future thinking - LED WIZ, retained settings, etc.)

I would love to order sooner than later!

Thanks! 

[Endaar]

The IPAC is the last piece you need to start testing, other than some small-guage wire to connect everything. I never really did figure out the differences between the IPAC and KeyWiz - I doubt you'd go wrong with either.

Endaar

[bungy]

Make sure you get a lot of crimp connectors: http://groovygamegear.com/webstore/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=210
If you're getting Happ buttons, you'll need the .187 connectors NOT the .25

Ultimarc's daisy chain harness saved me a lot of time connecting all my grounds: http://www.ultimarc.com/JShopServer/section.php?xSec=6

[HanoiBoi]

I ordered some Happ buttons and the .187 crimp connectors as suggested.  (I guess I'll need some crimping tool...is it anything special to these connections, or just a HomeDepot purchase?)

I also ordered the harness, but I'm almost embarrassed to say that I'm not sure what to do with it.    Will that essentially be all the wiring I'll need, or is that for something different.  If not, what kind of wiring is needed for the controller inputs?  And, do these need to be powered?

I also ordered my Mag Stik Plus and an IPAC4.  Should I have everything I need to get connected?  If anyone could respond with some simple connection instructions and/or point me to the right thread, it would be much appreciated!

Sorry to be such a noob.  There's really no way around it.  

Thanks!
HanoiBoi

[Queeg]

First of all, get yourself a comfortable crimping tool! Cheap ones will have a terrible rubber or vinyl grip and after 20 or so crimps it will feel like putting your hand into a shark's mouth.

As for your wiring, I have not seen an IPAC harness but I am assuming it is a chain of wires which all bottle up into a single ground point. What you want to do is connect a wire from the harness to 1 of the two prongs on each button. Once each button has its ONE connector on it, you can go ahead and fit the end of you daisy chain into one of the ground ports on your IPAC. Next, connect a wire to the second prong on each button, and then plug those wires into their respective places on the IPAC.

Hope that helps 

[HanoiBoi]

Make sure you get a lot of crimp connectors: http://groovygamegear.com/webstore/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=210
If you're getting Happ buttons, you'll need the .187 connectors NOT the .25

Ultimarc's daisy chain harness saved me a lot of time connecting all my grounds: http://www.ultimarc.com/JShopServer/section.php?xSec=6

Good call on the .187 connectors for the Happ buttons.  What I wasn't aware of, and perhaps should have picked up on, was that I would need different size connectors (the .25?) for the Mag Stik Plus connections. 

The daisy chain harness (for ground wire) was a good deal too.  It came with about 28 female connectors and one male.  The females went to all the controls' microswitches (buttons and Mag-Stik Plus) and the 1 male went to the IPAC4, as Queeg pointed out.  Since the IPAC4 didn't have a female connection for the ground, I simply cut off the male connector, stripped the ground wire and inserted it into the IPAC4 GROUND screw down.