Pole Position

[KingPaul]

I read the Classic Plastic site on Pole Position however he is way more advanced then I am at this.  I also have an old none working Pole Position game that I hope to turn into a Mame game.  I just need to know how to get the Steering wheel, gas pedal & shifter to work.  I looked through the Ultimarc website but got more confused.

Any help or direction would be great

KingPaul

[DeLuSioNal29]

I'd like to know this as well.  I also have a PP cabinet that I want to convert to a exclusive driving only MAME cab.  I asked Randy T over at GroovyGameGear.com the same question a while back and he suggested that I used the Opti-Wiz.  I still have to look into it more though.

DeLuSioNaL29

[msinks]

I actually have a Pole Position project that's in-progress right now.  For the wheel, Randy T hit the nail on the head.  The Opti-Wiz would work great.  The Pole Position wheel is a 360 degree spinner and would interface like a mouse.  The pedal is a different beast.  It's a simple analog pot, so to connect it, you'd need something like the A-Pac from Andy at Ultimarc (Andy's OptiPac would work for the wheel, too).  The shifter is a simple switch that's off in one position and on in the other (don't remember which is which).  Just connect that to either the Opti-Wiz or A-Pac as a button and map accordingly in Mame.  Only problem is that the default build of Mame expects separate keypresses for low/high.  You can either get a build that supports the single action shift button, or do what I'm doing, and replace the switch that has two different output tabs.  When the switch is depressed, one of the tabs is closed.  When the switch is open, the other tab is closed.  Hook each up to a separate button, and you have separate low/high like Mame expects.

When I bought the cab, someone had already replaced the original steering wheel with a Playstation wheel, and the pedal was missing the pot, a cable and one of the necessary springs.  I'm going to just replace the wheel with a (much nicer) Logitech wheel and use those pedals as well.  This means the cab will now have a 270 degree analog output vs. the original 360 degree spinner.  It won't play Pole Position very well anymore, but I'm mostly into the 270 degree games anyhow.  I still have another Mame cab with a spinner to play the 360 games.  The only other mod I'm considering is adding another original Pole Position pedal for a brake (plenty of room) and somehow hooking them up to the new wheel pedal system.

[KingPaul]

Thanks msinks & DeLuSioNal29.  Randy sent me an Email confirming what you both said so it looks like the Opti-Wiz it is.  I'll have to figure out the pedal & shifter next as I'm new to all this and it's a little confusing.

msinks, I have an extra Pole Position steering & gear assembly that I might not need, depending on if I can get the original one to work or not.  Let me know if you're looking for one.

Thanks again,

KingPaul

[ratabase1]

Not sure if anyone suggested this, but can't you use a sidewinder dual strike hack on the gas/brake pedal, if you are using one that has a pot?  It's been a few years since I built my Pole Position Mame cabinet, but I used a dual strike controller hack on the gas pedal.  I also used a mouse hack from Oscar Controls (think they are no longer in business) on the pole position steering wheel.

[DeLuSioNal29]

I found some links for the Dual Strike controller hack:

http://wiki.arcadecontrols.com/wiki/Dual_Strike_Hack

D

[deano7]

Is there a way to play games requiring the 270 degree wheels or do you just have to pick on or the other?  It sure would be cool to have a MAME driving game that could play pole position, sprint, and also games like spy hunter...   I have a Pole Position cab I'd like to convert too.

[bkenobi]

Is there a way to play games requiring the 270 degree wheels or do you just have to pick on or the other?  It sure would be cool to have a MAME driving game that could play pole position, sprint, and also games like spy hunter...   I have a Pole Position cab I'd like to convert too.

Yes you can.  But, if you use MAME's default way it will feel kinda screwy.  I put together a setup that I think works better.  It limits the travel in a more natural feeling way IMO.  A hardware limiter would be better, but nothing exists so this is the best alternative I've found.

http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?topic=92363

[saurian333]

Wouldn't it be fairly easy to mod the wheel for switching to 270, physically, that is?

Something like sticking two pins on the underside, and having a removable pin that you can insert/remove from the outside that blocks their movement.

Does that make sense?  I can try to draw a picture.  I'm not really sure how those things look on the inside, so I don't know how possible it would be.  In my head, it works perfectly...lol.  I also don't know if that would affect how well it works in MAME.

[msinks]

Thanks for the offer, KingPaul, but I think I'm going to have too many Pole Position parts lying around when I'm finished with this project!  I'm just going to stick with using a nice 270 degree wheel.  I'm going to be plugging in a Playstation 2 and Dreamcast in addition to using Mame, and the wheel I have will support all 3 systems (PS2 -> Dreamcast adapter).  If it wasn't for adding those consoles, I would have definitely used the 360 degree wheel and bkenobi's solution.  Besides, the previous owner has already hacked my control panel.

I am running into one issue, though.  When I received the cabinet, the monitor was missing and a TV was mounted in its place.  I'm going to be mounting a 21" computer monitor, and I was hoping to rebuild all off the missing (ripped out) wooden mounting brackets.  Anyone have any good pictures of an intact PP monitor mounts?

[KingPaul]

I'll take a few pictures tomorrow if you'd like.  I haven't done anything to the original cabinet yet.  I'm waiting until I get the Mame system up and running before I rip apart the original cabinet.

[msinks]

I would love to see some pictures, if possible.  I have none of my original monitor mounting bracket system remaining, and I'd like to rebuild it as close to the original as I possibly can.  Since I got my hands on an original black cardboard bezel, it's going to be important for me to get the monitor in there correctly!

[KingPaul]

I can Email you pictures.  Just let me know what you want to see and where to Email them too.  My Email is TheKingPaul@Mac.com

KingPaul

[D_Harris]

Does anyone have any good mouse hack pics using the original Pole Position steering wheel?

That Dual Strike I have doesn't even work when I plug it into windows, so it is useless.

As for the Opti-Wiz, how is it better than a mouse hack?

Darren Harris
Staten Island, New York.

[bkenobi]

The optiwiz will be about the same as a mouse except easier to work with.  I have a mouse hack in my Championship Sprint that I've taken pictures of.  It's a slightly different wheel, but the encoder Atari used is the same so it should help.  I'll try to remember to post some pics tonight.

Btw, I have a box of hacked mice in the garage.  If you want one PM me and I'll see if I can't find one.

[D_Harris]

The optiwiz will be about the same as a mouse except easier to work with.  I have a mouse hack in my Championship Sprint that I've taken pictures of.  It's a slightly different wheel, but the encoder Atari used is the same so it should help.  I'll try to remember to post some pics tonight.

Btw, I have a box of hacked mice in the garage.  If you want one PM me and I'll see if I can't find one.

Unless you have one that is at least four button instead of the conventional three they wouldn't help me. 

(I have a Pole Position control panel with steering wheel, but I don't think I have the shifter).

Darren Harris
Staten Island, New York.

[acidblue0]

I'm getting my hands on a "driving game thats big" for free. I'm guessing its a PP or a turbo. They don't even know what it is. It even works  . If its a Turbo I will fix it up and keep as is. But anything else I will be modding a XBOX 360 in it with the biggest lcd I can fit. Plus 5 speaker setup. 2 up front, 2 in back and biggest sub I can fit running in digtal. Now if its in good shape I might not mod it. Hate to jack up a good cabinet. The xbox idea is what I want it for.

[bkenobi]

FYI...All console steering wheels are 270°, so you won't be able to wire the stock steering wheel to a XBox.  If your plan is to strip the original steering wheel and install a console unit, you won't be able to play 360° games (Pole Position, Turbo, Off Road, Sprint, etc).