Build Your Own Arcade Controls Forum

Main => Main Forum => Topic started by: Mouser on September 15, 2003, 03:51:57 pm

Title: USB Keyboard Driver Limitations
Post by: Mouser on September 15, 2003, 03:51:57 pm
I have a Hagstrom Electronics KE72-T keyboard/mouse encoder and I was speaking to one of their engineers about piggybacking this on a PS/2->USB converter to reduce the cable count between my arcade cabinet and my computer [which is external]. He indicated that using USB was a bad idea because the standard USB keyboard driver limited the number of keys that could be simultaneously depressed to 6. This obviously would be a problem for any two-player game with multiple action buttons.  

Does anyone know if this is in fact the case, and if so whether or not there are driver patches or upgrades that will alleviate this problem?
Title: Re:USB Keyboard Driver Limitations
Post by: Tiger-Heli on September 15, 2003, 04:18:34 pm
I have a Hagstrom Electronics KE72-T keyboard/mouse encoder and I was speaking to one of their engineers about piggybacking this on a PS/2->USB converter to reduce the cable count between my arcade cabinet and my computer [which is external]. He indicated that using USB was a bad idea because the standard USB keyboard driver limited the number of keys that could be simultaneously depressed to 6. This obviously would be a problem for any two-player game with multiple action buttons.  

Does anyone know if this is in fact the case, and if so whether or not there are driver patches or upgrades that will alleviate this problem?

Well, what I know:  Standard USB keyboard driver is limited to six simutaneous keypresses.  USB I-PAC works around this by modifying the report length during enumeration.

What I don't know:  How a Hagstrom KE-72T hooked through a PS/2 to USB converter would perform, or whether this would affect it.
Title: Re:USB Keyboard Driver Limitations
Post by: jerryjanis on September 15, 2003, 05:36:53 pm
Just to verify, I right now I control my cp buttons with a USB keyboard.  Errr, uhh, 3 of them - 6 buttons at a time.  (Bad idea)