Build Your Own Arcade Controls Forum
Main => Main Forum => Topic started by: zipdaman12 on January 04, 2014, 01:29:32 pm
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Hello all,
I have a made a complete mame cabinet years ago and it has served me and my family very well. I am toying with the idea of making a control panel that I can connect to my Home Theater PC; using my HDTV as a monitor. I have the software installation complete leveraging the Gamex front end and I am using a wired xbox 360 controller but as you all know its notg the same as using actual joysticks and arcade style buttons.
Here is my question. I have an ipac (usb)_ as well as 2 usb interfaces to use with my Happ controls spinner and Trackball. I would like to build a control panel using all of these interfaces, but I don't want to have to plug 3 separate uysb cables into my PC. Is there a way to include a trackball, spinner as well as other buttons and joysticks and use only 1 usb cable to my PC? is a usb hub a viable option?
Any and all comments are appreciated.
Jack
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Mount a USB Hub on the panel, connect everything to that. Then have one USB cable that runs to the PC.
Might need to be a powered hub though - you'll have to test.
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An unpowered hub will almost certainly work for your setup.
Remember that unpowered hubs have a 100mA/port limit according to the USB spec, even though many hubs can exceed this.
I've been using the following on a test setup with no problems:
Belkin USB 2.0 4-port hub available here (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000Q8UAWY/)
Mini-Pac Opti w. U-Trak
TT2 Spinner + encoder
LED lighting circuit for trackball and admin buttons that draws ~86 mA
You can plug the hub into a Neutrik NAUSB-W-B with the "A" connector on the inside and the "B" connector on the outside of the enclosure. (undo 2 screws and reverse the barrel)
(http://cdn2.bigcommerce.com/server500/d90a4/products/196/images/1004/neutrik-usb-black__22557.1326515316.1024.768.jpg)
From there, one USB A-B cable connects your CP to the HTPC. :cheers:
You can solidly mount the hub using 5 screws and PEX plastic pipe -- details here (http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php/topic,121927.msg1293875.html#msg1293875).
(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=103207.0;attach=249941)
Scott