Build Your Own Arcade Controls Forum
Main => Main Forum => Topic started by: retrogamer on July 25, 2002, 10:21:16 pm
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Only making a 1 player vertical cabinet which will have only 3 buttons for now. Should I end up hacking a keyboard or Sidewinder or just use an IPAC? :D
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I'd go with the sidewinder or other gamepad hack. Keyboard hacking is a pain, and the I-Pac is overkill for a one player cab.
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I understand that you need 2 connections for each button/joystick. With the sidewinder hack, do you connect all the grounds together and can this be done with a keyboard ground as well?
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You can with the sidewinder but not the keyboard.
The keyboard is a matrix, in other words both wires are live.
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you should go with sidewinder hack for 1 player...
and yes, you can daisy chain all your ground together.
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I understand that you need 2 connections for each button/joystick. With the sidewinder hack, do you connect all the grounds together and can this be done with a keyboard ground as well?
Actuall on some keyboards (if you lucky) you might be able to find enoungh keys that hook to spot on the matrix that you could run a common between them all.
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I'll let everyone in on a little secret...
The USB Gravis GamePad Pro controller (charcoal grey in color) is a PERFECT controller to hack.
Why?
- $14.99 normal price at BestBuy (occassionally on sale for $9.99 !!!!)
- 14 DISCRETE Digital Inputs (4 Direction, 4 primary button, 4 shoulder buttons, 2 "start/select" buttons)
- Long Cable
- USB, not old gameport (allows up to FOUR pads connected to most motherboards that have 4 ports, without need to cascade and the problems that ads)
- NO special software if you use Windows (no sidewinder calibrating/drivers)
Disadvantages:
- NO Pure DOS USB support.
For your project, I'd just go with something like this.
If you make removable control panels, on sale at $10 each, it's CHEAPER to buy 1 pad per panel, and then just disconnect the USB rather than buying molex connectors to disconnect the panel from it's mate like others do when they hack into say the $45 IPAC's.
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I'll let everyone in on a little secret...
The USB Gravis GamePad Pro controller (charcoal grey in color) is a PERFECT controller to hack.
Why?
- $14.99 normal price at BestBuy (occassionally on sale
!!!!)
- 14 DISCRETE Digital Inputs (4 Direction, 4 primary button, 4 shoulder buttons, 2 "start/select" buttons)
- Long Cable
- USB, not old gameport (allows up to FOUR pads connected to most motherboards that have 4 ports, without need to cascade and the problems that ads)
- NO special software if you use Windows (no sidewinder calibrating/drivers)
Disadvantages:
- NO Pure DOS USB support.
For your project, I'd just go with something like this.
If you make removable control panels, on sale at $10 each, it's CHEAPER to buy 1 pad per panel, and then just disconnect the USB rather than buying molex connectors to disconnect the panel from it's mate like others do when they hack into say the $45 IPAC's.
I have one of these pads but I've been to a site that has sidewinder's for $4.95 each and from what I've read, sidewinders are easy to hack because of already made connection points. Is the USB Gravis easy as well? Thanks