Anyone hook a Pole Position steering wheel to a mouse hack??

[JLR2000]

Ok, I know someone has done this...I actually found 1 page that says he did it, but not how.  Can anyone offer any information on how to do this? I lucked out and got a *very* nice condition Pole Position cab (nothing inside) but with all the controls.  Want to put a simple dos mame machine inside with just Pole Position and PPII, hooking the steering wheel, shifter(1 switch) and foot pedal to a mouse.  Any suggestions on how to do this? Can I hook the existing encoder wheel wires to the mouse PCB?  Will Mame recognize the mouse buttons for input in dos mame?  Sorry for the flood of questions. Any help is appreciated. THANKS!!!

[tom61]

The PP wheel uses some sort of circuit, so you probably have to use an opti-pac or replace the optics with new ones.  Since the encoder wheel is simular to a mouse's, you may be able to hack a mouse PCB into position to read it.

My wheel's encoder PCB was damaged before I got it, so I replaced it with an encoder from a trackball I had, and plan to hack it to a mouse eventually.

Look at the different trackball hacks out there to get an idea on how to hack your wheel. (I think LuSiD's page has  some trackball hack info)

[JLR2000]

The PP wheel uses some sort of circuit, so you probably have to use an opti-pac or replace the optics with new ones.  Since the encoder wheel is simular to a mouse's, you may be able to hack a mouse PCB into position to read it.

Trying to do this as "low budget" as possible, so I don't want to go the optipac route....maybe the hacking the mouse PCB into position would work. Anyone done this before?

Thanks for the response...I'll check out your link suggestions now...

[OSCAR]

Have you seen Minwah's mouse hack?  Very similar to LuSiD's, but with a nice write-up and lots of photos.

http://mamewah.mameworld.net/MouseHack.html

Although he hacks a Happ optic board, the PP board should be similar.  I have an old Atari optic board from '84 and it has the same pinouts as the Happ board.  DOS MAME recognizes mouse button inputs, too.

[JLR2000]

OSCAR - Thanks!  I thought I would try the board before bugging you, even though you are the resident expert on the subject.  This looks great, I hope to be able to hook right in like his example.  I'm curious if anyone knows if the 5volts can come from the mouse board....is the sep wiring from the power supply really necessary?  I'd prefer to get it from the mouse....much cleaner I think.  This looks great, looking forward to climbing in the cab and getting the controls connected up to a mouse!  Thanks again for the info, and to anyone else - if you have any additional tips or info, lay it on me!

[OSCAR]

Yes, you can get the +5V right from the mouse board.  You can use a multimeter to locate where the +5V comes in on the mouse board through the cable connected to the PC.

I remember Mr. Arcade told me once that he connected the +5V on a trackball optic board to where the clear LED (emitter) was on the mouse board.  Either should work fine.

[JLR2000]

Yes, you can get the +5V right from the mouse board.  You can use a multimeter to locate where the +5V comes in on the mouse board through the cable connected to the PC.

I remember Mr. Arcade told me once that he connected the +5V on a trackball optic board to where the clear LED (emitter) was on the mouse board.  Either should work fine.

Thanks again.  I have a multimeter but not sure how to use it! I guess I can figure that part out tho!!

[Tiger-Heli]

Alternately, you can remove the PP circuit board and mount the mouse circuit board where it will "read" the encoder wheel.   This worked for an Indy Heat wheel that I was hacking.  Personally, I prefer Minwah's hack as you don't have to mess with bracketry and relocating the wheel sensors, but I haven't tried it myself.

Also, I saw a post somewhere recommending that you pull the 5V as close to the PS/2 (USB?) port as possible (before it runs through the mouse circuitry)