Author Topic: New Product: KeyWiz-QD™ - GroovyGameGear (Read 7806 times)

RandyT · « **on:** April 30, 2007, 02:29:02 pm »

And now for something completely different

. The KeyWiz-QD™ comes with the same great High-Performance core features of the KeyWiz product line. Added to this is the convenience and versatility of DB-25 connectors. Designed to accept both Male and Female DB-25 plugs, the KeyWiz-QD will allow use of a standard M/F "Straight-Through" DB-25 cable that is split in half, providing "keyed" connections for 1 and 2 player controls. Four additional on-board screw-termninals provide convenient access to 5v, Shazaaam! and Ground connections.

Each players controls are separated to their own connector, with numerous important Admin functions duplicated on each. 5v, Shazaaam! and multiple grounds are also available on each connector.

Click on the thumbnail below to download the full-size PDF pinout diagram.

Price: $32.95 and it is available now.

Thanks for looking, and if anyone has any questions, feel free to ask

RandyT

Grasshopper · « **Reply #1 on:** April 30, 2007, 02:50:41 pm »

It's a nice idea and long overdue. But I'm a bit puzzled why one of the connectors is male and the other female. I understand the whole cutting a M/F cable in half thing. But why not cut in half a M/M or a F/F cable?

RandyT · « **Reply #2 on:** April 30, 2007, 02:56:14 pm »

Quote from: Grasshopper on April 30, 2007, 02:50:41 pm

It's a nice idea and long overdue. But I'm a bit puzzled why one of the connectors is male and the other female. I understand the whole cutting a M/F cable in half thing. But why not cut in half a M/M or a F/F cable?

So there is bulit-in "keying" that prevents one from connecting a cable to the wrong connector.

RandyT

Havok · « **Reply #3 on:** April 30, 2007, 03:08:25 pm »

Too late for me, I have an oldskool KeyWiz, but I love it!

So, when are you going to carry universal (can be mounted to any standard or U360 joystick) Tron joystick handles, with built in trigger and thumb buttons?

ChadTower · « **Reply #4 on:** April 30, 2007, 03:33:15 pm »

What am I missing? Is this to make it easier to swap panels?

Grasshopper · « **Reply #5 on:** April 30, 2007, 03:35:34 pm »

Quote from: ChadTower on April 30, 2007, 03:33:15 pm

What am I missing? Is this to make it easier to swap panels?

Yes.

It also makes it easier to build converter boxes.

ChadTower · « **Reply #6 on:** April 30, 2007, 03:36:52 pm »

Very nice.

Kaytrim · « **Reply #7 on:** April 30, 2007, 03:44:59 pm »

Are the Max and Eco versions still going to be avaliable?

RandyT · « **Reply #8 on:** April 30, 2007, 04:04:26 pm »

Quote from: Kaytrim on April 30, 2007, 03:44:59 pm

Are the Max and Eco versions still going to be avaliable?

Yes. The MAX version will remain unchanged, but this new board design will spawn a couple of other styles that we'll be offering soon. For instance, a solder ECO that will be much easier to solder than the current Eco. Even though the larger board will increase the Eco price by about a dollar, it will be worth ten times that in ease of use. The Eco's will also become repairable as CPU sockets will be standard with this style.

The future of the smaller Eco board is unknown at this time, but the new Eco design is likely to supersede them unless there are objections from our OEMs.

RandyT

bleargh · « **Reply #9 on:** April 30, 2007, 04:43:41 pm »

WOW.

That's cool, and makes so much sense when you think of it... cut the 25-pin cable in half and get to use both halves!

I'd thought about doing something like this a few years back when I was going to build a modular CP, but gave up when I got bogged down in thinking about how many DB9s/DB25s I'd have to hack up in order to get all the various panel modules plugged in, and how I'd have to wire all of the plugs up to the IPAC4 I was working with at the time.

Having it all on-board just makes life so much simpler. And cheaper too.... I can generally find old 25-pin cables around here far cheaper than I can plain old wire.

Cool!

ahofle · « **Reply #10 on:** April 30, 2007, 04:48:00 pm »

Nice. Even if you don't have serial cables lying around, they are dirt cheap at monoprice:
monoprice serial cable link

Kaytrim · « **Reply #11 on:** April 30, 2007, 04:52:09 pm »

Quote from: RandyT on April 30, 2007, 04:04:26 pm

Quote from: Kaytrim on April 30, 2007, 03:44:59 pm
Are the Max and Eco versions still going to be avaliable?

Yes. The MAX version will remain unchanged, but this new board design will spawn a couple of other styles that we'll be offering soon. For instance, a solder ECO that will be much easier to solder than the current Eco. Even though the larger board will increase the Eco price by about a dollar, it will be worth ten times that in ease of use. The Eco's will also become repairable as CPU sockets will be standard with this style.

The future of the smaller Eco board is unknown at this time, but the new Eco design is likely to supersede them unless there are objections from our OEMs.

RandyT

Sounds like you are going to offer a GPWiz QD as well.

I mean it only stands to reason. You use the same base board for both the KeyWiz and GPWiz for the Max and Eco version of those encoders.

To be honest though I don't see the need for all the duplication of contacts on the player one and two sides. I don't see the need for 8 action buttons though there may be some games that I am not aware of. After a quick check I see a total of only about 18 contacts that are absolutely necessary for each player. However you have put much more time in thought on this then I certainly have. For example DB25 cables (printer) are much more easier to obtain that any other of this type of connector.

TTFN

Kaytrim

Buddabing · « **Reply #12 on:** April 30, 2007, 05:04:42 pm »

Quote from: Kaytrim on April 30, 2007, 04:52:09 pm

To be honest though I don't see the need for all the duplication of contacts on the player one and two sides. I don't see the need for 8 action buttons though there may be some games that I am not aware of.

Rotatable or modular panels.

bfauska · « **Reply #13 on:** April 30, 2007, 08:20:33 pm »

That looks like a great product. I did something similar with my GPwiz based desktop CPs. I added a DB15 connector so that I could run one panel daisy chained to the other. With this product half the work would have been done for me. It works great with a pair of controllers hooked up this way. So that's another potential use for it.

KenToad · « **Reply #14 on:** April 30, 2007, 08:47:03 pm »

The modular panels on my bartop are swappable via two DB25 connectors that I have wired to two GPWiz49's. Definitely another great idea, Randy.

Fozzy The Bear · « **Reply #15 on:** April 30, 2007, 09:19:45 pm »

No questions.... Just WOW!! This is perfect for plugging and unplugging multiple panels with ease.

Just exactly what I needed for my next project. Cheers Randy!!!

Order coming your way very soon!

Best Regards,
Julian (Fozzy The Bear)

Kremmit · « **Reply #16 on:** April 30, 2007, 11:20:14 pm »

Quote from: Kaytrim on April 30, 2007, 04:52:09 pm

To be honest though I don't see the need for all the duplication of contacts on the player one and two sides. I don't see the need for 8 action buttons though there may be some games that I am not aware of.

But if the board can do it, and the connector can do it, then why not do it?

Also, other, non-MAME emulators for more modern console gaming systems use more buttons than MAME does.

Extreme8 · « **Reply #17 on:** April 30, 2007, 11:30:39 pm »

Yup,
Another "why didn't I think of that" from RandyT.

Great job.

loadman · « **Reply #18 on:** May 01, 2007, 06:55:22 am »

Nice

Tiger-Heli · « **Reply #19 on:** May 01, 2007, 07:08:15 am »

Cool Idea.

Typo on the Input Sheet - Player two second entry - KeyWiz Uploader (TM) equivalent should be "B" not "8".

(Might be others - I didn't fully check it, yet . . .)

Also, you might consider adding ribbon cable and DB25 IDC connectors (or M/F RS-232 cables) to the site to go along with this.

Thanks again for all your hard work for the community.

RandyT · « **Reply #20 on:** May 01, 2007, 09:56:36 am »

Quote from: Tiger-Heli on May 01, 2007, 07:08:15 am

Typo on the Input Sheet - Player two second entry - KeyWiz Uploader (TM) equivalent should be "B" not "8".

Fixed....Thanks for catching this.

Quote

Also, you might consider adding ribbon cable and DB25 IDC connectors (or M/F RS-232 cables) to the site to go along with this.

I'm looking into some sort of wiring product to go along with this. Not sure what form it's going to take at the moment though.

RandyT

psychotech · « **Reply #21 on:** May 01, 2007, 11:08:29 am »

Groovy

..but, as this was not available a month ago...

DarkBubble · « **Reply #22 on:** May 01, 2007, 11:15:48 am »

And to think, I was just looking at a DB-25 cable the other day, thinking, "WTF am I gonna do with that?"

markrvp · « **Reply #23 on:** May 01, 2007, 11:35:59 am »

Great idea!

Randy - if you can find a bunch of DB25 cables that all have the SAME COLOR WIRES inside and can sell the cables with a diagram showing which color wire goes to which pin it would be a huge bonus and time saver. The most time-consuming part of using cables like that is having to use a multimeter to figure out which wire is connected to each pin.

I wish this solution had been around a couple of years ago when I built my multiple-panel machine. I may be re-wiring it soon.

patrickl · « **Reply #24 on:** May 01, 2007, 12:31:53 pm »

Quote from: markrvp on May 01, 2007, 11:35:59 am

Randy - if you can find a bunch of DB25 cables that all have the SAME COLOR WIRES inside and can sell the cables with a diagram showing which color wire goes to which pin it would be a huge bonus and time saver.

Guess you mean DIFFERENT color wires?

Tiger-Heli · « **Reply #25 on:** May 01, 2007, 12:37:43 pm »

Quote from: patrickl on May 01, 2007, 12:31:53 pm

Quote from: markrvp on May 01, 2007, 11:35:59 am
Randy - if you can find a bunch of DB25 cables that all have the SAME COLOR WIRES inside and can sell the cables with a diagram showing which color wire goes to which pin it would be a huge bonus and time saver.
Guess you mean DIFFERENT color wires?

What he means is the different color wires are the SAME from cable to cable. I.e. Pin 1 is always the RED wire, Pin 2 is always the Blue wire, Pin 3 is always orange.

markrvp · « **Reply #26 on:** May 01, 2007, 01:10:15 pm »

Quote from: Tiger-Heli on May 01, 2007, 12:37:43 pm

Quote from: patrickl on May 01, 2007, 12:31:53 pm
Quote from: markrvp on May 01, 2007, 11:35:59 am
Randy - if you can find a bunch of DB25 cables that all have the SAME COLOR WIRES inside and can sell the cables with a diagram showing which color wire goes to which pin it would be a huge bonus and time saver.
Guess you mean DIFFERENT color wires?
What he means is the different color wires are the SAME from cable to cable. I.e. Pin 1 is always the RED wire, Pin 2 is always the Blue wire, Pin 3 is always orange.

Exactly.

patrickl · « **Reply #27 on:** May 01, 2007, 01:28:26 pm »

ah duh

knave · « **Reply #28 on:** May 01, 2007, 01:59:51 pm »

Randy, any chance your USB products will incorporate the DB25 connectors?

Also while I'm at it...could this come in a USB "flavor"?

Would a usb/ps2 adaptor work?

Tiger-Heli · « **Reply #29 on:** May 01, 2007, 02:18:09 pm »

Quote from: knave on May 01, 2007, 01:59:51 pm

Randy, any chance your USB products will incorporate the DB25 connectors?

See Reply #11 by KayTrim above.

Quote

Also while I'm at it...could this come in a USB "flavor"?
Would a usb/ps2 adaptor work?

Doubtful and Doubtful - see my comments here: http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?topic=35840.0

Kaytrim · « **Reply #30 on:** May 01, 2007, 02:32:26 pm »

Quote from: knave on May 01, 2007, 01:59:51 pm

Also while I'm at it...could this come in a USB "flavor"?

Would a usb/ps2 adaptor work?

The answer is No and No. Randy has confirmed it that the KeyWiz doesn't work with an USB adapter. He also has his reasons as to why he won't produce a KeyWiz USB model. Something to do with performance, this is why he created the GPWiz. If you want USB then go with the GPWiz otherwise go with the KeyWiz and a PS/2 connection. I have used both and have had no issues with either model.

TTFN

Kaytrim

Quote from: Tiger-Heli on May 01, 2007, 02:18:09 pm

See Reply #11 by KayTrim above.

btw Tiger-Heli, the T is not capitalized.

Kaytrim

RandyT · « **Reply #31 on:** May 01, 2007, 03:04:47 pm »

The board is "USB Ready" for the GP-Wiz models. I'll need to do a little firmware tweaking to get the inputs where I want them, but a DB-25 version of the GP-Wiz models will be available.

RandyT

Tiger-Heli · « **Reply #32 on:** May 01, 2007, 03:16:36 pm »

Quote from: Kaytrim on May 01, 2007, 02:32:26 pm

btw Tiger-Heli, the T is not capitalized. Kaytrim

My bad - sorry!

fixedpigs · « **Reply #33 on:** May 22, 2007, 10:17:13 am »

which one is 'better'...?

the keywiz max or the keywiz qd...

the max has the switchable keyboard interface...the qd doesn't...is the switchable keyboard interface really that important...?

obviously the qd would be easier to install...plus it's two bucks cheaper...

which one(if either) works better with a ledwiz...?

thanks for your thoughts...!

Tiger-Heli · « **Reply #34 on:** May 22, 2007, 10:51:53 am »

Quote from: fixedpigs on May 22, 2007, 10:17:13 am

which one is 'better'...?
the keywiz max or the keywiz qd...

The QD is 'better' if you think you might end up with swappable CP's somewhere down the road. Otherwise it really doesn't matter.

Quote

the max has the switchable keyboard interface...the qd doesn't...is the switchable keyboard interface really that important...?

Not to me, get a USB or wireless keyboard, or hot-swap in a PS/2 one when you need one. Some people really like this, but I wouldn't find an active pass-thru that useful, and with the KeyWiz Max being switched, even less so.

Quote

obviously the qd would be easier to install...plus it's two bucks cheaper...

Perhaps, not sure about that.

Quote

which one(if either) works better with a ledwiz...?

Don't think it matters!

Kaytrim · « **Reply #35 on:** May 22, 2007, 10:57:10 am »

Quote from: fixedpigs on May 22, 2007, 10:17:13 am

which one is 'better'...?

the keywiz max or the keywiz qd...

the max has the switchable keyboard interface...the qd doesn't...is the switchable keyboard interface really that important...?

Randy will have to answer this one as to why the QD doesn't have a switchable KB. Looking at the QD image there is no input for a keyboard. From the looks of it you will have to use a USB keyboard if you require one in your setup if you use the QD.

Quote

which one(if either) works better with a ledwiz...?

There should be no difference here. The LEDWiz has a separate connection to the computer (USB) and has no conflict because it is output not input. If you need additional inputs you can get a GPWiz to work along side the KeyWiz.

TTFN

Kaytrim

SavannahLion · « **Reply #36 on:** May 22, 2007, 12:58:02 pm »

Quote from: Tiger-Heli on May 22, 2007, 10:51:53 am

....hot-swap in a PS/2 one when you need one.

Most of the time it's probably better to avoid hot swapping PS/2 devices. I have a few motherboards lying around that are really fussy about hot-swapping on the PS/2 port.

Strange, given the original intent of the port, you would think hot swapping would've been incorporated. Oh well.

Tiger-Heli · « **Reply #37 on:** May 22, 2007, 02:02:44 pm »

Probably should have added the standard "Hot-swapping PS/2" disclaimer, although it's NEVER given me any issues.

Kaytrim · « **Reply #38 on:** May 22, 2007, 02:05:49 pm »

I've had computers lock up when trying to 'hot swap' a ps/2 port device. That is why I always power down the PC prior to changing out a ps/2 keyboard or mouse.

Kaytrim

Havok · « **Reply #39 on:** May 22, 2007, 02:39:22 pm »

Yeah - I've seen computers lock up when "hot-swapping" a ps/2 port. Doesn't stop me from still doing it on work computers - usually it's fine...

However, for my home setup, I went with GP-Wiz encoders. USB is definitely the safer hot-swap option...


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Author Topic: New Product: KeyWiz-QD™ - GroovyGameGear (Read 7806 times)

DarkBubble