Two console padhacks one control pannel (2p1CP) without having to hit a switch?

[sharpfork]

I've searched and can't seem to find the post where someone explained how to have one control pannel on a cab with one or more pad hacks hooked up without having to physically switch between them.  There was some component that was able to isolate the ground so the consoles don't fry each other if both are wired up to the same CP.
Is this first use case possible?

In addition to not throwing a switch to change between consoles, I want to have an xbox, 360, and maybe Dreamcast all hooked up to the same arcade controls and not worry about shorting something out if my kid accidentally runs on two or more consoles at once.
Is this second use case possible?

[SavannahLion]

#1 Yes er.... maybe.... sort of, depends on the actual pad(s).

I wouldn't do it this way, but some people suggested hacking apart a parallel cable and wiring the whole mess to one of those printer switches. They look something like the picture below. They used to be almost as ubiquitous as the USB hubs, but now they're more like dinosaur fossils. They're still around, but you gotta know where to look.

#2 Yeah, I guess so. There's different ways to attack this problem I guess. The switch box above would automagically resolve that problem.

[sharpfork]

The pads are xBox 1 Microsoft  or Duke controllers for original xbox and brawl pads for the 360.  I'm the only one who is going to use the 360 so I might just use the db25cables and plug/unplug.

HaRuMaN pointed me to monoprice for this stuff:
http://www.monoprice.com/products/product.asp?c_id=101&cp_id=10103&cs_id=1010305&p_id=1352&seq=1&format=2

I'd still like to try a non switched solution if anyone has recommendations.

[BurgerKingDiamond]

I have my cab set up for JAMMA/360/ps2/saturn using DB-25 cables and one of those data switches. It takes some work wiring up your cables and pad hacks, but in the end it's worth it. You can switch from one to the other in just a few seconds.

You *could* just have both systems wired up simultaneously and as long as only one is turned on at a time there shouldn't be a problem. If they do happen to get turned on at the same time I don't know if any damage could be done, or if stuff simply wouldn't work correctly.

*Maybe* if you put an on/off switch on the ground for each system's pad that would be enough to isolate them from eachother even if they both happen to be on.

[ark_ader]

I have my cab set up for JAMMA/360/ps2/saturn using DB-25 cables and one of those data switches. It takes some work wiring up your cables and pad hacks, but in the end it's worth it. You can switch from one to the other in just a few seconds.

You *could* just have both systems wired up simultaneously and as long as only one is turned on at a time there shouldn't be a problem. If they do happen to get turned on at the same time I don't know if any damage could be done, or if stuff simply wouldn't work correctly.

*Maybe* if you put an on/off switch on the ground for each system's pad that would be enough to isolate them from eachother even if they both happen to be on.

I would go with the switch boxes (I do with my X arcade) so much easier than wiring it all up and if you power up via a separate switch (I use wireless controlled power sockets)  it is better than finding out you have a dead console due to shorting.  I have 4 (well 9 in total) consoles connected this way including the arcade PC.  I'm not too happy having console bricks keeping a cabinet warm when not in use.



Maybe you guys have something like this in the US?