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Keyboard hack... help needed
RoboG2:
Considering the fact that im low on money, I decided on using a keyboard hack to run my controls. I attained an old IBM keyboard with a 16 x 8 matrix which I thought would be perfect for my project. I tested it and I will be able to press 19 keys at once without being blocked. My question is how do I wire up the pcb to my buttons and joysticks? There are 2 groups on the pcb to wire together but also the ground and there is only positive and negative on my microswitches. Feel free to speak technically.
Thanks in advance.
RandyT:
Microswitches don't have a + or -, they just close a circuit.
The keys on your keybord do exactly the same thing. You just need to identify all the keys that you can press simultaneously and trace all the connections back to the pins on the CPU (or fingers on the board).
Keep careful notes about what 2 lines make what key so you know which 2 lines to connect to your switches for that key.
Should take about 2 hours to trace and document the controller. A decent multimeter will help things along quite a bit.
The "ground" doesn't have anything to do with your switches when dealing with a matrixed encoder.
Hope that helps some.
RandyT
RoboG2:
Thanks a lot. That really helped. I already have the matrix... got it online. ... Where to I trace the ground to?
spystyle:
Cool !
I'm not the only one poor enough to make keyboard hacks !
I've made 3 using this tutorial :
http://dragonsden.emuunlim.com/ddkeytutl.htm
Instead of movie cases I put them into radio shack project enclosures
They work well
To map out the buttons I use the program "keyhook"
If you use keyhook note that mame 1 player movement keys are "grey left, grey right, grey up, grey down"
not "left, right, up, down" (I learned the hard way)
Dig it?
Craig
PS
For those of you reading this thread who have never hacked and mapped a keyboard:
It's a *real* pain in the butt, it takes an entire evening, and it requires *accurate* small scale soldering skills.
A great alternative would be to buy the KeyWiz Eco encoder from www.groovygamegear.com, it's only $26.95 USD, and made by a fellow BYOAC message board poster RandyT.
not to mention it's groovy
Tiger-Heli:
--- Quote from: RoboG2 on July 02, 2004, 06:08:38 pm ---Considering the fact that im low on money, I decided on using a keyboard hack to run my controls. I attained an old IBM keyboard with a 16 x 8 matrix which I thought would be perfect for my project. I tested it and I will be able to press 19 keys at once without being blocked. My question is how do I wire up the pcb to my buttons and joysticks? There are 2 groups on the pcb to wire together but also the ground and there is only positive and negative on my microswitches. Feel free to speak technically.
Thanks in advance.
--- End quote ---
I have a long tutorial on keyboard hacking here: http://www.mameworld.net/emuadvice/keyhack2.html
That said, I recommend you spend the extra $$$ on a KeyWiz ECO from www.groovygamegear.com. You won't regret it.
If you are set on doing the hack, I wouldn't trust a matrix downloaded on-line unless you have personally verified it yourself.
BTW, no way that I know of that you get 19 keys at once from a 16x8 matrix, unless you mean by allowing blocking on the joystick up and down inputs there are 19 useable inputs, but I won't argue with you.
To wire it up, Say you want a button connected to "A" and "A" is row 5 and column 13. You connect the Row 5 wire to NO on the pushbutton and the column 13 wire to COM, or vice versa.
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