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LED Wiz
RandyT:
--- Quote from: gamenut on October 12, 2006, 12:07:06 pm ---I have a question about the ledwiz. Does it give the abillity to light up only the buttons used for a particular game?
For example: one button for this game, five for that game, seven for this one, and so on?
--- End quote ---
See the AtomicFE threads on the software section. It, as well as PowerMAME provide this feature. I believe Johnny5 may also do what you are looking for.
RandyT
gamenut:
Thanks Randy...
I have FINALLY figured out mamewah....now lets try power mame :cry:
micktravis:
Time to chime in here, now that I've got my cab working.
I've got 12 buttons, plus the Electric Ice trackball, connected to 2 LEDWIZ boards. Here are my thoughts.
1. Installation.
Not exactly plug and play, but definitely not as difficult as you might think given the disclaimer on the GGG website ("This hardware is designed to be used by individuals comfortable with external control type projects...") I started out building my cab with no electronics experience (I had to buy my first soldering kit!) and it was still really easy. The instruction sheet was very clear. I opted against using an external power supply but it doesn't seem like it would be very difficult to set up. The main hassle is the guage of the wire running off the LEDs is really small, making connection very finicky. But the RGB LEDs are under 3 bucks - some kind of Plug N Play cable for each LED would be much more expensive and probably not save too much time. The common ground thing was also a hassle until I discovered Euro Style terminal blocks. Whatever. I'm new to this...
Once everything is wired up you just connect via USB and XP sees the boards.
Installation, including snapping the LEDs into each button, connecting each wire to the LEDWIZ, and setting up common ground, took about 90 minutes for 39 connections (12 buttons + trackball)x3 = 39 wires.
2. Software/config
The boards come with a very simple LED utility. In my opinion it's really only useful to test that each LED is working properly. It has a few other features which are, in my opinion, gravy. I disagree with some people's opinion that the unit should come with complete software - I think it's much more efficient to use a front end to control the LEDs, but remember that I'm not a programmer.
I use AtomicFE. I looked at a few others but it seems to do exactly what I want. Plus Youki is really easy to get a hold of.
In short, all you do is tell Atomic which port is connected to which LED (with a separate page for each LEDWIZ you have) and then set up a list of your games. When you click on a game you can then select which buttons are used (there are defaults, some of which are correct, and some of which are wrong. I changed a lot of them.)
You can also script lighting events using a simple tool. It didn't take long to set up a few cool attract mode type scripts.
Then you tell Atomic what should happen during specific events. I have the buttons blink when Mame is loading, and the appropriate buttons light up when you scroll through the games or when you're actually playing them.
3. Conclusions
I can't recommend this product highly enough. Coupled with the right software they really add a lot to my cab (after people get over the fact that they can play Frogger at my house they all mention the lights). Youki is constantly updating his software, so it will be possible to do much more sophisticated lighting effects really soon. And if you're a programmer you can do them right now.
My only complaint is that nobody makes a spinner that lights up.
MYX:
I gotta second that. If you are sitting on the fence about GGG stuff, jump in. The stuff works great. It requires some learning, but with the right software it goes together well. The GGG stuff is well built and this is a good thing because the building process can be a little brutal on sensitive stuff (well for me at least). I had no problems with installing the pieces (except for miswires which is my bad). Once connected, the computer immediately saw the stuff. The software app for the LEDwiz is easy to use (kinda limited) but it does the job. I used PowerMAME for the first couple of months and finally had the time to dig in and get hooked up with a front end. Atomic was the perfect transitional piece. It takes a little time and patience to get it set up, but once you do...Man this stuff rocks. If one can set up MAMEWah, you can set up AFE. Both Randy and Youki are great support. I love having 49 way joys, I love that my games light up with the proper buttons, I love that when I am in the front end that I just select a game and it automatically selects the proper 49way mode. GGG and Atomic are a great combination.
:soapbox:
Ok... I am done.
loadman:
--- Quote from: gamenut on October 12, 2006, 12:07:06 pm ---I have a question about the ledwiz. Does it give the abillity to light up only the buttons used for a particular game?
For example: one button for this game, five for that game, seven for this one, and so on?
--- End quote ---
FYI The LedWiz MaLa Plug-in also does this.. Even does it 'on the fly' as you scroll through the list which is kinda pretty when you scroll fast.
http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?topic=59376.0
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