Things not supported by Linux? What about WINE?

[Zobeid]

I'd like to use Linux, but I'm worried about things that I can't do on it. . .

• program the control interface
• configure U360 joysticks
• run management programs like Clrmame
• program LED lighting?

I actually thought about switching my plans from U360s to Omnistiks. . .  Pretty major change.  But even that would only solve one issue; it's just one thing after another that isn't made for Linux.

Has anybody tried using WINE to run all these support programs along with SDL-MAME?

For that matter. . .  Is WINE still as hard to get running as it used to be?

[bleargh]

I'd like to use Linux, but I'm worried about things that I can't do on it. . .

• program the control interface
• configure U360 joysticks
• run management programs like Clrmame
• program LED lighting?

FYI... Another Linux user here, with similar issues...

I've got some code going here which I've been working on with the assistance of both GGG and Ultimarc with regards to some of what you're asking about.  I've got a setup here with a pair of LED-Wizs and a pair of u360s and need to be able to control them myself.

Started work on them about a year ago but all manner of "real life" things kept getting in the way of getting my cabinet done.  I've been making good progress over the last few weeks, though, and have some basic prototypes together which at least show that its doable.  In the coming months there should be some nice cmd line apps that you can run on a Linux box that'll let you control those devices.

That said, though, I'm also not the only one working on this type of stuff.  I'd have to go troll through the archives to find them again, but I do know that there's other Linux apps out there to:

• Control an "IPAC" interface and program it on Linux boxes (ipacutil).  I've heard from another user here on BYOAC that the most recent version also allows for you to set a control map into a u360 joystick.
• Control a "PAC-Drive" interface for LED lighting.
• Control a GPWiz-49 joystick interface, so that you can select the control map for the joystick.
• For ROM management, there's Linux tool too; ckmame, mamory, advancescan, etc.  I've used AdvanceSCAN myself in the past and been happy with it, but its probably a bit out of date these days (AdvanceMAME development stopped about a year or so ago).

I suppose what's going to be the killer question is... which pieces of hardware do you have that you need support for?  I see you've got some U360s (which should be supported by 'ipacutil' now or my 'u360ctl' when its finish), but what are you using for LED lighting and button/keyboard control?

[Zobeid]

I suppose what's going to be the killer question is... which pieces of hardware do you have that you need support for?  I see you've got some U360s (which should be supported by 'ipacutil' now or my 'u360ctl' when its finish), but what are you using for LED lighting and button/keyboard control?

Two U360s, a TT2, a LED-Wiz.  (The LED-Wiz isn't an absolute requirement, but I'd like to use it.)

I don't know if this is going to work, but I'd like to try using the U360s to handle all the pushbuttons on the cabinet (except the power switch of course).  I only have four game buttons per stick, so that leaves me eight inputs to use for P1 and P2 start, coin1, coin2, pause, exit. . .  and a couple left over.  But they are read as game buttons not keypresses, so all the software will have to recognize them.

[bleargh]

Two U360s, a TT2, a LED-Wiz.  (The LED-Wiz isn't an absolute requirement, but I'd like to use it.)

I don't know if this is going to work, but I'd like to try using the U360s to handle all the pushbuttons on the cabinet (except the power switch of course).  I only have four game buttons per stick, so that leaves me eight inputs to use for P1 and P2 start, coin1, coin2, pause, exit. . .  and a couple left over.  But they are read as game buttons not keypresses, so all the software will have to recognize them.

You should be able to configure SDLMame to do all of that via the game buttons, so that shouldn't be any problem.

I think the only gotcha you might run into is making sure that your FE supports that as well.  IIRC, AdvanceMENU can be run via joystick and game buttons.

As for getting the rest of your hardware working, I don't see any reason it shouldn't work.  U360s register as joysticks under Linux as-is, and there's more than one tool out there to configure them.  TT2 should "just work" too; I don't have one myself, but I believe it just registers itself as a USB mouse (which would work).  And the LED-Wiz should work once I finally get that app finished to drive it.  Been bogged down with work again the last few weeks but see some light at the end of the tunnel coming up; my wife is taking a trip to Holland to visit family in June and I'll be taking time off work while she's gone.  Should give me some spare cycles in the evenings to get anything I haven't finished yet all wrapped up.

[LakeShark]

I'd like to use Linux, but I'm worried about things that I can't do on it. . .

• program the control interface
• configure U360 joysticks
• run management programs like Clrmame
• program LED lighting?

Well, some of that is supported.  I'm not sure what you mean by "program the control interface", but if you mean an I-PAC, I have written software for programming those from Linux.

As for LED lighting, I have written code to control the PacDrive from Linux.  I think someone was working on code for LED-Wiz.  If I had the specs for it and a device, I would add support for the LED-Wiz as well.

As for the U360, I have been working with someone who modified my I-PAC download program to program the U360 as well.  I don't have a U360, so I haven't tried it.

As for clrmame, I'm pretty sure there are similar or equivalent programs.  Honestly, I don't know what all clrmame does.  You might check out mamory (http://mamory.sourceforge.net/) though...

[evlbeaver]

Any updates on the U360 programming utility?  I would like to use these sticks but do not want to change my cab to Windows for this alone.

[krisbee]

Sorry to revive an old thread, but the Keywiz programming software doesn't run..

[mewyn]

Any updates on the U360 programming utility?  I would like to use these sticks but do not want to change my cab to Windows for this alone.

My U360 works reasonably well for a very limited feature set.  The .Net version by 2600 is more feature-rich, but I couldn't get it running myself (hence why I wrote my own )

[Blanka]

Maybe you can replace the Led Wiz with an Arduino Diecimila.
This board is widely used in Linux, it can drive LED's and it runs stand-alone. So you could easily program it to run an attractmode until keys are pressed, and then to stay dim say 20 seconds from the last key press.

[Numbski]

I know this is a pretty large bump, but still....

Use the Decimelia, and pair it with a Motorola MC14489B.  You should then be able to drive 25 LED's per Motorola chip, AND it can be daisy chained.  The only trick, as I see it, as doing the analog tricks that the LED-Wiz pulls (ie, fade in, fade out), as that means you'd have to use analog input/output instead, and I can't tell if the Motorola supports that or not.

http://www.datasheetcatalog.org/datasheet/motorola/MC14489B.pdf

The only thing I'm not 100% certain on is the clock line - I don't know if you can tie into the Arduino's clock, or if you have to use another crystal.  If you can use the Arduino's, then this should be dead simple, and you can come up with your own patterns too.

[SavannahLion]

The only trick, as I see it, as doing the analog tricks that the LED-Wiz pulls (ie, fade in, fade out), as that means you'd have to use analog input/output instead, and I can't tell if the Motorola supports that or not.

http://www.datasheetcatalog.org/datasheet/motorola/MC14489B.pdf

From a cursory reading, it seems that you can, but it's limited to an all or nothing deal. You can fade in/out all 25 or none at all. Look on page 16 for the sample circuit. Maxim sells a digital pot specifically for this purpose or prehaps just about any reasonable DAC might work.