Bacteria's project - MAME arcade controller mod

[bacteria]

Yes, it's the keypad, and direction keys section in the pic.

I think the keys are "registered" depending on the resistance of the connections? Can't solder to this material anyway, so going to have to just tape onto it. Won't get a good connection by taping a solid wire to the surface, so going to wrap a piece of tinfoil around a wire, then tape the tinfoil over the keyboard connection. That will ensure that the connection won't lift off the contacts and should stay in place permanently. (just some lateral thinking!).

There are two options for this project - one is with the keyboard method like i'm trying; if that fails, i'll use an old USB gamepad and wire that up instead, as that won't have the issue: wanted to try keyboard method first.

I am rather expecting to have issues with the keyboard method and having keys registering properly and in the way they need, it's just that it's worth trying, but doesn't matter if it fails; it is easy to rip apart a USB controller and rewire that up, and after all, they were designed for multiple button presses, right?

Buttons all installed, board wired up, joystick also installed, etc - just need to connect everything up now, and good to go. Will provide pics, etc when project done...in just a few more days i'll have a YouTube video done...

[elvis]

Yes there is a ghosting issue when too many buttons pressed, but for single player controller, it works just fine.

Except if you want to play newer games where more than 3 inputs are required at once.

Pre-1990 gaming should be fine. However you won't be having fun playing anything in the Super Street Fighter II: Turbo or Street Fighter Alpha eras, which require input + three punch/kick style commands.

Standard JAMMA three-button games, Neo Geo JAMMA+ and earlier should all be OK.

[bacteria]

Fine, I should be ok then. I'm not interested in Street Fighter type games, or their many similar variants; more into the likes of Galaga, 1942, Gradius, Star Wars and many platform and shooter games.

[bacteria]

Update - keyboard failed. Got lots of ghosting; some buttons registered one keypress, some two or three! I wasn't confident anyway it was the right way, as playing MAME on a normal keyboard can give key lock anyway.

So, instead, using an old PC USB gamepad - a Thrustmaster one. It certainly allows for any amount of buttons to be pressed at the same time!

Going to throw out the keyboard section and use the gamepad instead, for the arcade controller.

[CRTGAMER]

Painful. Didn't see any problems going the Mame default route. Each button independent of each other operating just like the keyboard. Ignore the Matrix trace, try the test wire method. Perhaps direct solder to encoder?

I use the Y-Key setup to maintain both PC PS2 connection "Keyboards". Works in WIn and DOS.

http://www.xkeys.com/ymouse/whym04.php

EDIT
I did notice on the jump wire method, there were instant ghosting issues depending on the where the connection. Different pad on the Encoder produced different results, even though one pad would be say for the CTRL Key, another pad would Ghost the CTRL and a couple of other keys. After total combo of wires soldered up, I did have to change locations of a couple of those solder connections.

A trying headache but well worth to run the great DOS EMU Retrocade!

http://www.isomedia.com/homes/blutz/emu ... rocade.htm

Avoid using that flimsy Keyboard matrix, solder direct to those contacts on the keyboard encoder.

[bacteria]

Good idea to solder straight to the board not the matrix, however, key-sticking is still likely to happen, so using a USB gamepad is going to be the best route anyway. Should have it done tomorrow.

[CRTGAMER]

Good idea to solder straight to the board not the matrix, however, key-sticking is still likely to happen, so using a USB gamepad is going to be the best route anyway. Should have it done tomorrow.

I have a Zaxxon Arcade controller and a separate 2 player dual gamepad setup each soldered with DOS compatible PC PS2 keyboard encoders. The 2 player dual game pad also has an ESC key button mounted in the encoder PCB plastic box. Took a couple tests to get the right solder connections due to instant ghosting. Once I got the soldered connections right, works beautiful.

Zaxxon Controller - 10 fire buttons and 4 direction switches.
Mame default keys soldered of one player

Dual two player gamepads - 8 fire buttons 4 direction switches each. Double this since there are two gamepads.
Mame default keys soldered of one and two player

Granted probably some ghosting that I have not detected. Reasons why perhaps is the ghosted keys are not used and only maybe 3 buttons are pressed at once between direction and fire buttons, six on the 2 player dual game pad. I think the keyboard buffer compensates too.

Outcome for this, 100% compatibility to Windows and especially Dos keyboard controlled games and is never planned for multiple combo moves such as a Streetfighter game.

Mame defaults of Player one are beautiful! Great for non-USB game controller games.
CURSOR for direction and CTRL, ALT, SPACE, SHIFT, Z and X covers most the keyboard games.

[bacteria]

Well, finished my project earlier today, and then proceeded to play on the controller for a couple of hours. It works brilliantly! Played Scramble on MAME, In The Hunt on MAME and also 1942 on MAME (got a score of 140,000, which isn't bad).

Going to make and upload a video of it tomorrow; would have done today, but been too busy playing on it!

[CRTGAMER]

Congrats! Never enough time for documentation when playing classics.

[bacteria]

Video uploaded -