Interface

Interfaces

Okay time to cover the available options to interface Arcade Controls, the standard Arcade Controls are normally plain and simple microswitches, however they can be all sorts of weird and wonderful controls about.

Look in the link section for suppliers of the various interfaces covered.

USB
USB is a fairly new port/hub technology which is rumoured to be killing off all other ports on a PC! I think this would be a stupid idea myself, but I guess the idea of having just two plugs for keyboard/mouse and so on appeals to some, especially people who don't like a wiring nightmare.

Okay there a few devices on the market that USB technology that could be used to interface arcade controls.

I'll take a look at Happs UGCI, Happs have marketed this as a simple solution to interface arcade controls and yes they are right to a certian extent, being USB it is simple plug and play and from Windows 95 OSR/2 onward detected the USB device immeditatley, infact it detected serveral things, from USB joystick, to USB mouse and finally a USB keyboard.

There was no problems using this as a Windows DirectInput Joystick, it worked good in that department, also the USB mouse/trackball interface functioned exactly the same as any other USB mouse/trackball, however the keyboard emulation is very klunky, on the first revision it would only accept 1 keyboard input at a time, they have since then fixed this problem but I am afraid to report it still doesn't work properly, but I believe this is the limitation of Windows USB keyboard HID interface, also I am thinking that USB isn't as fast as it was supposed to be.

Advantages

Plug and Play under Windows (OSR/2 revision or higher).
Support for Analog arcade controls (Driving/Flying revision).
Trackball interface/Opti-Enconder interface.

Disadvantages

DOS and USB are a no go.
Limited number of inputs.
Fairly expensive.
Keyboard emulation disappointing.

Parallel/LPT
This is intresting using the Parallel interface to hook controls to, I tested the Playstation version.

The idea of this to hook arcade controls up is that you hack/modify the joypad (in this case playstation pads) to the arcade controls then you hook them up to the Parallel port interface.

Also means you can hook up the existing console you own to the Arcade cabinet too, if the case of Playstation version you can buy all sorts of controls from PSX mouse (extra trackball?) to PSX guns and various analog equipment, however I believe the code/program has to know the unique ID for each controller to support the unique function of it, otherwise it will be presumed to be a standard pad.

The program you want to use must also support the LPT1 device which can differ, from SnesPad to N64Pad, so support for older DOS software is out, however Windows DirectInput support is available meaning you can run a good % of the DirectX games out there.

Advantages

Good if you own a Playstation or the console you want to interface.
Good number of inputs 10 buttons per Playstation pad.
Light gun support for Playstation version (requires Arcade monitor, not tested).
DOS MAME support.

Disadvantages

Slight instability problems with different machine speeds (some people reporting a slight lag).
Much more CPU intensive than a keyboard (10% slower?).
No support for older DOS software.

Gameport
PC gameport as normally found on Soundcards, wow these have been around for a long, long time!

Also it should be possible to hook a good % of Arcade analog equipment with these, however the pots may require being changed to 100k (the PC standard), most Arcade analog equipment uses 5k or 10k.

Advantages

4 Analog axis available.
Easy to hook arcade analog equipment to it.
Most people own a gameport!
Windows/DOS, second to keyboard for most supported interface.

Disadvantages

Defintley needs to be used with another interface to be useful!
Only 4 digital buttons.

Trackball interface
Happs also make a Trackball/Opti-Encoder interface for USB, this is for people who want to interface geniune Arcade trackballs or 360 optical joysticks, also if you make a custom plug you can hook to other optical equipment like 360 wheels.

They did also sell/market a Serial interface, but I am not sure if they are still available.

Advantages

Easy to hook optical devices.
Fairly cheap and a lot easier to work with than a mouse hack.

Disadvantages

USB only Windows.
Serial version requires external +5v source.

Interface FAQ section

Q: Okay why havent you finished this page!

A: Cause me trying to get something on the web, give me a chance!

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