Posted by Tiger-Heli on 16, 2000 at 12:56 PM:
In Reply to: Re: Interface>Platform>Speed posted by Darren Harris on 15, 2000 at 5:54 AM:
: Actually, what I have are the Sidewinder gamepads. And if the PCBs from these-interfaced to my game port-can let me play those games I mentioned just as fast as they play on the actual arcade machines, then the added "speed" of the I-PAC would not be an advantage.
As I said the game port will be slower than the KB port, however, the PII 450 should compensate for this and you should be fine for the games you mentioned.
: As for the Spinner and Trackball. Are there any other options?(Since the OPTI-PAC Plus will require me to also get the I-PAC Interface). Or do I just have to break down and throw out all my Sidewinder gamepads and go the I-Pac route?
First, the OPTI-Pac Plus doesn't require the I-PAC interface, it requires +5V which is conviently available from the I-PAC, but you could get it from the PC Power supply, as well.
As far as other options, LuSi D's site mentions how to hack a mouse apart and connect to a trackball or spinner. Requires a lot of soldering and you would probably need to hack a different mouse for each control panel.
Other than that, Hagstrom sells a PS/2 single trackball adapter for about $40.00 (could be wrong on the price) Happ sells serial or USB trackball adapters for around $50 (before the last price hike). The opti-pac plus will control 2 trackballs for $39.00. Not a bad deal considering the other options!