CHANGE
HISTORY
CHANGE
HISTORY7/30/00 Stork has arrived!
Congratulations to Richard Ragon of Hanaho - he's added a new peripheral! Friday at 11:07 PM Richard and wife were the recipients of a bouncing baby boy :) Baby and mom are doing fine - congratulations Richard! Will we see a baby-arcade cabinet coming soon now?I just repaired my computer this morning (soldering on my hard drive(!), and have been down past couple of days. Updates are coming :)
7/11/00Hagstrom has done it again! Check out the new ME4 encoder, a trackball and spinner ps/2 mouse interface! This is a 2" by 2.5" module with support for a single axis input from spinner, dual axis input from trackball, and 3 mouse button support. The trackball controls both X and Y axis obviously, and the spinner can be jumper selected to control either the X or Y axis. The signal is merged electronically into the ps/2 port, meaning both spinner and trackball are active at the same time - no more having to swap cables around or rigging your own merge. Either the X or Y axis, or both, can be jumper set to be in reverse (handy if your application and the spinner/trackball don't agree on left and right). The encoder also supports a "Resolution Input" feature -- either set to always providing maximum possible movement for the trackball/spinner inputs, *or* set to allow the resolution adjustment to be made by PS/2 mouse drivers that support that (most MS drivers).Not mentioned by Hagstrom, but I see no reason why you couldn't take the trackball interface with X and Y axis support, and instead use the encoder for two spinner support, assuming your application supports it. The Happ Controls style interface that this encoder supports works the same for both spinners and trackballs.
There are three accessories you might need for the ME4 -- a male/male ps/2 6 foot cable from ME4 to PS/2 port, the ME4 to Happ Trackball cable (3 foot), and the ME4 to Happ spinner cable, (3 foot).
The ME4 is going to cost somewhere around $40, and should be available very soon (I have a prototype). There is presently no information on their web site on the encoder.
Andy Warne has also done it again - the creator of the I-PAC interface has produced a new interface called the Opti-Pac! This is a serial port based encoder module with support for two axis inputs, allowing either two spinners or one trackball. Being a serial interface, you could use two serial ports and two encoders, allowing for up to 4 spinners, or two trackballs, or 2 spinners and 1 trackball - excellent! Of course, the software/emulator you intend to use must support multiple mouse inputs (Emu+ for instance).The board comes with cables for Happ style trackballs/spinners, which will also work with the Fultra Spinner.
The cost? $24 plus shipping. Excellent!
The possibilities involved in combining the ME4 and the Opti-Pac are left as an exercise for the reader :) 4 spinners with a trackball anyone? 3 trackballs and 1 spinner? 2 trackballs and 3 spinners? *6* spinners??? Of course, software support for some of these configurations may not be readily available.
Added Ryan's Joystick to the examples page. This is a 1 stick, 6 button desktop console using the InterAct ProPad 6 gamepad. Looks good - thanks Ryan! This makes project #150! Will we hit 200 by year's end?Arcade Paradise was kind enough to let us mirror some very nice arcade clipart, used to decorate their arcade cabinet. Thanks guys! Speaking of, added their You Don't Know Jack controllers to the examples page as well, making project #151!It's definite - this hobby attracts some of the most talented people it's ever been my pleasure to "meet" online. Check out one of the coolest web sites I've seen in a long time, The Console Room! This is Andrew Bartmess' main web page, with some very froody [frood: really amazingly together guy] stuff available. Among other things it houses his arcade cabinet, Tron's Game Grid. (This makes project #152!) It's sports 2 sticks, 12 buttons (plus housekeeping buttons), 1 trackball, racing pedal, and pinball plunger button. The artwork is cool, and uses among other things Corey's marquee available on our download page (preview). Very cool - be sure to check out the rest of Andrew's web site as well!Check out this very cool looking concept, MushyCat's arcade cabinet. The first picture shown is the rendered concept, and it's incredible. The actual cabinet is still very cool too :) Keyboard hack, CompUSA trackball, and some very cool ideas. Check out the cockpit concept. This makes project #153!Added Drady's Arcade Cabinet to the examples page. This is a 1 player arcade cabinet featuring the OzStick. This makes project #154! Site does not work for me in Netscape, use Internet Explorer.Added jmora's arcade controller to the examples page. This is a one player arcade console gamepad hack with that ever popular marble contact paper - project #155!Added the MCTronix M.A.M.E. page to the examples page. This is an arcade cabinet sporting the Happ Controls UCGI USB interface, and a gameport hack. This makes #156!Added Russ Prince's cabinet to the examples page. I particularly like the buttons on his menu :) This is project #157.Added Arcade BBS' MAME cabinet to the examples page. This is project #158.Added Bossman 71's Emucade to the examples page. Project #159.Added Massive MAME to the examples page - a decent web site with some fairly cool graphics. Project #160!Of course! I'd have gotten more done tonight but was chatting in the chat room :)