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Idea for changing button mappings with an arduino?

MoppelTheWhale

MoppelTheWhale

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Hi guys,

I have an idea what i would like to try, but as i already said i'm pretty much a complete noob when it comes to electronics. So before start i would like your opinions if its even doable.

At the moment i only own a little Bartop with very limited Space inside. All the wiring comes together in a supergun from Arcadeforge, which also has NeoGeo Style Connectors.
My Buttons have the typical 6 Button Layout (upper Row 1-3, lower row 4-6). But when playing games which have another Layout, for example Neo Geo, i need a different wiring.

What i did so far is that i connected multiple wires to the buttons and soldered different connectors for the D SUB connector (in the case of Neo Geo upper row 2-4, lower row 1, N/C, N/C)to get the button mapping i want.

This works but has some flaws for me:

- Space: the connectors take up so much space that i cannot get all the Stuff inside the Bartop
- Connection Issues: Always changing the connectors i pretty fast get loose connections which results in gaming downtime.

After seeing here on the forum what cool stuff some of you guy did with arduino boards i thought perhaps it is possible to change the different button maps with an arduino. With some buttons and a little display to quickly change the button layout.
I think it should be possible, the advantages would be no changing the wiring all the time, easier adding of new Button mappings, for example for dc2jamma or stuff like that which i' planning to do in the future

The two biggest potential problems i'm seeing is that this could perhaps introduce some input lag, and that is something i don't want at all...

And the second one of course is the complete lack of knowledge, but i can be pretty stubborn when i want to do something and i know its doable...

Any opinions from you guys?
 
MoppelTheWhale said:
this could perhaps introduce some input lag
Click to expand...
yes, but most likely < 2ms for something as simple as this.


MoppelTheWhale said:
the complete lack of knowledge
Click to expand...
Arduino is a wonderful platform to get your feet wet with this. there are literally thousands of guides online for doing just about anything with these boards. Even if you go with a different solution for this project, it's worth picking up a starter kit (like this one: https://www.amazon.com/Elegoo-EL-KI...pID=61fQsYALc3L&preST=_SX342_QL70_&dpSrc=srch) to play around with and see what's possible.
 
First of all guys thanks for your answers!

I will look into the the options @nem and @RGB mentioned, unfortunately I've got a pretty tight schedule this weekend.

@twistedsymphony i aleady have a Starter Kit here, and no matte which path i go i want to try go get this running, just for having a goal... when i get started i will propably will pester you all with my stupid questions.
Another thing that would be a good training project could be a game selector for the mvs 138 in 1 multi. Since i already did that mod or my cart i have a starting point...
 
Do a bit of research on "interrupts" -- this is a mechanism to cause code to execute if a pin input state changes (from 1 to 0, or 0 to 1). Instead of polling and looking for a change, its a hardware trigger that executes code on state change.
 
I second the recommendation for RGB's board, super easy to use, high quality, does exactly what you need it to.

I like messing with Arduinos, I have some LED projects I'm using them for right now, if you want to tinker have fun with it. But if you want a solid solution that works RGB is the way to go.
 
@brizzo: thanks, will do, i only know interrupts from the good old days when you had to configure your sound blaster card on the pc

@RGB after reading up on the different options given here i think the RECO pcb would suit me best... I thinks I will drop you dm in he next few days

The rotary switch has the problem that i am limited again to a certain amounto of configurations.
 
@RGB if i understand the spec of your HAS supergun correctly, you have the functionalities of the RECO or the PALM already built in?

That's one sexy supergun you got there... at the moment i have all 6 buttons on the jamma connector for easier use with the Pandoras Box (Button 6 on 11 and M, so that the ground on 27/e doesn't get lost for normal PCBs). How does this work with the HAS. Also what about -5V, my PSU supplies -5V is that also connected with the 6 pin connector?

For the sake of saving space i am very tempted to order a HAS instead ;)
 
Correct, the HAS also comes with full button remapping and vsync synchronized autofire, just like the RECO PCB. It supports up to 6 buttons through the JAMMA connector (pins #27 and #e serve as P1/P2 button 6). -5V is supplied via the 6pin connector :)
 
@RGB see a pm with a huge order coming your way tonight or tomorrow :D

Thanks for your answer.

The button 6 mapping means i need an adapter when the pcb wants #27 #e to be ground, am i right? (not a problem, just a quick change on the adapter i had in use anyway...
 
MoppelTheWhale said:
The button 6 mapping means i need an adapter when the pcb wants #27 #e to be ground, am i right? (not a problem, just a quick change on the adapter i had in use anyway...
Click to expand...
No need for any adapter.
 
so that means it's no problem when you have button 6 on that contact and the pcb expects ground there? sorry for the total noob question, one of the first things i did was producing short which killed my psu and the lights in my staircase :/
 
No, it's not a problem :)

Edit: To give you more details - the output there is an open collector, it can be safely shorted to ground.
 
Last edited:
ah that's good to know. atm i'm reading the HAS thread, when i'm finished i'pm you with the order and perhaps a few other dumb questions... :D
 
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