INSTALLATION This describes the wiring of one
“side” of the board (which corresponds to one gamepad). The procedure
is the same for the other side.
First, select the correct capacitor for
the value of the pot you will be using as shown below.
| Pot Value |
Capacitor |
Markings |
|
| 5K |
150nF |
.15 |
Supplied with board |
| 100K |
10nF |
10n |
Supplied with board |
| 50K |
15nF |
|
On request |
| 10K |
68nF |
68n |
On request |
Connect this capacitor as shown below:
Assuming you are using 2 pots (for
example one analog stick) on this side, connect the pots as shown below: Note
the sliders of both pots are connected together and also connected to the D
(detect) terminal on the board.
Connect buttons. The picture below shows two switches
connected. Note: Two of the inputs have special functions: The “D”
input (Detect) is used for pot functionality. You can connect a button to this
input as well, but when this button is pressed, the pots on this side of the
board will not respond. The “C” input (Change) changes the selected
buttons to the shifted set, buttons 13-28 in Windows.This also behaves in the
normal way and does not have to be used as a shift button. All the other inputs
are ordinary buttons.
ALTERNATIVE CONFIGURATION WITH A STANDARD DIGITAL
JOYSTICKIf you are not using analog controls, but using a regular
micro-switch joystick, connect the switches on this stick as below:
The button assignment is shown
below, which is a screen capture from Control Panel, Game Devices in Windows.
Open Control Panel, Game Devices. You will see two A-PAC Gamepad devices shown.
Select each one and check for correct operation. The top one in the list is the
player 1 side, the lower one is player 2. This capture below shows the display
for
ONE SIDE of the board , ie one gamepad device.
The button display for the other device is identical.
The above controls
are duplicated for the Player 2 side of the
board
Calibration
If you are using controls which don't
cover the entire range of travel of the pot, you will need to calibrate the
control. Fortunately, calibration with the A-PAC is easy because the
comparative measurement technique employed ensures that you are only having to
calibrate for pot travel as opposed to variations in the behaviour of the
interface, such as capacitor value etc. All you need to do is click on "Control
Panel", "Game devices", and then highlight the upper or lower entry for "A-PAC
Interface", and follow the instructions. This will ensure that a full movement
of the control device corresponds to a full movement in the game.
"Trick" Calibration.You might want to calibrate so that an
analog control produces full movement in the game over a small movement of the
control. You can easily do this. During the calibration process, when it asks
you to move the control to the limits of movement, if you only move it to, for
example 50% of the travel, this will be logged as the full-travel position, so
you will get a full game movement over 50% of the actual control motion.
Other SettingsMAME has a setting for "Joystick
Dead Zone". This is useful when you are using an analog control in a digital
game, as you can tweak the "travel" of the control, ie how far you have to move
it before it registers as an emulated switch press.
Using with MAMETo use this device with MAME,
all you need to do is enable joystick support in MAME.INI. The play buttons and
joysticks are then automatically assigned in MAME because this device is seen
as two gamepads which MAME expects. You may need to assign COIN and START
buttons. If you start with a digital (switch) joystick and then re-wire to an
analog stick, there is no need to change any settings.
FAQs
