Maybe this will be useful for someone thinking of a controller solution for PC MAME - just put together this device to connect NG DB15 standard joysticks / pads to a PC for use on i.a. MAME. Since its a 5.25" form it slides right into a standard 5.25" PC bay.
Parts used:
- old, broken and gutted 5,25" CD/DVD drive for the case with two DB15 male connectors on the main panel
- two 'zero delay' USB encoder boards with cabling (http://www.ebay.com/itm/172114762675?_trksid=p2060353.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT) - set of 2 for 20 USD
- USB 3.0 mother board header connector to 2 USB female connectors - used to plug the USB cords from the encoder boards internally as opposed to running them out the back of the PC case and connecting to the motherboards IO back panel - about 5-6 USD
Work in progress:
The zero delay USB encoder boards work great and are recognized right of the bat as generic USB gampads in both Win 7 and 8.1 and easy to set up in MAME. I have however a few quibbles concerning their build quality though:
- no separate connector for 5V (needed if e.g. you want to use a Neo Geo CD pad) - need to solder to the USB 5V solder point underneath the connector or cut in directly into this line.
- markings on the board are wrong - 5V line on USB connector is denoted as GND
- cable colours seem wrong - for the controls signal cables are black and grounds are red, USB cable colours are also wrong. Obviously its not rocket science as to what should be connected to what, but since the instruction card is pretty sketchy its good to prod around with a multimeter at first just to get an idea as to what is what
- soldering of the connectors for the joystick wires to the PCB are pretty crappy - if you try to remove a connector a few times the connector will lift from the board, so I redid the soldering, but truth be told once everything is connected you are unlikely to mess around with these connectors ever again anyway.
All in all it works great and is pretty convenient.
The other way in which one could approach this is to put the PCB inside of the joystick and connect via USB although in such a scenario OEM NG sticks and pads are out of the scope and one is limited to only the particular stick where the encoder PCB is installed.
Thoughts / comments and ideas how to improve welcome.
Parts used:
- old, broken and gutted 5,25" CD/DVD drive for the case with two DB15 male connectors on the main panel
- two 'zero delay' USB encoder boards with cabling (http://www.ebay.com/itm/172114762675?_trksid=p2060353.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT) - set of 2 for 20 USD
- USB 3.0 mother board header connector to 2 USB female connectors - used to plug the USB cords from the encoder boards internally as opposed to running them out the back of the PC case and connecting to the motherboards IO back panel - about 5-6 USD
Work in progress:
The zero delay USB encoder boards work great and are recognized right of the bat as generic USB gampads in both Win 7 and 8.1 and easy to set up in MAME. I have however a few quibbles concerning their build quality though:
- no separate connector for 5V (needed if e.g. you want to use a Neo Geo CD pad) - need to solder to the USB 5V solder point underneath the connector or cut in directly into this line.
- markings on the board are wrong - 5V line on USB connector is denoted as GND
- cable colours seem wrong - for the controls signal cables are black and grounds are red, USB cable colours are also wrong. Obviously its not rocket science as to what should be connected to what, but since the instruction card is pretty sketchy its good to prod around with a multimeter at first just to get an idea as to what is what
- soldering of the connectors for the joystick wires to the PCB are pretty crappy - if you try to remove a connector a few times the connector will lift from the board, so I redid the soldering, but truth be told once everything is connected you are unlikely to mess around with these connectors ever again anyway.
All in all it works great and is pretty convenient.
The other way in which one could approach this is to put the PCB inside of the joystick and connect via USB although in such a scenario OEM NG sticks and pads are out of the scope and one is limited to only the particular stick where the encoder PCB is installed.
Thoughts / comments and ideas how to improve welcome.