Setting up a Ipac2

Riverstorm

I have had an iPac for at least 6+ years. I think it is the standard keyboard one. I bet that there are still a lot of them out there.

If it's that old it sounds about right. I have an old and new one. I have no idea how long ago I bought the older one but it's been years and needs the older firmware (pre-2015) or you can brick it. I think the major difference between the two is going to be whether you download firmware "A" or firmware "B" but once they are flashed with the proper firmware the setup should be pretty much the same in regards to setup and configuration.

caver01

Well, I decided to take a crack at it, so here is a first draft of a WIKI document for configuring Keyboard Controllers with special attention to the IPAC as an example. Please, let me know what you think. I sorta ran out of steam at the end and perhaps stopped too abruptly. Feel free to make suggestions to improve or complete this wiki. It is meant more to provide guidance than a step-by-step.

edmaul69

@riverstorm just thought i would mention that the pre 2015 models that dont have the huge ic chips (really old model have large ic chip) that they can run with a usb cable too even if they came with a ps2 cable. I chopped my ps2 cable in half and wired a usb connector to both cables and use it on the pi.

caver01

@edmaul69 good point. Mine has a ps2 connector.

battlecat

@caver01 OMG I have to read this tonight!

caver01

@battlecat Given some of your posts in past threads, I think you are likely beyond the starting points outlined in the WIKI I wrote. I hope it makes sense, but it is more of a push in the right direction--plenty of detail for some--maybe not enough step-by-step for others.

battlecat

@caver01 said in Setting up a Ipac2:

@battlecat Given some of your posts in past threads, I think you are likely beyond the starting points outlined in the WIKI I wrote. I hope it makes sense, but it is more of a push in the right direction--plenty of detail for some--maybe not enough step-by-step for others.

Everything starts somewhere. I am looking forward to reading this no matter what.

Once more thank you for starting this up.
BC

AndersHP

@caver01 Good work. Would've helped me back in the day.
Shouldn't this guide link to your keyboard controllers guide?

Riverstorm

Nice guide, well written and nicely laid out. Doing a step-by-step can be grueling but by hitting all the "highlights" then it's easy enough to reference the article when trying to implement something new or ask a question about a section or feature listed.

Riverstorm

@edmaul69 said in Setting up a Ipac2:

I chopped my ps2 cable in half and wired a usb connector to both cables and use it on the pi.

That's a handy piece of information. Last time I tried rigging a cable I couldn't get the shielding grounded properly and it was causing me all kinds of issues.

caver01

@riverstorm my IPAC4 is pretty old, but it came with an adapter cable which is basically just a USB cable that has a PS2 connector at the other end. I didn't realize it was just a matter of getting the pinout correct. I suppose Ultimarc is doing something on the board to detect PS2 or USB? @edmaul69 do you happen to have a pinout of the cable (I guess I could try to map it with an ohm-meter).

<EDIT> may have found an adapter example here

edmaul69

@riverstorm @caver01 i used one of the diagrams to wire it up. For the usb end i buy use these usb plugs all the time. I get them from ebay.

caver01

@edmaul69 said in Setting up a Ipac2:

i buy use these all the time. I get them from ebay.

Me too. I make all of my USB cables from scratch now. Custom lengths are really convenient. I also like to sheath them with paracord.

edmaul69

@caver01 i have a lot of paracord in tons of colors. I never tought of that. But yeah folding and tying up cables is a thing of the past. I make everything to exact length now. So much cleaner

Riverstorm

@edmaul69 said in Setting up a Ipac2:

i used one of the diagrams to wire it up. For the usb end i buy use these usb plugs all the time. I get them from ebay.

I had no idea they made USB ends like that! I'll be ordering a few that's really handy. I had never thought of using paracord in that capacity either. Really clever! I have those bracelets attached all over to "go packs" with flash lights, batteries, dynamo crank weather radio's, supplies, etc., etc. Now I have an excuse to buy a few more! ;)

edmaul69

@riverstorm i wear one of the bracelets every day. I have evacuation packs and survival food because you never know when a natural disaster or any other situation might happen. Gotta always be prepared. And i keep a lot of paracord around.

Riverstorm

@edmaul69 said in Setting up a Ipac2:

Gotta always be prepared.

Agreed. A little preparedness in the wake of all these catastrophic hurricanes or one bad tornado can make all the difference for sure. At home I am sitting good and when mobile I only carry a few small EDC items on my keychain (mainly a micro light, key size cutting tool & $50) just in case. I've had to use the $50 before and it works as not to big and not to small to break. All 3 items are just a couple ounces. In my car a small waterproof kit and some survival tip cards, signal mirror, whistle, etc. Bigger items in the trunk. Cold is an issue here too as I am close to the Canadian border. Even a few decks of waterproof cards for entertainment. They say half the battle is psychological.

I need get a hold of some good military rations. It was probably about 10 years ago and my younger brother opened an old Vietnam ration meal my uncle gave him while we were sitting around a fire. He ate the whole thing and never did get sick. I am not sure I would have done it but I think it was a testosterone fueled moment while drinking with a bunch of guys. It seemed a good testament to the longevity though.

My wife says I'm weird or what a nerd but in the same breath she basically says shes really glad I do those types of things. :)

A quick question for you. Are you guys cutting old cords when making custom lengths or do you order it in bulk with the ends or something?

edmaul69

@riverstorm i buy my paracord in 500ft pre packaged for black and for colors my local army surplus sells it by the foot so i buy them at 500ft lengths. On top of black i buy neon colors just in case i need it to be noticeable for any emergency purpose. Then i also make neon bracelets for the kids.

caver01

@riverstorm I bought 4-conductor shielded and insulated USB wire and a bunch of connectors, heat shrink, and I make my own from scratch and cover them in paracord sheath.

. That is a simpler, solderless version, and I usually make them with ends that I solder for better durability.

I replaced all of the various kinds of USB cables in my arcade cabinet with perfect, custom lengths. I don't use paracord for my arcade cabinet, but for other cables, like mech keyboards and chargers I do.

I also do iPhone lightning cables, but those I do make out of old cables. My cat likes to chew on plastic charge cords and he ruins plenty, so I save them for the lightning cable end so I can re-solder them to new USB. The cat does not bother the paracord.

battlecat

@caver01 I have read the document and it is a great start. Unfortunately you are right I did already know relatively what is in the document.

The section "Emulation Station and RetroArch" says "It is ultimately up to you to decide which of your wired buttons will correspond to the virtual gamepad inputs used by the different emulators."

I feel that making an assumption about the setup of the iPac would be useful here. Given that an iPac2 or iPac4 has a specific set of inputs is there a way to publish a opt/retropie/configs/all/retroarch.cfg that is specifically tailored to each device?

That would save a lot of effort on the part of the person setting up the iPac+RPi#+Retropie.

Yes, I realize I am making the assumption that whoever is setting this up will not be using any additional USB joysticks and sticking to using the iPac2 or iPac4.

I am still trying to wrap my head around the whole abstraction layer with the RetroArch emulators. I think that something that is frustrating is when a person sets the system up by going through the first run setup they, meaning me, expects that setup to work in everything. When in reality the only time the first run setup works for all the emulators is if your using an X-Box controller yes?

The other thing that I hear a lot of my colleagues complain about is how hard it is to set up a player 2 controller in the console games. Do you think this will ever be addressed?