Xin-Mo - No game pad detected

RichT

Hey there,

I have used the forum a few times to figure things out, its been very useful .
This is my first post to actually ask a question.
Raspberry Pi3 Model B+, currently running Retropie 4.4 - Emulation Station, using an image from https://retropie.org.uk/download/

I have this working just how I want it using a PS3 pad to play various ROM's in MAME.
For the past couple of years I have been building my own arcade cabinet and also an arcade joystick setup I picked up from UltraCabs back in 2018. All is now complete, the cabinet is built and the removable arcade stick is wired up and working in Windows. I can see all the buttons and joysticks registering when tested. Now to the problem...

I was expecting just to plug and play the Xin-Mo arcade joystick setup to the Pi knowing that I will most likely have to apply the USB Quirks fix to enable Player 2 controls. However, with the Xin-Mo plugged into the Pi via USB it simply states "No gamepads detected". What have I missed?

Do you have to install Drivers before it will be detected or am i missing something simple. I've seen lots of youtube videos and read lots posts but haven't seen any mention of not being detected only issues with Player 2 controls.

Any words of wisdom greatly appreciated.
Many thanks
Rich

mitu

Is the encoder correctly plugged-in into the Pi ?
Can you run cat /proc/bus/input/devices and post the output ?

RichT

@mitu said in Xin-Mo - No game pad detected:

cat /proc/bus/input/devices

Thanks for replying, but it highlights my lack of knowledge in the back end of EmulationStation / RetroPie.
Before I can post the result of cat /proc/bus/input/devices, can you guide me to where I can enter the directory structure.
Is this in Retropie Configuration and then somewhere in File manager?

Feel a bit out of my depth now.

mitu

This is a command that must be typed/entered at the command prompt. You can either exit EmulationStation to get to the command prompt or enable SSH and connect remotely to your PI.
The latter is better for troubleshooting since it allows you to copy/paste commands, copy the commands' output, inspect/edit files, etc.

RichT

@mitu Thanks for the help. I managed it following your instructions as per the 1st method. Will try again later using SSH so I can copy and paste the output.
At the time I had a single PS3 pad connected, a USB keyboard and the Xin-Mo dual arcade sticks.
Needless to say the result listed 3 results for N:

N: Name="DELL USB Keyboard"
N: Name="Sony Playstation(R)3 Controller Motion Sensors"
N: Name="Sony Playstation(R)3 Controller"

No mention of the Xin-Mo.
I'm sure the hardware connection is okay as it is recognised in Windows, which makes me think its software related rather than a damaged USB cable.

Does that help or do you need the full listed output?

mitu

@RichT said in Xin-Mo - No game pad detected:

Does that help or do you need the full listed output?

No, there's no need for a full listing. If the USB device is detected by Linux and recognized as an input device, it should be listed there.
Try to see if the USB connection works by unplugging the encoder, then running dmesg -w from the command prompt and then plugging it back. If detected, some messages should be printed, otherwise it means the USB connection is not working. You can press Ctrl + C to stop the dmesg command.

RichT

@mitu Now Solved. A Big thank you for your help.

In the end I realised it was actually a faulty USB cable.
Swapped the cable and then the Xin-Mo was detected straight away. No need to install drivers. Configured the buttons for player 1 and was good to go.

I'm now going to research into joystick deadzones. There seems to be excess travel to activate the micro-switches which causes an in-game delay. I have Zippy joysticks but will research into an alternative that has a smaller deadzone for faster response delay.

I'm sure other people have experienced this, there must be a wealth of knowledge about better alternatives to the Zippy joystick.