Problems with input devices not recognised after using "retrogame gpio keyboard"?

spruce_m00se

Firstly I was discussing this problem here:
https://retropie.org.uk/forum/topic/9521/gpio-6-button-controller/3
but I think that the original title and problem are no longer relevant, and so am starting a new thread for it with a more descriptive title.

I am using a Pi 0
Retropie image from the website : retropie-4.2-rpi1_zero.img
4 port usb hub connected (hard soldered to the test points under the pi)
generic usb sound card connected
powered from a samsung power bank capable of 2.0A

So the problem is a wierd one, I made my 3d printed gameboy here:
https://retropie.org.uk/forum/topic/9650/3d-printed-gameboy-build

I installed the adafruit retrogame gpio keyboard emulator:
https://github.com/adafruit/Adafruit-Retrogame/blob/master/configs/retrogame.cfg.6button

and my buttons all worked, and i coudl enjoy some heavenly retro gaming fun ( thanks to all the coders that have allowed that to happen)

i remember following another guide to get the sound card to be selected as primary on boot, but i cant remember which guide it was.

all was good, I have clocked a good 20 hours or so of gameplay on the device, great, the sound volume is a lot lower than the audio hardware was when I tested it on my iphone, but i focussed on playing and testing the reliability of the buttons first.

moving on, I find the mixer option in the retropie section of the GUI, I go in , and i set the volume higher, then I realise that I dont have an ESC key on the GPIO keyboard set, so i plug in my USB keyboard, hit ESC and nothing happens, thats wierd i think, so stuck in a menu I cant exit, I hard reset, and try again, no luck, hmmmmm, another hard reset, and I tried to use the keyboard in ES, it doesnt register to configure, it did do previously and still does on other ES/RP systems i have.

I plugged in two gamepads, they dont register, not even to configure them.
I plugged in a wifi card, it registers, and I can see my wifi, but not log in because I dont have a keyboard to enter the password.
SSH is disabled, so im stuck.

one fresh instal later, I assumed that I would have to start from scratch but this time with ssh installed. nope, no luck.

the exact same symptoms as mentioned above on the other image.

I have tried the WIFI dongle in each of the three usb ports, and it works the same in each, its power lights up, and I can see networks, the usb hub has a power light, which is brightly lit.

The sound works fine, so in theory the usb hub is connected to the pi ok still,
im not a stranger to trouble shooting physical problems, but software problems evade me.

does anyone know what this could be? I thought that all Pi related configs were stored on the card, is it possible that there is a config stored in eeprom or something that has been changed?
can I check for that?

im stumped

thanks for andy help in advance

spruce_m00se

UPDATE:
I have put raspbian on a card, at the login CLI the buttons previously mapped with retrogamer dont register, and neither does the usb keyboard.
I also booted into ES and checked for WIFI hotspots without the USB wifi dongle conencted just incase the names shown were an artifact, they werent, nothing appeared.

spruce_m00se

I just tried my Dualshock 4 controller with the bluetooth reciever plugged into the USB, it works on all ports

when connected via a usb cable the dualshock is detected, i have to configure it but then it works as expected.

This test should completely rule out faulty wiring and power issues right? i have tested all three ports with two seperate devices, the dualshock also must use more power than a simple wireless reciver for a keyboard or a generic usb gamepad

spruce_m00se

and to discard the possibility of power being the problem, i just chucked a 2tb USB HDD onto the usb ports, the pi booted fine, and the WIFI dongle could still find networks. So clearly usb was working ok even with a HDD that was spinning up.

spruce_m00se

Right so the current situation is as above,
I have also tried Lakka on the device, and it cant see the keyboard.
but because the DS4 works on each usb port I know they work, im totally stumped until someone can shed some light on this.

caver01

@spruce_m00se This is a long-shot, but I did not see mention of it above. . . does the USB keyboard work on other systems now? The implication being--bad USB keyboard. Have you tried a different keyboard?

spruce_m00se

i only have one usb keyboard, but it works on other systems. on my pc, on my tv and on my mini nes pi.
the gamepads also work on other systems and not this one.
it seems to just have blocked certain devices. maybe i could try a new gamepad I have never conencted to it before?

spruce_m00se

bumpety bump

caver01

@spruce_m00se stumpety stumped.

spruce_m00se

@caver01 yup,
the only thing I can think of here is that im mistaken, and that this hub never worked for those devices, the only way to tell is to desolder it and put a single usb port on the pi and then test each device, something I dont yet have time for.

mark1986

I had a similar issue when using GPIO pins as the input, it would recognise the buttons but not allow the use of a keyboard (as the pi thought the buttons were the keyboard)

The solution was (something along the lines of) in your retroarch config file that get created for the buttons you need to assign P1 as index #0 and P2 as index #-1

spruce_m00se

@mark1986 great, I will look into that, if I can of course because I have no keyboard to edit files with.