Ultimarc Mini-PAC Spinner not working

benret

@mitu
I spent the last hour getting the Katie Snow utility compiled (regardless of some incorrect instructions), only to find that it doesn't work - and there's very little documentation. And I don't think it would help anyway.

I unplugged the Mini-IPAC and plugged it back in:

[ 4762.143314] usb 1-1.2: USB disconnect, device number 4
[ 4767.602533] usb 1-1.2: new full-speed USB device number 6 using dwc_otg
[ 4767.745618] usb 1-1.2: New USB device found, idVendor=d208, idProduct=0310
[ 4767.745640] usb 1-1.2: New USB device strings: Mfr=1, Product=1, SerialNumber=0
[ 4767.745650] usb 1-1.2: Product: Ultimarc MINI-PAC
[ 4767.745661] usb 1-1.2: Manufacturer: Ultimarc MINI-PAC
[ 4767.760319] input: Ultimarc MINI-PAC Ultimarc MINI-PAC as /devices/platform/soc/3f980000.usb/usb1/1-1/1-1.2/1-1.2:1.0/0003:D208:0310.0006/input/input5
[ 4767.823786] hid-generic 0003:D208:0310.0006: input,hidraw0: USB HID v1.11 Keyboard [Ultimarc MINI-PAC Ultimarc MINI-PAC] on usb-3f980000.usb-1.2/input0
[ 4767.831224] input: Ultimarc MINI-PAC Ultimarc MINI-PAC as /devices/platform/soc/3f980000.usb/usb1/1-1/1-1.2/1-1.2:1.1/0003:D208:0310.0007/input/input6
[ 4767.831891] hid-generic 0003:D208:0310.0007: input,hidraw1: USB HID v1.11 Mouse [Ultimarc MINI-PAC Ultimarc MINI-PAC] on usb-3f980000.usb-1.2/input1
[ 4767.842271] input: Ultimarc MINI-PAC Ultimarc MINI-PAC as /devices/platform/soc/3f980000.usb/usb1/1-1/1-1.2/1-1.2:1.2/0003:D208:0310.0008/input/input7
[ 4767.913538] hid-generic 0003:D208:0310.0008: input,hidraw2: USB HID v1.11 Device [Ultimarc MINI-PAC Ultimarc MINI-PAC] on usb-3f980000.usb-1.2/input2

I apologize - I don't know how to bind/unbind it. I'm new to Linux - only been using it for a few years :) I can get around in it, but I really don't know what I'm doing most of the time.

I'm beginning to think there's an issue with the board. I bought it in 2013, so there are no firmware updates for it.

stoney66

@benret If you still have a windows machine, maybe check winipac tool. I use a trackball and it shows up as a regular mouse, nothing special needed.

FUNCTION area
Here you configure the selected pin as the required device type and assign values to it.
You can select one of the radio buttons to define the pin as the following:
Switch (which includes keyboard key, gamepad button and mouse buttons)
Trackball/Spinner (includes optical steering wheels etc). This is only relevant to certain pins on the Ultimate I/O board.

NOTE: Trackball/Spinner uses 2 pins per axis. The partner pin will also automatically be assigned. You can select X, Y or Z (wheel) axis.Trackballs use two axes (4 pins).
Only the appropriate pins on the top two smaller connectors on the I-PAC Ultimate I/O can be assigned as trackball and spinner. It is recommended that you assign trackball on the left connector and spinner on the right otherwise you cannot use the special connectors for the U-Trak or Spintrak devices. The connectors for these devices are not unique. They use two or 4 of the total 48 input pins available.
The I-PAC 2 and Mini-PAC also support trackball and spinner but these use dedicated pins.

pre 2015 boards I don't think can be updated.

benret

OK - I have a second Mini-PAC that is unused in bubble wrap that I had plans to use but instead just sat in a box for a few years. I connected the spinner to this second Mini-PAC and got the same results - that is, nothing from the spinner using cat /dev/input/mouse0 as my test. I plugged it in a second Windows PC and it works like a mouse - moves the cursor left and right, as expected.

I'm not sure where to go from here except to buy another interface. I don't really want to do that if I can help it.

If I plug in an actual mouse, then run cat /dev/input/mouse1 - it outputs characters. But still nothing from the Mini-PAC. Similarly, if I run cat /dev/input/mice the USB mouse displays characters but the spinner with the Mini-PAC does nothing.

I wonder if I'm the first to find that a 2013 Mini-PAC mouse output is incompatible with Linux.

benret

@stoney66 said in Ultimarc Mini-PAC Spinner not working:

maybe check winipac tool

Unfortunately, the old version of WinIPAC that I have to use with the Mini-IPAC 2013 version doesn't have any options for the spinner/trackball like the lates WinIPAC v2 does for the I-PAC.

Does anyone have some last ditch actions I could try? If it requires rebinding drivers, as mentioned above, I'll need some hand holding - but I'd be eager to try anything.

mitu

Just to test compatibility with Linux and to eliminate any Raspberry specific issues, I'd load a live distro on an USB stick (like Ubuntu/Lubuntu) and test it on a PC.

benret

@mitu
That's a great idea - I used Linux Mint (Ubuntu).

It doesn't work in the GUI, but the mouse does. It's hard to believe that I'm the first to find that the older Mini-PAC doesn't support the spinner in Linux...

So that's Mint on PC, RetroPie on Raspberry Pi, and Raspbian Stretch on Raspberry Pi: triple fail using two different Mini-PACs.

benret

Wow - I have an Ultimarc IPAC 2 in my shopping cart and was about to check out, but did a search on IPAC2 + Spinner + RetroPie and found that I AM NOT ALONE.

It appears that someone else has had a VERY SIMILAR PROBLEM with the IPAC 2. In January of this year: user, arcades states:
"I was able to reach out to U-HID support and confirm that that spinners are not being recognized as mouse devices in Linux, there for this feature on the U-HID device is not available to use in retropie :( All functionality works as expected on Windows platform."

And user, tsl said that he moved the spinner wires from J4 group to J5 group and it works. I'm not sure if he means the Mini-PAC, because I don't see "J*" groups on the standard IPAC. The J4 group on the Mini-PAC is reserved for my #1 joystick, however.

I also discovered that Ultimarc is just the retail end of "U-HID".

Has anyone gotten an original Tempest spinner to work with RetroPie? If so, what encoder did you use?

stoney66

@benret Have you tried emailing Andy at Ultimarc?

benret

@stoney66

Yes. Ultimarc (Andy) said that he knows no reason why it wouldn't work and didn't provide any troubleshooting advice.

And I've run out of ideas for getting it to work. Now I'm just trying to find an encoder that DOES work, and I'm not confident that any of the Ultimarc encoders do after reading this other post about the IPAC 2.

benret

I got it working, but I can't say exactly what I did to fix it. The only thing I can think of is that the Mini-PAC needs to be plugged in before any other controller - so no mouse, no keyboard, just the controller USB. Then plug in a keyboard. I'm not sure if this is what fixed it, since I was attempting other remedies concurrently.