Ultimarc, the Ultimate in Arcade Controls.

Integrated Switch/Joystick/Trackball/Spinner Interface with Wiring Harness

Mini-Pac

No more cutting/stripping/crimping!
Do you regularly build control panels? Even if you have only built one panel, you will know that the novelty of cutting and stripping wires, crimping and connecting very quickly wears off! After all, on a standard panel there are 88 wires to be stripped and 44 crimps! Why not get someone else to do all that and use the time saved for less boring pursuits (such as playing games!). Also, would it not be nice if this could be done for less extra cost than buying all the wire and crimps?
Plus, how about connecting a trackball and a spinner as well, all routed through one board and one cable to the PC, with everything simply a plug-in connection?

The Mini-PAC is a revolutionary combined Switch/Trackball/Spinner Interface with wiring harness. It is designed so that a complete control panel can be wired up in minutes. Ideal for OEM builders of controllers and cabinets but also suitable for the first-time builder.

Suggested mounting method:
Mini-PAC mounted on two feet from our PCB feet kit

Harness Power!
The wiring harnesses are available in 3 versions, either for 28 switches (including joysticks and buttons) or with connection for The Happ Controls trackball or the Ultimarc trackball. The trackball harnesses also have a connector for the Oscar Controls spinners. Along with each switch harness is a "daisy chain" ground harness. The total number of individual sections of wire on these harnesses is over 70, with over 140 terminations! Compare the cost of the wire and connectors, plus time saved, with the amazingly low prices below!
The ground harness has 4 extra terminations, so that if necessary you can span longer distances between switches by "missing out" one connector. All connectors are female 0.25 inch. These are designed for 0.25 inch standard microswitch terminals. They can, by adjustment with pliers, be used on narrower type terminals. All connectors are fully insulated with transparent boots.

Panel Sizes
Each switch wire on the harness is 12 inches long (320mm). The Mini-PAC board should be mounted near the center of the panel, giving a span between the furthest switches of 24 inches (640mm). The harnesses are designed to cover almost all standard size 2-player panels but extension kits will shortly be available for longer distances. Ground harness "hops" are 5 inches each.
If you are building a 4-player panel you can double up on Mini-PACs and harnesses.

Making your own?
You can make your own wiring harness if you prefer, because the Mini-PAC uses a standard 40-way 0.1 inch pitch pin header which can connect to a standard IDE disk drive cable, so you can use this inexpensive type of cable as the basis of your wiring. Note you will need to find an IDE cable without a key in one location (ie all wires present).

Switch/Joystick Functionality
The Mini-PAC works identically to I-PAC2 board. All programming features identical, same number of inputs (28). Works in PS/2 or USB mode. For complete details check out the I-PAC pages.

Tiny board! Only 2 1/4 X 1 1/2 inches!
Fully programmable key code set. Stored even after power off unlike some other interfaces which lose all data when powered off.
Dual interface USB or Keyboard - just swap the cable.
Lead plugs into keyboard socket on PC or USB port.
Can be programmed using special utilities (for DOS, Windows, Linux, MAC) or without special software, using an interactive method.
Using host software, an unlimited number of keycode configurations can be stored and downloaded on-the-fly. Retained on power off.
No separate power needed.
Does not use a matrix - no ghost keys.
Does not use a scanning method which causes a variable delay. Each input has it's own dedicated connection into the on-board CPU .
Fast running interrupt-driven software gives much better response than a standard keyboard controller. Key transmission and debounce uses a state method for each key. No delays between keys depressed at the same time. (essential for fighting games). No need for a keycode buffer.
2 modes. Either uses standard MAME keys or you can program your own character set.
Shift functions. Holding "Start1" and pressing other buttons sends a range of codes for MAME functions such as "escape", "Coin 1", "tab", "enter". This means no extra buttons are needed on the cabinet. In programmable mode any input can be the shift key and all keys can be programmed with a shifted code.
Connector for ordinary keyboard which can be used together with the controls if required. No switch-over delays mean you could even play a game using the control panel and keyboard at the same time. Advanced interrupt-driven code means the pass-through uses NO CPU cycles when the keyboard is idle.
Supports selective up/down key repeat in PS/2 mode (all keys repeat in USB mode) to give easy scrolling through lists with minimal CPU overhead and interface "clutter".
No special drivers needed. USB drivers are generic Windows.
Fully compatible with all Apple Macs which have USB ports.
Supports the Apple Mac "command" key and the Windows "GUI" keys.
Can be paired in any combination to increase the total number of inputs.
Keycode programming is integrated directly into the popular MAMEWAH front end for seamless launch of emulator or other applications which require different codesets.
Fast 12Mhz RISC CPU for maximum performance. On-chip USB Serial Engine deals with USB communication leaving the CPU free to respond to key-presses and process them instantly.

Trackball/Spinner Functionality
In USB mode only. No extra PC connections are needed, all communications go through one USB cable. Inputs for one 2-axis device (trackball) and one single-axis device (spinner). The active control is auto-selected when one control is moved after a 10 second idle period. If trackball/spinner are used, USB mode must be used for all controls. The full wiring harness for 28 switches and optical controls is available in two versions, for either Happ or Ultimarc trackball.

Important Legal Note.

For legal reasons we must state here that the Mini-PAC is not designed to be used in revenue-earning applications where a credit mechanism is used. The Mini-PAC contains no specific interface functionality for any credit device. Although it has inputs labelled "COIN", these are labelled as such because activating a switch connected to them causes the MAME "coin" keycodes (5 or 6) to be sent. These are designed to be used with panel pushbuttons not coin doors or note acceptors.

Click here for Wiring Information

Prices and ordering:

Click Here for Mini-PAC Order Page. (Don't forget to select your correct currency)