USB-DVG Users support thread

Collective load is the issue I'm hinting at.
The default power supply is ok for the Pi itself and a few non-demanding peripherals but not enough for what we are asking of it maybe?

I got a wart with more oomph (can't remember the amperage at the moment) for mine to see if any of this is the culprit of the slowdown issues too but haven't had time to get at this project again.
 
It's MAME quitting, the system goes back to the VMMENU front end as if an ESC key had been pressed. So it could be a crash as opposed to an un-commanded game exit, I suppose.
Try placing a 4.7k resistor between the input pin on the ipac where you have your escape key connected and the +5 pin on one of the trackball headers.

Example:

Screenshot_20241229_222402_Firefox.jpg
You can go up to 10K if you need, but I would start with 4.7K

I suspect the built in pullup resistor on the chip in the ipac is too weak. The wiring to the "Esc" switch is picking up noise and causing a false trigger.

I had a similar problem with a Pi3 I had set up with a one touch shutdown. The damn thing kept shutting down randomly until I put a pullup resistor between the input pin and the 5v pin to hold the input up until it was pulled low with an intended button push. I about pulled out all my hair before I figured it out. After putting the resistor on, it was rock solid

Dylan
 
Collective load is the issue I'm hinting at.
The default power supply is ok for the Pi itself and a few non-demanding peripherals but not enough for what we are asking of it maybe?

I got a wart with more oomph (can't remember the amperage at the moment) for mine to see if any of this is the culprit of the slowdown issues too but haven't had time to get at this project again.

I wonder what the current draw of the DVG is. The other USB connections are pretty piddling in terms of power: effectively a keyboard and half a mouse and an audio dongle.

But Dylan's suggestion is intriguing, I'll give that a shot.
 
I wonder what the current draw of the DVG is. The other USB connections are pretty piddling in terms of power: effectively a keyboard and half a mouse and an audio dongle.

But Dylan's suggestion is intriguing, I'll give that a shot.
Not with this, but I did have a self-powered USB hub that would drop out when I put a higher load on it with a device that was power-hungry. I added an adapter for power, and it worked great.
 
Try placing a 4.7k resistor between the input pin on the ipac where you have your escape key connected and the +5 pin on one of the trackball headers.

Example:

View attachment 789956
You can go up to 10K if you need, but I would start with 4.7K

I suspect the built in pullup resistor on the chip in the ipac is too weak. The wiring to the "Esc" switch is picking up noise and causing a false trigger.

I had a similar problem with a Pi3 I had set up with a one touch shutdown. The damn thing kept shutting down randomly until I put a pullup resistor between the input pin and the 5v pin to hold the input up until it was pulled low with an intended button push. I about pulled out all my hair before I figured it out. After putting the resistor on, it was rock solid

Dylan
Was worth a shot (and maybe I'll try a 10k later), but crashed out in 5 minutes. Thanks though…
 
Have you tried running it with the esc button completely disconected and programmed out on the ipac config?

D
 
Or put together an active low latching circuit and piggyback the input to your ESC button input to see if you are actually getting a false trigger on the input.

The other suggestion I would have is to remove the ipac completely and replace it with one of the cheap zero delay usb jobs you can grab on Scamazon to see if it's truly an ipac problem. Or maybe sub in a hacked usb keyboard controller for testing(or just try a plain usb keyboard by itself... cant recall if you did that already). Just grabbing at straws here now. It really sounded like the same issue I has had with direct input on my Pi picking up noise.

D
 
Have you tried running it with the esc button completely disconected and programmed out on the ipac config?

D

You know, I might have done that a while back. I had the game quit key moved to p at the same post, I think, and thought I'd fixed the issue for a while. If I'm remembering what I did, I did take Esc completely out of the key set at that point. I'll try it again.

Running a test with the Pi 4 right now.
 
The other suggestion I would have is to remove the ipac completely and replace it with one of the cheap zero delay usb jobs you can grab on Scamazon to see if it's truly an ipac problem. Or maybe sub in a hacked usb keyboard controller for testing(or just try a plain usb keyboard by itself... cant recall if you did that already). Just grabbing at straws here now. It really sounded like the same issue I has had with direct input on my Pi picking up noise.

D
Yeah, I thought about that. It's on the list, but obviously I'd rather avoid having to rewire this box yet again.
 
You know, I might have done that a while back. I had the game quit key moved to p at the same post, I think, and thought I'd fixed the issue for a while. If I'm remembering what I did, I did take Esc completely out of the key set at that point. I'll try it again.

Was cautiously optimistic about this one, but, no such luck.
 
I've had a number of issues where I had unwittingly mapped multiple functions to the same key using the ipac software.
For the crazier multipanel stuff I built I actually had a spreadsheet to keep track of it all because it got so nutty.

For a PC build it's really easy to do of course but I wouldn't have any idea where to begin for sorting out the Pi- apart from bringing the laptop up and plugging the Ipac into that and starting fresh.
 
I've had a number of issues where I had unwittingly mapped multiple functions to the same key using the ipac software.
For the crazier multipanel stuff I built I actually had a spreadsheet to keep track of it all because it got so nutty.

For a PC build it's really easy to do of course but I wouldn't have any idea where to begin for sorting out the Pi- apart from bringing the laptop up and plugging the Ipac into that and starting fresh.

From everything I can tell thus far, this glitch appears to be particular to the Pi 5 build. Some weird interaction with the I-Pac2 board. I just wish I knew why it worked for a couple of months without crashing after I switched ESC to p last summer (simply doing that again now doesn't fix the problem).

I sent Mario a copy of my build image and some logs, and also reached out to Andy at Ultimarc. Will advise if either of them come up with a fix/suggestion.
 
I've had a number of issues where I had unwittingly mapped multiple functions to the same key using the ipac software.
For the crazier multipanel stuff I built I actually had a spreadsheet to keep track of it all because it got so nutty.

For a PC build it's really easy to do of course but I wouldn't have any idea where to begin for sorting out the Pi- apart from bringing the laptop up and plugging the Ipac into that and starting fresh.

In this case it's a brand-new I-Pac that I installed a couple of days ago. I've only changed about three keys.

Frustrating, to say the least.
 
I can emphasize Absolutely maddening. It is the part of all this stuff that I am the worst at so it makes it even more annoying for me at least
 
I've had a number of issues where I had unwittingly mapped multiple functions to the same key using the ipac software.
I wondered if this might be a possibility.

Unfortunately I can't be more help directly. I set up a Pi3 to run mame specifically for simulating a vector game. I have a Space Duel CT to place along side my Tempest CT. The SD was gutted. No monitor, brick, AR, or PCB... but everything else is there(harness & controls + coin mechs etc)... I do have a spare 6100 I can borrow out of my Tempest UR... but until I have everything else rounded up it doesn'tmake sense to pull it( the Tempest UR is complete, but the board has an issue I haven't troubleshot yet... I won't part it out... it will stay complete)

I plan to roll my own vector monitor for the SD CT... but in the meanwhile. I was gonna use a 19" VGA monitor w/ a Pi running mame using info I found on another Forum to dial a close approximation until such time as the proper parts can be sourced. The only items I'm in need of at the moment are a color Vector brick and a monitor... I've acquired everything else over the past 3yrs.

But my point is, I can't duplicate your setup... although I have boards for a vctsm, I haven't built it yet(I know, not a usv dvg) but more importantly. I'm in the SF Bay Area for the foreseeable future, and all my arcade stuff and support tools are back home up in Idaho.

Dylan
 
I'm satisfied that this issue is limited to the Pi 5 HW/SW, there's some kind of weird interaction going on with that build and the I-Pac2's. Did another hour-plus test with the Pi 4 build without a problem today. I'm going to pull the config files from both builds and do a comparison, see if there's anything that sticks out regarding keyboards and game controls.
 
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