(Kupid 2.0 Announced) Keyboard for PS1 RPG Maker

[Valkysas]

Re: (Prototype Now Functional) Keyboard for PS1 RPG Maker

he has made lots of videos.

http://www.ustream.tv/channel/kupid-testing

[Thutmose]

Re: (Available for Order Soon) Keyboard for PS1 RPG Maker

I just got the wire. And a boat-load of homework. But, the wire is nice and thin (32 AWG), so it should work well.

Before I get the first production model built, I'm going to try building one inside of a third-party controller. This particular controller has some bare solder-pads and holes in the PCB that would make it a lot faster to manufacture units with (I wouldn't have to spend so much time scraping the solder-mask off of the tiny traces with an exacto knife). Hopefully that will work out well.

I'll post updates as I go along.

[Jeroak Nelave]

Re: (Available for Order Soon) Keyboard for PS1 RPG Maker

you know, i probably should verify this, but how does it connect to the system? Does it connect directly to the PSOne via the regular controller port, and if so, will this work with the PS3? Or will i need to use it with a PSOne or PS2?

[Valkysas]

Re: (Available for Order Soon) Keyboard for PS1 RPG Maker

Kupid is a PS1 controller, with a PS\2 keyboard plug on the handle, so you'll need a PS1 or PS2 (come to think of it, has it been tested on both?). you plug it into the system, plug a PS\2 keyboard into it, and then yay keyboard for RPGM1.

[Thutmose]

Re: (Available for Order Soon) Keyboard for PS1 RPG Maker

you know, i probably should verify this, but how does it connect to the system? Does it connect directly to the PSOne via the regular controller port, and if so, will this work with the PS3? Or will i need to use it with a PSOne or PS2?

Kupid is a PS1 controller, with a PS\2 keyboard plug on the handle, so you'll need a PS1 or PS2 (come to think of it, has it been tested on both?). you plug it into the system, plug a PS\2 keyboard into it, and then yay keyboard for RPGM1.

Valk is correct. It is based on a PS1 controller, so you need to have a controller port to plug it in to.

I have been developing it using a PS2, and have not yet tested it on a PS1. There are still a number of things I have to do before I put Kupid up for sale, and other things I need to test. So I will be testing it soon on an original PS1, not the PSOne, which I don't have.

However, it may be possible to use Kupid on the PS3 & PC using a third-party adapter that you can buy elsewhere for about $10. I have one, but have not yet tested Kupid with it on my PS3. From my tests with Kupid connected to my PC, running RPGM on an emulator, it seems that the adapter uses different timings than the PS2.

It may be that each system type uses different timings. In which case, the programming of Kupid would have to be adjusted depending on what you are connecting it to. I am not going to focus my time on getting it to be compatible with the PC and/or PS3 if doing so would add a lot of time to finalizing the production model.

If the PS1 uses different timings than the PS2 (which is a possibility that I have anticipated), then I will include a toggle switch on the Kupid that will allow you to set it to either PS1 or PS2 mode - and, if possible & time permitting, you may even be able to also set it to PC and/or PS3 mode.

If anyone else has any questions, please ask ASAP so I can address them.

Now, updates:

Below is a photo of the experimental Kupid unit with the wires soldered to the PCB of a third-party controller. It took about 5-10 minutes to solder these wires, versus an hour or more with the Sony brand controller. With this controller, I don't have to use hot-glue to secure the wires, or worry about routing the wires around trouble spots since the third-party controller has convenient holes drilled into the PCB already! Plus the controller has a clear body, so I can see inside it from a number of different angles as I'm doing my work; this makes it a lot easier to get the wires and components positioned correctly for when I close it up (and it will make the completed unit look pretty cool ).

I really hope this experiment works out, 'cause this third party controller is a joy to work with, and it would make manufacturing each Kupid take less time. But I haven't done any testing of it yet, so we'll see what happens.

[Valkysas]

Re: (Available for Order Soon) Keyboard for PS1 RPG Maker

do you think there'd be any difference between PS2 models? Like there might be some variance between the original models, and the two versions of the slim?

[Thutmose]

Re: (Available for Order Soon) Keyboard for PS1 RPG Maker

do you think there'd be any difference between PS2 models? Like there might be some variance between the original models, and the two versions of the slim?

I've been worried about that, as it is a possibility.

But, from all the documentation of the PS controller communication protocol that I've read, it should be the same across all the models (minus the PC & PS3, as it would depend on which third-party adapter you use, I'd imagine).

I'll get a better idea once I test it with the PS1. If the PS1 has different timings, I can add that toggle switch. But, it would still be a sign that different versions of the same models of PlayStation may use different timings. Without hooking up a logic analyzer to every single PlayStation model version there is, it isn't possible for me to really know if they have different timings or what exactly they are.

If they do have different timings, then it would make it very difficult to contend with. In order to know exactly what the Kupid's internal signal timings should be, you have to hook the PlayStation up to an LA and watch the ATTN, CLK, CMND, and DATA line signals, measure the pulses, and modify the MCU program, setting it to the timings you've observed.

The internal MCU clock on the Kupid isn't fast enough to automatically adjust it's own signal timings dynamically (I've tried this, but we're talking about timing the signals on the microsecond scale, and the PICAXE just isn't fast enough to respond that quickly).

Now, this is also a possibility that I have anticipated. Unfortunately, the solution isn't so simple as the solutions to the other problems I have faced.

One possibility is to add two dials to Kupid that allows the user to "tune-in" on the correct timing through trial and error. It's not the most elegant solution, but it could be a boon to people with models that are incompatible with Kupid's default settings. Though it would be a bit imprecise.

Another possibility is for me to leave the programming jack in place, drill a 5.56 millimeter hole in the side of Kupid, release the source code, and allow people to modify the timings in the code on their own, then program the MCU using a programming cable, allowing people to experiment and change Kupid's "brain" as they see fit. This is an option that could cause a lot of problems - if you don't know what you are doing, it's possible to brick the Kupid unit or even damage the PlayStation.

There are other possible solutions, but not only are there space restrictions, there are power restrictions as well. If I didn't have to worry about power, then I could add two dials to control the two timing settings, and a 4-digit LED display that shows the current settings. But I think even adding a single LED would draw too much power. And that would add about $15-25 to the price, so it's not exactly ideal either.

I will have a better idea of what changes I need to make when I get the PS1 tested.

[Thutmose]

Re: (Available for Order Soon) Keyboard for PS1 RPG Maker

It's done, and works perfectly. I don't have access to my camera atm, though. All I need to do is drill the hole for the PS/2 jack, revise the code to fix a typo, test it out on a PS1, and if everything checks out, it will be ready to go. I'll post a pic of it soon.

It took me about 8-10 hours to make one unit, which is a bit less time than I had estimated. I've figured out how to arrange everything so it all fits well, with room to spare, and to make soldering everything a bit easier. And I think that making the next one will be easier now that I know what to do.

I'm really glad that this third-party controller worked. ^_^

[Thutmose]

Re: (Available for Order Soon) Keyboard for PS1 RPG Maker

Here it is, the first (nearly) complete Kupid production model:



It actually has significantly fewer wires than the other Kupid units I have shown pictures of, as I've been able to refine the design over time. And since I used smaller wire than I did for the prototypes, there is a lot more room inside as well.

[Thutmose]

Re: (Available for Order Soon) Keyboard for PS1 RPG Maker

I just finished filling in the entire history of KUPID to the Mag wiki - http://www.rpgmmag.com/wiki/index.php?title=KUPID. I will fill in the technical section shortly.

For anyone interested in the history of the development of Kupid, but who doesn't want to read pages, and pages, of forum posts on the Pav & Mag, the wiki entry would be a good place to take a look.

[Thutmose]

Re: (Available for Order Soon) Keyboard for PS1 RPG Maker

I just got the hole for the PS\2 jack drilled. Took me a while to find the correct sized drill bit. I have to figure out a way of securing the jack in the controller unit so that it doesn't come loose with repeated use. I'm thinking a combination of super-glue & hot glue.

Now I'm on a quest for my PSX - I have no idea where it is. :P I must have gone through about a dozen boxes. Found my Commodore 64 (and the dot-matrix printer & two floppy drives that go with it), my Atari 2600, SNES, N64, Xbox, and GameCube, but no PSX to be found. >_< There is one closet I haven't checked yet, hopefully it will be in there.

I have lots of school work to do, too. I hate group projects.

Also a friend/colleague of mine has asked for my help on this project she's working on. Her company is going to be paying me as a consultant, and it will ideally be finished by the end of May. They might hire me for a permanent position depending on how it works out. I've been wanting to get a second job, so I really hope that everything goes well; I'd really like working with this person again, and I need the money. Plus the company is in the education sector and deals with materials concerning education research, technology, standards correlation, RTI!!!, etc., so that's awesome. But I'll try not to get too excited. Again. >_>

So, yeah. Pretty busy atm. But I'm going to try to get this first production model finished & tested ASAP. Once I get that done, making the ones after that should be a lot easier/smoother and faster.

I think I have enough supplies to make the first three for Lantis & Ix. When I get those made and shipped off, then I'll open up pre-orders so people can reserve their spot in line. Probably a couple weeks yet before pre-orders are opened. I'd like to hear back from Lantis & Ix that they are able to use Kupid, and that there aren't any major problems before I start letting other people place pre-orders. I don't expect there to be any problems, but it's better to be safe.

[Thutmose]

Re: (Available for Order Soon) Keyboard for PS1 RPG Maker

>_< Well, I was doing some experiments with the circuit and accidentally blew out the PS1 controller MCU. :P Everything else in the circuit is working fine, so I just need to unsolder the 8 wires from the controller, and resolder them into a new board.

Shouldn't take more than a couple hours, if that. It will give me a chance to lengthen a couple wires that were making it hard for me to close up the case, and change a couple other small issues. Hoping to get Kupid all finished up tonight, and have it sent off in the mail before Wednesday to either Ix or Lantis, depending on if Lantis can find a PS1 to use.

[Thutmose]

Re: (Available for Order Soon) Keyboard for PS1 RPG Maker

I got the wires unsoldered. I'm lengthening some of them now.

Here is a picture of the guts of Kupid all by themselves. These make up 95% of the cost:

[Thutmose]

Re: (Available for Order Soon) Keyboard for PS1 RPG Maker

I just got all the wires soldered in. I tested it, and Kupid works fine. ^_^

Here's a pic of the new first production model's interior:



Now I need to update the code a bit, and get everything put into the case. Should get it finished up today.

[Thutmose]

Re: (Available for Order Soon) Keyboard for PS1 RPG Maker

Had some school work to attend to, so I didn't get it finished yesterday. I finished ironing out the problems in the code today, and got everything put in place in the bottom portion of the case. I just need to glue in the PS\2 jack, close up the case, and it should be ready to go. Though I am worried about getting the PS\2 jack secured such that it doesn't come loose with repeated plugging & unplugging of the keyboard. EDIT: I may include a special extension cable with Kupid, and glue it in place. It would prevent the PS/2 jack from coming loose.