hector213 Posted April 19, 2012 Share Posted April 19, 2012 hello forum, im looking at building my first cab and was wondering what you guys think about using the ipac or the mini-pac... what do you guys think are the pros and cons of each, any input would be great... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikekim Posted April 19, 2012 Share Posted April 19, 2012 they both essentially do the same job, the main difference is that the complete wiring harness is supplied with the minipac, whereas the ipac you will need to supply (and crimp your own cables). Also the mini pac is limited to 32 inputs for joystick and buttons (you can also get versions the have trackball and spinner inputs). The ipac has 32 input and 64 input versions (for 4 player cabs). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hector213 Posted April 19, 2012 Author Share Posted April 19, 2012 so for a two player cab the mini pac would be perfect....have you used either one personally?? @mikekim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikekim Posted April 20, 2012 Share Posted April 20, 2012 so for a two player cab the mini pac would be perfect....have you used either one personally?? @mikekim Yes i have used fhe mini-pac. Really easy to use , as all the wires are colour coded. The pc config program was very simple to configure for all the buttons that i needed Sent from my GT-I9100 using Tapatalk 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mackdaddi Posted April 20, 2012 Share Posted April 20, 2012 Ive used both boards, they are essentially exactly the same board, and use the same configuration software. The Software instructions actually tell you to use the setup option for "ipac" when you're programming the minipac, the boards contain exactly the same instructions and work exactly the same way for a 2 player cab once you get them up and running. The only differences i'm aware of are these: The iPac has different versions that handle 2 and 4 players, and you can daisychain 2 of the 2 player ones together to create a 4 player one if you want. I don't know if you can do that with the minipac or not. I suspect you can, but I'm not 100% sure. Also, the main difference is that the minipac is physically smaller (hence the name) and comes with a loom/harness that terminates with spade connectors, so there's absolutely no need to cut wires, crimp connectors etc. The connector block just pushes on to the board and the wires each push on to the switches at the other ends (the connector block is a very tight fit so be careful not to force it too much or you'll break the pins, just make sure it's on the right way and "jiggle it" and it will eventually snap in). With the iPac you have to cut wires to the length you need them, strip the ends and screw them down onto the individual screw connectors on the board one by one, and crimp spade connectors onto the other ends and push them onto each switch. It's more work, but that's not always a bad thing depending on how your control panel is put together, and whether you're likely to be tweaking or modifying later on down the line, replacing or moving switches or buttons etc. It's a case of personal preference really. I must say that after building control panels with both boards, the ipac takes longer because of the crimping and cutting needed, but i would prefer it over the minipac, just because of the fact that you can cut your wires individually to suit the lengths you need, which usually gives you a neater finished job. The harness on the minipac is super easy to connect and color coded, but results in a lot of wires going all over the place. Many of these wires will be longer than you need, and depending on where you place your board, some might be shorter, meaning you have to cut and extend them (annoying, especially if you bought that board to avoid cutting cables). The ipac is bigger and less fidddly to work with. There's no push-on harness, but the board has each screw terminal clearly labelled switch by switch, and you can cut your wires to exactly the lengths you need and stick or strap them down more easily without much slack, which makes things nice and tidy. If you have space on your panel, and aren't afraid of doing a little cutting and crimping, go for the ipac, if space is tight, or if you're lazy or don't want to spend the time on cutting and crimping, go for the minipac and harness, but once you get them wired up, programming and using them works exactly the same, there's no difference at all. Most places that sell either board will be able to sell you crimping kits containing plenty of cable, spade connectors, and all the stuff you need to wire up the ipac. If you decide on that option, make sure to ask if they have anything like that in stock and buy it with your board. It will save you all the hassle of worrying about getting the right gauge wire, correct terminal sizes etc, etc. Quick tip for you, if you're going to be cutting and stripping the wires, you will need to do quite a few strips. If you don't have a wire stripper, a cigarette lighter works very well. Just burn the plastic at the end of the wire for a second or two, then blow on it to cool it for a second and just pull it. The section you burned/melted will be hard and brittle and will tear off, leaving you a perfectly stripped cable end, ready to go. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hector213 Posted April 20, 2012 Author Share Posted April 20, 2012 ok thanks for the info guys im gonna go for the ipac..i dont mind all the cutting and crimping .. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZaVaZ Posted April 24, 2012 Share Posted April 24, 2012 THX! I was just about to ask the same thing... Good to know! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
momentarydogma Posted February 19, 2014 Share Posted February 19, 2014 New question for an old thread... i'm wiring a mini cab that will only have eight buttons (1-player). Is there a cheaper option that doesn't have so many connectors? Seems like this "no delay arcade usb encoder" from eBay would work just fine, but my concern is the lack of a software interface for mapping the buttons: http://www.ebay.com/itm/NO-Delay-Arcade-USB-Encoder-PC-to-Joystick-Arcade-MAME-2pin-Happ-Push-buttons-/201038769483?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item2eced82d4b What do you guys think? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DerekAsbury Posted February 19, 2014 Share Posted February 19, 2014 Seems to have good feedback - Comments mention that it works well with MAME. Sure is cheap! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
momentarydogma Posted February 19, 2014 Share Posted February 19, 2014 Might as well just pull the trigger... for nine bucks I guess I can't go wrong! Even comes with wires that have 4.8mm connectors-- worst case scenario I can't map the buttons properly and I have to go with some iPac iteration. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HazzardActual Posted February 19, 2014 Share Posted February 19, 2014 yeah its only 9 bucks and if it works, it works. I bought an Ipac because it had the really easy to use interface for changing the key maps. I have no idea how you'd do that on the board your looking at. It might just be one set of keys only Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
connorsdad Posted February 19, 2014 Share Posted February 19, 2014 I used the ipac for my G4D cab, it's an awesome piece of kit but time consuming to wire up. For my next build I have opted for the minipac, it looks as simple as a paint by numbers if you also buy the harness. Sent from my SM-N9005 using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hector213 Posted February 25, 2014 Author Share Posted February 25, 2014 I ended up using the minipac and works great.. but i also ended up ordering one of those no delay ones online as well but never got around to using it and since i was building a one player cab and want something low cost as well i ended up using an old usb pc controller.. took it apart and wired in my connections and just used the mapping software already in windows and worked perfect..kinda messy in the wiring but it works fine.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
momentarydogma Posted February 28, 2014 Share Posted February 28, 2014 Did you have to use xmapper to get it to work with HS? Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hector213 Posted February 28, 2014 Author Share Posted February 28, 2014 for which one? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
momentarydogma Posted March 6, 2014 Share Posted March 6, 2014 for which one? Sorry, never responded to that... I was referring to the old USB controller, but anyway, I finally got my no delay USB board up and running and I'm pretty happy with it. Can't beat it for the price, and it's super easy to wire (comes with all the necessary wires/connectors). Had to use xpadder to set the HS controls, which is an extra $10. Not sure how it compares to iPac in that regard because I've never used one, but I'm sure it's fairly similar. Now that I think about it, I don't really know of any advantage that any iPac iteration would have over this little thing, especially if you're only doing a one player config. It supports up to 12 buttons, which is more than enough, and if you're doing a two player config, you can just use two of them. It would only be $20 for two player if you already have xpadder. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hector213 Posted March 6, 2014 Author Share Posted March 6, 2014 Oh no since it's a usb controller it's recognized as a gamepad and uses the windows built in software .. Pretty easy.. Plus the controllers are like $5 on eBay .. So if on a budget that's what I use and it works fine Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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