734 replies to this topic

[mrarcade]

That is sound reasoning. I will do some more looking. I am new to searching on mouser.com. Any advice to help make sure I get m/f plugs that mate, as well as making sure they all use the same style pins?

[mrarcade]

I mapped how I would do this, On the ledwiz 24 pin connectors I kept the pwm in rows of 3, that is why the numbering is off. The button input would not have the Gnd in the plug, The next size up I could find was 35 pin I think, so kept it at 24. This would be tidy after some extra wiring, but the cost of parts is $32 vs $9 for the first version. I am trying to keep the budget tight. I will think about it and let you know which route I take. I hope these pinout diagrams will help others with their projects.

 

[mjr]

I mapped how I would do this, On the ledwiz 24 pin connectors I kept the pwm in rows of 3, that is why the numbering is off. The button input would not have the Gnd in the plug, The next size up I could find was 35 pin I think, so kept it at 24. This would be tidy after some extra wiring, but the cost of parts is $32 vs $9 for the first version.

That's a pretty big price jump.  Connectors add up fast.

 

One more idea I just had.  You could set up a separate perf board whose only function would be to hold a set of vertical pin headers, and solder wires between the headers and the KL25Z pads.  I.e., no pin headers on the KL25Z, just wires soldered to pads.  That would let you rearrange the connections into functional groups on the headers.  You'd get it down to 4 headers and 4 housings.  You could just permanently mount the KL25Z on top of the perf board - you should never need to remove it since the only thing it does is re-route the pin outs.

[mjr]

By the way, it looks like you're building the LedWiz outputs.  If you're working from an older version of the build guide, I noticed a while back that I had put in a link to a surface-mount version of the Darlington array chip (the ULN2803A) - if you're building on a standard perf board, which I am, you probably want the through-hole kind instead.  The current version of the guide has the link to the right part.  Just wanted to give you a heads-up about that.

 

I've finally tested the output driver circuit on my board, and it looks like it's working great.  I had to make a couple of changes in the software for that, so be sure to update to the latest when you're ready to test that part.

[mrarcade]

By the way, it looks like you're building the LedWiz outputs.  If you're working from an older version of the build guide, I noticed a while back that I had put in a link to a surface-mount version of the Darlington array chip (the ULN2803A) - if you're building on a standard perf board, which I am, you probably want the through-hole kind instead.  The current version of the guide has the link to the right part.  Just wanted to give you a heads-up about that.
 
I've finally tested the output driver circuit on my board, and it looks like it's working great.  I had to make a couple of changes in the software for that, so be sure to update to the latest when you're ready to test that part.

Here is a request, can you put what is needed for the ledwiz circuits (not inluding plug and pins to freescale) in a cart on mouser and save the cart, then you could email yourself the link and share it here as well as your build page...

[mrarcade]

[quote name="mjr" post="281440" timestamp="1410646386"
 
One more idea I just had.  You could set up a separate perf board whose only function would be to hold a set of vertical pin headers, and solder wires between the headers and the KL25Z pads.  I.e., no pin headers on the KL25Z, just wires soldered to pads.  That would let you rearrange the connections into functional groups on the headers.  You'd get it down to 4 headers and 4 housings.  You could just permanently mount the KL25Z on top of the perf board - you should never need to remove it since the only thing it does is re-route the pin outs.[/quote]

That sounds like a great solution. I will see how it works out cost wise.

I need to find the roll of cat5 cable that is hiding in the garage, great solid conductor wires...

[mrarcade]

I made a cart for the ledwiz components. I found cheaper mosfet, not sure if it is a good replacement. Here is the cart:

 

https://www.mouser.c...ssID=41f3417237

Edited by mrarcade, 14 September 2014 - 05:41 AM.

[hauntfreaks]

first post but I've been lurking for a couple years.... just built my first cab and it was time for a good nudge and plunger... so this seemed perfect for my needs...

so heres the deal... the nudge is working perfect... but im having some plunger issues... no matter how i set it up... all the CCD exposure shows is random shades of gray... never back, never white... just medium gray and slightly darker gray... ive played with the light source and checked my wiring 10 times over... i cant see where i went wrong.... here is a video of the exposure meter.... any help would be awesome.... thanks

 

Edited by hauntfreaks, 14 September 2014 - 05:55 AM.

[sliderpoint]

The CCD is very sensitive to light. Including other lights in the cab. I actually had to make a little shroud out of cardboard to block all the other light (sides AND top) except the LEDs that we're pointing up at it. Maybe that would help yours?


-Mike

[mrarcade]

 
One more idea I just had.  You could set up a separate perf board whose only function would be to hold a set of vertical pin headers, and solder wires between the headers and the KL25Z pads.  I.e., no pin headers on the KL25Z, just wires soldered to pads.  That would let you rearrange the connections into functional groups on the headers.  You'd get it down to 4 headers and 4 housings.  You could just permanently mount the KL25Z on top of the perf board - you should never need to remove it since the only thing it does is re-route the pin outs.
 

 
I wasn't sure about soldering to all the pins on the headers, so here is what I think I will do: get 1 header of each size that has 3mm pins up and 3mm pins down, and get 2 housings of each size. Solder wires to KL25Z, sort them to 4 housings (13x2, 12x2, 3x2, 2x2). Housing plugs onto open pin side of header, then the matching housing plugs into the shrouded side of the header, wires go out to cabinet destinations. Less soldering, no breadboard, just crimp pins and plug in for under $8.
 
Cart of parts: http://www.mouser.co...ssID=7a748f047f
 

Edited by mrarcade, 30 September 2014 - 04:07 AM.

[hauntfreaks]

The CCD is very sensitive to light. Including other lights in the cab. I actually had to make a little shroud out of cardboard to block all the other light (sides AND top) except the LEDs that we're pointing up at it. Maybe that would help yours?


-Mike

 

Mike.... thanks for the tip... I tested it with the with a shroud around it .... no difference

i'm beginning to wonder if i have a bad CCD... cant think of anything else...

 

also lovin the Baja... I've been a aircooled guy my whole life....

[mjr]

Here is a request, can you put what is needed for the ledwiz circuits (not inluding plug and pins to freescale) in a cart on mouser and save the cart, then you could email yourself the link and share it here as well as your build page...

 

Here you go:

 

  http://www.mouser.co...ssID=6bc801c8d6

 

One thing to note: the quantities are per output, *except* that you only need one of the ULN2803 transistor array chips for each *eight* outputs.

I made a cart for the ledwiz components. I found cheaper mosfet, not sure if it is a good replacement. Here is the cart:

 

https://www.mouser.c...ssID=41f3417237

 

That MOSFET looks like it'll work just fine.  The only difference I can see between that and the one in my list is the current limit - 13A for yours vs 20A for mine.  Both are massive overkill for any conceivable pinball toys, so might as well save a bit on the 13A version.

[mjr]

 

The CCD is very sensitive to light. Including other lights in the cab. I actually had to make a little shroud out of cardboard to block all the other light (sides AND top) except the LEDs that we're pointing up at it. Maybe that would help yours?


-Mike

 

Mike.... thanks for the tip... I tested it with the with a shroud around it .... no difference

i'm beginning to wonder if i have a bad CCD... cant think of anything else...

Sorry the CCD isn't cooperating!  I'm not sure what to suggest for further debugging.  I don't suppose you have an oscilloscope?  That would probably be the most direct tool for debugging it at the electronics level.  You could look at the clock line and make sure you're seeing a suitable square wave signal there, and look at the data-out line to see what the voltages are doing as you clock through the pixels.

 

Short of that, I think the exposure viewer is the next best tool, but it can't tell you what's happening in the electronics, so I can't think of a way to use it to distinguish between a wiring problem and a bad sensor. 

 

One question: is the random gray level fluctuation you're seeing correlated at all to anything you do with the light source?  E.g., if you put the CCD into compete darkness vs shining a bright light on it, do you get exactly the same random displays either way?  It looks like that's the case, but I just want to make sure I'm reading this correctly.  If that's the case I think you're right that the CCD might be at fault.  My guess is that the apparently random fluctuation in the exposure viewer reflects floating voltages from ambient static charge on the analog-in pin on the KL25Z.  

 

Something you could try to confirm that.  You could try disconnecting the analog-in pin on the KL25Z from the sensor (PTB0, jumper J10 pin 2, normally connected to pins 6 & 12 on the CCD) and instead connect it via a resistor (1K, say) to the KL25Z ground (jumper J9 pin 14).  That should zero out the voltage on the analog in, which the software should read as complete darkness, so you should see all black pixels on the exposure viewer.  Likewise, you could then switch that to run the resistor between PTB0 and P3V3 (J9 pin 4), which should max out the voltage on the analog in and read as fully expoed, which should show all white on the exposure viewer.  That will at least rule out that there's something wrong with the KL25Z.

Edited by mjr, 15 September 2014 - 05:37 AM.

[sliderpoint]

 

Mike.... thanks for the tip... I tested it with the with a shroud around it .... no difference

i'm beginning to wonder if i have a bad CCD... cant think of anything else...

 

also lovin the Baja... I've been a aircooled guy my whole life....

 

 

 

Bummer about the sensor. See MJR's post, also try different light sources (just a small flashlight or something) to see if it behaves differently.   Is that grey/black what shows up when there is nothing obstructing the light to the ccd? I know you said you checked the wiring many times, but is it possible that it's just flipped on the ccd (just grasping here, I don't know if that would even register anything)?

 

Thanks, the baja seems to be a never ending project.  Glad to hear there is another AC guy here!

 

-Mike

[hauntfreaks]

MJR and Mike thank you for the info and input... I had an extra KL25Z so put the software in it and threw some header pins on it, connected it to the CCD and got the same results....

 

Mike I think I know what your saying and I was concerned about that also, until I looked at the factory data sheet.... see photo what my #1 pin and #13 pin are...  I just ordered another CCD... keep your fingers crossed for me....  

 

Edited by hauntfreaks, 16 September 2014 - 03:10 AM.

[hauntfreaks]

ok... got the new CCD wired it up... "taped" it into place... voila it works,,,, so it was a badd CCD

 

i'm guess because its an electronic part Mouser won't warranty something that been soldered on.... 

 

anyway thanks for the input guys....  oh and if anyone is wondering this also works with Future Pinball

[mjr]

ok... got the new CCD wired it up... "taped" it into place... voila it works,,,, so it was a badd CCD

 

i'm guess because its an electronic part Mouser won't warranty something that been soldered on.... 

 

That's great!  Not great that the first one didn't work, I mean, but glad to hear the new one did the trick.

 

Mouser's return policy page isn't very detailed - I can't tell if they'd take a return in this case.  I think it's worth requesting an RMA, though - It seems like it would be tough to test this part without soldering it into a circuit, and it's not like they could resell a bad one anyway.

[mrarcade]

I just ordered the components from mouser for the ledwiz toy support. Mjr can you post a picture of your proto board build? Is there a reason to use double sided board vs single side? Thanks

Edited by mrarcade, 19 September 2014 - 01:15 PM.

[mjr]

I just ordered the components from mouser for the ledwiz toy support. Mjr can you post a picture of your proto board build? Is there a reason to use double sided board vs single side? Thanks

 

Mine is still a work in progress - I've done the internal wiring but haven't added the external connectors yet.  My build has 8 output channels - one of the Darlington array chips and 8 of the MOSFET/opto circuits.

 

 

I've been doing all of my work like this on single-sided boards.

[blashyrk]

 

Got my cab up and running today The nudging works perfect, but is was wondering, can you get the table to tilt? Checked the tilt sensitivity box and tried values from 400 to 50 but to no effect.. Do i need a tiltbob for it to work?

 

Not sure - I use a mechanical tilt bob myself, so I have the sensitivity set to 0 to disable the software tilt. 

 

Looking at the VP code, I'm not quite sure it's capable of effecting a tilt based on accelerometer nudging.  Here's what's going on internally.  The accelerometer readings are fed into VP's simulated plumb bob model, and VP checks on each physics frame to see if the simulated bob has reached the excursion limit - this is what the "sensitivity" preference setting actually controls.  When it has, VP fires a "Center Tilt" key event to the table script.  This is the same as hitting the Space bar on the keyboard.

 

So, basically, when accelerometer nudging causes a virtual tilt, VP sends a *keyboard* nudge event to the script.  You can probably see the effect on the ball on screen, although it would be tricky to spot - when the tilt occurs, you should see a fake software nudge effect superimposed on top of the accelerometer nudging.  It might be easiest to spot if you nudge back and forth sideways hard enough to trigger a virtual tilt, since the fake nudge will always be a center nudge (i..e, a hard push of the cabinet forward).

 

I think it would be possible to trigger a ROM tilt with enough accelerometer nudging, but it would be really hard.  This scheme imposes a second layer of delay timing.  Each time you get the virtual tilt bob to register a tilt, it will just send a fake nudge to the script.  But the ROM won't get a tilt switch trigger until the *fake* nudging tilts.  To tilt with fake nudging, you have to send a series of fake nudge keys fast enough to get the script to declare a tilt.  And with modern tables, one tilt switch trigger will just get a "tilt warning" from the ROM - you usually need 3 rapid tilt switch signals to trigger an actual ROM tilt.  So I guess there are really three layers of delay filters.

 

This could be fixed in the software, but it would take some significant extension work, because I don't think the ROM-level tilt switch is something VP knows about.  To handle this properly, I think VP would have to introduce a new event for "plumb bob tilt".  What's more, every table script would have to be modified to listen for this event and signal the appropriate switch event to VPinMAME.  I think the current VP code is the way it is because the developers wanted to work within the existing framework and not introduce new events for this.

 

Bottom line: it looks like the best solution is to install a mechanical tilt and wire it to the VPinMAME "T" key.

 

I got the Tilt to work without a mechanical tilt bob, I set the Tilt Sensitivity to 950. Tested with Attack from Mars, Transformers, Scared Stiff, Medieval Madness  and they all give tilt warnings and finally tilts if you're too violent Going to test more tables when i get the time