28 replies to this topic

[MikePinball]

I am pleased to announce a new product: the Pinscape Lite board as pictured below, which has been specially designed and priced for minicabs and table top cabinets like Mikrocontroller.

 

 

During the first year of selling the Pinscape All-in-One (AIO), I discovered a number of customers who were starting out with virtual pinball and needed something smaller than the AIO to fit into their minicab or table top cabinet. Hence the Pinscape Lite was born; the little sister to the Pinscape AIO.

 

The Pinscape Lite has the following features:

• Total of 64 pluggable screw connectors for power, inputs and outputs to circuit board
• Power indicator LEDs
• 24 input buttons for everything from flipper buttons to a tilt bob
• Integrated plunger support and calibration
• Nudge support using an accelerometer
• 12 MOSFET power outputs for driving higher powered devices such as contractors, solenoids, motors, and fans. Two of the twelve outputs are PWM capable.
• 16 current limited outputs for LEDs as used in lighted buttons such as "start" and "launch ball". One nice use is for RGB clear flipper and optionally magnasave buttons. This makes a table even more realistic by showing the correctly colored buttons. The PWM feature allows for a wide range of colors by altering the hue of the red, green, and blue LEDs.

The cost of the Pinscape Lite is $85 and here is the user guide. The best way to order is to contact me is via email at  o a k m i c r o s at austin dot rr dot com rather than using messaging on this forum. See the link in my signature for a complete list of my products, prices, stock levels, and policies.

 

I can recommend the Oak Micros Plunger Kit Mk II and Fuse board Mk II as appropriate additions to make a total minicab package.

 

If you already own a working KL25Z with Pinscape, then it may be possible to upgrade it to the Pinscape Lite. The requirement is that it either has no pins soldered on or dual row headers on all 64 I/O pins. The cost of this upgrade is $55 and will entail you sending me the board so I can test and verify everything works before returning it to you.

 

An upgrade path from the Pinscape Lite to the Pinscape All-in-One is also available. Assuming that the on-board KL25Z is functional, then the cost of the Pinscape AIO is discounted by $30 upon return of the Pinscape Lite. The KL25Z with your settings is transferred over to the Pinscape AIO and everything is tested before shipping. If there are any problems with the KL25Z, then additional cost is added for provide a new, functional KL25Z. All of the input pins (buttons and plunger) have the same physical placement on both boards which makes it easier to slot in the AIO replacement and simply plug back in the screw connections.

Edited by MikePinball, 06 March 2021 - 06:33 PM.

[MikePinball]

I am pleased to report that the Pinscape Lite is now natively supported in the PinscapeConfigTool (just like her big sister the Pinscape AIO). This means is easier to configure and harder to mess things up. My thanks to MJR for integrating and shipping the code I wrote to make this happen.

 

Here is a screen capture which shows the 4 different Pinscape configurations you can choose, depending on your Pinscape hardware:

 

 

And here is screen capture of the business end that shows the 28 outputs available on the Pinscape Lite:

 

 

All future Pinscape Lite boards will ship with this new configuration. I will be providing migration instructions for the existing customers who have a Pinscape Lite.

 

[Slydog43]

Great now you tell me (just kidding as I order some stuff from you yesterday).  

[MikePinball]

The first batch of 29 Pinscape Lites has been sold out in 3 weeks!! All I have left is my test unit.

 

I have ordered some more from the PCB manufacturer and should be here in a week or two.

[MPTech]

Is there a User Guide for the Pinscape Lite?

[jobole]

Is there a User Guide for the Pinscape Lite?

Yes there is

 

https://drive.google...iew?usp=sharing

[MPTech]

 

Is there a User Guide for the Pinscape Lite?

Yes there is

 

https://drive.google...iew?usp=sharing

 

 

Thanks!!

[hearntd]

I'm interested in one of these, just one question. Does it have nudge built in or do you need to add an accelerometer?

 

Cheers, 

[htamas]

It does have built-in nudge.

[sharkus]

Hi Mike,

 

I have one of your Pinscape Lite boards and getting ready for my build.  Unfortunately, my playfield TV doesn't turn on automatically so I'll need to use IR.  Can the ports on the Pinscape lite be used for IR (I'll need both RX and TX)?  If not, do you have any recommendations on the easiest way for me to add IR support?  (In hindsight I probably should have purchased the full sized board.  My build went from a mini cab to a full size...)

 

Thanks!

Marcus 

[MikePinball]

There is a whole thread here on IR control but it depends on:

1. Pinscape
2. Building a power on sensing circuit
3. Free ports on the KL25Z (the Pinscape Lite doesn't have any that are readily accessible)

Another alternative mentioned in that thread is the USB-UIRT but it costs $55 not including shipping.

 

In the announcement I discuss the option of upgrading the Pinscape Lite to the full Pinscape AIO. That is an option and will give not just the TV IR support, but also a great many other features for your full size cab. Email me offline and we can work on some upgrade options for you.

[ryguy417]

Hi Mike! I sent you a couple emails but they often go to spam for other people (weird last name). Do you still have any Lites?

Edited by ryguy417, 12 January 2021 - 11:03 PM.

[Bleedingwickedly]

Hello I'm new to virtual pinball and am thinking about building a machine. I've been doing alot of research the past couple of weeks. I'm looking to build a cab with some silonoids and excitors, would the lite version and the plunger kit be enough for me? Or should I just go with the full version?

Edited by Bleedingwickedly, 29 January 2021 - 03:14 PM.

[tacomaviking]

Hi Mike. I sent you an email hoping to purchase a few parts. Are you still shipping orders?

[MikePinball]

I am still shipping Pinscape Lite boards. So far I have shipped 127. I have to raise my price to $85 because of general part and shipping increases.

[BrianR]

This is going to seem like a stupid question, but I mounted my Pinscape Lite vertically.  The nudge in the pinscape menu seems to be registering, but I'm getting nothing in VPX.  Can you mount this vertically or does it need to be horizontal?

[MikePinball]

It needs to be horizontal. It is a X-Y accelerator. As per the PinscapeConfigTool you can orient the board in one of 4 directions.

[BrianR]

Got it thanks.

[mrhector]

Would this board support a magnetic hall effect analog plunger found on the Arcade1UP machines, it's a 3 pin connector?

 

Right now I've just been using usb gamepad controller board and I am able to use the plunger by connecting it to the analog joystick port but find the range limited and would like to have ability to calibrate it. Was thinking of stepping up to your Lite board for more options and to make use of the solenoids the cab came with. 

[qcol]

I decided to connect my front button lights to the DOF. So I switched the ground wires of the lights to the Output ports (starting at 13). I assigned these ports to Start Button, Coin in the "DOF config tool" (I started with those for a test).  The buttons now only light up when the table is started. Is it possible to set their behavior to light up all the time? I would like them to be on all the time and blink only when controlled by DOF. Is it possible?