Opti-Pac FAQ
What controls can I use?
The Opti-Pac Plus supports all controls which use an optical wheel
sensor system. This includes trackballs, spinners and rotary joysticks
of all makes. It supports buffered types which include Happ devices,
unbuffered (Suzo), high or low polarity. Don't worry if you don't know
what these terms mean, there are easy wiring instructions for the
various types of controls.
Do I need a power supply?
No. Power comes from the USB port.
What about mouse buttons?
Inputs are provided for mouse buttons. These inputs can be wired up
together with I-PAC button inputs so that control panel buttons can
perform dual function: mouse buttons and normal key-type inputs. So you
could use your trackball as a mouse with two of the control panel
buttons working as mouse buttons and also have these buttons work in
games via the I-PAC.
What does the labelling on the input connections
mean?
The input connections are labelled Player 1 Trackball, Player 1 Rotary
and Player 2 Trackball, Player 2 Rotary. There is no difference in
functionality between a Trackball input and a Rotary input. The
different terms are used only for convenience. Each of these four
inputs has two axes. This means each of these four can handle one
trackball or two spinners or two rotary joysticks. There are also power
connections. Multiple power connections are provided for ease of
wiring, they are actually commoned on the board.
What happens if I have (say) a trackball connected
to Player 1 Trackball input and a spinner connected to Player 1 Rotary
input. How does the board know which one I actually want to use to play
the game via Player 1 mouse device?
The movement of both controls are simply "added" together to determine
mouse movement.