USB Mouse Batch.

[Ynot.zer0]

I finally got around to re-arranging the "8-bit room"  ... and have just plugged the usb mouse adaptor in to a CPC6128.  I had a couple of DELL usb mice that powered up (red light worked) but failed to get any arrows displayed to the screen.  I plugged in my wife's cheapo (£5) 3 button mini mobile bluetrace mouse and arrows went all over the place!  The good news is that the device works fine.  I just have to find a mouse that is not as sensitive and that works.  I'll keep you posted on what I end up with.....   am still very impressed though 

[Bryce]

I find that optical mice are just way too sensitive. A tiny movement sends the pointer flying across the screen, because they were designed for screens that have a much higher resolution. But don't judge the mouse by the arrows appearing on the screen, each arrow is in reality just one pixel in a decent mouse enabled program. Load up AMX Art or even better SyXs mouse testing software and see how smoothly it works with that. My hardware forces the mouse to go to its least sensitive setting, but even then, some mice just seem to be hypersensitive.

Regarding the scroll-wheel. This function won't work on a CPC+ because the joystick ports have been split (it uses JOY2 inputs). SyXs software can also show whether this works on a classic CPC.

Bryce.

[buzby]

hi bryce
after discussing with you about your mouse adapter working with the amstrad autofire interface and combined mouse interface
http://www.cpcwiki.eu/index.php/Amstrad_Autofire_Interface_and_Combined_Mouse_Interface  and after further testing this works great both with your mouse adapter and a joystick both plugged in at the same time. i have found this to be a great benefit so you dont after keep unplugging various items

[Bryce]

Hi Buzby,
      good to know, I might add that information to the Wiki page when I have time. Was this device popular or well known back then? I didn't know about these or ever have one, but then again I never owned an AMX mouse either.
The device also has a 5V supply, so it would be possible to take the 5V for the Mouse Adapter directly from the splitter PCB too if you wanted.

Bryce.

[buzby]

hi bryce
didnt know much about these either until i came across it on the wiki then i bid on one on ebay and got it for a few pounds hoping one day i would own a amx mouse
buzby

[deepfb]

First of all: many thanks, Bryce, for this device! :-)
I received mine from Robcfg some weeks ago; but it was yesterday when I finally made an enclosure and could test it:


USB mouse adapter by Bryce by G.U.A., on Flickr



USB mouse adapter by Bryce by G.U.A., on Flickr


Now I have to find a mouse with the proper sensitivity to play Stunt Car Racer. The one I have tried generates crazy driving :-)

[00WReX]

Nice one deepfb.


Must admit I had a bit of a laugh when I noticed the case that you used.


I have exactly the same case sitting at home...it came from an "12V+5V AC Adapter Power Supply HDD HARD DISK DRIVE IDE" that I purchased off ebay for next to nothing, only a few dollars from Hong Kong delivered to Australia.

Approximately 30 seconds after plugging it in I heard a very loud pop and all the power in the house was cut due to the fuse being
tripped. So I opened it up a threw out what was left of the internals and kept the case for a project just like this  .

Even for the price I paid, it was still a cheap case 


Cheers,
Shane

[deepfb]

I have exactly the same case sitting at home...it came from an "12V+5V AC Adapter Power Supply HDD HARD DISK DRIVE IDE" that I purchased off ebay for next to nothing, only a few dollars from Hong Kong delivered to Australia.

That's it :-) We bought twenty units, and almost half of them have "popped" :-)
It's not a good idea to power a PPC512/640 with this adapter -the fuse will explode within some seconds-, but it seems reliable enough to feed small boards, like the HxC or this new design of Jupiter Ace:


Jupiter Ace by G.U.A., on Flickr

[Bryce]

Very neat, although it more than doubles the size of the device. I like the jupiter ace too, who designed it?

Bryce.

[SyX]

The new Jupiter Ace board was a small run from the people of the spanish forum Zona de Pruebas as Robcfg said here. It was based in the info of this page, sorry is in spanish, but at least the schemes are in universal language and always is nice see so much yellow spaghetti 

[deepfb]

Very neat, although it more than doubles the size of the device. I like the jupiter ace too, who designed it?

I bought some plastic cases for your device, but this was the one that fitted the best. Besides I wanted to power it with AAA batteries, and the case was perfect for it! Anyway, I don't have free time to modify it for the batteries.


Regarding Jupiter Ace, the former designer of this board was Droy (sorry, but his explanations are only in spanish). Two years ago, Joseba Epalza reworked Droy's design to fit in a small board, and two batches of them were ordered by the users of this spanish forum.


In the same website (zonadepruebas.com) you will find this thread, where the users added some modifications to the second design (I linked the video signals to get RGB output, so I could connect it to a CTM644 monitor, and added an audio amplifier circuitry to load programs from a Nintendo DS; and, more important, McLeod designed a RAM expansion that boosts the computer to 32k! :-). You will find some pictures through the thread, but the text is, again, only in spanish.


Some users at zonadepruebas are still looking for other people to join in and order a third batch; you may contact them. Or if you want to build the board yourself, I can ask Joseba for the schematics -although I think they were uploaded somewhere.

[Bryce]

Besides I wanted to power it with AAA batteries, and the case was perfect for it! Anyway, I don't have free time to modify it for the batteries.

Save yourself the bother. It wouldn't work with batteries. The GND of the CPC needs to be connected to the GND of the Mouse Adapter and this doesn't happen through the Joystick socket, so you have to use the same 5V supply for the mouse adapter as the CPC.

The Jupiter Ace project looks like fun, but I just don't have the time to do more 8-bit stuff. The CPC keeps me busy enough

Bryce.

[LambdaMikel]

Hi all,
     due to the sudden interest in the USB Mouse adapter, I will make a small batch of them over Christmas. If anyone else, (who hasn't already said so) wants one, then say it now. I need to order the parts today, otherwise I won't be building them till after Christmas.

Bryce.

This is the version I will be building. It can be used internally or externally.

Hi @Bryce and @talrek I got one of these from Talrek's last batch (November last year or so), but I can't get it to work.
I used a Y-Splitter - from CPC Power Cable into Mouse Interface, and Mouse Interface Cable back into CPC. That powers the CPC successfully. I plugged it into the joystick port. I connected a optical USB cable mouse, and tried 2 wireless mice (dongle).

The LED never comes one, no matter what I do.

What kind of mouse is required? Should the LED come on when I push the buttons or move the mouse?

And, FOS also doesn't see a mouse. To me it looks "dead".

Thanks!

[LambdaMikel]

PS I think I just replied to the wrong thread... I meant to reply in the other thread.
Sorry, can be ignored.

[LambdaMikel]

PSPS - Problem solved. New PS/2 compatible Microsoft optical basic mouse works like a charm.