[DocMAME]

We just bought a multitap, and I have a few questions... First, it seems no matter which keypad I select into I am reading the buttons only from port A. Also, I get power to the memory card slot, but has anyone came up with a way to read them yet? I realize that much of it will depend upon my USB-PSX adapter, which we have a couple of different types. (Radio Shack, but different models)

Any thoughts, suggestions, or info much appreciated!

DocMAME
[email protected]

 

[hushypushy]

you cant use a multitap with a USB adapter.

you'll have to get another adapter if you want to use more controllers

 

[DocMAME]

So the Multitap option in ePSXe is to emulate multitap rather than to support a physical multitap...

Does anyone know of a technical page for how the physical multitap functions? (Schematics, etc?) It sure would be nice to actually utilize the extra ports as well as access the memory slots via the PC... since the PSX tap only connects to the gameport they must be readable via those datalines. If not through a pre-existing USB-PSX adapter then via a custom parallel or serial to PSX interface.

Thanks for the input

DocMAME

 

[hushypushy]

So the Multitap option in ePSXe is to emulate multitap rather than to support a physical multitap...

correct. it emulates multiple controllers into the PSX multitap. you cant use your original multitap due to the limitations of directX.

as for what you want with schematics and such, just try to google for them. it has already been determined that the memory card data can be transferred through the controller slot (this was gone over in another thread) so it'd be interesting if someone could figure out a way to interface the official multitap to not only make 4 controllers used with the one cord (and have windows recognize it as such) but to use the memory card through that too (like a dex drive).

 

[DocMAME]

Well, I found some schematics interfacing to the memory card as well as the controller ports to a PC via parallel. I got the compiled software, but it is old, Japanese and must not like Win XPSP2... I also bought 3 of the Dex Drives to play with since I first posted earlier this evening. (I'm a fast worker, huh?) I'd really like to access PS1 Memory directly from ePSXe... maybe I can figure out enough to attempt to create a plugin. I'm curious too if the protocol is the same as the PS2 cards. Since we know that the PS2 can backward compatible read PS1 it stands to reason that the two types should be using close to the same pinout, but most likely have changed an initial handshake sequence that identifies them uniquely.

Happy New Year!
DocMAME

 

[hushypushy]

actually doesnt the PS2 memory card have slightly different pins? you can put a PS1 memory card in a PS2, but not vice versa (AFAIK..could be wrong).

anyway, i think you'd have to make a standalone program, i dont know if you could make a plugin....but if you could get memory card access through the controller port (like how the boomerang [that's what i call the multitap] works on a real PS1), that would be sweet man. good luck

 

[DocMAME]

Yes, the trick lies in the 3 little notchs in the bottom of the PS1 card slots... the PS2 only has 1 of the 3 notches... Pretty sneaky on Sony's part...

Think of it like a binary mask, where a notch is a 1, no notch is a 0

1 1 1 = PS1
0 1 0 = PS2

So PS2 fits PS1, but PS1 doesn't fit PS2.

They could have went further...

0 0 1 = PS future 1
1 0 0 = PS future 2

Both compatible with PS1 cards but not PS2

or

0 1 1 = PS future 3 could be used in PS2 and PS future 3 could use PS1 but not PS2 and wouldn't fit in a PS1.

The more ones the more backward compatibility. Mute point, just interesting what could have evolved if they wanted to stay proprietary.

I'm going to check with a few of my contacts in the MAME world and see what they think about monitoring a memory card to get a good idea of what is going on bus traffic-wise. The site I had tells how the controller port talks to controllers, but not memorycards.

Just another interesting side project for my non-existant "free time".

DocMAME

 

[-Superdude688-]

heh no bull.......ive been thinking of the same thing recently..... anyways heres what i tried. i hooked up my multitap in the same manner as a normal controller following these ->http://www.rbmods.com/Guides/Psxmod/1.php instructions. I used NTPad like he recommended and all the controllers worked. so then i had been thinking about if i could use the memory card slots also.... so i looked around and came up with this site -> http://www.gamesx.com/mccap/ and the second diagram looked pretty much the same as the first site's i used. so i figured i could just load up the program they have there..... mccs. so i configured the thing to use the right port and which pin on the pad corresponds to which on the printer port.... oh and i had to use this userport thing i found somewhere to get it to not have an error and crash everytime i tried to access the cards...(i think it like give programs permission to use the printer port or something). so when i click read card 1, i have a mad catz 8x card in there, but it just keep re-trying to read it and never gets farther than 0%. and the display on the card that normally shows either 1-8... and instead when i try to read it, it flickers crazily @[email protected] ......i hope it didnt kill it lol......dont think it did tho cause when i stop it from trying to read it goes back to showing normal numbers again. anyways im done now lol hope some of that info was in any way helpful. so either it doesnt work with mad catz's weird cards, or it just doesnt work period. i cant find my origional sony ones to test. if i do find them ill update this.

*edit*
(gee that was quick lolz) HOLY BEJESUS I FOUND MY OLD CARD AND IT WORKS HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA O.O;; sorry...ill calm down now. x) just proud of myself or something. so yeah i guess what ive done only works with the origional sony ps1 cards. so yeah, thats how ya gets the multitap (yes the boomerang one as you so affectionally call it ) to read memory cards onto the computer. only problem is the mccs program is in roughly translated japanese or something, but tis only a slight annoyance. once u figure it out its all good. teehee*ish proud of self* ^______^
*edit to edit* lol turns out it only reads the first card in there no matter if u tell it to read slot 1,2,3,or4. always reads the first card. maybe i did something wrong or its not supported. i know i didnt connect one of the wires on the multi tap.....i think it was the grey one or something. oh well at least one works good enough heh.

- Dave

 

[DocMAME]

Well, the Dex Drives arrived, and of course the DexPlorer software with them was the old software and wouldn't run on WinXP... but I did find Dexter 101 that reads them beautifully... If I could just figure out a way to patch some of that code in to a plugin we'd have it made.

DocMAME