Arcade Keyboard Encoder with USB and Screw Terminals for easy connection.

USB Keyboard Encoder (for arcade projects)

These USB keyboard encoders come with 20 inputs and are super easy to connect to your arcade controls via the screw terminals. They are compatible with MAME and other arcade and console emulators.

Simply plug in, connect the wires and play.

The encoder uses direct input so there is no blocking or ghosting like you get with some devices. It works as a standard USB HID keyboard and therefore does not require any drivers. The device is powered by the USB port. No external power source required.
Comes with stickers to easily identify the 20 inputs.

The default setting is 1 Player MAME but this is easily adjusted, by a simple button press, to one the key mappings shown in the table below.

Basic Key Mappings (Group A)



Usage
This encoder has 20 direct inputs for arcade controls, plus another input (HWB) for toggling the active key mapping. Each arcade button should connect to a numbered pin and also to the ground pin. I recommend using a "daisy chain" ground harness for easy wiring.

Key mappings can be toggled by pressing the HWB micro-switch on the encoder or by wiring up an arcade button to the HWB pin.  After each toggle, the LED’s (blue and red) will flash a number of times to indicate the active group and mode (e.g. 1 blue flash for group A, followed by 3 red flashes for mode 3).
The active mapping is stored and is indicated (by LED flashes) when the encoder is plugged in.

There are various mode presets and these are ordered into groups. For basic usage it is recommended to use Group A mappings, as shown in the above table.

To toggle the mode, press the HWB button. To toggle the group you need to perform a long press, by holding down the button for more than 2 seconds.

Advanced Usage
The full key mapping table contains 7 groups and each group contains up to 7 modes.  An A4 sized reference to all the groups and modes is available here.
Groups B to G provide more advanced features, including hot-swapping (to quickly switch between 2 or 3 modes), extended mappings (to make use of impossible combinations to allow more button inputs per player) and LED and sound output on pin B10.

I am happy to make changes to the default key mapping settings, if you have any other requirements then please let me know.

Buy it now price is set at £11.99 with postage and packing of 99p to UK addresses.  I willl also post to EU and have added a postage option. Please message me if you require delivery to other countries.

Thank you for your interest.