If i connect the kaimana to the 20 pin header on the Brooks UFB, and a 20 pin harnas on top of the kaimana to the buttons, can i still daisy chain the grounds to the screw terminal?
Yes, you can still use all the screw terminal connections if need be.
Hey guys, so i got my new set almost fully installed
I have a Brooks ufb that has a 20pin header that the kaimana sits on, and then a 20 pin harnass that sits on top of that
I have my kaimana wired to an adapter that feeds an RGD LED, which works fine, but as soon as i plug in the other 8 j2ās to the out of the kaimana adapter my stick dies, it barely work like it doesnt have enough power, anything i can do?
NVM figured it out, i have two j2ās that are defective
One had the 3 pin insert broken during shipping, didnt realize because it was the last one i put on, and even though the other j2ās are just fine with it on the LEDS on it arent lighting up
The second is shorting the entire stick out, and when i unplug it everything works great, and when i dont its like nothing is getting enough power
Will call paradise tommorow about replacements
Hey Fundando
So, I followed your tutorials for 1, making the code via brightstick.freecade.org uploading the code in my Kaimana mini, 2, using Kaimana adapters to plug my pele rings.
I use a very basic code, colours when buttons are off and random when buttons are on (but all my issues are whatever the colour I pick, just to make simple). I changed the Leds order and it looks like it is the good one.
I tried two configuration, always same issue.
Kaimana Mini/Breakout > 4 Peles (with adapters) > 6 J2s
Kaimana Mini/Breakout > 6 J2s
- My first issue is that I have a J2 that illuminates (when I press and keep on) and always shut off (less than a 1/2 second ) but only one of the 2 leds on the board. The second led seems to work well. This happens always on the same position in the chain, even if I change the led by a new one and change the wires.
- Another was flashing white before changing colour when I pressed. But I think itās gone since I removed my leds from the buttons to manage all the wires and leds more clearly. Weirdā¦
- I canāt find a good way in the code to assign the leds for the Peles. They have 2 leds but I donāt think they are separated as on J2s. I tried to assign 2 different numbers, same number on the 2 leds, and to put one of the two off, but it doesnāt work. My peles are not taking the right color (when off), and react the wrong way (when on)ā¦ And the chain of leds is broken and everything is messy.
- I still have my power issue that needs the kaimana to be always plugged (how can I take an external power source ?)
I swapped the wires and Leds to see if nothing was broken, and uploaded a bunch of time different codes (only colour was changing in the code)ā¦
Thanks
Donāt use Peles with J2ās if you can avoid it. Itās far more complex to code (nothing stock out of the box will work). The Peleās use two LEDs but they are controlled by one indexing chip, the J2s LEDs are individually indexed. The BrightStick.Freecade.org website I designed assumes they are all individually indexed except for the joystick LED which is one. You could look at the individual files on how I handle the Joystick (in an IF / ELSE statement) and adapt that, but its going to require a lot of programming and testing to get right. I would argue that if someone is willing to program this for you its either going to cost a bit of money or its going to take them a long time to do since its a lot of rewriting.
Thank you Jasen.
I wish I knew this before I bought themā¦
I hope I will be able to code something. My setup is very simple, only technical buttons : P1&P2 start, P1&P2 select, echap, pause, 2xpinball, 2xpinball tilt. No combos needed, only colour/random on, colour/rondom off, and why not a parade/rainbow when idle (linked to a joystick direction to stop). Toggle on/off the lights capability or change the color configuration will been seen later ! 
If I donāt, Iāll remove the pele (4x pinball buttons), and cry for my money.
Anywaysā¦ Does kaimana work with Pi3 ? Could be a backup to put them in a Pi fightstickā¦
Thanks
Kaimana only cares about sensing grounds. If you code something on the Pi to drive ground signals on the Pi GPIO connected to a signal line on the kaimana, it will trigger them.
The Kaimana J2s say that they are not compatible with the Seimitsu screw-in buttons. From what I have read elsewhere, this has something to do with the microswitches in the Seimitsu screw-ins being larger than the other buttons. If I were to put Sanwa microswitches into the Seimitsu screw-in pushbuttons, would I be able to use the Kaimana J2s?
Edit: Nevermind, it looks like Sanwa microswitches can only be put into the Seimitsu snap-ins and not the screw-ins.
Does anybody know what the stock LED sequence is for the Kaimana mini? ie. LED 1- LK, LED 2- 2K etc?
i donāt believe there is a stock sequence, you need to program it because everyone has theres a different way, i have mine going
Joystick=led1
k1=LED 2 and 3
k2= Led 4 and 5
and so on
Does anybody know if the customer service at ParadiseArcade works ?
I tried to contact them by mail a week ago (canāt call them by phone because of my bad englishā¦) but no response so farā¦
I am getting really annoyed with this Kaimana stuff.
Thanks
Any chance you can send me the code/file? Is it for 8 button layout or 6? I have no idea how to program these boards.
Sam
You can use this: http://brightstick.freecade.org
It maps them as follows: K4, K3, K2, K1, JOY, P1, P2, P3, P4, SEL, HOME, START
Its setup to work with the NEW Kaimana J LEDs and my Panzer Fight Stick Light Boards. If you have the OLD Kaimana Jās (same input/output wire connector on the board) this wonāt work super well.
I can help out, whatās your issue?
As an add-on, what exactly are you trying to do?
Hello JRDIBBS
Here is what I send to ParadiseArcade (lazy copy/paste i knowā¦ )
āā"*I have an issue wiith the Kaimana mini I bought you:
First I thought it was wrong connected or that the code inside was bad. But after a long time pause in my setup, I came back to it.
Soā¦ I always have the fifth J2 on the LED chain that works bad. Sometimes, when I press a button, only one of the 2 LED works, or sometimes it blinks white very quickly before changing colour.
I changed everything, made all the combination of wires and J2s, changed the code (kaimana-master or several provided via http://brightstick.freecade.org), always the fifth J2 on the chain is not working.
I start to think it is more a hardware default than me or the code.
Maybe one clue in this problem is that my controller (Xin-Mo dual player) does not provide enough power to the kaimana but it works well when I plug it via usb. Can you tell me if it can affect the function of the Kaimana, and how I can use an external power without having to connect the usb port.
Last thing, a little help for plugging and coding in the same chain Pele Rings and J2s would be nice. I tried to have a simple code working but it messes all the time (just wanting to change the colour when pressing the button and rainbow when idle). I want my chain like this :
Kaimana > 4X Pele Rings > 6X J2s
I want to add that my issue with the fifth J2s happens with only J2s connected. When I add the Peles, everything brakes.*"""
This is more or less what I wrote 10 posts ago. I can add :
My setup is very simple, only technical buttons : P1&P2 start, P1&P2 select, echap, pause, 2xpinball, 2xpinball tilt. No combos needed, only colour/random on, colour/rondom off, and a parade/rainbow when idle (linked to a joystick direction to stop).
I would also like to be able to Toggle on/off the lights capability or change the color configuration by pressing a combination of buttons but it will been seen later.
Thanks for your help
Letās start with the basics, remove the Peles and just leave the J2ās running. This will test your power theory also.
If you see above @āJasen Hicksā mentions that getting Peles to work is a bigger effort:
One you get the J2ās to display what you want, then start considering introduciing the Peles. If you think the amount of time and effort it will take you to figure this out is too much, the simplest solution is to get all J2s.
I think JR may be able to help you out in the coding department, but these are sold as a device that gets no free programming support outside of the very basic coding available for download. What you are trying to do, with mixed types of LEDs, is what most would consider above and beyond basic because you have to modify a lot of the core bits to make it work properly. I canāt excuse the lack of a reply (if itās over 72hrs), but I wouldnāt be surprised if the reply to the coding was something along the lines of what I said above. Programming is a skill that takes time to hone and time to implement/test. While you think it may be a simple thing in theory, it could be 2-3 hours of coding and testing to make it workā¦ which by a low priced programmer would be about $200 to do. Remember, time and skill are never free. This part right here makes me think you want this to function like a Remora āI would also like to be able to Toggle on/off the lights capability or change the color configuration by pressing a combination of buttons but it will been seen later.ā That bit of coding alone will significantly change the base code and require HOURS of time and WONT be FREE.
Really though, the power situation is something that has to be addressed. I think the XinMo is throttling power via the +5V line due to either 1. bad board design or 2. a its power hungry (based on your comments). I think its likely a bad design ONLY because its not designed to provide as much power as the LEDs are looking to steal from the line.
-
Do you have any issues with the LEDs functioning when plugged into the USB? I.e. do they work fine when powered that way but not when only connected to the XinMo?
-
How do you have the 5V line connected between the two?
-
Why are you mixing Peleās and Kaimana Js? Are you using the Pele Adapters to index them? Can you use Kaimana Jās instead of using Peles (This will make coding a lot easier)?
-
What code did you modify? Use the
tags to show usā¦ include the files you modified.
Thank you guys for your help.
Lets answer by order :
-
My fifth LED issue happens when I plug only J2s. Everything brakes when I use the Pele so I donāt use them for the moment. I can make them work correctly for my use (again, change colour when pressed and rainbow when idle). I didnāt try the joystick to deactivate the idle, and I hope I will only have to wire it simply as it.
-
I now understand the meaning of introducing the pele in a Kaimana chain. First, I was hopping that it was a āmatter of a line in the codeā but I am afraid it is way more difficult than expected.
I wanted to use the Pele simply because of the button. I want the touch of a concave button for my pinball (with pele and adpaters), and the convex jap feeling for my other buttons (with J2s). But as you say, I might go back to J2 only (and spend again a lot of shipping for only 2 J2s and wiresā¦) -
My Kaimana only works when on USB. If not, everything turns red. A lot of pages before in this thread (page 3 you have all the pics), someone has the same issue, and it was fixed, by someone else, but the fix was not givenā¦
-
I get my 5V from my Xin-Mo board. Maybe if I take it from another way (a second USB cord), it will work. I am not electrician I can say nonsensesā¦
-
Sorry I canāt paste you my code as I am not at home. I know it was the kaimana_custom.h, in the LED index. I tried to remove the double led (i.e P4_B) for the the one that is connected with Pele, and remove everything that refers to this āno more existingā LED in the other codes. But it doesnāt work. Yeah, it was candidā¦ And thatās it ! I donāt have the beginning of a start for this codeā¦
Thank again !
Hereās an interesting tidbit I just saw. If you have a Kaimana Installed with the Brook UFB the K4 LED will flash like an indicator light during the update process. I suspect that whatever pin K4 is connected to is being driven āLOWā during the process making the Kaimana think that you are pressing the button. Didnāt affect install but it was a neat indication to show that something was happening on the Panzer I was updating 