Increase number of buttons connected to Brain v2

fishbrains

Hi,

I have a brain v2 connected to the following element modules:

2 x 4E4F4B

2 x 8K8B

4 x 4AB

What I would like to do is add 2x 16B modules to this setup somehow..

I know the brain v2 is capable of handling up to 128 buttons (I currently have 40) but also appreciate that because there are buttons on all 8 of my current modules i have filled all 8 of my brain headers using the standard ribbon cables.

Is it possible to wire up what I have in any different way, perhaps using the button matrix direct connections to allow me to connect the 2x16B I would like to add?  How would I go about this?

As brilliant as my arcade button modules are to use they seem very wasteful (being only 4 buttons each) of the brains potential resources, i'd love to find a way around this.

Many Thanks!

fishbrains

Great thanks so much for replying Moon, there's not a lot of activity on these boards at them moment and I'm stuck without a bit of help!

I'm not great at this stuff but I'm confident enough to do a bit of soldering if I know what needs to go where.

Am I right in thinking then that a 4XAB will only be using the following button headers as they only have 2 columns and 2 rows (and the rest of the wires on the supplied ribbon cables are redundant)? 

1 = BC1 (Button Columns)

2 = BC2

3 = BR1 (Button Rows)

4 = BR2

I'm not sure what approach I should be taking to get more buttons connected though. If I connect my 4XAB's using the "advanced method" via button matrix direct connections do I use the pinouts on the 4XAB omniboards? are the omniboards not redundant in this setup? I could be wiring the buttons directly? 

If I do use the button matrix direct connections on the brain does that completely conflict with all the standard brain connections or is there a way of using both simultaneously? Is it one system or the other - i would need to wire every single button I have into one matrix and connect via the advanced method?