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Run PPUC

Open a Terminal and enter the following command for a list of options: 

ppuc-pinmame -h

  • To get started you can do a dry run as described here.
  • Clearly you need the appropiate pinmame rom for your pinball machine.
  • Also a .yml file is required which defines the IO for your hardware as explaned here.

USB connections

PPUC uses USB to access your hardware:

  1. USB - RS485: This is required to communicate with the PPUC IO boards. Note that the comandline for the dry run uses the -n option to disable this.
  2. Optionally connect a ZeDMD display. This is also possible without the IO boards.

Linux

You can use any Linux distribution you like. We tested with both Debian and Ubuntu. For Raspberry Pi use: Raspberry Pi OS Lite (no need for a desktop or other software).

USB access

USB access is only possible when your username is in the 'dialout' group.

To see in which groups you are: 

groups

To get USB access: 

sudo usermod -a -G tty $USER
sudo usermod -a -G dialout $USER
When using Raspberry Pi OS you also need to be in the plugdev group: 
sudo usermod -a -G plugdev $USER

USB ports

To check if your USB device is recognized by Linux, use: 

lsusb
The following command lists the USB to serial interfaces (USB-RS485 for PPUC IO). 
ls -l /dev/ttyUSB*

Run

Run from the ppcu directory: 

ppuc/ppuc-pinmame -c <your>.yml
This should run PPUC with RS484 communication to control the IO boards. It will also use a ZeDMD when available. Exit with CTRL-C.

VirtualBox

Oracle VirtualBox is a very nice tool to experiment with the software. Especially when you are not familiar with the Linux OS:

  • Run any Linux distro in a separate virtual machine (a fresh start is easy). Easy to remove / delete when done.
  • Use snapshots to save a specific machine state. That allows you to go back to a known good situation.
  • Have a secure environment which is isolated from your OS, disks and network. You control what is shared / connected.

After creating a virtual computer it is best to install the VirtualBox Guest Additions:

  • Allows you to copy-paste from your computer (host) to the virtual machine.
  • Provides functionallity to share folders.

When you want to use ppuc on the the virtual Linux machine with hardware (IO boards / ZeDMD) install the VirtualBox Extension Pack. Then you can use the Virtual Machine Status Bar to connect with the appropiate USB port(s).

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