A joystick has 4 inputs.  Whether it operates as an 8-way or 4-way is a mechanical feature of the joystick - 8way will operate 2 inputs at the same time in corners.

You probably should have 1 coin per player although I think you can get around that issue with MAME settings.  

You'll be fine with a JPAC and IPAC2 - that's 56 inputs total..  Way more than you'll need.

Mike

Ok guys, i ordereed the J-pac & I-pac to from http://www.ultimarc.com. They should be in on monday. I was hoping you guys might be able to help me and tell me what I should take out of the cab. I will try to add pics. seems like they're too big...

ok here are the pics.. so what should I gut out????

Take out the game PCB, the HD, the power supply (bottom left 1st picture), the unused isolation transformer (the one that's not connected to the monitor).

Mike

1-ok So game pcb& hard drive, is that what's on the left side in the 2nd pic. it's on a piece of wood than be slid out by the back?
2-where is the isolation transformer? no clue what it looks like...

1- yes.  You can either take the whole wooden board out or the the electronics (if you plan on mounting your computer Motherboard then keep your wooden board).  I kept the computer in an open computer case.  I *DID* have it mounted on the side a while back but it was too much of a hassle to work on - also where would you put a DVD drive without the computer case?

2-  They're the 2 transformers on the bottom of the cab (pic #1) - on is black (right) and one is brown (center).  One is connected to the monitor - YOU MUST KEEP THIS ONE!.  The other one is probably connected to the power supply - you can remove this one.

Mike

OK So I took these 2 items out.... Anything else that I should take out.

You forgot to remove the power supply (bottom left of pic #1)..

Mike

Hey Mike, finally pulled out the power supply. Got my J-pac & I-Pac.. buying a used P4 1.5 Ghz for $180.. I was hoping you might help me out with something else. I came across the WinIPAC program and tried to configure a control panel suitable for my needs, when I noticed that I was not able to select J-pac + I-Pac. I was only able to select one or the other but not both at the same time. I was hoping you might be able to shed some light on this.

damn it wrong pick... this is what I removed.. so please look above what I asked about the button config.

Oh here's the player config what I want

The boards are programmed using flash memory (non-volatile).  You'll have to hook them up one at a time to program them, then both together to use them.

I would use J-Pac for the standard stuff (6 buttons per player, coins, start) and the IPAC for the rest.  Wire them accordingly.

Mike