Mixing-and-Matching hardware platforms

In MPF it’s possible to mix-and-match your hardware platforms. For example, you could use a P-ROC for your coils and switches while using a FadeCandy for your LEDs. (Or, if you wanted to be crazy, you could use a FAST controller for your switches and a P-ROC for your coils and lamps.)

You can specify hardware platforms in three ways:

1. Machine-wide default platform

Whatever you set in the hardware: platform: section of your machine-wide config is the default platform for all types of mechanisms across all of MPF.

For example:

hardware:
   platform: p_roc
   driverboards: pdb
This example is tested to be valid MPF config. However, it is not integration tested.
hardware:
   platform: p_roc
   driverboards: pdb

In the above config, the P-ROC platform will be the default for everything. (switches, coils, lights, LEDs, DMDs, servos, etc.)

2. Device-specific default platform

If you want to specify a default for a certain class of devices that is different than the machine-wide default, you can also do that in the hardware: section by adding an entry for the type of device you want to specify the default for.

For example, if you want to use a P-ROC as the default for everything except for LEDs, which you want to be FadeCandy, you would do it like this:

hardware:
   platform: p_roc
   driverboards: pdb
   lights: fadecandy
This example is tested to be valid MPF config. However, it is not integration tested.
hardware:
   platform: p_roc
   driverboards: pdb
   lights: fadecandy

You can enter a device-specific default for the following types of devices here:

  • coils:
  • switches:
  • matrix_lights:
  • lights:
  • dmd:
  • rgb_dmd:
  • gis:
  • flashers:
  • servo_controllers:
  • accelerometers:
  • i2c:

3. Overriding the platform of individual devices

Finally, you can override the platform of an individual device by adding a platform: setting to that device.

For example, if you’re using a FAST Pinball controller which can control up to 256 LEDs, but you also want to add some more LEDs that will be attached to a FadeCandy, you could set up your config like this:

hardware:
    platform: fast

lights:
    led00:
        number: 0-0
    led01:
        number: 0
        platform: fadecandy
This example is tested to be valid MPF config. However, it is not integration tested.
hardware:
    platform: fast

lights:
    led00:
        number: 0-0
    led01:
        number: 0
        platform: fadecandy

In this example, led00 will use the FAST platform (and the number 0-0 is a FAST configuration number), and led01 will use the FadeCandy platform (and the number 0 is a Fadecandy number).

You could also invert this, like so:

hardware:
    platform: fast
    lights: fadecandy

lights:
    led00:
        number: 0-0
        platform: fast
    led01:
        number: 0
This example is tested to be valid MPF config. However, it is not integration tested.
hardware:
    platform: fast
    lights: fadecandy

lights:
    led00:
        number: 0-0
        platform: fast
    led01:
        number: 0

In the example above, led00 is still a FAST LED and led01 is still a FadeCandy LED, but the difference is that while the default platform is FAST, the default platform for LEDs is FadeCandy. That means you don’t have to specify the platform for LEDs attached to the FadeCandy, but you do need to specify the platform for LEDs attached to the FAST controller.