Tankstick MAX red LED button as a MAME exit key
Useful Answer
On Tankstick MAX, the red LED button can be used as a MAME exit / quit control by treating it as Mouse M3 and running the Xgaming AutoHotkey utility that converts Mouse M3 into the keyboard Esc key.
Use this workflow:
- Run the Xgaming
RED_LED_ESC64AutoHotkey utility. - Leave it running in the background; it normally sits in the Windows system tray.
- In MAME, set
Escas the exit / quit command. This is usually MAME's default. - For a dedicated arcade PC, add the utility to Windows startup so the mapping loads automatically after reboot.
The standard X-Hotkey app may not expose an editable AHK file or obvious right-click configuration menu. For this specific red LED button use case, support directed the customer to use the dedicated Mouse M3-to-Esc utility instead.
For Maximus Arcade, distinguish its preferences window from MAME gameplay. In a customer-tested Windows cabinet setup, the first Mouse M3-to-Esc utility did not solve configuration: pressing Esc closed Maximus Preferences instead of saving the exit assignment. Do not keep repeating that failed step.
Support then supplied the Maximus-specific M3-to-1+2+3 utility. The customer confirmed that the newer utility and an added 1+2+3 exit combination worked while their existing 1+2 combination remained saved and working. These are keyboard combinations, not an instruction to rewire buttons or a universal default for every Maximus profile.
For this branch, save a copy of your current frontend settings, use the support-provided Maximus-specific translation, add its matching exit combination without removing a working original combination, then test the physical red button while in a game and confirm return to the frontend. Only arrange automatic startup after it works, and retest after reboot. The customer confirmed exit behavior, not startup persistence, every Windows version or software-security certification. Do not disable system protection to run an unknown executable. If it still fails, report the frontend/version, active utility and exact combination observed instead of repeatedly pressing Esc in Preferences.
If replacing Tankstick MAX push buttons, Xgaming described the original button style as SuzoHapp-style arcade push buttons. A compatible replacement should fit a 1-1/8" panel hole, include a keeper nut, and use a 0.187" microswitch connector. Support pointed to common SuzoHapp/TwistedQuarter-style arcade buttons with those specs, while still recommending fit and wiring checks before ordering.
Source Context
The customer had installed a Tankstick MAX in a cabinet and wanted the red LED button to exit games in MAME. Support provided the dedicated RED_LED_ESC64 AutoHotkey utility and explained that it maps Mouse M3 to Esc; the customer later confirmed the cabinet was working well. A later Maximus Arcade case confirmed that the newer utility plus an added 1+2+3 exit combo worked while preserving the default 1+2 behavior. Later button-swap questions added that the original push-button style is SuzoHapp-style and that compatible color replacements should use a keeper nut, 0.187" microswitch, and 1-1/8" mounting hole.