Arcade Collecting > Pinball
Optical Pinball Plunger Circuit for MAME machine?
drventure:
@pinballjim, I believe VirtualPinball and Future pinball both support "Digital plungers", which, unless I'm mistaken, function pretty much like USB mice, only just in the x direction. With that, they can detect the extend of the pull and the release speed of the plunger.
It'd be cool, but I'm wondering whether the effect is really worth 140$.
I used the mechanical switch idea, which is, as you said, basically just on off.
But, at least in Future pin and Visual pin, it's a little different than you stated.
Those games allow you to press and HOLD the button to essentially "pull back" the plunger. when you release the button, the plunger releases.
When the "button" is connected to a real pinball plunger, the effect is very similar, because as you pull back, the buttons is effectively "pressed" so the onscreen plunger appears to pull back as well, until you release.
It's not a perfect emulation, of course, but it's pretty dang good for using some scrap metal and a spare cherry switch!
drventure:
I've wondered whether it'd be possible to simulate that expensive device with a simple optical wheel mouse.
Take 1
Mount the mouse such that the wheel is engaged by the plunger, Pull back on the plunger and you get wheel movement first one way then the other.
Take 2
Mount a surface to the end of the plunger, and the mouse's sensor to face it, as you pull back the plunger, the surface moves under the mouse and hence you get a "mouse moved up" then "moused moved down really fast" effect.
That would require double the forward clearance in the cab though, so it might not be practical in every cab.
Hmm, just did some looking at that Mot Ion controller actually looks like a HID joystick to the system (joystick x and y axis are for table nudging via accelerometer, and z axis is for plunger).
Sooooo, VPinball probably wouldn't work with the mouse idea. :-[
bdeshazer:
--- Quote from: pinballjim on November 29, 2011, 10:22:08 am ---Have the emulators evolved to the point where the game can accurately tell how far you've pulled back the plunger? Your linked example just looks like an off/on switch which indicates to me it's still just a matter of holding a button until the plunger is as far back as you want it and then releasing it. If that's the case, I wouldn't even bother and I'd just get some WPC-era "Launch Ball!!" button.
--- End quote ---
You're correct in how the circuit operates. I'm currently just using a regular arcade button to simulate the pull-back, but I want the added realism/novelty of having an actual plunger, just not $140 worth ;D
--- Quote from: pinballjim on November 29, 2011, 10:22:08 am ---With a few notable exceptions, the notion of skilled plunger play meaning anything pretty much died with the introduction of lane change.
--- End quote ---
"Son, don't understand a word you just said" :)
I'm definitely not a pinball aficionado, I just want to be able to "play" "High Speed" occasionally when I get tired of Time Pilot, Galaga or Kung Fu Master, lol.
Thanks!
bdeshazer:
--- Quote from: drventure on November 29, 2011, 10:31:40 am ---You know, reading through that circuit description again, i believe it's probably overkill if you're using an IPAC.
The reason is that the IPAC already has debounce functionality built in (after all, standard arcade button switches can bounce too).
--- End quote ---
Wow, really good point, I didn't think about that. Right now I'm just using the cheap gamepad encoders bought from Vigo on the buy/sell board here, but plan to upgrade to the iPac sometime next year... still, I imagine even the encoders I am using probably have debounce implemented...
--- Quote from: drventure on November 29, 2011, 10:31:40 am ---So really, all that should be necessary is a typical IR transmitter receiver pair.
http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2049723
You'd hook the button leads through the reciever, such that presence of IR light on it would "close it". Then mount so that it receiver can't see the emitter normally (and the circuit would be open), but pull back the plunger and the circuit closes.
Now, as for the circuit itself?
I'm no EE, so I just googled IR beam break detector and came up with tons of hits
Here's one
http://pcbheaven.com/circuitpages/IR_Short_Distance_Beam_Cut_Detector/
Essentially, instead of powering an LED to indicate the beam break, youd connect the "button" across it to drive the input to the IPAC.
There's probably better (or more applicable) circuits out there, but I thought that one was interesting because it uses a timer to modulate the IR signal so that stray IR sources (sun, lamps, etc) won't set it off.
--- End quote ---
Hmm, definitely got me thinking, although I may just stick with the package I linked to earlier for simplicty (packaging, wiring, etc.)... that package and a couple resistors might be all I need...
jrivelli:
--- Quote from: pinballjim on November 29, 2011, 10:47:58 am ---Well, sure, you pull back the plunger and the onscreen plunger pulls back, but you can't ease the plunger back forward a little to get the proper positioning. Like I said, that nuance more or less died with lane change, but there's a lot of EMs where your only chance to hit all the roll over switches is at the plunge, or other games like Fireball where a proper skillshot is worth a ton of points.
Definitely not worth $140 to replicate, though.
--- End quote ---
Pretty much all system 11 games I own have skill shots. All the way up to 1990 going off memory. That's far out from EM games.
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