Pedals in Mame take 2

[fogman]

I did this thread before, but now I know a few things I didn't before...

Does anyone know how I would hack the pedals froma sidewinder so that they can workindependently from the sidewinder ffW?  I want to be able to remove the wheel, while still keeping the pedals.

If you have any idea, please let me know!!!

[Tailgunner]

How do the pedals plug in? What kind of connector do they use? Operating system/ computer specs?

For instance my first pedal set simply used a game port connector with a seperate pigtail for the wheel. This was convienent as the pedals work fine without the wheel, or with most other analog joysticks plugged into the pigtail.

My newer set uses two RCA jacks, though Thomas makes an adapter to convert these to a gameport plug.  Add a DB15 to USB converter and they can be plugged into a USB port as well.

With an older system and a pre XP OS, I'd try the gameport first. XP and/or a newer system, I'd convert them to USB. Radio Shack sells a DB15 to USB converter that do just that.

If your pedals use some oddball connector, what I would do in that case is cut the plug off about a foot back from the connector. Solder a male joystick DB15 on the cable going to the pedals, and solder a female joystick DB15 plug on the cut off piece with the original plug. This way you can plug the DB15 connectors together, and plug the original connector into the wheel when you want to use the pedals  with it. When you want to use them seperately,  plug the DB15 into the USB converter and then directly to the system.

Clear as mud?

[fogman]

The pedals I have are from a sidewinder wheel and have an RJ11 connector.  I don't know what a DB15 is, but it sounds like this is the tact I would like to take.  I could make a module that I could plug the pedals into while in the cab, but remove it to use the steering wheel and pedals on my other comp.  Is there anyway you could explain your idea a little better for me.  I am not very experienced in electronics.

Thanks,
Fogman

[Tailgunner]

A DB15 connector is the standard 15 pin connector non-USB joysticks use.

Since you pedal set uses a RJ11 plug, I'd leave the cable intact as standard phone stuff will likely work for making an adapter.  Take a close look at the RJ11 plug, you should be able to see how many wires are actually hooked up. Once I know that I'll go into what you'll need to make the adapter.

[u_rebelscum]

Since it's a simple RJ-11, grab a multi-meter and test the connections.  It probably will be one is power, one ground, and the other two for the pedals outputs.  It could be as little as one for power and the other for combined pedal output.

Messure the max resistance for (each) pedal; if it's close to 100k ohm, just directly wire the wires to the correct gameport pins with you adapter.

[fogman]

All 4 wires are used in the RJ11.  I can get a hold of a multimeter and see which are which and report back.

Thanks alot for the help so far!

A DB15 connector is the standard 15 pin connector non-USB joysticks use.

Since you pedal set uses a RJ11 plug, I'd leave the cable intact as standard phone stuff will likely work for making an adapter.  Take a close look at the RJ11 plug, you should be able to see how many wires are actually hooked up. Once I know that I'll go into what you'll need to make the adapter.

[Tailgunner]

Made an interesting discovery. Seems there's a market for adapters that convert phone style RJ connectors to some of the DB connectors. Even better, the adapters come with wires already made to the RJ side, and DB pins on the other end that simply need to be pushed into their respective sockets on the DB connector. Best of all, the adapters are about $3.

Found this company that sells these adapters, you can check it out at:
http://www.action-electronics.com/ppad25.htm

They don't have the exact adapter needed on that page, but they have it listed on the PDF that's available there. The part number of the adapter you need is: AD-15MT4-G1 This is a 4 wire RJ11 to male DB15 adapter, all in a neat package.

Once you get one, check the wiring diagrams/pin charts at Lew's wheels for how it need to be configured. The pedals only use three pins on a DB15 connector, so you'll have to cut a pin off one of the wires and solder the wire to one of the three remaining pins.  Lew's site is at: http://www.monmouth.com/~lw4750/index.html

[fogman]

Tailgunner, you are the man (or woman!)

Thanks alot, that's really great!!!!!

[Tailgunner]

Heh, it just works out some times.

Let us know how it works out.

[fogman]

OK, I now have the game port to RJ11 adapter.  Does anyone know which pins you should connect for the pedals of a sidewinder steering wheel?  The steering wheel is a USB, so I can't check the game port plug.  I guess I could put a multimeter on the pedals and figure out which is which, but I don't know which pins they would be on the game port adapter.

If someone knows, please tell.  If not, does anyone know if trial and error could damage something?

Any help offered is appreciated.

[Tailgunner]

Plug your pedal cable into the adapter, leaving the pins free for testing. Check which pins do what with you multimeter, you'll be checking the resistance so you can't harm anything while testing.

As to which pin goes where, consult the schematic here:

http://www.monmouth.com/~lw4750/electrical.htm