TurboTwist 2 Spinner rapidly appearing and disappearing in Windows

[Someinterwebguy]

Hi everyone,

I recently bought the first of several replacement parts for my X-Arcade solos and Tankstick from GGG after hearing about the quality/service/price/etc from the great folks at [romsite name redacted], and was not disappointed.

That being said, I've had trouble getting the TurboTwist 2 spinner to work in Windows. I had it working initially after installing it, having to unplug most of my other retro controller > usb adapters for it to stay put. However, after testing it out with  Super Breakout and Tempest, I took a break and tried it out again later.

Now it is back to its old behavior of appearing under Windows 7's "Devices/Printer" menu as "TurboTwist 2 Spinner", then changing to "USB input device", before disappearing completely and reappearing  a few seconds later.

I'm curious if anyone had the same problem or any idea what else it could be. I've tried plugging it directly into the motherboard's USB instead of a hub, but the behavior is the same.

Thanks for any input.

[mgb]

Not sure it matters in this case, but is the USB hub powered by its own plug?

Have you tried contacting Randy T either through his website or here on the forums.  He's a regular here and very knowledgable on his equipment. He may have a pretty quick answer.

[Drnick]

Can you replace the cable it connects with for another one.  It sounds like a dodgy cable to me.

[Someinterwebguy]

I was going to contact Randy, but since he reads/posts here, I figured I'd try because perhaps my eventual solution will help someone else. I'll likely PM him sometime soon.

Unfortunately I don't have a second cable.

[RandyT]

That being said, I've had trouble getting the TurboTwist 2 spinner to work in Windows. I had it working initially after installing it, having to unplug most of my other retro controller > usb adapters for it to stay put. However, after testing it out with  Super Breakout and Tempest, I took a break and tried it out again later.

Now it is back to its old behavior of appearing under Windows 7's "Devices/Printer" menu as "TurboTwist 2 Spinner", then changing to "USB input device", before disappearing completely and reappearing  a few seconds later.

This is strange.  It should simply "work", as all parts like this are tested before they get shipped.  This could be any number of issues;  A bad cable, as already mentioned, an overloaded USB port, something shorting the interface PCB as a result of the way it is installed, a flaky computer or power supply, etc...  While unlikely, it could also be an intermittent problem with the PCB.  If proper care was not used when handling it, static damage is a possibility.

If you have or can borrow another cable, try that first.   Then try a different computer to see if it's just happening on that particular system.

Make sure you don't have some non-standard mouse driver on the system which might be confusing things.

Disconnect the hub and other devices to see if there is a defective device on the same physical port which is mucking things up.

Try every USB port on the system, in case there is a defective port.  Note that multiple connectors are usually tied to physical single ports, so try all of them.

And most importantly, note what, if any, differences you see in what occurs based on each thing you try.  If all of the above result in identical behavior, it's time to suspect a damaged PCB.

[Someinterwebguy]

Thanks for the reply Randy,

For some strange reason a "non-standard mouse driver" never crossed my mind, but indeed that it was it was.

I have a MLG Steel Series Sensei, which comes with custom mouse software. Sure enough, I closed the program from the system tray and plugged the spinner cord in. Viola! It works like a charm now! 

The one time the spinner worked before all this, I must have accidentally closed the mouse program.

Glad to know it's not a damaged cable or anything.

Thanks again Randy, I'll be posting a review about my experience sometime soon. You have yourself a regular customer as I will be upgrading my other solo (sans spinner for now) soon and am really looking forward to those 49-way joysticks that you'll be bringing out at GGG.

[Gray_Area]

I don't even know why they make drivers for basic peripherals anymore. I don't use 'em.

[Someinterwebguy]

The mouse I use has extra buttons (among other features) that won't show work unless the software is running. It's not that big of a deal to me.

When it is time to use the spinner, I exit the software and plug the spinner in. Once I'm finished, I unplug the spinner and start up the software.