LS-30 rotary sticks

[Vigo]

So I decided I am gonna convert a shell cab I have into a vertical SHMUP and rotary dial game cab. I got an old tempest converted to a time soldiers and decided it is not worth my time to do too much with it right now other than clean it up and shove a computer in it.

I am finding I am a complete noob with rotary joysticks. Can someone clarify to me how they work when hooked up to an encoder like the gp-wiz40 with rotary support? I'm finding I am a little confused when it comes to my research on how to hook these up. My understanding was that this is just a 12 pole switch, so why couldn't/wouldn't I just hook up each pole to different inputs on any old encoder?

Last questions, I haven't used the LS-30's on anything but dedicated rotary cabs. These things make decent shmup joysticks? Any good mods out there? Am I gonna regret it if I try to replace the Octogan handle with something else? They are kinda butt ugly.....

Oh, and thanks to whoever put together the LS-30 service page on the wiki. It is great!!

[paigeoliver]

I have seem them with round handles as well, although the octagon handle seems to work best with them.

[Vigo]

maybe I will give it a shot to just "dress up" the Octogon handles somehow. Something like enamel and clearcoat them to more fitting color and add a decal to the top. 

[BadMouth]

Look at the GPWiz instructions.  There is a wiring diagram there.
http://www.groovygamegear.com/PDF/GP40_Eco_ST.pdf

You group the pins down into 3 wires and the GP wiz can tell which direction it's moving from those 3 wires.
My guess is that it does this by comparing the last pin you were on with the one currently input.
(i.e. if it moves from pin 2 to 1 you are going left, but if it moves from pin 2 to 3, you are going right)
Then it posts the button press that is mapped in MAME to make you turn left or right.

Someone also made a standalone program to do this with any encoder if you have some zd encoders still laying around. 
It's in the software forum.

EDIT: http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php/topic,129020.msg1318799.html#msg1318799

DOUBLE EDIT: BTW I've seen people replace the center cap with the plunger out of a happ button.

[Vigo]

Ah! So it is a logical interpretation thing! Beautiful! Exactly what I was getting confused on! I indeed have a couple encoders still lying around, and I will now have a basis to playing with this one. Thanks!

[Vigo]

DOUBLE EDIT: BTW I've seen people replace the center cap with the plunger out of a happ button.

Ooh! I have plenty of those.  I think I know what you are talking about, and that might be a perfect fix. One of mine has a cigarette burn on the cap area

[PL1]

Another encoder option to look into -- there's a KADE firmware for mechanical rotaries. (Thread here)

Brian74 helped with the beta testing and is currently enjoying it.   


Scott

[Gray_Area]

Those are the originals. Yellow and faceted. I recommend them over bats. You could even jazz them up grip-wise with tool dip. Very light dip and then hang to cure.

[Brian74]

I sure am! Love playing ikari warrior's and heavy barrel. Just like I remember in the arcade. I would have went with the LS-30. But, with my 27 inch vertical monitor, I can more or less play whatever I want. That's why I went with the happ rotary.

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk 2

[Le Chuck]

My fav rotary is Xybots, a nice looking cab too IMO, either way rotary games rock!

[paigeoliver]

Xybots isn't a proper rotary game at all. It is an 8-way with a left-right twist.

[PL1]

Xybots isn't a proper rotary game at all. It is an 8-way with a left-right twist.

True, but Xybots can work just fine in MAME with a mechanical (not optical) rotary since all three encoders (GGG, Ultimarc and KADE) will output one "left turn" character per left turn click, and one "right turn" character per right turn click. (they use relative positions, not absolute)

Since I don't have a rotary yet, I just remapped the controls so Button 1 turns left, 2 is fire, and 3 turns right.   

I still catch myself trying to twist the stick to turn sometimes. 


Scott

[Vigo]

Oh man, I am so stoked to play some of these rotary games for the first time in years. I used to love Ikari Warriors and Guerrilla War.  There are plenty more that I never played as well. I vaguely remember what Time Soldiers was like. Rotary always went by the wayside for me with my home cab builds, so even if this is a half-ass cab, I know I am gonna love it.

Didn't know Kade had the rotary bit yet. It is sure shaping up to be quite a tasty encoder. 

@Gray: I'll keep tool tip in mind as an option. I think I am gonna do a lot of play testing before I figure out exactly what I will do to make em a little less ugly.

[RandyT]

Just in case this is important to you, and for the sake completeness, it should be mentioned that the GP-Wiz40 also includes a special "Front-line" mode, which can be activated by front end software "on the fly" as needed.  Pulse timing is also adjustable to ensure proper function with different software, and input is handled in a way which ensures that pulses aren't missed with rapid turns, while maintaining the proper pulse rates.

[Vigo]

Just in case this is important to you, and for the sake completeness, it should be mentioned that the GP-Wiz40 also includes a special "Front-line" mode, which can be activated by front end software "on the fly" as needed.  Pulse timing is also adjustable to ensure proper function with different software, and input is handled in a way which ensures that pulses aren't missed with rapid turns, while maintaining the proper pulse rates.

That's definitely important to me. I'm still looking for the best working solution. 

I plan on keeping this cab as a dedicated rotary control machine and I would like to go with the slickest solution when all is said and done, and it still sounds like the GP-wiz is the best out of box route. It looks like I will be needing 24 inputs, and would also prefer to not have to spread out the controls across multiple encoders, especially since I have other long-term plans for those ZD's. 

[emphatic]

My findings: http://www.emphatic.se/?p=991