Anyone added gamepad rumble to a cab/CP?.

[rockyrocket]

Recently whilst playing PinballFX2 I noticed that my xbox 360 controller was buzzing away happily even though a keyboard encoder was handling all the controls.
This then got me to thinking about adding bigger motors to the pad and placing each motor by the flipper buttons for some different feedback in my cab.
Not sure if I want this in my upright cab that already have two flipper contactors running from opto`s so already work with PinballFX2 and Pinball arcade or maybe to also add this to my pincab?.
A sacrificial usb 360 pad was ordered for the experiment along with a pair of these vibration motors .
The pad arrived today and the warranty was voided straight after.
Testing show the feedback from just usb power is poor but the motors are reasonably good when run at 5V but are just too strong at 12v - the flippers may vibrate enough to activate I think.
So my next step is to work out some relays to power the motors at 5v - 7v from the pads signal (thinking opto), and we shall see how well it works then?.
My question is have any of you done this before?, or have any advice for me (better motor choice)?.
I am also really curious as to what would happen if you used the signal from the 360 to power a pinball shaker motor? (really must fit one).

[rockyrocket]

Made a video showing my findings, the motors work fine powered at 5V through a relay.
The relays used can be found HERE the LED`s on the motors are just for the vids and play no part in generel use.
The flipper opto circuit is also courtesy of zebulon and can be found HERE
Overall I am happy with the outcome and combined with the flipper contactors already fitted to the upright cab think its been a worthwhile experiment/upgrade.

[SavannahLion]

My question is have any of you done this before?,

I looked into it at my childrens suggestion. I decided it wasn't for me or the cab.

Personally, I feel that the vibration feature in most modern consoles are a very poor substitute for a true feed back system like those found in classic arcade or PC games. I found about all it's good for is to find hidden stuff in the Zelda games and to get more girls to play games.

But don't let me stop you on your quest. Let us know how it turns out. 

Oh... sorry, video wasn't showing up for me in post #2 at first. I thought that last sentence was kind of a weird statement. 

Anyhow, good thing it worked out and you like it. What event, exactly, is the vibrator responding to? It seems somewhat random.

[rockyrocket]

That rezbrator link is class  .
Both the pinball games use the motors differently and each mostly uses only one side - but both use the opposite one to the other.
If they had both used the same side then maybe I would of just connected both motors to the same one output.
The surprising thing is that the pad originally had a larger and smaller motor, so you would think both games would be consistent in output.
The event triggers are mainly the bumpers with the most feedback applied when hit, then less vibration is felt with a hit to the slingshots or when plunging.

Now that this is fitted to the cab I have to say though that the effect is better than expected - I do recommend trying it.
A good thing is its not really noticeable what side is vibrating as you can feel it on both sides.
I would not want to use motors with much more power than the 6G ones as damaging the HDD`s would worry me.
I do have another MOTOR from the same vendor rated at 115G for my pincab (with SSD`s)and I can tell you its a beast, the cab almost walked away in testing!.

[Silver001]

Hello,
           Sorry to revive an old post, but the content seems right up my alley !
I have built a custom pinball controller by extending an XBox 360 controller to a wooden box mimicing the front of a pin cab.
I really liked the rumble motors in the handheld controller, but when I mounted them on the side of the box ( 3/8 inch plywood ) I could barely feel them.
At the moment, they are just USB powered but I am looking to beef them up with more electronics . I'll probably have to get an extra DC power supply...
Has anyone completed this before and have some schematics they can share ?

Also, I wonder if I should abandon the rumble motors and go for something with more ooomph ? I do not have a good handle on pinball part names.
I have heard of shaker motor and contactors. Not sure if these would be overkill ? I am also not sure of what other rumble like devices are out there.
Does anyone have any ideas I could follow up on ?

Thanks !

                  Silver001

[baritonomarchetto]

You are in the need for bigger motors. Easyest way to handle this is: remove the xbox360 rumble motors, use the signal that previously juiced the small motor to drive a solid state relay connected to a bigger motor. Yes, an adeguate power supply is mandatory.