Main > Driving & Racing Cabinets
A different approach to a custom shifter
Xiaou2:
I made a few attempts at hacking analog sticks with hard spring controllers.
One such device was my custom Sinistar controller. It uses a Rubber "X" made out of bike inner tubes... as the
center spring.
However, the pressures that were created.. caused the entire shell of the stick to warp and finally break apart.
Eventually I found a sturdy enough shell. I believe it was the Foxfire pro or something like that... by thrustmaster.
It had very small pots.. the kind that are probably put into those thunbsticks these days. And the assembly was very rigid, with a strong shaft. I further increased that strength, but inserting a metal shaft into the cut down plastic shaft. After that.. is was solid as a rock.
Also note, you wouldnt want to hack a cheese stick for yoke handles.. because they often have horrible buttons.. with high fatigue pressure levels. As well as very thin plastic that creaks and warps under even mild strain. Its best to feel the thing first, and see if its flex and buttons are decent.. as well as the comfort of the grip. Often the grip may fit one hand well.. but feel really bad for someone else.
Analog shifters are great IMO, because they can be configured in so many ways.. and not have so many costly and failable mechanical parts. They are smooth as glass.. and silent in activation.
Take a look at Race Drivins shifter. Its quite simple but ingenious. Its a shaft welded to a door hinge! The hinge is on a shaft that rocks back and forth.. and the shifter is on the other side of the hinge.. to swing left to right. They use simple crank arms to drive pots.
On the middle pivot shaft, they have a spring loaded roller wheel. As the shifter is moved, the wheel rotates, and when in place, the spring-wheel locks into a small half-circle pit.
Its actually quite simple and fairly cheap to build. You wouldnt even need to weld it.. as you could use epoxy putty.. and or just screw the shaft to the hinge itself.
The most expensive thing is merely the metal shafts.. but you could break apart nearly anything for them.. and or just spend the 7$ at the hardware store for them.
Do remember, that shifters tend to be Slammed very hard into gear... because the action gets intense. Without decent shaft strength and good strong mechanical design.. the unit will tear itself to pieces in a few uses tops.
Xiaou2:
I think Ill also mention that you have to consider the Angles and Shaft thickness as well, when designing the H-plate.
The plate itself has to be thick so as not to be cutting into the shaft. Use of a Poly Cutting board or two, would probably work.
The angle ranges of the sticks shaft also matters.. because you dont want to have to move your shifter two miles from left to right. And if you choose a shaft thats too thick.. you wont easily be able to make an H-Plate thats strong enough. The middle fingers would crack if too thin. If the shaft is too thin.. it could bend from heavy impact.
Id tried two attempts to make a shifter with Micros and failed. I might be able to do it now that Im more experienced. However, seeing the Race Drivin shifter now.. Id more readily replicate that anyways. Its far superior to anything Ive ever experienced.. Its proven in the field for durability, very realistic and accurate, and fairly easy to replicate.
Edit:
Also note that if your analog shaft does not travel far enough.. it may not calibrate properly in windows and or work well in mame. This is why something like Race Drivin, uses a crank arm setup to create a geared like response. Making less travel with the shaft .. but more travel on the Pots.
Howard_Casto:
Yeah this particular stick is an odd beast. It uses metal buttons internally with a metal return spring on each button... they are kind of similar to cherry switches used on old keyboards. It doesn't use pots either, they are sliders like the ones used in old 70's radios.
I share everyone's concern about the joint though... I'm going to keep looking for now, but I'll throw it in the maybe pile. The main reason I liked it was I would have to fiddle with creating linkages and what-not to figure out how to turn the pots... that stuff is taken care of.
A door hinge huh?.... hmm... let me see what I can come up with.
Xiaou2:
Ive been meaning to make some vids about various controllers. Ill try to capture one with my phone cam and see how it goes. Ive managed to get hold of a Race Drivin Shifter. Only issue will be getting the lighting right.. because everything is contained in the metal tube assembly.
Try for tomorrow, but probably a weekend upload.
Also, yeah... I know what you mean about that stick. I think I had one actually. The buttons are quite stiff.. sound really loud, and as far as I recall, the housing wasnt good with strain.
Laters
BadMouth:
--- Quote from: Howard_Casto on May 12, 2014, 10:53:55 pm --- It doesn't use pots either, they are sliders like the ones used in old 70's radios.
--- End quote ---
That's standard for the old gameport trigger sticks. The only ones that used pots looked like a big square box with a tiny little stick sticking up not very far. (and it was always textured in a way that would tear up your thumb if you tried to use it as a thumbstick).
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