Using a foot pedal for a button?

[equlizer]

I want to use a foot pedal and put a switch in it to use it as a button.  Has anyone done this before? Have any pics?

I want to install a TT2 spinner and use the foot pedal to fire

[Xiaou2]

Its not hard to hack, make, or obtain a digital pedal solution...

 However,  the real question is.. what are you using it for?

 Any game that requires decent fire rates... will be a big problem for most people. Even drummers need to sit down, use dual pedals, and those pedals are leverage-sprung (Not typical arcade pedals. More akin to a trebuchet -vs- a single axis catapult).

 One idea I had was to use a center axis pedal, with 2 leaf switches, 1 on each end.  That could be use for aiming in the up/down sections of Discs of Tron.  The original spinner is a bit difficult to spin+change vertically. ..at the same time,  so this solution could actually improve the control.

 For non analog racing games, a digital pedal will work fine.  May work ok enough for some analog games too.

 On mame, an analog pedal can be used as a digital button as well.  May not work like that on all games and emulators however.

 You can also fashion a dual mode pedal... where its geared analog, with a leafswitch, or similar,  for digital as well.

[PL1]

The 2-switch rocker pedal here can be connected using a stereo audio jack  (or similar) to wire the pedal switches in parallel with two buttons.   



Works great for the high/low function in Discs of Tron.

Any game that requires decent fire rates... will be a big problem for most people.

Agreed.  Will not work well for Galaga.   

Foot pedal and rapid fire are mutually exclusive unless you use some sort of auto-fire solution.


Scott

[RandyT]

These are a very nice foot switch, and cheap too.  I use them on some of my machinery.

It wouldn't take much to remove the cords and rewire for gaming use.

[Thenasty]

Tried playing TRON with a foot button 

[yotsuya]

Tried playing TRON with a foot button 

 

[SavannahLion]

These are a very nice foot switch, and cheap too.  I use them on some of my machinery.

It wouldn't take much to remove the cords and rewire for gaming use.

Oh wow, that's exactly what I needed. The Big Box Store looked at me like I was smoking crack when I asked for one.
There's a HF near the mall, I'll be able to ditch the kids and spouse for ten minutes to pick one up.

[equlizer]

It would be for games like DOT and forgotten worlds.  I would have that button set to rapid fire most likely.  My bartop is sitting on a computer desk right now and where the computer would sit i would drill a hole and put a button in there then use my foot to tap it or hold it down to fire.

[opt2not]

MAME TIME is using a foot pedal for his Geometry Wars cabinet:

http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php/topic,131784.0.html

Looks pretty awesome, and a viable button for the one-off needs (like the Bomb in GeoWars).  I don't know about using it as a continuously used button, like for main firing.

[Xiaou2]

Tried playing TRON with a foot button 

 Not Tron.  Discs of Tron... and only for the up and down aiming.

 As for using it as a rapidfire... such as with DOT,  its not a good idea.  Dot requires more precisely timed shots to trick sark, in any but the first few easy levels.  If you shoot all your discs at once,  he will easily evade them all,  and you will be defensless for too long a time.

 There are some games that use autofire, but I believe they are limited in number.

 As for momentary pedals... note that they may work fine for your tools... but may not work so well on your favorite games.  There may be too much or too little travel, spring force, etc.

[DaveMMR]

What if you had two foot buttons wired to the same input and you alternated your feet for faster firing maybe?  No?


Definitely be good exercise while playing.

[PL1]

What if you had two foot buttons wired to the same input and you alternated your feet for faster firing maybe?  No?

I'd like to see someone doing this with their toes.   




Scott

[HanoiBoi]

Like Xiaou2 said, you cannot successfully play DOT with rapid fire.  Go try it now and you'll understand.

I think many of us believe that maybe the foot pedal could be helpful for up/down aiming in DOT.

Another thought for up/down, depending on your control panel setup (and I have not tried this) would be to try mapping buttons that are within reach of your thumb(s).  If you can reach them, a la Defender, they could possibly be used for up/down.

If you simply want a foot pedal fire button for various other games, then by all means continue on.  That could be fun to play. 

[DaveMMR]

What if you had two foot buttons wired to the same input and you alternated your feet for faster firing maybe?  No?

I'd like to see someone doing this with their toes.   
Scott

Well I suppose for that game you could incorporate the buttons into some sort of layout housed in a cushioned pad so you could run frantically on it. Or, inevitably, slap it with your hands.   

[shponglefan]

I want to use a foot pedal and put a switch in it to use it as a button.  Has anyone done this before? Have any pics?

Yes, I actually wired up a pedal designed as a Yamaha keyboard sustain pedal (for music) to use with MAME as a foot switch.  I used it for racing games in conjunction with a TT spinner.

[TopJimmyCooks]

Time Crisis, obviously.

[Generic Eric]

A foot pedal could be cool as a pause button.

[HanoiBoi]

A foot pedal would be cool as a 'jump' button, wired instead to NC (or NO?).

You could actually jump to jump.