eco keywiz 40 to 3"trackball

[snaus]

Howdy,  need some help.  Just about to wire my control panel with all my new gadgets.  Realized Ive not got an optiwiz in my order.  Is there anyway to wire a trackball to a keywiz eco 40?  or hardwire directly?

Craig

[PL1]

Realized Ive not got an optiwiz in my order.  Is there anyway to wire a trackball to a keywiz eco 40?  or hardwire directly?

Welcome aboard, Craig.   

No, you can't use a KeyWiz (keyboard-style encoder) to translate the two quadrature waveforms from the optical circuits of each axis of the trackball.

When you slowly turn the axis, the data lines should alternate between logic high (near 5v) and logic low. (near 0v)

This quadrature waveform shows what you would see on the data lines (A and B) when you slowly turn the axis clockwise.



Translating those transitions into mouse movements requires an optical (mouse) encoder like the Opti-Wiz or if you have an Arduino Micro or Pro-Micro you can use StefanBurger's Illuminated Arcade Spinner firmware.


Scott

[snaus]

Thank u Scott for replying.  I live in Ontario and was hoping to not get stung with shipping fees again from the US.... but so be it. Gotta get this cab up and running. 

Craig

[PL1]

When you place your order, you may want to get the Trackball Cable for Opti-Wiz™ "No-Solder" cable as well as the Opti-Wiz.




Scott

[snaus]

gotcha thanks,  know of any canadian suppliers like Groovy Game Gears line of stuff that would work?

craig

[PL1]

know of any canadian suppliers like Groovy Game Gears line of stuff that would work?

I don't see any Canadian vendors selling optical encoders in the Canadian, and Canadian Friendly Vendors thread or the wiki Vendors page. (backup here)

Several other options you might consider are the U-HID Nano or Opti-PAC.

Other than "rolling your own" with an Arduino and StefanBurger's firmware as mentioned earlier, there aren't many other easy and good options for an Optical Encoder.


Scott

[snaus]

 Thanks Scott,   Gonna pt another order in from GGG.  Ive got my 3" TB Trackball.... Built my own control panel out of 3/4" birch veneer,  Do you think I need a trackball mounting plate?

Craig

[PL1]

Do you think I need a trackball mounting plate?

Unless you have an Ultimarc U-Trak or change to a metal control panel, the answer is almost always yes.

Have you found a build with a wood control panel that uses the same trackball that you have (Happ? Betson?) but doesn't use a mounting plate?

How much material would you have to route out of the underside of the CP to make the trackball usable without a mounting plate? (quite a bit to get the trackball high enough to keep your hand from scraping on the edge of the hole)

How much material would that leave and would the resulting trackball mount be strong enough to withstand vigorous play? (not much and probably not)


Scott

[snaus]

thanks, i figured it out, just gotta finish hyperspin now,  then its play time!

snaus