Happ 6 speed shifter wiring (Need For Speed)

[BadMouth]

(In the spirit of the riddle of the 4-way shifter thread: http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php/topic,106709.msg1130503.html#msg1130503  ...although I'm nowhere close to an answer for this one )

Here's a puzzle that I haven't gotten around to yet.
What's the best solution for wiring a 6 speed happ shifter to a standard input device like an ipac?
Here's the OEM wiring and which switches are tripped by which gears.

[Howard_Casto]

Ok the possibility for conflicts is high, but at the risk of over-simplifying things....

First off, forget about common ground and piggy backing it... that's out. 

What you would do is piggy-back switches in a series of stand-alone loops like so:


I-Pac GND ---------->SW1 GND [switch 1] SW1 NC --------->SW2 GND [switch 2] SW2 NC------->I-Pac P1 B1

The above loop would only complete if both switch 1 AND switch 2 are closed.

The problems would be switches 3 and 4, which only need one switch closed... my bet is they would gum up the works. 


A far easier solution is to either hack a keyboard encoder or use a teensy outputting as a keyboard.  Then you can do a 2-d array and things solve themselves. 

A teensy is cheaper than an I-pac and has enough I/O pins to easily handle the shifter and any buttons you would have on the control panel, so if it were me, that's what I would use.

[terminator2k2]

just wandering if this would work....

4 x 2 input nand gates
2 x 3 input nand gates
4 x not gates

the outputs  from 1, 2, 5, 6 are run through not gates and fed to the inputs of the and gate...

[Howard_Casto]

That should totally work. 

[terminator2k2]

Would i be correct saying that the nand gates need to be changed to Or gates so the outputs are pulled low , when the micro switches are active and pulled low ?

Id had a bit too drink and really tired when i came up with that lol.

[BadMouth]

My thinking was logic gates or the demultiplexor doohicky that retrorepair used for the 4 speed shifter.  Work has had my brain too burnt out to think on it though.  I still can't focus enough to tell if your diagram is correct. 

Is there a product that has all or some of these gates on a single chip?

[terminator2k2]

I will try later to get a diagram up and the list of parts etc , i was thinking of using or gates so the output can go directly to something like a ipac , so when the inputs are low ( to ground) the output goes low and not high to switch the ipac inputs on. Im in the hospital having my infliximab infusion so ill have a look later.

[terminator2k2]

You would need something like:

1 x 7432 quad , 2 input or gate
1x 4075 triple , 3 input or gate
1 x 7404 8, not gates.

[SailorSat]

One 74 154 should do. although I don't know about floating inputs.

Code: [Select]

G L R U D

D C B A O
1 0 1 0 1 5
2 0 1 1 0 6
3 1 1 0 1 13
4 1 1 1 0 14
5 1 0 0 1 9
6 1 0 1 0 10


[Fursphere]

Is there a reason you're trying to hack this vs. just getting something like a Thrustmaster TH8A + Joy2Key working?  I know the TH8A is pricey, but not much more then the Happ 6 + encoder board.

If you're just doing it to see if you can, rock on.     

[BadMouth]

Is there a reason you're trying to hack this vs. just getting something like a Thrustmaster TH8A + Joy2Key working?  I know the TH8A is pricey, but not much more then the Happ 6 + encoder board.

If you're just doing it to see if you can, rock on.     

I'm not trying to do anything.  I don't even own a Happ 6 speed shifter.
Someone mentioned in another thread that they were trying to interface a need for speed cabinet and hadn't worked out the shifter yet.  I figured it was a fun problem to work out and it's good to have the   some ideas on our board in case somene is searching for a solution.

[Howard_Casto]

It's a good exercise, so I'm all for it. 

When I start working on my custom shifter later this month I'll go ahead and write a sketch for the 4 and 6 way shifters.  It isn't terribly hard. 

[Fursphere]

Is there a reason you're trying to hack this vs. just getting something like a Thrustmaster TH8A + Joy2Key working?  I know the TH8A is pricey, but not much more then the Happ 6 + encoder board.

If you're just doing it to see if you can, rock on.     

I'm not trying to do anything.  I don't even own a Happ 6 speed shifter.
Someone mentioned in another thread that they were trying to interface a need for speed cabinet and hadn't worked out the shifter yet.  I figured it was a fun problem to work out and it's good to have the   some ideas on our board in case somene is searching for a solution.

Apparently I struck a nerve.      Good luck with your riddle.

[Cobra64]

I think it was me that BadMouth was referring to in wanting to configure a Happ 6-speed.

I've managed tonight to drive Daytona USA using the 6-speed (although it only wanted 4 out of the 6 gears).

I used SailorSat's idea of using a 74 154 multiplexor rather than lots of gate ICs.  I had to use a 10K pull-up resistor on the 4 switch inputs to give a +5v signal when the switch was open.  Otherwise the floating input would give spurious results.  This meant that I had to use different outputs from the 154 since an low input means that the switch is closed.  The outputs from the 154 are low when active (all other outputs high).  This was flipped to a high using some NOR gates I had (a 7404 inverter would have been better).  Note that I also had to connect the common switch ground from the cabinet to the ground on my circuit so that the switches have a reference.

The Immersion switch matrix needed to be isolated (I think) from the rest of the circuitry so I used a 74 4016 IC (Bi-lateral switch) to make the switch connection for the switch matrix.  This is controlled by the 6 outputs.  Think of it like a relay.

Finally, the 6 outputs from the 4016 were then wired up to the Immersion switch matrix (see another thread about this) using diodes as per the Immersion instructions.  So gears 1-to-6 now activate joystick buttons 1-to-6.

I've only got it set up on a breadboard right now and used a Duinotech USB based power supply that came with the breadboard.  I did find that when I set the power to 3.3v that the Immersion switch matrix didn't pick up the switching.  I found that with a lower voltage there was a higher resistance produced by the 4016 between the in & out pins.  A higher voltage dropped this resistance allowing the Immersion matrix to think the switch was closed.

Quite a bit of stuffing around and I'm sure there are things that could be done more simply.  I'd be interested if anyone has any simplification ideas.

[Howard_Casto]

Great work!  Let me ask you something.... do the switches on the shifter have a normally open pin?  Short of using an avr as the pc interface (do the logic in software) I don't think you could get it any simpler and have it work reliably, but perhaps the inversion could be removed if it was done at the switch?

[Cobra64]

Yes, the switches are just standard arcade switches but I need to do the inversion on the output of the multiplexor - not the inputs from the switches.  Perhaps there is a 74 154 style IC with opposite outputs (ie active high).  But an avr may be the best given I now have a rats nest of wires going on.

[ignignot]

Anyone ever crack this one? Ideally something software based.  I need to use an a-pac for the POT based pedals


I think i might try this
https://www.ebay.com/i/223444559751
And use the extra poles to run ground through both extra NC's on the L/R switches to the extra poles on the U/D switches for gears 3+4


Edit: actually the opposite side of the L/R switches there are screw holes to mount an extra pair of spdt cherrys.  I would only need the dpdts on the U/D switches (which conveniently have an extra long actuator) and it should be perfect for the apac