Spinner pins on X-Arcade Tri-mode board?

[SRGilbert]

After owning an original X-Arcade Two player unit since they were first released, I decided to update the old controller board with the new Tri-Mode PCB.  It was pretty easy to swap out but what caught my eye was an unused four pin connector marked “Spinner” but I can find no reference to this anywhere.  Anyone know the deal?

[PL1]

what caught my eye was an unused four pin connector marked “Spinner” but I can find no reference to this anywhere.  Anyone know the deal?

Looks like they are typical optical spinner connections.
  Vcc = 5v to power the optical circuits.
  Gnd = Ground for the optical circuits.
  SP1 and SP2 = Data lines.  If the spinner moves opposite of the expected direction, swap the data lines.

If you don't have an optical spinner handy, you can probably test this theory by generating a fake quadrature waveform.
- Tie one data line to ground (data low) and put a switch between the other data line and ground.
- Assuming that the encoder is an active low device (most modern devices are) and that it includes an optical (mouse) encoder circuit, you should see the cursor wobble back and forth one step when you press and release the switch.
-- Ground on both pins  (switch closed) = phase 1.
-- Ground removed from one pin (switch open) = phase 2 or 4.


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Checking on the X-Arcade site, there's a page about adding a spinner, but it looks like it's about the older X-Arcade boards.   
- Links and video are 8 - 12 years old which is many years before they started selling tri-mode boards.
https://support.xgaming.com/support/solutions/articles/12000003136-how-can-i-add-a-spinner-to-my-x-arcade-

you will not be able to connect a spinner to the existing X-Arcade  electronics, so when looking for a spinner to purchase be sure it has  its own USB connection

Scott

[SRGilbert]

For what it’s worth, I contacted X-Gaming and they replied with a very succinct “We may release a spinner in future” and that was it.  It would be interesting to know if any currently available spinners could work now.

[PL1]

For what it’s worth, I contacted X-Gaming and they replied with a very succinct “We may release a spinner in future” and that was it.  It would be interesting to know if any currently available spinners could work now.

First place to check is in Windows Control Panel -- Devices and Printers.

Right click on the encoder icon and look at the properties.
- If the "Hardware" tab mentions HID Mouse in addition to the expected HID Keyboard and HID Gamepad (Joypad?), the firmware may already support optical (mouse) inputs.  Try the fake quadrature test mentioned in the previous post.
- If there's no mention of HID Mouse, the firmware doesn't support spinners yet.  No idea if you can update the firmware on an X-Arcade encoder yourself.   


Scott