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Can someone Identify what mods were done to this TankStick?
arcadesteve123:
I bought this tankstick off of marketplace but I never seen this layout/configuration before...Would anyone know who or what mods were made so I can learn more about what was done?
PL1:
--- Quote from: arcadesteve123 on February 02, 2025, 05:51:06 pm ---Would anyone know who or what mods were made so I can learn more about what was done?
--- End quote ---
No idea who modded it, but the two most obvious changes are the buttons ==> LED buttons and the X-Arcade encoder + wiring harness ==> two gamepad-style encoders that can also power the button LEDs.
Since the encoder PCBs are different from each other, they probably have different USB IDs which should make it easier to avoid the USB device renumbering issue.
You may want to trace the USB cables and mark which one is for P1, which is for P2 and which is for the trackball.
Scott
arcadesteve123:
Interesting indeed...from the obvious an overlay was put over the original tankstick, the green usb board is a EG Starts brand...so it does look like a lighted button kit was added. Is that right black usb board the tankstick brand? It also appears that the two buttons above that black usb board were removed also.
I was wondering why the led power was clipped...probably not needed but coming off the trackball module I wonder what those 4 wires were used for that were clipped also. The guy I bought it off of said it was new and he never used it and wanted to build a cab but instead bought already completed machines.
With the labels on the buttons are they to signify something like that is what they are mapped to or are they just for something else?
Scott...would you know if I wanted to add a spinner would a spinner connect to any of the usb boards or does the spinner have its own dedicated usb board/cable?
arcadesteve123:
I did find something on the web that might explain the trackball wires maybe...
--------------
Trackball Assembly Installation Instructions & Wiring Print
Modified on: Tue, 30 Jul, 2019 at 11:35 AM
The Trackball assembly may look complicated because it has many wires and connectors coming out of it, but there actually only 5 types of wires with several duplicates of each. Here are the functions for each wire color respectively:
Black = All black wires are ground (use a ground with each wire below)
White = Mouse Button 1 (mouse 0 in MAME)
Brown = Mouse Button 2 (mouse button 1 in MAME)
Orange = Mouse Button 3 (mouse button 2 in MAME)
Blue = Horizontal Disabler (use for perfect straight shots in Golf or Bowling)
PL1:
--- Quote from: arcadesteve123 on February 03, 2025, 06:23:16 am ---Is that right black usb board the tankstick brand?
--- End quote ---
No, it doesn't look like an X-Arcade encoder.
https://shop.xgaming.com/collections/arcade-parts
It's almost certainly a gampad encoder like the EG Starts, but a different model/color.
- The red connectors are usually for LEDs. (should be marked on the board)
--- Quote from: arcadesteve123 on February 03, 2025, 06:23:16 am ---With the labels on the buttons are they to signify something like that is what they are mapped to or are they just for something else?
--- End quote ---
Yes, the labels indicate the function each button was mapped to.
You'll need to map the controls in your emulator program(s) accordingly.
--- Quote from: arcadesteve123 on February 03, 2025, 06:23:16 am ---Scott...would you know if I wanted to add a spinner would a spinner connect to any of the usb boards or does the spinner have its own dedicated usb board/cable?
--- End quote ---
A spinner is an optical device so you'll need an optical (mouse) encoder.
https://wiki.arcadecontrols.com/index.php/Optical_Encoders
The trackball has a built-in optical encoder for the trackball X- and Y-axes, but doesn't have the connections/inputs to add a spinner.
- Unlike microswitch controls, you can't piggyback the optical input data lines for a spinner on the data lines for the X-axis because the data lines going HIGH/LOW are how the encoder knows if/when the axis moves. For example, if both A and B are LOW (phase 1) then B goes HIGH (phase 2), that tells the encoder that the axis has moved one step right (phase 1 to 2).
Moving the axis to the right outputs the pattern . . . 1, 2, 3, 4, 1, 2, 3, 4, . . . left to right in the image below.
Moving the axis to the left outputs the pattern . . . 4, 3, 2, 1, 4, 3, 2, 1, . . . right to left in the image below.
The TT2 (GroovyGameGear) and SpinTrak (Ultimarc) spinners have USB optical encoders either included or available.
Scott
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