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]

Would anyone know who or what mods were made so I can learn more about what was done?

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]

Is that right black usb board the tankstick brand?

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)

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?

Yes, the labels indicate the function each button was mapped to.

You'll need to map the controls in your emulator program(s) accordingly.

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?

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

[arcadesteve123]

I took out the board as the model was on the bottom.

[arcadesteve123]

So what I can gather thus far is that maybe the original buyer bought it and then had it modified with the overlay and the change out of the original tankstick buttons (that I think are better quality) then these cheapy lighted ones.  I am thinking the mods probably were around $100 on top of the tankstick and labor? 

I did buy a GRS USB Button Hole Spinner and will take out one of the bottom buttons for it.

I paid $100 for the tankstick and after knowing all the mods...eh...probably could have chewed him down a bit more.

[arcadesteve123]

I did buy this GRS USB Button Hole Spinner and am I to assume that it does not require a usb board?  Seems simple connection to it and hopefully windows will recognize it?

[arcadesteve123]

Oh look...there is a super tiny manual link for a manual on a business card included in the box.

[pbj]

Take all that art crap off of it, replace the buttons, and put an X-Arcade encoder back in it.  Luckily they sell all those parts.  If you get on their mailing list, they're constantly going on sale.

[arcadesteve123]

lol...the overlay is in new condition and I don't really care about that but I will at least try out these cheapy buttons and see if they function how I expect them to but good to know that parts for the tankstick are still available!

[PL1]

I did buy this GRS USB Button Hole Spinner and am I to assume that it does not require a usb board?  Seems simple connection to it and hopefully windows will recognize it?

Yes, Windows will recognize it as a HID mouse -- no special drivers needed.

That spinner uses a Hall Effect sensor (magnetic, slightly less accurate) instead of optical sensors.

If it works good enough for you in Arkanoid (the highest resolution spinner game) after you adjust the sensitivity in MAME,  then it will work well enough for all the other games.
- The GRS spinner is 1024 counts per turn vs. 1200 counts per turn for the TT2 and SpinTrak, so you'll need to calculate each game's sensitivity accordingly.
http://wiki.arcadecontrols.com/index.php/Spinner_Turn_Count
http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php/topic,164017.0.html

The USB encoder is the blue PCB on the bottom of the spinner.
- The large connector is the USB connection.
- The small connection is for mouse buttons. L = left click.  R = right click.  G = ground.






Scott

[arcadesteve123]

Soooooo....after all the assistance (Scott  ) I hooked it all up and it works great.  Yea...I did have one of the buttons sticking but took it out and back in and now working fine.  Seems like you can't crank the plastic nut that tight or things get wonky. The button spinner was so simple to setup where I really didn't want to break the hole drill out etc.

I got an smack-down education on how the inner workings of these things work with this post...Still haven't found a good wiring diagram on the microswitch as to what connects to what but read somewhere if you reverse the polarity the lighted buttons they only light when pushed? Anyhu, now back to the diy stand I will be making to incorporate the tankstick. Thanks again to PL1! I'll post a pic when completely done....May the games begin!

[PL1]

Glad to assist.   

Still haven't found a good wiring diagram on the microswitch as to what connects to what but read somewhere if you reverse the polarity the lighted buttons they only light when pushed?

Check out WannabeJoy's thread for a number of tips and ideas including the diagrams below.
https://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php/topic,151577.0/all.html

She was using a sound board instead of gamepad encoder, but things should work similarly if your encoder is an "active low" device -- input is normally pulled HIGH (5v) until LOW (ground) is applied to it which triggers the output.
- You'll need to adjust the wiring if your encoder is "active high" -- input is normally LOW until HIGH (5v) is applied to it which triggers the output -- and many of the cheap encoders like yours are.
- If you want to find out if your encoder is "active low" (ground common on outer rail) or "active high" (5v common on outer rail), test it with your multimeter like Melvinbates did in this thread.
- If you're not sure how to change the wiring diagram for "active high", just mention which option you want.



Looks like your LED buttons have a microswitch with 3 tabs (NO, NC, and COM) and have the LED on the "stirrup" tabs.
- If you have wires connected to all three tabs of the microswitch and only one "stirrup", it's probably connected like diagram #2.




Scott

[CamdenTate]

Thank you so much sir for this https://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php/topic,151577.0/all.html link, you made my day.

[PL1]

 


Scott