has anyone tried grafting a steering wheel to a spinner?

[CitznFish]

maybe make it removable with thumb screws? It'd be like driving a bus though...  or is a USB steering wheel still a better way to go?

[Minwah]

I think the consensus is that most most spinner shafts aren't really up to being used with a steering wheel.  But yes, it would work.

By 'USB steering wheel' do you mean a PC wheel??  Remember there are 2 main types of wheel as far as MAME is concerned, so you need to decide which type of game you like most (or get both types).  PC wheels are suited to Outrun, Chase HQ etc. and 'spinner' wheels are for eg Super Sprint, Badlands, Pole Position etc.

[kspiff]

If you made an enclosure or had the control panel angled properly it should feel just fine and work, but probably only for "continuously spinning" wheel games (like Super Sprint, Off-Road, and the like) which used a similar optics-based wheel.  Games with more advanced setups (with single turn POTs, usually referred to as 270 degree setups), force feedback, buttons on the wheel, etc. would be better with a standard PC wheel or maybe one of the homebrews made with POTs.

For me, -- just IMO -- a standard PC wheel just would look a bit too odd on a cabinet.

WTF ever happened to the Oscar wheel?  Did it get recalled?  Did he not sell many?  Was it discontinued because it only works for the few "continuous spin" driving games?

[menace]

I hacked a Dexxa steering wheel onto a threaded rod, then when I want to use it I pull it down from the top of the cab (temporary home) , spin it on and away i go.  When i'm not using it, there is only a 1/2" slot to show that its been there.  If I had a website I could show you, or alternatively, i guess i could send you a picture.  It works very well for 360 degree games.

[rampy]

what about just adding a "suicide knob" to an existing spinner?
*shrug*

Rampy

[eightbit]

maybe make it removable with thumb screws? It'd be like driving a bus though...  or is a USB steering wheel still a better way to go?

Try this thread for details on why it doesn't work.
http://www.arcadecontrols.org/yabbse/index.php?board=1;action=display;threadid=5175;start=0

[CitznFish]

maybe make it removable with thumb screws? It'd be like driving a bus though...  or is a USB steering wheel still a better way to go?

Try this thread for details on why it doesn't work.
http://www.arcadecontrols.org/yabbse/index.php?board=1;action=display;threadid=5175;start=0

Actually i was thinking of attaching a metal steeringwheel(a-la supersprint) to the outside of the spinner, not the shaft.
________
|              |
  \          /
   \        /
    \      /
     |__|    <-- attached to spinner with thumbscrews. not the shaft..the spinner itself.

[rampy]

maybe make it removable with thumb screws? It'd be like driving a bus though...  or is a USB steering wheel still a better way to go?

Try this thread for details on why it doesn't work.
http://www.arcadecontrols.org/yabbse/index.php?board=1;action=display;threadid=5175;start=0

Actually i was thinking of attaching a metal steeringwheel(a-la supersprint) to the outside of the spinner, not the shaft.
________
|              |
  \          /
   \        /
    \      /
     |__|    <-- attached to spinner with thumbscrews. not the shaft..the spinner itself.

I think you are missing the point... it's not about WHERE you attach it... is the increased leverage (for lack of a proper physics explanation) that is created both by the larger diameter of the wheel and the extending out from the spinner...

You'll definitely need to have chewie lock in the auxillary power to get that to work for any substantial amount of time/gameplay (or just play with your pinkies very lightly)

Rampy

[eightbit]

Actually i was thinking of attaching a metal steeringwheel(a-la supersprint) to the outside of the spinner, not the shaft.
________
|              |
  \          /
   \        /
    \      /
     |__|    <-- attached to spinner with thumbscrews. not the shaft..the spinner itself.

Did you read the thread I linked? Thats an explanation from someone considered an authority around here.

YMMV, if you try it let us know how well it works. I've actually wondered how the tornado spinner from slickstick would work with a scaled down wheel on it since it , IMO, has a bearing that is overkill for a spinner.

[CitznFish]

maybe make it removable with thumb screws? It'd be like driving a bus though...  or is a USB steering wheel still a better way to go?

Try this thread for details on why it doesn't work.
http://www.arcadecontrols.org/yabbse/index.php?board=1;action=display;threadid=5175;start=0

Actually i was thinking of attaching a metal steeringwheel(a-la supersprint) to the outside of the spinner, not the shaft.
________
|              |
  \          /
   \        /
    \      /
     |__|    <-- attached to spinner with thumbscrews. not the shaft..the spinner itself.

I think you are missing the point... it's not about WHERE you attach it... is the increased leverage (for lack of a proper physics explanation) that is created both by the larger diameter of the wheel and the extending out from the spinner...

You'll definitely need to have chewie lock in the auxillary power to get that to work for any substantial amount of time/gameplay (or just play with your pinkies very lightly)

Rampy

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Point



My Head

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  \/

   (yeah I totally missed it. I'm a n00b though so i get to make mistakes. )

[OSCAR]

I just want to clarify something about the original post I made a couple years ago that Bob remembered, and perhaps most of you have never seen...   Too bad that post seems to be lost forever somewhere in http://www.nsai.net/~saint/Files/Archives  

When I first went through the calculations to determine the minimum "safe" shaft diameter for use with a steering wheel, that was in response to a question on whether or not I would be offering an adapter to fit a Happ wheel to a spinner, not just mine, but any spinner.

In my original calc I assumed infinite mass for the coupling, in other words, the bearings were never part of the calculation as I assumed shaft failure.  In my experience most linear bearing failures are due to lack of lubrication or being subjected to shaft speeds higher than they are rated for.  I was looking purely at the bending force created by a coupling moment induced by a steering wheel (say pressing down with your left hand, and pulling up with your right) directly to the shaft.  I determined that a 3/8" diameter solid steel would be the minimum "safe" diameter to use (1018 CRS is what I based it on).

Because of the relatively large force you can induce with say a 10" diameter wheel through agressive or careless play, my reply was that I considered it "unsafe" for me to manufacture and supply such an adapter.  Read between the lines and you'll see that I was really doing a little CYA because I did not want to be responsible for someone damaging their spinner, control panel, or the time they invested in it.  However, this is not to say that you can not slap a steering wheel on your spinner and use it just fine if you are careful, I just don't want to hear complaints about it when 250lb Uncle Bob leans up against your steering wheel and bends the shaft.