360 degree STEERING WHEELS for PC's

[mcneilsassassin]

I am an old video gamer but a MAME newbie. I want to know if a 360 degree steering wheel exist that is USB supported and that can be used on a laptop. I want to play Turbo and Pole Position on a Compaq Presario 1720 US laptop. I would appreciate any suggestions. The Universal Rumble Wheel by Go-Pro is worthless. Thanks for any help.

[Minwah]

AFAIK no 360 PC wheel exists....basically as games are not made that require it.

Your best bet is to hack an old arcade wheel to a mouse device or optic encoder - there should be plenty of info on this on this board

[mcneilsassassin]

Thanks for your quick response. However, all that you said is well above me. Where would I start? I guess I have a lot of learning to do , thanks.

[horseboy]

Where would I start?

With a search. 

[Kremmit]

Info on mouse hacking can be found here:
http://mamewah.mameworld.net/mousehack.htm

Or, if you're not comfortable with ripping open a mouse and soldering, you could just buy one of these:

http://groovygamegear.com/webstore/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=76_85&products_id=260
or one of these:
http://www.ultimarc.com/optipac1.html

Then you'll need an arcade 360 degree wheel.  Pole Position wheels come up on ebay a lot, but most any wheel from a 360 degree game can be used.  I'd avoid Ivan Stewart's Super Off-Road, though- they use special funky optics that won't interface properly.

Once you get your wheel and mouse-hack (or encoder), holler for help if you need it.

[horseboy]

Many of the wheels on Ebay have encoder wheels, but not the optic boards. The 3 I got didn't have optic boards, but I got these..
http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?topic=48855.0
Highly recomended. They also eliminate the need to worry about the Off Road wheels as well.

[Kremmit]

Many of the wheels on Ebay have encoder wheels, but not the optic boards. The 3 I got didn't have optic boards, but I got these..
http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?topic=48855.0
Highly recomended. They also eliminate the need to worry about the Off Road wheels as well.

Not necessarily.  Some Off-Road wheels have a cup-shaped encoder, rather than the more traditional disk-shaped one.  These need a curved optic, like the one you see on Missile Command trackballs, and the ones in the recent Pole Position Wheel thread.  Cup-shaped encoder wheels wouldn't work with those replacement optics.

[NoOne=NBA=]

I've gotten Oscar's older-style optic boards to work with my Off-Road wheels, but not the newer ones.
The newer ones he has have the sensors closer together, and the curved wheel won't fit through them.
The only thing needed to interface the older boards to the wheel was a couple pieces of foam tape.
They just tape right to the existing mounting bracket, and work.