Will a steering wheel w/ a game port work?

[jasonbar]

Howdy-

A friend is offering to give me his Microsoft Force Feedback Steering wheel: http://www.sharkyextreme.com/hardware/microsoft_ffwheel/

It has the game port cable, not a USB connector.
 
A little search turned up some $20 cables that convert USB to game port (or vice versa).

I'm running Windows XP on a pretty modern machine that doesn't appear to have a game port (have to double-check when I get home...).

Can I simply convert it to USB & run with it?  Do I need to buy a card w/ a game port?  Will MAME (using .115 for 99% of my games) work with this device one way or the other?  Any experience here w/ this or equivalent wheels?


Thanks!
-Jason

[u_rebelscum]

No, maybe, yes (assuming winXP sees it), and not me.   

The problem is the adapters convert from standard gameport to USB joystick.  That wheel, AFAIK, is not "standard gameport", but uses the MIDI part of the port.  It won't work on non-MIDI capable gameports, and needs the driver to convert from MIDI-ish to joystick-ese.

If the gameport you buy is MIDI capable, it might work.  You'll need to find XP drivers for the wheel, though, since the wheel has its own proprietary signal.

Once (or if) you get the XP driver, though, it'll work in mame.  Mame has no forcefeedback, though.

I don't have one.  Which actually might be a good thing for you.  The wheel might be gameport/USB (from skimming the review you linked, didn't look like it).  If so (like my gamepad), and you have the adapter that came with the wheel, the wheel would be able to sense if it's connected by USB or MIDI/gameport, and send the correct signal.  However, AFAIK, these are not standard gameport to USB adapters, so even if the wheel is capable, you'd need to find the special proprietary adapter.

[jasonbar]

Thank you yet again for a helpful reply, Rebel.   

I read your post & translated it into: "too much work & hassle for Jason vs. just buying a new wheel--they're not that expensive anyway."

 


Thanks,
-Jason

[captainpotato]

It may be worthwhile - I made a gameport -> USB hack for a Logitech Formula Force a few (many) years ago that was simply a matter of connecting four pins on the gamboard plug to the four USB pins. Don't see why a Microsoft one should be any harder.

[MonMotha]

Simply hooking devices up to USB ports ONLY works if the device is built to handle that.  Many "modern" devices are.  Lots of mice support both kinds of connections over the same plug (hence the popularity of those "USB to PS/2 port" adapters that don't always work).  If the wheel is new enough, this might work.  Generally, anything that supports this mode of operation would have come with a suitable adapter in the box, though they often get lost.

I don't recall MS "digital gameport" devices using the MIDI part of that connector.  MS actually has an old patent (which I think is still in effect, despite being next to worthless) on a means of moving digital data over the actual joystick port connections in a manner that is reasonably compatible with the original PC "game port" hardware.  Now, whether it will work with USB adapter or not, I have no idea.  Certainly worth a shot.

If you can't make that work, I've got some PCI sound cards with "game ports" on them I could sell you cheap.

[jasonbar]

Thanks for all your input, but, at this busy time in my life, my time is better spent paying a bit more & just getting a new plug & play solution.  (where's the "dunce" or the "duh" smiley anyway???)

Thanks,
-Jason