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$2 USB Optical rotary upgrade for most joysticks
griffindodd:
Thanks for that Badmouth, now I know what I should be looking at.
griffindodd:
After yesterdays banter backward and forward my brain got stewing on this.
I think I have come up with a dirt cheap (Under $4) 12 step rotary switch solution that will mount to any joystick and will not require anything other than a standard button controller that most people are using already anyway.
I didn't like the fact that the rotary encoders I bought from Sparkfun would require me to spend another $35+ on a controller board like the U-HID Nano.
So first I am going to attack this mechanical switch approach for the rotary games like Ikari Warriors and develop a way to be able to engage/disengage the shaft rotation for switched vs optical mode.
Stay tuned on this one.
Gray_Area:
--- Quote from: griffindodd on September 13, 2012, 05:05:31 pm ---After yesterdays banter backward and forward my brain got stewing on this.
I think I have come up with a dirt cheap (Under $4) 12 step rotary switch solution that will mount to any joystick and will not require anything other than a standard button controller that most people are using already anyway.
I didn't like the fact that the rotary encoders I bought from Sparkfun would require me to spend another $35+ on a controller board like the U-HID Nano.
So first I am going to attack this mechanical switch approach for the rotary games like Ikari Warriors and develop a way to be able to engage/disengage the shaft rotation for switched vs optical mode.
Stay tuned on this one.
--- End quote ---
Well, Andy and Randy could probably augment the Sparksfun unit as a PNP solution, or make their own. But I'm eager to see your newest epiphany.
BadMouth:
Just did a little testing with one of the little $3 clicky 12-position encoders from sparkfun.
https://www.sparkfun.com/products/9117
The detents aren't as pronounced as I'd hoped and will probably seem even less so after installed since the joystick top will provide more leverage.
I had my doubts at first. The guy in Ikari Warriors flipped to seemingly random positions, but after playing the hi/lo game with the sensetivity in MAME, I got close enough to the correct setting that it worked properly. The guy faces whichever direction the encoder is pointing, rotating one position for each detent without getting screwed up. :)
EDIT: THESE WORK ON IKARI WARRIORS, BUT DON'T EVEN REGISTER FOR MAPPING ON HEAVY BARREL AND VICTORY ROAD, PRESUMEABLY FROM THE LOW RESOLUTION.
Now to fit them to my joysticks and see if they affect the feel while playing other games.
Not sure when I'll get around to it, since this is one of too many projects and I haven't had any free time in a month. :'(
I hope this works out well, as it's a fairly cheap solution using all new parts.
$6 for a pair of these and $15 for an Opti-Wiz, plus shipping and a few parts from the hardware store for mounting.
griffindodd:
Good stuff.
I just received my parts for my little mechanical experiment so I'm going to see if I can get them working and report back.
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