Not a gamer, Just want to push buttons!

[Slippyblade]

ROFL!  Looks like he's enjoying the hell out of himself.  Way to involve the family!

Keep in mind, a joystick is no different than a button.  It is simply a stick that pushes on 4 buttons, one or two at a time.  Wiring is exactly the same.

[WannabeJoy]

ROFL!  Looks like he's enjoying the hell out of himself.  Way to involve the family!

Keep in mind, a joystick is no different than a button.  It is simply a stick that pushes on 4 buttons, one or two at a time.  Wiring is exactly the same.

He is really quite lovely to put up with all of my random projects like this and quite a sport when it comes to helping out.. even if I didn't need it in this instance. I think the project was aptly placed as he had a stressful day yesterday and enjoyed doing something constructive.

I was looking at the joysticks yesterday and thinking it was pretty similar wiring. Likely easier too. I'm looking forward to connecting them!

[jmike]

Panel is coming together nicely. Good job on getting power to the buttons.
Me and the kids were watching "Inside Out" and I thought of your project (when the characters were pushing the buttons on the control panel to control the girl's emotions.)

 

[PL1]

Looking great!   

The magic search term is "convert mp3 to WAV" or "convert mp3 to OGG".

WAV files are usually much larger than MP3 and OGG files.

Since you're probably going to use a bunch of sound clips from Disney, you may want to download free converter software from Download.com instead of using one of the online converters.

The fine print on the converter sites usually states that you aren't allowed to convert copyrighted material.

Your project looks like it is within copyright Fair Use standards, but Disney can be very protective of their Intellectual Property and converter sites would rather not get sued by a big corporation with far deeper pockets than theirs.


Scott

[Titchgamer]

Ime really enjoying watching this family project come along

As above get a converter for sound there are lots of free trial use ones out there that will do what you need.

Re the joysticks I would get a 4 way stick as with 8 way you can hit 2 switches at once you may get unexpected sounding results lol

[slickam]

Here's one way you can convert the files.

Start by downloading and installing VLC Media Player.

1. In the "Media" menu, select "Convert / Save..." (see "step 1.png").
2. In the window that comes up, click the "Add..." button and choose your first file, then click the "Convert / Save" button (see "step 2.png").
3. In the new window, enter a name for the WAV file in the "Destination file" box.
3a. The first time only, click the "Create a new profile" button. (see "step 3.png").
3b. Enter a profile name of "Audio - WAV", and create the profile as shown in "step 4.png" and step 5.png". You don't need to change anything on the "Video codec" or "Subtitles" tab.
3c. Click "Save".
4. Back in the "Convert" window, choose the "Audio - WAV" profile.
5. Click "Start"
6. Your file is now converted. Repeat these steps (other than 3a-3c) for each other file you want to convert.

If anything isn't clear, let me know.

[WannabeJoy]

Progress!

We got the sounds working and wired. Everything lights up now and sounds play. Now we ponder: what to do with the joysticks? I got some LED strip lights but it looks like we won't have enough wattage to use them the way we're powering. I was hoping to make the joysticks make a connection to light up single LEDs but it looks like the joystick is set in a normal on position so is it true what I'm thinking now that the best we can hope for is for the light to turn OFF when the connection is made or is there some workaround that doesn't require getting a raspberry pi and programming it? I've no idea if I can get another microswitch for these things or not. Progress pics when I get more time!

Thank you for all of the amazing help! I'm really appreciating all of the ideas! The kids really got a kick out of being able to push the buttons to get sound today. It was AWESOME!

Sari

[Slippyblade]

If the sticks seem to be normally ON, then just pop the terminal off and connect to the other one on the switches.

[PL1]

We got the sounds working and wired. Everything lights up now and sounds play.

The kids really got a kick out of being able to push the buttons to get sound today. It was AWESOME!

Sounds great. 

I was hoping to make the joysticks make a connection to light up single LEDs but it looks like the joystick is set in a normal on position so is it true what I'm thinking now that the best we can hope for is for the light to turn OFF when the connection is made or is there some workaround that doesn't require getting a raspberry pi and programming it? I've no idea if I can get another microswitch for these things or not.

Joystick microswitches work exactly the same as button microswitches and are wired the same way.

Most microswitches have three tabs -- common (COM), normally open (NO), and normally closed. (NC)

Based on the link you posted earlier, your joystick probably came with two-tab (COM and NO) microswitches that will work fine as a simple switch for 5v or ground. (#3 below is a simple switch for ground)

If you want three-tab microswitches for your Zippyy joystick, Paradise Arcade Shop sells them here or PM me your address and I'll send you 8 three-tab switches for free. (leftovers from upgrading my sticks with the switches from Paradiise)



Also, remember that when you move the handle of the joystick to the right, the actuator on the bottom presses the switch on the left.




Scott

[WannabeJoy]

If the sticks seem to be normally ON, then just pop the terminal off and connect to the other one on the switches.

There's only two terminals on this one. Ground and NO.

[WannabeJoy]

Can I just give a shout out to Scott (PL1) for being such an AMAZING help during this? I've gotten lots of great ideas from all of the posts here, it's really all been valuable to me and so stunning that y'all are jumping aboard my unorthodox project to teach a TOTAL N00B how to do these things in some of the most basic terms. I am in awe and feeling incredibly supported here. You all are amazing!

See attached progress pics - converting to wav files with the sick toddler's help, wiring, and finally, TESTING!

PS. For those familiar with the movie I'm now NEVER going to be able to get the TripleDent Gum song out of my head.

Sari

[Slippyblade]

That's odd.  A NO connection means Normally Open.  So it shouldn't complete a circuit unless the switch is closed.

[PL1]

The Post Office is closed now -- I'll mail the switches tomorrow, Sari.   

That's odd.  A NO connection means Normally Open.  So it shouldn't complete a circuit unless the switch is closed.

True.  The issue is with the wiring connections, not the switch.

Example:

5v (sound board input)
|
|_____/_____ ground
|
LED
|
ground

When the switch is open, the LED will have 5v on one side and ground on the other so it will light.

When you close the switch, there will be ground on both sides of the LED so the LED will go out and the sound board input will be triggered.

This wiring configuration should work OK with the sound board inputs because they are designed to be shorted to ground. (built-in protective resistors)

Protip: DO NOT try a version of this that shorts 5v from the battery to ground.   


Scott

[Titchgamer]

Thats looking awesome Sari

Scotts a top guy what ya gana do lol

[WannabeJoy]

Halloween with the console was super fun. I'm not done tweaking it because the kids play with it daily and I want to do more but the main idea behind it was for Halloween so here are the costumes! Joy, Sadness, Anger, Fear, and Disgust.

I can't thank you all enough for helping to make this happen!! 

[WannabeJoy]

Whoops forgot Anger looking angry-ish.

[PL1]

Outstanding!   

Looks like a great time was had by all..   


Scott

[Locke141]

Love the family pic's. It sounds like every one loved it.

[Le Chuck]

This is like the nicest thing I have ever read

[wp34]

Outstanding.  Thanks for sharing those pics with us.