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Raspberry Pi Pico??

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baritonomarchetto:
That pico board is very interesting because the microprocessor is a (up to) 133MHz dual core, it's fast and cheap. It can emulate mouse and keyboard, and there are evidences of gamepad emulation too. A valid alternative to arduino DUE which is expensive nowadaye (clones are sold for 40+ euros now... They used to be 15 euros before micros prices started to rise).
It has 26 pins, interrupts on all of them, PWM and, as Scott pointed out, only 3 analog inputs (who said "wheel, accel and brake"? :) ).
One thing that could confuse at first is the existence of more than one interpreter (micropython and circuitpython), but with time it will find it's own standardization, I suppose. Even if python is a user friendly language, all those different approaches are not for newbies. They added support for arduino IDE too...
I also learned about it very recently and I am developing one of my "jamma to PC only me and my dog will ever use"  ;D ... I am curious to see how it turns out :)

slybunda:
Pi pico seems to be the best for use as a joystick interface
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=JSKn6qdkTKU&feature=youtu.be

eobet:

--- Quote from: PL1 on July 13, 2022, 02:54:35 am ---I assume you ask this because you're planning to roll-your-own instead of buying an I-Pac/A-Pac/U-HID, right?

--- End quote ---

What is the latency of these boards you mention? They're not in the list I use to check (and I'm unsure of if any of them are even available in the EU)...

I don't wish to roll my own, but it looks as if I have to because both Daemonbite, the person behind the KTRL Arcade board who made ready assembled versions in their shop, and FeralAI, the person behind the ready made assembled Pico Fight Board have disappeared without a trace during the last year... (I hope they're all right).

Though their code is still there, the largest community seems to have formed around this:

https://gp2040.info/#/

However, I don't know where to find photos of people's builds using that. Especially how they solder headers and such themselves... that area is 100% alien to me as I've always been a software only person but I guess I'm going to have to buy some sort of soldering iron now...

PL1:

--- Quote from: eobet on September 01, 2022, 10:29:25 am ---What is the latency of these boards you mention? They're not in the list I use to check (and I'm unsure of if any of them are even available in the EU)...

--- End quote ---
The I-Pac, A-Pac, and U-HID are made in the UK by Ultimarc.
- They are also available from numerous arcade parts vendors.
- Several varieties of I-Pac are on page 9 of that list or use the search term "Ultimarc".

The Daemonbite Arcade controller is on the list, but --no surprise-- the KADE miniArcade 2.0 and Baritonomarchetto's ArcadeHID sketches are not.


--- Quote from: eobet on September 01, 2022, 10:29:25 am ---I don't wish to roll my own, but it looks as if I have to because both Daemonbite, the person behind the KTRL Arcade board who made ready assembled versions in their shop, and FeralAI, the person behind the ready made assembled Pico Fight Board have disappeared without a trace during the last year... (I hope they're all right).

Though their code is still there, the largest community seems to have formed around this:

https://gp2040.info/#/

However, I don't know where to find photos of people's builds using that. Especially how they solder headers and such themselves... that area is 100% alien to me as I've always been a software only person but I guess I'm going to have to buy some sort of soldering iron now...

--- End quote ---
Soldering is pretty easy once you understand the basics and practice a bit on a junk PCB.   ;D

The most commonly used headers for PCBs like the Pico are either going to be 2.54mm (0.1") pitch straight pin Dupont headers with pre-crimped wires like these from Paradise Arcade Shop or screw terminals with the same 2.54mm pitch or no headers, just solder the wires directly to the board and maybe use some euro-style terminal strips.

   

Lots of great info in this How to solder, a picture tutorial thread.

You don't want to go too cheap on the soldering iron, but there are some pretty decent variable-temperature soldering stations for around $25.
- Bonus points if you get several types of tips.  Sharp narrow conical tips are more difficult to make proper contact for good heat transfer than the flat side of a chisel tip.
 

The brass-coil tip cleaners are much better than the sponge type.
- Before shutting off the iron, stab the brass coils a few times to clean the tip and re-tin the tip (put solder on it) to prevent corrosion.


A "no-clean" flux pen similar to this one is your friend.

You may want some wire strippers, flush-cut pliers, desoldering braid, and/or a solder sucker.

A silicone mat like one of these is also a great soldering accessory.  Most come with recesses to hold hardware.

 

Please feel free to ask if you have any questions.   :cheers:


Scott

eobet:
Wow, thank you very much! That's some great and concise info!

Turns out the GP2040 community is quite active indeed, and I may have gotten a lead on some even smaller boards than the Pi Pico...

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