Analogue joystick as Digital? - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / projects

author: @rt
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 01, 2016, 02:25:04 pm
content: Hi GuysWith the availability of the analogue joysticks (or thumbsticks) salvageable from old Playstation controllers, and popular with Arduino stuff,I wondered if anyone tried using one as a digital joystick, where the analogue stick is of the variety that centres itself.I figure for retro platforms such as Atari/C64/Amiga/Sega, I think they all have open collector inputs tied high with resistors back at the computer,and the joystick shorts them low, the centre pins of the pots could both be tied to ground, and the outside pins connected to the four directionopen collector inputs, then four additional resistors could be tied between the direction inputs and the supply to adjust the threshold to trigger each direction.Has anyone tried such a thing?

author: Fungus
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 01, 2016, 05:41:05 pm
content: You have to fix those things to something to make them useful.Why not fix them to the back of an Arduino Pro mini and use it to read the pots and output digital values on four of its pins?

author: @rt
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 01, 2016, 10:20:04 pm
content: Because rather than use shields I make thingsThe joystick and four other buttons are to be muxed with a parallel to serial shift register,so the micro won’t be able to see the pots to measure pot values.

author: Macbeth
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 01, 2016, 10:44:07 pm
content: I think you will utterly miss the reason why old school micro-switch joysticks like the "Kempston Compatible Competition Pro" were the choice of gamers at the time. They really needed those 4 suction pads on the bottom and the "rapid fire" switch too if you didn't have a hacked "trainer" mod. The game were made for these, not for modern dweeb game pads.Mind you they now sell "gamer keyboards" and "gamer mice" with flashing LEDs and hi resolution, so what do I know?

author: @rt
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 01, 2016, 10:52:45 pm
content: I’m talking about sticking a small thumbstick to a PCB to navigate menus for a GPS, not for gaming.In the case of a Playstation controller, one could pull out two analogue sticks from one controller.

author: Fungus
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 02, 2016, 09:29:47 am
content: Quote from: @rt on September 01, 2016, 10:20:04 pmYou're not seeing it: The microisthe shift register.(or can be)It has direct access to the pots and emulates whatever interface to the outside world you're imagining.

author: CM800
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: September 02, 2016, 09:50:37 am
content: One way to make an analog joystick digital is to cut the traces towards the end so that the contact only comes into contact at each position.

author: @rt
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 04, 2016, 06:13:06 am
content: Lol. Yeah I am seeing it.The micro already exists, and the shift register is needed to mux 8 inputs down to 3 pins of a micro.The four inputs of a digital joystick, 2 extra buttons, and two switches in an SD card socket.Retro gaming was an example because the older sticks work the same way,and are not already multiplexed by some method.No wrecking the joystick part by cutting it either.In the case of 74HCxx input logic it takes a grand total of 4 resistors.Connect both pot centre wiper pins to ground, directions to the outside pins,and an additional 4x10K resistors tied from the directions to tie them normally high.Quote from: Fungus on September 02, 2016, 09:29:47 am