USB Converter for MS Sidewinder 3DPro, PP, and FFP

stuggy · Post by **stuggy** » Mon Feb 03, 2014 2:52 pm

I did clip the SH pin pretty close. I don't think it is touching anything but since the DB15 is the first question I'll take a close look.

Scanjo · Post by **Scanjo** » Mon Feb 03, 2014 3:51 pm

If the 3 sticks don't have the exact same problems, then don't rule out the possibility that the buttons are dirty from sitting unused for years. I had to tear my FFP apart and clean buttons 4, 6, & 7. I used some 90% rubbing alcohol. Dab a little on the switch and wiggle the button of the switch all over as best you can (there's a little bit of play in them). Keep dabbing a bit of alcohol every now and then so it can soak in. Worked on each for about 5 minutes or so. It made them usable, but not perfect. The perfect fix would be replacement of the switches.

Be sure you let it sit open over night so everything can dry out before plugging in.

stuggy · Post by **stuggy** » Mon Feb 03, 2014 3:57 pm

Thanks but I think they had similar problems but subject to a retest tonight. One issue a stick or 2 does have is a sticky slider. Has anyone solved that one? Silicon?

Scanjo · Post by **Scanjo** » Mon Feb 03, 2014 4:05 pm

stuggy wrote:One issue a stick or 2 does have is a sticky slider. Has anyone solved that one? Silicon?

I'd try alcohol first or electronics cleaner. I prefer alcohol because it doesn't evaporate as fast, gives more time to work the parts around to get the dirt to loosen and flow out. Silicon is going to leave a film behind which will attract dust and nasty stuff, which puts you right back where you started sooner. Just use plenty of alcohol and work the slider back and forth a lot. Give it plenty of time to dry completely. Some canned air to help start the drying doesn't hurt and helps get the dirt out better.

Again I'll say to use 90% alcohol or better. Water on electronics is a bad thing so use the highest % alcohol you can find. Typical rubbing alcohol is 70% and should be avoided.

stuggy · Post by **stuggy** » Mon Feb 03, 2014 10:29 pm

I am happy to report that the problem is fixed. Even though I snipped off the SH pin there was a little stub that must have been making contact with the wire that is in that slot. I cut a rubber band and inserted under where the cut off pin was and now all seems extremely good.

I hope this helps someone else in the future.

Pics to follow.

stuggy · Post by **stuggy** » Mon Feb 03, 2014 10:50 pm

Grendel · Post by **Grendel** » Mon Feb 03, 2014 11:03 pm

Top Gun · Post by **Top Gun** » Tue Feb 04, 2014 1:48 am

Man, this is making my original-run board feel like an antique. Still works just great though.

stuggy · Post by **stuggy** » Tue Feb 04, 2014 4:27 pm

I ordered the mini joystick as a replacement for the POV button. Are the instructions back in the thread still the way to go? I think the rev 3 code supports this as is right?

Scanjo · Post by **Scanjo** » Tue Feb 04, 2014 4:44 pm

The mini joystick is discussed on the previous page. Pics, wiring, and link to firmware supporting it.

gonz · Post by **gonz** » Fri Feb 14, 2014 4:10 pm

Hello all together. I would like to share a recent success: Using a MS Sidewinder 3D Pro to remote control my "Black Eagle" truck: http://y2u.be/LhRz5rwPnuc

Dear Grendel, thank you for your great support and providing the software!

I would like to avoid that this achievement is lost, if I should have less time in the future. So I provide the main.c of the receiver (Mega328p in the car) and the transmitter (Mega32U4 in the joystick). I know, a lot of the programming can be made better. Maybe someone can use it and improve it. I would be happy

Have a nice weekend

decibel666 · Post by **decibel666** » Sat Feb 22, 2014 11:22 am

Hi!

I have an Sidewinder 3D Pro Plus and i build this adapter . but i cant get it to work

After flashing the Teensy 2.0 Board with the Hexfile and rebooting the teensy with only the teensy connected to the pc (without the pcb and the joystick) should it be recognized from windows 7 ? (led is flashing) My teensy is only recognized from Win7 during flashing!

thanks in advance and many thanx for the layout and the hexfile!

Here is the log from the Teensyloader : (is this ok ? : Error: can't open file 'D:\sidewinder\3DPro32u4-9.elf' )

18:19:33: Open File event
18:19:45: File "3DPro32u4-9.hex". 4262 bytes, 13% used
18:19:50: Verbose Info event
18:19:58: Program event
18:19:58: File "3DPro32u4-9.hex". 4262 bytes, 13% used
18:19:58: Error: can't open file 'D:\sidewinder\3DPro32u4-9.elf' (error 2: das System kann die angegebene Datei nicht finden.)
18:19:58: Code size from .elf file = 0
18:19:58: begin operation
18:19:58: flash, block=0, bs=128, auto=0
18:19:58: flash, block=1, bs=128, auto=0
18:19:58: flash, block=2, bs=128, auto=0
18:19:58: flash, block=3, bs=128, auto=0
18:19:58: flash, block=4, bs=128, auto=0
18:19:58: flash, block=5, bs=128, auto=0
18:19:58: flash, block=6, bs=128, auto=0
18:19:58: flash, block=7, bs=128, auto=0
18:19:58: flash, block=8, bs=128, auto=0
18:19:58: flash, block=9, bs=128, auto=0
18:19:58: flash, block=10, bs=128, auto=0
18:19:58: flash, block=11, bs=128, auto=0
18:19:58: flash, block=12, bs=128, auto=0
18:19:58: flash, block=13, bs=128, auto=0
18:19:58: flash, block=14, bs=128, auto=0
18:19:58: flash, block=15, bs=128, auto=0
18:19:58: flash, block=16, bs=128, auto=0
18:19:58: flash, block=17, bs=128, auto=0
18:19:58: flash, block=18, bs=128, auto=0
18:19:58: flash, block=19, bs=128, auto=0
18:19:58: flash, block=20, bs=128, auto=0
18:19:58: flash, block=21, bs=128, auto=0
18:19:58: flash, block=22, bs=128, auto=0
18:19:58: flash, block=23, bs=128, auto=0
18:19:58: flash, block=24, bs=128, auto=0
18:19:58: flash, block=25, bs=128, auto=0
18:19:58: flash, block=26, bs=128, auto=0
18:19:58: flash, block=27, bs=128, auto=0
18:19:58: flash, block=28, bs=128, auto=0
18:19:58: flash, block=29, bs=128, auto=0
18:19:58: flash, block=30, bs=128, auto=0
18:19:58: flash, block=31, bs=128, auto=0
18:19:58: flash, block=32, bs=128, auto=0
18:19:58: flash, block=33, bs=128, auto=0
18:19:58: end operation
18:19:58: redraw timer set, image 12 to show for 1500 ms
18:20:00: redraw, image 10
18:20:02: Reboot event

greets
DeCi

Scanjo · Post by **Scanjo** » Mon Feb 24, 2014 7:03 pm

Your computer won't recognize the Teensy alone or on the circuit. You need to have a joystick plugged in for it to be recognized. The hexfile is to recognize an HID (Human Interface Device). That's the joystick, not the Teensy. If there is an error on your board you built, then it's not going to work.

If you take some close up pics and post them here then I'm sure someone can help diagnose any problems in your build if they exist.

Grendel · Post by **Grendel** » Mon Feb 24, 2014 11:32 pm

decibel666 wrote:After flashing the Teensy 2.0 Board with the Hexfile and rebooting the teensy with only the teensy connected to the pc (without the pcb and the joystick) should it be recognized from windows 7 ? (led is flashing) My teensy is only recognized from Win7 during flashing!

Scanjo is right. This is by design, the converter picks different USB descriptors depending on the joystick that is connected -- only after finding and ID'ing a stick the converter has enough information to activate the USB interface. The blinking LED is meant as an indicator that the converter is up & running, waiting for a stick to connect.

FiskFisk33 · Post by **FiskFisk33** » Wed Apr 16, 2014 10:48 am

I have some serious problems with this.

The joystick is recognized by windows but most of the buttons won't work, and worst of all, the axis movement is jittery and inprecise, it does not register at all like it should.
I want to get this sorted but i dont know att all where to start.

Scanjo · Post by **Scanjo** » Wed Apr 16, 2014 3:32 pm

FiskFisk33 wrote:I have some serious problems with this.

The joystick is recognized by windows but most of the buttons won't work, and worst of all, the axis movement is jittery and inprecise, it does not register at all like it should.
I want to get this sorted but i dont know att all where to start.

We need a little more info to be able to help you. There are several different discussions that have gone on in this thread. What exactly do you have for an adapter? Did you get one of mine? Did you build your own on a bread board? A picture is worth a thousand words...

FiskFisk33 · Post by **FiskFisk33** » Wed Apr 16, 2014 9:45 pm

Sorry for the potato quality but its what i have at hands (my ipod)

http://imgur.com/a/rpW9l

Its the r3 with the teensy, i have triple checked the solders on the db15 and nothing is shorted.
I can't find whats wrong..

btw i have the microsoft sidewinder 3d pro

FiskFisk33 · Post by **FiskFisk33** » Thu Apr 17, 2014 1:01 am

I might add that the problems stuggy had here viewtopic.php?p=331647#p331647 is VERY similar to what I'm experiencing.
But since I'm using different db15 hardware i dont have a sh pin touching anywhere.

I see though that he is using 1kOhm resistors where i use 2.2kOhm as specified on the google code page.

maybe the wires i use soldered to the db15 is too skinny? the metal cores in those flexible ones is very thin, could this cause problems here?

Scanjo · Post by **Scanjo** » Thu Apr 17, 2014 10:26 pm

Unfortunately the quality of the pics is not good enough for me to double check the connections. Maybe my old eyes don't help...

If you have checked once again to be sure there are no problems in the wiring, it could be a bad or wrong size capacitor. I remember reading another post where some bad capacitors caused similar problems. Caps are cheap. You might just try some new ones if you don't have a tester. They should be .001uf.

Another person was having issues and it was bad connections in the breadboard. Not sure what to tell you to do about this one. Wiggle wires and hope it works?

Make sure you are using the correct pins on the DB-15. Looking at the back where you are soldering wires it should be pins 1-8 from left to right in the top row and 9-15 left to right in the bottom row. It's easy to get confused.

I also read one post where the schematic was confusing and caused an improper connection. Triple check.

Code: Select all

 DB-15         Teensy
=======       ========
  1             5v
  2             D0
  3             B5
  4           Ground
  5 & 6         NC   (NC = Not Connected)
  7             D1
  8 & 9         NC
  10            D2
  11 & 12       NC
  13            B4   (on my board I connect pins 11 & 13 to B4 to support multiple joysticks)
  14            D3
  15            NC

If you still can't get it to work, you can try my schematic. I have a hybrid board that supports FFP, PP, 3DP, and 3DP Pro. Grendel whipped up software to support the pin changes but functionally it's the same as the 3DP-Vert.

Please note! The Teensy is flipped in this schematic. Use the pin labels! If you are not going to use a Force Feedback Pro then you can safely omit the 220 ohm resistor and all connections between PD3 on the Teensy and pin 12 on the DB-15 (used for FFB commands). You must use the 3DPro32u4-10.hex firmware with this design which is modified for the changed pin usage on the Teensy.

FiskFisk33 wrote: maybe the wires i use soldered to the db15 is too skinny? the metal cores in those flexible ones is very thin, could this cause problems here?

I don't THINK that would be a problem. I use very small traces on my PCB. It MIGHT be an issue with 5v and ground but the rest should be for signals. I'm not an engineer so I can't give a qualified answer.

I'm just trying to give you ideas to try. Hopefully one will work for you. With better pics I might be able to spot something. This what we have... Good luck.

FiskFisk33 · Post by **FiskFisk33** » Fri Apr 18, 2014 2:04 am

i've checked the connections and they seem to match up,
what I notice now is that the caps I'm using is rated for 50V and that the caps the text file on the google page is linking to caps rated for 500V

could this cause problems?

oh and thanks for really great answers, I'll see if i can find a better camera.

Krom · Post by **Krom** » Fri Apr 18, 2014 5:44 am

You can probably get better pics out of the ipod by taking them in a brighter environment (at least as bright as daytime sunlight) and hold the camera a bit further away because the pics were out of focus from holding it too close.

Scanjo · Post by **Scanjo** » Fri Apr 18, 2014 6:41 pm

FiskFisk33 wrote:i've checked the connections and they seem to match up,
what I notice now is that the caps I'm using is rated for 50V and that the caps the text file on the google page is linking to caps rated for 500V

could this cause problems?

oh and thanks for really great answers, I'll see if i can find a better camera.

50v should be plenty. 500v is just overkill but shouldn't cause problems. This circuit runs on 5v from the USB connector so 50v is actually overkill... The more important thing is the Farad rating.

Good pics would be the biggest help. I do much better if I can SEE. You could be looking right at the problem and it just doesn't register as a problem, but one of us could take one look and go "well it's right there. That won't work...". Maybe you could get a friend with a digital camera to snap a couple for you?

I wonder if breadboards have ever been faulty... We're assuming that it's good but that could bite us.

Do you have a multimeter that you could double check the breadboard for shorts? Based on the symptoms and you pointing out the previous post about a short under the DB-15 connector, we shouldn't rule out a faulty breadboard...

My answers are the best I have. I hope they're good enough.

FiskFisk33 · Post by **FiskFisk33** » Sat Apr 19, 2014 1:52 am

hm, the capacitors should be (says so on the bag) 1nF
the markings on them are:
102
RoHS
should mean 1000pF/1nF/.001uF, right?

I've checked around the board with my multimeter for shorts but i havent been able to find any.

heres some new pictures, found a stronger lamp.

pins 1-8 right to left
plastic bag for better visibility

pins 9-15, left to right right to left.
the 1pF caps in the bag is NOT the ones i use for this project.
http://imgur.com/a/jYAHf imgur album

Grendel · Post by **Grendel** » Sat Apr 19, 2014 3:11 am

FiskFisk33 wrote:I have some serious problems with this.

The joystick is recognized by windows but most of the buttons won't work, and worst of all, the axis movement is jittery and inprecise, it does not register at all like it should.
I want to get this sorted but i dont know att all where to start.

Your wiring looks fine. The caps should be 1nF (IIRC 102 is the correct value), the resistors are less important, 2k2 or 1k should work equally well. A jitter of up to +/- 10 (raw) on the axes is pretty normal for a 3DPro (since the ranges are 1024 and 512.) If you are unsure if the wires are too flimsy, measure their resistance -- a 3DP draws up to 45mA, calculate the voltage drop via resistance * 0.045 -- if it's > 0.2 it actually could be too flimsy. If the solder joints on the DB15 connector look good, check the other end of the wires as well, it could be an intermittent connection on one of the 4 button lines (D0-D3, these carry the data.)

A few questions -- what joystick are your using ? How are you testing the values ?

Scanjo · Post by **Scanjo** » Sat Apr 19, 2014 12:37 pm

I'll leave you in the much more capable hands of Grendel. He designed the adapter so he knows it inside out and backwards. I already made my one mistake I'm allowed with the capacitor value...ok...maybe I'm not allowed any. Grrr. Sorry.

Grendel with help you if anyone can. Good luck.

[edit] Wait! I didn't make a mistake. I was just confused. The whole uF/nF,pF thing is confusing as all get out to me. I'm still handing off to Grendel before I make a mistake.

For anyone following along, the last pic is mislabeled. Should be pins 9-15 right to left (not left to right as labeled).

FiskFisk33 · Post by **FiskFisk33** » Sun Apr 20, 2014 1:40 am

Grendel wrote:A jitter of up to +/- 10 (raw) on the axes is pretty normal for a 3DPro

absolutely, but what happens here is, when for example i want to center it it could end up anywhere on the axis, 0% to 100%. and when i move the joystick around the input jerks after, like several 100's of milliseconds between jumps.

Grendel wrote:a 3DP draws up to 45mA, calculate the voltage drop via resistance * 0.045 -- if it's > 0.2 it actually could be too flimsy. If the solder joints on the DB15 connector look good, check the other end of the wires as well, it could be an intermittent connection on one of the 4 button lines (D0-D3, these carry the data.)

How are you testing the values ?

I'm testing with a cheapo multimeter. the resistance i measure is 2,1 ohm, that is however also rougly the same value i get when i measure the lines in the breadboard, no matter if two holes next to one another or across the whole board.
The lines doesn't seem intermittent, as far as i can measure.

Edit:
well, i exchanged the flimsy wire for pin D0-D3 to the sturdier wire used on the breadboard, no difference.
I'm starting to think maybe the problem is with the joystick itself?
sadly i dont have a computer with a gameport to test it with...

Arch · Post by **Arch** » Mon Apr 21, 2014 8:29 pm

Bought the parts to build one of these today. Any gotcha's I need to pay attention to?

** edit: guess I should read the posts better, remove previous question that was answered already, doh.

Arch · Post by **Arch** » Wed Apr 23, 2014 3:50 pm

So, I built one of these to use with my 3d pro. I'm using Windows 8.1. When I connect the stick to Windows it detects fine, says status Ok. However when I go into test mode nothing works, none of the axis, none of the buttons, nothing. I've been over the breadboard pictures 10 times, everything looks fine to me. Looks exactly like the picture. Any ideas on what I can check?

edit: now with a picture:<removed>

edit2: So I figured this out. I goofed up and loaded the Teensy 2++ image on my Teensy2. It was detected fine, but didn't register any inputs. I downloaded the correct image and now everything is working great. Thanks!

Mr. Lion · Post by **Mr. Lion** » Tue Jun 17, 2014 10:41 am

Hello everyone. I'm new here…

Boring background bit: a couple of years ago I bought a MS Sidewinder 3D Pro Plus (p/n 97462) to replace one I had years ago. However, when I got it found that it was D-sub not USB (I know there are USB ones but I goofed and didn't check hard enough). It's been in storage for all that time while I've been looking for some kind of adapter. I came across this forum a little while ago, I've read most if not all of the posts and I want one of the adapters!

Boring disclaimer bit: from what I've seen on the board the adapter is easy to build. Trouble is, while I use a computer every day and we get along just fine, I'm not a coder of any sort so I don't understand any of that stuff (I have tried, really…) and my soldering is/was lousy at the best of times. I'm also getting on a bit (61) and my hands aren't as steady as they used to be. So I'll be putting my name down on scanjo's order form for when he gets enough interest.

That's assuming that what I want to do is possible. What I have is a Mac Pro that has one dedicated HDD running an installation of XP and an installation of Win7, the former for old(er) games and the latter for new(er) ones. There won't be any problem with the OSes recognising the 3DPP—and I don't think there will be any software probs—but has anyone tried using the 3DPP plus adapter on an Intel Mac of any sort and been successful with it? If so, then I'll go ahead. If it won't work then it would be nice to know. If I'm heading for unexplored territory (unlikely, I think) then I'll be happy to report back.

Thanks for reading…

Scanjo · Post by **Scanjo** » Wed Jun 18, 2014 8:22 pm

Mr. Lion wrote:Hello everyone. I'm new here…

That's assuming that what I want to do is possible. What I have is a Mac Pro that has one dedicated HDD running an installation of XP and an installation of Win7, the former for old(er) games and the latter for new(er) ones. There won't be any problem with the OSes recognising the 3DPP—and I don't think there will be any software probs—but has anyone tried using the 3DPP plus adapter on an Intel Mac of any sort and been successful with it? If so, then I'll go ahead. If it won't work then it would be nice to know. If I'm heading for unexplored territory (unlikely, I think) then I'll be happy to report back.

Thanks for reading…

The adapter I was making has been tested on versions of Windows from XP through Win8.1 and on Mac OS X. To my knowledge no one has tested while bootcamping on the Mac. I would guess that it will work but can't guarantee it. Maybe someone that has tried it will reply, or someone with the same setup could test it. It's going to be a while before I get fired up and ready to build again so there's time for a reply.

If we don't get confirmation that it works, I will accept a return from you. (you do like being a tester, right?) You would only be out the shipping costs one way then (I'll split it with you. About $3.00).

Scott

Wasp · Post by **Wasp** » Mon Sep 01, 2014 9:51 am

Lookie watt eye fownd

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qwXPxe37oYE

ferret141 · Post by **ferret141** » Fri Sep 26, 2014 4:30 am

I live in England and am finding it a bit hard to source a Teensy 2.0 that is affordable or that I don't have to wait 4 weeks to receive.

I assume you can use other Atmel32U4 Dev boards provided you wire up the components correctly if the board has different pin assignments/labels to match the Teensy. I ask to save myself headaches later on if I buy something now based on assumptions only.
One such substitute I was looking at was a Pololu A-Star 32U4 Micro (pin-out on the Resources tab).

Will this or some other alternative do or should I suck it up and pay more or wait?

Drakoz · Post by **Drakoz** » Sat Sep 27, 2014 10:23 pm

(OK, I retyped this after comparing the schematics myself.)

The schematic for the Teensy 2.0 board can be found here:
https://www.pjrc.com/teensy/schematic.html

I compared the Teensy board vs. the A-Star 32U4 Micro board you mentioned, and they seem schematically to be the same. The A-Star does not have an LED like the Teensy. You can add one easily enough. Both use a 16 MHz crystal, so no timing differences. All GPIOs are available, so no conflicts. The A-Star board lacks some decoupling caps on the VCC line, but that's a minor difference that if it matters, you can add them yourself.

Also, I don't know if the Teensy 2.0 uses a special boot loader from PJRC, or if it's the standard boot loader from Atmel (firmware that comes on the Atmel part to load software via USB). The PC software used to load a Teensy board is specific to the Teensy, though. But it may be using standard procedures (the standard boot loader) from Atmel. You'll need to confirm this. If the Teensy boot loader isn't from Atmel, then you should still be able to load the adapt-ffb-joy firmware, but you'll have to use the Atmel software. Once firmware is loaded, there shouldn't be anything special about the Teensy board vs. the A-Star board. They are both basically the Atmel reference design.

Mike

ferret141 · Post by **ferret141** » Sun Sep 28, 2014 5:16 am

Drakoz wrote:(OK, I retyped this after comparing the schematics myself.)

The schematic for the Teensy 2.0 board can be found here:
https://www.pjrc.com/teensy/schematic.html

I compared the Teensy board vs. the A-Star 32U4 Micro board you mentioned, and they seem schematically to be the same. The A-Star does not have an LED like the Teensy. You can add one easily enough. Both use a 16 MHz crystal, so no timing differences. All GPIOs are available, so no conflicts. The A-Star board lacks some decoupling caps on the VCC line, but that's a minor difference that if it matters, you can add them yourself.

Also, I don't know if the Teensy 2.0 uses a special boot loader from PJRC, or if it's the standard boot loader from Atmel (firmware that comes on the Atmel part to load software via USB). The PC software used to load a Teensy board is specific to the Teensy, though. But it may be using standard procedures (the standard boot loader) from Atmel. You'll need to confirm this. If the Teensy boot loader isn't from Atmel, then you should still be able to load the adapt-ffb-joy firmware, but you'll have to use the Atmel software. Once firmware is loaded, there shouldn't be anything special about the Teensy board vs. the A-Star board. They are both basically the Atmel reference design.

Mike

Thank you Mike for looking into it. The Teensy uses a proprietary boot loader called Halfkay. I think I'l make my life easier by using a Teensy. I found a German site that will get one to me within a week at an all right right price. Once again many thanks.

Drakoz · Post by **Drakoz** » Sun Sep 28, 2014 6:39 pm

Ah, thanks. You found the detail I couldn't find. Yes, and this is why PJRC provides their own boot loader and software. I did some more looking into it and found this:
https://www.pjrc.com/teensy/datasheets.html

At the bottom of the page it says:
"Atmel uses a different bootloader called "DFU", which is different from HalfKay on the Teensy. DFU takes 4K of the 16K flash memory, whereas HalfKay uses only 0.5K! Atmel's FLIP tool only works with DFU. You need to use the Teensy Loader with Teensy boards that have HalfKay."

You should be able to use any boot loader/firmware loader (from Atmel or otherwise) to load software on an Atmel device, but if the Atmel device loader is taking 1/4th the available flash space, that's a problem. I think the adapt-ffb-joy binary takes almost all the available flash on a Teensy. You could get an Atmel device with more memory, and it would compensate. Obviously it's easier to use the simple canned solution provided by PJRC. But there are other options. They are simple to use, but for anyone that is a new to embedded CPU's, it can be a little bit intimidating. For example Arduino stuff is just another way to do it - a way that is supposed to be less intimidating. But that's an entire IDE (integrated development environment). All you need is a simple easy to use boot loader/programmer that doesn't take up 1/4th the flash space. PJRC has that.

Here's the section of the A-Star manual that talks about loading software.
http://www.pololu.com/docs/0J61/5

Regards,
Mike

Snufkin · Post by **Snufkin** » Sun Mar 01, 2015 6:11 pm

This was fun, just got a SideWinder 3D Pro Plus (97462) working again. Thanks to all involved in putting this together, thought I should make a note of what I got working. I had an Arduino Micro to hand, so I've used a USBASP to load it with the 3DPro32u4-10.hex firmware.

The connector on the joystick has pins 1,2,3,4,7,10,11,12 & 14 present, so I initially wired them all up following the adapt-ffb information. I've since had a bit of a play with it and figured 12 wasn't needed (since it's not a FFB stick), so disconnected that from the Micro. I also had a very quick scan of the protocal patent, and I think that the 2k2 resistor / 0.001uF capacitor are only really used when the stick's in analogue mode, and I think this stick doesn't have any analogue mode. Elsewhere in the patent it suggests the stick should have a 30k resistance in digital mode, so I measured the pin 3 resistance (~31k), and pin 11 (n/c). I tried removing the resistor from pin 3 and disconnecting pin 11 (I hadn't fitted the capacitors in the first place). It all still seems to work. So in the end I've used no passive components, just the Micro and a D15, wired as follows:

Code: Select all

D15 pin  Mega32u4 pin  Arduino pin
1          +5V
2          PB0+PD0        SS+D3
3          PB5            D9
4          GND
7          PB1            SCK
10         PB2            MO
14         PB3            MI

Obviously that'll probably only work for this model, but it does mean a little less fiddling. Hopefully that might be use to someone.

Now to go 'test' it properly.

Snufkin · Post by **Snufkin** » Tue Mar 31, 2015 9:58 am

Not sure if it's bad form replying to myself, but I just wanted to follow up on my last post. I wanted to see if I could fit the adapter in to a small case.

: Assembled cover; InCase.jpg (26.32 KiB) Viewed 101163 times

The Arduino Micro I'd used before was too long, so I figured the Sparkfun ProMicro (or equivalent) might be small enough. The only real problem was that PB0 isn't broken out to a wiring hole. But it is used for the RxLED, so I was able to solder on to the resistor pad. I glued the board in place on one half of the shell and hacked a bit of plastic to be about the right size to cover the USB end (messy, I know, but it does hold the USB connector nicely). Clipped it all together and now have a reasonably neat little adapter.

The wiring for the D-Sub -> ProMicro is:

Code: Select all

DSub   ProMicro
  1     Vcc
  2      3 + RxLED (see photo)
  3      9
  4     GND
  7     15
 10     16
 14     14 (these last 3 are in an interesting order on the ProMicro)

The ProMicro equivalent I got didn't have the solder bridge in place that the 5V part is suppoed to have. The adapter still worked without it, but I think that meant the joystick was running at a bit less than the 5V provided over USB, so I went back and soldered that closed. I also haven't wired up the additional inputs, but I think I'm not too unhappy with this for the moment.

ferret141 · Post by **ferret141** » Wed Apr 08, 2015 6:07 am

That's an awesome compact adapter you've made Snufkin. I might copy your idea.

After giving away my Teensy (built a birthday present using it) I only have a Pololu A-Star 32U4 here. The PB0 isn't broken out, well not to a readily usable extent. Does anyone know of an easy way to remove solder mask so that I may access it?

Board in question: https://www.pololu.com/product/3101
Schematic: https://www.pololu.com/file/0J742/polol ... iagram.pdf
"Breakout" point:

Drakoz · Post by **Drakoz** » Wed Apr 08, 2015 7:44 am

Just use an Exacto knife to scrape the soldermask off. Then solder a wire to the exposed via pad. If you can clean out the hole (for the via), you can solder a 30 AWG wire into the hole, but I'd suggest just scrape the soldermask off the surface and don't try to clean out the via.

But the bigger question is, where does that pin go. If there is a trace and a via, they used it for something. You should verify what they used it for and make sure there is no conflict. Or, you might find an easier spot to solder to.

Regards,
Mike

ferret141 · Post by **ferret141** » Wed Apr 08, 2015 11:32 am

Drakoz wrote:Just use an Exacto knife to scrape the soldermask off. Then solder a wire to the exposed via pad. If you can clean out the hole (for the via), you can solder a 30 AWG wire into the hole, but I'd suggest just scrape the soldermask off the surface and don't try to clean out the via.

But the bigger question is, where does that pin go. If there is a trace and a via, they used it for something. You should verify what they used it for and make sure there is no conflict. Or, you might find an easier spot to solder to.

Regards,
Mike

Sorry I am mistaken. I miscounted the legs on the 32U4. That fifth one was VBUS. The fourth one, PB0, goes nowhere at all.