|Build Log| - DIY midi gamepad controller
|Build Log| - DIY midi gamepad controller Posted on: 07.12.2010 by Jacqualine Arroyos hello all, (first of all, sorry for my bad english... i'm from portugal) i've started my controller project. will be based on: 2 gamepads 1 sound board 30 arcade buttons 2 sliders 8 knobs 1 line in 1 line out the box is an old plumber tool box that i've found in a Lisbon flea market since this project will have to be as low cost as possible, i've spend some time searching for the correct design (to prevent mistakes) and also good but not expensive components at this point i've encontered the first problem... keeping in mind that the only experience in electronics that i have is to turn on and off the power button of my pc... said that, please be patience, and please sorry for some of my stupid questions... so the problem are the LED... i've managed to connect the analog potentiometer to the PCB and to a LED, it works fine... but when i connect the button the LED light is not bright... here you can see what is appening what am i doing wrong? thanking you in advanced | |
| Graham Frazier 06.04.2011 | Great work. Now i want one. |
| Arcelia Siebeneck 06.04.2011 | excellent work |
| Tatum Ansaldo 06.04.2011 | dude, that's awesome. |
| Jacqualine Arroyos 06.04.2011 | the sif |
| Jacqualine Arroyos 29.03.2011 | yes... that's the problem... board+shipping+customs... it will be to expessive... so, i will keep the initial idea and believe of a new project for the future :-) |
| Arcelia Siebeneck 29.03.2011 | yeah I had to pay about 8 euros for customs import duty |
| Jacqualine Arroyos 29.03.2011 | whell I am convinced, the liquid looks like the best option... nad you'r right the price is lower than the leobodnar the only catch is that it comes from US and i'm in europe, so the price will be higher than i expected, and a lot higher is the cutomes get the hand on it... at this point it seams that the best option will be to keep my inicial plan.... buy another gamepad (about7 |
| Arcelia Siebeneck 29.03.2011 |
Originally Posted by fbonito
The Leo Bodnar boards are the same price or more expensive than a Highly Liquid CPU. Getting an Arduino Mega for less than $49.95 is probably possible but you would likely need to buy a Chinese clone. Unless you're confident with coding microprocessors, I'd probably choose something else. I'm using both an Arduino and a Highly Liquid CPU; it's much simpler to get the Highly Liquid working properly. |
| Jacqualine Arroyos 29.03.2011 | my mind was in one direction, now it's in all directions... the highly liquid board that you sugest is too expensive for me and has too many funcions that i will not need... the price is really a big isue since i need to keep the project has low cost has possible. for my project i only need - 32 X switch - 8 pot - 2 rotary enconders (i can lose the enconders and have 3 extra switch) ideally i would like to have USB/MIDI board instead of HID and about the arduino? |
| Arcelia Siebeneck 29.03.2011 | I'd recommend a Highly Liquid Midi CPU over a Leo Bodnar for the following reasons: - a bit cheaper (especially compared to the BU0836X) - proper midi device (no "HID to midi" utilities needed) - supports encoders more easily - supports more pots - supports LED's - better support on their community than the Leo Bodnar community (admin there will write your 'code' for you if you tell them what you want) Only reason I'd go for a Leo Bodnar is if you want to do less soldering or if you prefer to use USB. http://highlyliquid.com/midi-controllers/midi-cpu/ |
| Jacqualine Arroyos 29.03.2011 | another problem... it seems that i've lost one gamepad pcb... i was testing one pot and the pot start to burn... i've disconnected everything and the gamepad is not recognized... i'm seriously believeing of change my idea... and get the gamepads off since i'm using two gamepads i will need a usb hub... since i've burned one gamepad i will need another one... and iff just use one BUO836 - leobodnar or a arduino ? i guessing that the price and trouble of the gamepad + hub will be the same |
| Jacqualine Arroyos 29.03.2011 | a little problem with the arrows... HELP - gamepad to midi |
| Jacqualine Arroyos 22.03.2011 | i've found the solution... iff you have trouble with a 9 pole stereo jack, here is the scheme... link |
| Jacqualine Arroyos 21.03.2011 | i looks like that i've got a stereo jack with switch... i got it from a local supplier, and i don't have any more information... the jack are this http://www.cetronic.es/sqlcommerce/disenos/plantilla1/seccion/producto/DetalleProducto.jsp?idIdioma=1&idTienda=93&codProd ucto=999019067&cPath=530 Female 6.35 mm jack with 9 terminals the question now is how can i take advantage of this switch? any ideas? |
| Louisa Oberc 21.03.2011 |
Originally Posted by MiL0
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| Arcelia Siebeneck 21.03.2011 | lol yeah, my controller is on hold until my multimeter arrives... ordered one off a Chinese seller on eBay for literally $3! |
| Louisa Oberc 21.03.2011 |
Originally Posted by fbonito
There is no way you can reliably deal with electronics without one... You don't need a $100 fluke... I am getting by with a $6.99 el-cheapo unit... just make sure it can do continuity, dc/ac and resistance... anything beyond that would be overkill at this stage... Regarding the 1/8" jacks... is there a part number for them? can you link us to the page you bought them from? I find it a little unusual for a normal headphone jack to have that many terminals... I'd bet they're duplicated (two solder points per terminal) A standard stereo plug has 3 terminals to deal with (ground/left/right).. |
| Joan Kollmorgen 21.03.2011 | Looking good |
| Jacqualine Arroyos 21.03.2011 | well, i could use a multimer... iff i had one... i believe i will improvise with a LED, using it as a "multimer" |
| Carlena Dechand 21.03.2011 | Nice job... |
| Margo Gilb 21.03.2011 | You can take your multimeter and measure where the contacts have to be soldered to. |
| Jacqualine Arroyos 22.03.2011 | the button matrix is almost complete... support for the LED one LED all the supports in place all of the LED on all of the supports everything wired, now i will connect the positive poles i've a question... i bought 2 female stereo jacks for line in and line out... but it seams that it has 6 poles to connect... i have no clue how to connect it... can anyone give me a hint? here are the pictures |
| Louisa Oberc 10.03.2011 | Let me know how it goes... If it works as advertised it would save a whole bunch of code... |
| Jacqualine Arroyos 10.03.2011 | that's ok, it's just one rotary, i then will have more analog pots. good news, i've made the order for the rotary for less than 2$ from a company in the neederlands... :-D |
| Louisa Oberc 10.03.2011 | That sounds very possible... My (normal grey code) encoder sends 0x7F for CW and 0x01 for CCW using MIDI (that's in hex, so 127/1 in decimal), if you are using HID you would send say 'L' for CCW and 'R' for CW.. The only downside is you lose the ability to control the sensitivity of the encoder due to it essentially being a keyboard. |
| Jacqualine Arroyos 10.03.2011 | yes, i just want to turn to one direction and have consecutive single pulses in one terminal, and turn in the other direction and have single pulses in another terminal... |
| Louisa Oberc 10.03.2011 | Ahhhh very very nice... I like that very much... Regarding the pulse count... Remember that you're not sending position data, only direction data. You will send a single pulse for each step of the rotation. You can adjust the sensitivity of the control directly within traktor... Now that I am believeing of it, you're planning on using this as an HID controller, so my statement above may not be exactly accurate in your case. I have a pair of 24 pulse encoders (using grey code) that i use for the pitch controls, using the sensitivity/acceleration inside traktor lets me control the pitch by .01% per pulse (pressing the encoder and turn gives you a .75-1% change) |
| Jacqualine Arroyos 10.03.2011 | whell the ideia is to have only one rotary to go up and down, up and down scrolling, change presents, etc. i imagine like being something similar to having to buttons, one up and one down, pressing as much times as i want... does this make sense? |
| Arcelia Siebeneck 10.03.2011 | 20 pulses per rotation would be sufficient for track scrolling in the playlist view? by my (poor) maths, I calculate that a CC midi controller would be increased or decreased by just over 6 for every 'pulse' of the encoder... would make a filter or eq feel pretty 'steppy' I'd imagine? Or, if one pulse equalled just one increment/decrease of CC data then it'd take just over 6 turns to get a full 127 of midi CC data... |
| Jacqualine Arroyos 10.03.2011 | is 20 pulses not enought? have a look here http://www.viperpits.org/smf/index.php?topic=5239.0 i only need one of these for my project, the problem is that i can find it for 5 |
| Tatum Ansaldo 10.03.2011 | only 20 pulses per rotation, lower resolution than an encoder. |
| Jacqualine Arroyos 10.03.2011 | look here "An Alternative to a Rotary Encoder There is a special switch that makes a sequence of closures on one set of contacts when turned clockwise, but not counter-clockwise. It makes a sequence of closures on another set of contacts when turned counter-clockwise. These switches can be wired to a keyboard encoder or a hacked keyboard. Versions of this switch are made by Knitter-Switch, by Alps Electric Co, Ltd., and by Alpha/Xicon. Knitter-Switch calls the item a "rotary pulse switch" (model MRP1-20). Alps calls theirs a "pulse/rotation sensor" (model number SRBM1L). Elfa carries Alps products. Alpha/Xicon calls their switch a "pulse switch". Mouser carries it. Look for part number 105-SR10030-PS." http://www.alps.com/products/WebObjects/catalog.woa/E/PDF/Switch/Rotary/SRBM/SRBM.PDF what do you believe? |
| Louisa Oberc 09.03.2011 |
Originally Posted by fbonito
I am turning the knob CCW (no pulse) I then turn the knob CW (CW switch pulses once) I keep turning CW (no pulse) I turn the knob CCW (CCW switch pulses once) I keep turning CCW (no pulse) I may be mis-understanding the datasheet though, I would research more about them before buying a ton of them... I didn't even know such a device existed and if it works like you say, that would be amazing. Dealing with grey code encoders can be a bit of a PITA.... |
| Arcelia Siebeneck 09.03.2011 | lol I love these cockpit / flightsim guys... they take DIY controllers to a whole new level! its funny how many components and processes the DIY controller scene share in common with them... that webpage is full of Leo Bodnar, encoders, buttons, etc... |
| Jacqualine Arroyos 09.03.2011 | i believe i've found a solution http://pt.mouser.com/ProductDetail/A...bgejRE9w%3d%3d "It's a pulse switch which only contacts in the direction of rotation. so now there is a solution to the 'Encoder' Problem. You can send either two repeated Keystrokes or repeat two seperate Joystick button Inputs. you get Repeated Joystick Button Presses based on the direction you turn the switch. Opens up all kinds of possibilities doesn't it." found here looks like these guys have the same problems has we have... |
| Jacqualine Arroyos 06.03.2011 | iff you see my layout, in the top right i have two places avaiable, and i have also two connections avaiable on the gamepad, the idea is to have a button to go up and down a menu and another button to select... the way i thought about it, one cold be a rotary (or a 3 way switch that i could go up and down, but a rotary would be much faster and user friendly) using the two connections avaiable, the select button would be a switch pressing the two connections at the same time, that the software would translate as a specific command, does this make sense? |
| Margo Gilb 05.03.2011 | I had some trouble connecting wires from all gamepads together resulting in an error in windows... so I decieded to put 4 buttons at the backside. They are flushed in, so theres no problem with carrying or pressing them accidently |
| Arcelia Siebeneck 04.03.2011 | why not just use two buttons instead? what's the intended purpose of the control? might be easier to come up with an alternative if I know what you're gonna use the control for |
| Jacqualine Arroyos 04.03.2011 | here are my thoughts, i don't know iff this possible, but is there any type of rotary mechanical enconder (probably this is not the correct name)? i have two connections avaiable, for instance one A one B, iff i have a mechanical rotary that clockwise will give A-A-A-A-A and anti-clockwise will give B-B-B-B-B, i'm happy it doesn't need to be a rotary, it can be something like this but definitely a rotary would be more user friendly about the button for the analog... a side button would probably be the only option... but i will definitely search for another... |
| Arcelia Siebeneck 04.03.2011 | 1) - rotary encoder isn't supported by the gamepad pcb. Cheapest option would be to use Teensyduino, but you'd need to do some programming. Next choice would probably be a HID device like the inexpensive Leo Bodnar BU0836 Controller (might be annoying to have two HID devices though?). Easiest option would be to buy a Highly Liquid Midi CPU for $44.95 (supports up to 12 encoders with a minimum of fuss). 2) - install it on the side panel somewhere perhaps? |
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