Jump to content
IGNORED

DIY: USB Rotary Control w/Atari style knob


pboland

Recommended Posts

  • 2 months later...

What happened with the Cyclone, anyway?

 

In short, life happened.

 

They are coming. I had to remake the spinner knobs as I made them too thin and they broke too easily. I just put together the template for mounting and I mounted a test unit in a box to make a quick video using it with retro pi.

 

very soon (and very sorry it is taking so long).

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 1 month later...

 

Now available for only $40.00 plus Shipping.

(click on link for more info)

INTRODUCING THE ALL NEW

CYCLONE USB SPINNER by Hotz!

Only 20 14 left!

 

 

Having bought this, could you tell me anything about the rotary encoder? Pulses per rotation, absolute or incremental, optical or mechanical? Thanks!

 

I'll have to see if this will fit in one of my 7800 arcade controllers to make a Tron controller.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

 

Having bought this, could you tell me anything about the rotary encoder? Pulses per rotation, absolute or incremental, optical or mechanical? Thanks!

 

I'll have to see if this will fit in one of my 7800 arcade controllers to make a Tron controller.

 

 

It is optical. As the video states, the spinner is built on an optical mouse PCB. So the system see it as a mouse. Because that's what it is, a single axis mouse.

 

You will have to mess with your settings (within your emulator) to get it dialed in. I didn't not test with every game to see what the optimum settings would be.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Just a reminder when I make projects like this, I sell them on a first come first serve basis. So, if you want one you might want to buy now. I don't know if I'll be making any more of these spinners. It took me much longer than I had originally thought it would to make this happen.

 

Right now there are only 4 left to purchase as of the writing of this message.

 

For more info on purchasing this spinner, please see the official for sale topic in the "Buy, Sell, and Trade" sub forum:

 

USB Rotary Control, MAME, EMULATION

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Question: What would you recommend for a FIRE button? I've been doing searches all morning for something like a single USB Arcade button and I'm coming up blank (or zero delay 8+ button kits).

 

USB arcade control boards are quite cheap. Here is the one I tend to use:

 

USB Encoder to PC Joystick and Button For MAME

 

It only $6.99. You just need to buy yourself a button or two (which are also pretty cheap from aliexpress).

Link to comment
Share on other sites

ClassicGMR,

I've never seen a single USB arcade button. Typically you'll need to buy the arcade button (microswitch) and then interface it to USB. I'm not sure if pboland has button inputs on his trackball. If not, you can use a 32U4 based Arduino for the interface. Buttons and interfaces are available from https://www.adafruit.com/

 

Unfortunately, I did not include terminals to add buttons to this version of the spinner. The reason was for cost reduction.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 4 weeks later...

Hey guys,

 

I've had a couple people express interest in purchasing spinners that missed this first run. If you are wanting a spinner and didn't get a chance to purchase in the first run. Please let me know. If I can hit 10 units I will make another run of these spinners. Actually they would be slightly different because the mouse PCB I used for these spinners is no longer available. So I would need to start looking for a new mouse PCB.

 

Let me know if you guys are interested.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

Another run of USB spinner controllers will be made.

 

I have officially started the process of finding new mouse PCBs to make another run of these spinners. This is going to take some time. At least a month or two for me to nail down the PCBs. I'm also in the process of upgrading my 3D printer which is used to make a couple of key parts of these spinners. That will happen at the same time as the search for the new mouse PCB's. I'm hoping that this next batch of spinners will be ready by September (this could change). I'm thinking about a couple small upgrades that I might add to the spinner as long as it doesn't really effect the price too much.

 

I have also started a list of those interested in purchasing a spinner control. If you are interested and have not made it know you are interested, now is the time to do so. More news to come. Stay tuned...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

6 hours ago, ClassicGMR said:

You have my attention. :) What type of upgrades? Just out of curiosity.

I'm going to look into adding a connection for one (or maybe two) buttons. The other idea is very minor but, I'm looking into a different material for the disk. Keep in mind I'm just looking into the possibility and it may not happen. It all about cost and time. Right now what makes these spinners attractive to people is the cost. If the cost goes too high I'm afraid people will loose interest. One step at a time...

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

4 hours ago, pboland said:

I'm going to look into adding a connection for one (or maybe two) buttons. The other idea is very minor but, I'm looking into a different material for the disk. Keep in mind I'm just looking into the possibility and it may not happen. It all about cost and time. Right now what makes these spinners attractive to people is the cost. If the cost goes too high I'm afraid people will loose interest. One step at a time...

Totally get it. :)

 

IF IF IF IF you add the ability to add buttons I'd buy another one in a heartbeat so keep me in mind for your "list" purposes. :)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 months later...

Cyclone II will have three shaft length options:

 

Option #1: Normal length (same as Cyclone I), this is good on control panels up to 1/4 inch thick.

Option #2: Long length, this is good on control panels up to 1/2 inch thick.

Option #3: Extra long length, this is good on control panels up to 3/4 inch thick.

 

I decided to do this because I had a buyer that couldn't use the original Cyclone Spinner in his 1Up-Arcade because the shaft of the spinner was not long enough to accommodate the (almost) 1/2 inch thick control panel. With "Option #2" this time around Cyclone II will be able to be used in all those 1Up-Arcade Rpi conversions. :) "Option #3" will be good for those users that want to mount the Cyclone II in a full size MAME arcade cabinet with a standard 3/4 inch thick arcade control panel. I'm still a month or two from having the new Cyclone II's ready to sell, but I wanted to put this out there for you guys to think about before you decide to purchase because the shaft length can not be changed after I ship out the spinner control.

 

More info to come...

  • Like 1
  • Thanks 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I just realized I never officially stated this:

 

Cyclone II will have connections for TWO buttons via two sets of wired leads (30 cm long) terminating with 4.8 mm spade connectors (standard arcade size). You will no longer need an extra USB interface board for a couple buttons. However, you will have to supply your own buttons. The two buttons will be seen as the right & left mouse buttons. Having two buttons should be good for most spinner games like Tempest, Major Havoc, Tac-Scan and Zektor.

  • Like 2
  • Thanks 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

20 hours ago, pboland said:

I just realized I never officially stated this:

 

Cyclone II will have connections for TWO buttons via two sets of wired leads (30 cm long) terminating with 4.8 mm spade connectors (standard arcade size). You will no longer need an extra USB interface board for a couple buttons. However, you will have to supply your own buttons. The two buttons will be seen as the right & left mouse buttons. Having two buttons should be good for most spinner games like Tempest, Major Havoc, Tac-Scan and Zektor.

I'm sold! ?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...
  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...