Do the driving controllers get "jittery" too?

[bond007pr]

Hi:

As the subject title says:Do the driving controllers also get "jittery" with time and use?

[joeybastard]

Mine started to "stick" the other night. Opened 'em up and cleaned them with some electronics cleaner spray. Works great

[Atarian7]

i use wd-40 in my paddles and they work great.

[Velvis]

Could someone explain how the driving controllers work? I understand how the paddles work (ie a pot that changes resistance.), but how does that work with a "endless" spinner like the driving controller?

[Rob Mitchell]

Could someone explain how the driving controllers work? I understand how the paddles work (ie a pot that changes resistance.), but how does that work with a "endless" spinner like the driving controller?

 

The driving controller spinner is a rotary digital switch. It has 16 transitions per revolution and thus is a low resolution device.

 

It is technically a quadrature encoder .. the signals which it puts out are decoded by the console using the appropriate software decoding scheme.

 

The same quadrature encoding is used in computer mice, trakballs, digital volume controls and digital radio tuning knobs.

 

You can see the transitions occuring when you use the driving controller with the Test Cart .. or with the Vectrex test cart (in controller check mode).

 

This would be turning one direction:

Pin1      Pin2

-           -   State1

+           -

+           +

-           +

and back to State1

 

And this would be turning the other direction:

Pin1      Pin2

-           -   State1

-           +

+           +

+           -

and back to State1

 

The programs have to remember what the last state was and then compare the current state to see if a transition has occurred. Which pin made the transition determines which direction the knob has been turned.

 

Q: What is the first quadrature encoding device? Must be long before the 1976-77 driving controller. Indy 800 and Death Race both used this technology in the arcades in 1976.

 

Quadrature phasing is used in FM radio circuitry in the 1970s.

 

Rob Mitchell, Atlanta, GA

[Mindfield]

Well, what method was used in the original 1971 Xerox PARC workstation mouse? I seem to recall that it was the same opto-mechanical technology that's still used in ball mice today, but it's essentially the same thing, just a different method of accomplishing it.

[Velvis]

Wow, thats an answer. Thanks!

 

Since you know your stuff, any thoughts on how to add paddle support to an Xbox?

 

My thought is to hack a standard controller using the analog triggers and connect it to the paddle output.

 

My concerns are:

 

1) I really dont have much electronics experience.

2) I feel as if it was this easy someone else would have done it.

 

 

The xbox is an awesome emulation machine, but it needs paddles and perhaps a spinner.

 

Any thoughts?