New Joysticks...Good or Bad Choice by FIRST?

[AlphaOmega870]

Our joysticks are insanely sensitive. When moved, they do not return to zeroed position by themselves. Is there any other way to adjust sensitivity?

[josh_johnson]

The easiest way to do this would probably be to add a deadband in programming by changing the output value to the motor to 127 if the joystick is within a certain range of 127. For example, if pwm01 and pwm02 are controlling the robot drive, you could insert the following code in the Process_Data_From_Master_uP function in the user_routines.c function:

int deadband = 20;
//the above value may need to be more or less depending on how sensitive the joysticks are
pwm01 = (abs(pwm01 - 127) <= deadband ? 127 : pwm01);
pwm02 = (abs(pwm02 - 127) <= deadband ? 127 : pwm02);


and add this function to find absolute value to the user_routines.c file as well:

int abs(a) {
return (a < 0 ? -a : a);
}

I have not tested this, but I do believe that it should work.

[echos]

The new joysticks this year are good and bad in there own.

Good
-More buttons
-Fits your right hand comfortably

Bad
-Doesn't fit left hand
-No wheel
-Can't use two joysticks on the same port
-Anything else you can think of

[Jeremy_Mc]

Originally Posted by echos

The new joysticks this year are good and bad in there own.

Good
-More buttons
-Fits your right hand comfortably

Bad
-Doesn't fit left hand
-No wheel
-Can't use two joysticks on the same port
-Anything else you can think of

Look again There are two wheels to be exact.

I like them...but I wish they'd sent a left handed, too! What about left handed drivers? Lefties unite!

OK, not really...

I do like the extra buttons and the little d-pad in the middle very much. Fun stuff for us programmers to play with!

[Anthony Kesich]

Originally Posted by Jeremy_Mc

Look again There are two wheels to be exact.

Those are null wheels. They adjust the offset and are used to null the joystick. What we're looking for is a wheel that gives its own analogue output, not just adjusts another.

[Caleb Fulton]

Originally Posted by Anthony Kesich

Those are null wheels. They adjust the offset and are used to null the joystick. What we're looking for is a wheel that gives its own analogue output, not just adjusts another.

Alas, the side wheel is gone

We do, however, have two more buttons built into the joystick that work. The button to the left of the omni-directional thingy is pN_sw_aux1, and the other one is pN_sw_aux2 (where N is obviously the port number).

[Astronouth7303]

Originally Posted by Anthony Kesich

Those are null wheels. They adjust the offset and are used to null the joystick. What we're looking for is a wheel that gives its own analogue output, not just adjusts another.

Just wire your own. Look in the FRC default code doc for the tables. you can add 2 (Unless the D-pad uses them).

[CyberWolf_22]

The directional pad on top of the joystick does take one of the analog inputs but there still is that second one you can use to make your wheel that was on last years joystick with a pot and a piece of wood or metal cut into a circle.

[Astronouth7303]

To use a pot, all you need is to drill a hole. There's a litttle nut on top to attach it.

[sygterm]

Originally Posted by Jeremy_Mc

Fun stuff for us programmers to play with!

[Tytus Gerrish]

theyre nice But Only right handed.
For a Driver like Me who likes to use two sticks to drive the new sticks would be a bit awkward i have the idea of using an old stick on the left a new one in the right and using the other new stick for an operator. but now that you say they have difrent sesctivity... im thinking i only would use the old sticks for driving.

Using one stick In a ,2 wheel drive, tank or somthing similar. i find it very frustrating. with one stick the computer is deciding what to do with your movements and it dosent always want to do what you think your telling it to

[Specialagentjim]

Originally Posted by Tytus Gerrish

theyre nice But Only right handed.
For a Driver like Me who likes to use two sticks to drive the new sticks would be a bit awkward i have the idea of using an old stick on the left a new one in the right and using the other new stick for an operator. but now that you say they have difrent sesctivity... im thinking i only would use the old sticks for driving.

Using one stick In a ,2 wheel drive, tank or somthing similar. i find it very frustrating. with one stick the computer is deciding what to do with your movements and it dosent always want to do what you think your telling it to

I second this! heh, I've used 2 sticks for tank style driving since 7th grade. I sincerly doubt you'll get me out of the habit.

[Adam Shapiro]

I agree that the new joysticks are awkward to drive but they are nice as a secondary control. For the drive I'm going to switch back to the old joysticks! At least they fit your hand!

[Aignam]

I don't particularly like the new joysticks. They feel flimsy and plasticy. The old joysticks, the ones we will be using this year, feel sturdier and generally more comfortable. Plus the whole 2-joystick drive for tank drive robots problem with the right handed joysticks, but that has been elaborated upon already.

[Adam Shapiro]

A few years ago we had a stick that was similar in design to the new ones but black and much sturdier. Unfortunately it broke when we took the robot somewhere to showcase it...