Using non joystick controls with Operator Interface (Hacking Various Controllers)

[AIBob]

I am not sure where you can get a diagram of the serial port, hopefully you will get it, and I am almost certain that you can use an Xbox controller legally.
But USB is digital isnt it... and the serial port is analog.

[pakrat]

Yeah, the digital/analog swith would be enough to steer me towards playstation, but i dunno

[iwearshoes]

I thought Serial cables were both digital and analog.

If you need it the wiring for USB is as follows:

5V / Red

D+ / Green

D - / White

Ground / Black

Lets say we forget about the pressure sensetive buttons (255 levels of sensitivity to be exact) and just wanted to use them as toggels. I know I can get a driver for it, the only thing I need is a way to wire it to a serial port.

Does anyone know of an adapter or crossover that would work?

I thought about PS2 but everyone knows xbox is superior.

Alright, thanks for the help so far.

(P.S. If you want your game system modified [LEDs, Paint Jobs, other crazy stuff, Preformance Xbox mods, etc.] let me know.)

[Billfred]

Search before you post:

http://www.chiefdelphi.com/forums/sh...+controlle rs

But since I'm a nice guy, I'll tell you--unless you are up for some serious hacking and programming, you are not going to get an XBox controller to interface with the 2005 FRC OI to much success. It's mainly because the DB15 (gameport) connector used is rather old-school.

Many others have looked for a way to do it. None have done it yet. Don't take this as bashing--take it as a challenge. (And of course, IFI provides some resources to aid you in your effort.) Every good thing in FIRST has happened because someone wanted to do a particular task a better/cheaper/faster/more interesting way. (Hence we have the kitbot this year!)

[iwearshoes]

Sorry about not searching for the post guys...... I just assumed this was kinda random and not many people would talk about it... oh well....


Well, if anyone knows the wiring schematics of the DB15 than let me know.

[Rickertsen2]

Originally Posted by iwearshoes

ok, I want to rig an Xbox controller as the main interface for our robot. I have converted them to USB before and have a USB driver and i was wondering if any of you had wiring diragrams of serial ports so i can figure out how to power it and where all the handshakes are. If so please let me know where i can find them. Thank you. Also is it legal to make an xbox controller the interface?

This question comes up at least once every year, and there have been multiple threads about it. No offence, but if you are even asking this question i don't think you should attempt this. You CANNOT directly connect USB stuff to the OI no matter what kind of crazy software you right. This is a hardware restriction and there is no way around it without making a USB to gameport converter. This is not an easy task even for a seasoned hardware developer. USB is an extremely in depth and bulky protocol that is not for the faint of heart. I speak from experience. I have developed USB peripherals in the past. In order to interface with an Xbox controller, you would have to make a device that could act as a USB host. This is far worse than a peripheral. If you absolutely feel you need to to have an Xbox controller then i would rip it apart and see if you can bypass all of the control electronics. I have never opened one up but it probably boils down to mess of switches and potentiometers. If this is the case, you can just hook some wires up to the bottons/axis slap the proper DB15 connector on it and plug it directly into the OI.

BTW yes it is legal

[Rickertsen2]

Originally Posted by AIBob

I am not sure where you can get a diagram of the serial port, hopefully you will get it, and I am almost certain that you can use an Xbox controller legally.
But USB is digital isnt it... and the serial port is analog.

The serial port on the OI is not analog. Perhaps you are confusing it with the gameports(joystick imputs) on the OI which are Analog. BTW the serial port on the OI is also unidirectional. It can only recieve information from the robot. It can't transmit anything to the robot.

[AIBob]

Originally Posted by Rickertsen2

The serial port on the OI is not analog. Perhaps you are confusing it with the gameports(joystick imputs) on the OI which are Analog. BTW the serial port on the OI is also unidirectional. It can only recieve information from the robot. It can't transmit anything to the robot.

The reason that I would automatically consider the 'Serial Port' as a Joystick by the way they said it, and knowing the serial ports unidirectional. That is why I had said that it is analog, I am sorry for the confusion.

[Rickertsen2]

Originally Posted by AIBob

The reason that I would automatically consider the 'Serial Port' as a Joystick by the way they said it, and knowing the serial ports unidirectional. That is why I had said that it is analog, I am sorry for the confusion.

Its ait. Don't worry about it.

[ElCrazon]

Well, we're a rookie team and I just wired up a playstation controller to our robot yesterday. It took about an hour and a half once I got the d-sub conectors in the mail. Anyway, it's really cool to drive the robot with.

[Bremma]

I'm trying to figure out how to wire and program a non joystick device for controlling the robot. I'm not sure how many switches we would use, though it will probably be 3 or 4, depending on what exactly we use for/on our arm. Does any know if I need to take any special considerations when deciding where to wire these on a serial port and what pins match up for the different controls on the ports? Any help is appriecated, and if a thread already exists for this, I can't find it, so point me there.

[Al Skierkiewicz]

Originally Posted by Bremma

I'm trying to figure out how to wire and program a non joystick device for controlling the robot. I'm not sure how many switches we would use, though it will probably be 3 or 4, depending on what exactly we use for/on our arm. Does any know if I need to take any special considerations when deciding where to wire these on a serial port and what pins match up for the different controls on the ports? Any help is appriecated, and if a thread already exists for this, I can't find it, so point me there.

Heather,
Switches are connected and mapped through the four joystick ports on the OI not the serial port. If you check in the OI manual you will find the pinout for the four ports and the buttons they call in the OI and default software.

[Bremma]

OK, so will I need to ground all of my switches on 4 and 12? Or do I just need to connect the ends of the switches to the pins?

[Al Skierkiewicz]

Originally Posted by Bremma

OK, so will I need to ground all of my switches on 4 and 12? Or do I just need to connect the ends of the switches to the pins?

In looking at section 4 of the OI manual...
"Digital Inputs (see pinouts on pages 7-10)
To utilize these inputs, wire buttons or switches between the desired digital input signal pin and any ground pin. A digital input senses a connection to ground to become active. Do not connect switches or digital inputs to 5V. Do not use lighted switches."
Any switch will have one side wired to the desired digital input on one of the four ports and the other side of the switch will be wired to either/both pin 4 and/or 12 on any port. If you search you will find a reference that allows you to construct a "y" cable that will connecto two of the ports so that you can have a button box that has more switches than one port can provide. Also note that digital inputs are duplicated on two ports. See port 2 & port 4 pinout tables.