Joysticks-any good ones out there?

[SpaceOsc]

Originally Posted by whytheheckme

IFI's (Cross The Road Electronics) USB Chicklet (manual) works wonders. I went to Best Buy and found Logitech's Attack 3 Joystick for 30 bux (mine was actually open box, for 17.) I know the chicklets are expensive, but are a good investment. We have 2 chickets. They really rock.

It can support the following:

  Logitech Dual Action Gamepad 
  Logitech Cordless RumblePad 2 
  Logitech Attack 3 Joystick 
  Logitech Extreme 3D Pro Joystick
  Logitech NASCAR Racing Wheel 
  Microsoft XBox Controller 
   Microsoft XBox 360 Controller 
  Microsoft IntelliMouse Optical 
  Saitek Aviator Joystick 
  Saitek ST290 Joystick 
  Saitek ST290 Pro Joystick

Plus I imagine other basic USB controllers (please, don't quote me on this. I'm just saying, if you decide to go this route, try plugging in some controllers you have before you shell out more cash for new ones.)
******

Don't invest too heavily though. Who knows what kind of control system we will see next year (I'm hoping for mind control support.)

Jacob

if your using a basic tank drive setup for your robot then you can follow all the advice above but instead of buying two crickets and two sticks cut the cost in half by buying one cricket and a Xbox360 controller. they work well out of the box, support two analog sticks and handle alot better than two larger joysticks. and if your driver has any Xbox experience it a no-brainier.

since the 15 pin Gameport is up in the air for 2009 investing in multiple crickets might not so be wise.

the cricket only requires a few minutes of electrical work such as cutting wires and stripping them to interface with a backup battery or another battery of your choice. a small brick of 6 AA batteries is a great bet to as they don't require any special chargers. with a single controller and a single cricket battery life goes from 7-8 hours but id only guarantee 6 as in testing the controller was never actively used.

[whytheheckme]

Originally Posted by SpaceOsc

if your using a basic tank drive setup for your robot then you can follow all the advice above but instead of buying two crickets and two sticks cut the cost in half by buying one cricket and a Xbox360 controller. they work well out of the box, support two analog sticks and handle alot better than two larger joysticks. and if your driver has any Xbox experience it a no-brainier.

Beware of traditional xbox controllers. Of the two that I tested, both analog sticks were very wacky and inaccurate, and almost never returned to the same value when centered. I can't say about 360 controllers, as I have not tested one.

Jacob

[thefro526]

I was actually talking with a friend about this, and does anyone know if a 360 Guitar Hero Controller works with the USB chicklet? We were thinking that it would because it plugs in like a normal 360 controller.

[Abra Cadabra IV]

We were actually considering using an Xbox controller at the beginning of the season, but by the time we realized we needed the Chiclet it was out of stock. And at this point, we don't really have the funds to buy it.

Thanks for all the suggestions, everyone! I think my team has found what we need.

[Francis-134]

From what we have found, the easiest way to make the standard joysticks better is to unscrew the upper plastic part, then remove it and replace it with either a piece of plasic, or even just a screwdriver. This removes any of the slop due to the heavy top of the joysticks.

[lingomaniac88]

We use CH flightsticks for driving, and the new joysticks for everything else. According to our driver, it's because the joysticks we receive are both right-handed (left-handed, maybe... I forget), and the CH flightsticks are much better for tank driving (what we use).

[Abra Cadabra IV]

Yeah, we found out that using the flightsticks for actual driving and the kit joysticks for everything else works really, really well...but then the team we borrowed the Flightsticks from wanted them back at the end of the competition.

[SpaceOsc]

Originally Posted by whytheheckme

Beware of traditional xbox controllers. Of the two that I tested, both analog sticks were very wacky and inaccurate, and almost never returned to the same value when centered. I can't say about 360 controllers, as I have not tested one.

Jacob

At first the driver had 360 for a while and played it religiously. he brought a controller from home and had centering issues. he still wanted the robot controlled with a xbox360 controller so we bought a new one and the centering issue was not there. seems that the controllers wear out over time and such. but driving a robot for a few minutes at a time doesn't compare to beating out controllers for months.

Originally Posted by thefro526

I was actually talking with a friend about this, and does anyone know if a 360 Guitar Hero Controller works with the USB chicklet? We were thinking that it would because it plugs in like a normal 360 controller.

the makers of the cricket only support Microsoft made xbox controllers and don't guarantee any other controller from a 3rd party. im sure some of the 1501 teams this year has tested a guitar hero controller. hopefully they will post.