Problems with Zero Delay USB encoder

tetosan

Hello all!

First of all, thanks to this community that have saved my ass so many times! :D

I'm messing around with an USB encoder Zero Delay as in the image below:

alt text

And I have the following problems:

I know that joystick comes with a default configuration but I have had to turn around the joystick and I would like to modify X and Y axis.. how can I do it?
To enable joystick, I have to plug a button to the MODE socket and when I press it, LED light change between red and green, I have to leave it in green for the Joystick to work. Does anyone know how to leave permanent in green and do not need to have this button plugged on MODE socket?
I would like to configure buttons action from file configuration. Does anyone know which file is and when I can find it?

Hope you can help me out.

Best Regards,

DougA

@tetosan
I have a similar system to you., and I can help a bit:

When you configure the joystick, it identifies it as a generic game pad and asks you to move the joystick so it can identify which movements correspond to which direction. Just hold your joystick in the orientation you want to use and move it appropriately when asked and it will configure it to respond the way you want it to. I.e when it asks for "Joystick left", just move your joystick in the direction that you want to be left.
Mine doesn't require me to do anything except plug the joystick and the buttons in the appropriate connectors., so I can't help you here
Everything you need to know (hopefully) shoulb be here: https://github.com/RetroPie/RetroPie-Setup/wiki/RetroArch-Configuration and/or here: https://github.com/RetroPie/RetroPie-Setup/wiki/Controller-Configuration

mitu

@tetosan said in Problems with Zero Delay USB encoder:

I know that joystick comes with a default configuration but I have had to turn around the joystick and I would like to modify X and Y axis.. how can I do it?

Leaving aside any hardware dependant configurations, probably in the device vendor documentation, you can play with qjoystick or antimicro (not sure if they're available in the Raspbian Repos) and graphically configure and adjust the joysticks axes. You'll need a desktop environment like Pixel to run those utilities.

To enable joystick, I have to plug a button to the MODE socket and when I press it, LED light change between red and green, I have to leave it in green for the Joystick to work. Does anyone know how to leave permanent in green and do not need to have this button plugged on MODE socket?

Dunno about this one, but you should ask the vendor if there's a possibility to start with the joystick enabled by default.

I would like to configure buttons action from file configuration. Does anyone know which file is and when I can find it?

Once you get the controller recognized by the system, use the input configuration in Emulationstation and it will generate the appropriate configuration files for you. Most emulators (Libretro based ones) use the same configuration file - see https://retropie.org.uk/docs/RetroArch-Configuration/#retroarch-controls, but for non-libretro you should check each Emulator to see how/where it stores its keyboard config (i.e. https://retropie.org.uk/docs/Colecovision/, https://retropie.org.uk/docs/Nintendo-64/, etc.)

tetosan

Thanks a lot to you both! I will try it this night and inform about results! :)

tetosan

Hello,

I will leave my comments in case it helps to some others :)

Finally, I got it working DougA and mitu told me.

For some reason, I read that I had to plug a button to MODE socket to make joystick works, but it is not need at all. I removed the button from there, nothing plugged and everything worked as a charm.

About changing axis in joystick, I needed to enter in main menu from main screen and reconfigure controllers from there.

Now everything works as it should.

Thank you all for your help!:)

Clyde

One little addition: If your joystick doesn't use the 5-pin connector but the four individual connectors, you can connect them "wrong", because their configuration in Emulation Station doesn't apply to the text-based menus you reach from the Retropie menu in ES.

There, only the actual wiring counts. I had to learn it the hard way as my joysticks were turned by 90° in those menus.

Haemogoblin

Hi there

I'm in a similar situation, but i dont seem to be having as much luck as the OP. I have the board pictured above. I'm putting it inside an amiga joystick, so i need to to stay on digital (green led lit). So far the only way to get that to happen is by connecting a switch to mode.

Could the original poster please go in to a bit more detail how they got their board working in digital (green mode)

DougA

I think it should always be digital - the interface is for 2 different types of digital joystick - Sanwa interface (5pins) and Happ interface (4 pins) plus buttons.

Clyde

@haemogoblin Can your joystick also be connected by separate wires rather than the flat ribbon cable? Then you could try to connect its microswitches to the four separate connectors right next to the single one on the decoder. As I understand it, they should be independent from the single connector's mode. I have such a setup and it "just works"™.

UDb23

Just in case, there's detailed info about the Zero delay controller in this post @arcadecontrols forum.
alt text

grant2258

@tetosan said in Problems with Zero Delay USB encoder:

Hello,

I will leave my comments in case it helps to some others :)

Finally, I got it working DougA and mitu told me.

For some reason, I read that I had to plug a button to MODE socket to make joystick works, but it is not need at all. I removed the button from there, nothing plugged and everything worked as a charm.

About changing axis in joystick, I needed to enter in main menu from main screen and reconfigure controllers from there.

Now everything works as it should.

Thank you all for your help!:)

you can rotate the joystick itself just remove the screws on the plate and change it to the way it should be

Clyde

@grant2258 said in Problems with Zero Delay USB encoder:

you can rotate the joystick itself just remove the screws on the plate and change it to the way it should be

aka the Mountain-Mohamet-Solution. ;)

Alas, that isn't always possible, depending on the space under the control panel.

grant2258

@clyde said in Problems with Zero Delay USB encoder:

@grant2258 said in Problems with Zero Delay USB encoder:

you can rotate the joystick itself just remove the screws on the plate and change it to the way it should be

aka the Mountain-Mohamet-Solution. ;)

Alas, that isn't always possible, depending on the space under the control panel.

yes it is you remove the screws from the top plate and twist it round screw it back in the new position. I didnt say twist the mounting plated i sad move the joystick the internals the way they should be thats why the screws are there. If you pug this into a windows mach to use as a controller the controls will be wrong for everything else why would you keep the initial orientation wrong. If you need pictures of what i mean let me know

grant2258

https://drive.google.com/open?id=1ta6KSDQkfFv-QhGvIsnLlHeAhulxItpy

just remove these four screws twist the bottom plastic to the right direction screw back in jobs done and the panel can be used on any system and it will be oriented properly. the other way is Mountain-Mohamet-Solution ;)

Clyde

@grant2258 Thanks for the picture. Without it, I actually didn't understand what you meant. Your method should work with most joysticks that have the same length and width underneath the plate. Asymmetrical ones could still make problems in very cramped casings. The direction of the flat cable connector can also be important.

Which method corresponds to Mountain-Mohamed depends on what is more convenient for the person doing it and how the joystick in question is constructed. With my Mag-Stik Plus from Ultimarc for example, it's very difficult to remove it from the control panel once it's installed, because its bat top can't be removed from the shaft. Thus, the whole shaft including the 4-to-8-way switching mechanism has to be removed to get to the screws you mentioned (see „Mag-Stik Dismantling“ on Ultimarc's webpage).

So for my setup, it's way easier to just change the wiring. :)

grant2258

@clyde

Well on a zero delay there is a 90% chance it will be a sanwa or clone in use. The improtant thing we can all agree on is get the original orientation right. Ive seen users on here having problems with joysticks of the same brand being orientated differently and wondering why there controls arent working right.

Clyde

@grant2258 Well, I used those decoders first with Zippyy sticks and now with those from Ultimarc. Both brands don't connect with the flat cable but with four separate wires, as does at least one Sanwa, the JLW-UM-8. So, although I don't share your 90% estimate, I agree that turning the joystick should be the easier option for single flat cable joysticks.

I'm surprised though that joysticks of the same brand come with different orientation ex-factory, as they'll have to if they have to be manually aligned by some people like you said – if I understand you correctly. Or do you mean 180°? (That wouldn't require dismounting of the mounting plate.)

grant2258

@clyde

Well it depends if you got an original and a clone they might not match up not all people get there joysticks from the same source if its a simple 180 then sure twist the plate 180. I personally dont do it with them screws i remove the restrictor plate and twist the pcb. Not everyone finds it easy working with the 4 tabs to remove the restrictor though so i just showed them another way to do it. I guess that comment about sanwa relates more to my personal preferences in joysticks. I never was a fan of the bat tops that comment wasnt a fact not sure of the percentages are.

Clyde

@grant2258 Thanks for sharing your experiences. I didn't take the percentage as a factual statement, so I understood you quite right. :) I like bat tops more, so it's good that we have free choice in that matter. I agree that not every solution is for everyone, so I welcome alternatives from others as I like to give them myself. Cheers.

zhajdu

@douga Maybe you can help me. Dragonrise USB controller (zero delay from aliexpress) UpLeft , DownRight problem is that these are not working at all. others are perfect