A Question About Using External Inputs

[Bob Stanley]

Would the Quadstick be damaged in any way if the USB A and 3.5 mm inputs shared a ground? My reason for asking that I have an external 4 way sip/suff switch I would like to use. All four switches use the same ground. I was thinking of making a homemade y cable where two of the switches would go to the 3.5 mm input and the other two would go to the USB A input and the one ground would split to both. There is no voltage, just simple relays that close and open. The wiring diagrams on pages 23 & 24 are easy to follow. I just don't want to short something out by sharing one ground across the two inputs.

[Fred Davison]

That should be fine. They share the same ground.

It's been a while since I last tested using the USB data lines as digital inputs (since before adding the support for the ultrastik) so if it doesn't work right, let me know and I'll check it out

On Tue, Oct 16, 2018, 11:44 AM Bob Stanley <bobsta...@gmail.com> wrote:

Would the Quadstick be damaged in any way if the USB A and 3.5 mm inputs shared a ground? My reason for asking that I have an external 4 way sip/suff switch I would like to use. All four switches use the same ground. I was thinking of making a homemade y cable where two of the switches would go to the 3.5 mm input and the other two would go to the USB A input and the one ground would split to both. There is no voltage, just simple relays that close and open. The wiring diagrams on pages 23 & 24 are easy to follow. I just don't want to short something out by sharing one ground across the two inputs.

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[Bob Stanley]

Ok, thanks Fred. I'll let you know how it works. It might take a few weeks though.

[Bob Stanley]

We made the cable and the two switches on the 3.5 mm input work perfectly. The two going to the USB input (Digital in 3 & 4) will not respond. The strange part is if I switch to the profile that uses these inputs, Digital in 4 will be stuck on until another command is given. We double checked the wiring and tested continuity and all seems correct.

[Fred Davison]

Like I mentioned, its been a while since I tested the USB A as digital inputs.  I'll look into it.

[Fred Davison]

Add the following preference to a Preferences sheet:

enable_usb_a_host 0

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1pChL-X3yV3QKqSLiAbvFHPSylIQAaDNte0phwxzyouE/edit#gid=229002792

[Bob Stanley]

Thanks Fred, but that didn't work. We are going to redo the wiring and make sure we didn't make a mistake.

[Bob Stanley]

We tried a different USB A cable just test with the same result. With notepad open, I switch to the Portal2.csv and digital_in_4 is stuck on repeating the letter "e" until I use digital 1 or 2. Neither digital 3 or 4 work after that. I switch back to the default profile and digital_in_3 is activated as it changes profiles. I am testing using the strafe sheet of this file: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1xOJLcsgqQihm_LFZcNJhv3GEwQzuBr2XMzNjCMD8WBo/edit?usp=sharing

[Fred Davison]

I did find a problem with that circuit.   If you add a pull up resistor between 1k - 10k between the input lines and the +5volt line, it should start working.

The new USB protection chip has pull down resistors that are making the line seem like the switch is always on.

[Bob Stanley]

Hehe, ok, now you're getting a bit over my head. :) My brother was the electrical engineer, but he passed away 8 years ago. He was the one who helped me make everything the first 20 years of my injury. I have no idea what a pull up resistor is or how to do what you said without a diagram of some sort. Thanks for looking into it though.

[Fred Davison]

Another way to go is to connect the +5 volt line instead of the Ground line to one side of the switches, then change the configuration file to do this:

kb_3	less_than 50	digital_in_3
kb_4	less_than 50	digital_in_4

[Bob Stanley]

So, in your first reply, I would take a single pull up resistor and connect to the red +5 line and the white and green input lines?

[Fred Davison]

There would be a total of 2 pull up resistors. One for each data line

[Bob Stanley]

Ok, got it. Thanks Fred.

[Bob Stanley]

We rewired the USB part of the Y-cable with two 4.7K ohm resistors. It works perfectly if we plug it in after the quad stick boots up. When the quad stick boots up with it plugged in, the sequence takes much longer and results in the quadstick locking up. It reboots itself every 10-15 seconds. We unplug our cable and the quad stick returns to normal. I'm thinking it might be easier to buy an Ultrastick 360 and use it's switch inputs. Any thoughts?

[Fred Davison]

I should be able to prevent that.  I'll bet the USB host driver on the A port is getting confused because the pullups are signalling that there is a device plugged in that wants to talk.

Try putting adding this line to your prefs.csv file with the notepad editor:

enable_usb_a_host,0

There may be a line with this:

enable_usb_a_device,0

leave that one alone.

Putting it in the prefs.csv file instead of a Preferences sheet in a game config should stop it from ever starting instead of just shutting it down for that one game file when you load it.

[Bob Stanley]

The person that helps me with this stuff will not be available for a while. To be honest, I’m afraid of messing around with it any more. I don’t want to damage the quad stick. I have a workaround for the time being using my old Saitek game pad that was modified years ago with my 4 way sip/puff switches. I can use it in combo with the quad stick and my TrackIR for first person shooter games for now. I’m so accustomed to being able to move and aim at the same time, that switching between sheets for movement and aiming will be a step backwards.

Maybe someday you might make an add on box with at least four 3.5 mm stereo jacks that plugs into the USB port of the quad stick to add additional ability switches. Like an Ultra Stick 360 with the additional inputs, just without the Ultra Stick. I would buy one in a heartbeat!

Thank you for all of your help. It is greatly appreciated.

[Fred Davison]

I confirmed that if you disable the USB A Host function in the prefs.csv file, it will start up OK with the pull up resistors.  

If the host is enabled, and the input lines are pulled up, it thinks there is a device plugged into the A port and it tries to talk to it.  You can see the blue leds go through their pattern and then everything stops and the program hangs.  Eventually it reboots in an attempt to recover.   

Adding the "enable_usb_a_host,0" line to the prefs.csv file will prevent that and you can use those two inputs.   I've attached a prefs.csv file with that line in it.  You can just copy it into your quadstick's flash.  Any preference changes you have made to the default preferences will need to be re-entered.

[Bob Stanley]

We got up the courage to try it today and it works great! Thank you again for your help. We were about ready to just buy an UltraStik 360 w/inputs and call it good. But this saved $200, at least for now. :)