Ch Pro Pedals Gameport Usb
Don't waste your money on those GamePort-USB converters or throw your GamePort Pro Pedals away. You can convert them to USB for as little as $15. All you need is a USB joystick with a throttle axis. I used a Logitech Extreme 3D which has a throttle axis (which I didn't use) and a rudder axis. If you can find a Logitech Wingman Attack 3 USB Joystick (which has just a throttle) then that's all you need. I've seen several on ebay for around $15. Here's how I assigned the axes:.
X Axis (joystick roll) - Left Toe Brake. Y Axis (joystick pitch) - Right Toe Brake. 'Twisty' Axis (joystick rudder) - Rudder if you use an Attack3, you will use the Throttle Axis. Throttle Axis - Unused The Logitech Extreme 3D has three circuit boards in it. Two of them are in the base and one is in the head of the stick.
I was not kind to the stick getting these boards out. I used a hammer and smashed the stem where the main wire runs up to the stick PCB because it would involve removing connectors otherwise. I used wire cutters to cut the joystick away from the boards while standing over a trash can. I had the circuit boards out in about ten minutes. Next, I put tape on each pot so I could label what they are and connected the 'Logitech Stick' (minus the stick ) to my computer and brought up the Game Controllers utility and found 'Logitech Extreme 3D Joystick'. I clicked 'Properties' and turned each pot and labeled them according to what the driver utility said they were. I then proceeded to open the Pro Pedals up and remove all the electronics and wires as I will not be using any electonic parts other than the three pots (left toe, right toe, rudder).
While I was at it, I decided to replace the flimsy little wires that come in these pedals with some manly ones that will last forever. I had a toe brake wire break on me once and I don't intend to have that problem again. I soldered the new wires to each of the toe brake pots and fished them down through the pedals. After putting in the new wires, I used some stick-on velcro and secured the three Logitech PCBs to the base of the Pro Pedals. I then cut off the Logitech pots and joined the wires to the new wires I ran to each of the three Pro Pedal pots. I secured everything good with tie wraps. After buttoning everything up.
I the connected the pedals to my computer again and performed a calibration to make sure everything was working well. Now, I have a set of USB Pro Pedals. Of course, Windows sees them as a Logitech Extreme 3D joystick but all you need to do is go into your favorite flight game and assigned the appropriate axes to your toe brakes and rudder and no one has to know the electronics is actually a joystick. Total job only took about three hours. This is the best life that piece of junk Logitech stick ever had! Mark, Did I create a monster or what?
Ch Pro Pedals Problems
Looks like you are seeing all kinds of new things you can do. Here, I'll feed the fire for ya.
I was thinking about this. FFB rudder pedals.
Don't waste your money on those GamePort-USB converters or throw your GamePort Pro Pedals away. You can convert them to USB for as little as $15. Find best value and selection for your CH products flight pedals NOT USB joystick Gameport search on eBay. World's leading marketplace.
Most games only accept 1 FFB controller. BUT, here's my idea. In the Franken-Force mod, we are only using 12 volts to supply the motors.
Well, if we kicked it back up to 24 volts and then series in another set of motors, we could FFB some pedals. This should work as when you series loads, the voltage drop for them is cumulative. So each motor should 'split' the voltage between them. Drive a gear hooked up to the rudder axis with BOTH motor so that the axis is effect with either x or y inputs and you should have a nice FFB set of pedals. Of course this is all theory right now as I have not done any testing. Did I create a monster or what?
That'll teach you! Be more careful next time!
I've actually had this in mind for a long time. That's what caught my eye on the FrankenForce originally. A project that I've kept on a 'back burner' is my Suncom SFS conversion. I've been wanting to replace the electronics in the Talon with a FighterStick and the electronics in the throttle with a TQ but it's just too costly to do it. Having an F-15 HOTAS with CH electronics would be really nice though.
I guess when 'my ship comes in' I'll feel like I have the disposable income sufficient to do that. Until then, I'll have to stick with Logitech junk! As for the FF in the pedals idea, how would you manage all the gearing of the motors to the pedal movement?
That sounds like more than I would want to take on. Good to hear from you Sparx! Just a followup for anyone taking on this mod.
Be very careful when you calibrate these converted pedals. Realize that the driver 'thinks' you are calibrating a joystick. When it asks you to move your stick through all its extremes (some say 'move in a circle around its limits'), you will be pressing the left pedal (X axis or 'roll') followed by the right pedal (Y axis or 'pitch'). In the next step, it will ask you to center your stick and click a button. If you don't do this 'centering', the driver can get confused. I have found that if I take two pencils and place them across the slots the pedals travel in at the heel end so that it jacks the toe brake up a little then that's enough for the driver to see that as centered. If you just try to hold the brakes centered, the slight movement you may introduce could be enough to mess up the calibration.
The pencils will make the pedals hold steady. If you don't do this 'centering technique', you may not get full travel on one or both of your toe brakes. I may get a chance to do this sometime this week. I am having eye surgery on Tuesday and Friday. If I feel good Weds I may jump on this and get it out of the way. If it doesn't play so well being a MS stick then I may go ahead and use a logitek or saitech. Getting used to the pedals are a pain after all those years of using a twisty stick.
This just may end up having me buying a nice stick finally. And I got to see Mel's stick and throttle the other day. Very nice job on the wrong hand conversion.
Looks very nice and feels good to fly with. I really had to look hard to see where it had been converted.
Brandon Rocket. Ok just an update while I am sitting here at work killing a couple of minutes.
I have the pedals apart and the rudder pot soldered to the new board. I had a second MS Precision 2 that didn't work with winXP.
I cut the usb cable off the board and then cut the USB end off the cable. This gave me a really nice set of wires with a thick protective cover on it to run up to the toe brakes. My eye surgery is all done now and I hope that Tuesday during the day I will be able to finish soldering up the project, testing for proper axis responses and button things up. I hope that this works out as well as planned. So far So good!
Ok registered for the sole purpose of commenting on this GamePort USB mod. First of all wild snaps for trying it. I have a gameport CH Pro Pedals and a Virtual pro Pilot gameport version to.
I have had them for years. Got a throttle quadrant. Got homemade panels made from a keyboard I disassembled and rewired to radio shack switches in a project box. (I was bored) well the last part of this is my pedals.
I tried gameport. It just didnt work.
I had all this USB stuff. And no usb pedals. So i came across this thread. I saw the first page and said. I am getting my CH pro pedals working with USB.
So i get on Ebay and sure enough. I find an auction that was 6 dollars for the same joystick you used. Which was a steal. Well of course 10 dollars shipping. You really GOTTA love ebay. So i get that yesterday, first I plug it in and test. EVERYTHING is perfect.
No problems (as i say that I might have not tested it long enough when you see my issues.) and i take apart the joystick. REAL carefully. I didnt want to use the hammer technique and really. It was only like 20 screws to take it apart.
I took my time put the screws in a ziplock baggie in case i needed them again. Took the guts out just like you said. I take apart the CH pro Pedals that i have had for years. I test the pots on the Logitech Extreme 3D I had that all taken apart and out on the table. One thing you didnt mention that I was curious about was the POTS. The pots on a joystick. Gameport OR USB are.
Or seem to my amateur electrician self 100k pots. Turn one way.
Turn the other way. They go to like 120 k ohms.
So i see how this works. I got a problem with reading instructions. My first attempt was wiring the Logitech Extreme 3D board up to the CH pro pilot pots with only 2 leads.
I didnt do the 3. That didnt work. So I added a 3rd wire to the 3 pots and viola it worked. I was getting range. So I get it all together. And test it on my laptop.
One deviation. I unplugged the PCB that had the 6 switches on it and the pot for the throttle axis. I just unplugged it.
It didnt seem to matter at all. To me (amateur) means no problem. I can save on the space I am thinking and just not put it in there. So I test it which is hard with the back off and I put it back together.
I test it again on my laptop rock solid. Then I get it down to my gaming rig and plug it in.
The x and y axis is going nuts. Its like going right and pulsating at weird intervals. Like interference. Now I MEASURED the pots. And THEY were fine. It was just fine. It wouldnt work it just kept jumping so of course the brakes are on.
Ch Pro Pedals Usb
And they are on differencial. I calibrate it. And it makes no difference. It changes the range.
It is just weird. Having read your wring hint before i took it as more a suggestion than a command. So i took a single wire from a CAT5 cable (22 AWG solid core) to make the thrid wire. (wondering if that might be my problem now different quality wires. When I disconnect the lead on the mobo for the toe brakes pots. The shaking stops.
So it is coming from there. Well I think. Now here is how i am different 1. I didnt cut off all the wires. I reused most. I am going to rewire it completely from pot to the circuit board tonight.
The wire in that existing plug is TERRIBLE. It is like some braided with paper or cloth wire and I cant really get a good solder from it. I didnt leave the PCBs connected. I just disconnected them. The top one that was on the top of the stick was in the box and the 6 switch PCB wasn't connected EITHER MAybe that is part of the problem?
I don't know. The movements when I watch it in the controller panel for game devices the movements shake.
And it doesnt seem. Related to bad soder joints. I got so mad at it last night that I tore apart the solder joints by hand then I resoldered them REALLY REALLY good. That didnt fix it. Going to give it a shot tonight with those two things.
Got rid of all the wires and solder real quality wires tight to the pcb. Made some difference but over all. The pedals jump. The motion of the potentimeter is erratic you press a little on eaither pedal it jumps to 60% then the rest of the way is linear. I think my Pots are both bad.
I know the right one is. Sometime when I return it to the stay it sits at 250 out of 1023 so. Pots are 10 bucks each and 9 dollars to ship. Its a rip off. Honestly I have had my pedals for EASY 10 years. Some of the screw heads were corroded. So its possible the internals of the pots were corroded anyhow.
This project wont work all the time. One torn apart joystick in the trash. And a old pair of gameport ch pro pedals in the garbage too. I know how cool it would be to have pedals.
I will prolly but the CH ones over the Saitek. The CH ones were high quality and built tough. I woudl buy them again without hesitation.
2 nights soldering and doing electrical to get to this point. Not going to spend 30 bucks on two pots. That hits the 50 dollar mark and the new ones are worth my sanity at this point. Hi Hvyhitter, Sorry you are having problems. It certainly sounds like you have mis-wired somewhere. With USB (unlike gameport), each pot requires three wires. The two outside wires are power, Ground and Vcc (+5v) and the center (wiper) is the reference.
I think you should be ok leaving that second board (the one that leads up to the head of the stick) disconnected as you only need three axes (X, Y, and Twist) for your pedals. I got a little confused following your description. I wasn't quite sure how the Virtual Pro Pilot fit in but if you have CH Pro Pedals gameport, you can (and should) use those pots as they are high quality and made for that application. If you continue to see jittery behavior out of your axes then I would suggest you pull the board out and get everything working on your workbench before you try to install it.
You have some loose wires, wires touching, wrong inputs, etc. Somewhere so you need to figure that out while the board is not in the device. Use your volt meter and make sure you are seeing +5v on the two outside leads of each pot. Also, make sure the voltage is stable. Be careful when you plug the board in your computer's USB port while testing as you can damage the computer's USB port or your board if something is shorted. Draw lots of pictures and work slowly and carefully. Refer to my diagrams and make sure you understand the Logitech circuit before you plug anything in.
Hope that helps. It works now. Is I had everything disconnected. I used the twist axis for the rudder twist pedal action. The toe brakes I used the two X and y axies. And that was it. So what fixed it.
Was connecting that 4th pot. And just taping it inside of the case. So I ordered the CH pro pedals from an online place.
They will be here tommorrow. So I got TWO pairs of pedals. It seems rock solid now. So there is what I did because the wires STUNK.
So I hard wired it. And replaced ALL the wires. The only thing I used was the USB cord and plug in. But all of it has new wires. Its a awesome job IMHO lol all I did later is just plug that 4th pot back in. Problem solved.
Edited September 17, 2008 by hvyhitter.
From These are the newest CH Drivers for CH Game Port devices. These new drivers will work with the CH F-16 Combatstick, CH F-16 Flightstick, CH Fighterstick, CH Flight Sim Yoke PC, CH Flightstick Pro, CH FlightStick, CH GamePad, CH GameStick 14, CH GameStick 3D, CH GameStick, CH ProPedals, CH Racing Wheel, CH Virtual Pilot Pro, and CH Virtual Pilot, and Force FX. The new CH Analog Drivers provide Windows XP and 2000 support for CH 15 pin game port legacy controllers. They also add more functionality for Windows 98 and Me. These drivers may also help with not connected, jittery response, and calibration issues caused by slow game ports. Version 1 may include unspecified updates, enhancements, or bug fixes.