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Post by xefned on Mar 2, 2014 14:24:51 GMT -5
Does anyone have instructions for building a spinner for Vectrex? Furious George doles out a few rarities every year but it's fruitless to mount campaigns against real collectors. Por ejemplo, he's currently got a Hydra spinner listed but I'm pretty sure that will end in the $400+ range given past auctions. EDIT: 2 new bidders joined the party the same evening I posted this. Price doubled, 3 days into the 10 day auction. Am I just making things worse?  !!!! Anyone have instructions on building one? I'll post whatever I learn here for other builders. There are plenty of articles on how to build an ARCADE spinner. I guess my real question is: how do I interface a spinner with the Vectrex? The X1, and X2 leads come off the photo-interruptors with a pulse relative to 5v and ground. For home MAME arcade purposes, "X1" and "X2" would then go to something like a MiniPac which would translate them to a USB interface for the PC. But on the Vectrex, we have a single X-axis wire to the joyport, which monitors a voltage change between 0 and 5v, as I understand it. How would this account for speed and direction of the spinner? It seems that some kind of brain is needed. I guess I'll build one and connect the X1 and X2 wires to East and West on the Vectrex (pins 4 and 3), monitor the voltage changes inline and see how the Vectrex reacts. But I already know it's not that simple because Vectrex spinners utilize both joystick ports. I'll keep thinking about it and post whatever I find for whomever may be interested...
I'm also interested in building a Starblast matrix controller, but I can't make out how he performs multiple functions with a SPST momentary switch. In the case of the upper-left matrix button, it would trigger "joystick up" + "joystick left" and "button four" all with a single press. That would be easy to do with a 3PST momentary switch but I don't believe those exist anyone on this earth. I'm guessing he must be using a microcontroller of some sort.  |
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Post by VECTREXER on Mar 3, 2014 12:10:04 GMT -5
<-- is a bastard bidder!
You are not making things worse by posting. For the most part people who are interested have automatic searches in place to keep an eye on things. It just takes a while for some people to catch up.
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Post by Mayhem on Mar 3, 2014 12:22:11 GMT -5
The Starblast Matrix controller also uses both joystick ports btw, if that helps you figure out how it works  As I'm the one who owns it, I hope you understand the deference to show the internals because of the hard work George has put into his controllers. |
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Post by xefned on Mar 3, 2014 21:27:44 GMT -5
LOL, me too! My favorite peeps in the universe have geomega on auto-notification, myself included. But I don't even get excited when I see his listings anymore. Not with the likes of you, and Mayhem, and a handful of other people who are gonna trounce me. All in good humor. |
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Post by 50tbrd on Mar 3, 2014 22:12:22 GMT -5
He comes out with some really cool items, however I don't have the ambition to be one of the exclusive owners of any of his one off creations/uber exclusive items. I'm happy owning one of each of his games and have the toughest of all of them to acquire (Hexed!).
As cool as the Matrix is, the game plays well on a standard controller. The Hydra is nice as well but can be easily replicated especially once the Vectrosis becomes available. The Yeti is the only controller I'd really wouldn't mind having but I'd expect the price of one of those on the secondary market to be pretty steep as well. It'd probably be just as well to buy a standard Vectrex controller and use the internals to make your own controller (I've got 5 of them now).
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Post by xefned on Mar 3, 2014 22:36:47 GMT -5
The Starblast Matrix controller also uses both joystick ports btw, if that helps you figure out how it works Kinda restores my sanity a bit, thank you. Another VERY REAL possibility is that the deluxe version of Sundance is specially programmed to interpret input from the Matrix controller - and that even an authentic Fury-brand Matrix controller might not work with a regular non-deluxe cartridge. I probably won't waste too much brainpower on this one. But it would be nice to use a matrix-style controller. I know George recommends the standard controller, but stick flubs knock me off my high score every time. Plus the lure of an authentic-ish keypad experience...  As I'm the one who owns it, I hope you understand the deference to show the internals because of the hard work George has put into his controllers. So you're the one who crushed my dreams in the last 30 second of that auction. I respect George's work immensely. I could probably give up chasing a homebrew matrix. To be sure, I'd rather buy one. Same with the Vectrosis, I'd much rather buy one. But I'm so brand new here, i missed the pre-order.  I'm hoping when they're finally released, there will be an extra I can snag at a reasonable price. Which brings me to a question some of you Vec-Veterans might know. The Hydra and Vectrosis are actual spinners, and not paddle-type driving controllers with stops at the end of each rotation, correct? I've read the legends of Chris Tumber's Spinnerama. But it looks like that actually used a paddle/driving controller - basically a pot inside. So too far in one direction and you'd reach a "stop" and have to rotate the other direction. Am I understanding correctly? I'm now realizing George has the first and only commercially-available spinner for the Vectrex. So if my question about making a spinner seemed brazen and lacking in deference to Fury™, it's only because I mistakenly thought other spinners were out there in the past. |
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Post by VECTREXER on Mar 4, 2014 3:56:53 GMT -5
Chris T's was a Spinner with no stop. I might dig it out before the end of the year (or before CGExpo) I post an update here with internal pics for you when I do.
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Post by Mayhem on Mar 4, 2014 10:13:15 GMT -5
Another VERY REAL possibility is that the deluxe version of Sundance is specially programmed to interpret input from the Matrix controller - and that even an authentic Fury-brand Matrix controller might not work with a regular non-deluxe cartridge. Correct. The Matrix controller can't be used with the regular release of Sundance, and you can't use a normal Vectrex controller with this one-off version of the Sundance Matrix game. The two work completely in tandem. |
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Post by xefned on Mar 4, 2014 10:45:57 GMT -5
Chris T's was a Spinner with no stop. I might dig it out before the end of the year (or before CGExpo) I post an update here with internal pics for you when I do. Wow, thanks Chris! I'll try to get my hands on an Atari paddle so I have the raw materials when the time comes. Minestorm scores should improve with a spinner! Chris T's Spinnerama I see works with the Atari "Driving Controller" (Picture from Wiki courtesy of 50tbrd, thank you.) I mistakenly thought the Atari "Driving Controller" and "Paddle" were exactly the same thing, until just now. Time to place a bid on a driving controller... Thanks. You guys just saved me $467.12.  |
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Post by VectorX on Mar 4, 2014 11:08:17 GMT -5
I mistakenly thought the Atari "Driving Controller" and "Paddle" were exactly the same thing, until just now. Yeah, they might *look* alike, but they're not exactly. I've got a pair of each. |
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Post by binarystar on Mar 4, 2014 12:08:06 GMT -5
Yeah, Atari driving controllers work just fine in port 2, combined with buttons from port 1. I have a couple games in development that use this setup.
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Post by VectorX on Mar 4, 2014 12:29:15 GMT -5
Well, that's good to hear |
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Post by 50tbrd on Mar 4, 2014 14:00:46 GMT -5
Some of the Spinner Hack versions are on Andrew Colemans 72in1 Multi-Cart including Minestorm II. They utilize unmodified Atari driving controllers.
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Post by xefned on Mar 5, 2014 10:42:08 GMT -5
Your order of "Atari Driving Controller" has shipped! Woo, found one on Amazon.com for $5.50. I seriously can't wait to play Minestorm II with a spinner. The ability to finesse my angle of rotation will help in those tight storms. Yeah, Atari driving controllers work just fine in port 2, combined with buttons from port 1. Cool. I'm assuming at this point I still need to swap some pins at the very least to make it work with the Vectrex. And at the most, I'd need to mod it per Brett's driving controller diagram. But then 50tbrd said:Some of the Spinner Hack versions are on Andrew Colemans 72in1 Multi-Cart including Minestorm II. They utilize unmodified Atari driving controllers. Whoa! Blink, blink. Rub my eyes. Did I read that right? Unmodified? This keeps getting better and better.I have a couple games in development that use this setup. |
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Post by christophertumber on May 2, 2014 13:56:16 GMT -5
The spinner is pretty sweet, the biggest difficulty is using the knob while also using the standard joystick buttons. You either need three hands or some kind of housing. I used to offer a really simple coupler made of corplast (that plastic cardboard that commercial signs are often printed on). If I remember, I'll see if I can find the plans when I get home tonight.
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!!!!
