I respect that, if I still had the car I think I would've changed it back. I'm actually disappointed that my 2002 Freelander has a CD player instead of a tape deck.
@@MattTester I did think about changing it like you did but I got this thing about old tech. It probably is my age ( 51) . Our old camper needs a head unit so be looking at a DAB kit for that though, nothing to fancy.
@MattTester I am trying to do a similar thing to make a controller for the Densha De Go Arcade game (Japanese game series. I like your idea of a potentiometer (I was going to try to use rotary encoders) as the game I want to use it for uses an input for "up" and "down" and measures how many times each input is pressed to measure the position of the controller. For my purposes, I would need a total of 15 notches. How did you design the notched plate? This part is really perplexing me and has proven to be a barrier to completing the project. Are there any tips you could share that might help me figure this out? Thanks.
Hi, thanks for watching. I've seen videos of Densha De Go on Techmoan's channel, a custom controller for that would be nice. I designed the notch plate in Fusion 360, any 3D CAD package should work though if it allows drawing. I initially cut the slot in the top cover so I knew the possible travel of the lever, then measured those angles. In the CAD sketch, I could mark out these angles and place an arc between them. The arc would be as big a distance from the pivot as possible, without the notch plate hitting the top cover once printed and assembled. That's the top of the removable plate. Add a second arc that will be the bottom, where the notches will be, and you have a basic 0 notch design that could be printed for testing. The plate doesn't need to be very thick, but more than the radius of your notches. For the notches themselves, now you know the total angle of travel you can divide that by the number of notches (exlcuding the end two as you already have those) and mark those angles on the drawing, crossing or attached to the bottom arc. At the ends and at the points where the lines cross, add circles that will be the notches. I used 2mm and 3mm circles on mine but this will vary with the size of the controller. Remove the lines you don't want from the sketch and you have the 2D outline of your notch plate. It's a good idea to smooth out the hard edges of the notches, depending on the CAD software you may be able to easily do this on the 2D sketch, or you can fillet this edge after extruding. Without this the lever might be difficult to move, but there's a lot of room to experiment. Add your mounting solution and it's ready to print. I have another video about the code I used for the potentiometers and the rotary encoder, that might also be useful to you.. Cheers.
It was very good video. Yet being new to all this i was sorta lost. If you could possibly highlight or circle the things on ths video as you talk about them it would really help me understand. Thanks
Thanks for showing the code Matt. I'm currently finishing mine. Only a few touches to the code (I've managed to show the current speed in an LCD and will try to show other data), some pieces to 3D print, assemble the whole thing and I would be good to go. Your videos have been very helpful!
I don't believe there are options to configure keys for steering wheel remotes, they will be pre-configured by the adapter. You should get forward/back track select and volume controls at least, special buttons like mode select may not work depending on the adapter. It's probably best to speak to your local car audio people.
I don't know what car you have but you will need an adapter to use the steering wheel controls, the Sony unit takes a 3.5mm input. Any Sony steering wheel control adapter that fits your car should work.
I have a Tomy Merry-Go Zoo, that I purchased online. Used of course, it's from 1975. It has a Mabuchi motor and I guess original as there is no evidence of soldering. The issue it has is that the motor speed is too fast. The train gets thrown off the first bend. The second issue is that it doesn't seem to have enough torque to drive the track features that are powered via cogs in the track. The motor stops running until all resistance is removed (just buzzes with no shaft movement). What do you think is going on here? I tried a train from the Merry-go-copter set and it worked without problem to drive the features. The train from that set is driven by a cog directly onto the traction tyres. Thanks
That's a nice find. I'm no expert on motor windings but I know from radio controlled cars that fewer turns of wire equal more speed and less torque. Assuming the motor was correct to begin with, maybe something has happened to overheat the motor and fuse the windings together. If that's actually possible. Alternatively if that loco is like the later Tomy ones it's possible to change the motor without any soldering, so someone could have still done that. Another unlikely possibility is that someone took it apart and put the gears back wrong, it's unlikely that it can work any other way but I would recommend checking the gears against my diagram.
@@MattTester thanks. Yes, I checked the gears and reassembled them. There is only one possible way they could fit due to indentations in the casing moulding to accommodate the larger cogs. I am going to try and source a working model to compare speeds and motor details. I'll let you know how I get on! Thanks for the response.
The 800 odd character limit is due to the finite capacity of the Brother controller. I have a Brother HR15 serial/parallel printer which also has finite capacity. You can send data to the printer far quicker that it can print. The serial interface on the HR15 raises the RTS/CTS line to request a pause to enable the printer to catch up. I use it once a year to print out my 9 lines Xmas card address labels with the tractor feeder.
Many thanks for the information, I was very confused when I first hit the limit. Very interesting to know that they included a pause on their own machines. I could potentially slow the stream of data down.
Nice video! Perhaps I missed it in the video and in that case I'm sorry - but otherwise you save pins quite easy by also using the "resistive divider-method" for the rotary switch as you'll only use one of the positions at once. And for anyone who doesn't want to build their own resistive divider, there's always the option to use a multiplexer, like the CD74HC4067 :)
I certainly could, I only ran out of pins after I had already wired up the rotary switch so I didn't have that idea at the time. They're also in different controllers, I have a few other videos on them.
Hi, can you make a tutorial on how to make the horn lever work with sim with like the coding? I have got everything I need and I’ve been trying to do this, this will really help me! U just earned a sub and like !
It's something I'm working on, just breaking the code down into the individual parts and getting diagrams, sample code, etc. It won't be much longer! Thanks for watching and subbing!
I couldn't afford a computer and printer when i was young for my studies paper, I had an Brother AX310, I whish there was some easy way to keep using it (as printer) , Typewriter make surprisingly clear documents
It is a shame these models didn't have a computer input, unfortunately it seems that this is the only simple way to use it as a printer. Performance of the machine isn't great compared to something like a Juki daisywheel printer but yes the print is very clear.
Thats cool way to print :) ... I do also love using script from Red Dwarf as test sample but I think not using the part from Return to earth part 3 where they were actually meddling with typewriter is kinda miss :) ... or atleast that episode where Lister was writing in text game while Kryten "hand tarantula" appeared ... those two would have been more thematic :D
Thanks, I haven't watched Back to Earth for a long time but I should try and find the script for it. I agree that the typing section from Terrorform would've been good, I will have to try that. Queeg is just my favourite episode!
The yellow AWS button is an illuminated arcade button, but the red and green mushroom head buttons were both in a pack together from Amazon. 'Momentary Push Switch Mushroom Head' would probably be the best keywords.
Brilliant video matey. Got my Tomy train set out for my grandson after over 20 years in the garage. My own children played for hours with all the extra track i bought. Engines wouldnt work so i took one to bits and all the gears fell out. Your video helped me put it all back and get it working. All hail to the power of the internet. Many thanks
Hi Matt! I have nearly that same switch in my diy controller. Mine has 2 pin bays. I have it built within a button matrix with all the other buttons and switches. My question is: do I really have to ground it or because it is built within the matrix the input pullup in Arduino already provides it? Thanks!!
They're connected with UART using the TX and RX pins, just sending simple integers over Serial1. I didn't need a third wire for a ground connection because the USB connection to the PC provides that already. Thanks for the interest!
Can u make a tutorial on how to make and code the horn if u can, I have been trying to do this for ages and I have ardunio and the two way spring return joystick u just earned a sub+like😊
I've done a video on those two, I've added a link in the description. I'm thinking of ways I can use these for the class 66 style auto brake or class 87 style throttle, too. Thanks for the interest!
Ah that makes sense, someone else said it was the wrong 159 but with no other information. I have the AP 158/159 pack, there are several to choose from and it isn't clear which is which. I will try them all to confirm which is the AP one. Thanks.
This is a very simple and ingenious design. I like it. I use pure potentiometers as joystick axes for my TS classic. A program converts the positions of the axes into values for the loco. But I miss the latching levers. With your idea, I could get my American control stand finished. Do you share your 3D data?
I'm hoping that this way with keyboard commands gives me a few other options, like making an up/down brake lever for trains with auto air brakes (UK class 66 is one example). I will make the 3D models available but that will be a bit later on as I might make some changes. The 8 notch is ideal for the US style controls, as the throttle module is the same as the class 66/67.
@@MattTester Thanks! I use 6 axes: Reverser, Throttle, Dynamic Brake, Auto (Train) Brake, and Independent (Loco) Brake. Of course, not every locomotive has a dynamic brake. The US controls are a 10-notch. The first is Stop, which has not been used for decades. There is a placeholder/stopper mounted there. The second is Idle or step zero. This is followed by notches 1 to 8. The same controls are used for the dynamic brake. Here, Stop = Off and Idle = Set Up. I guess from 1 to 8 there are no notches here.
Driver Vigilance Device - there are actually setups when driver actually need to interact twice with controls: somewhere on control panel, or besides it, and pull some leaver locate up high under the ceiling. Idk what kind of simulator it is, but I never seen one that actually properly ready to accept controls exactly how they are in real cabin. And I don't expect any of vendors will ever do that. Simulation of keyboard, yeah, that is the way, but for controllers they definitely should have proper joystick input setup, whose whole reason to exist is to simulate controls
Thanks for the information, I hadn't come across the DVD controls you mention. It would be possible for me to simulate that but yes what I have will never quite match a proper analogue setup. Sadly the input options of this game are very limited, some add-on trains simply can't be used with analogue controllers.
The notches are all custom, you wouldn't be able to buy anything that works quite right apart from a similar pre-made controlller. I'm about to release a couple more videos with some more details. Thanks for watching.
I'm just about to release a couple of videos giving you a closer look and some details of the parts, I still want to allow people to make their own versions though without following a strict guide. Thanks for watching.
