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This is intended to give the reader a rough idea of how to make your own foot pedal setup similar to the one I use.
First you will need a controller with at least one analog stick, for this set i used a Saitek P2500 Rumble Force as seen below.
Before you take the controller apart you should do is install the controller and setup any necessary software as you normally would. The Saitek controller I used this time is easy to fully re-assemble when your done, allowing you to calibrate the controller after modifying it. However some are not as easy and if not properly re assembled calibrating it can be difficult.
With that done it's time to take out the screws holding the two pieces of the controller as seen below.
With the screws removed you can take the back part of the outer case off and this exposes the back side of the board seen below.
The next step is to determine what two points become connected when you push the analog stick up or down (you could use left or right too if you want). To do this you will need an Ohm meter or a multi meter than can measure electrical resistance. Usually the analog stick will be connected to the largest 6 or so solder points on the back of the board. The easiest way to do this is to test the resistance of every possible pair of solder points with the stick centered, then use some sticky tape to hold the analog stick in the up or forward position. The pair of solder points that show a change in resistance correspond to up on the analog knob as seen below.
You will need to repeat the test with the knob taped in the down or back position as shown in the picture below.
As you do this you should draw a simple diagram of which solder points are correspond to movement in a particular direction below is the diagram I made as I tested the controller.
Unfortunately I was unable to take a good enough picture to show the solder points on the board.
Once you have determined what does what inside the controller you can solder wires onto the appropriate solder points. Below are the tools and supplies you will need.
Rosin core solder (lead works best but tin/antimony mix will work too), Wire strippers, 20 gauge stranded wire (18 will work but you might have to cut out some strands to make the solder connection), and a soldering iron or gun at least 100watts (too low and you risk overheating the components before melting the solder.
With your tools ready and a metal cookie sheet to protect your table (or not if you like burning you kitchen table) you can tin the wires with solder to make it easier to solder them to the controller as shown below.
If you are completely unfamiliar with electrical soldering I recommend this simple guide
On the Saitek controller the up and down motions of the knob share one common point and they each have separate secondary points. On some you will need to use four different solder points. Once the wires are soldered on you will need to use hot glue or RTV silicone gasket maker to prevent the stripped wire from shorting anything out as seen below.
Unfortunately I failed to take any pictures of the wires soldered on before I applied the RTV but you can see two of the wires above and to the right of where I am applying the RTV.
Then all that is left to do on the controller is to drill a hole or two for the wires in the back piece of the case you removed. Then thread the wires through the holes, put the controller back together and use a small amount of RTV or hot glue to help keep the wires from being pulled on too hard at the solder joints as shown in the photo below.
Now all that is left to do is to connect the foot pedals to the wires you've added to the the controller. The pedals I used are Designed to be easy to wire to what ever you want but used sewing machine pedals will work fine. Below is a picture of the inside of the pedals I used.
A side view of the pedal.
And a picture of the finished product. This is actually a picture of the setup I use because I lost the pedals I bought for this set. The sharpie is there for scale
EDIT:
Almost forgot to include the costs of this stuff. The pedals cost about 10 bucks a piece and the controller was 8 bucks on ebay.
First you will need a controller with at least one analog stick, for this set i used a Saitek P2500 Rumble Force as seen below.
Before you take the controller apart you should do is install the controller and setup any necessary software as you normally would. The Saitek controller I used this time is easy to fully re-assemble when your done, allowing you to calibrate the controller after modifying it. However some are not as easy and if not properly re assembled calibrating it can be difficult.
With that done it's time to take out the screws holding the two pieces of the controller as seen below.
With the screws removed you can take the back part of the outer case off and this exposes the back side of the board seen below.
The next step is to determine what two points become connected when you push the analog stick up or down (you could use left or right too if you want). To do this you will need an Ohm meter or a multi meter than can measure electrical resistance. Usually the analog stick will be connected to the largest 6 or so solder points on the back of the board. The easiest way to do this is to test the resistance of every possible pair of solder points with the stick centered, then use some sticky tape to hold the analog stick in the up or forward position. The pair of solder points that show a change in resistance correspond to up on the analog knob as seen below.
You will need to repeat the test with the knob taped in the down or back position as shown in the picture below.
As you do this you should draw a simple diagram of which solder points are correspond to movement in a particular direction below is the diagram I made as I tested the controller.
Unfortunately I was unable to take a good enough picture to show the solder points on the board.
Once you have determined what does what inside the controller you can solder wires onto the appropriate solder points. Below are the tools and supplies you will need.
Rosin core solder (lead works best but tin/antimony mix will work too), Wire strippers, 20 gauge stranded wire (18 will work but you might have to cut out some strands to make the solder connection), and a soldering iron or gun at least 100watts (too low and you risk overheating the components before melting the solder.
With your tools ready and a metal cookie sheet to protect your table (or not if you like burning you kitchen table) you can tin the wires with solder to make it easier to solder them to the controller as shown below.
If you are completely unfamiliar with electrical soldering I recommend this simple guide
On the Saitek controller the up and down motions of the knob share one common point and they each have separate secondary points. On some you will need to use four different solder points. Once the wires are soldered on you will need to use hot glue or RTV silicone gasket maker to prevent the stripped wire from shorting anything out as seen below.
Unfortunately I failed to take any pictures of the wires soldered on before I applied the RTV but you can see two of the wires above and to the right of where I am applying the RTV.
Then all that is left to do on the controller is to drill a hole or two for the wires in the back piece of the case you removed. Then thread the wires through the holes, put the controller back together and use a small amount of RTV or hot glue to help keep the wires from being pulled on too hard at the solder joints as shown in the photo below.
Now all that is left to do is to connect the foot pedals to the wires you've added to the the controller. The pedals I used are Designed to be easy to wire to what ever you want but used sewing machine pedals will work fine. Below is a picture of the inside of the pedals I used.
A side view of the pedal.
And a picture of the finished product. This is actually a picture of the setup I use because I lost the pedals I bought for this set. The sharpie is there for scale
EDIT:
Almost forgot to include the costs of this stuff. The pedals cost about 10 bucks a piece and the controller was 8 bucks on ebay.
o_O
This one's got true Serco blood!
Very cool, look... no hands :)
Do you not have shoes?
Awesome project.
I'll give it a day and move it to community projects.
I'll give it a day and move it to community projects.
Firsm, it's easier for me to use the pedals without shoes.
Damn.. that's cool. What do you have them mapped too?
I'd love to have a foot operated turbo button, but don't have any usb pads/sticks, just some old gameport stuff. But no free ports... boo.
I got a broken joystick that gets hooked between keyboard and computer to simulate keypresses though .. that could work ...HMMMMmmm
I'd love to have a foot operated turbo button, but don't have any usb pads/sticks, just some old gameport stuff. But no free ports... boo.
I got a broken joystick that gets hooked between keyboard and computer to simulate keypresses though .. that could work ...HMMMMmmm
Wow, that was great, look... no hands! Very cool.
currentley i have them mapped to foward and reverse. Try opening up your keybord you should be able to wire in a large momentary pushbutton to whatever key you use for turbo. Bonus points if you make it a wireless remote.
But that'd mean two cables dangling from the keyboard .. which would suck cause it gets moved around alot. Unless it's a really long one.
http://cgi.ebay.com/Microsoft-Sidewinder-USB-Game-Controller_W0QQitemZ200087606588QQcategoryZ74943QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
http://cgi.ebay.com/USB-703-Game-Pad-Gamepad-12-key-w-Vibration_W0QQitemZ150101328984QQcategoryZ74943QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
they have tons of them it should work fine.
http://cgi.ebay.com/USB-703-Game-Pad-Gamepad-12-key-w-Vibration_W0QQitemZ150101328984QQcategoryZ74943QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
they have tons of them it should work fine.
boohoo .. I'm trying to get rid of my useless junk (in interesting ways) not get more :P
Ah cool, so that is what you meant last time we talked when you said "I made the pedals myself". Other than GO WASH YOUR FEET AND CUT YOUR TOENAILS: Great job! ;-)
M. Duncan
Commander [VPR]
m.duncan@viperguild.com
M. Duncan
Commander [VPR]
m.duncan@viperguild.com
Long toe nails are for defence if you ever get caught bare footed, you can slice VPR with em easily ;) Oooh just like jackhammers, really...
Anyways, good post, got me thinking how easy it would be with my current work supplied equipment, to mod my oldish pedals (my lappy does not have a midi connector) to work with my lappy!
All toes look weird, for comparision, look at your fingers, look at someoe elses fingers, then their toes, and then your own :P
Anyways, good post, got me thinking how easy it would be with my current work supplied equipment, to mod my oldish pedals (my lappy does not have a midi connector) to work with my lappy!
All toes look weird, for comparision, look at your fingers, look at someoe elses fingers, then their toes, and then your own :P
interesting idea yoda, actually i let the toenails on my big toe grow long cause otherwise they get snagged and ripped off on the edge of my boot's steel toe. and i threw the sharpie down there for comparison to the pedals, not my toes.
Cool. I assumed that you wanted your shoes off for better control.
You could use the sharpie on your toenails....that would be so goth...or something.
You could use the sharpie on your toenails....that would be so goth...or something.
Nice, LNH. (You really should have painted yer toes for the shot tho, but said nothing about it and just let us wonder... haha)
Actually I almost had a very mashed foot in the picture, a couple of hours before i started this project an engine block I was moving slipped off the dolly and landed on my foot. Fortunately I was wearing the right protective footwear.
Kewl! That's some nice work there look ...no hands. I could use one of those for turbo.
Although... something is amiss... I can't quite place my finger on it... AH HA! YOU'VE GOT HANDS! I see 'em there in the pictures.
That reminds me. "We've got you surrounded... Step out of the vehicle with your hands up." I don't want to here anymore business about you can't 'cause of no hands.
Although... something is amiss... I can't quite place my finger on it... AH HA! YOU'VE GOT HANDS! I see 'em there in the pictures.
That reminds me. "We've got you surrounded... Step out of the vehicle with your hands up." I don't want to here anymore business about you can't 'cause of no hands.