DescentBB

Ok, I've been out of the loop for a while what with Logitech losing the 3D Pro I rma'd.

USB adapter done?!

Great! I have a MS 3DPro in the closet I got several months ago just for this occasion!

Should I get one, or two? I see several posting for two...

And it works with 3D Pro, PPro and FFPro according to PlanetDescent, right? :O

Someone, just sell me one!

Please? I know ppl have two of those just in case. Paypal is your friend, and anyone considering spending less than 50 bucks on this is NOT a real 3dpro fan and should leave immediately. IMO

If I could get a working one I have a friend that works with cold soldering and electronics that could get as many units done as requested at a reasonable price point (ie. for real fans, c'mon, this is not a mass market product!). Unfortunately he wouldn't consider it without having a prototype to fall back to though.

MaDDoX wrote:Someone, just sell me one!

Please? I know ppl have two of those just in case. Paypal is your friend, and anyone considering spending less than 50 bucks on this is NOT a real 3dpro fan and should leave immediately. IMO

If I could get a working one I have a friend that works with cold soldering and electronics that could get as many units done as requested at a reasonable price point (ie. for real fans, c'mon, this is not a mass market product!). Unfortunately he wouldn't consider it without having a prototype to fall back to though.

Considering I only spend 35$ on the actual stick... less than 6 months ago brand new... 50$ is a little rediculous. Especially for an adapter. Thats just straight up taking advantage of something that like maybe 20 people will ever use. Koolbear needs to get his ass back here...

ME WANT ME WANT!! GIMME COOKIE!!

E-mailKB.

That's what I did, and got a response too.

what was his response? are bare boards still avalible? Or am i stuck to building the converter like the 2 nd prototype was built

This project is not gonna happen. The End.

If I can find some time I may just have some more boards made and sell kits that ppl would have to solder themself.

if you could show a picture of top/bottom of a soldered board, i'd be find soldering myself.. that's not a problem for me in the least

I'll take a fully assembled one that supports FFBP.
I'll take 2 if <= $20 each.

crazy328 wrote:if you could show a picture of top/bottom of a soldered board, i'd be find soldering myself.. that's not a problem for me in the least

If you go to the website, theres a ton of pictures of the unit, in parts, and fully assembled.

what would you need to do that? the orCAD files you posted a while back don't seem to have any gerber files.

I'm definitely still interested in some bare boards. I know of at least 5 family members that would benefit from one of these converters. These boards will make short work of it. How many boards would $50 get me?

I was wondering, do you think this converter would work with the Force Feedback Pro version of the stick? If so, I'd be interested in one.

novacron wrote:I was wondering, do you think this converter would work with the Force Feedback Pro version of the stick? If so, I'd be interested in one.

Link - Starting with Grendel's post.

Does someone know where the very problem is in the current situtation, so it can be resolved ?

As it seems to me, full units are out of sight for the moment, but bare units (i.e. unassembled or just the board) might still be possible.

let me know when they are available, I'll take three @ any cost - ty

I have my hands full for the next two months. If everything works out I'll try to have some blank boards made (60-80) in Mar. W/ the blanks it'll be relatively easy to build more converters.

If not then I will hand wire one on a perf-board.

Actually...I'll take 2 if at all possible. I was on the list for one, but after looking through the posts I'm left kinda confused. Anyway...I'm still very interested....I'm lost without my old stick.

Oops....sorry. I didn't realize the subject line wouldn't show up in the message. I was on the list for 1 complete unit if it goes through.

I would need to update to have 2 and 1 for HEMP

If it is not too late, I would like to get 2 of the 3Dpro USB adapters.

Hi, I have the Sidewinder 3D Pro and I don`t want to get rid of it, I like it a lot. My current notebook has no game port so I am interested in this converter. Is it still available to order? If so, please, let me know.

Thanks a lot.

dasgata at atitu dot de

I just unearthed my old Sidewinder 3d PRO from years back, and instantly remembered that it was the best joystick I've ever used, hands down. I don't have a gameport on my new computer and was looking into the issue of a converter box on the internet (man I'm glad I didnt get some generic $20 box, heh) and came across this page/project just now. These look excellent and well made, and I would love to purchase one if at all possible.

xdevnullx at hotmail dot com

Namaste
-/dev/null

Hi. Are you still taking orders?

Retrogamer at heart seeking two SW3dpro gameport-->usb adapters (die \"device not connected\" error).

mhdann-at-gmail

I am interested, too.

I just discovered d2x-xl. I've never been happy with the response of the Microsoft Precision 2 in Descent. I still prefer the old Sidewinder 3D Pro.

I could try to install an old PCI sound card I suppose, but my huge-ass Radeon card will make that a chore. I stopped getting that \"device not connected\" error with Win XP at one point, but I suppose it could resurface.

Don't tell me, let me guess: Vista hates the Sidewinder 3D Pro...right?

I would take at least a couple of converters, maybe more.

LadyhawkLH at goldrush dot com

Ladyhawk wrote:Don't tell me, let me guess: Vista hates the Sidewinder 3D Pro...right?

Yep. Vista officially doesn't even support gameports any more.

so, what news on this coming together? any updates for us? =P

crazy328 wrote:so, what news on this coming together? any updates for us? =P

Right here.

Are the orders that have been made months ago still going to be fulfilled or is it now just instructions for us to do it ourselves?

From the other thread:

Grendel wrote:

• I would like to do a PCB layout for having a (small) run of finished boards made (I do realize that building one isn't for everybody ). If I have them loaded as well, I could go SMD and make the converter small enough to fit into a connector shell, dongle style. Would be cool, but needs some time and research.

One step at a time, working on the software release right now. After that I'll have to find some time to work on a PCB. No ETA as of now tho.

Hi Grendel,

Considering that there is no ETA for boards being available to us, laymen , I am thinking about trying to do it myself from scratch. I have some questions, though:

1 - There is this recent file about the project that I downloaded, 3dpvert_2008-02-09, and my question is what is the difference between what is described in this file and what you are trying to achieve now? Excuse my ignorance on the subject, the thread about the technical details is too long, I haven't read it all yet, but why are you trying to build a new circuitry if you already have one that works? Should I wait until you have this new board or should I try to build one with the old circuitry?

2 - Although I am an electrical engineer, I deal with high voltages, not low. I am above 12v, not below (actually, I deal with thousands of volts, not hundreds neither tens). I tried to figure out what to do, based on that recent file, I can tell some things I need to do but I can't tell others, like firmware, boot, etc. Don't you have a \"DIY for Dummies Guide\" about your project, a step by step guide that would give hope to a regular guy with a soldering equipment to think he can do it from scratch?

3 - Any other word of wisdom to someone who wants so much to have such a converter (besides \"be patient\" )?

Hi,

delveneto wrote:[..] why are you trying to build a new circuitry if you already have one that works? Should I wait until you have this new board or should I try to build one with the old circuitry?

The main goal for the new version is to make the circuit easier to copy. Simpler schematic --> easier routing, less connections, less components, cheaper.

I would suggest to wait

The rev 2 software and hardware are stable, I'm currently reworking the project archive for release. Shouldn't take much longer than a week until release.

delveneto wrote:Don't you have a "DIY for Dummies Guide" about your project, a step by step guide that would give hope to a regular guy with a soldering equipment to think he can do it from scratch?

Not for the current version, I'll keep this in mind for the rev 2 release tho.

delveneto wrote:Any other word of wisdom to someone who wants so much to have such a converter (besides "be patient" )?

<Snaps a fortune cookie> "Now is a good time to befriend an electronics engineer"

I tinker with computers, but making printed circuit boards is beyond me. If Grendel / Koolbear / whoever is too busy, is it possible to get someone else to make a some?

Just curious.

I have the Sidewinders. I just need something to insure they will work on into the future (until they wear out ).

I could look at the instructions for the next converter. Maybe it's easier than it looks.



Probably not.

By the way, I will take two (maybe three) and pay you in advance.

LH

I'd like to get in on this action, I have a Sidewinder ForceFeedback Pro version 1. Its been useless to me for too long! I'd like to order one!

<--- count me in - I'd love one (or 2).

This is so cool! I haven't thought about playing Descent in years. I actually found this thread after I built my new machine and neglected to consider a gameport for my FFP joystick.

I wish I had kept up with this community over the years, but as with all things...life happens and fun has to take a back seat.

I'm an electronics engineer by training, but have gotten away from design over the past decade. The PCB with the pyro is very impressive!

Any chance I could pickup a converter (possible two). I currently don't have the means to program the MC, but I have no problem building up the board myself if a pre-programed kit version is available?

Now I need to figure out where I can get back into THE game. I really miss the PXO. I had a blast getting my own server working!

Later,
Kernel_Panic

I'm very interested in this. Since reading about it on the Wikipedia. I have a SideWinder Force Feedback Pro. If you need someone to help test with that joystick I'll gladly volunteer.