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F3 spinner won't work

skate323k137

skate323k137

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I posted on AO but wanted to ask you guys too.

I got a spinner and a copy of arkanoid returns, and I can't get it going with a spinner. Joystick works, but with jumper and test menu set both to sensor I can't get anything to work.

I have some sega trackballs, so I tried using them to rule things out since their optics also run on 5v.

long story short, I made looms to interchange the optics of the devices. My spinner won't work as an axis of the trackball, and the trackball won't register any movement at all if I hook one of it's sensors up to the F3. I know the trackballs themselves are good (they work fine in my naomi cab), but the encoder wheels are cut differently than the spinner. Even with different wheel cuts I'd hope to see SOME movement of the values in test mode on the F3. I can't get anything.

Is there any way to monitor for output pulses from a spinner itself? Any other ideas? At this point it seems like my F3 motherboard just won't accept spinner input, with the possibility of my spinner itself also being bad. For what it's worth it's an ASIA board with a JAPAN cart, but the pin blocks have been removed, and I've never had any problems with other games on this mobo.
 
Aww hell, sorry to hear that. Where does the spinner plug in to the mobo, anyway? I can try some stuff on mine if nobody else knows
 
It just hooks right to the 5v, gnd, 1p left, and 1p right JAMMA pins. Such a simple sensor... Some resistors and 2 optical things. Always a learning process :)
 
Controller inputs are always high and then pulled low by resistors when activated - if yours are stuck high it could be the resistors for the input are shot, I've seen it a couple of times on MVS motherboards :)
 
This is even without the game PCB attached. If you keep your ground probe grounded, and hook only 5v/gnd to the optic bd, the R and L output pins should pulse hi/low as you spin the wheel. I was able to observe that on my working trackballs.

I took out the spinner optic PCB and the schematic just doesn't seem quite right. Instead of 4x 150ohm resistors, it has 2 150's and two 4.5kohm.

However I think I can get out of this easily :) Happ's 170 dollar arkanoid spinner (no joke) uses their cheap optic board for their trackballs. I ordered a replacement optic bd for 20 bucks, we'll see how it goes :)

(175 dollar trackwheel: https://na.suzohapp.com/products/accessories/95-0931-00 )

Optic board I'm going to try: https://na.suzohapp.com/products/trackballs/A052-1011-00?SS=BOM
 
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In case anyone finds this in the future... I tested spinner input on the F3 mobo pretty easily. I set the jumper and test mode to sensor, then I hooked up wires just for 5v, L, and R with stripped ends. Tapping 1p R on 5v should jitter the control to the right, and tapping L on 5v should do the same in the other direction. This works; so the board is clearly looking for input properly (as far as I can tell). I'll update when I receive and install the new optic board.
 
Optic board in and working fine :) So I can confirm the happ "red board" for their trackballs works great for arkanoid spinners as long as you're capable of mounting it on your panel/spinner.

If you're just getting into this hobby, learn to solder well, and learn to love your multi meter. It saved me a lot of guesswork here and let me get by with a 20 dollar fix.
 
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