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#4056224 - 12/26/14 02:55 PM Saitek X35T throttle gameport to USB conversion (MMJoy2)  
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Lorphos Offline
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Hi,

I bought a Saitek X36F and X35T (gameport version), i only plan to use the throttle because I have a nice Warthog stick to go along with it.
I'm beginning to work on the USB conversion for the Saitek X35T throttle (Art. No. J04) to USB using a Pro Micro (clone, ATmega32U4) and MMJoy. I thought I'd just write down my notes and progress here and hopefully help someone else doing the same conversion later (and get some help if required reading).

Here are some links to kick things off:

Inline advert (2nd and 3rd post)

#4056225 - 12/26/14 03:06 PM Re: Saitek X35T throttle gameport to USB conversion (MMJoy2) [Re: Lorphos]  
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Lorphos Offline
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Here are the first pictures:






The gameport cable has these 15 wires:
black, white, red, purple, pink, green, light green, yellow, brown-white, black-white, black (dull, thick), orange, gray, red-white, blue

The potentiometer for the main throttle has three wires: red, black, brown
There are what appear to be 4 cables coming out of the throttle:
a) black, brown, purple, red, orange, yellow
b) same as a)
c) red, purple
d) red, orange (2x), green (2x), blue, yellow, black, white, grey, brown

The circuit board inside the base has P/N 51990-08020, JS1-PA-080 (PCB) by Saitek

#4056226 - 12/26/14 03:28 PM Re: Saitek X35T throttle gameport to USB conversion (MMJoy2) [Re: Lorphos]  
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Lorphos Offline
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Here is the inside of the throttle grip, it has a pcb for the extra axis.
It reads: P/N 51990-08110 JS1-PA-081 (PCB) by Saitek


#4056228 - 12/26/14 03:36 PM Re: Saitek X35T throttle gameport to USB conversion (MMJoy2) [Re: Lorphos]  
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kail Offline
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Cool, I'm going to screen cap your progress. Always good to options for old gear. When I switched from the X36/35 combo to the 52, I ended up wiring the 35 throttle to my homemade rudder bar. Did the usual half-ass job but it worked. (or did until I decided to redo the rudder) biggrin

#4056234 - 12/26/14 03:44 PM Re: Saitek X35T throttle gameport to USB conversion (MMJoy2) [Re: Lorphos]  
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Lorphos Offline
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I started with a cheap T.Flight HOTAS X, but it has too few buttons (for Elite: Dangerous).
I had a X52 throttle briefly, but I didn't like it so I sold it again. I like that the X35T offers an extra axis.
Also, I use pedals by CH with a standard USB-to-gameport adapter and VoiceAttack for some extra functions.

#4056255 - 12/26/14 05:39 PM Re: Saitek X35T throttle gameport to USB conversion (MMJoy2) [Re: Lorphos]  
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Lorphos Offline
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Here is the pinout for the 15 pin DA-15 connector (gameport) of the X35T. This plug connects into the X36F stick.

pin - color - C## on PCB
  1. green - C114
  2. pink - C110
  3. yellow - C103
  4. orange - C108 (C107)
  5. red-white - C106
  6. red - C104
  7. brown-white - C109
  8. brown - C102
  9. black-white - C116
  10. black - C112
  11. white - C107 (C108)
  12. grey - C115
  13. violet - (C105)
  14. blue - C111
  15. light green - C113


#4056257 - 12/26/14 05:48 PM Re: Saitek X35T throttle gameport to USB conversion (MMJoy2) [Re: Lorphos]  
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MudPuppy Offline
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Appalachian foothills in Virgi...
Interesting, it'll be cool watching this progress.

On both PCBs there is a clear-ish sealant or such where the individual wires are soldered on. Is there a way to remove that if you wanted to de-solder the wires instead of clipping them?
Regards,
Derek

#4056278 - 12/26/14 07:17 PM Re: Saitek X35T throttle gameport to USB conversion (MMJoy2) [Re: Lorphos]  
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Lorphos Offline
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It's hot-glue, tedious to remove. I guess I'll just clip them near the PCB.

I saw no chips inside the X35T, so I assumed all the "brain" is inside the X36F (Art. No. J03). I had a quick look, turns out I was right.





The nice thing is that MMJoy2 now supports LEDs and switching between modes... I hope to get that working with the X35T.

Since the X35T appears to be "dumb", I guess I can leave the PCBs untouched and instead figure out how to connect the 15 wires leaving the unit to the Pro Micro.

#4056428 - 12/27/14 07:53 AM Re: Saitek X35T throttle gameport to USB conversion (MMJoy2) [Re: Lorphos]  
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In X35T are used some kind of matrix (lines x columns), you need "decipher". smile

This one is for X45, X35 should be similar.

http://i49.tinypic.com/2uh506h.gif

In sticks/throttle that I "USB'erized" the first thing I did was erase all these PCBs (instead try "decipher" then) and did a new matrix based on USB controller used (BU0836 and the old Mjoy).

Sokol1

#4056564 - 12/27/14 05:55 PM Re: Saitek X35T throttle gameport to USB conversion (MMJoy2) [Re: Lorphos]  
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Lorphos Offline
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Thanks! That will be helpful. Did you create the schematics for the X45? What do you think is the best way to do the reverse engineering?

#4056591 - 12/27/14 07:23 PM Re: Saitek X35T throttle gameport to USB conversion (MMJoy2) [Re: Lorphos]  
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No, was done for someone time ago for convert a X45 throttle for standalone use with BU0836.
But the page http://www.brewsterbuffalos.com/x45/ is gone, has a backup in Webarchive.org but
the pictures are not saved.

Quote:
What do you think is the best way to do the reverse engineering?


For one Suncon SFS throttle I use a multimeter to determine what wires coming from grips combine with another when press a button/HAT. But as I say erase the original PCB's, took only buttons/HAT and wires.

#4073841 - 02/04/15 08:51 PM Re: Saitek X35T throttle gameport to USB conversion (MMJoy2) [Re: Lorphos]  
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Lorphos Offline
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I'm afraid this mod is on indefinite hold, I got a nice deal for a Warthog throttle and couldn't say no... thumbsup

#4100554 - 04/02/15 04:51 AM Re: Saitek X35T throttle gameport to USB conversion (MMJoy2) [Re: Lorphos]  
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#4109571 - 04/21/15 01:13 PM Re: Saitek X35T throttle gameport to USB conversion (MMJoy2) [Re: mega_mozg_13]  
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Maico Offline
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This is great man! I likes it. Wish Saitek took advice from you.


Maico
i7 5930 @4.2Ghz
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#4109658 - 04/21/15 04:36 PM Re: Saitek X35T throttle gameport to USB conversion (MMJoy2) [Re: Lorphos]  
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Valisk_61 Offline
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That looks great! I love the X36, there's so many cool rebuilds out there. Here's my take on it:





(and the Mk. 1 smile )



FS~Valisk 'Val'
www.skiesoffire.org

"I've never seen the Icarus story as a lesson about the limitations of humans. I see it as a lesson about the limitations of wax as an adhesive." - Randall Munroe
#4109696 - 04/21/15 05:50 PM Re: Saitek X35T throttle gameport to USB conversion (MMJoy2) [Re: Lorphos]  
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Very clear work and nice improvements, but strange... camouflage. smile

#4110371 - 04/22/15 09:49 PM Re: Saitek X35T throttle gameport to USB conversion (MMJoy2) [Re: Lorphos]  
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Valisk_61 Offline
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smile I was going to paint it all black... I quite liked the primer colour, so I left the bottom green and clearcoated it smile


FS~Valisk 'Val'
www.skiesoffire.org

"I've never seen the Icarus story as a lesson about the limitations of humans. I see it as a lesson about the limitations of wax as an adhesive." - Randall Munroe
#4112213 - 04/27/15 04:15 AM Re: Saitek X35T throttle gameport to USB conversion (MMJoy2) [Re: Lorphos]  
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I ended up doing a similar conversion except I decided not to open up and re-wire the X35T at all. As you can see from my post over at the Star Citizen Forums, I bread boarded everything and everything functions (including mode2/aux2) but one of the rotary pots seems to be damaged and will need to be replaced as the values it returns seems to jitter up and down about 4%.



I decided to not use MMJoy2 and keep the arduino in a seperate enclosure as I did not want to have to open up the X35T and cut anything up. I am waiting on a part from DigiKey so I can start to solder everything together on to the PCB. Once that is done I plan on adding an additional 10 switches (3 safety).

I currently have the mode and aux switches disabled as I really have no idea what I want to do with then in SC.

#4112394 - 04/27/15 04:13 PM Re: Saitek X35T throttle gameport to USB conversion (MMJoy2) [Re: Lorphos]  
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Mskurnik

All these wires and breadboard connections induce "electrical noise" and spikes.

Specially for axis the ideal is use shielded wires, the best wire is "pig tail" wires.

That's why using a digital ADC converter between the pot and the circuit help in case of long wires (need compatible firmware).

https://code.google.com/p/mmjoy/wiki/ExtenralADC


#4112403 - 04/27/15 04:43 PM Re: Saitek X35T throttle gameport to USB conversion (MMJoy2) [Re: Sokol1]  
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mskurnik Offline
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Good to know. When I get my DA/DB15 harness in the mail I will see if that reduces the jitter. Sadly the part comes in tomorrow when I fly out for the Build Windows conference in San Francisco so it will have to wait till this weekend.

I am in the process of messing with the HID descriptors/definitions in the example HID class I found. There are a lot of HID values that MMJoy2 does not (yet) support. I plan on messing around with http://generichid.sourceforge.net/ during my flight to see what it can do. The GUI seems to be promising:

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