1981 Turbo was a pretty simplistic game, and not a great one in my opinion. But the cab itself and the technology were phenomenal. I just can't get over the Japanese engineering for that time.
The game consisted of a start button, a steering wheel, a shifter knob, and a gas pedal. And of course, also a coin door.
Based on the mechanical coin counter, I calculated this game collected something like $15,000 in Canadian currency.
The pedal mechanism was awesome.
The game consisted of a start button, a steering wheel, a shifter knob, and a gas pedal. And of course, also a coin door.
Based on the mechanical coin counter, I calculated this game collected something like $15,000 in Canadian currency.
The pedal mechanism was awesome.
It features a main spring loaded bar that as it pivots causes two photo diodes to conduct, so there is no potentiometer to wear out. Fantastic design.
I wanted to add two more pedals, so I basically copied the mechanical design using metal rods and wood.
I wanted to add two more pedals, so I basically copied the mechanical design using metal rods and wood.
Initially the rod stock I had was too thin and snapped due to the hole drilled through it that it pivots on. Note the elastic band. I should note that my goal is to spend no money.
I decided to hack a playstation 2 controller since they are cheap and I have many available. I also have a few USB interfaces for them. My design uses the controllers thumb sticks.
I decided to hack a playstation 2 controller since they are cheap and I have many available. I also have a few USB interfaces for them. My design uses the controllers thumb sticks.
Certainly not the best system in the world but the price was right and it does work.
It took hours, not days, to get the system working
It took hours, not days, to get the system working
Here you can see the original PS2 controller mounted to one of the three pedal assemblies, as well as the original assembly (on the right) and a third pedal on the left. I re-used (and am still re-using) the wire connected that came with the system as it had a TON of them and connectors are expensive. These are also high quality and most are keyed and not duplicated
Luckily I had a helper for most of this project (on and off, fairly unreliable actually).
Each pedal assembly was mounted into the base of the cabinet through new slots I cut, which was a pain.
Each pedal assembly was mounted into the base of the cabinet through new slots I cut, which was a pain.
This worked out ok, but I decided to make everything a little more modular and serviceable. I also decided having the one original pedal and two new ones had too different a feel, so I made a third original. The three pedal assemblies got mounted to a front plate making removal and installation easier
The usefulness of the elastics quickly subsided, and I decided springs were the way to go. I've never had much luck using elastic bands for anything
This required some re-engineering but some were lessons learned and the end result is much better. Here's a shot of the final product (untrue, I've since painted them black)
Future upgrades will include a complete rebuilt (of course) with metal pedals, and a better USB interface. Ideally I'd like to do away with the pots, and use something optical. A major disadvantage of using the PS2 joystick thumbsticks is that my system only actuates half the axis with the rest state being in the centre just like the joystick.