swift_gti

Well I've just got my new car and had all the bits ready to put this in.. then I find out the headunit connects up by CANbus connector..
I was hoping that the SWC would just be on their own wiring like my old car but I think they are all bundled into this canbus thing.
Here is the pinout of the factory headunit which works with the SWC..
Anyone know anything about this CANbus stuff.. can I still interface my carPC with the SWC?

walstib

Maybe the PAC Audio SWI-CAN will do what you need.

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swift_gti

I did wonder if PAC did some sort of lead but when I looked they don't do anything covering my car I guess its because they are a US company.
My car is a Vauxhall/Opel Astra H

swift_gti

Ok, I've just had another thought..
There are some companys here in the UK that make the SWC adaptors for my car to interface with Sony,Pioneer,Alpine headunits etc.. so the only problem is getting something to the PC.
Now I'm guessing that these headunits may work on the varying resistance method seen as some of them only have a few wires.. so could I get one of those adaptors say an alpine one for example, then hookup the alpine signal onto the USB SWC Joystick adaptor?
Not exactly the neatest way but as long as I get to keep my SWC

So anyone got any thoughts on that, or know which stereo manufacturers (if any) would work with the joystick adaptor?

Cheers

JasonWW

I had pretty good sucess with using a universal IR reciever on the PC and a PAC SWI-X that output a IR signal. You might need to give PAC a call about your particular car.

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1999 Black Pontiac Trans Am
CarPC's in F-bodies
How to tune your sound system
How To Relocate Climate Controls on the 97-02 F-body Cars
(AMD Sempron 3000+, Opus 150)
Car PC system is out, Alpine system is in.

swift_gti

Thanks Jason I'd prefer not to go IR, so I've bit the bullet and purchased a Canbus > Sony adaptor for my car.
So next question, how do I work out what resistors (if any) are needed between the Sony output from my car and the Joystick adaptor connected to the carpc ?
I've managed to find the exact info regarding resistance values used for the Sony units if that helps..


Cheers

swift_gti

Hi all,

My Sony adaptor has arrived and I've been taking a look on how I can wire it up...
Can anyone clarify how it interfaces with the Joystick interface for me, the Sony jack has 3 wires going to it, and they are layed out in the post above.. Now I've been looking at my joystick adaptor and have found the info marked below.



Do I simply wire one of the Sony's wires onto the 'middle' pin of the pot on the joystick adaptor (marked 2.5v in my pic) or do I somehow hook all 3 of the sony leads up to replace the pot entirely?

Thanks!

Curiosity

On the Sony, the base is ground, tip is output and center ring is shift. On the gamepad pot, one side will be 5V the other side ground and center is input. It's 2.5V when the stick is centered. Try to find the A button on the gamepad and see if it goes to ground or 5V when pressed. If it's ground, you can connect shift directly to it. Connect Sony ground to gamepad ground, and connect tip to the center pin of the X pot. With those resistances you may be able to just leave the pot in, but if not, you'll have to figure out some default resistor values to make it work right.

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Tranman

Ok, been going through this with Curiosity via PMs...

...and I can't seem to get this to work. And I don't know what resistors I should be using...(trying 560ohm, setup is same as god_of_cpu's Infiniti)

So far, here is all the info about the setup:
2005 Nissan Pathfinder
Three Wires - Up / Down / GND
Volume UP = 660
Volume DOWN = 660
Mode = 1.1
Power = 1.1
Button UP = 172
Button DOWN= 175

Logitech Gamepad
Original Pot resistance = 4k

Diagram I had discussed with Curiosity:
Remove X and Y Axis Pots

+5V(c-Yaxis)------>Resistor---->(Steering Wheel Control UP AND b-Yaxis input)

+5V(c-Xaxis)------>Resistor---->(Steering Wheel Control DOWN AND b-Xaxis input)

GND (aYaxis + aXaxis)---->Steering Wheel Control GND

Photo of setup:


I know this is supposed to be simple...help!?!?!

swift_gti

Hi Curiosity, Thanks for your reply.

I've just tested the 'A' button on the gamepad, its showing 4.95v without the button pressed, if I close the curcuit for that button it does indeed go to ground.
So can I just double check I've understood this correctly..

Shift from Sony goes to the tracks for boths sides of the 'A' button ?
Its a little hard to explain.. but the 'A' button is a set of interlocking tracks on the board that don't physically touch, one side is - and the other is +... when the physical button is pressed it pushes a contact to join these two tracks to complete the circuit.. are you saying I should put solder shift on to the interlocking part so it completes the circuit, or should I be soldering shift onto either the + or - side of the A button? - If none of that makes much sense let me know and I'll take a pic, it will explain it much better than I can!

Sony Tip to the center of the pot is fairly straight forward (I presume this is where I'd need to add the resistors if I have trouble?)

Sony Ground to Gamepad Ground: Is there any chance this could cause a problem since the Sony ground is going to be my car's ground and the gamepad ground will be from the USB port of my laptop (which will run from an incar laptop charger).. Just want to make sure I'm not going to fry anything on my new car!

Sorry for all the questions.. but I just want to make sure I understand exactly how it works.

Thanks

Tranman

Ok...nvm my last post...I checked over the connections and went through this thread multiple times to see if I could figure out anymore information...and then I tried it again, and for some reason...it works now

Curiosity

Good job Tranman!

swift_gti you could check for voltage between the gamepad ground and car ground to be sure there's nothing, but it's probably going to be ok.

Ok, the Sony has tip, ring and base in the pic above. Or that's what I'm just calling it. So the base (ground) can just be soldered to the ground side of the pot. That should be an easy spot. Ring to the + side of the A button. The - side is ground so really you're just putting the shift button in parrallel with the A button. Then tip to the center pin of the pot.

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XPort 1.26 -GPS port splitter, logger, and USB device resume fix

swift_gti

Thanks Curiosity, that helps to make thing clear

I'll hook it up and see how well it performs.

Tranman

I'm having a problem with calibration...I notice that when I go into the Game Controller (Controller) and check out properties...the X/Y grid has the point directly in the middle. However, once I press a button and release, it doesn't go back to center...so this causes a problem when I initially use the steering wheel controls...that is, things don't work properly on resume/startup until I press a button (which sets the "neutral" point back off center). It causes some bleed over and activates two functions...so when I try to move to the next track (Steering Wheel UP Button), it'll mute (Steering Wheel POWER Button)...but once it gets "settled" at the calibrated "neutral" point...its fine...until the next restart.

I was wondering what resistor values I would be able to use to rectify this

Curiosity

The initial (no bottons pressed) voltage is probably wrong. Normally the pot is creating 2.5V on the input, so you want to do the same. That means the same resistance from 5V to the input as ground to input. Around 2K should do it if it's open with no buttons pressed. 2K between ground and input and another between 5V and input.

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