Is there a way to use a vgame controller as a pendent?

[bukky633@yahoo.]

I have an older videogame controller with a usb end on it for PC gaming and was wondering if there is a way to get it to work with Mach to jog my axis around on my router??
I have a small number pad right now that works but it is kind of a pain because the cable is a bit short like me


Any help would be great,
Thanks,
Nick

[JanHenning]

Hi,

Try out the joystick plugin from Art Fenerty. Should work with any controller that is compatible with your version of Windows.

Download from: http://www.machsupport.com/plugins.php

Jan

[bukky633@yahoo.]

Thanks Jan,
I searched on the Mach forum but didn't know what I was looking for!

I down loaded the file and hope to install it tomorrow.

Thanks for the link and your time,
Nick

[TOTALLYRC]

Also look at using Keygrabber to map the buttons and joysticks on the gamepad to whatever function you want.
Once Keygrabber is up and running to suite your tastes, you can modify the Mach3 shortcut to start Keygrabber "automagically".
I believe Keygrabber is included with Mach3 and should be in the C:/Mach3 folder if you installed Mach3 to the C drive.

I currently use one of the Logitech game pads and it works great. While for my mill I would like to have some more buttons, it has been working very well for me.
A nice feature of Keygrabber is that you can set one button to change pages and then you can have 4 pages of buttons on the same gamepad. On each page the same button can have the same or different functions.

Let me know if you need more help.


Mike

[bukky633@yahoo.]

Help! I don't know what I'm doing.......LOL

I down loaded the plugin for joystick by Art its a M3p it says. I then saved it to my flash card and took it out to the shop computer and droped it in to the mach folder in the c drive.

I tried to open plug ins and addons but did not see it anywhere...

How do I configure this?
Please answer me like your talking to a 7 year old because this stuff is still pretty new to me

Thanks for any help

Nick

[TOTALLYRC]

Originally Posted by bukky633@yahoo. Help! I don't know what I'm doing.......LOL I down loaded the plugin for joystick by Art its a M3p it says. I then saved it to my flash card and took it out to the shop computer and droped it in to the mach folder in the c drive. I tried to open plug ins and addons but did not see it anywhere... How do I configure this? Please answer me like your talking to a 7 year old because this stuff is still pretty new to me Thanks for any help Nick

Hi Nick,
Drop the joystick plugin in the plugins folder. You will find it in the c:\Mach3 folder.
Then young man, open Mach3 and go to the top left of the page and you will see file, then config. Click config and go down to the config plugins and click on that. When that opens, make sure you enable the joystick plugin.

See if that helps.
Mike

[bukky633@yahoo.]

Ok Mike I got that far now.....

When I enabled it I got a message that the controller needed to be calibrated. And it was not going to run the Joy stick plugin????

I poked around with it for a bit but could not figure out how to get it to recognize the hardware or what ever it needs to do. I also have no idea how to calibrate the controller or even where to find a screen to do that????????????

Still lost but getting closer i think!! Thanks DAD hehe

Nick

[TOTALLYRC]

Hi Nick,
By the way, seven year olds know computers better than I do!!!!!!!!

To calibrate the gamepad, click the start button, control panel and then game controllers. See if yours is listed. If it is, click or double click on it and follow along to calibrate it.

See where that gets you.

Mike

[bukky633@yahoo.]

It looks as if this might not work......

I get a message saying "Missing gameport or Gameport drivers consult device manager".

I am going to call my computer guy when he opens and see if there is some thing we need to install. If so I will take it back down to him.

Unless you have a different suggestion I don't know what else to do with it to make it work

Thanks,
Nick

[TOTALLYRC]

If the joypad is not usb and uses the gameport then you will need to make sure the gameport drivers are installed and possibly the gampad drivers.

Mike

[bukky633@yahoo.]

Mike ,
I messed and messed with that thing today. Finally I unpluged it and pluged it into another usb port and the dang thing loaded and worked!

Now I can get it to jog in X and Y but can't get it to move in Z how do I go about setting that up?
Can I assign a button to do that of I think you said something about keygrabber?? Could you explain that a little?

Thanks For all your help,
Nick

[TOTALLYRC]

Originally Posted by bukky633@yahoo. Mike , I messed and messed with that thing today. Finally I unpluged it and pluged it into another usb port and the dang thing loaded and worked! Now I can get it to jog in X and Y but can't get it to move in Z how do I go about setting that up? Can I assign a button to do that of I think you said something about keygrabber?? Could you explain that a little? Thanks For all your help, Nick

Go to your main Mach3 folder. It is normally C:\Mach3. In there you will find a file called Keygrabber.exe.
Double click it and use it to setup the buttons that you need.
Once you are all happy you can either put a short cut to it on the desktop or you can modify the path for your Mach3 so it start automagically.

I would say get it set up the way you want and then we can talk about the automatic part.

Mike