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[Taiko] Wii Tatacon to USB Converter

posted
Total Posts
222
montymintypie
85 posts
Joined October 2012
Topic Starter
montymintypie

Buy here

Hey all,

I love using the tatacon, it's loads of fun! What's not so fun is the 50ms lag from Bluetooth, keeping my Wiimote around, paired, charged... Introducing the Tatacon to USB adapter!



Features
  1. 1KHz update rate. Delay is completely imperceptible. Tested here.
  2. Sweet LEDs (can be turned off)
  3. Responds so fast you can bounce your sticks and get multi hits. Can be turned off with Debounce feature.
  4. Tested working on official, Hori and knockoff controllers
  5. Windows, Linux, Mac compatible +cross platform Chrome app for configuration
  6. Config app allows future firmware updates to add more features
  7. No drivers required!
  8. Open source
Price is $25USD shipped anywhere.

Original post:
SPOILER
After big delays, the first boards have arrived! Buy them here.

So I wasted a day to make this:


USB on one end, tatacon on the other!

Firmware is unwritten but I've done HID + I2C before, so should be fairly easy. I just wonder if there is any want for something like this from the community? I have no idea how many people use the tatacon :S Cost would be looking about $20 if my calculations are correct.

Also I have no idea if this should go here or the taiko forum, so feel free to move it if need be...
Last edited by montymintypie , edited 21 times in total.
Oinari-sama
osu! Alumni
3,403 posts
Joined July 2010
Oinari-sama
I think Development is the right place ;)

Also check out this feature request if you're still worried about lack of interest: t/225566. I think lots of people will be interested to know more about what you're doing.
Luna
2,355 posts
Joined November 2010
Luna
Is this really lagless?
If so, take all my money
montymintypie
85 posts
Joined October 2012
Topic Starter
montymintypie
Lag should be at or under 8ms. Considering that most keyboards have this much lag (125Hz update rate) and I feel them to be lagless, it should be imperceptible. :)

I've gone and ordered the PCBs, initial prototype within 3 weeks :)
MondlichtVI
4 posts
Joined March 2014
MondlichtVI
Yeah, it is lagfree, i did the same with my tatacon but i wired it to my arduino.
It was messy, but the main problem why i don't use it is because the sensors works really bad. I've two tatacons.
One of them was a fake one from china and the other one was the original one. The sensors were bad both of them.

better wait for the tatakon from Hori http://www.hori.jp/products/wiiu/wii_taiko/. It'll get released at 4.12 this year
tobuei
24 posts
Joined June 2013
tobuei
Looks cool consider me interested
montymintypie
85 posts
Joined October 2012
Topic Starter
montymintypie
Bad news for impatient people - the boards arrived, but due to a datasheet error and my impatience, the nunchuck connector won't fit the PCB.

No matter however, because I've made a new version of the board and am sending it off to be manufactured tonight - it improves upon the old one by guaranteeing 1ms response times and fixing the connector. 3 weeks more waiting for China :S

Sorry for the delay, but I figured I'd keep people up to date on development :)

And a picture of the bad boards, so people know I'm not just fluffing about ;)
Oinari-sama
osu! Alumni
3,403 posts
Joined July 2010
Oinari-sama
PCB Art <3
danny9011osu
12 posts
Joined July 2014
danny9011osu
Hi, it's great if we can connect the tatacon without using wiimote / bluetooth, and there is problem to my bluetooth too. I can't even play it properly.
How is the development now?
I can't wait to see the finished product.
Wish you can make it soon and teach us. :3
P.S. I didn't reply but I've been checking this post everyday!!
montymintypie
85 posts
Joined October 2012
Topic Starter
montymintypie
Yeah, Christmas rush delayed me a bit :S



I've just realised I forgot to order the actual USB connector, so there's going to be a 5 business day wait until that appears...

I might end up just taking apart a USB cable and connecting that instead, but I'll keep this updated all the same :)
tobuei
24 posts
Joined June 2013
tobuei
Nice!
This showed up in the mail today so i am keen to see how good it is
SPOILER
It is also way bigger than i expected, the monitor in the background is a 27" for some perspective
montymintypie
85 posts
Joined October 2012
Topic Starter
montymintypie
As a fellow 27" monitor user... Holy crap that drum is big! Better speed up my development efforts, keen to see how that performs.
montymintypie
85 posts
Joined October 2012
Topic Starter
montymintypie
People with circuit making experience might understand the monumental failure I made with this board:
SPOILER


...That aside, with some awful fixes I now have a working prototype. Firmware is next, then software to configure what buttons the drum activates. Hopefully it'll be finished by the time the next (fingers crossed, the final) prototype arrives from the fab :)

montymintypie
85 posts
Joined October 2012
Topic Starter
montymintypie
Sorry for the lack of updates, I recently started a full time internship and have been pretty low on time to do stuff like this.

I've got the prototype working now, but there's still a 15-20ms input lag. Currently determining whether this is an issue with my controller or whether the tatacon actually has inherent lag (I hope not!).
tobuei
24 posts
Joined June 2013
tobuei
No worries man take your time all looks pretty sweet so far, even if it might have a bit of lag it should still have better latency than Bluetooth and not having to pair the controller each time i want to play is a big bonus too.
abrian
154 posts
Joined October 2011
abrian
What is the difference between this and the converter outside? But surely the circuit board art is fantastic ww
Corin
910 posts
Joined January 2011
Corin
Damn your soldering is really neat :D
Nice job!
BBB
141 posts
Joined January 2014
BBB
Hey there yo, just a little bump to let you know there's still interest in this project ;)
Espionage724
876 posts
Joined August 2011
Espionage724
I'd be interested in this as well; just have to go pick-up another Tatacon (regrettably sold the Wii and PS2 ones I had).

A quick idea on the latency; can the converter do 1000Hz polling rate? Not sure what the device itself has to have as a requirement, but you can force polling rates on most USB devices with a custom driver/service in Windows, and possibly a program in Linux.

On a slightly different matter; how would this adapter compare to wusbmote?
danny9011osu
12 posts
Joined July 2014
danny9011osu
How is it now?
tobuei
24 posts
Joined June 2013
tobuei

Espionage724 wrote:

On a slightly different matter; how would this adapter compare to wusbmote?
I tried wusbmote with my Hori tatacon and it doesn't seem to work, the wusbmote is recognized as a game pad which osu! doesn't have support for in taiko mode unfortunately and also when i got to configure the wusbmote controller from the devices panel i get no button inputs from the drum. but i do get button responses from the nunchuck buttons and stick. I haven't played around with the config tool yet though so ill see how that goes

*Edit
The config tool is actually a command line tool for configuring the adaptor and has only been tested in linux but apparently works in windows and OSX as well, i have only done basic arduino stuff before so this stuff is over my head and i couldn't be arsed trying to figure it out at this point and wouldn't really know where to even begin (probably at reading the full product description before i buy things).

to the OP I should also mention i am still interested in the converter just exploring different options in the meantime
montymintypie
85 posts
Joined October 2012
Topic Starter
montymintypie
GRUMBLE GRUMBLE this is the second time the forum has neglected to email me replies >:( I thought others had lost interest, and kinda forgot to check manually :(

I think the 20ms lag is in the controller itself and the way hits are registered - they seem to be capacitive switches, which are never really instant. I'm not happy with 20ms lag, so I'm somewhat stalled at the moment. I would love to be proved wrong.

As such, I've put my progress thus far on GitHub, (hopefully) ready for others to take a crack at. If you have an Arduino, you can buy a $2 nunchuck adapter from eBay (search "Arduino nunchuck") and play around - the important stuff is reading the status of the switches via i2c.

Sorry for disappearing for 2 months, I gave up and forgot people still wanted updates :(

If you want to take this further and are having issues, please PM me, I will be happy to assist where I can.
montymintypie
85 posts
Joined October 2012
Topic Starter
montymintypie
Happy new year, taiko players!

Over the past few months, with some excellent help from tobuei and Sand (seriously, thanks guys) I have made a new version.

Features
  1. 1ms response time. Delay is completely imperceptible
  2. Sweet LEDs (can be turned off)
  3. Responds so fast you can bounce your sticks and get multi hits. Can be turned off with Debounce feature.
  4. Tested working on official, Hori and knockoff controllers
  5. Windows, Linux, Mac compatible + cross platform Chrome app for configuration
  6. Config app allows future firmware updates to add more features
  7. No drivers required!
  8. Open source
Updated price estimate is $20USD shipped anywhere.

I have made an order for 20 boards to start with, and they will arrive about a month from now.

I won't get payment from anyone until they arrive, but they're coming!

Last edited by montymintypie , edited 2 times in total.
abrian
154 posts
Joined October 2011
abrian
Thanks for your effort you have put in this project!
Can't wait to see it actually comes out
Bauxe
1,624 posts
Joined August 2012
Bauxe
Woah I thought this died. Will 100% be purchasing one!
R2Zero
2 posts
Joined July 2012
R2Zero
I'd definitely start taiko mode if I had one of these. Im totally interested in buying one!
buraitopengin
2 posts
Joined January 2016
buraitopengin
Hello there, I'll definitively buy it once you release it ;)
OnosakiHito
osu!taiko Paragon
6,842 posts
Joined March 2010
OnosakiHito
Why this isn't in the Taiko subforum? I would have never seen it if I didn't check the Development forum because of boredom. lol
For users like me, this is very interesting. I'm having a tatacon, but I rarely play it due to way too huge input lags. I can expect this to work even my outdate tatacon, right? As in, this works for the old and new versions of TNT's tatacons?
montymintypie
85 posts
Joined October 2012
Topic Starter
montymintypie

OnosakiHito wrote:

Why this isn't in the Taiko subforum? I would have never seen it if I didn't check the Development forum because of boredom.
It made sense for it to be in development initially, but now it's ready I should post there! Should I move the thread or just post a link to it in the taiko forum?

OnosakiHito wrote:

I can expect this to work even my outdate tatacon, right? As in, this works for the old and new versions of TNT's tatacons?
If Taiko no Tatsujin can see it, it should work with my converter! :D
Bauxe
1,624 posts
Joined August 2012
Bauxe
Might be best to have a post linking here in the Taiko forum. The correct section is here however it would be of interest to many taiko players.
Catgirl
472 posts
Joined June 2013
Catgirl
I don't have a Tatacon but seeing that this is a thing, assuming it works as well as you described I'd love to try using one!

When will orders be open? :^)
montymintypie
85 posts
Joined October 2012
Topic Starter
montymintypie

Catgirl wrote:

When will orders be open? :^)
As soon as I receive working boards! China is the only way to make it affordable, but they're not fast ;)
GabCM
16 posts
Joined June 2010
GabCM
I will absolutely buy one as soon as you open some orders! Can't wait!
xtrem3x
1,782 posts
Joined July 2009
xtrem3x

Luna wrote:

Is this really lagless?
If so, take all my money
montymintypie
85 posts
Joined October 2012
Topic Starter
montymintypie
Bad news everyone - my supplier is having some unexpected delays sourcing some parts for the boards. Updated estimate is now late February.

If I'm lucky and they manage to send the boards before Chinese New Year, I will get them mid February. Will keep you updated as this progresses.
buraitopengin
2 posts
Joined January 2016
buraitopengin
no problem pal, as long as you keep us informed, it's all good ;)
Muf mi Taemin
5 posts
Joined January 2013
Muf mi Taemin
Great, now I need to buy Tatacon :lol:
Dia_Haze
27 posts
Joined January 2016
Dia_Haze
Thanks so much for all of your effort!!!
hiandbye
54 posts
Joined April 2015
hiandbye
How long will you sell these? Should I buy one now because it will be my only chance? Cause I won't be able to afford a Tatacon for quite a while.
montymintypie
85 posts
Joined October 2012
Topic Starter
montymintypie

hiandbye wrote:

How long will you sell these? Should I buy one now because it will be my only chance? Cause I won't be able to afford a Tatacon for quite a while.
I will sell these for as long as possible! If I disappear/get abducted by aliens/die, anyone with enough funds can make batches themselves from the files on GitHub :)

There will be supply delays early on as I work out what the demand is like, but these should be alleviated by the second or third batch :)
Korrui
75 posts
Joined April 2014
Korrui
hey its me again i was just wondering if you got them in again. its been a while since i have talked to you so i just wanted to check up on their status
montymintypie
85 posts
Joined October 2012
Topic Starter
montymintypie

AnimeGod2205 wrote:

hey its me again i was just wondering if you got them in again. its been a while since i have talked to you so i just wanted to check up on their status
Still waiting on them to ship. Chinese New Year slowed things down somewhat, combined with the extended delay in sourcing parts.
Korrui
75 posts
Joined April 2014
Korrui

montymintypie wrote:

AnimeGod2205 wrote:

hey its me again i was just wondering if you got them in again. its been a while since i have talked to you so i just wanted to check up on their status
Still waiting on them to ship. Chinese New Year slowed things down somewhat, combined with the extended delay in sourcing parts.
Dang, they havent even shipped yet? so many delays
furntree
1 post
Joined February 2016
furntree
Ahh this is the converter of my dreams. 100% Confirmed for one once they get in! :D :D
montymintypie
85 posts
Joined October 2012
Topic Starter
montymintypie
Great news! They've finally shipped to me! Expect them to be here in 2 weeks :)
Korrui
75 posts
Joined April 2014
Korrui
Yussssssssss finally
Korrui
75 posts
Joined April 2014
Korrui
Cant wait for them
montymintypie
85 posts
Joined October 2012
Topic Starter
montymintypie
Still waiting for the parcel, but while I wait, I got hard numbers on latency.

Using my scope, I had 1 probe connected to a piezo mic, and another to the LED of the converter. This LED updates at 1KHz, the same rate as the USB update rate.

SPOILER

I then smacked the drum 50 times, and recorded the delay between the moment the piezo started to respond, and when the converter registered a hit. An example measurement:


After 50 hits, here are the results:
Average: 1.802ms
Median: 1.77ms
Std Deviation: 0.44454517
Min: 1.1ms
Max: 2.78ms

Rounding the max value up, I can confidently say that there is an absolute worst case 3ms lag. And average lag of 1.8ms. This is imperceptible. Lagfree = confirmed!
Last edited by montymintypie , edited 1 time in total.
Korrui
75 posts
Joined April 2014
Korrui
Sounds good.
montymintypie
85 posts
Joined October 2012
Topic Starter
montymintypie
I've been prototyping a case.

This is an early prototype so the case doesn't fit properly and looks bad, but would there be interest? It would be 3-5 USD delivered, or cheaper if bundled with the converter. The source is also open so if you own a 3D printer you can make it yourself.

Pictures inside the spoilerbox...
SPOILER

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