Here's a photo of the joystick controller board. Would I likely find a place to solder to that would provide 5V DC?

 

I'm glad to hear that your sensor is working fine. It's really bizarre to me that sensor that's ok would somehow knock out all the power in the joystick. If the sensor is ok and the joystick power polarity is as expected (both of which seem to be true based on your latest tests and measurements) then I would expect the sensor to either work or not work, but I wouldn't expect it to kill all the voltage in the joystick.

Here's an idea for another test. Hook up the joystick red and black wires to the sensor, but leave the output pin disconnected. Then read the output with a volt meter while moving magnet. If this works, then you know the sensor works on the low voltage (remember that my SS495 sensors worked on 4.1V just fine, so there's hope) and that the problem is between the sensor output and the joystick white wire. Maybe the suggestion very early on about adding a resistor is worth reconsidering?

Edit: I just re read the early resistor comment and it wasn't what I thought. I'm not sure I understand what it would do. Still think testing sensor on low voltage with output disconnected might be an informative experiment.

 

@ebeowulf17
I didn't catch your post about powering the sensor with 4.1v. I'm kinda curios now if the sensor gets its power from the IC on the controller board. Would make sense if obtaining the correct voltage is critical. This would explain the lower supply voltage too as its clearly not coming from the 5v off the USB. Looks like the sensor draws 7ma too. If it does get its power from the IC, 7ma may be too much and could be shutting down.

Is the joystick powered via the USB?

 

Here's a photo of the joystick controller board. Would I likely find a place to solder to that would provide 5V DC?

View attachment 96679

Is there anything on the back side of that board? I don't see anything that looks like a voltage booster or regulator. My guess is that the highest voltage you'll find will be right at the usb input. I'd plug it in and read the voltage there to see if it's any higher than you're finding at the sensor wiring. Could it be that your usb voltage is on the low side to begin with?

 

I'm glad to hear that your sensor is working fine. It's really bizarre to me that sensor that's ok would somehow knock out all the power in the joystick. If the sensor is ok and the joystick power polarity is as expected (both of which seem to be true based on your latest tests and measurements) then I would expect the sensor to either work or not work, but I wouldn't expect it to kill all the voltage in the joystick.

Here's an idea for another test. Hook up the joystick red and black wires to the sensor, but leave the output pin disconnected. Then read the output with a volt meter while moving magnet. If this works, then you know the sensor works on the low voltage (remember that my SS495 sensors worked on 4.1V just fine, so there's hope) and that the problem is between the sensor output and the joystick white wire. Maybe the suggestion very early on about adding a resistor is worth reconsidering?

Edit: I just re read the early resistor comment and it wasn't what I thought. I'm not sure I understand what it would do. Still think testing sensor on low voltage with output disconnected might be an informative experiment.

Per your suggestion, hooked up only the + and - pins of the sensor to the red and black wires of the plug. Left the pot in place on the other axis. I still measure only approximately .5V across the + and - pins of the sensor (after flashing 3.9V or so in the blink of an eye). 0V across the - and output pin with it left disconnected.

Curiously, with the output pin of the senor disconnected, the other axis with the pot works normally.

 

Is there anything on the back side of that board? I don't see anything that looks like a voltage booster or regulator. My guess is that the highest voltage you'll find will be right at the usb input. I'd plug it in and read the voltage there to see if it's any higher than you're finding at the sensor wiring. Could it be that your usb voltage is on the low side to begin with?

There are no components on the back side of the board. I'm plugging the joystick into a powered Belkin 7 port USB hub, so I would think it should have plenty of power. All of the devices plugged into it function normally. I'll try plugging the joystick into a USB port on the back of the PC and see if that makes a difference.

 

Plugging directly into a USB port on the PC makes no difference. Still only see slightly over .5V across + and - pins.

 

@ebeowulf17
I didn't catch your post about powering the sensor with 4.1v. I'm kinda curios now if the sensor gets its power from the IC on the controller board. Would make sense if obtaining the correct voltage is critical. This would explain the lower supply voltage too as its clearly not coming from the 5v off the USB. Looks like the sensor draws 7ma too. If it does get its power from the IC, 7ma may be too much and could be shutting down.

Is the joystick powered via the USB?

Yes, the joystick's only connection is the USB cable. There is no separate power supply. The USB cable comes into the case and plugs into the 5 pin connector on the control board.

 

Can you take a pic of any markings on the IC? Finding a datasheet for it could reveal if the IC is powering the sensor.

 

Can you take a pic of any markings on the IC? Finding a datasheet for it could reveal if the IC is powering the sensor.

Clearest pic I could come up with using the macro mode of my phone's camera...

 

@ebeowulf17
I didn't catch your post about powering the sensor with 4.1v. I'm kinda curios now if the sensor gets its power from the IC on the controller board. Would make sense if obtaining the correct voltage is critical. This would explain the lower supply voltage too as its clearly not coming from the 5v off the USB. Looks like the sensor draws 7ma too. If it does get its power from the IC, 7ma may be too much and could be shutting down.

Is the joystick powered via the USB?

I'll bet you're right about power coming from the IC. If so, re-routing the red wire to pull power from the usb 5V input instead of the IC would probably resolve the problem.

I'm trying to think of possible pitfalls to avoid; if the sensor output went all the way to its 5V max, but the IC aref and/or VCC were lower, would there be any risk of damaging the adc input? My gut feeling is no, but I'm not totally sure.

 

I would doubt you would damage the input going up to 5v it should be rated at or above 5v. The only problem with using a separate power source is the potential for incorrect sensor readings. But taking care to ground at that board pictured would help eliminate that issue. And when I say incorrect I would say 1-10mv ish. It would not be much at all, and you could likely calibrate out any deviations from within the game if it allows for fine tuning.

 

I would doubt you would damage the input going up to 5v it should be rated at or above 5v. The only problem with using a separate power source is the potential for incorrect sensor readings. But taking care to ground at that board pictured would help eliminate that issue. And when I say incorrect I would say 1-10mv ish. It would not be much at all, and you could likely calibrate out any deviations from within the game if it allows for fine tuning.

Cool. Sounds right to me.

@Nihilistic, if it were my joystick, I'd try powering the Hall effect sensor from the 5V line where the USB cord meets the pcb. Pretty sure that will at least yield meaningful output from the sensor. Then you just have to see if any further calibration is required and, if all goes well, do the second axis.

 

@Nihilistic, @ebeowulf17 and all:
I know this thread is old, but I just tried this mod with same joystick and SS496A and had same trouble as OP.
The solution was getting 5V power (+ and - lines) from the USB connector in joystick board, just like suggested above. Lets hope it keeps working.
To calibrate just unplug and re-plug the joystick into the computer.

The hall effect sensor works very well, thank you all for this thread.

 

@Nihilistic, @ebeowulf17 and all:
I know this thread is old, but I just tried this mod with same joystick and SS496A and had same trouble as OP.
The solution was getting 5V power (+ and - lines) from the USB connector in joystick board, just like suggested above. Lets hope it keeps working.
To calibrate just unplug and re-plug the joystick into the computer.

The hall effect sensor works very well, thank you all for this thread.

I'm glad to hear that it worked for you! Thanks for sharing your results. I was optimistic that the proposed solution would work, but didn't know for sure. It's nice to get conclusive results so I (and others) can learn from all this.

 

Why do I need to add a resistor?

This is an old thread. Anyway, I'll contribute the answer to the question.

The output is open-type (open collector or open drain) - it won't produce an output voltage. A pull-up resistor (to the V+ supply) is needed to produce an output. In the absence of magnets, the output should be 1/2 of the V+ supply voltage.

 

This is an old thread. Anyway, I'll contribute the answer to the question.

The output is open-type (open collector or open drain) - it won't produce an output voltage. A pull-up resistor (to the V+ supply) is needed to produce an output. In the absence of magnets, the output should be 1/2 of the V+ supply voltage.

No, it'll source or sink. Works just fine without pull-up or pull-down resistors. I've played around and experimented with tons of SS495s and a few SS496s, and you can literally supply just power and ground, then read voltage on the floating output pin with a multimeter, and it tracks magnetic fields proportionally as expected.

Check out the datasheet:
https://sensing.honeywell.com/honey...ries-solidstate-product-sheet-005843-1-en.pdf

 

No, it'll source or sink. Works just fine without pull-up or pull-down resistors. I've played around and experimented with tons of SS495s and a few SS496s, and you can literally supply just power and ground, then read voltage on the floating output pin with a multimeter, and it tracks magnetic fields proportionally as expected.

Check out the datasheet:
https://sensing.honeywell.com/honey...ries-solidstate-product-sheet-005843-1-en.pdf

I only saw one datasheet which has an open output - different model you quoted. You're right with that particular HE model - it can source or sink.

 

Hello,
I also want to modify my Force 3D Pro joystick. Could someone show me some pitcurese where do you had positioned the hall-sensor.