inside a ds paddle

[phreak97]

i bought arkanoid and the ds paddle, so i thought i'd crack it open and post a pic here.



there are three gears inside which gear it up so the optical wheel moves a LOT faster than the paddle knob, thus increasing the accuracy of the paddle.

[l_oliveira]

Is that a Latice  CPLD ? lol

[phreak97]

i didnt know the name for it.. but it's just like a ball mouse works.. lol

[NFG]

Argh, I feel silly for not posting a similar picture myself.  I've had my Arkanoid for a few months now, and of course the first thing I did was open it up.  I posted the picture on another of my websites, but didn't post it here.  Sorry guys, I've let you down.  Thanks phreak97 for posting yours!



Having a closer look at it now... 

It uses a geared rotary encoder.  This increases the sensitivity, 'cause smaller movements of the knob produce larger movements for the sensors to detect.  It's a spinner, not a paddle, meaning it does not stop at opposite ends of the rotation. 

The mechanics of the spinner are pretty well designed.  Because of the gearing, the wheel also has a nice momentum when you let go of it.  This is quite unlike other console Arkanoid controllers like the Famicom and MSX, which were paddles with no momentum at all.

I notice now that it has JTAG connections (top right corner of my image).  I wonder if there's anything fun to be done with it?  =D

[phreak97]

yeah, i'm just better.
isnt it funny that taito made a spinner with "Paddle Controller DS" printed on the back?
also, yours has little cable run posts to hold the wires from the optos, but mine doesnt.. it amazes me that such things get revised.. they must have been breaking off and causing rattles or something.

[ManekiNeko]

I notice now that it has JTAG connections (top right corner of my image).  I wonder if there's anything fun to be done with it?  =D

Oh, I'm quite sure there is.  You just need an enterprising homebrew developer to take advantage of it!  I'd love to see a build of MARCA or some other DS emulator with support for the dial.  I know homebrewers have been able to access the additional RAM on the DS Web Browser cartridge, so it doesn't seem like a stretch to assume that they could take advantage of other cartridge-based peripherals.