TX/T300 - is it possible to inject wheel button presses from inside the wheelbase with arduino/SPI?

[KwikkHatch]

Hey hey, didn't find anything online so I thought I would ask the community. I am looking to create an external buttonbox that uses the same button signals as the wheel buttons without compromising the wheel itself (both can function at the same time). Someone told me to try to emulate a wheel button box with an arduino like in this interesting bit of reading: http://rr-m.org/blog/hacking-a-thrustmaster-tx-rw-wheelbase-with-arduino-uno-part-2/ but this is to replace the button cicuitboard from the original wheel. I want to have a parallel setup where both the wheel and the external buttonbox would work at the same time or can switch between wheel/box when needed.

I currently own a T300 and enjoy the wires that come out of the wheelbase for the T500 static paddle kit which I have routed in a custom sequential shifter made from a handbrake lever. My friend who has cerebral palsy can't reach the wheel buttons and is rather interested in getting a TX wheelbase and a custom deep dish buttonless wheel for his Xbox needs. He would use the external button box and I would use my own T300 wheel on his setup when I'm at his place but would lose my sequential shifter addon as the TX doesn't have the static paddle wires

And then, it hit me... maybe I can use the wires that come from the wheel and splice an arduino in the middle (close to the wheelbase board connector, after the coiled part of the wires) to inject buttonbox presses. Can an arduino read an SPI data flow and output some extra paddle shifter or d-pad presses before it reaches the wheelbase circuitboard? Is this even possible? Has anybody tried anything similar?

This could allow the mod to be compatible with consoles without going the "usb keyboard" way that only works for Project cars2 buttonboxes as far as I know... and I could bring my sequential shifter with me and just plug it in his buttonbox on the paddle buttons! FUN FOR ALL!

Hope this makes sense, I can explain better if you have questions.

 

[Outspacer]

Two possible ideas for how to do it...

1. The Arduino goes in the middle - reading the wheel buttons by doing manual bit-twiddling SPI, also reading extra button inputs and combining them into the button data, which is then output to the wheelbase as in that link.

2. Some simpler discrete logic goes in the middle to combine the MISO lines from both wheel and an arduino running the code from that hack. SS and SCLK just get wired to both wheel and arduino.

I think AND is the logic for combining if I've read it right, whether in code or by a logic gate, to get "either pressed = pressed" logic since pressed is zero.

 

[Rene_Acer]

Have a look at this blog. It is a good starting point.

 

[Podger]

I read the OP with interest. But i think you might be on arduous path. I'm the developer on the DriveHub project and I can see what you are after is very achievable with the DriveHub. Its probably doable right now without any extra change to our f/w... My intention here is not to push the DriveHub, but I do have a close personal interest in assisting people with physical disadvantages.. I'll leave it at that for now and if you want to know more I'm happy to help.

 

[Shinu]

As a fellow simracer with cerebral palsy I recommend emulating the fanatec mclaren rim.

What kind of mobility does your friend have ?

 

[Podger]

As a fellow simracer with cerebral palsy I recommend emulating the fanatec mclaren rim.

What kind of mobility does your friend have ?

Are you mentioning the McLaren rim because of the extra set of analogue paddles that can be selective used for gas and brake etc ?

 

[Shinu]

Are you mentioning the McLaren rim because of the extra set of analogue paddles that can be selective used for gas and brake etc ?

Yes - for me sometimes my leg muscles tense up and I can override pedals with buttons.
My left wrist rotation is limited so sometimes when i turn with one hand and need to downshift push/pull padles also help.

Combined with all that buttons overall are close,

I noticed those advantages at least but I try to adapt myself to any rim. (Sometimes it helps me improve)