General feedback on things that have passed thus far:
1. RE: repurposing a scale. I hadn't considered finding a strain gauge in a
scale.
I expect mainly to find load cells in them BUT now am considering that a
load cell
is just a well-characterized set of strain gauges pre-attached to a bar. I
bet I can
do something with that- and we sell an assortment of load cells and
accessories. <https://www.sparkfun.com/search/results?term=3Dload+cell>
2. Pointing stick seems equally valid, and maybe I'll try to source
something to
see what I can figure out by disassembly. Also, maybe a good product for us
to
start selling?
3. RE: lengthening the moment arm. Part of the problem I'm having is
finding a
means to actuate against the pressure sensor without destroying it. Also,
most
existing joysticks use either some kind of variation on optical mouse,
optical
encoder, or potentiometer to measure displacement. Force is rarely
considered.
4. Recalibrating the range is possible, but it's going to make delicate
control
even harder. Also, the Alliance upgrade is a thing I intend to use
eventually.
5. Inductance or capacitance based is a good idea.

So, I'm going to experiment with load cells, for now; it'll give me some
excuse to
go into the machine shop!

Mike

On Fri, Jul 31, 2015 at 7:47 PM, Mike Hord <mike.hord@gmail.com> wrote:

> Hi all-
>
> A complaint I've long had about video game joysticks is the relatively
> high deflection
> they have during use. I'm not much of a gamer, but lately I've been sucke=
d
> into the
> re-release of the old Star Wars X-Wing series games.
>
> I'd *like* to try and DIY a low-deflection force sensitive (not The Force=
,
> mind you)
> joystick, but I'm kind of having a hard time figuring out how to do this.
> There are
> commercial options but they are $200+.
>
> I've toyed with the idea of strain gauges but they tend to be both pricey
> and finicky.
> I'm kind of trying to wrap my head around a way to use a force sensitive
> resistor <https://www.sparkfun.com/products/9376> to
> get a measure of the force being applied, then some other means to
> calculate the
> vector.
>
> Any ideas? Bonus points if it uses mainly parts from SparkFun.com; I can
> use it as
> an excuse to write a tutorial or blog post and get the parts for free. ;-=
)
>
> Mike
>
--=20
http://www.piclist.com/techref/piclist PIC/SX FAQ & list archive
View/change your membership options at
http://mailman.mit.edu/mailman/listinfo/piclist
.