@mark Hawkins: Yes it is USB connected. It's a little "gamepad" that is used for building raspberry pi mame game emulators. At this moment i use this thing to start the silence detection at the current automation ( RadioDJ ) and it is used as faderstart module for ProppFrexx. I ordered some more to build a "card hotstart" with 16 buttons.
@Jason : That would be nice. It is a real simple thing to use because you can use your own buttons or connect it up to any broadcast mixer. And windows still use the generic joystick drivers, it will be installed with no problems at all.
I'll put my 2p worth in here.
On a couple of stations I worked on before we used a simple USB number keypad, the type you buy to add the number keys on the right of a regular keyboard to a laptop. ( a bit like https://cdn.laptopszalon.hu/img/webshop/product/120911121848_246721.png )
The software we used allowed hot keys, you could define keys for stop, start, play next, and so on. You went into the setup, hot keys, chose the function from a drop down and then pressed the key you wanted it to use. Obviously, click save when done. It wouldn't let you define a key that was in use for something else but I found it accepted the keypad keys quite happily.
The keypad was glued down sideways meaning we had the enter, plus and minus keys facing the presenter - these were defined as play next, stop and auto - the three most used commands. I also put some coloured tape on so green was 'next', red was 'stop' blue was 'auto' as you faced it on a shelf in front of the presenter position. Presenters leaving the station at night had to put the system on auto, otherwise it was mainly used for those going out for a smoke...
A cheap and cheerful solution, and the small keypads could easily be replaced if damaged. Using a bluetooth version meant we could use the same technique when out doing a live PA - the computer in the van would have the same software, with the same commands, and you could be stood outside with a radio mike and the remote keypad.
We went further than that, but that's beyond the scope of this discussion.
Hello,
This does look like an inexpensive and flexible way to build your own remote control. The plugin won't support this currently, but I can certainly take a look into this and extend the Remote Start plugin functionality.
Hi Jason,
Well this is the one i use in my studio. Most people use a
generic USB joystick driver from Windows.
Some of the mixers use the same generic USB joystick driver of
windows to configure buttons to start. In my case i have button
1,2, 9 and 10 configured as my fader start. The automation has the
same "gamepad" or joystick that is configured in button 9 to start
automation in case of silence. I use a hardware based silence
detection that triggers a relay.
The windows joystick driver has analogue and digital direction and other buttons up to 16 buttons in total.
Hi Ronald,
What is the "USB Gamepad driver"? What protocol does it use? Can you give me a link where you purchased the gamepad?
Thanks,
Jason
It is not possible to use the generic USB Gamepad driver to port to the PlayItLive software?
The latest update of PlayIt Live features support for the Remote Start plugin - https://www.playitsoftware.com/Plugins/View/RemoteStart
This currently supports hardware MIDI controllers but could be extended to support COM/serial in the future.
Can you implement the USB gamepad option in the software? Working on a modified keyboard is not very handy because when in search for a track, you can press a key that starts or stops the next track.
Indeed Michael, and the device (turntable or tape machine) would start if given a closure from such a switch.
Typically devices now want a momentary closure (simulating a button press) although some will trigger on an "edge" (the change of state of a switch).
Making a mixer "fader start" generate a simulated key press on open or close would do that (and on some software can be done using the "game" or "joystick" connections or a USB simulation thereof).
PlayIt Live doesn't currently have that feature.
http://www.charliedavy.co.uk/usb-fader-start-interface/
might be a way of achieving this.
I've not tried it.
In my early days of Hospital Radio, I remember our mixer had micro switches on the faders.
tony cattani