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Step 6Turning your Gametrak into a HI device
Before you take any part of the device apart you should make sure that you can turn it into a HID. HID stands for Human Interaction Device. When you plug the controller into your computer it will most likely not show up as a recognized device. In MaxMSP you can use the HI Device Tester to see if your Gametrak is indeed communicating with your computer.
Getting your Gametrak to send data is one of the simplest steps, yet one of the most frustrating if you're just expecting your device and computer to immediately communicate. First, remove the two sets of screws and washers which connect the electrical board to the top of the spool casing. Gently lift the board up. On the bottom side you should notice a lot of text labeling the various parts of the board. Luckily, you don't really need to understand any of this.
The important parts are the ones labeled "PC" and "XBOX." These two connection points merely need a touch of solder to determine the device's output. If your Gametrak, like the one pictured, is of the X-Box variety, the conversion to HI is not too difficult. Start by scraping the solder off on the X-Box connection point. Once you have that fully removed check the PC connection point. If i's covered with a veneer of plastic, take a razor blade and shave it off until you get to the metal, being careful not to affect any other part of the board. Next, apply a dab of solder connecting the PC connection points.
Lastly, hook the USB cable into your computer and check that the HID is working. I used the HI Device Tester in MaxMSP to do this step. If it's working properly it should start spitting out numbers. If it's not, double check the solder as well as the wire connectors. They may have become disconnected when you took the board off.
For another take on getting your Gametrak to spit-out HI, try exploring this node on the website for the Center for New Music and Audio Technology (CNMAT), at the University of California, Berkeley, where I made this controller as an independent-study project.
Getting your Gametrak to send data is one of the simplest steps, yet one of the most frustrating if you're just expecting your device and computer to immediately communicate. First, remove the two sets of screws and washers which connect the electrical board to the top of the spool casing. Gently lift the board up. On the bottom side you should notice a lot of text labeling the various parts of the board. Luckily, you don't really need to understand any of this.
The important parts are the ones labeled "PC" and "XBOX." These two connection points merely need a touch of solder to determine the device's output. If your Gametrak, like the one pictured, is of the X-Box variety, the conversion to HI is not too difficult. Start by scraping the solder off on the X-Box connection point. Once you have that fully removed check the PC connection point. If i's covered with a veneer of plastic, take a razor blade and shave it off until you get to the metal, being careful not to affect any other part of the board. Next, apply a dab of solder connecting the PC connection points.
Lastly, hook the USB cable into your computer and check that the HID is working. I used the HI Device Tester in MaxMSP to do this step. If it's working properly it should start spitting out numbers. If it's not, double check the solder as well as the wire connectors. They may have become disconnected when you took the board off.
For another take on getting your Gametrak to spit-out HI, try exploring this node on the website for the Center for New Music and Audio Technology (CNMAT), at the University of California, Berkeley, where I made this controller as an independent-study project.
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