Mouse Emulator using Arduino

[M0YDH]

Hello Colin

Here's a film of my deluxe frequency controller mouse working
https://youtu.be/MfG7dx9Kxls

I bricked the first microcontroller so put that down to being a trap for young players as EEV Blog Dave Jones says too often. Summat went wrong while in the IDE and setting up the libraries and serial port.
Second go went well. I added tiny terminal blocks to the board so can redo the wiring in the enclosure. It is a super little project.

I wish I had a drawing of the mounting hole pattern for the encoder. There are 6 M3 holes. I chose to mark out the R15 group equi-spaced as I thought. No it's not they are irregular. I shall contrive to hide the mess with a disc.
73

David M0YDH

[g4eml]

Hi David,

I am happy that you found it useful. I am using a similar encoder in my Langstone and it works extremely well. I have a heavy Aluminium knob fitted and I can spin it for large frequency changes. It feels just like using an old Eddystone receiver!

Colin G4EML

[G4MJW]

Hi All . . . (All those with Mouse Emulator using an Arduino Pro Micro . . . LOL)

I've just programmed a Pro Mini and and wich a cheapo £3 encoder it's working but misses pulses (the 3 buttuns work as well). Was wondering if someone could give me a link to a half decent suitable Rotary Encoder? My searches revealed units in the £60 - £80 + Range!

Many thanks

Steve - G4MJW

[g4eml]

These types are very good and are about £10. They have an optical encoder so do not suffer from contact bounce.
The only thing you might have to do is to bypass the internal 5V regulator so that it will work directly from 5V.

You do need enough panel space though. They are not small.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/224448235558

Colin.

[radiogareth]

Have you tried small de-bounce capacitors on the cheap encoder? I think Martin G4FKK used some, which I then did too. No problems with skipped clicks....
Gareth

[g8gtz]

Just search CNC rotary encoder on Amazon - I used similar to:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Rotary-Encoder ... 568&sr=8-7

My works really well and actually feels weighted - just like a £2,000 radio

Noel - G8GTZ

[G4FKK]

Yes, a 0.1uF to deck from the Arduino side and 100R in series with the encoder outputs helps a lot. The cheap 'clicky' encoders get worse with use though. They do have a press switch incorporated which is nice to use when you're impersonating a mouse scroll-wheel button.

MC

[G4MJW]

These types are very good and are about £10. They have an optical encoder so do not suffer from contact bounce.
The only thing you might have to do is to bypass the internal 5V regulator so that it will work directly from 5V.

You do need enough panel space though. They are not small.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/224448235558

Colin.

Many thanks Colin. I got one from the eBay link. Just fitted it and it works fautlessly, never jumping or missing digits. Hopwever, with it's silky smooth bearings it spins so smoothly and and very light. The large'sh "Un-balanced knob (44mm Ø) turns on it's own to where the weight is at the bottom of travel! It needs a bit of lead shot glued in the r ear recess of it. In the meantime, I've just swashed a small round piece of foam btrapped between the Knob and the Front Panel!

The Langstone works a treat. Can't wait to get the TX side wkg.

Many thanks again

Steve/G4MJW

[g4eml]

Hi Steve,
That’s one of the reasons I added the dial lock option on the centre button. I turned my own knob from aluminium so it is well balanced. I can spin up and down the band very quickly but it can easily get knocked by accident.

Colin.

[g4saq]

Hi Colin, I've just made up the Arduino board with the recommended optical encoder and 3 buttons. I have tested it in Windows 10, as you suggested. The buttons all work. The encoder will make the screen scroll in one direction only. If I reverse the phase connections, it scrolls the other way but never both ways! I previously had the encoder working fine on a PIC board of my own design (different project) and it works fine. I wonder if you have any ideas, please? I did notice your comment about bypassing the internal 5v reg. The encoder worked fine on my 5v PIC supply but I wonder if the USB output is a bit low. Still, strange that it works in one direction only.
73, Russ.