Never satisfied, we've continued to improve upon our Analog (potentiometer-based) USB circuit board. We are now happy to announce the latest development in the TSW and TSW2 controllers, in the form of the Evolution Analog USB circuit board. This new product enables our controllers to produce 4 to 5 times the calibration resolution of our previous USB circuit board, with even more stable calibration behavior making "pot jitter" a thing of the past.
All of our analog controllers from now on will incorporate this new technology. It will also be available as an upgrade option for the old gameport based controllers, but also as a simple circuit board replacement for any existing 8-bit USB TSW or TSW2. In addition, we will offer a $25 credit to those who upgrade their USB controller to the new board if they send back the old 8-bit USB circuit board.
So what does this mean in terms of performance? Well, our controllers have always had a great deal of accuracy and precision. On the mechanical side, the steering and pedal mechanisms allow a tremendous amount of control, giving you the consistency and stability to place the wheel or pedal at the exact point you need it. Since USB became the standard, and until we brought out the optical encoder circuit board, we've had a limited amount of electronic precision.
At first with the Rockfire USB adapter, you had at best approximately 100 steps of input in the steering. This was borderline as far as being precise enough to have maximum control. The ability to make minute adjustments just was not there. It was driveable but not ideal.
When we developed our first generation 8-bit USB circuit board, we doubled this, providing approximately 200 to 250 points of input in the steering. This was far better, giving the driver the accuracy to make tiny course corrections, keeping that fine line on the bottom of the track, or up right against the wall. BUT, at 200 increments of movement with 270 degrees of wheel deflection from lock to lock, this is still less than 1 point per degree of wheel rotation that is translated from your hands to the sim. Good, but still not perfect.
With the release of our Optical Encoder circuit board, with aproximately 1500 points of input in the steering we achieved perfection, providing maximum resolution and precision, completely eliminating jitter from the equation. But at around $400 above the price of the controller and limited availability, optical encoders aren't for everyone obviously.
So that brings us to where we are currently with the release of the Evolution Analog circuit board. 1000 points of input in the steering means that in calibration you (and the sim-racing software) can perceive a change in the steering with about 1/4 of a degree of movement in the steering wheel. That coupled with the anti-aliasing algorithm developed by Sim-Addicts to eliminate potentiometer jitter means accuracy approaching that of the optical encoder circuit board at a fraction of the cost. It doesn't necessarily mean faster laps, but it comes as close to perfection as it gets with a potentiometer based controller.That does not mean the optical encoders are made obsolete by any means. If you can afford them, encoders are still the best option available, with even higher resolution (~1500 points of steering input), and the added reliability that encoders provide.
Call or email if you have further questions, or would like to order one of these circuit boards.
(319) 462-3327