Archies’bald, I can not confirm that that rotary encoder will work in traktor and such, if it will work it might take some programs to get it into traktor
Has anyone used any of these types of joystick? I’m curious about how you would mount them on a unit.
http://www.sparkfun.com/commerce/product_info.php?products_id=9032
I think they would be good for track selection etc.
I feel you, brother.
this board for it looks like it has screw mounts …
http://www.sparkfun.com/commerce/product_info.php?products_id=9110
well, apart from the diode support and a couple more button connections i can’t find any big advantages of the u-hid over the boards from leo bodnar.
i’ll get one from him for about 30 EUR including shipping (no 12bit resolution, i figured i wouldnt need that for simple pots and faders), which is really cheap. plus i don’t have to pay import taxes since i’m located in the EU.
mind you, i’m not trying to advertise for any of the mentioned options…i’m just trying to find the cheapest solution possible 
his website is down for me right not so I could not check myself, Do you know how the configuration is done for that device?
The u-hid has a config program that is super easy to use and once the setup is saved to the board its all good. Its visual and just point and click stuff with option menus. You can download that and check it out you dont need the board to see how it works.
Im all trying to do this cheap and that seems to be tricky because I didnt want to go midi. Also the 8 analog limit in windows is lame. I might have said it already but I might go back to midi for my knobs and keep my faders and cool stuff on hid (things that I would like to have fine control for synth programs and stuff)
the configuration is pretty easy as well…you do the calibration of the axes in the windows setup for gamepads and joysticks (really easy, just do a full up-down movement with the fader so windows knows its length).
then you’ll have to map the hid-commands to midi messages which is a breeze as well with rejoice (just try it with your old gamepad/joytick to get the idea).
the 8 analog limitation really is lame, but if i should need more analog inputs, i’ll just buy more boards (save on shipping) and hook them up by putting an usb hub into the housing.
hi crismp, Have a look at this pic in the link
http://www.u-hid.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=14&Itemid=18
Thats what I was asking about for configuration. The u-hid you can flash a config to the board with what you want for buttons, led’s, and axis that all on the board stuff (you still have to do the windows gamepad calibrate for axis) but you can do a scale and offset option that flashes to board and assign led’s to buttons. You can also make buttons momentary or toggle and set them to keyboard or mouse stuff. The device can show as a hid mouse or keyboard also I think.
It seems like the u-hid board has better features that we might not even need but they are cool.
Now for those of us still on this hid path my last bit I wanted to add about the u-hid products is that they have a nano board. Its $35 and is a mini board with 9 pins. I just got a email back from u-hid and they say if we use power from something else ( usb cord or other board) then the nano will run 8 analogs, 7 if you use 5v power from nano. If I add 2 nano’s to my regular u-hid I will have spent about $150 on hid boards and have 24 analog’s and 30 or so buttons/led’s
well, it does have a configuration utility, but its only capable of defining what each axis does.
here’s a screen:
i figured i dont really need the option to change every pin’s input mode, since i’ll only be using gamepad buttons and faders/knobs for a midi-controller. the led support would be nice to have but no must-have for me (mind, you can still hook up a diode directly to a knob like Ean did in his video).
for the additional 8 axes i think i’d rather buy another BU0836 for 35 USD and have the option to add more buttons later on, but the u-hid nano sure is a nice lil board (as are all u-hids…i just wanna keep this project as low cost as possible).