Quadstick FPS, User Manual

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Sensors and Inputs
Sip/Puff Sensors
The Sip/Puff Sensors on the mouthpiece and the tube on the side of the joystick can each
sense vacuum or pressure over a range of +/-2kPa (4 inches Water Column) and measure the
analog value to categorize the strength as high or low, for a combination of four signals per
sensor, hard and soft, sip or puff. This gives twenty-four possible sip/puff combinations when
various combinations of individual and multiple holes are used. When a sensor is active, an
LED lights to give feedback to the user. Red for puff and Blue for sip.
When user sips or puffs the Quadstick will make either a click or beep to indicate it detected a
hard or soft sip/puff, respectively. The hard sip/puff is detected the moment the pressure
exceeds the high threshold.
To avoid triggering a soft sip/puff signal while applying a stronger pressure, an adjustable delay
(default 1200ms) is used to allow time for the pressure to move out of the soft region, to the
hard region, before generating the signal. While the pressure is in the soft region, the
corresponding status LED flashes and an audio tone, which varies with pressure, is produced,
to give the user feedback about the pressure they are applying.
Once the time delay has expired a beep sound will indicate the signal has been triggered. Once
triggered, the Soft signal latches and the pressure must return below the Deactivation Threshold
before the signal will release. When either Soft or Hard pressure signals are active, the
pressure above the higher threshold can be used as an analog value, like with a Gamepad
Joystick or Trigger. If the Soft pressure zone for a particular tube is not used, the audio tones
are suppressed. The time delay is adjustable and some users shorten the delay to a few tenths
of a second to activate soft sip/puffs more quickly.
The Mouthpiece
The mouthpiece has three sip/puff holes plus a lip button sensor. The lip sensor activation and
sensitivity is adjustable from a slight movement to up to one-half inch from the inactive position.
A thumbscrew allows the lip sensor to be placed in a comfortable position. The Sip/Puff tube
openings in the mouthpiece can be individually selected or used in combination, by positioning
the mouth over one, two or three holes.
With a three hole, Left, Center, Right, mouthpiece, this allows for six different hole combinations
(L, C, R, LC, CR, LCR). Multiply that by two pressure polarities (sip/puff), and two different
pressure thresholds (soft & hard), for a total of twenty four signals to be obtained from the
mouthpiece Sip/Puff sensors.
While less frequently used, the sip/puff tube to the right of the mouthpiece can also be used as
a sip/puff input in configurations that do not require multiple mode sheets, giving an additional
four combinations.
An additional four sip/puff combinations are possible if the user can cover the center hole with
their tongue while sip/puffing on the outer two holes (LR).
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