Node-red-contrib-xkeys_joystick NPM

node-red-contrib-xkeys_joystick

This is another of a group of Node-RED nodes which enable access to X-keys physical devices using the Dynamic Control Data Protocol (DCDP).

Dedicated Node-RED nodes for each X-keys event of interest (button, jog, joystick, etc.) will communicate, using MQTT, with a lightweight DCDP server, whose sole purpose is to mediate access to any physically attached X-keys devices.

This xkeys_joystick node encapsulates joystick events from any or specific X-keys devices.

Installation

This node requires dcdp-server version 0.1.1 to be running. Please follow the instructions at the dcdp-server development repository to install it or, to upgrade an existing installation, see the dcdp-server upgrade instructions.

The node-red-contrib-xkeys_joystick node itself is best installed from Node-RED's Palette manager. Go to the Palette manager's Install tab and search for node-red-contrib-xkeys_joystick; then Install it once found. If not found, press the Refresh module list button (two semicircular arrows) and search again.

When installed, a new xk joystick will be found in the palette tab in a dedicated Xkeys category.

Usage

The full msg.payload of the xkey_joystick node is as follows:

{ device: NAME, vendor_id: VID, product_id: PID, unit_id: UID, control_id: INDEX, x: XVAL, y: YVAL, z: ZVAL, deltaZ: DELTAZ }

where

NAME is an abbreviated name of the source device
VID is the Vendor ID of the source device
PID is the Product ID of the source device
UID is the Unit ID of the source device, typically 0 from the factory but assignable 0-255
INDEX is the controller number (in case a device has multiple joystick controls)
XVAL, YVAL, ZVAL, DELTAZ are the x, y, z (twist) and deltaZ values emited by the device

Issues

When configuring the node, a drop down list of possible devices shoud be available. If not, instead displaying just a note to Press Deploy button to see device list, first follow that advice. If that is unsuccessful (still no list of possible devices), then check the status of the dcdp-server by running the command sudo systemctl status dcdp-server in a terminal. Typical output of a normally running dcdp-server will be:

pi@pi3b:~ $ sudo systemctl status dcdp-server
● dcdp-server.service - Run dcdp-server as background service
Loaded: loaded (/etc/systemd/system/dcdp-server.service; enabled; vendor preset: enabled)
Active: active (running) since Thu 2021-10-14 09:31:55 AEST; 23h ago

whereas a non-running dcdp-server will show something like:

pi@pi3b:~ $ sudo systemctl status dcdp-server
● dcdp-server.service - Run dcdp-server as background service
Loaded: loaded (/etc/systemd/system/dcdp-server.service; enabled; vendor preset: enabled)
Active: failed (Result: timeout) since Fri 2021-10-15 08:41:37 AEST; 19s ago

If necessary, (re)start the dcdp-server with sudo systemctl restart dcdp-server