ClownCar

Clown Car is an Arduino Nano ESP32 + OTG adapter that changes profiles for the RT4K based on gameID.

See it in action: https://youtu.be/ldbfFbKzjh8

Updates

• Detection rates have been sped up!
  • Unpowered consoles that are DNS address based, timeout after 7 seconds. This is reduced to 2 seconds after a console's first power up.
    • console DNS addresses will be automatically replaced by IP in order for the 2 second timeout to work.
  • Quickest if IP address is used versus Domain address.
    • Ex: http://10.0.1.10/gameid vs http://ps1digital.local/gameid

Parts used

• OTG Adapter: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CQKXWRNF
  • 18w version, not 60w
  • not all OTG adapters work, this one works the best
• Arduino Nano ESP32: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CXHZXJXP
  
  

gameID devices currently supported

Device	Supported	Notes
PS1Digital	yes, confirmed first hand
N64Digital	yes, confirmed first hand
MemCardPro 2	yes, for GameCube, betting the same for PS
Fenrir ?
more on the way...

LED activity

Color	Blinking	On	Notes
BLUE	WiFi active, querying gameID addresses	Longer blinks represent an unsuccessful query of gameID address. Usually a powered off console in the list.	After initial power, no blue light means WiFi not found.
GREEN	1 second blink is gameID match found and SVS profile being sent to RT4K
RED		Power	No way to control as it's hardwired in. May just need to cover with tape.

You can disable the BLUE / GREEN LEDs by commenting out the following lines in the .ino:

 //pinMode(LED_GREEN, OUTPUT);
 //pinMode(LED_BLUE, OUTPUT);

Programming the Arduino Nano ESP32

I recommend the Official Arduino IDE and guide if you're unfamiliar with Arduinos. All .ino files used for programming are listed above. The following Libraries will also need to be added in order to Compile successfully.

• Libraries:
  • If a Library is missing, it's usually available through the built-in Library Manager under "Tools" -> "Manage Libraries..."
  • <EspUsbHostSerial_FTDI.h> Follow these steps to add EspUsbHostSerial_FTDI.h
    • Goto https://github.com/wakwak-koba/EspUsbHost
    • Click the GREEN "<> Code" box and "Download ZIP"
    • In Arudino IDE; goto "Sketch" -> "Include Library" -> "Add .ZIP Library"

To put the Nano ESP32 into programming mode

• Double-click the button on top right after connecting the usb-c cable.
• You will see the GREEN led strobe if successful.
• TLDR is: Because ClownCar takes over the usb port, this resets that.

General Setup

*** At the moment it takes about 25 seconds to "boot". Just be aware when you don't see any activity at first. ***

For consoles list, quickest if IP address is used versus Domain address:

• Ex: http://10.0.1.10/gameid vs http://ps1digital.local/gameid

If you have multiple gameID consoles on when the ClownCar is booting, the console furthest down the "consoles" list wins. After that it keeps track of the order.

There are a multiple moving parts with this setup, and if you have issues, please use the "ClownCar_usb-only-test.ino". More info in the troublehshooting section at the end.

I believe the only library you need to add is a fork of "EspUsbHost"

Go to: https://github.com/wakwak-koba/EspUsbHost

• Click the GREEN "<> Code" box and "Download ZIP"
• In the Arudino IDE; goto "Sketch" -> "Include Library" -> "Add .ZIP Library"

Adding gameIDs

Edit the .ino file to include your gameID addresses and gameID to SVS profile matches. Chances are if this isn't done correctly, it won't compile... which is a good way to find out. :)

Console consoles[] = {{"http://ps1digital.local/gameid",0,0,0}, // you can add more, but stay in this format
                   // {"http://ps2digital.local/gameid",0,0,0}, // remove leading "//" to uncomment and enable ps2digital
                   // {"http://10.0.0.14/api/currentState",0,0,0}, // address format for MemCardPro. replace IP address with your MCP address
                      {"http://n64digital.local/gameid",0,0,0} // the last one in the list has no "," at the end
                      };

                                 // {"<GAMEID>","SVS PROFILE #"},
String gameDB[][2] = {{"00000000-00000000---00","7"}, // 7 is the "SVS PROFILE", would translate to a S7_<USER_DEFINED>.rt4 named profile under RT4K-SDcard/profile/SVS/
                      {"XSTATION","8"},               // XSTATION is the <GAMEID>
                      {"3E5055B6-2E92DA52-N-45","501"}, // N64 MarioKart 64
                      {"635A2BFF-8B022326-N-45","502"}, // N64 Mario 64
                      {"DCBC50D1-09FD1AA3-N-45","503"}, // N64 Goldeneye 007
                      {"492F4B61-04E5146A-N-45","504"}, // N64 Wave Race 64
                      {"SLUS-00214","10"}, // PS1 Ridge Racer Revolution
                      {"SCUS-94300","9"}}; // PS1 Ridge Racer

WiFi setup

WiFi is listed just below. ONLY compatible with 2.4GHz WiFi APs. Replace SSID and password with your network's. Make sure to not leave out the "" "" quotes.

WiFi.begin("SSID","password");

Thank you!

• Thanks to https://github.com/wakwak-koba for his fork of the EspUsbHost library. Without it, it would have taken much longer to figure out the usb communication bits.
• Huge thanks to @CielFricker249 / "Aru" on the RetroTink discord for the idea and testing of the Donut Dongle project as well!

TroubleShooting

The GREEN and BLUE leds indicate WiFi and usb serial/gameID lookup respectively. This should help diagnose as a first step.

After that, confirm the following:

• Configured Wifi settings in .ino.
  • Make sure it's to a 2.4GHz Wifi AP. 5GHz is NOT supported by the Arduino Nano ESP32.
• Have at least 1 gameID to profile in the gameDB
• Have at least 1 address in the consoles db that you can access with a web browser

If you are sure of these settings, and it still does not work, try the following to test the usb serial connection:

• Configure your Arduino Nano ESP32 with the provided "ClownCar_usb-only-test.ino". This is configured to only load "remote profile 8".

  • You can change the 8 to 1 - 9 if needed.

• Verify that everything is connected with your OTG adapter and has power.

• Press the reset button on top of the Arduino and within a couple of seconds it should load the remote profile.

  If this works, then there must be a wifi connectivity issue somewhere.

  Here is a video of the "usb only test" being performed: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XP7OSW7X0DQ