Tankstick MAX spinner and mouse-click functions

Useful Answer

Tankstick MAX does not need a console adapter when connecting directly to a Windows PC for MAME or other emulators. It connects to the PC with the included cables and appears as standard input devices.

Tankstick MAX does not include built-in games. It is an arcade controller, not a standalone game console. To play games, connect it to an external system such as a PC, Mac, or compatible console/adapter setup.

The controller ships in Mode 1 / Keyboard Mode by default, which is the standard mode for MAME and many arcade emulators.

Tankstick MAX uses separate connections for the joystick/buttons and the trackball/spinners. If the trackball or spinners do not appear, confirm that both cable paths are connected to the PC.

The trackball and spinner share a mouse-style interface. On a PC, this works well for MAME and similar software after mapping the emulator inputs. The red exit button on the latest Tankstick MAX reports as the trackball mouse's M3/middle-click button. The trackball and two spinners are internally connected through a USB hub; the single USB cable must be connected for them to work. The PS/2 connection does not carry the USB hub, so PS/2 alone will not support the trackball or spinners. On consoles, including PlayStation 3 and Xbox Series X, support for composite mouse-style input is game-dependent and restricted, so do not assume console software will detect or use the combined trackball/spinner mouse input unless that specific game supports USB mouse control.

On Xbox Series X/S, support has validated that Atari 50th Anniversary does not support Tankstick MAX trackball or spinner input because the game does not expose USB mouse control for those titles. A simple compatibility test is to plug a normal USB mouse into the console and check whether the game responds to mouse movement. One customer confirmed the Tankstick trackball worked in Halo Infinite, which reinforces that console trackball support is game-specific rather than a universal hardware guarantee.

For dual-stick console games, the required adapter path depends on the platform. On consoles, dual-stick mode requires the 2-in-1 or 5-in-1 adapter; without that adapter, the console may treat the sticks as separate controllers. On PC/MAME, an adapter is not needed; remap the game's inputs so one joystick handles movement and the other handles firing.

For Xbox dual-stick games such as Robotron 2084, enable the documented dual-stick mode and then map or test the game controls. One customer confirmed that Robotron worked on Xbox after following the dual-stick mode instructions.

Tankstick MAX includes the spinner booster and mixer functionality by default. A separate spinner booster or mixer kit is not needed.

Tankstick MAX spinners are not push/pull or push-button spinners. If a customer specifically needs a push/pull spinner for games such as TRON, support has suggested that it would require a custom modification, such as swapping to compatible third-party DOT-style spinners and routing their USB connections separately; this is more complicated than normal use and is not a stock Tankstick MAX feature.

The old standalone Trackball Spinner Mixer has been discontinued and is not expected to be restocked because the current hardware already has the mixer function integrated.

To confirm whether a customer's unit has the integrated mixer, plug it into a PC and check how the pointing devices appear:

For older units that still need mixer hardware, use the Spinner Booster Kit rather than the discontinued standalone Trackball Spinner Mixer. The booster kit includes mixer functionality and improves spinner sensitivity.

For older Tanksticks where a customer wants a cleaner single-cable PC setup after adding separate USB spinners, the Tri-Mode PCB does not directly support those spinners as internal inputs. A practical mod path is to mount a small USB hub inside the Tankstick, connect the trackball and spinners to that hub, and run one USB output from the hub to the PC.

Thunderstick Studio USB spinners can also be installed in an original Tankstick using the same general spinner integration guide. If the spinner is a separate USB device, connect it to the PC or to an internal USB hub mod rather than expecting the Tri-Mode PCB to read it as a native control input.

Arcade2TV-XR spinner modules can be adapted into an older dual Tankstick with trackball, but it is a modification project rather than a plug-in upgrade. The customer may need to drill two new holes or replace two existing buttons with the spinners, then add a separate hole/path for the spinner USB cable.

For two-player trackball games such as Marble Madness, a second USB trackball can be connected directly to the PC and mapped inside the emulator as the second player's trackball. It does not plug into the Tankstick as an expansion input. The 3-inch trackball is designed to be mounted in a control panel; loose tabletop use may slide around and feel unstable.

If the spinner works in MAME/RetroBat for arcade titles but not in Atari 2600 games such as Kaboom!, do not treat that as a hardware failure. Test the game through the Stella emulator or Stella-specific setup path, because Atari 2600 paddle/spinner support depends on the emulator's input handling. One confirmed case worked after following the Stella setup guidance.

If the spinner moves but in-game rotation feels reversed, nonlinear, or too fast/slow in MAME, adjust the game's MAME dial sensitivity / spinner turn-count settings before replacing hardware. For MAME spinner games, map the spinner to Dial rather than Paddle unless that specific game/core calls for paddle input. One Batocera / Raspberry Pi 5 case with 720 was resolved after correcting the MAME settings; another MAME setup started working after the customer changed the control from paddle to dial.

For Tankstick MAX units with the Spinner Sensitivity Boost Kit, use the current published installation guide and settings rather than older pre-release numbers. One beta/customer test case confirmed that the early 48-slot value was insufficient for high-count games, the boost kit improved the result, and Arkanoid and Tempest played correctly after the kit was installed and dialed in. If a customer is comparing older instructions against the public guide, treat the public guide as the current reference.

The Spinner Sensitivity Boost Kit is not a push/pull spinner upgrade. It increases sensitivity and adds mixer functionality for existing Tankstick MAX spinners; support described the boosted sensitivity as up to 1600 CPR.

For MAME spinner titles, support has specifically confirmed Tankstick MAX spinner compatibility with Forgotten Worlds and Midnight Resistance. For other rotary/spinner games such as Guerilla Wars, verify whether the MAME game/core exposes mouse-style control before promising compatibility.

In LaunchBox or MAME menus, the trackball behaves like a mouse and the upper flipper buttons can be used as mouse clicks. In one confirmed setup, the customer avoided interference by turning off the separate physical mouse and using the Tankstick trackball plus upper flipper buttons for menu selection. MAME in-game controls still need to be mapped inside MAME's TAB control menu.

For TeknoParrot setups where the Tankstick trackball is recognized but feels too fast or overreactive, tune it first as a Windows mouse: lower the Windows pointer speed and turn off Enhance pointer precision. One customer confirmed TeknoParrot games worked well after getting the sensitivity set properly.

The mouse-click functions are also built into the hardware. The upper side buttons are hard-mapped as mouse clicks for the trackball:

These mouse-click functions are fixed at the hardware level and cannot be reassigned.

The Tankstick MAX encoder does not provide extra unused I/O pins for adding more wired menu buttons. If a customer wants more menu functions such as save/load state, first map existing controls in the emulator. The upper left/right side buttons are mouse clicks, and the lower left/right side buttons are commonly used as select-style buttons.

Source Context

One customer asked whether Tankstick MAX already included spinner booster/mixer functionality and built-in mouse click functions. Support confirmed both are included and clarified that the upper side mouse-click buttons are fixed hardware mappings. Later pre-sales/setup questions confirmed that no adapter is needed for direct Windows PC/MAME use, that the unit ships with the required PC connection cables, and that Tankstick MAX does not include built-in games because it is a controller rather than a standalone console. Later setup questions added that PS3 and Xbox Series X support for combined trackball/spinner mouse input is game-dependent, while dual-stick console play requires the 2-in-1 or 5-in-1 adapter and PC/MAME dual-stick play is handled through emulator mapping. Later Xbox testing confirmed that Atari 50th Anniversary does not support Tankstick MAX trackball/spinner input, while Halo Infinite did respond to the Tankstick trackball; the same customer confirmed Robotron 2084 worked after dual-stick mode was enabled. Later Trackball Spinner Mixer inquiries confirmed that the standalone mixer was discontinued because the mixer function is integrated in current shipping hardware, and that customers can check one-mouse versus two-mouse detection on a PC to determine whether they need a Spinner Booster Kit. Later hardware-mod questions clarified that stock Tankstick MAX spinners are not push/pull spinners, that the Spinner Sensitivity Boost Kit is also not a push/pull upgrade, that older Tanksticks with separate USB spinner mods can use an internal USB hub for a cleaner single-cable PC setup, that original Tanksticks can use Thunderstick Studio USB spinners when installed as separate USB devices, and that adapting Arcade2TV-XR spinner modules into an older dual Tankstick requires drilling/replacing control holes plus routing a separate USB cable. A later two-player Marble Madness question confirmed that a second USB trackball should connect directly to the PC and be mapped in the emulator rather than plugging into the Tankstick. A later RetroBat case confirmed that Atari 2600 spinner titles such as Kaboom! may need the Stella emulator path even when the spinner already works correctly in MAME. Later MAME cases confirmed that incorrect dial sensitivity / spinner turn-count settings can make a working spinner feel wrong in games such as 720, and that spinner input should usually be mapped to Dial rather than Paddle. A Spinner Sensitivity Boost Kit beta/customer case confirmed that the kit resolved high-count spinner play after installation and tuning, with Arkanoid and Tempest reported as working correctly; support later clarified that the public boost-kit guide superseded earlier incorrect numbers and described the boosted sensitivity as up to 1600 CPR. A February 2025 MAME compatibility answer specifically confirmed Forgotten Worlds and Midnight Resistance, while leaving Guerilla Wars dependent on mouse-control support. A January 2025 LaunchBox/MAME case confirmed that keeping an external mouse off and using the Tankstick trackball plus upper flipper mouse-click buttons can prevent mouse interference while selecting games. A September 2024 TeknoParrot case confirmed that Windows mouse pointer-speed tuning can resolve overreactive trackball behavior because the trackball reports as a mouse.