Mini Analog Thumbstick – Similar to Joycon Style

Sometimes a simple analogue control device can be the perfect tactile solution for your project, but they can be surprisingly hard to come by. Luckily we’ve got a low-cost, quality Mini Analog Thumbstick (Joycon Style) to fulfil your directional analogue input needs!

This is a small joystick with a black rocker cap, similar to the ones used in Nintendo joycons. Note: it is NOT a replacement for Switch Joycons, it just has the same feel and sizing. The joystick is a ‘self-centering’ analogue type. It is comprised of two 10KΩ potentiometers, one for up / down and another for left/right. There’s also a centre ‘press’ tactile button for selection.

You can solder the potentiometer pins onto a custom breakout board if you so choose – note it is 2mm pitch, not 2.54 so not breadboard-friendly.

When fully assembled and functioning, the voltage will follow the motion of the thumbstick as it is moved around. When you release the thumbstick it will centre itself. Great for robotics and other control interfaces!

Resources

• For a tutorial on how to read analogue joysticks with Arduino, check out this tutorial
• For a tutorial on how to read analogue joysticks with CircuitPython, our analogue-input guide should be used – a joystick is just two potentiometers in one plastic case.
• Diagram