Analog joystick

Two potentiometers and a button in one stick: two ADC channels and one digital input.

Parts in the example:

Joystick
RGB LED

The Joystick block as it appears on the canvas.

What it is

The KY-023 joystick module is two potentiometers at right angles, moved by the stick, plus a push button you reach by pressing the stick down. At rest both wipers sit in the middle, so a resting joystick reads about 2048 on each axis; the button is a normal contact to ground.

In the simulator

The block is the module seen from above. Drag the cap: it moves within a circle, like the real lever, and both readings follow; release it and it springs back to the center. Press SW for the button. The Y axis setting flips the direction of Y — modules on the market disagree about which way is up, and here you match yours.

Pins

Pin	What it is
VX	X axis — to a GPIO with an ADC
VY	Y axis — to a GPIO with an ADC
SW	the stick's push button — to a GPIO (LOW when pressed)
3V3	power — to a 3V3 symbol
GND	ground — to a GND symbol

Wiring

The circuit below is the example RGB LED colors with a joystick from the lab — open it with Project → Open example… and it comes ready to run.

Joystick pin	Goes to
VX	D34 on the board (GPIO 34)
VY	D35 on the board (GPIO 35)
SW	D33 on the board (GPIO 33)
3V3	a 3V3 symbol
GND	a GND symbol

Settings

Double-click the block's title bar to open its card, then the Settings tab. Changes apply to the running simulation right away.

Setting	Accepts	Default	Notes
Y axis	Normal (up = lower) · Inverted (up = higher)	Normal (up = lower)	Joystick modules disagree on the Y axis direction; here you match yours.

Code

sketch.cpp

#include <Arduino.h>

const int VX = 34;   // joystick X axis (ADC)
const int VY = 35;   // Y axis (ADC)
const int SW = 33;   // joystick button
const int R = 25, G = 26, B = 27;

void setup() {
  Serial.begin(115200);
  pinMode(R, OUTPUT); pinMode(G, OUTPUT); pinMode(B, OUTPUT);
  pinMode(SW, INPUT_PULLUP);
}

void loop() {
  int x = analogRead(VX);          // 0..4095, at rest ~2048
  int y = analogRead(VY);
  bool apertado = digitalRead(SW) == LOW;

  digitalWrite(R, x > 2800 ? HIGH : LOW);
  digitalWrite(B, y > 2800 ? HIGH : LOW);
  digitalWrite(G, apertado ? HIGH : LOW);

  Serial.printf("x=%d y=%d button=%d\n", x, y, apertado);
  delay(100);
}

Two analogRead calls and one digitalRead with the pull-up on. The example compares each axis with 2800 to decide whether a channel of the RGB LED lights; the button lights green.

Run it

Press Build and run. The first build of a project takes a while; after that, only what changed is rebuilt.

The simulation running: the canvas reacts and the serial monitor shows what the code prints.

Drag the cap to the right: red. Drag it up: blue. Press SW: green. The serial monitor prints x, y and the button on every pass.

How the simulation models it

X and Y are ADC counts from 0 to 4095, 2048 at the center, following the cap linearly along each axis; the cap's travel is circular, so full deflection on both axes at once is not possible — as on the real lever.
SW drives its pin like a button: HIGH at rest, LOW while pressed.
Both axes are sent at start-up as 2048, so a sketch that calibrates the center on boot sees a centered stick.

Try this

Print the direction as text (“north”, “south-east”…) instead of numbers, using a dead zone around the center.
Drive the servo of another example with the X axis.