first off, i'll state that i am among the very inexperienced electronics enthusiasts (so i'd really appreciate a answer that won't go over my head). at the moment I am trying to hack a Logitech joystick (who knows what it will end up controlling in the long run, but i have several applications in mind already). anyhow, I've disassembled it and i'm simply trying to tap into each sensor separately (because i have no idea how to determine the pin-out or communication style that would normally connect to the computer). my problem is this, there are three wires (i'm not counting power and ground wires) connected to nine buttons (there are several small chips, each with three pins, on the board between the buttons and the wires). I've done some experimentation; but I've had no luck in determining how the readings change as buttons are pressed. has anyone seen any type of communication like this? is anyone willing to explain it to me?
A picture would probably help. I guess the three legged things are transistors? If It's not some type of communication protocol(probably not if there's no other chips in it), then the only thing I could think of would be some type of analog output. Maybe something like this