Wiardgroup

hi Mike,
   this is probably best answered by prof. Richter himself but i measured my Joystick's current draw after i saw your post.
Here's the story:
My Joystick is a GR-1209..... NO "B" ...it is from the original (now discontinued) 1200 series so i can't guarantee that my circuit is EXACTLY identical to yours but i do know that Grant just used single transistor buffers on each vector. i tested it with the x & y vectors controlling the 'bank' and 'envelope' of an original 1200-series miniwave. In all states my meter showed that the draw was BELOW 1ma! (and my meter is not very reliable in the micro-amp range) This is hardly scientific or authoritative but it does indicate that the current draw of the Wiard joysticks themselves is: 'damn small'
I think it bears mentioning that a transistor buffer's current draw is going to vary with the input impedance of the controlled device.
best,
-doc