Hi guys, I am new here and have been carrying out some research on building my own custom stickless controller based on the contraption by the Duffer bros, the Hit Box. As a Newbie around here before making this post i tried browsing around to see if anyone had made the same inquiry and the discussions i saw which seemed like they were about my issue seemed to typically be from about 3-5 years ago and others didn’t seem to specify how this process would be carried out with a stock model TE2.
Now before you tear my ass hole open and crucify me please hear me out guys. I just want some help and am not trying to intentionally waste any of yall’s time or cause any arguments of any kind. I come to you on my knees begging for help and guidance from you whom have much knowledge in this field and am willing to be pointed in the right direction by those of you who would heed my call to aid. I understand some of what I may ask may seem obvious to those of you who are veterans in this stick modding/building community but please show mercy to me as i come to you humbly simply to ask that you assist me in my venture to create my own Stickless controller from my old TE2.
Here is some research i have already carried out on my own before posting. http://www.slagcoin.com/
From that i was able to ascertain that i will need the following :
a plan based on the Hitbox arcade design (Does anyone have one specifically for TE2 i could use?)
Here are some of the things i am curious about and am having a hard time understanding.
since i already have a working stock TE2 fighstick what extra wiring would i need to purchase on top of what is already within the gutts of the stick?
exactly what type of PCB is in the Madcatz TE2 considering it can switch between ps3 & PS4 at the flick of a button? I hear allot of talk about PS360+s and Cthulus and what not but I am confused about what the exact PCB is in this thing and can never seem to find a definitive answer. (of course this is probably due to my own ignorance and i’m sure not knowing what PCB my own fightstick is will already make me seem like an utter idiot, but please have mercy on me, i really do want to learn)
I hear people talking about SOCD cleaners and such and some will talk about how they are not necessary for certain PCBs and such but i wonder for the PS4 TE2 PCB is an SOCD cleaner still necessary? If so can anyone link me to the exact one i would need to use for the TE2 as i am having trouble understanding which one i should even buy and from where as most places seem to have them in a bundle or something with a PCB included. (Note i would want to have access to U+D= Up & L+R=Nuetral. Can i achieve this without an SOCD cleaner?)
apart from the aforementioned buttons and perhaps SOCD cleaner and Plexi/Metal casing is there anything else i will need to carry out this venture? what is the bullet point list of extra parts apart from the stock TE2 stuff that i will need to do all this? If anyone with extensive knowledge in the field could kindly just make a short bullet point list i would be happy to refer to it and purchase those necessary components on focus attack or wherever i can.
This is the thing i have had the most problems getting my head around, how do you go around removing your joystick and wires therein and then soldering those wires in such a way that the cardinal inputs can be carried out with buttons?
I cant seem to find a guide on just this process alone and this to me is what i feel is the most crucial part of the whole project. The steps from removing the stick, unwiring it somehow and then repurposing those wires onto some buttons. From my own research this is the closest i’ve seen to what i am trying to describe. http://s672.photobucket.com/user/theaxeman87/media/Killer%20Instinct%20Hitbox/34ED3AA3-A33A-49B0-901B-7A50AC3D9B5A_zpsltqqcjgq.jpg.html?sort=3&o=0
I can see that this fellow carried out what i’m describing, but how in the heck did he even do that in the first place? Its beyond my ken and i don’t even know how to google search it properly to get the right results in regards to any sort of guide on it.
For now these are my immediate inquiries and would appreciate any help and guidance you guys can offer me. All i ask is that you please not cast me to the flames for my ignorance on these things. i am really trying to understand this process and am willing to learn, but i cant seem to understand this stuff alone so have come to you for guidance. I apologise in advance for any ignorance on these matters on my part but i am willing to be educated and stand here before you ready to be taught.
For reference here is a stock image of the exact Madcatz TE2 i have:
I’ve made a few stickless controllers (3) but I’m not an expert and not at the level of the uber modders. This isn’t a hard mod but it’s not easy.
It seems that you’re new to modding so this might not be the right thing to start with. (Just being honest here)
If the stick is in good condition I’d suggest selling it and buying a Hitbox PS4 stick. You’ll have less headaches.
#1. https://www.focusattack.com/187-to-5-pin-conversion-harness/ plus the wiring and chips for the SOCD cleaner. Don’t mess with desoldering the existing JLF joystick. #2. It’s Madcatz PS4/PS3 pcb. #3. Yes, you need an SOCD cleaner. A guide to make one on your own can be found here. GUIDE: Preventing SOCD on any common-ground PCB by using 7400 chips #4. Nothing. #5. Just take that harness I mentioned above and attach it to the buttons. Splice the SOCD cleaner between the buttons and the PCB, is cut the cable and wire the buttons to the socd cleaner (swap up and down since they are reversed with a stickless layout) and then out of the socd cleaner go to the plug. Insert the plug into the joystick harness. Remember, you’ll need to tap VCC and GND for the SOCD cleaner. Leave the rest of the cables alone. If this doesn’t make sense I can come up with a graphic later tonight.
#5. Part 2.
Things that guy did and didn’t do.
[list=1]
[] He removed the joystick and the backing plate from the metal panel
[] He cut the joystick wiring harness and created his own quick disconnects for the directions.
[] He used the one ground from the harness to connect to the 4 buttons.
[] He drilled 3 new holes into the metal and through the art, 2x24mm holes and 1x30mm hole. Additionally he probably made the joystick stick’s existing hole bigger to fit the 24mm button for down.
[] He drilled 3 new holes through the plexi.
[] He didn’t add an SOCD cleaner (as shown but he might be using an aftermarket PCB)
[] He didn’t add another metal backing plate.
[] He didn’t switch the 8 punch / kick buttons for 24mm.
[/list]
That particular purchase is just the harness/wires right? i assume the SOCD is not included in that package, more specifically the ‘7400 Quad 2-input NAND Gate’ as recommended in the thread you posted about Anti-SOCD.
Can you please link me to one i should buy? also by what i’m reading i need two of these right?
on a side note - in case it is relevant in any way, i live in the UK.
No one, currently, sells an SOCD cleaner that is standalone. godlinkcontrols.com used to but they aren’t open currently and hadn’t been making one for a year or more.
My current problem now however is where can i obtain a METAL PANEL for my TE2 in the Hit Box button layout? I understand tek-innovations does make custom plexi’s but were does one go for the metal panel though?
When i checked the tek-innovations website i noticed this little note stating that the plexi they provide do not negate the need for a seperate metal panel, thus telling me i still need to get one even once i obtain a plexi:
According to this image it seems some people have replaced their metal panel with what seems like acrylic/plastic/thick plexi or whatever the hell this was they used in this image. I wonder if perhaps that will be the key to getting this done…
Perhaps people have found a way to just cut out a template of the metal panel and make a replacement of it out of a less difficult to work with material than metal, for example in this image it seems others have been using wood for this same purpose for regular custom fight stick builds from scratch but i wonder if this could be an option for my needs as well.
I think i found the right chip from a supplier in the UK, but as i’m not that knowledgable on these particular chips i’m just wondering if you could take a look at this link and let me know if its the same chip as the one you were suggesting. Also just to confirm, i need to but two of these don’t i? http://uk.rs-online.com/web/p/standard-logic-gates/0305490/
There is no active well-known supplier of metal replacement panels for the TE2 at the moment. @“Jasen Hicks” normally does them, but he’s deployed right now and his online store is closed for the time being.
There have been other metal-panel-sellers that have come and gone in the past, but all have stopped offering after a while.
Tek-Innovations offers complete plexi-top-panel replacements (ie, replacing the metal panel with a thick plexi) for the TE1 and the HRAP, but I don’t see a similar product for the TE2, unfortunately.
@FreedomGundam wasup dude, I think i may have found a solution for that particular problem now as i found some laser cutting services, carpenters and various other specialists in my area which may be able to assist me in my venture in regards to the issue of getting a replacement panel for my TE2 (for a pretty penny of course).
I plan to show them my old metal panel and asking them to make a similar panel with the same dimensions and thickness but out of a cheaper more easy to work material such as wood, thick acrylic or something. Of course i will have to get them to also cut button holes (11x 24mm & x1 30mm) in the Hitbox layout as well as the screw holes to allow the panel to be screwed back down onto the fight stick.
All in all it seems like 70% of all my issues in regards to knowledge have been solved by this discussion alone and my only issue now is waiting for everything i have ordered to arrive and then having to assemble the damn thing.
I just hope the project goes off without a hitch *fingers crossed.
quick question, i been away from this project for a while as i had to catch up on some university assignments but i just realized something. @Noryia You listed the VCC as a separate cable, does this mean i need to purchase a separate cable for this?
Also while doing some reading it seems some people were saying there are some PCBs where a VCC is either not used or is placed somewhere different - maybe i am misunderstanding what they are saying but it made me wonder, where on my TE2 PCB do i wire the VCC?
also will i need to buy a couple more wires to make the anti-socd wiring system work as there seems to be single wires somehow depicted in the diagram as diverging into multiple directions (Namely the Green & blue wires) which kind of has me scratching my head.
Yes, you’re going to need some wires to make it work. It’s good to have spares around when you are doing this stuff.
With regards to the VCC, yes you need it and it should come from the Mad Catz PCB. The SOCD Cleaner is powered so it needs a VCC line and a GND line along with the inputs and outputs. You’re tapping the GND from the joystick wiring but the VCC has to come from somewhere. In this case it would come from the PCB.
