Irrelevant now.
Just to clarify on some of the concepts which Darksakul has mentioned, what he is referring to as ālow logicā and āhigh logicā are commonly called ālow sideā and āhigh sideā respectively. A low side switching IC or circuit operates between the signal and negative voltage (or ground) whereas high side operates between the signal and positive voltage (commonly VCC, +5V on USB, for example). If your controller is expecting a button input to be registered by shorting the signal line to ground, then the switch is a low side switch. Alternatively, if your input is shorting signal to voltage, the button is considered a high side switch.
The terminology is more important when you get into digital switching, controlled by various ICs or microprocessors (an LED driver IC is a good example of how this might be used).
Another note; when a board is referred to as common ground it means that all of the inputs are registered by shorting their various respective signal lines to the same ground (low).
Some boards, in rare instances, may be common high, but generally when you do not have a common ground board it is because there are multiple āreference groundsā.
Ground is simply a relative term we use to describe a path through which a current can travel, but which carries a resistance varying per design. Earth ground, for instance, is approximately 1MOhm (1 million Ohms) and is often interchanged with infinite resistance because it is almost impossible for a current to travel through a conductor with such high resistance, and the voltage (difference between the signal and ground) is effectively made to be zero. Imagine trying to complete a circuit by using soil as a conductor, essentially the same idea; the circuit is open, so the voltage of the circuit is zero because no current can flow. There are some nuances, but they arenāt important for the moment.
When you have multiple reference grounds, you can have different inputs going to the same signal line on a controllerās PCB. Where you originally might have had earth ground be your only reference and you could only use one signal line per input because the same input would be registered, regardless of what button would be completing that circuit. Now take 6 buttons on different reference grounds; letās arbitrarily pick different resistances far enough apart from each other that they could be reliably interpreted (try 30Ohm, 100Ohm, 300Ohm, 1kOhm, 3kOhm, 10kOhm). Each button has a different resistance assigned to its own ground line, which necessitates that it always be connected to that specific reference ground (whereas we could freely swap them with common ground). When the button with a reference ground of 1kOhm is pressed, the chip on the controller will see a 1kOhm resistance and interpret that as button 4. Any of the other buttons could be pressed and the resistance sent along the same signal conductor to the chip, and the chip could correctly interpret each (even with simultaneous presses, as the resistance would add in a predictable manner). If one does this for every major group of buttons of a controller, they can possibly save on manufacturing costs by purchasing a chip with less input/signal pins.
Also, I should clarify that analog and digital are fundamentally very different in terms of signal structure. In analog signals, there is no stepping, only a smooth and continuous range of values which is infinitely divisible. An analog stick reports a voltage via the wiper pin of either axis which will shift smoothly between the voltage it is supplied and ground. In neutral position, it is at the average voltage of positive and negative voltage (just voltage divided by two, assuming we have ground as negative voltage).
By contrast, a d-pad, which sends boolean (on/off) signals is not capable of sending any range. To reiterate, analog signals are continuous and involve an infinite amount of steps, whereas digital signals (at their base) involve one step.
@SirAlucardā
The spring goes between the actuator and the spring pressure plate.
Most solder sold in the US is lead free. damn FDA. 
Dangerous stuff gets the job done, first rule of working with chemicals (and many other things). I have my ways ;).
I have a question regarding the Killer Instinct TE2 XBOX One arcade stick. I was watching one of the videos from Markman - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=on4xiEI9TP4&list=UUY1QTCRwletLhK6Ya9OPd2g to be specific and it shows them installing Gamerfinger Buttons into the stick. I had previously installed these in one of my old Round 1 TEās and while the fit was extremely tight, they did ultimately fit in the case without a problem. When I removed them and decided to put them into my TE2, they donāt seem to fit correctly. The Sanwa buttons seem to be slightly wider at the top of the button so the rim ever so slightly sits on the plexiglass and the snaps properly snap into the stick. With the Gamerfinger buttons, the buttons will snap into the stick but it seems like they are somehow further sunken in than they should be and they are loose, they will spin in a circle. There is space between the button rim and the snap which seems to be causing the button to be loose. What I was wondering is if I need to purchase a TE2 replacement plexiglass panel from Tek-Innovations - http://tek-innovations.mediathree.net/arthobbies/index.cfm?loc=products&cat=21&subcat=&item=190 in order to use the Gamerfinger buttons for this particular stick. Is there a difference between the Killer Instinct TE2 and say a 360 TE2 as far as button holes? Just not really understanding why these wonāt fit seeing as they are both 30mm holes yet the TE2 holes are definitely slightly bigger for one reason or another. Any help or suggestions with how to achieve this would be much appreciated.
I donāt think its the FDA that banned leaded solder.
There no actual ban in the US, there is a ban in the EU.
Its just easier for international manufacturers to make only one version of a product instead of 2, a lead and non lead versions.
My issue with unleaded solder is not health, environmental, or that unleaded solder sucks for soldering.
its tin whiskers
Thanks for the answers for the temp! I have two last questions in regards to the IMP + Rock candy pad dualmod. How do I hook up the directionals? Do I need to somehow split the wires for the directional stick? Also, How do I attach the Home button so it will still work? Do I solder under the actual home button or is there a way to solder to the home button without taking the button out?
Look again on the PS3 TE PCB (much easier to see detail on the full size one). On the bottom left of the PCB it has all 4 directionals and a ground.
In order from left to right:----------- ground, right, left, up, down------------
Theyāre labeled GND, R, L, U, D.
On the bottom of the PCB is the ribbon cable that attaches to the joystick. You can leave that alone, but right on those markings on the top, youāll have to solder the 360 PCB directionals to the correct solder point on the top.
I really hope you do well with this, but honestly this isnāt something for a beginner to do and you might want to just hire a modder around your local area to do it or perhaps ship to @Gummo or @Vicko depending on what coast youāre on (East/West)
Hopefully you have some solder experience already. And if you donāt have one already, you will NEED a multimeter to test which points are ground and signal on the 360 Rock Candy pad (you are using a Rock Candy pad right?).
Good luck again.
Was wondering if anyone can help me do a bit of troubleshooting? I picked up my copy of Xrd for PS3 yesterday, and I have a dual modded TE first edition with a T. Easy Strike (phreakmods.com/products/teasy-strike) that @phreakazoid did a couple years back for me. I donāt often play on PS3, itās been almost a year since the last time I remember using my stick on a PS3 successfully. This may very well be a matter of user error, but when I plug the stick in and start up the system, the xbox guide button will flash continually. Now itās my understanding that hitting start and select at the same time should act as the home button.
After hitting start+select, the guide button will stop flashing but I do not get any control over the PS3, at best I get āunrecognized USB deviceā. Iāve tried various combinations of starting the system with it plugged in, not plugged in, LS, RS and DP modes, holding start+select on start up and still at best, āunrecognized USB deviceā.
Now Iāve checked the website, and it does mention a firmware update to 3.3.0, but also mentions a bug and not to install it.
"Firmware:
If the installation is successful, but you donāt seem to have the latest firmware. I suggest going to the above link, grabbing the latest FW release and updating by holding Start when you plug your Fightstick into your PC and run the update_firmware_168.bat file. Exact directions are in the documentation if youāre unclear on something.
***Note, do NOT update to the latest (3.3.0) firmware. If you have 3.2.0 (the firmware I ship with, it should come up in the above tests) leave it be and just use the 3.2.0 configuration editor for the below operation. There is a bug in the latest firmware Iām having Mephisto look into, sorry for the inconvenience."
Checked the link and the firmware has now been updated to 3.3.1, but I canāt find any mention of whether the issue is resolved (though I may have just missed it).
Hoping I just need to update the firmware, but any advice would be appreciated.
Mr Castle, the photo schematics that youāre putting together are awesome. Keep it up!
I wonder if the Pogo pins on the T.Easy Strike is misaligned
I will certainly check that when I get home from work, thanks.
Edit: It looks like this guy was having similar issues, but I am able to play on 360 and PC without much issue, takes a sec for the stick to register sometimes.
Iām reading about precise joysticks and buttons, and at the moment seems korean parts are better this area. And about the Horiās parts? Them are more precise than korean parts?
I feel like english may not be your first language, so your idea of precise may be more towards the meaning of sensitive.
Check out these links on slag coin and maybe refine your question.
http://www.slagcoin.com/joystick/restrictors.html
http://www.slagcoin.com/joystick/attributes_brands.html
Iām building an arcade stick box out of MDF. Ideally, how thick should the walls be?
Support walls, whatever you need for room. Thicker might be easier to work with and allow for mistakes. 1/2" (12.7mm) should be plenty
Top plates depends on the stick youāre trying to use, if you use screw in buttons you have a lot of play. I think standard is 1/8" (3.1750mm)
@Darksakul
All connections seem to be fine, can you illustrate or would you like some pics of my set up so we both know what weāre looking at.
@Phreakazoidā, sorry to flag you again but are you going to be at any Chicago gatherings this weekend? Maybe you and I can figure it out, I will compensate you for your time, especially if itās user error.
Lookihg for te 2 art work any threads made?
Thanks for the reply.
Try checking the Art Thread. I believe they might have some up 