Agetech mod to xbox 360 using madcatz live joystick

Tech Talk
1

I’m looking to mod my dreamcast agetech arcade stick to work with only the Xbox 360 with Sanwa Joystick and Buttons. This will be my first mod, i was wondering if anyone has a simple guide for hacking/wiring a madcatz live arcade stick? i have no knowledge about pcb’s.

Or would someone in the UK be able to do the mod for me if i supply the agetech shell, pcb, joystick and buttons?

i have used the search function, and have found the circuit diagram for it, but i still dont quite understand what needs to be done. :confused:

Thanks

Chenman

2

Use the red circle next to the up button as ground.

3

Would i just solder a wire from the red circle next to the up button to the red circle next to the right button?

4

No you’re just going to solder a wire next to the up button for ground. From there you’re going to daisy chain it to all the buttons and the joystick.

5

Oh right, so its just one wire connecting to all the ground points for the buttons and joystick.

Has anyone got a zoomed in picture of it connected up to the buttons and joystick?

6

What do i need to do if i dont need the Left and Right triggers?

7

Stupid question : can someone explain the “set the triggers to neutral” ? doesn’t it mean I can then solder a button directly to the LT/RT and it’ll work ? or it negates the triggers ? (I thought I’d have to use resistors to have the triggers turn “digital” and set on 0 if not pressed)

what’s LC, RC ? and the U in “GU”

Edit: yeah I know, I was just wandering about the “U”

8

not sure what LC and RC is, but GU is just Guide button if im correct. Its the Xbox button.

9

If i were to get the following parts, would it be ok?

Sanwa OBSF-30, green x 6
JLF-TP-8YT (Sanwa)
Sanwa Restrictor GT-Y
Stickharness JLF-H
Seimitsu Ball LB-39, clear-green
Sanwa OBSF-30, white x 2 (Trigger buttons) ~Needed??
Seimitsu PS-14-K, clear x 1 (Guide button)
Seimitsu PS-14-D-BK, white (Back button)
Seimitsu PS-14-D-BK, red (Start button)

Is there anything else i would need, other then a wired pcb?

10

Youre pretty much all set with the items you listed.

11

Good luck trying to get that PCB into an agetec. It doesn’t come anywhere close to fitting.

12

Tetsuosan&crackbone> did you use one of those pcbs for a mod ? can give me your input on hacking the triggers ? (8btns stick)

13

I don’t hack triggers. They’re such a pain to hack. What I usually do is hack the bumpers and call it a day, but if you really need them go to slagcoin.com and it’ll give you a great guide on how to use resistors to turn the analog triggers to a digital signal.

14

Hey Chenman. I actually recently did this same mod. I had an old Agetec DC stick in my garage and needed a controller for SSF2THDR. It is a tight fit. I basically hacked everything off that I could from the Madcatz Arcade PCB to make it lower profile. Removed the plastic analog sticks, dremeled off the small metal rods from the sticks, bent off the small boards for the L/R bumpers (you can just wire to the solder pads on the board). Also, broke off the L/R plastic assemblies for the triggers on the underside of the PCB (I had didn’t plan to use those buttons ever).

Lastly, I used electrical tape on the inside surface of the bottom metal place for the Agetec controller to prevent short circuits.

-Reeboblue (BTW-this is my first post, but I have received some great info from the posts here!)

15

thanks reeboblue, that sounds like alot of work especially since im not really clued up with PCBs. Might even try get someone in the UK to help me mod it instead.

16

No prob Chenman. Yeah, if you’ve never soldered or modded before might want to have someone help you out. All it takes is one slip up to burn through a trace or solder pad and you’re forced to get a new PCB ;). (Speaking from experience)

17

Just a few additional questions on this topic…

Do I need to do anything special with the wires connecting the rumble thingy, or can i just remove and forget?

I’ve looked but im yet to find a step by step guide to hacking this pcb. I’m not entirely sure about daisy chaining from the common ground, can anyone point me to a guide or offer advice on exactly how I go about doing this?

Thanks

18

You don’t really need the triggers so I would just leave them alone. I left them on mine they serve as a platform for the PCB inside the case.

Edit: Daisychaining. You only run one ground from the PCB but connect it to each button so that they all share the ground from a single wire.
Here is a pic this is actually using the same madcatz joystick you plan on using.

19

Awesome. So on the pcb, you just leave the second solder point blank, and just have the signal connected to the button?

Also, what did you do about the stupid rumble thing, just remove it completely?

20

thats correct, the ground is ‘common’ so can be used for all buttons in a daisy chain

just remove the rumble motor and its wires at the pcb, u can snip them at the board and *drop a little solder in the holes to tidy it up

*(not necessary but its neater and more failsafe)

these pcbs do fit in the agetec case but you have to chop 2 base plate support legs down

http://img25.imageshack.us/img25/4758/ageteclolstickpcb.th.jpg

you can then sit the board on these (try to get them levelling when you cut em) and then hot glue the cyclinders to hold it in place