http://shoryuken.com/f177/hori-real-arcade-pro-premium-vlx-v-series-template-thread-260298/#post9987234
Added my version of NRX’s V series template to the first post.
Anyone modded this with a PS360 PCB yet?
Want to make sure I retain Home/Guide and Back/Select functionality, but the board inside isn’t labeled well.
Also the USB connector on the V3 board has five pins, but the PS360 only has four.
Any help would be very much appreciated.
I like the V3 SA alright, but it is a bit more challenging to deal with than the older 3 SA/SE models.
For one, you’ve got artwork that has to be removed if you want to plexi the thing or put on different art. You didn’t have to do this with the HRAP 2 and 3 lines. You could keep the carbon fiber backgrounds and slap new art on top of the existing backgrounds THEN put on the plexi fine. The existing HRAP 2/3 art was thin and really accommodating to new art placement.
A second problem with the V3 SA that I’ve encountered recently is that in a few ways it’s NOT as friendly for joystick swaps. Yes, you can install the -01 lines of Seimitsu joysticks but be prepared for a few gotchas —
a) tight screw threads on the faceplate joystick mount;
b) you’re limited to two screws (middle holes) on the SS Mounting Plate (checked and verified!). That’s way different than the past 3SA/SE models where you could reuse all 4 OEM mounting screws and get very solid attachments of SS Mounting Plates;;
c) those screw threads just will NOT budge easy to allow you to sink screws in further on the middle screw points. I ended up putting three lock-washers apiece on the two screws that I could reuse to get a tight seal on the mounting plate… I
never had to do this with either the SA or SE joystick mounts;
d) you can pretty much forget using a power drill to install the screws tighter. I tried that and it just bounced off the screw heads! They were just not budging!
Very weird… Never happened in all the other times I used the drill to screw on mounting plates on the SA and SE sticks.
I know people are fans of the quick disconnect covers on this stick line but frankly I think they’re a pain to deal with. Taking the covers off didn’t work for me when I tried to remove the QD’s. I ended up removing the QD’s with covers on so that I could pop off six of the OEM 30mm white Sanwa’s off. The QD covers are attractive, but are just not mod-friendly. I figured out the technique to take them off (brute strength holding securely onto the QD covers – mini screwdriver didn’t work) and got in my black-rimmed red Sanwas anyhow.
IF you’re going to install an LS-32-01 or LS-40-01 in the V3 stick base, the orientation of the PCB harness connect point has to be AWAY from the buttons for correct directional inputs. That’s different than the way the PCB worked for me in my HRAP 3 SA stick swap. I could use the -32-01 5-pin harness connect pointing towards the buttons and still get the correct directional inputs…
With all that trouble, I really prefer the way my V3 SA looks now compared to the original appearance which was a bit generic. Also prefer the LS-32-01/-40-01 to the JLF. Those sticks work much better in general IMHO and are more amenable to playing retro fighters like Samurai Shodown, MvC2, and Super SF II Turbo HD Remix.
Even with the double-spring mod I did on my JLF’s they just don’t respond as crisply as the Seimitsus IMHO with respect to old-school 2D fighters.
P.S. – When I get around to it, I’ll post pictures of the LS-32-01/SS Mount position in the interior of the V3. Goes without saying I’ll also post pics of my ‘color-improved’ version of the V3!
V3 SA is OK with converter pro ?
thanks 
No mode select switch on 360 version
There is no switch to the right of the select button on the VX-SA (360 version) although every advertisement I saw for this stick (even the 360 version) talks about this functionality.
http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41Mxm9xyS9L.jpg
This picture from Amazon (who I ordered it from for $116 2 weeks ago) clearly shows the switch and its 3 positions to the right of the back button…
Man that sucks I guess they must have traded that functionality for the retarded effin xbox button & usb cord… what a sham.
Sad thing is that I’d have to pay $13 difference and probably shipping for a V3-SA replacement… The VX-SA is $20 more expensive now! Maybe I should pull the ol’ bait and switch card, lol.
I use the 360 version more on pc and it’s fantastic for emulation… (spent last night playing castlevania DS emulated on XP with this as the controller, it was pretty effin sweet!) I assume the PS3 version works just as well…
any folks using their V3-SA for pc with good results?
V3SA is still $100 at newegg with free shipping.
I dont think their price will ever go down, usually newegg is pretty firm on their prices unless another retailer tops them with a cheaper one.
But they are still out of stock.
Yea, my PC recognizes it as an hrap just fine and works with emulators
It’s a Hori stick. Hori PCB’s usually don’t have PC/Mac chipset problems like many of the Mad Catz sticks did.
They’re safe for emulators. Heck, I’ve used a modded Tekken 5 joystick with USB converters for MAME-play! That’s a PS2-era PCB…
does the xbox version of these sticks work perfectly with pc?
Yes, the VX should work fine with a PC.
Posting pics of my part-modded HRAP V3 SA. I just didn’t like the stock parts although the casing is my favorite mass-market case at the moment.
All buttons are Sanwa; joystick is Seimitsu LS-32-01. Due to money crunch, the black-rimmed Sanwas and the LS-32-01 were cannabalized from another stick mod project. Oh well, I’ll finish that one AGAIN in the future!
http://i956.photobucket.com/albums/ae47/GeorgeC1970/th_DCP_0828.jpg http://i956.photobucket.com/albums/ae47/GeorgeC1970/th_DCP_0829.jpg http://i956.photobucket.com/albums/ae47/GeorgeC1970/th_DCP_0833.jpg http://i956.photobucket.com/albums/ae47/GeorgeC1970/th_DCP_0834.jpg
Again, the SS Mounting Plate only lines up with the middle screw holes on the V3 joystick mount. The screws are a tight fit and I had to use 3 lock-washers to get a tight seal. Note orientation of the PCB here. The 5-pin connect is AWAY from the buttons. This is opposite the situation with the HRAP 3 SA. My closeup of the PCB area shows detail of the the middle screw area for the SS Mounting Plate. Believe me, the OEM screws of this joysticks are in there tight! The thread situation on the plate mount is among the tightest of all the joystick mounts I’ve had to deal with.
I think this is one area where Mad Catz really has a done better with on the TE series joysticks. I never had issues with tight screws or threads being as difficult as they are on at least 3 of my HRAP joysticks!
Screws not being tight on the MadCatz sticks is actually not a good thing. I’ve had cases in which heavy handed players will loosen the screws off the mounting plate, we’ve even lost a few when the red goop was stripped off. If they didn’t cover glue on all the threads I’d imagine many more sticks would have that issue. Hori doesnt need to cover shoddy quality by gluing every screw down.
It would be like saying a car was good for swapping out wheels because the lugs came off so easily, no thats not good.
Love the button color combo! I’m surprised you didn’t use button plugs on the last 2. As much as I wanna keep this, I need to sell it (it’s for sale in the trading outlet) so I can get the stick I’ve always wanted eversince it was announced (VLX).
Wasn’t really talking about the lugs… BUT, now that you mention it…!
Well aware of the Mad Catz cap socket hex nut retainer issue. All you can do there is take the stick case apart and glue the hex nuts in place. You really have to have the cap socket tightly screwed into place so that the hex nuts’ glue dries the hex nuts into a good, seated position. (I recommend at least a day for full glue curing.) It’s essentially the same thing I did for all my non-SA/SE HRAP cases to be able to install plexis and remove the faceplates without unscrewing 26-30 screws, nuts, and washers! The glue I’ve always used for this mod is heat gun glue. Totally removable if you really screw up and if it gets on screws threads no big deal… You can still easily unthread a cap screw out of a hex nut with some heat gun glue on the threads. Kind of hard to do that if JB weld or Gorilla Glue gets on the screw threads, though!
For all the nice design features the Mad Catz TE’s have, they sure have quality control problems on the production line! They haven’t come to bite me in the end ---- yet — but I still see too many threads and posts of complaints about somebody’s TE breaking or falling apart. The PCB’s and hex nuts falling out of position are just the top of the iceberg. Too bad… still a nice case design with the R1/R2 versions.
Makes me glad the Hori’s have held up so well!
Eh, I like having the last two button positions for macros in case I get tired playing. Some games like Mortal Kombat Vs DC also use the L1/L2’s, too.
I prefer the V3 over the VLX just because of space constraint issues and the neat side-carrying overhangs on the V3. I also think with the case size that the VLX should have been a two-player stick… I’m not going to tell anybody what to buy, though. It’s their money.
I went with my current button color combo just because I thought it would look classier than all-white. I may eventually install black 30mm Sanwas to shift out the remaining 30mm white buttons.
I’m generally not a fan of all-black cases because every darn piece of A/V equipment in the US is done in molded black! (Hate silver cases, too.) Drives me nuts. However, I’m also not generally a fan of white buttons because that’s what ever darn mass-market stick manufacturer uses, too!
I love the V3-SA…but I prefer the VLX over the V3-SA due to the sheer size, weight & metal panel of that bad boy, LOL! I don’t have space constraint issues so the VLX is a good size for me but to each their own.
They work perfectly with PC. One potential issue is if you have a USB microphone or headset as these do not act well with 360 peripherals, being that they have a headset port on them as well.
You can use the stock XP 360 drivers or XBCD’s custom drivers with them (if you want to remap the triggers on regular 360 controllers as buttons), you’ll just have to add the device_id for the VX-SA to the .inf file to make windows recognize it with the XBCD drivers.
NewEgg has been out of HRAP V3 SA sticks since December. I was able to order a V3 from an independent dealer for $105 shipped. Not too shabby! I can’t wait to give it a work out!
Milan
Maybe Newegg has been out since late December but I got mine shipped out the middle of that month…
They’re pretty reliable guys.
Fry’s is another place to check out, too. I got my last R1 PS3 TE from them in 2009. Paid around $100 for it.
I know this is the V3 thread but I have seen VX related stuff on this thread and also though users would like this info for dual modding.
I haven’t seen a pcb pic for the VX with the exact active/ground points so i thought this pic would be helpful.
I used this schematic for a dual mod that i recently completed and it uses the normal hori layout and the normal ps3 layout (the TE layout, the V3 layout etc), you won’t need to change the controller settings in SF but due to the stupid hori layout, you will on 360.
Hope you guys find it useful.
http://img27.imageshack.us/img27/3370/hrap3vxpcbedited2.th.jpg
