i have a problem…i installed a new joystick…all wires and grounds seemed to be attatched properly but for some reason when i turn game on it seems to be stuck in crouching mode…and when i hold the joystick down i stand up. any idea wuts wrong?
also i have a padhacked stick (dreamcast) and am trying to install a perfect360. where can i connect the power wire to. i was thinking of splicing it in one of the wires in the controller cord but dont know which one
I have a feeling you plugged in the disconnects to the wrong prongs. If you’re using a Happ stick, then connect the ground to the smallest prong and the other wire to the prong closest to the ground.
Edit: found the old picture about this problem.
http://img475.imageshack.us/img475/899/dsc04434uc2.jpg
The ground wires are already plugged in. Just plug in the other wires on the green prongs.
The trick to soldering is getting the parts hot enough that they melt solder. If only the tip of your iron is hot enough, all the solder will flow to the tip.
Anyone that has done some plumbing knows the same concept. You apply the flame about 1" or 2 from the joint and then apply the solder directly to the joint. As soon as it starts melting, it will fill the gap.
For small joints, I put a tiny bit of solder on the tip of the iron, and then have this drop touch both parts to be soldered. Next, you bring in the solder from the opposite side so that it can touch the pieces to be soldered ONLY. Do not let the solder touch the tip of the iron, that is wasted solder.
I know your supposed to tin the tip of a soldering iron so prevent it from oxidizing. However I guess I might not be doing it correctly but my tips usually get completly oxidized on one side and the tip. Like I said I guess I might not be doing it right, but also is there anyway for me to save the tip or do I have to get a new one?
Tips are usually quite cheap actually
anyways i use sandpaper and try to clean everything off the tip
Thank you I figured I could probably do something like that, I just wanted to make sure.
is there a way to spot a cold solder joint? the hdmi output on my PS3 doesn’t work and apparently PS3s have been known to have bad solders on the hdmi output.
I hope someone can answer this, but worst situation will be just reheating all of the solder points for the HDMI output =P
Hey a little tip before solderiing is to buy a pen eraser. They work great at cleaning the areas you’ll be soldering, and can sometimes save you a lot of trouble getting the solder to stick. Also, especially if you use flux, make sure to take an acid brush and isopropal alcohol to your work after you finish. flux can corrode given time, and can cause problems to pop up later on.
To who was asking about wet solder joints. Your solder joint should look “wet” and shiny. If its grey and dull, or has deep pivots, you could end up with a cold solder joint.
And you should tin your tip anytime you put it down. It doesn’t have to be a giant ball of solder, just let some flow on the whole time. Its a good idea to put some solder on your tip right before you go to solder, as it promotes heat transfer.
If your tip has oxidized, keep applying solder anywhere you can get it to stick and wipe it off. You may also have to take a brush to it. They make cleaners to help with this, and it just seems like steel wool. It might take some time, apply solder when you can get it to stick, brush, repeat, but usually you can get it back.
Hope this helps some of you
I’m about to do my first joystick as soon as I get my parts 
I mistakenly left my soldering iron on for about 20 minutes at roughly 30w (it’s adjustable)
Now my solder will absolutely not stick to the tip of my iron.
Can I sand it down and get it back to normal?
i have a piece of steel wool handy
it helps clean the tip and keep it in good working order
I had a scotch pad kicking around from my renovations, I just ran it over a few times and the tip is back to normal
Thanks!
yeah no problem
glad that helped
Welp, ffs…
I’m trying to solder onto the Up direction on my old style wireless pad… but the microscopic point that I’m supposed to solder to just peels right off the board with little or no effort.
Once that little contact gets peeled, is the pad pooched?
How am I supposed to solder to a point that’s almost smaller than my wire?
I’ve been tinning the wire a little, then trying to tin the little contact too, then join them together, like slagcoin recommended, but just the slightest shake in my hand and the contacts get torn off.
Maybe I should just buy a hacked pad - I’m so sad!
You can solder directly to the trace itself. Or follow the trace and solder to wherever it leads.
Hmm i had a little trouble like that with the first 2 solder points on the gamestop/madcatz pad, i just used a rasor blade to give it a little bit of a rough surface and scratch away anything that might be keeping it from contacting but not too hard or too much… but that could mess up the board if done wrong. im no pro at this so take my advice with caution. Another thing that i can suggest it to almost tap the solder point just long enough to get the wire connected. It will probably take a few tries. I know what you mean by hands shaking… I paint miniatures and my hands dont shake as bad as when i solder
I had to completely scrape all the black shit off the contacts first, it otherwise seemed to melt and make it impossible to weld the solder to the contact.
fortunately this whole thing is just a learning process for me at the moment, my real buttons and the pad I’m going to end up using haven’t arrived yet 
ok thats good
yeah i have soldered PS2 stick and my first attempt at a 360 stick turned out just fine. its just like the PS2 board in some ways
I h8 soldering!