Im going to use an AXISdapter and a sixaxis to make my hrap3 wireless, but i want to use start+select as the home button. can someone link me to a thread that explains this? i’ve searhed but i must suck with search terms because i cant find it.
I believe it can’t be done.
If it doesn’t work… I believe pressing Up+Select works as the home button.
Well for PS2 sticks that’s how it is… Not sure if it will change if you use a PS3 pad.
I figured how to do this with a few simple components. I’ll have it up on my website within hopefully a couple weeks. There is a lot of stuff I’m busy with right now.
Nice!
cant wait
With an AXISdapter? I gotta see this…
i hope this isnt too complicated to do, i really dont want to put an extra hole in the hrap3 case to add a ps home button
Eh, it might be a while before I get the update done.
I’ve been screwing around with many electronic components figuring out different things. Doing this stuff is some of that.
The Sixaxis/DS3 is a multiple common PCB. The commons are around 2.5V. Most of the signals are around 2.3V, making them not viable for this. The digital signal lines, including start, select, and home, are around 0V, making them able to work with this, and they work off any common. When signal and common lines make contact, the higher 2.5V of the common dominates.

The first method can use any number of buttons to engage another button, though one NPN transistor is required for each combining button. Emitters and collectors are chained together on the transistors. The 100K resistor is necessary on the bases because the normal strength can reach and engage the emitter on its own (100K might only be needed on the transistor attached to the target’s signal line). Only when all the buttons are engaged can the common finally reach the target signal. This method can also be used for common ground PCBs, but PNP transistors and 1.0K-10K resistors should be used, and the signal line goes on the dangling collector, and the ground line goes on the dangling emitter instead.

The second method uses specifically two buttons to engage one. The 1.0K resistor is used on the collector because it should not be inhibited too much (haven’t tried a 10K for this yet). Only when the base is engaged and the common is fed through an engaged signal line will the emitter receive its common. Hmmm, I’m wonding now if this will work with a common ground PCB using a PNP transistor; haven’t tried that.
Edit: Now that I’ve posted and looked at things, I’m not too sure all the resistors are necessary. I probably need to do more testing. I’m pretty sure that the 100K resistors on the bases are necessary for the Sixaxis/DS3 though. It is probably a good idea though that the signal line be separated using a resistor in all cases anyways. And resistors should be used on bases in general so you do not harm the transistor.
im pretty much a noob when it comes to transistors and resistors, but i think i can handle this as long as i can manager to find the parts needed. have you physically tried these yet or are these theoretical?
dam slagcoin ur something like a beast…
Yeah, I’ve physically done this, though only on a DS3 plugged into a PC. Don’t have a PS3 around right now. I do not see why it would not work with a Sixaxis plugged into a PS3 or battery though. We’ll see what Toodles thinks I guess. I also just noticed in the second method the collector signal line probably makes contact with the emitter signal line when the base signal line engages; not sure if this causes any problems.
Are you sure ‘Any signal lines’ is accurate for the buttons on the left? If both the signal line and their respective commons for the main 12 inputs (dpad, face buttons, triggers) are all in the 2.? (my measurements were in the 2.7v range,and pressing a button changed the voltage by like 0.02v, but for this I think we can both agree that the voltages on both lines are well over two) range, then how would the transistors react different with the line going from (your numbers) of 2.3v to 2.5v?
Hmmm, theoretically speaking those are good points. The logic is definitely there for Start and Select engaging Home, right? I have not done a ton of work on this admittedly. But I started taking out the Select and Start and putting in other things like Down and Square and it was still working; the logic is there for them on the collector (right?), but they were working on the base too; guess I cannot explain those exactly right now, but they did work with this.
Just tried on PS3 pad, doesn’t work.
Can you tell us specifically which signal lines and common lines you used, and whether the blue and black lines represent which signal and common?
It’d probably be easier for me to understand if we were talking about 0v signal lines and 2.?v common lines.
im just curious, what do the resistors do? keep the signal going one way?
The pushbuttons are on the left in the diagrams; the black wires to the pushbuttons are commons, the blue wires are signals; branches are made from the signal wires to the resistors to the transistors. I’ve actually been thinking of starting a thread to develop a universally agreed set of color-coding; like black for ground, red for voltage, and maybe blue for signal (I do not want red for signal because of VCC, or green for signal because it gets blurred in green PCB diagrams).
The signal lines on the left I think will work with any standard signal line, which includes Up, Down, Left, Right, L1, L2, R1, R2, X, O, Triangle, Square, Select, Start, and Home; I’ve tried Start, Home, Select, Down, and Square so far, guess I’ll try them all in variations. I’ll do more testing, and maybe catalog more voltages. I’m not sure why the non-digital signals function in bases as they have so far; maybe the common has stronger current or something.
That’s to be expected; PS3 pads are not built with this feature, but things like the Cthulhu and converters have this kind of feature.
They do a few things. One thing is that transistors are sensative; it’s often good to put them at the bases so they do not get damaged. Another thing is they can influence the movement and interaction of voltages and currents; they can make it so branching components do not so much affect the root lines, and they can ensure the direction of the flow through the transistors is correct. And in the case of this design, the larger resistors prevent too much voltage (which these signal lines naturally have) in the bases from engaging the transistors when the signal lines are not in contact with the common lines.
thanks for the education. where do you pick up the resistors and transistors? i was searching my local electronics supply (i usually go to their store, but just discovered they have a website) and i couldnt find “resistor” or “switching transistor” maybe their online store doesnt have their full inventory.