Light-up on activation button mod tutorial

Tech Talk
301

I had a chance to look at the circuit some more and I think a power NMOSFET in place of the NPN transistor would work. connect the gate of the nmos directly to 3.3V supply (remove 5K completely) and leave the 20K for pull down when the pcb is off. This will give the Hex inverter enough headroom to turn on.

302

So I opened her back up and found out what the problem was. The wire I used that wasn’t working was tinned or something at one end and for some reason, it acted as an insulator. I simply cut it off and stripped it to reveal some fresh copper strands and now it works perfectly. I still have 6 spots left for inputs and leds on my LED board, any suggestions? I originally planned on lighting up the 3 24mm buttons but then found out there isn’t a clear bezel or housing (only the top plunger is clear) for light to pass through, hence why I used an extra 74hct04. I could do the lit up clear ball top but hollowed shafts are $20 from LL and it’d be a while before I receive it, and I prefer bat tops.

I was thinking of using 4 LEDs for each joystick direction (1 for each button) and drilling 4 holes in the control board but not the art. So, you wouldn’t see the LEDs but you would be able to see the light shining through the art/paper when they are lit up.

303

I checked the 2n2222 datasheet and the Vce(SAT) varies from .4V to 1.6V depending on the base and collector currents. This only gives the hex inverter only 4.1V-2.9V. The 74HCT04 needs at least 4.5V Maybe pop another 1.5V battery in there?

304

Ok, I think I got this.

I have a Hori EX2 that I want to do this mod to.
I know that the PCB is non-Common Ground.

To make this LED Activation work, I am thinking that I can use multiple Hex Inverters.
One Hex Inverter for each respective Ground of the Hori EX2 PCB.

I haven’t desoldered the Buttons from PCB yet.
So I don’t know how many Grounds there will be.

I will probably need three Hex Inverters for the three Grounds of the six Buttons?

As for the +5V for each Hex Inverter. (I won’t be using Battery Pack, but USB/PCB power.)
I can just have the three VCC Legs connected to each other, and have one wire to +5V?

Thank you.

305

I have 2 questions:

  1. What buttons did you use?

  2. I am building a stick for my ps3. I am using the SIXAXIS pcb with AXISdapter. When i turn on my stick, I want the home button to stay lit. How would I do that?

  3. Can i hook this all up to my internal battery?

Damn… I guess I had 3 questions.

306

  1. Seimitsu PS-14-K. PS-14-KN works too

  2. Wire it up to your power source (with appropriate resistor) without the hex inverter

  3. Yes

307

Someone aught to put a multimeter or o-scope on the signal line when the diode is connected to it like in the very simple schematic we were given. If the PCB truly does have a pull-up resistor to 5V, this should be a non-issue.

308

I saw that rowbot did his SE, but is there any tutorials on how to light up on that stick? Or is it the same as any other stick?

309

I too have questions about LEDs with TE/SE sticks.

This mod specifies 6 buttons, I assume that adding the 2 other buttons from the MadCatz layout is do-able and just a matter of more wiring. Right?

I’m also interested in adding one of those light-up ball-tops, can this LED mod accommodate that too? (sounds like more wiring)

Lastly, I’m not too keen on the batteries as power source, I’ve read that folks are powering this LED mod through a Cthulhu. Can this impact functionality of the LEDs and/or the Cthulhu in any way?

310

Yes you can accommodate the two other buttons by using a 2nd IC chip and connecting the power source pins together, as well as the ground pins. http://img22.imageshack.us/img22/349/img0289.jpg The one I made is set up for 9 using the screw terminals, but it could accommodate up to 12 (I just didn’t buy enough screw terminals for 12 and only needed 9).

To add a light up ball-top I believe you just wire up each microswitch on the joystick to an input of the IC. You then hook up the LED to each output of the IC for the joystick. You’ll need a hollowed shaft, which is the expensive part.

It is being powered by Toodles’ Cthulu board and it works perfectly with the parts TingBoy recommended (resistor and LED from dealextreme). I even used 2 LEDs per button instead and hot glued them to the side of the microswitches (works much better than taping to their side, and I tried drilling with the 3/16" bit for the 5mm leds as kaytrim recommended but it seemed to be too big to me.)

311

Did I get ignored? Lol…I would love to do this to my SE Mad Catz stick, just don’t want to buy a Cthulu and then not need it…i just want to make my buttons light up…I found the orange LEDs, I just want to make sure this is possible on that stick…

312

I have a question about this.

How did you put the LED inside the button? is there any default hole for it?

313

No, you must drill a hole into the button.

314

Holy crap. is it hard?

Any tutorials about it?

315

I hotglued the LEDs to the side of the microswitches and it works well. I’ll take some pictures this weekend of how they are glued and how they look lit up. You can get a hot glue gun + 3 glue sticks from home depot for $5. You COULD drill but I deemed it too risky with the 5mm leds, with 3mm leds it shouldn’t be risky at all. Works really well imo, esp b/c I used 2 LEDs per button. Light is more uniform than the ones with only 1 LED imo.

With 5mm leds, kaytrim recommends using the 3/16 bit. I took the bit out and checked how it would fit on the button, and it was pretty much the size of the thickest part of the back of hte button, so I decided not to drill. If you used 3mm leds with the 1/8 bit it should be pretty safe/easy though.

316

If you’re using screw-ins, you’ll need to drill small holes for the legs of the LEDs. If you’re using snap-ins, you can stick them out of the open area next to the mounting tabs. See pictures below.


http://entertainment.webshots.com/photo/2259304770084014115cWdpbJ (my old wiring…fixed since then)

317

I’ll try to glue them, since it’s the most easy and most safe thing to do i guess.
Oh, i don’t have a home depot in my country! :rofl::rofl: BRland.

But, if i feel safe enough to drill the buttons, i’ll try. ^^
Thank you for the tip!

I bought screw ins… damm >_<

Can someone post some pics with drilled screw ins? Or can someone draw a scheme or something?
Thank you. :smiley:

318

I’m also trying to figure out how/where (precisely) to drill holes on my Seimitsu PS-14-KN screw ins to accomodate my LEDs without destroying them… Can I just use a regular drill with a very small bit? What size/type of bit should I look for and where on the button should I drill?

Also, I desperately need to purchase a Cthulhu board but Lizardlick isn’t taking orders. Does anyone here on the forums sell them? If so, I’d love to order one.

319

Hello…

got a quick question here…

ive done this mod on my test stick n pcb HFS3 and it works perfect…

now…

I wanted to implement this into my baby ( an Sixaxis Wireless PCB ) …

the thing is … the leds are always on … no ground on the pcb seams to work… is there any advice from anyone who did this mod on an sixaxis or dualshock pcb…

THANX i.a.

AWESOME Forum !!! thx comm…

http://img23.imageshack.us/img23/2437/drillpoints.th.jpg

for the hole drilling on a seimitsu screw in use a 3mm wood drill… i pre drill mine with an 1mm precision wood drill … works like a charm 4 me… be sure to not use to much strenght on the drill/dremel etc… just let it dive in … :wink:

320

HRAP 3 Ground Wire Question

I have an HRAP for xbox: http://www.amazon.com/Xbox-360-Real-Arcade-Pro-EX/dp/B001GDONZS/ref=sr_1_8?ie=UTF8&s=videogames&qid=1239390072&sr=8-8

I’m in the middle of wiring everything and can’t determine, out of the 2 quick disconnect wires that come off each button, which is the ground wire? I tried to decipher looking at the hrap pcb but still nothing.

Any tips would be much appreciated, thanks!