Kuro buttons would install the same way Sanwa buttons would.
Hello, my fellow mods! It is I, ROTENDO!
Been ages since I posted in a stick modding thread, let alone Tech Talk. Sup, Matt!
Okay, So I was at Fryās today to buy the HRAP for the PS4. They had 2 in the inventory, but they couldnāt find it. Turns out that they actually sold the last two earlier that day, so my hour drive was a waste. Sort of.
I saw that they had the new SFV pads available for sale and the Alpha stick for $80. A bit pricey for the size, as the SE was bigger, had the sheet metal panel/mount for the JLF and can fit any other push buttons in there. Iām just going to assume that itās because itās dual compatible, but I forked over the monies anyway. Only because they had nothing else in stock for the PS4, sadly. Figured I can mod this one or use the PCB in another of my Mad Catz stick.
So I opened it up, 7 screws total, 1 behind the label.
Wires are soldered onto the push buttons and the ground is daisy chained.
If you want to crimp on female quick-disconnect, the clearance is barely enough, but you may want or have to slightly bend the posts, as Gummo suggested.
Iāve took pictures, but will post them later.
Too light for my taste and I can palm this bad boy. There isnāt enough space to add some weight to it unless youāre going to attach sheet metal to the bottom.
The Alpha stick is perfect for someone new to fighters and wanting to play on an arcade stick instead of on pad.
My plans for this stick is to use the PCBs as it is dual compatible for PS3/PS4. So Iāll be replacing the PCB for one of my PS3 Mad Catz stick and installing an external switch (probably inside the cable storage)
For those considering purchasing the Alpha over the TE2 or the TE-S due to cost. Iād probably hold off and save your money to get the TE2 or TE-S, unless you donāt mind the size, weight and feel of the buttons and joystick. It gets the job done though 
I finally got the Alpha today and went to work on it, I ended up not using the spring terminals and instead spliced the wires with ones with pins so I could just put those in the breadboard. It may seem kinda silly because I tinned them and the effort was greater than just soldering straight to the buttons, but I didnāt want to do that because the cables are too short. Here is the process.
Hereās the tiny box next to some JLF parts: [details=Spoiler]
http://i.imgur.com/Aq3XqFn.jpg[/details]
Straight out of the box. Stick and buttons didnāt feel good to me at all and the plastic case makes them sound horrible: [details=Spoiler]
http://i.imgur.com/TJ2daEh.jpg[/details]
The ball topās screw in part actually protrudes from it. Looks very bad. [details=Spoiler]
http://i.imgur.com/WumRKwc.jpg[/details]
Stock insides: [details=Spoiler]
http://i.imgur.com/5yPIeZr.jpg[/details]
Cutting the wires and removing the harness: [details=Spoiler]
http://i.imgur.com/CRRjOIs.jpg[/details]
Sanwa OBSF30 next to a stock button: [details=Spoiler]
http://i.imgur.com/vlcTomy.jpg[/details]
The harness after splicing it with pin end wires. I tinned it and applied heat shrink: [details=Spoiler]
http://i.imgur.com/CO4ojVw.jpg[/details]
New stick inserted and buttons replaced. Who needs wire management? [details=Spoiler]
http://i.imgur.com/wEygxT2.jpg[/details]
The finished product: [details=Spoiler]
http://i.imgur.com/ggi9KCW.jpg[/details]
Enjoying Street Fighter V at 4k with my Alpha:
This little fightstick has the same component of a normal madcat te stick? Full Sanwa buttons and Stick?
No, theyāre knockoffs. But sanwa parts will fit.
I would suck it up and pay an additional $25 for a used TE round 1/2 on eBay. Looks similar to the size of the hori mini.
Modded mine with Seimitsu PS-15s. Straight forward mod. Used uninsulated quick disconnects.
Spoiler
That mod job looks Smexy
Can anyone post or link a video showing how to mod the alpha? I have experience modding TE sticks, but Iāve never attempted a mod involving soldering.
You donāt even need to solder.
Just get some crimp connectors, some Crimp QDs and a wire stripper and crimper tool
The button wires are really short so any user will need to be careful to strip the minimum amount of wire when crimping QDās.
IMO this was a stupid oversight by MadCatz.
Or extend them with butt connectors or a terminal strip.
He said he know how to solder.
Then again you still need to strip the wires for soldering any ways.
Not going to post a video, but what you need is:
20-25 uninsulated .110 quick disconnects. (you need 12, but more if you make mistakes)
Soldering Iron
Wire stripper/crimper
small wire cutter
Take a picture of the wires to note what colors link to what buttons.
Desolder the wire at the button terminals where they are soldered. Keep wire as long as possible.
Crimp terminals on end of colored wire. Make sure the exposed desoldered wire touches the terminals
Daisy chain the black ground wire. If you mess up then buy more black wire.
Pop out the old buttons and snap in the new ones. Connect terminals.
Here are pictures.
http://slagcoin.com/joystick/pcb_wiring.html#TERMINALS_AND_CRIMPING
This is probably a stupid question, but can I swap out the wire harness and buttons from the pcb of my xb360 TE stick and put it on the pcb of the alpha?
Not the button distro board. As for the wiring it self, sure but you still need to cut and splice.
Sorry for the dumb question. Iām trying to replace the stick on my Alpha, and for some reason the screw that holds the balltop wonāt move. Iāve tried so much to the point of damaging the top of the screw.
I never had any trouble removing this from my TE S, I have no idea why this is being such a problem on the alpha.
Stick a flathead screwdriver in the slot on the bottom of the shaft and twist the balltop counter clockwise. If thatās what youāre already doing, and youāre going to replace the lever anyways, use pliers.
Thanks for the answer. That is what I am doing. On another level here. Iāve got the stick for 2 days, and today I came home eager to play and the stick is holding down. Even at neutral, it keeps doing the down input. Is there any chance of this being a problem with the pcb? Or it might be a stick problem?
At first I thought the problem was with JoyToKey (Iām playing on PC), so I downloaded X360CE and it showed up as holding down as well. So I guess the problem is internal.
If it has chances of being the stick, Iāll keep trying to replace it anyway.
Do you feel the down switch returning to neutral, or is it sticking? You could disconnect the lever 5 pin harness and test the inputs that way- all directions should be neutral.
The stick looks and feels completely normal. Itās just the down input that is being triggered at all times. I checked to see if the small switch inside the stick was stuck or something, but it isnt. I donāt even know why this is happening.
I tried changing the stick to simulate the left stick, digital pad and right stick and JoyToKey and X360CE keeps accusing that it is holding down, tho switching the buttons it is simulating at the time.
Here, I took a screenshot from JoyToKey and X360CE with the stick simulating LS and DP. The LS shortcut for the keyboard on JoyToKey is disabled because I was trying to play using WASD on the keyboard and the buttons on the stick. I failed miserably haha.