Well, you should definitely get a Dremel if you’re going to mod anything in the future. It’s one of the most useful tools someone could own.
Great job though. Cool case!
Hacking a GameCube pad might be easier than using a Wiimote or Classic controller… I’ve used Pelican retro gameCube controllers in the past.
If you’re feeling OCD over the dpad try this method. Get a 1/16th drill bit ($3 at Lowes) and drill some tiny holes where the soldering points were (be sure not to cut any traces). Scratch off the copper around the hole. Route the cables through the back and solder them down like this:
http://img23.imageshack.us/img23/9802/saturnocd1.jpg
http://img14.imageshack.us/img14/3637/saturnocd2.jpg
Note that this didn’t actually feel any differently for me. I was just playing around with it after I read your comment. It may help if you have excess wire or it’s running where it shouldn’t be.
I’ve converted and am now doing all of my Saturn pads OCD style like the above. It takes about an hour or so to convert one from the OP to this. Here’s the image walkthrough:
Drill 1/16th holes at these points.
Scrape the perimeter of the holes to expose enough copper for the solder to fall on.
Route the cables through the holes and trim their excess.
Strip the wires slightly and solder them down through the top.
Does this “ocd style” feel different. I may convert my saturn pad as well. I did notice a very slight mushiness on the right and down on the d pad so i relocated the wires to the tiny pins in the center and this seemed to resolve the issue.
I also was wondering if anyone knows the differences between a jap saturn pad and a us pad. I just got a jap pad in the mail and the d pad feels much looser. and the shoulder button clicks are softer. i am just wondering if the d pad is worn or if jap saturn pads are just looser.
I’m not sure, but I think it’s a better approach. I can consistently pull it off easier than soldering to the IC pins. I started with a new pad this time and it feels absolutely stock. I had a slight mushiness in my right direction on another pad which was also resolved by this.
My real concern is that I’m selling one of these to serrano pepper and the last thing I wanted after him dropping $100 was to comment on the dpad. I’d rather him get something that I have no issue selling.
I’ve had 6 Saturn pads recently and the dpad felt slightly different between them. The newer dpads have an audible clicky sound versus the ones I can tell are worn. Are you comparing the larger US pad to the smaller Japanese?
Edit: Added a [media=youtube]l9RpTFqQ5-k"[/media]. I’m such a scrub.
Well, damn, Kyle. Excellent guide as usual, but I almost wish you hadn’t posted it. I’ve been rocking some N+ and Bionic Commando with my Saturn pad, and I still haven’t bothered opening it up to fiddle with the wires again. Now I might not be able to resist it 
Heh, yeah, sorry, not trying to stir anything up. I don’t think it’s a mandatory upgrade, but if you choose to do it, it can be done without having to totally redo the wiring. I’d only really recommend it if you’re obsessive over the dpad. I’m pretty sure it doesn’t make any difference with the buttons.
i just realized how awesome it is to watch this evolve. I love that the design is being refined to perfection. i really like the idea of drilling holes through the board, the connection will be much sturdier.
Yeah, the other good thing about drilling through is that I can hot glue the holes from the back. There’s plenty of clearance from the backside.
How is the new Bionic Commando? I’m a big fan of N+. I played it through on the DS and PC and haven’t felt the need on the 360.
should you update the opening post to say M:F DB15? i noticed you using those and honestly i can see them working alot better cause you would just have to mod the controllers and not make a whole new 360 controller pcb from a M:M
edit:…i got a spare vga db15 m:f cable…would that work…?
Right you are. I updated the OP with links to buy them as well. Strip it and see if there are 15 individual cable strands inside. If so then it should work.
well just in case i ordered a db15 from sf cable as well…
Good deal. The cables from SF are thinner and better shielded so it’s win/win.
mmm…wireless headset plus the saturn mod…thats just too sweet
btw kyle…can you post a pic of the 360 pcb board? ive noticed theres not a pic of it on here yet for reference. and also…for the arcade button (any kind) how would i solder those to the 360 pcb for the guide button? which way do i connect with the two prongs on the button?
Sorry, I completely missed this.
Here’s the one I use for 360. There are a couple more pictures over in this thread.
You would need to connect the guide button to one of the prongs and daisy chain the ground wire around to the other prong. It doesn’t matter which is which.
sorry im relatively new to modding/soldering/hacking
daisy chain?..lol…and how come there are blue and red circles for the up button and y?
Sorry, the more I mess with this stuff the more I assume things. I’ll cut that out. 
The blue points are where you’ll solder to on the 360 pad. One of the two red, preferrably to the right of up, will need to be used for the ground.
Regarding the daisy chain. You will have a ground wire coming from the db15 that connects to the ground (one of those two red circles). Solder that down and also run a wire to one of the two prongs on the button. So there will be two wires connecting to the ground point. You should definitely use the up/left point for this because it’s larger and easier to solder to. The other side will be a wire running from the guide’s blue circle to the second prong.
I would draw a picture but I’m at work.
alright so there would be a ground for the sega pcb to the madcatz pcb and then another wire also soldered to the 360 pcb in the same spot to the button prong?
also…whats the yellow circle…?..and do i need to etch into the spots on the 360 pcb like the ps2 one? (havent opened up my madcatz yet)…cause they look already silvery…could i just straight solder onto those points?
The yellow circle is power which is unnecessary in this case. You also don’t need to scrape the points.
Yeah, there will be two wires connecting to the ground on the 360 pad (red). One will be the ground from the db15 and the another will be a wire connecting to the button prong. The other prong (signal) will be wired directly to the guide’s point.
alright…thanks for making things a lot clearer for me man. i got the cable today…gotta find my dads dremel and drill tools tomorrow and i can probably start it.
my button is coming thru china or something so it might take a while to get here…ill just make the pad for now and when the button comes then ill do the hole in the project box and such.
edit: alright i took apart my madcatz pad…now the rt and lt are under the grey parts right? like the old slagcoin diagram?
and whats the neutral point for the triggers…? cause i want rt and lt on my shoulder buttons on the saturn pad
