So my first attempt to mod this, while desoldering one of the pins for the stick, i destroyed one of the silver ring which is used to complete the circuit. Now everything but down is working, is there anyway I can repair this or is this pretty much a useless PCB?
trace it to find a usable point. If there is none, careful reveal the trace with something sharp and solder
GL
I have just tried this and had to luck 
Wow this is exactly what happened to me and I failed to resolder via the circuit’s line… thus resulting in me having to buy a new PCB from Toodles which requires no soldering whatsoever.
You actually don’t have to solder the circuit’s trace for the FS3 PCB like you would with hacking controller PCBs. You know the metal wires on the back of the PCB? All those points that they’re connected to are basically alternative solder points for some signal. It’s likely that you don’t have to cut any traces at all.
I noticed those metal wires on the back of the PCB but as I am a complete newbie to PCB soldering, I did not know what they were for. Also, I wouldn’t have known where to solder because in my case, my problem was that the copper ring burnt off for my down direction of my joystick. I didn’t know which metal wire was for that.
Hello,
I just finish my first mod ever, after I found this thread. Thx to everyone who posted usefull information and guide.
I used a sanwa JLF tp 8yt joystick and 30mm pushbutton.
http://i679.photobucket.com/albums/vv158/zordrack57/DSC01746.jpg
http://i679.photobucket.com/albums/vv158/zordrack57/DSC01747.jpg
I had to drill a hole through the bottom plate, making the shaft shorter is not enough.
http://i679.photobucket.com/albums/vv158/zordrack57/DSC01748.jpg
http://i679.photobucket.com/albums/vv158/zordrack57/DSC01750.jpg
http://i679.photobucket.com/albums/vv158/zordrack57/DSC01756.jpg
I soldered the joystick wires directly on the 5 pins because I’m still waiting for my wiring harness and octogonal gate to come in :sad:
http://i679.photobucket.com/albums/vv158/zordrack57/DSC01751.jpg
http://i679.photobucket.com/albums/vv158/zordrack57/DSC01752.jpg
http://i679.photobucket.com/albums/vv158/zordrack57/DSC01753.jpg
http://i679.photobucket.com/albums/vv158/zordrack57/DSC01754.jpg
I have to say that I’m now use to the square gate and have no problems pulling out my moves, so I’m not sure I want the octo gate anymore. I should try it at least when I get it.
Btw this mod can be done without a dremel, I bought a round and flat bastard lime instead to do the grinding which are way less expensive than buying a dremel.
Thx again for this thread guys, I was about to buy a sfIV fightsitck tournament edition on ebay when I found it. LOL
I think I’m gonna sleep with it tonight I love my stick :lovin:
I am glad that you had fun making your stick and are happy with it. I enjoyed modding mine a great deal. Your wiring is very messy, though! Maybe in the future you can go back and re-do it. My first Wii stick mod looked positively ghetto too, but after my second one turned out worlds better, I went back and re-did the first stick. I learned a lot the first time around, and I put that all to use with the subsequent mods I did.
I’m not sure about the alternative solder points for the directions… I’m only sure that they exist for the buttons… If you don’t know the point activates what signal, then you could plug it into a PC and connect a ground wire to the signals to test them. Or use a multimeter if you know how.
I’m kind of surprised you needed to solder the wires to the PCB for the directions though… Were you using a 5-pin connector for a JLF? If you weren’t, you could’ve just cut the wires at the Hori stick and use those wires. If the wires are too short, then you could just solder your own wire to extend them. If you were using a JLF, you could have just soldered the harness wires to those wires… Soldering wires is much easier and allows a lot more room for error.
I know it doesn’t help to tell you what you COULD HAVE done, but I’m just trying to let people know about easier ways to do things. Anyway, you circumvented the problem entirely right? :wonder:
EDIT: I just looked at the pictures you posted earlier and I see that alternative solder points I mentioned wouldn’t have helped you in your case because there are no alternatives at that point. The connections at those points trace directly to the PCB chip, so yeah, you would’ve had to have gone the cut trace & solder route anyway. The alternative solder points help those who mess up the original silver rings because there is a really long path to THOSE connections on the right side of the board.
Yeah it’s alright - I have already ordered a PS3 cthulhu PCB from Toodles which won’t require any soldering at all 
Finally finished my wireless fs3 
That is awsome. I see the green light is on so were you able to incorporate the turbo functions over to the wireless PCB.
Nope no turbo, thats just player 1 light :)(
Well now I’m torn. I can’t seem to find another FS3 for the life of me. I’m considering buying a Fighting Stick Wii and modding it with a Cuthulu and a 360 PCB. I can get a FSWii for about $40 but then it’s close to $30 for an unassembled Cuthulu+screw in terminals. By the time tax and shipping are added in I’m approaching $80, and that’s without arcade parts (thinking of making an Seimitsu stick).
I’m wondering if I’d be better off waiting and grabbing a Madcatz SE SF:IV 360 stick and putting a Cuthulu in that. The only real reason that I’d want another stick anyway is because the PS3 SF:IV sticks aren’t backwards compatible with PS2 games on my PS3. It would have been so easy to just grab another FS3 from Gamestop for $29.99 and slap some arcade parts and a 360 PCB in it. But there aren’t anymore FS3 at Gamestops near me anywhere.
I’m thinking I’ll wait for the upcoming PS3 firmware update, and see if the Madcatz sticks get backwards compatability. After that I’ll just save a bit and shoot for a SF:IV 360 stick. There’s just a ton of room inside the madcatz sticks so I can try some different mods, like the RJ45 mod.
Though I’ll see how modding my current stick goes whenever I get my Sanwa parts in.
OMG, i just finished this thread because i’m planning to order and mod myself but you rock and ended this thread with your mod, not visually but tech-wise 
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So you dont need the AXISdapter. that seems easier than the AXISdapter. That looks great Kram0r!!!
noob queston: What is that ribbon called, and can i get that at frys?
anyone replace the LED yet?
hi guys, its my 1st post. I have read the whole 41 pages. I am quite new to the arcade stick stuff (I have just recently bought my FS3). however the buttons could be better therefor I want to replace them with sanwa ones as well as modify the stick. one of the easies stick mods seems to be to simply disasemble the original hori stick, let the original hori plastic base part (the one where the original microswitches are placed) intact and set new cherry microswitches + sanwa octa gate. I wanted to ask , what the difference will be between such a mod and a full sanwa JLF mod. resp. will the responsivness/preciseness be as good as a full fledged sanwa mod ?
ps - which of these (non crappy) microswitches will fit into the original hori stick (http://www.arcadeshop.de/index.php?cPath=83_86)
thnx for the response
A though finally hit me. I already have two 360 PCBS, so I don’t need to mod every stick I have for 360 playability. Most of my fighters are PS2/PS3/PC anyway. I grabbed a Fighting Stick Wii and I’ll probably pick up another one next week. Then I’ll toss some MC Cthulu boards in them and RJ45 hack them. Then they’ll still work on the Wii, and PS2, and PS3.