Here is a pic of my latest Sanwa Mod using an older Hori PS stick. I wouldn’t call it a full mod. I replaced the spring in the Joystick and I am going to put brand new Omron Microswitches (Same brand that is used in Sanwa Sticks) and the stick is not wired yet. This is the first time I used the Bat Style stick top and I like it. The hardest part was the buttons. I used the screw on type and there was barely any room to insert them. I couldn’t align the microswitches because of it. I will post a pic of the insides once it’s all wired up.
Okay, I recently got a Namco Stick (the PS1 version), and wanted to put Sanwa buttons in it. I’m fine with the joystick, but I want to switch the joystick ball to match the color of the buttons that I’m going to get. Will the ball tops from himuragames work, or do they only work for Sanwa joysticks?
Another question, how hard is it to switch out the old buttons for the Sanwa buttons? I know you would have to desolder it from the PCB (can anyone give me a hint on how that’s done? I don’t want to fry the board), but would I have to connect the buttons with wires or the same way as the namco buttons (soldering the prongs to the pcb).
The Sanwa balltops fit perfectly fine on the Namco shafts. As far as the button swap, you pretty much have to desolder the spots on the board. I used a combination of a solder sucker to get large globs and desoldering braid for getting the smaller amounts up. What I then did was take a Dremel tool with the smallest drill bit I had (1/16" I think) and enlargened the holes as Sanwa uses larger prongs than the console Hori or ASCII buttons. You can try removing the board and then running wire, but I don’t know how that would fit.
i’m completely new at this and i’m thinking about making my own sanwa stick in the near future what exactly should i read up on and where and how much am i looking at spending on parts and tools?
edit: also who here sales pre soldered ps2 pcb’s and for how much?
one more edit:what would be the easiest way to mount the buttons/stick using darkside’s sanwa box blueprint?
i’m trying to do this the easiest way i can so i don’t fuck it up
Hi there i was wondering if any one had modded a Hori fighting stick Ex with sanwa buttons as the buttons are awful :sad:
if not would it be a simple case of swapping them out ??
Cheers Phix
The easiest method I have found modding with Sanwa’s, is to use a Hori Stick and add a Sanwa Stick and Sanwa Buttons.
If you have a Hori Stick that the buttons are attatched to the PCB, you will have to remove the old solder and the PCB will come right out. Sounds easier than it is, but it’s all about just doing it. You never get the feel of it until you actually do it yourself. The only problem is the holes on the PCB are not big enough for the Sanwa buttons. You can use a Dremel to make the holes bigger, or carefully use a drill bit. I call this the short cut method, but you can solder small solid wires to the buttons and they will fit through the PCB holes. Then just cut the excess wire. Of course you want to solder them to the board first.
The Hori stick I just modded had the push button type buttons, so I was able to remove the PCB and attach the wires directly to the main PCB. This probably doesn’t make sense, so I attached a pic. I screwed up on the ground wire, but it doesn’t matter because this stick is going to be for personal use anyway.
All of this has been discusseds already through out this thread, but people seem to have alot of questions about it, so I thought I would put in my two sense.
As far as adding a Sanwa Stick and Buttons to a custom box, I’ve never done it. Here is an attatchment from modeverything.com, how to mount a Sanwa. Click on top mount J-Stick it’s to the right of the page. http://www.modeverything.com/
I’ve also seen someone insert a thin metal plate into the middle of the custom box, and mount the stick and buttons that way. If you search this thread you should find it.
I know I’ve repeated alot that is in this thread, but I sometimes don’t like doing research myself either.
The easiest method for mounting sanwa buttons in wood is to use the clip in type buttons. Get a 1-3/16" spade bit to drill the holes in the wood and the plexiglass. Then use a file or something to make a little room for the wings/clips to expand in the wood. If you use this method though you have to use some bolts to hold the plexiglass down.
Mounting the buttons and plexi without bolts on the front of your joystick is much more work but looks nicer. For this method you should use the screwtype sanwa buttons and some T-Molding. You will have to use a router to thin the wood around the buttons down to about 1/4". Again use a 1-3/16" spade bit to drill your button holes in the plexi and the glass. To mount the T-Molding on your joystick you need to use a router to make a groove in the wood along all the edges that you plan to put the molding. Since you want to have the molding help hold the plexiglass down make sure to get a size that is slightly larger than the wood you are using. Also make sure to offset your groove when you are routing it.
I just got this exact same stick a few days ago and I was wondering what exactly did you change on yours? I like the stick you put on there and im wondering where I can get one like that. Oh and is it still a sanwa or something else? One more thing, over all what modding would you recommend for this stick? lol ive got so many questions ill just leave it at that for now…peace :bgrin:
Probably a stupid Arcade stick pushbutton question (Sanwa related)
Well I have an X-Arcade stick and it’s great that I can use it on any system that I want to use it on (except saturn). I hated the stick in it originally so I put in a Ultimate 8-way and it works great. I’m now to the point of I do not like the buttons either. They are screw-in buttons. I’ve been playing Tekken 5 and they have Sanwa sticks and pushbuttons. My question is that can I swap my X-Arcade screw-in pushbuttons and put in Sanwa Snap-in pushbuttons instead? http://www.himuragames.com/store_buttons.php is the link for the Sanwa Snap-in Pushbuttons. Is installing these any different than regular screw-in pushbuttons? Thanks
I have a broken stick lying around that I want to make use of sometime… It is an Interact PS Arcade. Now would it be possible to swap Sanwa parts into one of these these things? If so how would it be done?
It would be difficult but not impossible to put sanwa buttons into an X-Arcade controller. You need to mount Sanwa Snap-in buttons either on a metal plate or plexiglass which the X-Arcade doesn’t have. You could possible cut a sheet of plexi but I think it would be hard to cut one that was exactly the same shape as the top of the X-Arcade controller. Also Sanwa buttons use a 1-3/16" hole where as the X-Arcade buttons only use a 1-1/8" button hole, so you would need to sand the holes larger. Since the plexi-glass would be dificult to cut for the X-Arcade you would be better of using sanwa screw-in type buttons. But the problem is that you can only mount them on wood that is about 1/4" thick so you would need to use a chisel to thin out the wood around where you would want to mount the buttons.
As far as I know no one has tried putting sanwa parts into an interact controller. That doesn’t mean they wouldn’t fit but they probably won’t. If you could take some pictures of the insides and some measuremeants of the hole sizes and depth of the case it would be easier to say for certain.
I have the exact same stick and have thought of swapping as well. There’s about as much room as in a namco stick, not much. 8 buttons too, I’d probably plug 2 or just use the original L1 and L2 ones.
I’ll probably check when I get my buttons for the Hori this week.
I’m trying to mod my Hori Fighting Jam stick and since I’m a arcade and custom/modding stick noob I really have no idea as to what Sanwa parts to buy. Can someone tell me if I am buying the right parts to mod it with?
Parts planned to add:
6x OBSF-30 or OBSF-30RG, Snap-in pushbutton with microswitch(30mm) for regular buttons
1x Sanwa Flash Stick
1x GT-Y, Octagonal restrictor plate
couple of questions too:
Will the Sanwa Flash be compatible with the Hori stick?
Are these the right parts to add apart from soldering the wires for the buttons, there’s no special drilling required right?
And are there better or additional parts to “enhance” my stick?
you don’t need the whole flash stick, just the circut board. Getting it to work is sometimes trick as some people have had problems. I’ve gotten my normal hori and hori/namco’s to work fine.
The flash stick comes with the GT-Y unless you get only the board.
No physical mods required just wiring in this setup.
Question about the Sanwa screw-type pushbutton. Currently I’m using 5/8" thick MDF for the top part of the case, and a 1-1/8" spade bit to make the holes for the buttons. When I enlarge the holes slightly with sand paper, I notice that it is just the right size for the pushbutton to fit snugly. My question is: if this button feels very secure in the hole, is there a chance that I could just not use the orange screw caps that came with the buttons? Since I do not own a router, making the wood 1/4" thick would be a little tough.