If you are running common ground PCB’s and only want 6 action buttons, you are right, DB-15 would be fine. Having a power pin is just nice for LED’s and other misc electronics that you may want to power inside your stick. I actually went through a similar breakdown as you:
6 for your main action buttons
3 for Start/Select/Guide buttons
4 for each direction on the stick
1 for ground
1 for Vcc
15 Total
Do it!
Use one of those half size Pringles cans as a box.
-ud
Anyone ever project box a cab? I finished wiring mine tonight. There’s a PS2 with HD for shmups, modded Xbox for Final Burn and 360 for shmups and fighters. There’s a NES that can go in here as well. 
I should have new iL parts coming in next week. The joysticks are pretty crusty.
Closed up:
Is there a Tutorial on how to wire up the Project Boxes?
I’m working on a 2 player stick that I want to run Dual db-15 or VGA’s into Project Boxes, but i’m not sure what I need to get started…
Any help would be greatly appreciated
Where do you get your supplies to make everything? I vcan get the cables from Monoprice, and the Project boxes from Radio shack, but what do you use to connect the soldered wires to the db15 / vga adapters?
I’m not sure I follow. Everything I buy comes from RadioShack except the DB15 cables and quick disconnects. Find a picture in the thread to use as an illustration for your question.
Do you just solder onto the end of the F/F adapter? Or is there little pins you can use like thin QD’s?
you should use the solder on ones. The crimp ons usually have spotty reliability. I usually strip off 3mm of the end and solder to the DB connector first. I’ve been wanting to do a tutorial on this but haven’t gotten around to it.
Does anyone know where I can find the Crimp on ones?
I would like to use the crimp ons, then solder those to the db so I could have a little bit more room. I’m not very good at soldering.
Wow, those are some awesome cases. While going through I thought of an idea: How about using one of those wii remote/ NES controller Mint cases for a project box.
http://onnintendo.com/Index.aspx?page=1&post=32&year=2006&month=6
I bought both a couple months ago when a Mindgames lease contract was up and things were on sale. The wii-remote is obviously Way too small. The NES case is do-able. Maybe needs some slight tweaking for larger PCBs.
Project boxes sure seem useful if you have alot of sticks. Pick a stick, -> pick a project box -> use on system. rather than modding every stick with multiple PCBs. None of my sticks are worth trying to get them to work on different consoles, the worst being
–Eurgh–
Stock Mayflash.
That was back when I wasn’t So serious about fighting games though. Although that’s what I’m using on GGPO nowadays.
I’m so glad the wii hori isn’t so bad, and I got the TE for other systems.
Just finished a Dreamcast to JAMMA adapter for a fella over @ shmups. He’s running video separately, so this is only for controls:
http://i229.photobucket.com/albums/ee311/undamned_photobucket/DC/th_DSC07359_r.jpg
http://i229.photobucket.com/albums/ee311/undamned_photobucket/DC/th_DSC07360_r.jpg
http://i229.photobucket.com/albums/ee311/undamned_photobucket/DC/th_DSC07361_r.jpg
http://i229.photobucket.com/albums/ee311/undamned_photobucket/DC/th_DSC07355_r.jpg
I used two MadCatz DC pads which feature digital triggers, so no analog trigger lag like with the stock Sega pads. For those of you not in the know, that white connector is a CPS2 kick harness socket. JAMMA only supports 4 action buttons per player, so a separate interface is used for the kick buttons.
-ud
Cool little Jamma Adaptor.
I think I’ll post my Mini Stick here to explain the unique way I had the Dual Strike Smd integrated into the stick.
http://i730.photobucket.com/albums/ww301/rtdzign/MiniStick/DSC03840.jpg
So initially I decided that it would be a project box stick because there is litteraly no room for a regular PCB in there. When Gummowned started making the SMD dual Strike and saw how tiny it was I had to get it. So I decided that I would dual mod the Dual Strike to the DB-25 connector.
http://i730.photobucket.com/albums/ww301/rtdzign/MiniStick/DSC03833.jpg
So here is my DB-25 key on the left for my series of project boxes. I made it in excel. I also color code the wires to aid organization. Now to get a usb cable hooked up I had to solder a usb cable to a DB-25 connector. I routed D+ and D- to unused pins 19 and 20. My connector already had a dedicated pin for ground on pin 5 and Voltage on pin 17. So now my stick could work for PS3 and PC with only the proprietary USB to DB-25 cable.
http://i730.photobucket.com/albums/ww301/rtdzign/Misc/DB25_RJ45B_JoystickGuide.jpg
USB cable. goes to the Dual Strike through 4 pins on DB-25 (USB goes to PS3 or PC)
http://i730.photobucket.com/albums/ww301/rtdzign/MiniStick/DSC03839.jpg
For other systems I can just stick a DB-25 cable in and then the other end to the project box. To use the project box you need to have the VCC hooked up to the SMD Dual strike or weird things happen.
Don’t worry, neither one of those genesis games is worth more than $2-3 dollars. It’s gravy bro.
would i be able to add a DB15 connector to my Fightstick to allow support for ps3 or would it be easier to go the Cthulhu/imp board route?
a db15 alone wont do it. you need a pcb as well. also you need a pin for voltage.
yea i was thinking i could double up the existing pcb connections of the fightstick to the db15 and then seperate into the project box for ps3 etc
That mini stick is awesome! Where did you get the case?
I got around the voltage pin issue with my FightStick SE by installing a DB25 switchbox inside it:
He made it.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v726/JewGal/DSCN2542.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v726/JewGal/DSCN2541.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v726/JewGal/DSCN2545.jpg
My external PS3 controller encoder box made with the remains of a stick I found sub-par.
