The official Cthulhu and ChImp thread - Try our new Dreamcast flavor!

Tech Talk
1

Welcome Sheets:
PS3 Cthulhu: http://www.godlikecontrols.com/download/PS3CthulhuWelcome.pdf
MC Cthulhu: http://www.godlikecontrols.com/download/MCCthulhuWelcome.pdf
ChImp: http://www.godlikecontrols.com/download/chimpwelcomev2.pdf
ChimpSMD: http://www.godlikecontrols.com/download/chimpsmdwelcome.pdf
Imp: http://www.godlikecontrols.com/download/impwelcome.pdf

MC Cthulhu newest firmware: http://www.godlikecontrols.com/download/cthulhu/MCCthulhu23.zip
MC Cthulhu Variations firmwares:
http://www.godlikecontrols.com/download/cthulhu/MC_Variations.zip
Cthulhu troubleshooting guide: http://forums.shoryuken.com/t/the-official-cthulhu-and-chimp-thread-try-our-new-dreamcast-flavor/45730page-40#post-2271122
Chimp troubleshooting guide: http://forums.shoryuken.com/t/the-official-cthulhu-and-chimp-thread-try-our-new-dreamcast-flavor/45730page-85#post-2273436
ChimpSMD newest official firmware: http://www.godlikecontrols.com/download/chimp/ChimpSMD12.zip
ChimpSMD Firmware Variations: http://www.godlikecontrols.com/download/chimp/ChimpSMD_Variations.zip

Imp thread:Switch-less USB selector for PS3+360 "Imp": Re-Design Underway, Input appreciated

Q: I’m having problems on SF4 AE for PC.
A: http://forums.shoryuken.com/t/the-official-cthulhu-and-chimp-thread-try-our-new-dreamcast-flavor/45730page-163#post-5526956

Q: When using the Cthulhu on a PC, I see Select and Start are buttons 9 and 10, and the Home button is button number 13. How come there is a button 11 and button 12, but nothing ever turns them on?
A: Buttons 11 and 12 are read by the Playstation 3 as L3 and R3, the ‘clicks’ when you press down on the analog sticks. Even though nothing on the Cthulhu activates them, we still have to send the information to the PS3 so that it believes we are a proper controller.

Q: Why won’t the PS3 turn on when I press the Home button?
A: When the PS3 is off, it cuts power to the USB ports. SIXAXIS controllers are the only ones that can wake a PS3 up from being off. No wired controller can ever turn a PS3 on.

Q: When using the Cthulhu on a PC, moving the stick around causes BOTH the X/Y axis to change, and the POV Hat to change to match. When using the Cthulhu on a PS3, moving the stick around causes BOTH the d-pad to change, and the Left analog stick to change to match. Why does this happen, and how could I change it?
A: The Cthulhu is designed to do this; it’s normal and won’t cause any problems. This setup was created as a compromise between how PC games usually expect the directions to be reported (X/Y axis) and how the PS3 expects the d-pad to be reported (POV hat). With this setup, you can just plug and play on most if not all of the games you want to play on both PC and PS3. If you would like the stick to be reported as one and only one of those for whatever reason, hold down the Select or Start button when plugging in; I don’t remember which is which, but one disables the X/Y and only reports dpad/POV hat, the other disables POVhat/dpad and only reports over the left analog stick/X/Yaxis

Q: Where can I access the D+/D- lines for a dual mod?
A: D- (white) can be tapped in the D column. D+ (green) can be tapped in the E column.

Multi-Console ‘MC’ Cthulhu questions:

Q: What is it?
A: The MC Cthulhu is the multi-console version of the Cthulhu. It uses a more feature-rich chip that allows for the board to support more than just the PS3.

Q: So what’s different?
A: The chip is different, and it comes with diodes that help protect the console in case the cord is plugged into more than one console at a time. The green board is the same, all of the parts are the same, the pinout is the same, etc.

Q: What consoles will it work on?
A: Currently, the MC Cthulhu will work on the PS3 (with all of the functionality of the original PS3 Only Cthulhu, so yes, it works just fine on PC), Xbox1, Dreamcast, Playstion/Playstation 2, Gamecube, NES, Super Nintendo, 3DO*, Sega Saturn and TurboGrafx16/PC-Engine consoles. Playstation support appears to work well with many converters.
(3DO support is currently limited to being the only controller. No daisy chain support or support in a daisy chain.)

Q: What about Wii?
A: The GameCube support will work on any game that supports a GameCube controller. (GG:AC, TvC, Smash Bros, Metal Slug Anthology, etc.)

Q: What about on Smash Brothers?
A: Yes! The Gamecube support in the MC Cthulhu includes two different modes for Smash Brothers play. These modes are very experimental so feel free to speak up any input on how it could be improved. Information on how to enter these modes and how they work can be read up on here: Universal PCB (eventually) thread

Q: I have a Cthulhu, but I don’t know if I have a PS3 only version, or an MC Cthulhu. How can I tell the difference?
A: If the Cthulhu is assembled, just plug it into a PC and check the game controller applet in the Control Panel. The name should be very clear about whether it is meant for PS3/PC or is a MultiConsole version. If the Cthulhu is unassembled, look in the bag for a set of four diodes; MC Cthulhu kits come with diodes, but PS3 Only versions don’t. If you’re looking at just the chip, look at the first row of text on the chip; the PS3 Only version will have the text ‘F24’ on it, usually 18F2450. The MC Cthulhu will have the text ‘F25’ on it, usually 18LF2550.

Q: What about Xbox360?
A: Nope. Xbox360 uses special chips to prove they’re licensed. Until they get publicly cracked, I dont think its going to happen.

Q: What about console X?
A: Maybe, but for now I need more feedback on the consoles already supported. No promises, no guarantees.

Q: If I buy now, and then you get console X added, won’t I be screwed?
A: No, you’ll still be fine. The MC Cthulhu includes a bootloader that allows the firmware to be updated in the event a new console gets added.

Q: I have a PS3 Cthulhu now. Do I have to buy a whole new board?
A: No. Upgrade chips are available. Installation is just a matter of popping the old chip out, popping the new chip in, and soldering the four diodes into place; if your Cthulhu already has the four diodes on it (board revision 1.4 or higher) then you don’t even have to do that, just swap chips. You can find detailed instructions on the diode installation here:
Select Your Power

Q: Where can I buy an MC Cthulhu?
A: Godlike Controls
Focus Attack

Q: How does the board connect to the console?
A: The Cthulhu board has a set of unused holes near the USB jack, labelled with row 1-3 and columns G, A-F, and V. Each one has a specific purpose. For each of the possible consoles you want to use with your stick, you need a cable for that system (from an extension cord or dead controller) and you solder the wires in that cable to specific points on the Cthulhu.

Q: So if I want to play on PS3 and Playstation, I’ll need 2 cables coming off of the MC Cthulhu board?
A: Exactly.

Q: I don’t plan on ever playing on a Gamecube/PSX/Xbox/ConsoleX. Do I have to put in that cable?
A: Nope. Only put in the cable for the consoles you want to play on.

Q: So how do I install the Playstation, or Gamecube, NES, SNES, or Xbox1 cable on the MC Cthulhu?
A: Instructables for all supported consoles have been placed. Easiest way to find everything related to the Cthulhu is to go to Instructables.com and search for ‘cthulhu’ which will bring up everything I’ve done, and a couple of cool knitting instructions.
Gamecube: How To Install an Gamecube cable onto a Multi-Console Cthulhu
PSX: How To Install a Playstation cable onto a Multi-Console Cthulhu
Xbox1: How To Install an Xbox1 cable onto a Multi-Console Cthulhu
NES: How To Install an NES cable onto a Multi-Console Cthulhu
SNES: How To Install an SNES cable onto a Multi-Console Cthulhu
A collection of all of them can be found in rtdzign’s RJ45 thread:
RJ-45 Multi Console Cthulhu Arcade Stick Tutorial Ver.2

Q: How do I update the firmware? Where is it?
A: A link to the most recent version is at the very top of this post. Read the included readme.txt for directions.

Q: I get a weird error when I try to doubleclick Bootloader.exe?
A: Bootloader requires dotNet, which can be downloaded here: Microsoft .NET Framework

Q: What’s the button mappings on all of the consoles?
A:
Button Configs

Spoiler

PS3:
1P: Square
2P: Triangle
3P: R1
4P: L1
1K: X
2K: Circle
3K: R2
4K: L2
Start: Start
Select: Select
Home: PS

PSX:
1P: Square
2P: Triangle
3P: R1
4P: L1
1K: X
2K: Circle
3K: R2
4K: L2
Start: Start
Select: Select
Home: Up+Select

PSX (DC Converter mode: Hold 3P and 3K when plugging in)

1P: Square
2P: Triangle
3P: L1
4P: L2
1K: X
2K: Circle
3K: R1
4K: R2
Start: Start
Select: Select
Home: Start+X

Gamecube (normal mode):
1P: Y
2P: X
3P: L
4P: B
1K: B
2K: A
3K: R
4K: Y
Start: Start
Select: Z
Home: N/A

Dreamcast:
1P: X
2P: Y
3P: Z
1K: A
2K: B
3K: C
Start: Start

Xbox (Select not pressed):
1P: X
2P: Y
3P: White
4P: LT
1K: A
2K: B
3K: Black
4K: RT
Start: Start
Select: Back
Home: N/A
Home + 1P : Left stick click
Home + 1K : Right stick click
Home + Stick: Left and Right analog sticks

NES (All Modes)
Start:Start
Select:Select
1K: B
2K: A
Home: Go to next mode (Normal -> Turbo -> Punchout -> Normal ->…)

NES (Turbo Mode)
1P: Rapid Fire B
2P: Rapid Fire A

NES (Punchout Mode)
1P: Select
2P: Start

SNES:
1P: Y
2P: X
3P: L
1K: B
2K: A
3K: R
Start: Start
Select: Select

Saturn:
1P: X
2P: Y
3P: Z
1K: A
2K: B
3K: C
4P: L
4K: R
Start:Start
Select:L

3DO:
1P: L
2P: P (Play/Pause)
3P:R
1K:A
2K:B
3K:C
Start: P
Select: Stop

TG16/PCE:
All modes:
Select: Select
Start: Run
Guide: Next mode (Direct: Normal -> Neogeo. Through multitap: Normal -> Six button -> Neogeo)

Normal:
1K: II
2K: I

Neogeo:
1K:Select
1P: Run
2P: II
3P: I

Six button:
1P: IV
2P: V
3P: VI
1K: III
2K: II
3K: I

Q: What about if we only want one cable on the stick at a time? Is there way to make removable cables?
A: Yes. Please look into this thread which covers how to use RJ-45 modular connections for making cables.

Q: You said the firmware on the MC Cthulhu can be updated. Can I update the firmware on my current PS3 Only Cthulhu?
A: No. The PS3 Only Cthulhu doesn’t contain the ability to update firmware. Even if it did, it wouldn’t help; the chip in the MC Cthulhu is much stronger than the chip in the PS3 Cthulhu. There is a piece called the SPI module that is needed for most consoles that just doesn’t exist on the PS3 Cthulhu chip.

Q: Can I order console cables from you?
A: Sure. I have extension cables for Playstation, Gamecube and on hand; the same ones used in the Instructables. Price is listed below.

Q: Can I pay you a little extra to install them on the MC Cthulhu for me?
A: I’m sorry but I just can’t do that right now. If I had the time, I would, but the SF4 rush currently underway has everything crazy for everyone.

Q: Would it matter what kind of PS cord i use? Do I need a PSX cord or a PS2 cord?
A: PS2 cord is identical to a PSX cord. If it plugs into the controller port on a PSX or a PS2, then it will work for this.

Q: What about converter support?
A:
Tested Converters

Spoiler

Tested as working:
Joytron Xconverter360+ (Toodles): Joytron Xconverter 360 Plus
EMS USB2 (Mixah)
EMS Trio Linker Plus (Mixah)
EMS Trio Linker Plus II (Mixah)
Nexxtech PSOne and PS2 to USB Adapter / Radio Shack PSX-to-USB Game Adapter with Vibration Driver / Sector 7 (Orbyx Electronics) Model 5810257 (Mixah)
Innovation [PSX->DC] (Mixah, Toodles)
Total Control 2 [PSX->DC] (Mixah)
Pelican PS3 [PSX->PS3] (Toodles)
Total Control Plus [PSX->DC] (Truckasaurus)
Blazepro PS2-360 [PSX->360] (drunkninja42)

Tested as semi-working/glitchy:
RedOctane Universal PS/PS2 Controller Adapter - weird dropped inputs (Mixah)
Super Joybox 4- dropped diagonals (Mixah)
‘Vibration’ converter [PSX->GC/Xbox] - Start button doesn’t report right (Mixah)

ChimpSMD Questions

Q: What is it?
A: The Chimp is a new board that combines a PS3 Cthulhu with an Imp into one board. It’s made for wiring along side an Xbox360 pcb so your arcade stick can work on both 360 and PS3 cleanly and easily.

Q: What’s different about the ChimSMD versus the Chimp?
A: http://shoryuken.com/f177/greetings-lizard-lick-amusements-130032/index350.html#post9514577

Q: Why would I get a ChimpSMD instead of just getting a Cthulhu and an Imp?
A: Lots of reasons.

  1. With only one board instead of two, the Chimp will be easier to wire up to the 360 board.
  2. Autodetection. The Chimp can identify when it is plugged into an Xbox360 and automagically go into 360 mode. No slide switches, no holding down buttons, just plug in and go on any system.
  3. Trigger inversion. If you want to connect the Chimp to an Xbox360 pad that requires the triggers to be inverted, the Chimp will handle this for you. No more transistor or inverter chip hacks.

Q: So why would I ever want to use a PS3 Cthulhu instead of a Chimp?
A: There are some reasons for that as well.

  1. If you’re going to mod more than just a 360 and PS3 pad together, you’ll have more than one cable coming out of the box, and risk causing severe problems if its ever plugged into more than one console at a time. The diodes on a PS3 Cthulhu will help you route all of the power in a way that is safe in case that ever happens.
  2. The PS3 Cthulhu can be upgraded to an MC easily. The Chimp can ONLY support PS3/PC USB, and cannot and will not be upgradable to a Multi-Console version.
  3. If you prefer using the Xbox360 board when connecting to a PC, a regular Imp will make that easier for you. Using the 360 pad on a PC requires holding down three buttons (Short, Strong, RoundHouse) when using a Chimp, while the Imp used just the one button or slide switch, however you set it up.

Q: What about other consoles like PSX, Gamecube, and Xbox1 supported on the MC Cthulhu?
A: They are not and cannot be made to work on the Chimp.

Q: Will there be an MC Chimp in the future?
A: No. I simply can’t. The pins that would normally go to the extra console cables are currently used to control the Imp chip present on the Chimp.

Q: How do I install the Chimp in my TE/SE FightStick?
A: Here is the current wiring diagram. Definitely post up in this thread if there are any questions or areas that are vague:
Yfrog Image : yfrog.com/5ychimpmadcatzp

Q: My X/Y axis moves when I hit a trigger button in 360 mode.
A: Known issue with pads using analog triggers requiring inversion. Please read:
http://shoryuken.com/f177/official-cthulhu-chimp-board-thread-mc-firmware-2-0-released-162026/index285.html#post9194306

Q: What should the button layout be?
A: This is rather important, so please pay close attention to this answer. The layout that I HIGHLY HIGHLY absolute must insist upon is the layout from the original MadCatz sticks:



For PS3:
[] /\  R1  L1
 X  O  R2  L2
For Xbox360:
X  Y  RB  LB
A  B  RT  LT

You can probably rig up things to use a different layout if you like, but they won’t be supported.

Q: My 360 board requires the triggers to be inverted. What do I do?
A: On your 360 pad, remove the two trigger pots. Try to keep middle pad of the pots intact if you can; the side pads can be ignored or torn without care, but it’ll be easiest if you can leave the middle pad in place. Connect the wire from 3K_Invert screw terminal to the middle pad of the right trigger, and the 4K_invert screw terminal to the middle pad of the left trigger. If the middle pads got torn from removing the pots, follow the trace to find another point to connect the wires.

Q: Can I use a ChimpSMD in a stick by itself?
A: Certainly. The only thing to keep in mind is that it will still try to go to 360 mode if you plug it in with Short, Strong, and Roundhouse held down. As long as you don’t hold these buttons down when plugging it in, it will work just fine on PS3 and PC by itself without being dualmodded.

Q: I want to use the Xbox360 mode on a PC.
A: If you hold down the Short, Strong, and Roundhouse buttons (1K, 2P, 3K) when plugging it in, it will skip the autodetection and go straight to Xbox360 mode.

Misc:
Q: What are the golden rules?
A: The two golden rules of dual pcb mods:

  1. All pcb’s must be common ground.
  2. All pcb’s must be powered at all times.

Q: My MadCatz 360 TE/SE fightstick occasionally has a problem where the RT and LT buttons will stop working. If I replug, they work for a while, but eventually go out again.
A: Known problem with 360 TE/SE boards, and happens whether it is dual modded or not. No known 100% fix. Suggest you rearrange buttons so you dont use RT or LT.

Ordering:

If you’re interested in ordering, please try ordering from one of our online resellers:

Focus Attack
Gremlin Solutions (UK)

If you can’t find what you’re looking for, or have other reasons to order from me directly, that’s fine, but it really is preferred you go through a reseller when possible.

Q: How do I order?
A: Easiest way is through the Paypal shopping cart setup: http://www.godlikecontrols.com/order.html

Q: How long to ship?
A: Please allow 3 business days for packing and shipping out.

Q: How long will it take to arrive?
A: West Coast: 2-3 days after mailing. East Coast: 3-4 days after mailing. Rest of world: 2 weeks after mailing.

2

These are my opinions:

  1. As small as possible
    2 and for wiring qs) I think a lot of people are turned off by soldering in general and I think that terminals and places for connectors would be the best thing to do. Just plug up and play is the best thing that an average gamer would want to do. Buy your PCB, connect it and start playing…
  2. Daisy chaining
  3. see 2
  4. Around $50 sounds resonable (about the cost of a new generation controller).

My main usage of one of these would be for PC, PSX (with ability to work with converters), Dreamcast, and xbox360.

3

Having worked with your products before, I’m sure that anything you create will be perfect. It is a testament to the community that there are people like you willing to spend your time and experience on projects like this. Awesome. My humble opinions are below.

  1. Small as possible (with holes for me to screw through for mounting) :wgrin:
  2. Screw terminals so a customer wont need a soldering iron. This will sell more units.
  3. Common ground for JLF
  4. USB connector for wider customer base
  5. $50

Other) PS3 only would be fine, xbox would be a plus for all those games on the hardrive
A buget option without screw terminals, no USB connector only available in quantities of 10 or more for a lower price would be nice.

4

Keeping in mind that added screw terminals and a USB jack will add something like $10-$15 dollars to the cost of each board, do you honestly feel it would make that big of a difference?

5
  1. Small and flat of course
  2. Screw terminals will definitely help a lot with people who cant or won’t solder
  3. Common ground/Separate i’d say, in case they’re piggybacking a non common ground pcb
  4. USB connector for sure
  5. $50 to $60 is reasonable for something like this .It’d cost more in time and parts to get all these controllers and wire and rewire anyway

The 10-15 extra I think is balanced by the ease of use for the people.

6

plus ease of use means you could up the quantity scale significantly to lower the price a little bit.

Disclaimer: I’ve got no idea about bout how much that stuff costs. :razz:

7
  1. Small is good but not thumbnail small. I want to be able to solder to the thing!
  2. Screw terminals are nice…and expensive! I would prefer through holes.
  3. Couple of ground points.
  4. Directly solder.
  5. I am looking for a cost effective alternative to buying controllers. I think if the most expensive part of the board is kept to the PIC and the PCB printing, it could be made rather cheaply. To compare its value to that of other controllers is faulty because you would need to buy those controllers for their cords anyway.
8

Serious viable pricing for some hypothetical small simple PCBs I think would be (before shipping):
PS2 small PCB + cord: $25-$30
PS3 small PCB + cord: $25-$40
Xbox360 small PCB + cord: $25-$35
PS2 + Xbox360 PCB + cord: $45-$75
PS3 + Xbox360 PCB + cord: $45-$75
USB Connector (installed): +$5-$10
Terminal Strip (installed): +$5-$10

I dunno what actual costs would be for producing these, but I think these prices would be along the lines of what people would be willing to pay.

9

Funny thing is, I think getting USB cables would likely be cheaper than getting PSX cables.

Heh, sadly, no. I have no way around the MS security, and the very BEST I might ever be able to do would require taking the security chip from a sacrifice controller. I’ll make the board as easy I can to dual pcb with a common ground 360 board, but any 360 support built into the board is pretty much right out.

All of which are reasonable, except the 360 stuff. If the well funded Chinese and Korean grey market hasn’t cracked it, no way in hell I can.

10

Yeah, those ones are hypothetical. Maybe someday someone will come up with something that others can then copy. The strong security of the Xbox 360 controllers has given me a more negative view on the system.

11

I think piggyback for two of the most popular console is also a down. Having to have excess room just to get support for a console would upset people. I think people would rather pull off a security chip from a sacrificial controller than trying to fit everything into their stick

I know someone who would rather have screw-ins then being forced to solder. I prefer to insert a wire in and solder(just like em trigger buttons on any pcb, god those solder points really make everything easy). Also being able to use screw ins for piggyback may be a plus as well, but there’s probably not enough room on the pcb to add in more screw-ins probably

oh btw you don’t have to buy the controller for the cords, i thought it was already mentioned that you can just grab extenstion cords. (and as a plus if you need a usb cord, and 360 piggyback you can just take the usb cord off of a madcatz(since you need a common ground controller)

btw i would love to be able to get those small hrap2 pcbs. maybe it’s possible to do a pcb that’s like the 360 “lol empty pistol round” mod. In other words, a small pcb but you can switch out the PIC for different console choices.

Edit: Actually in the end i would prefer a pcb that has support for all the consoles, like the current uPCB

12

Well, being your most troublesome customer :sad: here’s my thoughts:

  1. The board size right now is pretty good. Smaller is always better but it’s pretty petite right now - if I can fit it easily in an agetec case the size is not an issue. A shot of it next to something for scale would probably help people understand that.

  2. Screw terminals all the way. It may be more expensive but dealing with IDC connectors is a pain for the layman (it’s not something you can pick up at radio shack and having to solder/wire in a specific order for the ribbon cable adds complexity). Through holes make it harder to remove/reconfigure, and you have to figure a lot of people are going to be very mediocre at soldering which makes lots of soldering points close to each other easy to screw up.

  3. Daisy chained, but that’s personal preference.

  4. USB jack. Again, to widen the potential audience it needs to be as simple as possible.

  5. $60 is about as high as I’d go, but that’s only because I don’t have a big need for the older systems. If it did 360 natively I’d go higher (I know it’s out of your control).

13

I probably should have commented on this earlier. :slight_smile:

There isnt a need to give each signal a ground slot. People can get their own strip, or daisy chain, or splice, or distribute the ground in a multitude of ways.

But I do agree with Big Pockets that two ground connection points would be nice. Two smaller daisy chains are nicer than one huge one. Or having a place specific for a voltage ground is nice. If you could put the two grounds at opposing ends of the board without much trouble that would be nice too.

This stuff reminds me, a 5V connection point is good too. I cannot say I am too familiar with doing LEDs for a joystick, but is there a way to make the PCB (if it isn’t already this way) so it gives off enough electricity for multiple LEDs without having to install batteries?

14

Board was tweaked last night to have the same number of connection points on both sides; it currently has 4 spots for connecting to ground that would go to screw terminals. One part goes ‘VCC, up, down, left, right, ground’ and are meant for the stick, although they are all connected.

A VCC line is already on the board to go to a screw terminal. As for the LEDs, that’s up to the console providing the power, but most of them can, yes.

15

So you are already working on a prototype?

A cheap, bare bones option would get mild but constant sales from the brazillions of stick builders these days.

A more expensive, solderless option would sell like the hot cake.

Would it be possible to sell the screw terminal strip and the usb plug seperate? And the solder skilled would simply connect where the terminal and plug would solder on?

16

Of course :slight_smile: A prototype on a piece of stripboard was made weeks ago; the initial layout for PCB fab was made about the same time. I made some revisions to it yesterday so the number of screw terminals on both sides would be the same, and place the USB connector, but its otherwise unchanged from the original design; boards made from the first design should arrive any day, but those are for Ed with a couple for me to test on.

The entire thing is 57 through hole solder points; another 26 through hole solder points if you include screw terminals and USB connector. Dead simple stuff. Because this will be new for me, I suspect I’ll just get a small batch of boards and parts and end up doing the soldering myself until/unless there ends up being a big enough demand to get preassembled ones. There are over 200 solder points on a UPCB.

The spots where the wires or screw terminals are to go are overly large spots, with 5mm between holes, so its already good for direct soldering or screw terminals.

Solder skills for the board are stupid simple. As for making an option with USB jack and screw terminals, I think I’ll do that. I think I’ll have four things available:
1- Board, already assembled, solder your own button wires and console cables to.
2- Solderless option: same as above but with screw terminals and USB jack. No soldering required if you’re wanting PS3/USB. Screw in the wires, plug in a USB cable, and go. (Just like the GameWiz board in Slagcoin’s site he used in one of his example sticks.)
3- Bare kit, assembly required, no jack or screw terminals.
4- Solderless, with PSX cable already soldered in.

17

I’m very excited to see what you come up with. I’d really like to some small PCBs meant for PSX, PS2, and/or PS3.

You mention the GameWiz which is very similar to some made by Ultimarc. Things that bother me about them include bulkiness (do not need one made for two players), made for PC (might as well be a PS3 or 360 instead nowadays; even PSX or PS2 is better considering converters), and expense (should not cost as much as it does for how little it can do in a single player controller). But wiring and utilizing those things are extremely easy.

If you could perhaps make it so the PCB could fit between the joystick and leftmost button in at least a 95mm-spaced layout, then maybe the USB connector could be placed facing out of one of the thin ends of the PCB, and a hole could be made in the front of the controller so the USB cable could be inserted and removed direct into and out of the PCB itself. (I think I need to make an image to show you what I mean exactly.)

I’d definitely be interested in getting some PCBs like you are thinking of making even though I have a ton of controller PCBs sitting around from all the diagrams I’ve made (I’ll be up to about 45 different controller PCB diagrams on my next update).

18

Okay, I quickly hacked one of my other images to explain. Basically the PCB would be small enough to fit between the joystick and buttons in many layouts and have the connector facing the front of the controller. The layout of the PCB does not need to be the same as the image to achieve this; maybe the connector could be on the left side to center it better. And maybe the PCB could be narrow as to run lengthwise along the front of the controller with the connector facing out a long side. I’m not sure how appealing others would find this.

19

That’s kinda funny. Where you have the stick connected, and where you have the play buttons connected are IDENTICAL to what’s already in. Start, select, the fourth kick and fourth punch buttons (optional of course, you dont have to use them) are on the same side as the stick connections on the USB end (upper right on your pic), and the Home/PSX button is on the side with the main play buttons closer to the USB connector (upper left on the pic).

20

Just through those points together in a few minutes. :slight_smile: Sounds good how you’re putting it together.