Hey Toodles, great stuff!
IIRC, I would need a new chip to add PSX compatibility to my Cthulhu that I already have. Is this correct? And if so, would it be possible to purchase only the new chip and simply swap it out with the old one? I apologize if this has already been answered.:wonder:
Hey Toodles,
Iām a TOTAL NOOB when it comes to making a custom stickā¦ but Iāve been reading the thread about this new Cthulhu PC/PS3 Board and I was just wondering how easy it is to use this when making an arcade stick?
I have a PS3 and I want to make a custom stick for it, and with this Cthulhu board, I can get this, a case, buttons, and stick, put them all together without any soldering of any kind? Sounds too good to be true! What exactly do I need to put all of this together? Sorry if Iām in the wrong thread =(
Thatās pretty much the size of it. :lovin:
All youāll need are some quick disconnects for your buttons and a crimping tool (or just a good pair of pliers).
EDIT: And a small flathead screwdriver. Almost forgot.
Sorry I just went blank there, not sure what all those are! other then the screwdriver and pliers lolā¦
maybe someone can do us noobs all a favor and have a step by step walkthrough for making a custom stick using the cthulhu PCB. Or if such thing exists, someone point me in the right direction?
Sheesh, spend some time offline and things asplode 
Sorry for the wait everyone.
I got the PM, and Iām shuffling some numbers in my head at the moment to see what we can do. Bare with me a couple of days on that one and Iām sure we can work things out.
There is NO ETA on the multiconsole Cthulhu support. Iāve spent the majority of the past week working on it; the bootloader appears to be working good, I have not been able to solve the particular problem Iām working on that should help with the converter support, and implementing the existing UPCB PSX code in is underway, but being an absolute royal pain in the ass. Iāve got 2 weeks of class followed by a finals week ahead of me; there will be no progress during that time, but Iāll be diving in immediately afterwards. This is not a promise of ANY ETA; Iāll keep everyone informed of the status in all brutal honesty, but I have absolutely no idea when it will be finished and available, and donāt want to to setup any promises I canāt keep.
Ho boy takes deep breath
Multiconsole (āMCā Cthulhu. Iām picturing him with headphones over a turntable now. ) vs UPCB: Major differences will probably be some of the more advanced features such as turbo, and button remapping wonāt be available on the Cthulhu, nor will a few of the consoles supported by the UPCB, such as Genesis for one. UPCB uses a single 15 pin connector with each console having a cord plug into that connector; MC Cthulhu will usually just have multiple cords hanging out of the box. UPCB is open source; Cthulhu is not.
The PS3 only version of the Cthulhu currently available does not have any kind of firmware update-ability, nor will it ever. MC Cthulhu will have firmware update-ability; if console X support gets added to the firmware, you can flash the MC Cthulhu, solder in a cable, and go.
Lots of future related questions here; these are all just my plans and how Iām trying to making it happen, but it still hasnāt happened yet. We should keep these questions for when somethingās actually available
Absolute easiest, cheapest, ghetto-ist way to install it would be some hot glue. The way Iād recommend as best for most non-machinists would be to hit up Home Depot, grab some #4 bolts with a flat head and matching lock washers and nuts, and a small āJB Weldā, which is an epoxy made specifically for metal on metal. Use the JB Weld to glue the flat tops of the bolts to the panels, let it cure, then nut the board onto the bolts. Make sure the metal control panel doesnāt come into contact with the bottom or top of the Cthulhu. (Some nylon 'stand offās which go over the bolt to keep the distance might help with that.)
The only cord to connect it to a PC you need is a standard āA-to-B USBā cable exactly the same as connecting to the PS3; LizardLick has them listed right next to the Cthulhu kit and definitely works so getting that may be your easiest option. Itās a standard cable used for all manner of things like USB printers and scanners and external hard drives, so you can buy them just about anywhere; Wal-Mart, Radio Shack, any electronics store.
All the neccessary wires? Just to be clear, it doesnāt come with ANY wires. Youāll need your own wire to connect the buttons to the Cthulhu, and your own USB cable to connect the Cthulhu to the PC or PS3. What you see in the pictures is exactly what you get, plus a large amount of compressed awesome programmed into the chip, a welcome document to help you identify which line goes to which button, and an anti-static bag to contain it all.
That is exactly correct, but is again a future thing :). When we cross that bridge, Iāll be working with Chad to see about adding a āMC chip onlyā to his inventory. I want to be clear on this; if you have a PS3 only Cthulhu, when the MC version comes out, all you will need to do to update is pop out the old chip, and pop in the new chip. New chips, by themselves, will be available, if not from Chad, then from me directly.
For making a stick that works on a console, the Cthulhu is hands-down the easiest. There are some options, like the ones provided by GameWiz, that are exactly as easy, but those are PC only; Cthulhu is PC and PS3.
Yes, if you get an assembled Cthulhu, it is very possible to build an arcade stick with absolutely no soldering. Thatās the whole idea, and you can see a few examples of this in the pictures of different stick linked on the very first post of this thread.
What do you need to put it all together? That may be a little outside my scope. I canāt help you with building the box My first suggestion would be to start reading here:
http://www.slagcoin.com/joystick.html
Lots of good information for you there. Once the stick and buttons are installed in the case, you should have wires coming off of everything. Strip about a 1/4" of the insulation off of the wires, put into the matching screw terminal on the Cthulhu, and screw down. Plug in the USB cable, and play.
(Heh, beat to the slagcoin punch by PaladinCheese! )
Sweet! Thanks Toodles!
Wow thatās exactly what Iām lookin for thanks SO much PaladinCheese!!!
Toodles, thanks as well, after I read up on this, Iām sure to get one of your Cthulhu PCBs =D
Thanks again you guys!
No prob! One of my first posts on SRK was something along the lines of your question, and slagcoin.com was where I was directed.
Happy building!
Iāve read through quite a bit of slagcon. I wish that I could use this PCBā¦ would make things so much easier. Iāll have to figure out a way to get a dual PCB setup going when the multi-console version comes out, as PS2 and GC support are very important to me, but I am going to have to go with a 360/PC stick for the time beingā¦ I hope Iām not too over my head on thisā¦
hey toodles, any word on when you (or chad) would get another shipment of pc/ps3 cthulu boards? i want to snatch one up asap.
btw, how exactly would i get thecthulu board attached to a 360 pcb (and have 2 usb cables stick out, crude i know but i donāt want to screw anything up)? is it already mentioned in another thread? Iām going to mod the 360 tournament edition SFIV stick iām going to get when it drops to make it dual system compatible and on one stick
Chad will be restocked ASAP, before the weekend if everything goes to plan. The SF2HDR release hit us harder than we expected; we seriously went from āstockedā to āoutā before we knew WTH happened. We got plans in place to prevent that from happening again, so please bear with us for a couple of days.
No one can tell you how to add it to the MadCatz stick until itās released. I expect it will be easy, but no one can give any directions worth a damn until its actually available to purchase. Just read and re-read the ā2 pcbās in one stickā thread. If you have a question, read it again.
thanks for help toodles!
Reposted from last page.
Hey Toodles, had a tech related question. Wired up a 360 to piggyback on the UPCB, and it works like a charm. However, Iāve noticed some odd behaviors that I was hoping you might be able to help me isolate/troubleshoot.
On rare occasions (once a day, maybe), Iāll just lose the connection to my 360 while playing. Unplugging and plugging the cord back in immediately fixes the problem.
When I turn off the 360 and leave the controller plugged in, the next time I turn the 360 on, itās common for the controller to not register. Again, unplugging/plugging back in seems to fix this.
Neither are huge, but I donāt know what to check to find the problem. Cthulu, Madcatz Arcade piggybacked, and a ASCII optical joystick, if itās any help.
Quick question for the PC/PS3 Cthulhu guys. What kind of wire should I use to wire my 30mm and 24mm buttons? Not sure which brand Iām going with, either Sanwa or Seimitsu. What about for the ground? Thanks!
Sorry, I missed your post entirely. My bad.
Have you seen any behavior like this when left plugged into a PC or PS3? You could also try popping out the chip on the cthulhu (the 360 connection will still work) and only play on the xbox360 for a few weeks to see if the same happens. If you see the behavior stop without the chip, or happen with the Cthulhu chip in on a PS3 or PC, let me know, but my first thought is to write it up to the weirdness/flakiness of 360 controllers. Iām getting pretty pissed at MS over this shit; Iām pretty sure my xbox360 piggyback EX2 just suicided, and I know youāve had worse luck with their products than I have.
Asking questions in the noob thread: brilliant. Thank you for doing that.
Not reading the noob thread first, well, it is kind of large but very recommended before undertaking your first project.
Not searching the noob thread first? Thatās just silly. Just searching the āabsolute noobā thread for āwireā brings up the question asked and answered. Multiple times.
But posting in here because your posted question wasnāt answered within 30 minutes? Your answer is in the noob thread ready to be read at your leisure.
Yeah, I thought as much. At first I thought maybe I had some bad soldering, but plugging and replugging shouldnāt fix it so easily every time. I havenāt seen the issue on the PC/PS3 yet, but Iāve not spent a lot of time on them since HDR came out.
I know this is a totally uneducated guess, but could it be a problem delivering enough juice to the madcatz pad? I thought that maybe the with the ASCII optical in my stick needing 5v as well as the it might be just slightly underdelivering the needed power for both.
In any event Iāll try popping out the chip and report back - thanks for the suggestion and Iām still wicked happy with the Cthulu.
When you release the multiconsole Cthulhu, will a drop in replacement chip be available or will we have to get entirely new boards all together?
If you would read back a page or two you will find your answer.