Order placed, Toodles.
SFIV TE Stick not powering up
Can someone please help
Soldered all my connections for my** TE Stick+Imp+MC Cthulhu Mod**
According to Fauxâs wiring diagram
Checked the soldering points & connections they seem fine
Windows XP Pro SP3 doesnât recognize the stick labels it as "Unknown USB Device"
Nothing shows up in Game Controllers in the Control Panel
Guide Light doesnât turn on when plugging to PS3 either
When holding down the guide light and plugging into my 360 it doesnât recognize either
My ohm meter doesnât show any shorts in the important points on the wiring diagram
Plugged it in and tested for voltageâŚnone of the boards got hot indicating a short fuse
Can someone please guide me in the right direction would be greatly appreciated.
Areas of Concern
The red wire from the Usb cable has some strands sticking out and I added solder to the wire first then soldered to the board it might be touch against the black wire but the ohm meter doesnât indicate continuity
Did not use the top 2 rows on the MC Cthulhu labeled A-H 1-9
Here are some pics of the soldering job pictured below
If you can tell there is a couple strands that are loose from the red wire
http://i133.photobucket.com/albums/q53/RemzRR/SFIV%20TE_MC%20Cthulhu_Imp/360PCB.jpg
wooooooooooooooo got my package today⌠3 mcâs and 3 imps (1 set for spares just incase i screw it up ⌠:D)
Iâll be looking at dual modding over the next couple of days/weekend.
Thanks Toodles/Marcus
can someone help me with my problem. I have just tried a dual mod using an imp an xbox 360 wired and a cthulhu board. The 360 is the default and when i plug it in the xbox the four green lights stay on and it doesnt sync to the xbox. when i plug it into the ps3 and hold the guide button sometimes it will actually hit the ps3 home key but none of the buttons will work except that key. Does anyone know what this problem could possibly be. I have power running through all three boards and ground running through all three boards. IF someone could help i would appreciate it very much
just spent the past two hours building 3 sets of cthulhuâs and imps⌠tomorrow iâll hit start the dual mod for the TE.
this is just a question, but if i used 24 AWM instead of AWG would this be a problem when i go to assemble the board?
EDIT iâm not going to use the screw terminals, and the awm is on sale, that is why iâm asking.
Here are my resistance readings can anyone help me find the short
General guide for troubleshooting from âIt donât workâ.
You receive your Cthulhu. You put it together. Get all of the wiring done. Take care of all of the buttons and the USB cable. You plug it in, and, nothing. Maybe a cryptic error message about a USB device not working properly, but nothing to go on except for the obvious fact it doesnât work.
Sit down. Relax. Gain your composure. Try to understand what is going on, and figure out how you can test in small bite size pieces. Thatâs what Iâm going to try to show you.
This is to help cover troubleshooting steps dealing with a seemingly âdeadâ Cthulhu. Remember, he may be dead but yet still dreaming. The fact is, the board isnât some opaque box that either works or doesnât, but rather a system than can be examined, tested, and fixed. You just have to know how it should work, and use that to figure out why it isnât.
**If at ANY time, ANY component on ANY board gets hot, unplug it immediately and wait 10 minutes for it to cool off. No part of mine should EVER be hot or even warm to the touch. **
Multimeter usage: These steps require a multimeter, 100%. If you ask for ways to test without a multimeter, I will laugh at you and call you stupid. There are two main tests that weâll be performing; checking voltage, and checking resistance.
Checking voltage: There tests will ALWAYS be performed with the USB cable from the Cthulhu plugged in, preferably into a PC. When told to check the voltage, there will be a single spot only. You rmultimeter will have two probes, one black and one red. The black probe will be place on a âgroundâ connection. On boards I make, this is labelled with the word âgroundâ or âGNDâ for short; for the Cthulhu, the easiest spot is any one of the GND screw terminals. Check the welcome document to verify you are in fact using a proper one. Another option is any of the points in the âGâ column next to where the USB jack goes. The multimeter needs to be set to check DC voltage. Most multimeters have a range setting; use the lowest range greater than 5 volts. On mine, thatâs the 20V setting. The red probe will then be pressed to the spot you should be checking, and the voltage at that point will display on the multimeter.
Checking resistance: Most of these tests are performed with the USB cable NOT plugged in. In the rare cases they do need to be performed plugged in, it will be mentioned that the board must be powered and plugged in; this will not be needed with a Cthulhu, so all Cthulhu resistance tests should be done unplugged. These tests are performed by naming two spots to check. Set the multimeter to check resistance. If your multimeter uses a range setting, your safest bet is to use the range immediately over 10K ohm. On mine, that is the 20K ohm setting. Place one probe on one spot, and the other probe on the other spot; probe colors dont matter. Take a moment to look at the readout on the multimeter with the probes not touching anything, especially each other. That readout will be your âinfiniteâ resistance measurement. Now touch the probes together. The readout will just down to a very low, almost zero, number. That shows continuity. Most of the tests with checking resistance will give us one or those two answers; infinite or zero. There are some cases, usually when testing resistance between VCC and Ground, when it looks like the resistance is moving; its actually crawling up higher and higher. This is normal because of the capacitors involved. Just sit and keep the probes there. The resistance should eventually stop, almost always at âinfiniteâ.
Pin numbers: All ICs (integrated circuits, the black chips) have a set numbering scheme. Youâll notice that there is a notch on one end of the chip, and also a notch on the end of the IC socket the chip rests in. The notch on the chip must match the notch on the white silkscreen on your Cthulhu board when installed. If not, it wonât ever work. If you look at the Cthulhu so that the notch on the chip is up, the top most pin on the LEFT is pin 1. The pins count up going down the left side, so the second from the top on the left side is pin 2. Once at the bottom, it continues counter clockwise. Hereâs a little diagram to show:
Cthulhu chip
1 28
2 27
3 26
4 25
5 24
6 23
7 22
8 21
9 20
10 19
11 18
12 17
13 16
14 15
Step 1: Test the VCC voltage. Voltage on the VCC screw terminal should be over 4 volts when plugged into a PC. If so, go on to Step 2. Otherwise, we need to try an find out where that short is, no easy task.
Step 1A: Test resistance between the VCC screw terminal and any of the GND screw terminals. If the resistance is greater than 1k ohm, then your board isnât getting power. Go to Step 1B. If the resistance is less than 1k ohm, you have a short. Shorts are a serious pain in the ass to hunt down, but you absolutely will NOT get anywhere until they are found. Start by removing any wires from the VCC screw terminal, and any wire in the VCC hole, the unlabelled hole âAâ. Also remove or unplug any USB cable from the Cthulhu. Retest the resistance. If the resistance is now greater than 1k ohm, then you know the short was present in one of the other devices connected to the Cthulhu, and the board itself is find. Hunt down the short and fix it. If the resistance with the VCC wires removed is still less than 1k ohm, then the short is present somewhere on the board. Remove ALL wires from the unlabelled holes and screw terminals. Absolutely no wires going to or from the Cthulhu. Retest. If the resistance is still low, you need to visually inspect the board for shorts. Make sure no solder connects two separate pads together. A particularly nasty spot for this to happen is on the bottom under either of the two metal cannister capacitors. The leads are very close together, and accidentally shorting them together with solder is very easy to do. The area under the ceramic C1 capacitor is also prone to accidental connections. Inspect and repair the short. If the board was purchased assembled, you are definitely entitled to a replacement if this sort of situation occurs. Get ahold of your supplier and explain the situation, with great detail about these troubleshooting steps youâve taken and their results.
Step 1B (PS3 Cthulhu version): The board doesnât have a short, but isnât getting power. Somewhere between the USB jack on your computer and main chip on the Cthulhu, the power or ground isnât being allowed to pass. Definitely try a different USB cable if your Cthulhu has a USB jack. Make certain that the âUSB Onlyâ solder jumper does in fact have a single blob of solder covering it. If the incoming power is going to somewhere in the âVâ column instead of the USB jack area, use a small piece of wire in the empty diode spots labelled 1, 2, and 3. These must be shorted with a piece of wire if the power is going to go from a spot in the V column to the board itself.
Step 1B (MC Cthulhu version):The board doesnât have a short, but isnât getting power. Somewhere between the USB jack on your computer and main chip on the Cthulhu, the power or ground isnât being allowed to pass. Definitely try a different USB cable if your Cthulhu has a USB jack. Take a peek at the four diodes; make sure the âbandâ on the ends all come together in the middle; check the Assembly Instructable for pictures of how they should be oriented. To verify the diodes are working properly, your multimeter needs to have a âdiodeâ setting, and not all do. If yours does, place the black probe on the VCC screw terminal, and the red probe on the OUTSIDE leg of each diode (the leg closest to the C3 capacitor for diode #1 and #2, and the leg closest to the USB jack for diode #3 and #4, the âUSB Onlyâ diode.) The reading on the multimeter should show about 0.2 for the black diodes, and about 0.7 for the glass diodes. If your measurements show infinity for one and good results for the others, then that infinity diode may be blown and need replacing.
Step 2: Test the PIC
We know from Step 1 that the board is getting power. Next we need to check if the PIC is working properly. Each of these tests needs to be done sequentially.
Step 2A: Test voltage on PIC pin #1. Voltage should be the same as the VCC screw terminal, somewhere over 4 volts. If so, continue on to step 2B. Otherwise, thereâs something seriously messed up somewhere. The yellow resistor packs should pull this up, and any problems that could cause this should be easy to spot visually. Check for unsoldered points on the bottom of the board. As long as pin #1 is at a low voltage, the Cthulhu will not work.
Step 2B: Test the voltage on pin #14. Voltage present here should be right around 3.3v. Consider it a success if the voltage is more than 3 and less than 4. If the voltage isnât, then the first thing to check is the orientation of the chip; your chip may be in backwards. Make sure the notch on the chip matches the notch on the board, and rests closest to the end with the unlabelled holes. Make sure each pin is in the socket; no overhanging pins, and no pins bent. Next, check the resistance between pin #14 and any GND screw terminal. The resistance should increase until it is out of the range and shows infinite resistance. If it shows a low resistance and doesnât go to infinity, then the C2 capacitor got fried during soldering and needs replaced. Lastly, swap the chip for another if possible.
Step 2C: Test the voltage on the A column. Step 1 checked for power, Step 2A checked if the chip was in a state of reset, and 2B told us if the chipâs configuration settings were set. Now, we can check if the code is on the chip and running. The voltage on the A column should be high, so consider anything over 3 volts a success.
Step 3: If weâre here, we know the chip is programmed, the USB voltage on pin 14 is solid, and the chip is running the code. Now we need to verify the two wires used for communication, D+ and D-, arenât fubared.
Step3A: Check the voltage on column E. Voltage should be around 3 volts, so consider anything above 2v and below 4v a success. If not, you need to check for shorts against the E column; make sure there is infinite resistance between the E column, the VCC screw terminal, the G column, and the D column.
Step3B: Check the voltage on column D. Voltage should be low, close to if not less than 0 volts. On mine, it usually shows up around -0.08v. As long as the voltage is less than 1 volt and more than -1 volt, call it a success. Even if you do get this reading, go ahead and check for shorts anyways; you want infinite resistance between the D column and the VCC screw terminal, G column, and the E column.
More to come as I think of it.
RemzRR: You definitely have a short, but posting up a diagram of how it SHOULD be wired wonât help locate where it has been wired but shouldnât be. You can narrow down which board has the short though. Disconnect the VCC wires so that none of the power wires are connected between the three boards. Grounds and signal lines can remain. If the VCC lines arenât connected between any of the three boards, then you can check the resistance between VCC and ground on each of the three boards; the one(s) with a low resistance are the one(s) with the short. Once youâve figured out which board has the short, itâll be much easier to visually inspect the board to locate the short. Sadly, there isnât much else that can be done to locate it; shorts are nasty business to locate.
hey toodles you maken more cthulhu boards?? i pre-ordered from some site like 3 weeks ago =/ ⌠you need to get a sweat shop goin on haha 
I ended up canceling my Cthulhu orders from the resellers and buying straight from Toodles. He ships out in a day or 2. I waited a week before giving up on the site.
In summary, Toodles is a mean, lean, one-man selling machine.
Iâve got tons in stock. Check the sig if you want to order. As for a sweat shop, well, I kinda have one going with a bunch of relatives helping out occasionally. Iâm right in the middle of getting quotes for preassembled boards in large quantites so I wonât have to rely on them so much.
payment sent for a cthulhu kit, iâm sick of waiting on lizardlick and my 360 TE should be here on monday, shouldâve ordered along with the imp kit and I wouldâve saved on shipping.
My Cthulhu board arrived yesterday to germany and is working fine.
Thank you for the fast shipping and the nice packaging.
So I am currently going on the verge of getting a hold of a Virtua Stick Pro HSS-0130 and after consideration, I want want to put two Cthulhuâs in it. I understand that you can make Start+Select the home button, but is there a way I could do Start and another button as the home button, like Start+X? Is it also possible to do another two button combination for like Start + O to act as the âSelectâ button? I donât really want to drill holes in the case to add extra buttons, but seeing as it the VSP doesnât have a dedicated Select button or an extra button to map Select to, I was wondering if this was possible.
Itâs possible, but itâd require some additional electronics to pull off and wouldnât be supported.
Ahh alright. Looks like iâll probably have to just drill holes in the thing
Or waitâŚI donât use the 3x P and the 3x K, does pressing select do anything during SFIV or any fighting game for that matter? I donât remember. I might just map it to one of those buttons since its the 8 buttons set up if pressing it by accident doesnât do anything.
may not be the best setup, but a simple solution would be to use the bottom right button from main 8 as select. that way you would have your 6 left for games like street fighter and top 4 for king of fighters. i donât think accidentally hitting select in game will do anything, but you could install a small lockout switch to be safe.
I tell you what, if you have any PSN games youâd be up to sharing I dont have (including the extended SF4 costumes; I dont have any), Iâll make a custom build for you that will do the extra buttons with a button combination to activate them however youâd like. It wonât cost you anything but a hair of trust, and itâll make it worth the hassle of making the custom build.
Thanks for an awesome offer Toodles, but what I should have mentioned is at this point Iâm really just weighing some options. Iâm pretty positive I will be able to get a HS-0130 but I donât even have a PS3 yet. I have a 360 right now and I have been toying with the idea of getting a PS3 for some games and the Blu-Ray.
I realized I donât want to go through the hassle of soldering a 360 pad for it to fail on me again (tried a DPDT switch on a PS3 SE with a MadCatz 360 PCB), especially on a stick this nice which would have to require me drilling holes. Getting this stick is making me consider getting a PS3 even more (Something Iâve wanted to get for awhile). Plus, I would need two of them since its the dual stick.
So weâll see, I just need to get that Virtua Stick first, which in itself is really exciting than Iâll figure something out from there. Thank you for the offer though, the tech community here really is awesome.
Edit: Hey Toodles, you wouldnât happen to need an PS3 SE stick PCB at all would ya?