The Official Custom Arcade Sticks Thread

Tech Talk
881

I’ve been meaning to write a faq for the longest on building sticks, but have been extremely too busy to. As far as contacting the WM, I never thought about it to tell you the truth. I guess whenever a faq gets compiled, it could be added to the “Articles” section of the site. Who knows…

anyway for you controller techies, enjoy.

Sony Playstation controller information

Sony Playstation (PSX) controllers are intelligent devices and communicate with the Playstation device using a special syncrosound serial bus and protocol. The controller system is implemented in bus architechture, which means that all signal wires are all tied together in PSX end (except select which is seperate for each device).

The Playstation Controller Pinouts (from http://www.gamesx.com/controldata/psxcont/psxcont.htm):

   LOOKING AT THE PLUG
    -------------------------------

PIN 1->| o o o | o o o | o o o |
_____________________________/

PIN # USAGE

1.DATA (Signal from Controller to PSX.)
2.COMMAND (Signal from PSX to Controller)
3.N/C (9 Volts unused)
4.GND
5.VCC (can vary from 5V down to 3V)
6.ATT (select)
7.CLOCK (Signal from PSX to Controller)
8.N/C
9.ACK (Acknowledge signal from Controller to PSX)

The following picture (fron Linux parallel port joystick driver document) gives a little bit better view how the signal are organized in the PSX connectroller connector. Note that the picture below uses a different pin numbering scheme than the picture above:
±--------±--------±--------+
9 | o o o | o o o | o o o | 1
_||______/
| | | | | |
| | | | | ±-------> Clock
| | | | ±-----------> Select
| | | ±--------------> Power
| | ±-----------------> Ground
| ±------------------------> Command
±---------------------------> Data

All transmissions are eight bit serial LSB first. All timing in the PSX controller bus is syncronous to the falling edge of the clock. One byte of the transmissions will look kinda like this:

           |BIT 0|BIT 1|BIT 2|BIT 3|BIT 4|BIT 5|BIT 6|BIT 7|
CLOCK -----___---___---___---___---___---___---___---___-----------

DATA  -----000000111111222222333333444444555555666666777777--------
              *     *     *     *     *     *     *     *
CMND  -----000000111111222222333333444444555555666666777777--------

ACK   ----------------------------------------------------------__-

More information on Sony Playstation joysticks can be found at http://www.gamesx.com/controldata/psxcont/psxcont.htm. That page includes lots of technical information and a circuit to emulate PSX controller. It might be also worth to check the following documents:

Playstation Programming without official tools
http://stekt.oulu.fi/~flame/hware/

More information on similar topics
Game Station X web site at http://www.gamesx.com/ has lots of technical information on game consoles. It is a good place to look for game console joystick information.

author: Tomi Engdahl

I just copied and pasted this, so if the controlle port doesn’t look right, it’s because of the way it was fitted on the page and shit.

882

This is actually a very useful link. Here is a similar page that talks about the Dreamcast controller:
http://mc.pp.se/dc/controller.html

In theory, you could use those two pages to build your own psx/dc arcade style controller without ever having to hack an existing pcb.

In practice, not many people have the time or resources to flash their own pcb controller chips and etch their own pcb.

883

You have a Mas stick? Did you replace your stick with a P360 yourself? or did you buy it like that?

I am trying to put on in mine, but i need help finding a power source. I haven’t had time to test for the voltage of the wires, any help would be appreciated. thanks in advanced!:slight_smile:

Magnus

884

sorry but my mass stick is using a normal ulimate stick, i made a custom stick using a p360. i used the psx 1000 pad from cd visions page for the p360 stick.

~RaNDoMMAI

885

Ok, as a summation of the project as it currently stands, we are ordering from HappControls:

Perfect 360 joystick
Super Joystick x 2
Competition Joystick
Ultimate Pushbutton x 40

This is for 4 sticks of course, and we are going to be using 10 buttons per controller (I know, :eek: ). Anyways, I already have a Super and P360, so I simply have yet to order the rest.

We are planning on making all 4 sticks compatible with PSX/PS2, DC, and USB PC. The base system is going to be PSX, because logic should aim that way since it would then work for PS2, and DC adapters are easy to come by (from PSX-DC). The harder part is goin to USB IMO, so I may need help with it.

Also, where should I be drawing the +5 volts from for the P360? I’m thinking with some tinkering, I could make use of the PSX controller’s 3rd pin with the unused 9V. That’s easy, but how would I be able to make use of that when using it on USB? Can someone summarize the best way to go about doing this? If it’s too hard, I may just not make the P360 stick USB compatible.

EDIT: If any has the pin info for USB devices, THAT would be helpful!

886

you can order the ems psx to usb adapter. its really ccool and works great. you can get it from www.levelsix.com or www.liksang.com i recommond levelsix since it is in america.

~RaNDoMMAi

887

Ok, thanks for the link. My other question for now is will the +9V I draw through the PSX 3rd pin also be drawn through a USB port and/or DC port? I don’t want the P360 to only work on the PSX/PS2 because the stick will only get power from the PSX/PS2 or something like that. So will the DC and USB supply power to the stick? Or am I forced to forfeit to the evil power supply o’ d00m?

I really hope this project sails off with success, but I, like many, am worried how the wood work will turn out. I want to actually do it though, not order it. I should mention we only have maybe 5 weeks to complete all 4 sticks, so we shall be pushing hard for completion. I don’t feel understaffed though, we have 5 people including myself. I’m the producer, manager/director, and masutaa soldering man man man man man! :cool: :lol: :rolleyes:

We aren’t worried about getting stuff like solder, wires, etc… because of course it’s all available to us in the class. I’m still not exactly sure how we are to make these USB compatible, that will require yet more research and help. Aside from that and the wood cases, I haven’t many concerns except maybe time. We should be able to get some graphics on them too.

Thanks for all your help and recommendations thus far, and thanks in advance for future help. The PSX pin data helped more than I thought it would when I first read it, so thanks Rotendo.

888

Woodshop 101 with the Mind Taker: Ghetto Technique

For those of you who cannot get to a table saw, i found an alternative. After making my full size setup i found that it was a little bit too high. So I went and took it apart to be trimmed down. The thing is I can’t get ahold of anyone with a table saw so I cut it myself with a $5 saw. Thats right.

If you were to cut the wood with a hand saw, there is no way to get a perfect straight cut, but using the below method you can make any cuts you want, as long as the blade of the saw is long enough.

1.First mark a straight line with a pencil or whatever.

2.Next, position the saw at a 45 angle(or whatever) to the board. It helps to clamp the board down.

3.then saw a little bit, decreasing the angle as you saw until you have about a 2 inches groove on top of the wood. When you are done with one side, do the same for the other side.

4.Heres the good part. Instead of saw through the board at an angle, you’re gonna saw thru it sideway. That is, hold the saw with 2 hand(one at the handle and one to secure the top of the blade). The slowly saw down the wood using the 2 grooves made in step 3 as a guide. Saw slowly until you have a groove as a guide.

  1. Squat down, (make sure you wear gloves because you might get blisters) then saw the shit out of the wood. Since you are cutting throught the wood using this method the line will be straight. It won’t be as straight as using a table saw but it will work.

TIP!!! To make the guiding grooves easier and more precise, use a metal cutting saw(they have smaller teeths). And put some K2Jelly on your saw blade to make cutting smoother.

889

Rotendo: Hey. Thanks for having an awesome thread and for all the help, and that goes to everyone who has helped. But how exactly did you “route” out the buttom of your board to make the Joystick stick up farther out of the board? I would appreciate some help on this. Thanks

890

you do it with a router tool, its like a drill but you can set how far you want to go and you can move it around. Basicly you route the board by “cutting” out a square groove.

891

I done with my dual joystick project I haver one question though. For my DC connex I use a Interact Quantum Fighter pad. I ripped off all the individual boards and just straight wired the wires to the buttons. Even found a good 360 source. But the problem I have is that the C and Z buttons are weaks instead of Fierce and Roundhouse. The buttons are programmable buttons. Im having a hard time programming them to be fierce. Thats pretty much it. Hope someone can help me out. Aight hope someone can help me program them or something. Also the trigger buttons wont work they seem to act as jump whenever i try to use them as fierce/roundhouse. Im pretty much stuck here.

D

892

Exactly what Dreaded Fist said: “Use a router tool” to make you square qroove.

Depending on what type of wood you are using, you have an alternative… Use a chisel and a small hammer. That’s how I’ve been doing mine. Of course I use MDF board so that shit just peels off like paper being that the wood is soft like. After I hand chisel-routed it, I make sure that the joystick box fits into the groove nice and smoothly otherwise I make some adjustments. If it’s just right, then my next step would be to sand it down inside. So there you have it. Routing for the needy.

893

Rotendo, did you use a router at all? or just straight up chisel and sandpaper, I would think it’ll be hard to get a flat surface with a chisel. If the surface isn’t flat and the base of the joystick is mounted with a slant in it, it could throw off the sensitivity of the stick.

894

Competition Stick and Buttons for Sale

I just wanted to advertise that I have a Competition stick (medium spring I think) that has never been used for sale. It has been put together, but that is it. I also have 8 black competition buttons (all put together, but never used), two white competition buttons (NEW), and 2 extra sensors. All sensors are new. All buttons include sensor and stick uncludes 4 sensors (duh:D ). This is a complete set that would be perfect for any new stick.

I will ship at cost, or if anyone is So Cali is interested, I could probably meet up for the exchange.

PM me an offer if interested.

895

Nope. No router at all. Straight chisel baby, besides, it’s MDF board. With MDF board, it’s not impossible to get a flat surface. I only chisel-route MDF boards, and never had a problem with any type of sensitivity cuz I’m That good!! LOL. As a matter of fact, Yesterday a friend came over to use my tools to start building his stick, I made the top control panel layout for him that’s customized to his hand placement and whatnot. It turned out great and we even busted out the camcorder and I had a made a short mpeg of “a custom stick building”, really short, but not in details; just a look at it and shit. Me and another friend of mine plan to put together a vid/tutorial and then post pictures and shit up online. Not any time soon though.

896

that should help alot of people who are new to this. I mean now That I’ve made a few sticks I can’t imagine how easy it is, but when I made my first stick it was a mess. Look at it below in the attachment. Its ugly as sin. Btw what do you guys think of my woodcutting technique for handsaws?

For those of you who are hesitating to use plexi, IT"S REALLLY EASY!!

I went to home depot today and pick up a thin piece of plexi(barely 1/8"). Plexis come cover in a blue tape so you dont have to worry about scratching it. If you leave it on while drilling, it can prevent cracks as well.

WHen drilling plexi use 2 clamps(1 if you are bold) and clamp each clamp on each side of a corner of the board. Then, drill the hole. Then do the same for the other 3 corners.

WHen you are done with that. Mount the screws. At this time your board should have the button holes already drilled and everything. So lay the board w/plexi on top of another wood and drill away. It helps alot to clamp the 2 board together. Since the plexi is sandwiched between the 2 board it won’t break. Just remember to take it easy when drilling. Drill fast but push lightly.That’s all. ANd kinkos is the shit!

Btw rotendo, Can i use a flat head screwdriver? I just looked thru my dad’s toolbox and no chisel. Everybody should use mdf there is no absolute reason to use any other type of wood.

897

^ I have used plexi, its easy if you have a drill press, but I push too hard when I use a hand drill and I break that shit. Its good that you have no trouble with it, but I wont bother with it.

898

This is what I got from a professional carpenter.

MDF and Particle board will deteriorate over time. They will both absorb moisture in the air over time. MDF takes about 5 years to swell up and become pliable and less able to support weight. Particle takes about 10 or 20 years. Laminated particle board has less problems than straight up particle board and will deteriorate over 30 - 40 years as long as the edges are finished properly.

Plywood and Natural wood will do the exact opposite of MDF and Particle board. As they age, they dry out and become harder and stronger. Eventually, if it is cared for correctly, it will become petrified. If it is not cared for correctly, it will be suseptible to rot and termites. Rot and termites can set in within the first 20 years, and properly cared for natural wood could have the same load bearing capabilities (or more) for at least 200 years.

Obviously, MDF is a good choice, since a 5 year life-span is good enough.

Also, for those of you that are having a hard time finding .187 quick disconnects, Autozone carries them.

899

I guess you can, but it’ll be hard to cut into the wood even though MDF is easy to chip into. Try borrowing a neighbors or go to Lowe’s a buy a nice cheap chisel. The one I have you can chisel, and has teeth on the flat side to saw-sand wood edges and teeth on the opposite side (round top) to sand-saw holes i.e. button holes or whatnot.

900

i just recently modded an xbox reflex arcade stick to an dc agetech. not till about a week ago its stopped working for some reason. the joystick and the start button only work, but the buttons dont. if this has happened to anyone else please let me know whats wrong with my stick