Ok well basically kevins site kicks ass…I built his clamshell type box and basically prepped the reflex PCB the only problem that I’m having is that he says we can use quick connects and all that good stuff to eliminate soldering but thats pretty much where it stops…Basically I need someone to give me an example where I can see these quick connects demonstrated. Also he never explained how the hell to hook the ground wire to all the switches and the joystick. Is that the part that requires soldering?
wow i have spent basically 1 week off and on reading every single page on this thread. damn! i gotta say props 2 rotendo for startin this thread from way back when. rotendo’s, jride’s, and dreaded fist’s avatars have been burned onto my mind from seein their’s so much! (espicially dreaded fist’s… lol). word of advice to anyone who doesn’t feel like readin all those 91 pages, do it seriously. there is soooo much info in them.
anyways, i’ve ordered my parts from happ and i’m about 2 build mine soon. i bought md particle board and i’m goin for a mas stick clone but i dunno if i can do it cuz of the angled bevels for the front and back panel. i remember dreaded fist had some tips on doin it without the rite tools but that sounds like alot of work but it’s worth the shot. i’m also plannin on goin for the external adaptar model design found on http://mywebpages.comcast.net/jdpyle1/controls.htm . i forget who’s page that is but damn, nice job. i also bought a competition stick with competition buttons. i just got a few questions. for now i’m goin to use the madcatz dualforce ps1/ps2 to hack. are all ps1/ps2 3rd party hacks all use the same pcb board design for the most part? if so i’m plannin 2 use the info on arcadecontrols when i solder mine. i’m also usin 3/4" md particle board n got 1/8 lexan. is this too thick? should i get the 1/2" cuz my dad says nobody sells 5/8"? o yeah 1 more thing, i’ve read about this multiple ground thing. i thought all controllers just used 1 common ground that branched out all over the board and you could just solder whereever it is? and if anyone else has hacked the mad catz dual force please tell me if this has this multiple ground thing. i’ll post my stick up sometime soon when it gets done!
The pcb design for 3rd party controllers are not all the same. Some have visible copper solder ‘points’ (brass like circles) on them, others have the screwdriver looking points on them (half brass circles). Some don’t have anything in which you have to scratch the trace to solder onto it (something for the solder to join onto) You can also dremel a hole on those type of boards to help.
1/8 lexan is not too thick. Perfect cuz it’s lexan and its harder to crack when drilling. Personally, I’d prefer lexan over optix and any other type of plexi. I’ve experienced the same type of problem that the link you posted had. I went through many sheets due to cracking and it pissed me off. Anyway, just TAKE YOUR TIME, when drilling the holes to fasten the plexi. When drilling the buttons holes, have something backing it to avoid cracking/breaking/snapping. When drilling the holes on the board, it helps to have some wood backing that too to avoid ‘blow out’. (when you drill holes without anything backing it, you’ll likely blow out the other side of the wood. Pieces sticking out, chip wood flapping and shit… well you know)
Not all pcb use one common ground. Some use 2, others use 3. For example, I had a problem with the Retro Shock 2 pcb. I had 2 grounds (one for the buttons, one for the d-pad/joystick) On all my projects, I include the start button with the buttons ground. However, with this board, I noticed that it had an additional copper solder point (a ground point), but I thought that I didn’t need it and was covered. For a while I wonderd why my Start button didn’t work. I opened up my box and use something metallic like a screw and pressed it to that ‘useless’ point and it activated the start button. Okay, I figured it out I told myself. It HAS to have it’s own ground. So I soldered another wire to that point for the starts ground and that fixed my problem. I don’t a multimeter, but if I did, I would have figured it out sooner. A must to avoid trouble shooting.
thanx rotendo. damn, the mad catz dual force has a nice pcb board to hack from. it has the circles you were talkin bout that are just the rite size for soldering. it also has two grounds. the directions and buttons share the same ground while the mode, select, and start share another ground. i’ll try to make a page for hackin the dual force cuz i don’t see one for it yet. i have a question though, the analog sticks are attached to the board with a ribbon cable. do i just cut that off? and when i meant the face board bein too thick i meant if the tickness of the 3/4" particle board with the 1/8" lexan combined would make the stick too short?
Yes, you can cut the ribbon off. No, it wouldn’t matter and it won’t affect the sticks length unless you use MDF board. Then you’ll have to result to routing the wood to have a good ‘shaft’ length (Get you heads out the gutter fellas) With particle board, the JOYSTICK length will be fine. Only worry when it comes to MDF board or anything close to 3/4 inch thick.
hmmm… aparently i got mdf board (i just checked) n i got 3/4"… lol wow looks like i gotta route! i remember u sayin just use a chisel 2 route it. any idea how far i should? thanx
for the perfect length on the shaft, the wood should be the following length:
competition: 5/8"
ultimate: 3/4"
p360:1 inch
super: 5/8"
so if you would have gotten 1/2 " mdf with the 1/8 lexan, that would have been a perfect fit for competition sticks. What did you get an analog controller for hacking psx? lol. I personally like to stick with 3rd party pads w/o the dualshocks. The dualshock pads usually come with 2 pcbs and it makes it a hassle to mount it to the inside of your stick. and to make it easier on you guys, just set it to printable view and put all pages on one page, and then use Ctrl+f to find what you need. Much faster that way.
and i understand when u look at mentok for awhile he “takes” your mind.
bleh… :bluu: n i started drawin out the sketch on the board… i wonder if i still have the reciet. o well routin doesn’t sound that hard. as for the analog, the mad catz was the only 1 that EB had at the time. the board is acutally just 1 piece. lucky me does anyone know if the triggers on the gamecube controller are analog? i would think they r. if they were, would i just wire it as if it was just a regular button anyways?
You can just solder everything if you’re saavy, quick disconnects just make the option available to switching out the switch when it gets worn out, which won’t happen to a few years. Basicly u crimp the wires to the quick disconnect and then slide the quick disconnect over the terminals on the microswitch. cd vision’s site has a good demonstration of that(check the link on first page). To hook the ground wire to all the switches just have one ground coming from the pad to the COM on a switch, And have THAT COM connect to all the other grounds. Again, u can attach quick disconnects by joining 2 wires together and crimping it to a disconnect. Or you can just solder.
In the pic I showed you of my PCB, I’m not sure where I can find the ground at. Do you think you can give me an idea of where to look? And do I solder on the traces, or on the copper points?
solder to the copper point, and to find the ground, there should be 2 copper points per buttons right? one of them is the ground. Just follow the trace on each copper point, if they lead to all the other copper points, then it’s the ground, if they lead to a black blob in the middle, its the action. good luck.
yay! the parts finally came in today from happ! does anyone know the measurements of the mas stick or a page that has details about it? i was lookin on cd vision’s site n he really doesn’t show how that 1 is constructed, he just posted some measurements.
rrhemann82: i don’t know about the 5v but i’m havin my dad help me out with findin it. i hope i don’t short circuit my ps2…
i just realized that cd vision said use 3/4" wood. if wat i’m thinkin is rite… that the front panel and the back panel are nailed to the bottom board from the side. that would mean the the sides should be about a 1/2" taller than the board itself with the thickness of the face board taken into consideration. ok if this is rite, does anyone know exactly where the side panels should be place in relation to the front and back panels? and exactly how far up from the bottom should the hinge be put on the face board(i’m assuming it opens from the front panel)?
Hey Dreaded Fist, I got ur payment today. I tried to PM u but it said that ur pm box was full. Want me to ship it to the same address as on the envelope? LMK so I can send u ur parts ASAP.
Yo guys, i’m new to this thread and i have a few questions.
I am doing just a hack of you know, a third party psx gamepad, and i was wondering if i need spade terminals for anything. I don’t even know what their purpose is, and again, i’m only hacking one gamepad for one system (ps2) and trying to make a 1 player stick. no more. i will not be using a p360 if that helps describe my situation.
What is this i hear about wiring a joystick up-sidedown and backwards? what do i need to know concerning this? i am using a happs competition in fact if that helps…
This entire ground thing confuses me. i understand why i need it and i understand its purpose but i don’t know how to set it up. what do i solder the wire to, and once that is done, how can i be sure i can connect every button and direction to a ground? i understand the use of daisy-chaining and know all about quick disconnects, do i need to use these techniques?
i got some picture files on my computer that i would like to put on my stick’s surface. i am turned off by plexi and lexan because it’s only two images and i figured i could just make them stickers. so… how do i make computer picture files into stickers? where do i go and will con-tact paper be useful?
PS: This thread has been so much help. as soon as these questions are answered i could be on my way to building this stick. oh yea, i read all 93 pages of this thing and frankly the avs here have made me sick, and the next time i see an emoticon will be the death of me… peace, any help would be very much appreciated.***** for the thread!
i remember u sayin just use a chisel 2 route it. any idea how far i should? thanx