what is a good way to test the connection to see if the job is done right
I am having problems with my digital camera so I canāt get the images on my computer. However it really doesnāt matter as I think I figured the contoller out. Atleast I hope I did, given the soldering is all ready done!
Most multimeters have a setting called Continuity Test mode that will beep or swing the needle or something when there is a connection between the two probes. My dadās (which I have been using as I am a tooless college student) actually doesnāt have a seperate mode, itās just part of the ohm meter mode. It sits on 1 if there is no connection but shows an actual resistence if there is one.
You could also try hooking up your PCB to a console/computer and then manually touching various wires to ground to see if it registers as a button press like it should. This is described much better in some of the guides/walkthroughs you can find through the Official Custom Arcade Stick Thread.
I need 2 pre-Soldered PS2 Boards. Can anyone do this for me and iāll be more than happy to pay. Need The boards before Evo.
Hi guys, newbie needing help here:
I got a stick donated to me by generous SRK member doughboy. He said the start button wasnāt working. I opened the stick up and neither the start or select buttons were even wired. I thought āeasyā.
So I am not sure how to wire the start button since I havenāt found a picture of the PCB I have. The joystick and buttons worked before I did anything.
Then I noticed on all the buttons are all chained to each other via the ānot openā prongs and the ācommonā connections are wired straight to the PCB.
But everything seemed to be working (I think, I didnāt test too in depth) and so I wired the start button by copying what the previous guy who wired it did: I soldered the common lead on the button to the spot on the controller that already had solder on it and said āstartā (the bottom of the circular connection) and then soldered the ānormally onā connection of the button to one of the posts where the buttons are daisychained together.
Now the buttons that are already soldered still work, but when I press the start button the PS2 says āplease attach a dual shock controllerā, as if I unplugged the joystick.
My questions:
-
Why is it doing this?
-
Why was it wired with the normally open prongs on the buttons chained together anyways, I thought the commons were supposed to be chained together?
Anyone know if you can hack the MadCatz āNBAā PS2 pads they have at EB/Gamestop for 4.99 or the āofficialā Gamestop PS2 controllers? I tried doing the NBA pad, but it just acts like all the buttons are being pressed rapidly.
Quick question (hopefully I can get an answer before tomorrow):
I have an original DC pad, but I have a problem, the little black box/chip deal is missing for the right trigger. Can I still solder to the point and have it work without blowing my DC up, or should I just give up hope (because I have no means to buy new pads for a few months).
-Thanks.
I have a bunch of really dumb questions. Mostly, Iām just wanting to proof-check what I think I already understand. I want to tear the PCB out of a PSX pad and use it for a custom stick. Itās my first attempt at building one, so letās assume I know nothing.
I bought a couple of these controllers: second one on this page
(H series, the grey one on this page without analog sticks)
I figured it would be easy to hack because itās digital only. Iāll have to test compatibility before I even start. Maybe I wasted my money hahah.
All I do is take out the PCB and disconnect everything from it except the controller cord, right?
Then I solder a wire to the appropriate contact point on the PCB and stick a female quick disconnect on the end and stick that onto one of the prongs on each microswitchā¦ right?
http://img0716.paintedover.com/uploads/thumbs/0716/zwiresall_1.png
Is there a particular kind of wire I should be using? ā¦ or avoiding? Man, I feel a little silly here.
Will the controller register funny with the console if I donāt solder anything to the contacts for the unused buttons? (L1 and L2 for me)
For the second prong of each microswitch, am I correct that any prong can be wired to any ground contact, and that any and all of the ground prongs can be daisy-chained together without restriction?
http://img0716.paintedover.com/uploads/thumbs/0716/zwiresdaisy.png
I wanted to double-check this because it all seems a little too easy. Maybe Iāll change the tune Iām whistling once I start breaking all my parts. :lol:
As usual, thanks a ton in advance for any and all help!
The first pic I can not see but the other looks ok. You just daisychain the ground (like in your picture).
I use 26 gauge (some use 24 and lower) stranded wire (it contains 7 smaller wires). I do not think solid wire is so good, stranded is more flexible.
Just solder to the buttons you like, don`t have to be all off them.
I think I have a good picture somewhere, hold onā¦
http://www.arkadesticks.com/psonetest.jpg
This is just so you know how it looks. In the picture I use 2 groundwires (one for joystick and one for the buttons) but it is ok to just have one also.
http://arkadesticks.com/hackedpads/PSOneDualShockH.jpg
Where to solderā¦
I fixed the link, but I donāt suppose itās particularly important anymore. Thanks a ton for the quick replies, man.
I have a few more questions in preparation for my first attempt at stick-building.
*The controllers Iād like to try using are the very old Series H grey PSX pads, without analog sticks. *
Compatibility - I thought I remembered reading that these controllers have some compatibility problems. So far they work just fine with every PS2 fighter Iāve tested, as well as VF5 and T5DR on PS3 (Pelican adapter ftw). I havenāt had the chance to try Dreamcast adapters yet. Are there any issues I should be aware of?
Unused buttons - Will the controller behave irregularly if I donāt solder anything to the contacts for buttons I wonāt have on my stick? (L1 and L2 for me)
Ease of hack - Iāve never done any padhacking before; this will be my first attempt. Are my super-old controllers a bad choice? I picked them up because I assumed digital-only would be easy to work with.
New to this forum and this is exactly the kind of help i have been looking for!
- If the pad works with the converters you have, then it works. Donāt sweat it.
- Nope. For buttons you arent using, just ignore them.
- I agree that they are easier to work with. If you can look at the pcb and you feel confident you can solder to whatever is there to solder onto, then youāll be fine.
I have a DS2 but donāt know where to solder on the pad to have it work on a custom stick I plan on making. can anyone help? I tried looking allover the threads but couldāt find anything.
Your answers highlight for me how silly my questions were (I sort of figured this in advance), but it was very reassuring to have someone verify those things for me. Thanks for the help, man! :lol:
I have zero experience padhacking so take what I tell you with a grain of saltā¦ but from what Iāve heard, DS2ās are wayyyy harder to work with. Itās why everyone seems to prefer the original PS controllers.
Because itās difficult. Possible, but too difficult to be worth it. Just hunt down a digital pad or a DS1. (or UPCB).
http://mechatronics.mech.northwestern.edu/stack_files/Img0013.jpg
If youāre soldering to holes in the PCB, the joints should look like that.
Never put solder on the iron unless it is to clean it (which you arenāt). I recommend watching the first two of these videos:
PSX modding question
Is it ok to rip off the wires connected to the shoulder buttons on a PSone pad 
Yes it is, just solder onto the main PCB where the wires to the shoulder buttons connected to and you should be fine.
So, I want to put together a custom arcade stick pretty much for the hell of it (Iām not a competitive fighting game player or anything), and I want to build it out of a wireless Logitech Cordless Action PS2 controller. Anyone know the general layout of the PCB, or any hidden gotchas? Iāve taken it apart in the past and have the general idea of how the shoulder buttons hook up, but I canāt tell which part of the face button contacts is ground and which isnāt.
Iām in engineering school right now, so I kinda sorta know what Iām doing, but I was just wondering if there are any hidden gotchas I should know about.
follow the traces, the ground will go to like everybutton and be much broader.
generally pcbs all follow the same generic routine the only problem would be a convinent way to change batteries for the wireless control