The "padhacking" thread

hozie · April 15, 2008, 10:33pm

I order the MicroCon from the Madcatz store. all the ones I get are common ground.

Imitrex · April 15, 2008, 10:49pm

Gotcha. Thanks, hozie. Just trying to avoid ordering online. Had to cancel my debit card due to being stolen, so internet ordering is out.

Trouble_Brewing · April 16, 2008, 12:19am

About how big are the PCBs on the MicroCon?

I just picked up a madcatz from a circuit city, but I’ll return it if the microcon pcb is measurably smaller. I’m pressed for space on my current project.

System_1 · April 16, 2008, 8:16am

Alright, let’s try it again. The wires you plan on running to the bottom left button on your joystick, that’s light kick(LK). Conveniently, on the pad you’re going to hack, it’s the set of copper fingers at the bottom of the set.

About 1/8" left of those fingers, you’ll see 2 little rings. The top one is for your bottom left joystick button. The bottom one is your ground.

Does that help?

That is by far the easiest pad to hack, loyalist. Enjoy. Use something like telephone(22 ga solid) or solid network cable, strip 1/4", run it through from the back and solder to the rings.

yoooooon · April 16, 2008, 8:27am

hi everyone

i got my hands on quite a few madcatz dreampads–but get this–they’re all the ones with multiple grounds… :(:(

is there any way to do a dual pad setup when one is using single ground and the other is not? I’m assuming yes–but only with a major pain in the ass…

System_1 · April 16, 2008, 8:50am

Do you have pics of the pcb?

The answer is no, unless you feel like programming and soldering your

yoooooon · April 16, 2008, 9:18am

thanks shin ace–nice to have you back

SF_PHOCUS · April 16, 2008, 4:03pm

Well i wanted to know if the spot in the red that i circled is where i solder the 5v line to… the place thats circled in black is where it currently is soldered to and im not getting any power… so could the red part that i circled be the correct spot?

If the image is too big My baddd!:shake:

Tetsuosan · April 17, 2008, 12:06am

That’s not true I bought one that was a regular one and it ended up having seperate grounds.

Tetsuosan · April 17, 2008, 12:07am

Talk to Toodles. He made a pcb for the MS 360 remotes that makes them common ground.

Toodles · April 17, 2008, 12:21am

but he’s still correct that its a pain in the ass. Not worth it; between the cost and the work, its worth it to hunt down a common ground pad.

System_1 · April 17, 2008, 12:53am

anyone know where to buy a common ground pad like you described toodles for Dreamcast?

All of the Madcatz pads on ebay seem to be that retarded version that has multiple grounds and resister problems (from what I understand).

I don’t even know what the good Madcatz dreampads look like, because the darkraven website says ‘clear purple’, but that’s exactly what I bought.

System_1 · April 17, 2008, 12:57am

this might sound stupid but can I hack a usb cable and usb that for a 5v connection?

System_1 · April 17, 2008, 2:02am

bottom left it the D-pad thought?

SF_PHOCUS · April 17, 2008, 3:40am

yeaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa i got the 5v line!!! the only problem is that i soldered the directions wrong si just need to do that and im straightttttttttttttttttttt!!!

System_1 · April 17, 2008, 8:02am

jaded:

seems like a lot of people are getting the Madcatz pads for DC hacking.

Have people confirmed which are version 2 of the pads? Is it only the clear orange and purple pads?

How about the clear one? I see these on ebay sold in sets of 2, a clear one and a clear purple one. I hope those are version 2.

Also, did someone find out where the 5v is and if it’s hard to wire without frying the controller port? I suppose I’d have to buy a multimeter to be sure, but since everyone seems to be buying a Madcatz pad, I figured it would save everyone a lot of time if someone could point it out. Either that, or I’ll build a webpage to show people once I figure it out myself.

Thanks guys. I’m rebuilding a busted Mas stick that my ex-roommate sabotaged. She actually unscrewed the back of the joystick and broke off random pieces from the inside haha. what a nut.

BTW the pads you are describing are dreamwevers or something like that .

maxx_mana · April 17, 2008, 7:08pm

Hey everyone, so I’m a bit new to the padhacking scene, but I’m looking at ways to build a good PS3 joystick that I can play my PS2 games with too.

I know most people just suggest to hack an older ps1 pad, but then I’m seeing a fair amount of unhappiness with converter lag.

Has anyone taken a look at hacking one of these?

I saw this in the store, I was tempted to buy one and pull it apart, but I figured I’d check here first to see if anyone has evidence to prove this won’t work for hacking.

Thoughts? Suggestions? Thanks!

Bomberman · April 17, 2008, 9:22pm

Is it definitely the Madcatz one ($24.99) and not the other brand one that sells for $29.99? The regular Madcatz 360 pad has gone through several versions, but myself and several others have had good luck getting the common ground one. You can see pics of the PCB in the 3-system stick in my sig…

System_1 · April 18, 2008, 6:40pm

I had a madcatz Dc pad that appeared to have resistors on each line. In reality, a single resistor tying the commong ground to the DC ground was all I needed to make it work.

Be careful before exclaiming that a pad doesn’t have a common ground. Post pics first. It might just require a workaround.

_KOH · April 18, 2008, 7:14pm

I have a few questions, since im a beginner, I couldn’t find the answers to by searching.
1# Can I use a ps1 pad non dualshock for my sanwa JLF and buttons?
2# In the First post what is the point of the 3.3 volts, Is that for non dualshock pads only and what do I wire it to?

*The "padhacking" thread*

The "padhacking" thread