hey thanks alot
Yo Shin Ace, thanks for all the help with this man but one thing still troubles me. I don’t know what to wire where the red and the green dots are. What outputs and inputs are you talking about? If you could take a pic of the bottom or/and the inside of your stick that would be a big help. Thanx.
-See Ya!!!
On the microswitch, one tab goes to ground, the other goes to start(for example). We’ll call ground cold and the other hot. So when you hack a pad, you’ve got about 12 hot wires and 1 ground.
The green dots are for hot wires. Think of it like this. We begin with the start switch. One side is daisy chained into ground, the other is crimped into a connector and then goes to the pad. What you do is crimp 2 wires in that ‘hot’ connector. One goes to the pad, the other goes to a green dot on that inverterboard pcb.
So when you press the switch, the signal is passed onto both the pad and our custom pcb.
The white dot is a 5 volt power lead. I tapped into the DC’s 5v lead from the wire leading to the console. The black dot is a ground connection.
The red dots go to the + lead of an LED. Then the - lead of the LED goes to ground. Since the resistors are neatly soldered on the pcb, the only extra parts missing from the picture are wires and LED’s.
Here’s another secret. Do the same thing to have multi console support. The hot connector of each switch now gets 3 wires, gnd still only has 1. Take the gnd from all 3 pads, connect them together and then that becomes the common gnd. Then daisy chain that gnd to all the switches, pcb and LEDs.
The hot wires go to the 2 pads and the LED pcb. No protection or anything like that needed. No resistors.
The tricky part is this. When you want to play on DC, you have to power up everything. So we take the 5 volt from both pads and connect them together. This is fine as long as you DON’T PLUG IT INTO 2 CONSOLES AT ONCE( AND HAVE THEM BOTH TURNED ON). The difference in voltage between the 2 consoles would create a serious surge of current, blowing a fuse, or even worse.
Workaround for this is to get 2 diodes. 1n4001, 1n4004, 1n914. Basically any diode( NO ZENERS). The wire that goes from the console to the pad is going to have about 2 inches of inner wires exposed. Snip the 5 volt for each pad. Now we have a 5v from the console, and a 5v to the pad for each pad. Take the 5 volt from the console and connect that to the + side of a diode. Repeat for each pad. Take the - side of all diodes and connect them together. Voila, you now have a common 4.5 volt supply. Connect this to the “5v to the pad” for each pad, 5 volt for the LED pcb and you’re done.
Sit back, crack open a beer and have a seizurrific game.
As mentionned way above, Happ buttons have a 5mm spot on the bottom where you could easily drill it out and insert the led. Unfortunately, I only have black and white buttons. I haven’t bothered for the white buttons. I’ve also seen translucent buttons on coinopexpress.com’s site.
Cheers, and pass on the knowledge. This shit is pimp.
Ah thanks a lot man, makes sense now. I’m gonna pull this off on at least 1 stick, hopefully 2, by the time EVO comes around and show it off there. Thanx.
-See Ya!!!
Hey Shin Ace. I went on Radio Shack’s website but can’t seem to find any of the parts. I mean when I type in the 74ls or whatever it is like 500 matches come up and nothing fits. Also I didn’t find any 3.5v to 0v converters. If you could give direct links I would be greatly appreciated. Thanx.
-See Ya!!!
It’s called a hex inverter, because there are 6 inverters(5v to 0v, 0v to 5v) on one chip. It’s a 14 pin chip, 7 pins on each side, just like my picture. Pin 1 is marked usually with a little dot in the plastic.
To order parts call 1-800-843-7422 or visit your local RadioShack store.
Reference # Cat.No. Description NP Part #
U9 11389525 IC 74LS04 DIP 14 T HEX IN 74LS04
For a multi console setup, the hack for power would look a little something like this:
The little boxes with + and - marked are the diodes.
If you merge the two powers from a DC and a PSX controller, do you still run into the problem of the DC’s ground sucking power out of the psx? I’ve had this problem a few times in the past when hacking a psx and a dc pad together, and either I would wire a switch or a better method was putting a diode on the dreamcast ground so it couldn’t steal the power off of the other pcbs.
A switch works great, but I only use a switch if it’s a psx/5v system. If all pads are 5v, use the diodes.
BTW, you cannot suck power from a ground. It’s a 0v reference point. However, if you want a multi pad system to work, you need to supply 5v power to all pads connected to the buttons for it to work. Each pad used a tiny amount of power. I’d have no fear of making a 4+ console stick. If you have 2 pads plugged in but only one is getting power, you’ll probably get all buttons being pressed at once. All 4 directions pressed at once, I wouldn’t be surprised if it stopped recognizing the controller at that point.
yah I know the ground thing and I thought the exact same thing, that’s why Dreamcast seems to be such a strange case. Before you get into the theories of how grounds work, get a playstation and dreamcast pad and hook up a ground from the playstation to the dreamcast. Then plug the psx in while the dreamcast is out, and try it. Then plug the dreamcast in while the psx is in and try it. -spooky
Let me quote myself "If you have 2 pads plugged in(connected to buttons) but only one is getting power, you’ll probably get all buttons being pressed at once. If I’m reading your post right, you have only tied in the grounds together. You have made no provisions to providing the unused pad with power, EVEN WHEN IT’S NOT BEING USED. What you’ve done is trick the pad into thinking EVERY single button is being pressed at once, not good. This has nothing to do with stealing power, or grounds, as you’ve already got that down.
BTW, if one pad thinks everything is pressed, then they both do.
The buttons themselves use a 5v or 0v signal, not current. If you just take the grounds from 2 pads and twist them together, that is not enough. They also need to share a 5v power connection.
My sticks work plugged into DC only, USB only, or both at the same time. I have NO restrictions.
So if the reason why the Dreamcast and PSX don’t work when only sharing grounds is because they need to also share the power, then how come adding a diode to the dreamcast ground eliminates this problem?
-don’t mean to be hostile, asking out of curiousity now.
Don’t put a diode on the ground lead. Put the diode at the power lead. In the drawing I last did, there is no ground in the picture at all.
One system can be 5.2 volts while the other is 4.6. Putting a diode across each system’s POWER lead prevents current from travelling from one console to the other. It can only go from the console to the pad.
Electronically speaking, it’s the best solution. I purchased 10 diodes for about 2$. It’s cheap and it avoids the need for a switch.
…
well since you don’t want this thread to die I can tell, I’ll post a question. So happs FINALLY ships my damn Perfect360s, and I’m going to be powering them off of a playstation pad most likely a Mad Catz digital pad, anything I can find for 3-5 bucks. My question is can I use some diodes to reduce the current on the N/C pinout (9v)
The Playstation Controller Pinouts
LOOKING AT THE PLUG
-------------------------------
PIN 1->| o o o | o o o | o o o |
_____________________________/
PIN # USAGE
- DATA
- COMMAND
- N/C (9 Volts unused)
- GND
- VCC
- ATT
- CLOCK
- N/C
- ACK
so on this diagram, you take pin 3, hook up 9 - (.7 * 7 diodes) to get 5volts from the 3rd pin. I know a lot of people get the voltage from the pin 5, which I’ve been reading lately is usually around 3.7v, so I’d like to try to get the correct voltage for the perfect 360s. Also if I use this method, do you think psx to xxx convertors would work still? I am personally unsure if convertors power the pin 3 with anything, or if I’m better off sticking with the VCC?
3.3 volt will likely be borderline too low for a P360.
Adapters pass the 5v they get directly to vcc, which now also becomes 5 volt. So using a psx pad with adapters and a P360 will work on just about any system except psx itself.
A diode drops(absorbs) roughly 0.5 volt no matter how much current is passing. You’ll need at least 8 diodes, which is fine, but personally I would use a small 5 volt regulator. A 78L05 shouldn’t cost you more than 1$, same as the diodes(likely even cheaper). I can buy one for 42 cents canadian, but that’s with my old employee discount. The regulator is good for 100 mA continuous, I wouldn’t even bother measuring how much a P360 draws. I really doubt they would use more than 50 mA.
For some reason I think that 9v is actually in the 7.x range. That regulator needs a minimum input of 6.7 volt(perfect). Been a loong time since I’ve measured the supply voltages on a psx pad. Also if you’re using a pad with no rumble, it likely won’t even have that connection. Just double check, that’s all there is to it.
p.s. This thread die??? NEVER!!!
Ahh alright, yeah looks like I’ll have to get my multimeter out and start testing these values. It’d be kinda shady if my psx stick only worked on dreamcast, xbox, and pc! Maybe I can rig up a system where if the voltage is under 5v, it grabs power from the pin 3, and if 5v is found an adapter is plugged in it grabs it from the VCC. Well there’s a few ways to do this it seems like so I’ll just take my time and figure a smart way to do this.
Btw, silicon diodes drop 0.7v, don’t mean to be a smart ass or anything, just want to make sure we’re on the same page - http://www.kpsec.freeuk.com/components/diode.htm
Zener diodes are different, but their fixed breakdown voltage is printed on the side.
I’ve never seen a SINGLE diode drop more than 0.7 volt. I had to stick a crappy one in the freezer to get it that bad. about 75% of diodes will drop .5 - .6 volts(at room temperature). They actually get better with heat, but whatever, no big deal.
There is a way to get the pad to choose between the 3.3v wire and the 9v one, it’s called a switch. 
It could be automated, but not without wasting a fair amount of power.
edit:
Avoid zeners with a vengeance. It’s just a normal diode with a REVERSE breakdown voltage of it’s rated voltage. ONLY use a zener if you’re copying a schematic that states it needs a zener. There usually used as surge protectors. And sometimes as references.
A plain 1A 400V diode would protect you against current travelling the wrong way, up to 400V.
A 1W 12V zener can be used exactly like a normal diode, except your protection is only 12V in “reverse bias” as we say, or electricity trying to flow backwards.
Also, I’m gonna think more about a smart voltage supply switch. I’ll see if there’s a way to reduce it and make it manageable.
Hey, going way back to your original LED design, I’m pretty sure I’m going to be wiring up a little circuit board with the hex inverter, resistors, etc. I was just wondering if you know much about a perfect360’s power drain? Because if the leds are running and the p360 is also draining so many mA from the circuit board, do you think there is a danger of blowing out lets say a playstation port?
You’ll be fine.
If you use a 7404 hex inverter, you’ll get about 3 mA per lead. We’ll say 5 mA to make it simple and be safe. If you were to run 11 lights/stick, like a DC setup, you would need roughly 50 mA. That’s 1/20 of an amp, no big deal. Your DC is easily equipped to deliver 1/2 A, or enough for 10 sticks worth of leds, all on at once.
A pad uses roughly 10 mA, each led is 5, a P360 uses ???
Has anyone tested the current required for a P360 to function properly? Or even measured how much it normally uses under these conditions: idle, one direction pressed, and 2 directions pressed.
The biggest power hog is the rumble feature. If it weren’t for that, all consoles would be capped at a very minimal current and we wouldn’t be able to add leds. Thank the lord for rumble, although your sticks will never use it. In fact, I’ve never even experienced rumble on DC.
I really doubt the P360 would use more than 50 mA. You could easily test it with a digital multimeter. Below 50 and I’d drop all concerns about power. Only if the current drain is above 50 mA should you need to even consider it.