So, I’ve mooned over the HSS-0136 for some time, and finally managed to pick one up. I’m new to modding and noticed a dearth of decent guides online for modding this stick. So, I thought I’d combine the learning process with creating a work log to help people like myself.
The buttons are all Sanwa OBSF 30. I’ve bought two blank plugs as I don’t like the placement of the R and L buttons on this particular stick. I don’t use them when I play (as they aren’t standard in arcades) and would rather have the flat surface. The stick is a Seimitsu LS-56. Early model HSS-0136s had LS-56 sticks (later ones had ASCI parts), so a simple swap for a unit without nearly two decades of wear and tear is a good idea, or a replacement of the ASCI stick for superior Seimitsu parts. For the record, whilst the standard buttons on the HSS-0136 are terrible, the stick itself has held up quite well. I just thought I’d do it whilst I had the case off.
Here’s the interior, as you can see from the close-up, the stick is an LS-56 and not ASCI. This accounts for how well it’s held up, though your mileage may vary if you have a non-Seimitsu unit. http://www.mediafire.com/convkey/b0d8/k7uxbdanvx8405u4g.jpg
I presume that I’ll need to do a lot of trial and error testing in working out which way is left/right/up/down? If so, I’ll probably just spring for the ‘correct’ model and save the more advanced stuff for a project when I’m less incompetent.
Edit
I’ve looked at the PCB in the installed stick and used the traces to see which wire connects where. They are as follows:
Yellow: connects on all four points;
Orange: bottom right;
Red: bottom left;
Brown: top left;
Black: top right.
Hopefully that helps anyone who’s as stupid as I am.
Lesson #1: make sure you buy the correct components.
You are already going to be doing a lot of soldering for the buttons alone so you may as well do your joystick at the same time. You can work out which signal goes where simply by looking at the traces on the pcb, or you could use the continuity test on a multimeter.
Thanks for the help! I’ve just ordered an LS 56-01 to keep it simple. I might use the LS 56 in my Wii Arcade Fightstick as that has an awful stick (good buttons, though) and it gets quite a lot of use as I use my Wii for emulation.
I’ve got a nice big update coming tomorrow, so stay tuned folks. I’m probably going to need some advice on getting that damned, thrice-cursed joystick out.
I wondered when you were going to mentioned your mod log…
Personally, I hate these top stickers that cover the faceplate screws.
I think you or somebody else said they got they stickers off their candy-cab style Virtua Sticks by putting the case (minus all the electronics and arcade parts, of course!) in a tub of warm water. That softened the glue enough so that the sticker could be removed (?) without being totally destroyed. I know a few other people have been forced to recreate the sticker art because of mishaps or modding without knowing the trick about softening the sticker glue.
I never liked that Hori and Mad Catz used top stickers on their HRAP V3/VX and FightStick Pro “cousin” joysticks.
Shoulda stuck to screws/art that could stay on and be covered by thin paper artwork… or have the artwork removable like the R1/R2 TE’s and Hori HRAP N3 SA (Soul Calibur V) artwork is.
I got mine off by soaking it in hot water, but the art ended up being ruined anyways.
I should just get a vinyl reproduction print done with exposed screw heads for the Joystick.
The other way to save the art would be to scan it, save the original scans, and fix them up in Photoshop.
I guess you’d have to go get a vinyl reproduction unless you want to custom-make your own plexi and then print off the art on a laser copier (Kinko’s)… or convince Art to do a one-time cutting job. (I still have to see if I can convince Art to make last-chance T5 and Agetec plexis after he announced 2 months ago that he’s not doing them anymore unless someone twists his arm!)
I ended up doing that with another joystick when I accidentally drilled too far into the faceplate and came out the other side with a hole in the head of the character art! LOL
It happens…!
At least I now have a composited, retouched image that can be reprinted in the future if I ever want to go back to the original art. Had to do this art restoration as a composite because the faceplate art couldn’t be scanned in one take on my gear… Unless you have a smaller faceplate to work with, my guess is that most faceplate art would have to be done in two scans unless you’re scrapping the artwork altogether.
(I ended up going with an alternate art theme on the joystick where I drilled the faceplate. The original intent was only to get a screw that became stuck in a poorly-made mount area… Happens a lot with the thread screws in Hori joystick mount areas. Every company has something they futz on joystick manufacturing!)
Would like to know - will this stick have input lag trying to connect it to PC trough 2 connector adapter? Sega Saturn to SS/PS2 to PS2/PC?
Playable or not?
Please keep in mind this was a thread about modding the virtua stick hss-0136, not playing it on the PC
Scientifically every adapter will have some sort of lag, good adapters lag in the 1 to 2 millisecond range , bad adapters lag much longer.
And as you chain adapter the more lag you inure, sometimes exponentially more than the 2 adapters would lag on their own.
Try to look for a specific Saturn to USB adapter.
try the [Converter Compatibility Thread](Converter Compatibility Thread
There’s the Magic Box that’s a triple converter (Sega Saturn/Dreamcast/PS2) but it’s long out of production and you will have to pry it from some people’s dead bodies to get one! That’s one of the few that will work decently with a Mac or PC and requires no mods whatsoever.
I never noticed lag when using Saturn controllers (Virtual On-Stick, the Sega control pads) with a USB adapter on Mac or PC. Seemed to work fine to me! The USB situation was worse with the PS3 which didn’t recognize some buttons on the Sega controllers…
Other than that, you can try a replacement PCB like the PS360+ or MC Cthulu… Be aware that a replacement PCB will NOT generally support the last two buttons on the Saturn (L and R) should you try to play the same stick with a Sega Saturn/native. That is the rub of current PCB’s that support the Saturn! Most replacement PCB’s are built to support the more popular, more recent systems like the PlayStation, XBox, and Nintendo lines. Saturn L and R button support SHOULD have been there on the replacement PCB’s but it didn’t happen. That’s something to ask the guys who designed the replacement PCB’s… I’m sure there’s a reason or two besides “eight button is dick”! for why those buttons don’t work. It took a longer while for Saturn (and Dreamcast) support to be added onto the third party multi-console PCB’s.
I’ve already run into several games on the Saturn that REQUIRE all eight button support so I wouldn’t throw away the original Saturn PCB IF you ever plan on using that joystick with a (working) Saturn again. At worst, I’d “project box” it and keep it available as a plug-in PCB. That’s what some people have done with their HSS-0130’s, the twin joystick predecessor of the HSS-0136.
