What sort of custom controller projects have YOU done? [Archive]

jferio

07-04-2006, 12:16 PM

I've got three:

Proline SI Edition (Atari7800): One of the running projects that everyone's heard about. I finally took the plunge late last year, and it's rapidly become my favorite stick. I've thought about picking up more of these for future projects.

Sega 7800 Joypad (Atari 7800): One of my 'extra' Genesis 3-button pads, reworked to two-button compatibility on the 7800. The key bitch was having to cut off part of the ground so that I could properly rewire it. I also found out that there are two variants on the circuit board, and only one of them wasn't surface mount.

Fighter's Choice Stick Rebuild (PS1): I didn't want to throw this one out when it died (I didn't have the Radica Gamester at the time), and I had a spare Sony digital controller floating around that I wasn't going to use. In short, a new brain for the stick, and it works like the day I got it, except for the (useless) autofire option.

Anyone else have any custom controller projects that they've undertaken?

c0ldb33r

07-04-2006, 01:49 PM

These are my two (that I've got pictures of):

backlit crystal xbox controller S (http://www.digitpress.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=83042&highlight=xbox)

add a power button to xbox controller S (http://www.digitpress.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=83771)

evil_genius

07-04-2006, 02:06 PM

i removed the select button from a SF anniversary controller. that is pretty much the extent of my work.

Carey85

07-04-2006, 02:58 PM

christhegamer

07-04-2006, 03:22 PM

Most of the stuff I try to do involving modification usually ends up worse than Ed's mom at the beginning of Fullmetal Alchemist, but here we go:

-I once tried to put the guts of a NES zapper into an old Laser Tag gun. the parts were to big and the gun (although really kickass) was to small. at the end of the project, I was out one really awesome gun, and another non-working orange zapper (I think I sold it; suckers!!!)

-Another time I painted the buttons of a NES controller blue to suprise the guy I was going to trade it to. The paint flaked-off in about a minute, and I had to glue the thing so it would actually stay together. To top it all-off, the guy did'nt take it, so now I'm stuck with it with a few other stuff until we have another garage sale.

-I fixed-up a QuickPro XII because it had a bit of plastic rattling around in there. I was suprised because it actually worked, yet I still cannot get the turbo to work at all to this day.

-(work in progress) I'm thinking about making an "Ultimate SMB controller"; a big honking peice of stainless steel sheets, out-fitted with various switches to give you any power-up, go to any level, and/or even make any solid object wall-jumpable at anytime. One can only dream, however...

I have the electrical skills of a platypus :(

scooby105

07-04-2006, 04:07 PM

I made some neo geo controllers once. I wasn't really happy with the work I did. I also rewired a couple DC Green Goblin controllers to work with a supergun I built. All the projects I've done have been pretty easy and I've done a pretty crappy job at them. I'll post up some pics here of what I've done if I can find them.

I also hacked a MS Sidewinder Pad so I could use my Neo Geo and DC joysticks on the PC. I actually did a good job at that project.

CYRiX

07-04-2006, 04:10 PM

replaced an xbox controller s casing with a clear orange one.

CosmicMonkey

07-04-2006, 04:16 PM

I replaced the stock parts in my official Dreamcast stick with a Sanwa JLF-TP-8Y joystick with a blue balltop and 6 blue Sanwa buttons.

Built sticks for the consolised MVS and PGM using Sanwa buttons/sticks.

Mr.FoodMonster

07-04-2006, 04:25 PM

One time I plugged a Genesis controller into a 2600.

Yeah, thats pretty much it. Once Guitar Hero 2 comes out, I'm going to screw with the guitar I have, because I'll buy the packaged guitar and game. I might just make it look different, or I might stick it all into something else guitar-like, not sure yet.

McBacon

07-04-2006, 04:44 PM

Being too cheap and tacky to buy a second Guitar (plus, England didn't have any at the time), me and my dad made one out of 2 kids guitars and a PS1 controller.

http://img464.imageshack.us/img464/7567/git7nt.jpg

Todo: Mecrury Tilt Switch for Starpower, Whammy Bar and Paint Job :P

Kamino

07-04-2006, 04:46 PM

I've built joysticks for:
SMS
Genesis
Saturn
Dreamcast

NES
SNES
N64
Virtual boy

TG16
Jaguar
Vectrex

And I tore the shitty BaoLin parts out of a Street fighter stick for ps2/xbox and replaced them with happ.

Also have built paddles for tempest 2k on the jaguar
, and a paddle for hyperchase on the vectrex.

Also: I tore the shitty yellow C stick out of gamecube pads and put in
Grey sticks.

Yeah, I have a lot of time on my hands. SO WHAT!!!!

Kamino

07-04-2006, 04:49 PM

I forgot, due to the fact that I no longer possess the projects(I sold them to cuewarrior) that I once converted a NES pad and a NES advantage to work with turbografx16. The Advantage looked REAL pro. The pad was a test dummy, and works but looks like absolute crap on a stick. I literally gave that away.

I have also built a box for using Atari/80s 9 pin common pads(or in my case, my common stick) for ti99. The schematics on 99er.net are all fucked up, though. I had to rewrite them. IF anyone wants them, I'm sure I could dig the fuckers up.

mezrabad

07-04-2006, 05:24 PM

Here. (http://www.digitpress.com/forum/weblog_entry.php?e=2535&sid=55ccdf92852dc2d3d8be70dc84708ea6)

Most of my Bally Astrocade controllers sucked in some way. Either the joystick part didn't work correctly or the paddle part didn't work correctly. One didn't work even more than the others did and that was 'ol number 2. It just flat out didn't work, down to the trigger.

So, I gots me an Atari 2600 paddle controller and an Atari 2600 joystick controller and I made me a monster.

It served it's purpose until I paid way too much for "good as new" genuine Bally controllers on ebay. I still keep this if I've got other people who want to play (I use the crap controller and they get to use the new ones.)

Kamino

07-04-2006, 05:34 PM

Pantechnicon

07-04-2006, 05:47 PM

Built my own control panels for six different MAME cabs I've put together over the years (number 7 is coming soon).

Console-wise, nothing yet but I've got two projects in mind:

1) An Atari 2600/7800 gamepad with a control orientation like the CX-40 stick i.e. - direction on the right, fire button on the left. Ideally I'd mod a CX78 pad for this but I'll probably just rewire a more expendable NES pad first as a prototype.

2) An Atari "paddle" that can controlled with the thumb and index finger. This is primarily with my daughter in mind, as only has the full mobility of one hand. I might try to build her a "thumbstick" as well.

Stadsport

07-04-2006, 06:25 PM

I made a portable N64 a while back. Recently I bought a bunch of cheap N64 games to sell (classic plastic!), but I had no means to test it. I tore the old dismantled portable N64 apart, hooked up the motherboard, and powered it on. It still worked, but since I mangled the controller in the process of building the portable case, I had no controller. I'll be damned if I was going to pay $20 at bookman's for a new one.

So I made this. Yeah, it was once a DSL modem.

http://i51.photobucket.com/albums/f377/stadsport/000_0251.jpg

heyricochet

07-04-2006, 06:56 PM

I built a ddr pad from scratch, using a crappy ps controller as something to work off of. I used ddrhomepad's instructions, back in the day 5 years ago on ddrfreak, but I did a little modification as I wanted to have solo arrows.

My current project that I've really been too lazy to do at all and especially now that my colecovision isn't where I'm living, I've been converting an NES advantage to work with the colecovision so that I can have a decent arcade stick for all the arcade conversions.

smokehouse

07-04-2006, 09:08 PM

Nothing overly complicated. I wired a SNES controller to work on the NES (one of the BEST mods ever!). The SNES controller on the NES is awesome. I also wired a SNES TopFighter joystick to work on the Neo Geo�that was a bit more complicated�

kingpong

07-04-2006, 10:39 PM

I'm anxious to see if anyone has modified their SMS lightgun for 7800 compatibility... Finding an XE lightgun is difficult and playing Meltdown, Alien Brigade, and Crossbow with a controller is the pits... Yes, I neglected to mention Cracked and Barnyard Blaster...

I did this probably 8-10 years ago. I don't know how it compares to the XE gun, but I wasn't too impressed with the results. Better than nothing though.

I think my first custom controller was a second Track and Field controller to use with the 2600 version 20+ years ago. Since then I've built a few arcade style sticks, put thumbsticks on most controllers that used pads (pads are evil), did the DDR pad thing a few times, etc. The most useful one was taking a NES Advantage clone for the TG16 and making it a 7800/Colecovision 2 button stick, with a passthrough to connect a regular Colecovision controller to use the keypad (similar to the Wico 5200 stick).

GaijinPunch

07-04-2006, 11:35 PM

I can't find the pictures, but I have:

-Modded an Agetec to use a Sanwa stick
-Modded a few other Agetec's to have Sanwa sticks & buttons, and actually made it a PS/PS2 controller at the same time.

Bleetness

07-05-2006, 02:58 AM

I!.....Built an arcade cabinet and put my ps2 in it... :D

XYXZYZ

07-05-2006, 07:39 AM

I made this joystick back when I couldn't find any arcade sticks to use on the PC. My uncle built the casing, 'cause I can't do woodwork.

http://videogamecollectors.com/albums/XYXZYZ-s-gaming-setup/homebrew.jpg

I've changed the overlay on the SF2 anniversary joysticks with overlays of my own design- Street Fighter 2 arcade cabinet motif, and Capcom vs SNK motif. (Yeah, I know I made a thread about these a few days ago, and here they are again!:D )

http://videogamecollectors.com/albums/XYXZYZ-s-gaming-setup/SF2overlay.jpg

http://videogamecollectors.com/albums/XYXZYZ-s-gaming-setup/CvSstick.jpg

My best mod, though, is to the Pro-Play Home Arcade, an arcade cabinet kit for your NES that was sold at Toys R Us in 1989 or thereabouts. I removed the NES controller guts and drilled for a couple more buttons, added new joysticks and buttons and threw in a modded Xbox where the NES was to be, running MAME.

http://videogamecollectors.com/albums/XYXZYZ-s-gaming-setup/cabinet.jpg
http://videogamecollectors.com/albums/XYXZYZ-s-gaming-setup/Xboxcab.jpg
http://videogamecollectors.com/albums/XYXZYZ-s-gaming-setup/cabtray.jpg

Vigilante

07-05-2006, 12:33 PM

I've done a few mods here and there. I did a video mod on my Atari2600, and I'm currently building a mame cab (soon hopefully.)

But to stay on topic, the only controller I've built from scratch is an atari 2600 keyboard controller. I had gotten the one with Star Raiders, and I got a copy of Basic Programming. I needed another keyboard. This is a radio shack special that still works and is about 15 years old.

CYRiX

07-05-2006, 11:03 PM

Being too cheap and tacky to buy a second Guitar (plus, England didn't have any at the time), me and my dad made one out of 2 kids guitars and a PS1 controller.

PIC

Todo: Mecrury Tilt Switch for Starpower, Whammy Bar and Paint Job :P

Nice job, very creative.

kedawa

07-06-2006, 04:31 PM

When I was a kid, I attached the handle of a 2-button quickshot joystick to my amiga mouse, because the mouse buttons were worn out.
The end result was surprisingly usable and ergonomic, and made Space Harrier much more fun.

I also used to remove the weights, and sometimes the gray shells, from NES light guns for other people, and a few times I modified the triggers to get rid of the hard spring action as well.

I'm currently doing some cosmetic mods to some of my older systems and my DC retail kiosk, but I'm waiting on some internal decals for my transparent PSX shell and a well-ventilated workshop for doing vinyl dye spraying for the other systems.

Beyond that, my only planned projects are two 360 controller mods, one to add an ext port for arcade sticks, frag-type adaptors, etc, and the other to replace the right analog with a trackball, which is going to be very difficult because of space limitations and having to program a PIC to translate trackball velocity to joystick position. These are both highly dependent on some friends of mine, however, since I have neither a 360 nor a PIC programmer.

kedawa

07-06-2006, 04:44 PM

I tore the shitty yellow C stick out of gamecube pads and put in Grey sticks.

That sounds awesome!
Is it a difficult mod, or do the grey sticks just fit right in?

blue lander

07-06-2006, 05:22 PM

I bought one of those crappy Pelican "Real Arcade Sticks" from Gamestop, replaced the joystick a with Sanwa and the buttons with Happs, resurfaced it with Vinyl, and wired it up to be compatible with Neo Geo, Genesis, TG-16, NES, etc. Then I built another one using a Seimitsu joystick and buttons. I realized I didn't like the Happ buttons or the Seimitsu joystick, so I put the Sanwa joystick in with the Seimitsu buttons.