2-player XBOX 360 Fight stick (PCB question)

[jmike]

Hey guys,
     here's my attempt at a 360 fightstick. Been working on it for a bit now (that is when I have free time). The panel measures 16 x 29, not really sure how I came up with those numbers  .
The sides are 3 inches in height. I wanted it to look a bit more professional than all my other projects so I'm trying to hide the wood. As you can see by pic 4 never drill straight through without cutting from the other side as well.  

[jmike]

Here's some more pics. Got the plexi cut. As many of you already know, slow and steady is the best way.

[jmike]

As you can tell by the CP it's going to be a 2-player fight stick. I'm using Happ red buttons and black joysticks with red t-molding. Going to try to hack two Mad Catz arcade sticks. Also I decided to invest in some artwork so I hired Snaake. Artwork is ready and printed. (Will have a preview pic soon). Also I'm using 3/4 inch plywood for the case.

[mwong168]

Some advice and suggestion for pad hack alternatives besides the Matcatz arcade sticks.  I heard the Madcatz Fightpad are very easy to hack and can be had for as cheap as $19.99 from gogamer.com from time to time.  Here is a few sample images I have found of the PCB and the contact points are nice and easy to solder onto compared to say a Microsoft 360 controller.




Now another alternative is the Paewang Revolution aka Mayflash PCB which is $54.95 from etokki.com.  I can speak from first hand experience as I have helped a friend build a stick using this PCB.  It is good for PS3, PC and 360.  That's right 360!  Instructions on how to toggle from the etokki site:

Selecting Xbox 360 / PS3 / PC

When you unpack the Paewang Revolution, it is in Xbox 360 mode by default. This means that when it is first switched on it will expect to be used with an Xbox 360. To use the Paewang Revolution with a PS3 console or PC, simply hold down the Turbo button when you connect the Paewang Revolution to your PS3 console or PC. This will change the default mode of the Paewang Revolution to PS3/PC. If you wish to change the default mode of Paewang Revolution back to Xbox 360 then simply repeat the process by holding down the Turbo button whilst plugging into the Xbox 360 console.

I have tested this on all 3 platforms and works great so this gives your dual fight stick more versatility in case your friends have a PS3.


http://www.etokki.com/Joytron%20Paewang%20Revolution%20PCB%20Only

Here are some images from someone stick build using this PCB.





PCB schematic



Now if you want to make your stick wireless you can get two Hori Tekken T6 wireless fight stick for around $60 each and maybe trade the game in at EB or craiglist to recoup some money.  I picked up two used sticks for next to nothing on my local craigslist and made these two wireless HAPP/iL sticks for my 360/PC.


http://www.amazon.com/Tekken-Limited-Wireless-Bundle-Xbox-360/dp/B002ED4DQI/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&s=videogames&qid=1276611360&sr=8-3







I think you should go the eTokki route if you going wired route cause cost wise it will be about the same as getting two Madcatz arcade stick PCBs. 

[jmike]

Wow great info! and thanks for all the pics. You know I thought about Paewang Revolution PCB but at $54 a piece that would shoot up the cost for this thing. I've been picking up random pieces here and there for several projects and well the MadCatz arcade sticks only cost me $5 each at my local gamestop. Besides I have very little soldering experience and well I can live with messing up two $5 joysticks instead of $54 PCB  .

The other thing I was planning was to maybe build an upright cabinet (in the future) and throw this CP on it (which yes the Paewang would be the way to go again).

So far the cost isn't too bad:
 (2) 2x4 sheet of 3/4 plywood = $14
 peel and stick black vinyl from Ebay seller 2x4   $6
  Happ joysticks and buttons also from Ebay    $38
  T-molding from T-molding.com ($? ordered it a while back)
   Plexi from Home Depot  (actually have enough for 2 CP)  $20
   Random hardware screws, hindges. $10
artwork from Snaake $$  (was worth every penny, thanks again Snaake )
and printed artwork at Kinkos   $34


 

[mwong168]

For $5 I assume you are talking about these Madcatz arcade sticks



Honestly the Paewang Revolution PCB is even easier to solder then the one shown above.  See the image below for a pad hack of the Madcatz arcade stick.



You are spending this much money so far so why not do it right from the start and just bite the bullet as opposed to re-doing it later to better suit your needs?  The Paewang gives you the flexibility of all consoles so when you do build your cab you can throw a Ps3 or 360 in there and not have to bother with switches or other boards to toggle between the two.  Also good for PC which is what you will want to put in an upright arcade cab to run MAME.  I am also no affiliated with etokki so this is not why I am pushing so hard for it but I say if you are going to do it, do it right.  But again if all you will be using it for is 360 then continue down this route.  Personally my friends and I love the freedom of playing with my wireless HAPP sticks in my living room.  Also helps cause my 15 month old daughter runs around all over the place and the last thing I need is an excuse such as the cable getting in the way or pulled out after I beat them down.

[ChurchOfSolipsism]

As you can see by pic 4 never drill straight through without cutting from the other side as well. 

Didn't read the whole thread, so sorry if some else has already commented on this - this happens if you don't put another sheet of (scrap)wood under the board you're drilling. The other board keeps the wood from splintering.

[jmike]

mwong168 you sure make a heck of an argument over the mayflash PCB, (you know Father's Day is coming so maybe I'll order two)   

Here are some more pics. As I said before I'm almost finished I'm just trying to find the time to upload some of these pics. Check the t-molding fit with a scrap piece of wood in pic 11 and used pocket holes with my Kreg jig. pic 19 and 20. I ran out of ply so I used a piece of melamine for the bottom. Snug fit but I'm happy with it. I decided to put it in between the frame instead of under it.

[jmike]

pic 21 shows the peel and stick vinyl I got from ebay. I hate painting so this was a good alternative for me. 
Like I said before I wanted to hide most of the wood so I'm going to use this vinyl on the outside and inside of the frame. Pic 22 shows the measured and cut pieces for the sides. THis stuff is really easy to work with. the last pic shows the hole where the wires will come out from. Any questions please feel free to ask.

 

[jmike]

Now the control panel. Since I didn't drill the holes properly on the 2-player    I had to fill in the chip out. (see pic 27). After I sanded it down I covered the CP (this is the bottom of the CP) I have artwork for the top. Also added the t-molding. I had a little problem with the corners since the screw prevented the t-molding from going all the way in, I simply cut a piece off of the t-molding. Problem solved. 

 

[mwong168]

The only reason why I push the Mayflash PCB is because I watched my good friend buy and sell, buy and sell, buy and sell fight sticks between his 360 and Ps3.  He has a love hate relationship between the two and every time he flip flops he goes through the frustration of dealing with low ballers and flakes that enquire but no show.  So I convinced him to just forget all these MadCrapz SFIV fight sticks and while I was make the wood cases for my wireless sticks I made him one too cause I had lots of extra MDF left from my past projects.  Then told him to order the Mayflash PCB which at the time claimed to work on both platforms and seemed to have some pretty positive reviews and good write ups on the SRK forums.

Looking at the PCB one would be quite skeptical about it working with the 360 considering how tight Micro$oft is about their security encryption and how simple the Mayflash PCB is but it works!  Now my friend doesn't have buy and sell fight sticks or have 3-4 different sticks to cater to each system and just have one that is good for both. 

Excellent progress and your work looks top notch even more reason to go all the way with the Mayflash PCB.  It's really easy to solder to and you don't need to use that wiring harness like the one shown in the picture above.  You can solder wires directly on the PCB which is what I did on my friend's.  The hardest part of the solder is the home, turbo, back and start button on the other side of the PCB but no harder then what you see on the Madcatz $5 PCB I have posted above.  Just have to make sure when you are soldering not to overheat the PCB.

That vinyl looks great and how much did it cost?  Do you have the link for the seller you bought it from on ebay?  How hard is it to install and bubbles easy to get out?

[jmike]

Here's the link to the vinyl. It's really easy to install just peel and stick  . I had no problems with bubbles but just so you know it's a bit thin. I also used it on the bartop I'm building.

He's got different sizes available and I believe another color:

http://cgi.ebay.com/BLACK-CONTROL-PANEL-OVERLAY-CPO-MAME-MULTICADE-24-X-36-/360178910480?cmd=ViewItem&pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item53dc560510

I also got the joysticks and buttons from him as well:

http://cgi.ebay.com/HAPP-JOYSTICK-14-BUTTONS-COMBO-MAME-JAMMA-FREE-WRENCH-/360163629585?cmd=ViewItem&pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item53db6cda11

You make soldering the mayflash sound so simple. I'll let you know when I order it and then you can stop by and help me solder it   

More pics to follow

[mwong168]

You make soldering the mayflash sound so simple. I'll let you know when I order it and then you can stop by and help me solder it   

It is easy, look at this picture.  Don't have to scrap any rubber to expose the copper contacts like hacking an OEM 360 gamepad.  All I had to do was make sure my iron was hot, stripped the wire and solder.  Then after I tested to make sure everything works and I applied some glue to make things stronger. 

[apfelanni]

check amazon for the datel stick . its the same pcb as above for 54 $ . i ordered 2 of it for 23 euro each some time ago . lately they rised the price to 28 euro . its the best 360 pcb u can find . very small , all com ground and idiotproof soldering. far better than the madcatz shitsticks i used . 


http://www.amazon.de/PS3-Xbox360-Arcade-Pro-Joystick/dp/B00361GDJM

[jimmy2x2x]

Could you be so kind as to tell me a few things about the datel stick.

Does it autosense ps3/360/pc or do you need to manually select it somehow?

What does the stick respond as on the pc, is it a POV or a Joystick?

What are the button mappings of the stick, it looks to have 12 face buttons



Im thinking about getting one of these for the PCB and replacing a madcatz which doesnt do ps3, and is prone to losing connection from time to time.

Many thanks!

[mwong168]

Does it autosense ps3/360/pc or do you need to manually select it somehow?

What does the stick respond as on the pc, is it a POV or a Joystick?

Selecting Xbox 360 / PS3 / PC

When you unpack the Paewang Revolution, it is in Xbox 360 mode by default. This means that when it is first switched on it will expect to be used with an Xbox 360. To use the Paewang Revolution with a PS3 console or PC, simply hold down the Turbo button when you connect the Paewang Revolution to your PS3 console or PC. This will change the default mode of the Paewang Revolution to PS3/PC. If you wish to change the default mode of Paewang Revolution back to Xbox 360 then simply repeat the process by holding down the Turbo button whilst plugging into the Xbox 360 console.

I believe it detects as a USB Joypad in windows, have to ask my friend to see if he can plug it in and let me know.

[jmike]

Great info guys. I didn't realize there were so many options out there.

Originally I was going to use Happ joysticks. The height of the CP's sides are 3 inches, which was enough clearance for the base of the happ joystick but when I decided to put the base inside the frame instead of under it...  well I lost 3/4 of an inch. Luckily for me I have 2 sanwa joysticks I was going to use on other projects and well from what I hear sanwa sticks are better for fighting games anyway. Right?

Anyone have an easy way to install the sanwa joysticks on a 3/4 wood panel?

Here's a preview of the photoshop artwork (sorry I only had my crappy cell phone camera).
Great job Snaake. (Would definitely hire him for the another project)

This is his contact info if anyone is interested.
http://snaaake.com/
customjoystick@gmail.com 



 

[mwong168]

What happened with the HAPP stick mounting?  Didn't you use a router to recess underneath and mount from underneath?  You should, it drives me nuts when I see "stubby" HAPP/iL sticks installed.



3" should be enough because my wireless HAPP sticks are 2.75" in height and fits my iL sticks perfectly, see here.



You will need a Sanwa  JLF-P1-S "S" MOUNTING PLATE to mount in wood and also use a router to recess as well.  Cost of one is $6.95 from Lizardlick.com

[jmike]

I was going to route the recess but as I mentioned by installing the bottom piece of wood (look at the white melamine piece in the above pics) in between the sides I lost 3/4 of an inch. So the available space is 2 and 1/4 inches.

I've seen people install the sanwa sticks without that S mounting plate. I just can't seem to find it. I'll post more pics this weekend.

Thanks mwong for all your help (and pics)
 

[jmike]

Hey Mwong is that fight stick with the red/white/blue buttons yours? I wanted to know what size holes those are in the front (the player 1 button). I need to do something like that for the bartop I'm building.

 

[mwong168]

Hey Mwong is that fight stick with the red/white/blue buttons yours? I wanted to know what size holes those are in the front (the player 1 button). I need to do something like that for the bartop I'm building.

  

Yes they are both mine.



Size I am not too sure, the hole size is 1 1/8" i believe and I used one bit slighting bigger 1 1/4" I believe.  I drilled halfway with 1 1/4" and then the rest with 1 1/8" so the button could sit recessed like that.

I suppose you could mount the JLF without the "S" plate but that is the proper way to do it in wood.  You could route the top like I did to mount my HAPP trackball on my showcase podium.



You would need to route the bottom or get really long screws to secure with a bolt under neath.

[SNAAKE]

looks good

[yvoshkiro]

I Like it !

[jmike]

  Thanks for the kind words guys.

Below are pictures of how I had to make adjustments since I put the base inside the frame instead of under it. As you can see the happ base is almost level with the sides of the frame (and that's not even including the joystick sticking out from the bottom). 

[jmike]

Missed the second pic above.


Okay now to install the Sanwa joysticks without an "S" plate . As you can see in pic 457 I used the jigsaw instead of the router (much better control). Pics 460 shows the bottom of the sawna joystick (plenty of room for the wires to be installed). 

[jmike]

Having trouble uploading pics. Let's try it again.

[jmike]

Now for the hindges. Of course attempted the hole size on a piece of scrap wood first. Once I found the depth I set the router and installed them on the CP. Woo-hoo!  The top opens and closes without a problem.


 

[jmike]

This is the first time I've built a CP with artwork on it so I missed a few steps and had to go back  . Like I forgot to install the joysticks before I laid down the artwork(see pic 464 & 465). At least I didn't harm the artwork. 

Some pics of the finished CP (without the wiring of course). I have a small problem with the plexi on the bottom of the CP. It kind of sticks up a bit, what can I use? I didn't want any bolts to show, but what other options do I have, suggestions? The top holds down securely because of the buttons but there's nothing holding down the bottom.


 

[jmike]

More pics.

Hey one of my twins got his feet in the picture (pic 477). His brother was watching TV so he didn't even notice the CP.

I'm really happy with the way it turned out (not perfect of course but hey even the wife liked it) And we all know how rare a compliment from a wife on arcade building can be  .

The artwork really makes this stand out. ( Snaake).

[emphatic]

 

That artwork sure makes it special. It looks like a framed painting almost. Very classy. I'd opt for some clear acrylic washers for your sticks though, as the black ones are blocking your artwork.

[jmike]

That artwork sure makes it special. It looks like a framed painting almost. Very classy. I'd opt for some clear acrylic washers for your sticks though, as the black ones are blocking your artwork.

I thought about that but Snaake did the artwork around the buttons.

Can someone tell me what kind of bolt/screw you've used to hold down the plexi. I'm just worried that with all the button mashing, it might start to come up (especially in the corners).



 

[jmike]

Hey there. Well it's been 2 months since the fight stick was put together and well life (work, kids, wife) kept me from wiring up the Madcatz Aracade stick mod (that and the fact that I started other projects before finishing this one) 

I have a question and hope someone can shed some light on the PCB soldering points. I went to http://slagcoin.com/joystick/pcb_wiring.html for a very well detailed info about wiring up the PCB. Well all buttons work well except for the high Kick button. Every time I hit the button the character seems to do a crouching low kick.  In the diagram from Slagcoin it says to set triggers to neutral (i didn't do this) but could this be the reason why it's not working properly? Below is the picture and I'm refering to the "RT" point.

 

[DCsegaDH]

That Mayflash pcb is awesome and looks very easy to solder, but its kind of expensive and you need a case too. I might buy it, but the Madkatz fightstick around the same price so on the fence about buying either. Cool information though, I'm glad I read this.