How do U make a fighter joystick like the ones made by MAS?????

[shadowhawk]

okay i am making a joystick for fighting game use and well i cant find any dreamcast controlers anymore anywere because dreamcast was discontinued!
So i was wondering if anybody knew how make joysticks like the ones that mas stick makes.Um and can someone plz tell what i need to buy for that and tell me the wiring that u are sapposed to do!!!!! If anybody has aim go ahead and send me ur aim sn to my email address Habib77fm@hotmail.com and ill be sure to im u.

alright thx a lot

oh yeah mas stick web site www.massystems.com

[CthulhuLuke]

My best suggestion is A: buy a realllllly cheap playstation pad, the cheaper the better.  Then find yourself a playstation to dreamcast convertor, that way you have the best of both worlds.  Then read an article about how contacts work, there's like a million examples here, just browse through em.  Then get your parts from www.happcontrols.com
  The way Mas systems makes their joysticks is A: MDF, LOTS of MDF, those things are freakin heavy.  B:  All the nailing and gluing is done on the inside.  C: they use real T-modling along the edges of the joystick, which is real hard to do if you're just going to buy a small bit, cause you usually gotta buy a big thing of it.  D:  They have a professionally printed plastic overlay on the top of their joysticks, but you can get the same effect with contact paper from home depot, the marble style is real popular.  E:  Prepare to put a lot of time into this project, it aint easy or cheap.
     -enjoy
       -CthulhuLuke

[SNAAAKE]

since you are builiding new...EBAY...i saw some auction with 2 joysticks and 20 buttons for only $19.99 starting bid..look around in ebay..there is plenty deal you might find..dont order from happ..i wont explain what happend to me

follow whatever the previous dude said..thats the easiest way and leaves you choice of using the same joystick for mame if you ever felt like playing..USB CONVERTER...

and avoid contact paper unless you can put a piece of lexan in top..trust me if you just go with contact paper,then you will end up building another joystick..just contact paper is annoying..your little brother will always try to peel it off

stay away from nail..use drywall screw..since first time..use PINE wood..easiet to work with.

and playstation pads are extreme simple..however i saw 2 pads that were extreme hard to hack...
Get those $5 interact pads with different colour..they are easiest..second best is pelican..and stay away from the cheap $3 pad with no name...ONLY EB SALES THOSE...i had to hack that thing for like 2 hours before i got it right..i will try to get the box pic of the controller that has the easiest solder contact.first time was very hard(for me anyways).
so i will try to do my best to help out about the pad hack.

need more help?post again...also if you wanna make something look like mas stick..then its all you..copy the design.

[isugoat]

since you are builiding new...EBAY...i saw some auction with 2 joysticks and 20 buttons for only $19.99 starting bid..look around in ebay..there is plenty deal you might find..dont order from happ..i wont explain what happend to me

you piqued my interest, what happened with Happ? all my orders have gone flawlessly with them...

[rampy]

since you are builiding new...EBAY...i saw some auction with 2 joysticks and 20 buttons for only $19.99 starting bid..look around in ebay..there is plenty deal you might find..dont order from happ..i wont explain what happend to me

you piqued my interest, what happened with Happ? all my orders have gone flawlessly with them...

I think snaaake had a shipping cost issue, here's the original thread http://www.arcadecontrols.org/yabbse/index.php?board=6;action=display;threadid=1844
if your curious...  

rampy

[planetjay]

okay i am making a joystick for fighting game use and well i cant find any dreamcast controlers anymore anywere because dreamcast was discontinued!
So i was wondering if anybody knew how make joysticks like the ones that mas stick makes.Um and can someone plz tell what i need to buy for that and tell me the wiring that u are sapposed to do!!!!! If anybody has aim go ahead and send me ur aim sn to my email address Habib77fm@hotmail.com and ill be sure to im u.

alright thx a lot

oh yeah mas stick web site www.massystems.com

The way I made one was to take an original and trace it on to paper. Then I went to Home Depot and bought a white shelf. That shelf was just a piece of white melamine. I cut all off the pieces plus some 1"x1"x2" blocks. I glued the edges and the blocks in place, then used my brad gun to attach everything.

The first MAS systems stick I ran across had the top rotated 180

[shadowhawk]

yeah on my stick yeah i already made the base its the same thing as the mass sticks right now and i have my buttons in there that i got from happ. 8way joystick, and 7 buttons, so yeah the only problem now is the wiring and everything else but sence dreamcast is no long they dont make madcatz controlers anymore so i need to find out how they made it like mass. but if i have more questions ill post here and when i get pics of my stick ill post

[hyiu]

I had to agree with snaaake....

try not to use contact paper.... I build my first joystick and covered it with contact paper..... the results are not as good as I expected....

I would suggest paint it, then put a piece of lexan on top....
it'll feel VERY professional looking and feels very good....
(also, you can put a printed artwork to cover most screw holes...)

[CthulhuLuke]

Yeah, I've just heard contact paper is good if you wrap it around the bottom of the piece you're using, so you can't see any sides you can pick at.  I've never actually used it myself, but it's the more simple way to make your controller look a little nicer.
   If you want to paint it, here's what you do, it's REALLll easy, go down to Shucks or any auto shop like that, and pick up a tall bottle of gray Primer, and then pick up a tall bottle of any color as long as it says Enamel on it, I chose glossy black for my control panel.  Then practice spraying on a test piece, get the feel for how it sprays on so you're not going to have big drips or anything, and spray a coat of primer on, wait for it to dry, then spray a coat of paint.  wait for that to dry and spray another coat and so on until bout 4 or 5 coats, then sand off the paint, it still should look black, and spray the last coat.  It should look daaaamn slick.  A few tricks I learned from my dad about painting with spray cans, after you're done to prevent clogging, spray it upside-down until it sprays air, it should take about 2 seconds, and once it's spraying air stop and you know it's clean.  And when you spray, go back and forth VERY slow, to prevent big stripes.  Btw: the Primer and Paint I bought, enough to spray about 4 control panels, only cost me 9.97 with tax.
   -Well I guess that was more of a paint lesson than anything else, lol, sorry.
     -CthulhuLuke