Idea for GamePad hack (update, not the idea, the real thing)

[zobook]

I dont know if someone has made somethin like this, but i hope i made my gamepad hack this way and somebody else find it interesting to use.

I see a lot of people doing nice and clean work with the cables, all tied togethers in groups, following clear paths and so (they usually go for i-pac or similar) but when comes to gamepad hacks is usually a pcb just sitting there at the bottom of the control's box. What i have in mind is doing something like a "box" for the hack, so is secured and protected from accidental ripping and is easy to (for example) move to another place like if you decide to make a full cabinet, just unscrew the cables and are ready to go.

This is the "lower plate"
Is a 3mm MDF, the boxes on each corner are wooden blocks with pre-drilled holes for screws.



This is the "top plate"
Also 3mm mdf, is for covering the PCB and the wires, has a cut for easy acces to the output cables and is secured with screws to the bottom plate. Has a "label" just to make it look more "professional" (and is a good reminder too)



The top and bottom screwed together



The PCB in the firs image is held in place with those black boxes you see around it, who actually looks like this:



The lower plate may include a couple of "flaps" to the sides to secure the "box" to the CP using screws.

Just an idea
Thanks for reading

[northerngames]

I used a radio shack project box there only a few bucks and instead of playing with terminals screwing/unscrewing wires for hours figuring what goes where each time you swap from arcade to gamecontroller mine go to a DB-25 male and runs to a db-25 switch box.

this way instead of playing with tons of wire you just turn a switch.

if it need's to be unhooked for some reason it just unplugs and plugs in where there is no playing with wires or tools after it is all completed.

 

[zobook]

instead of playing with terminals screwing/unscrewing wires for hours figuring what goes where each time you swap from arcade to gamecontroller

But i'm not talking about swappable controllers. Just say if you make a CP and then later on time (when you have space, money, skills) decide to make a full cabinet you have this "box" when you just screw the wires coming from the buttons on the new fixed-to-the-cabinet CP. Of course, if you are swapping continuouslly, your idea is really good, but that's not the case.

Besides, the only "real" console i have is a clone of "Nintendo Famicom" (known in Argentina as Family Fame) with fixed controllers so don't expect too much arcade<->console swapping



Not exactly the one i have, mine has a 3-position switch over the buttons, meaning turbo off/low/high. It comes with SMBros but for some more pesos i get "Adventure Island III".

[zobook]

This is the pad i buy, is really cheap (around U$S 6) but has 10 action buttons and turbo + autofire functions. what a deal!!



The pad, out of the blister



This is the importat part, the PCB. I just throw away those two "things" that serve no purpose to me



The PCB mounted on the MDF base, with some cables already soldered



I put the top plate and the label just to see how it looks



The final result



Now i have to build and wire the "real" controller (already have the buttons and joystick) then i put this thing inside, conect some cables and presto!!!

[Fozzy The Bear]

Very nice! neat work!!

Best Regards,
Julian (Fozzy The Bear)

[zobook]

Update, i'm currently working on the layout of the control panel. I made a test with a cardboard box and the result is satisfactory...







...but maybe move the middle column of buttons up a bit or the right one a little down to make a nice arc that feels more natural to the shape of the hand.

The center button is the "MAME" button, intended to control the emulator in combination with the other buttons and the stick. I not decided how to implement that yet, but that's ok because is a "software" problem not a "hardware" one

[zobook]

Update

I got these inexpensive B&D 5 pieces set cup-drills for around 5 dollars. It has the 1" 1/16 cup so is ideal for drilling the holes of the buttons, and on 12mm MDF works for the stick too.



this is the mdf box without the lid




the cover with buttons and stick



I probably cut round the pointy edges of the cover
.
now i have to figure out how attach the damn hinges and do the wiring of the microswitches.

[zobook]

I rounded the corners of the cover (no router, just good old sandpaper)



The hinges already in place



The exit hole for the cable is rounded so it will not hurt it



Checking how it looks with the controls in place



A inner view



Almost there, almost there.... 

[SavannahLion]

I have to be truly honest here.

I originally thought your idea was... bleh. I kind of considered PC controller hacks something from yesterday that was no longer a necessity (thanks to people like Ultimarc and GGG) or something that belonged in the realm of console based arcade machines (I'll reserve my opinion on those).

You've proved my conceptualization of controller hacks wrong and proved that a controller hack doesn't have to look like a hack at all. Great job. 

[zobook]

I kind of considered PC controller hacks something from yesterday that was no longer a necessity (thanks to people like Ultimarc and GGG)

I live in Argentina, and not in Buenos Aires. It's unlikely i can buy a keyboard/joystick encoder from Ultimarc or similar. So for me, hacking was te only option. But that doesn't mean it has to look ugly  .

proved that a controller hack doesn't have to look like a hack at all.

That was my original idea, to make something that may look nice if someone open the lid of the controller. Even i sure it will looks like a mess when i do the wiring of the microswitches 

Thanks for your comment

[DeLuSioNal29]

Use Cat5 cable (has 8 wires inside the cable) so that it will look nice and neat inside.  Then you will only have 2 Cat5 cables and the ground wire (daisy chained visible).

Also, being that you covered the screw holes with wood filler, there is no way of tightening the screws in the event that they become loose over time.  So to prevent the wood from falling apart in the future, you can glue small pieces of wood to the corners on the inside to reinforce it.

~ DeLuSioNaL

[pmc]

Also, being that you covered the screw holes with wood filler, there is no way of tightening the screws in the event that they become loose over time.

If it was me, I'd glue the screws in place  (as well as all the MDF ends). The screws are then only needed to hold everything tight while the glue dries. And I woulda also used cleats inside like you suggest.

I dig the red box. My controller cards are loose and mounted to plywood mounting board with wires running everywhere -- it looks like a mess. This inspires me to clean it up.

-pmc

[zobook]

The MDF is, in fact, glued. I use the screws to hold it togheter in testing time (when i build and disasemble several times) and finally use glue. Is white glue of the brand "Fortex". Is been used in the past to build things with 3mm MDF glued on the border and is really strong (as all good glue, is stronger that the material it hold togheter).

I dont discard putting some pieces on the corners also, already there is a "cord" of glue running along the inner corners.

[zobook]

Before wiring...



Ground wiring....



Top painted...



Finished for now!!!!