Request for hacked Playstation pads

[LurkingLizard]

I'm planning to put together a pair of single player control panels for use on a number of game consoles.
Before I go off and order some pcb kits from xgaming or mas, I'm wondering if anyone here might be able to set me up with something I'd consider more optimal.
(I know next to nothing about wiring, so let me know if anything I'm asking for is too crazy)

I'd be interested in some playstation pads hacked to meet the following criteria:

• When the pad is in digital mode, the joystick emulates d-pad. In analog mode, it emulates the left analog thumb stick.
• Allow for a button to change digital/analog mode, & LED to show the mode. (illuminated pushbutton perhaps?)
• Use of L3/R3 buttons

I just need the pads wired with quick disconnects, as I already have joysticks & pushbuttons from Happ(except the illuminated ones, if those are a possibility).
Speaking of illuminated buttons, I was thinking of using select as the coin button for mame. Would it be possible for that to be an illuminated button that just lights up when pressed?

If anyone is willing & able to do this for me, let me know and name your price.

[armad1ll0]

some of this can be done but not all of it.

I don't think anyone has hacked the joystick to go into the analog mode. If so then it would have to stay analog or digital, not both. How can a standard joystick control it truly analog. (yes it's crazy) Your sticks should just be plugged in for digital joystick games. If you need the analog stick, use the original controller. Somone hacked into the analog stick but used it on another stick in his case. You could do this with a two double row toggle switches. to toggle to the analog stick instead of the digital pad. I don't know how it would play.

The LED leads can be extended but the power off the board is only 3v and not enough maybe for an illuminated pushbutton... maybe who knows. You'd have to R&D it yourself.

Yes, I have my MAME config (PSX 2 USB adaptor) setup to see the select as coin and I use a P1/P2 button as start.

Hacking into L3/R3 shouldn't be hard. But I've never felt the need for those additional buttons. I've hacked into Dualshocks all the time.

I usually hack off of the white dualshock joystick. I could give you all of the wires hanging off of it and you can wire it up yourself and even crimp on the quick disconnects. I prefer soldering cause I know, that once on there it's on for good. I guess i've had bad experience with crimping and crimps coming off cause there's more room for error.

[gnateye]

sounds like you should get one of those xarcade kits, they have a switch to go between analog and digital, not sure about he LED though, they also have adapters for every system. i havent used them before, that info is from their site.....

[armad1ll0]

If all that you want is a d-pad that'll do both digital and analog signals, I have an encoder that puts out both signals at once. It's good for fighting games in that sense but you can't adapt it to X-box or Gamecube through adaptors.

This encoder is good if you are sticking with the Playstation stuff.

[LurkingLizard]

Just to clear up some confusion... I'm not expecting the joystick to have analog precision when in analog mode(yes, that would be crazy).  All-the-way-or-none-of-the-way in any given direction analog simulation is fine.

What I would like is when the controller is in digital mode, the joystick just sends the digital directional signals. If the game system tells the controller to go into analog mode, the joystick sends simulated analog signals.   And just like an ordinary dualshock controller, the LED indicates the current mode and I can switch the mode myself with a button.

While the X-arcade and other similar console arcade controllers do allow for switching between digital and simulated analog, as far as I know they ignore the digital/analog modes the way dualshock controllers use them, and always have to be switched manually.  The way I'm suggesting, the correct mode would be set automatically by the console system.

If all that you want is a d-pad that'll do both digital and analog signals, I have an encoder that puts out both signals at once. It's good for fighting games in that sense but you can't adapt it to X-box or Gamecube through adaptors.

Hmmm... Not quite what I'm looking for.  I plan to use a few adapters in addition to PSX/PS2 games (Gamecube, Dreamcast, and PC ...anyone know of any N64 adapters?).  I am curious why that encoder wouldn't work with adapters though.

The LED leads can be extended but the power off the board is only 3v and not enough maybe for an illuminated pushbutton... maybe who knows. You'd have to R&D it yourself.

From Happ's site, illuminated buttons have the following lighting options:
6v DC lamp, 14v DC lamp, 28v DC lamp, 6v DC LED, 12v DC LED.
The red 6v LED is actually described as "RED SUPER BRIGHT 5V LED F/IPB 6V LAMP REPLACEMENT"
I can't help but notice all of these numbers are above 3.  Could batteries be used to make this work?

Hacking into L3/R3 shouldn't be hard. But I've never felt the need for those additional buttons.

I figured they were good candidates for some pinball buttons on the side.
It would be just as good if I could double up on L1/R1 (or L2/R2) for that... possibly even preferable (I think L3/R3 are ignored when the controller is in digital mode).

So how's this all shaping up?  Trivial, do-able, difficult, impossible?

[armad1ll0]

Please understand this though.

Your digital button on the dualshock and your analog stick both send different signals. To have your one joystick be for both can work but you have to be able to shut off one or the other. Ground can come in to the joystick but a signal can go out. You can wire this out to the digital "dirrectional button" or the Analog stick. two "DPDT Submini Slide Switches" can accomplish this actually. Sliding both of them one side with switch the joystick to send the signal to the other contact on the dualshock encoder. If you don't cut off the other wire then one joystick movement will act like your hitting the dirrectional button and the analog stick at the same time. Some fighting games see both to work.

I've not tried it but I figure that I can find the contact that is "all the way that axis" I can also wire in the L3 and R3 but you can accomplish this by just doubling up on another button. Either way is fine, it's just another wire...

I can wire all of this for you and I have some Dualshocks ready to be hacked into. PM me if you are interested...

You're on your own on the LED. 3V only but I'm sure that you could put a 3V LED into the Illuminated Pushbutton and just fix it in there. How many milliamps it can handle is another question. Boost it with batteries??? doubtful but I don't know. From what I understand it doesn't work that way.

[Hoe]

If you're doing all 'dumb' cabling, then yes it is impossible. If you use a microprocessor in there, you could pull it off. Two swiches looks sloppy.
You may be able to get away with using one double switch to either kill or give the ground, and see if you can some how get that to short the analog button.

[LurkingLizard]

The main idea I was looking for was to make the correct mode automatic.  Having to use switches... pretty much defeats the purpose*.  I have a feeling now that what I was asking for would require some logic gates, at the very least, and that's venturing into custom circuit board territory if I'm not mistaken.  I don't suppose anyone reading this thread has any experience with that?  I'd be delightfully surprised if so.  Otherwise, I'm going to start figuring out a plan B.

btw, Thanks for all your help so far guys.

*[Edit: err, not defeats the purpose of using analog mode... rather defeats my original purpose of wanting hacked pads over an X-arcade pcb.  However, I'm still considering either way at the moment...]