Gutted xbox controller help

[erickdj]

Hello everyone, I'm in desperate need of some help here.  I'm building a set of arcade controls for my xbox, everything is going well, except for the fact that I ruined one of the controllers I had bought for the project.  The problem now is that I cannot make the L and R triggers work with the arcade buttons.  The triggers still work if I use the actual triggers on the bottom of the PCB.  I had seen a post about a very similar topic, I followed the instructions to wire the switches to the bottom 2 soldering points as I put it on the picture below, but I just cannot make them work with the arcade buttons.  I have tried everything that I can think of, but no luck.  I would greatly appreciate some input.   the controller is a Hip Interactive that I got from Compusa.

[J_K_M_A_N]

Don't quote me on this but I thought I read somewhere that you couldn't use the trigger buttons as regular buttons.  I just tries to do a search for it but couldn't find it.  Good luck. I will keep looking.

J_K_M_A_N

[SOAPboy]

Don't quote me on this but I thought I read somewhere that you couldn't use the trigger buttons as regular buttons.

[erickdj]

Thanks for the replies guys, I have hope that I can use those buttons just like all the other buttons on the controller.  Games like Mortal kombat need those buttons for blocking and changing fighting styles, and other games need them too.  I checked the controller that I had broken to see what the triggers actually did, and found that they turn a potentiometer(I think that's what they are called), so I desoldered that potentiometer and wired it between the button switch and the soldering points on the PCB, but no luck there.  I'm still trying to think of a way to get those darn triggers to work.  failure to make them work would signify a great loss, I've spent like $200 already on this project, so I can't give up at this point in the game.  thanks again for the input so far.  I'll keep on checking to see if anyone has some suggestions or if someone has made them work.

[Dave_K.]

I don't know what tutorial you were following, but if it wasn't for your specific brand of xbox pad, you pretty much bet it isn't going to be hacked the same way.

Most Potentiometers have 3 prongs, one side is ground, and one side is + voltage.  The wiper is used to regulate between the ground and voltage (giving you variable input).  Usually all you do is ground the wiper, and it should trigger a full press of the trigger (ala Dreamcast hack).  If you are unlucky, you may have to put the wiper on the + side to trigger it fully.

Where to go from here?  Use a multimeter and determine which of the outter ponits (of the 3) is ground.  If none of the 3 read as ground (equal to ground wire of your pad) then you gots a problem. Otherwise try running a test wire from the leg of the pot which is ground to the wiper (middle) and see if that triggers the stick. 

[snipa]

I think Dave_K is right - different pads will be slightly different.

http://chrisevans3d.com/hardware/cabinet.htm

This guy has successfully done it with his pads, though, and he's managed to hack out the buttons under the thumbsticks, too, which I haven't seen anyone else pull off - could be worth contacting?

By the way, are you just hacking the D-pad or are you going to try to convert the left and right analogue pads to digital sticks?
And what about the buttons under the thumb sticks?

[erickdj]

I only needed to make the triggers work, I don't need the thumbsticks or the thumbstick buttons.  I only want the controls for fighting games, so having the D-pad, a,b,x,y and L R  is all I really need.  As an update, since my last post I have changed to a different controller, I found a way to make the trigger work, but doing that would make the Y button act as the "start" button.  I gave in to frustration and gave up with that controller, so I started working on gutting a "reflex" arcade stick, I'm still not done with it, but hopefully it will go better than the gamepad.  I'll keep you guys posted.  thanks for all the help.

[erickdj]

Hi guys, if anyone still follows this thread I'd like to say that I have succesfully hacked the reflex arcade stick to work with my setup.  My control cabinet is for 2 players, but since I only had one reflex stick I'll have to wait until I can buy another one to make the "player 2" side work.  I should have started with the reflex stick since day 1 and wouldn't have wasted $30 on generic controllers.  I learned my lesson there.

[rchadd]

i thought the L and R buttons are analog unlike the D pad and ABXY buttons which are digital