Author Topic: dc control hack??? (Read 10701 times)

mo1e · « **on:** October 10, 2005, 05:44:33 pm »

hey all i knew i had a question but i forgot to ask until i looked at my dc controller and remembered. Its about the triggers when i took my control apart i noticed that there seems to be a magnet on the trigger that gets closer to a black chip thing on the other side. Now my theory is that when the magnet gets closer it pulls and that black chip can sense it there for the harder the trigger is pulled the greater the effect is this correct? Also how would i then hack the trigger buttons?

Thanks in advance carl

elvis · « **Reply #1 on:** October 11, 2005, 02:25:12 am »

DreamCast pads use a Hall Effect joystick for the analogue controls:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hall_effect

The beauty is that the voltage is the greatest when the buttons are pressed all the way in. Hacking these are therefor VERY simple, as you can just remove the magnets and treat the shoulder buttons as digital devices (a closed digital circuit being the same as a full depression of the shoulder button).

Simple as that.

mo1e · « **Reply #2 on:** October 11, 2005, 03:03:10 am »

yes thats what i thought to do because after all i have never played an arcade game where pressure to the buttons is the key to win

mo1e · « **Reply #3 on:** October 11, 2005, 04:02:49 am »

but how would that be done to make it digital theres no pad to connect the wires?

HaRuMaN · « **Reply #4 on:** October 11, 2005, 05:24:54 am »

Here you go!

(click on the link to make the picture bigger)

mo1e · « **Reply #5 on:** October 11, 2005, 06:10:59 am »

ok so i see all the red x,s are where i should solder the wires from my buttons and joysticks

HaRuMaN · « **Reply #6 on:** October 11, 2005, 06:35:24 am »

Quote from: mo1e on October 11, 2005, 06:10:59 am

ok so i see all the red x,s are where i should solder the wires from my buttons and joysticks

That is correct. I hope this has cleared matters up for you.

dennis808 · « **Reply #7 on:** October 11, 2005, 06:45:39 am »

yes sir! For the shoulderbuttons the upper left part of the chip needs to be soldered, be sure you don't solder any other contacts and you'll have digital shoulderbuttons.

I used an exacto knife to scrape some of the black goop off all the regular connection points so that the underlying copper was visible. The solder won't hold onto the black stuff unless you scrape it first.

here's a blurry close-up of how mine came out:

HaRuMaN · « **Reply #8 on:** October 11, 2005, 07:04:18 am »

Quote

I used an exacto knife to scrape some of the black goop off all the regular connection points so that the underlying copper was visible. The solder won't hold onto the black stuff unless you scrape it first.

Be careful that you don't cut through any of the traces... I like to use a dremel tool (at medium/low speed) with the wire brush to remove the black coating.

mo1e · « **Reply #9 on:** October 11, 2005, 05:31:46 pm »

got my cp artwork delivered today

and i have a sheet of mdf. My dc controlls are uncased and ready to be attempted to be hacked all i need now is the wire kit and my buttons/joysticks to arrive

Minwah · « **Reply #10 on:** October 12, 2005, 06:29:22 am »

Be careful when soldering next to the little chips for the triggers. One of mine came off when I did it

Seems to still work tho...

mmmPeanutButter · « **Reply #11 on:** October 13, 2005, 11:28:48 am »

Quote from: HarumaN on October 11, 2005, 05:24:54 am

Here you go! (click on the link to make the picture bigger)

I was wondering this exact same thing...

Amazing photo HarumaN. I guess that's why they call you the Supreme Solder King!

This is exactly what I needed.

mo1e · « **Reply #12 on:** October 13, 2005, 01:19:32 pm »

ok my pads are down to the circuits and my wires and buttons arrived today so tomorrow i can go up town buy a solder kit and be on my way

hopefully

HaRuMaN · « **Reply #13 on:** October 13, 2005, 04:21:25 pm »

mo1e · « **Reply #14 on:** October 14, 2005, 01:55:02 am »

got work to go to then will give it ago after i mite need u haruman

HaRuMaN · « **Reply #15 on:** October 14, 2005, 05:07:58 am »

I'll be here...

mo1e · « **Reply #16 on:** October 15, 2005, 05:01:14 am »

hi im sorry about the poor quality of pictures here i hope you can see them. My wires turned up yesterday im sure i recieved all i need but all i got was one thick wire that contained 4 wires like this

(there are 4 wires the other thing is fabric)

each of the four wires was actually 2 wires twisted like this

do i seperate them to make 8 wires?

in total for the up, down, left, right, a, b, and other buttons etc i will need 11 wires i think.
I also recieved a bundle of thin wire like this

and some crimps is the thin wire the grounding wire?

Goz · « **Reply #17 on:** October 15, 2005, 05:22:14 am »

Good thing you put descriptions. I had no idea what they were actually pictures of.

mo1e · « **Reply #18 on:** October 15, 2005, 05:26:09 am »

yer thats what i meant about the visibility the cameras gone c*ap all of a sudden. can you help?

Goz · « **Reply #19 on:** October 15, 2005, 07:21:11 am »

hoestly I cannot make out anyting in the pics. By you r description you bought twisted pair wire. There is no problem with using the stuff, but yeah it is two wires interlooping / twisting. So one braide is two wires or you have a total of 8 wires.

You need 12 wires

Joy
+++
1 - right
2 - up
3 - down
4 - left
5 - start
6 - ground

Buttons (will also use ground)
+++++
7 - X
8 - A
9 - Z
10 - Y
11 - C
12 - B

Of course doesnt matter what order. I simply used the numbers so you wouldn't have to count.

hope this helps,

-Goz

HaRuMaN · « **Reply #20 on:** October 15, 2005, 07:22:03 am »

umm, where did you buy those wires from? ?

And yes you will 11 wires for buttons and directions. You will need one long wire with daisy chained female disconnects for your common ground.

mo1e · « **Reply #21 on:** October 15, 2005, 07:27:27 am »

from grumby on ebay are these wires correct?

Goz · « **Reply #22 on:** October 15, 2005, 07:31:59 am »

Looks like he bought this Kit which is CAT 5 cable with the ends cut and the inulating jacket in tact.

HaRuMaN · « **Reply #23 on:** October 15, 2005, 07:36:46 am »

Quote from: mo1e on October 15, 2005, 07:27:27 am

from grumby on ebay are these wires correct?

They are correct. I was just curious as to where you got them. That's a pretty good deal, IMO.

mo1e · « **Reply #24 on:** October 15, 2005, 07:38:55 am »

ok so is this correct the daisy chained ground wire goes to the red circle and the button wires go to the blue circle

mo1e · « **Reply #25 on:** October 15, 2005, 07:48:56 am »

or vice versa?

Goz · « **Reply #26 on:** October 15, 2005, 07:57:24 am »

Typically the ground goes to the common (red in your picture)

mo1e · « **Reply #27 on:** October 15, 2005, 08:02:59 am »

ok so i use the thin wire to ground? and the 8 wires in the one sleeving wont be enough so i take it i use the 8 wires then cut another bit off and use 3 wires from this?

mo1e · « **Reply #28 on:** October 15, 2005, 08:03:57 am »

and yes thats the kit i bought

HaRuMaN · « **Reply #29 on:** October 18, 2005, 12:54:14 pm »

So how's the DC hacking going??

mo1e · « **Reply #30 on:** October 18, 2005, 01:10:54 pm »

lmao not even given it a go yet i got my solder kit though im waiting for the wood for the cp

mo1e · « **Reply #31 on:** October 18, 2005, 01:40:48 pm »

also why does there have to be a ground daisy chain? and should it be done like this

or like this

That mite sound dumb but im unsure about this

mo1e · « **Reply #32 on:** October 18, 2005, 01:51:06 pm »

and also does the black goop neex scraping off the connections?

mo1e · « **Reply #33 on:** October 18, 2005, 02:52:40 pm »

ok i now officially take back my words ( anyone can solder cant they) i can solder but the solder never seems to stick to the dc connectors anyone help?

HaRuMaN · « **Reply #34 on:** October 18, 2005, 03:08:29 pm »

Ok...

First, did you scrape/sand the black stuff off of the contacts?

Second, are you using solder with a flux core?

Also, your ground needs to be like the first picture (daisy chain). Creating a loop like in your second picture can and most likely will cause problems.

mo1e · « **Reply #35 on:** October 18, 2005, 03:12:09 pm »

ok thanks for that and yes i did scrape off the goop and the solder is a no clean solder (doesnt neeed to be water washed afterwards)

HaRuMaN · « **Reply #36 on:** October 18, 2005, 03:19:52 pm »

Quote from: mo1e on October 18, 2005, 03:12:09 pm

ok thanks for that and yes i did scrape off the goop and the solder is a no clean solder (doesnt neeed to be water washed afterwards)

Does that mean the solder has no flux? If so, you're gonna need some (either flux paste, or solder with a flux core).

I use solder with a flux core and I never have to clean the board when I'm done.

mo1e · « **Reply #37 on:** October 18, 2005, 03:27:07 pm »

brb let me check all i know is at work some solders we have to clean the boards afterwards i will go check now k

mo1e · « **Reply #38 on:** October 18, 2005, 03:28:13 pm »

yer its a no clean core solder 1.1% flux i can see the flux when the solder is melted

HaRuMaN · « **Reply #39 on:** October 18, 2005, 04:04:49 pm »

Hmm... your solder should be sticking. Do you see copper underneath of where you scraped the black off? (Hopefully you didn't scrape the copper off as well.)

You may try wiping down the points where you wish to solder with rubbing alcohol. This may help.

mo1e · « **Reply #40 on:** October 18, 2005, 04:06:15 pm »

yep i definately see copper i hate to do this but howmuch are ur hacked pads?

Grasshopper · « **Reply #41 on:** October 18, 2005, 04:07:32 pm »

Quote from: HarumaN on October 18, 2005, 03:08:29 pm

Also, your ground needs to be like the first picture (daisy chain). Creating a loop like in your second picture can and most likely will cause problems.

Creating a loop is pointless but it shouldn't do any harm.

mo1e · « **Reply #42 on:** October 18, 2005, 04:41:58 pm »

also are the madcats ones easier to solder/hack?

HaRuMaN · « **Reply #43 on:** October 18, 2005, 04:48:54 pm »

If you are in the U.S. my hacked pads are $30 for the standard version (this is for one pair, including shipping). Canadians add $5. Also, for an additional $5 I will install terminal strips on the hacked pads.

Madcatz are easier to hack, but also harder to find, so you will probably pay more for them.

... I take Paypal.

mo1e · « **Reply #44 on:** October 18, 2005, 04:55:08 pm »

i live in uk lmao u name a price if i have it i will pay it and what do yoy mean by terminals?

HaRuMaN · « **Reply #45 on:** October 18, 2005, 07:56:20 pm »

You've got PM...

and I mean this by terminals:

mo1e · « **Reply #46 on:** October 21, 2005, 09:56:15 am »

kool i am cutting out my cp wood now and button holes soon

looking forward to recieveng your hacks

mo1e · « **Reply #47 on:** October 21, 2005, 01:04:32 pm »

well i created my cp today without the wiring and im happy to say it looks pretty nice

heres some pics

hmmmmmmmmmmm what could this be for?

with cp artwork added and holes marked out for cutting

with buttons added but no joysticks as of yet ( i need some screws)

and a close up of cp with buttons

So what do you guys think is this ok?

Goz · « **Reply #48 on:** October 21, 2005, 01:27:57 pm »

Assuming your camera or your photography skills are like mine it looks good (pictures dull and fuzzy).

HaRuMaN · « **Reply #49 on:** October 21, 2005, 06:13:57 pm »

Does look good...

mo1e · « **Reply #50 on:** October 23, 2005, 01:23:27 am »

ok thanks i have the screws for my joysticks now

mo1e · « **Reply #51 on:** October 23, 2005, 05:38:30 pm »

many may ask why not mario and luigi or mario and bowser and the simple answer is at the time i couldnt fine any images if either luigi or bowser big enough

HaRuMaN · « **Reply #52 on:** October 23, 2005, 05:50:50 pm »

That's cool... Mario and Yoshi work well together.

mo1e · « **Reply #53 on:** October 24, 2005, 01:05:28 pm »

is there any specific way that the ground wire has to go? e.g. down, left, up, right, a, b, x, y?

HaRuMaN · « **Reply #54 on:** October 24, 2005, 01:41:01 pm »

nope... anyway is fine.

mo1e · « **Reply #55 on:** October 24, 2005, 01:43:45 pm »

good

mo1e · « **Reply #56 on:** October 30, 2005, 12:58:18 pm »

hi i have a problem i cant put 2 wires through one hole to link the 2 buttons togeather for ground im using the top (common hole) from this pic

is this correct?

mo1e · « **Reply #57 on:** October 30, 2005, 02:39:05 pm »

nevermind i have done it now the player 1 is completely wired up and it works

HaRuMaN · « **Reply #58 on:** October 31, 2005, 05:20:07 am »

Quote from: mo1e on October 30, 2005, 02:39:05 pm

nevermind i have done it now the player 1 is completely wired up and it works

What you need are some female .187 quick disconnects on the ends of your wires.

mo1e · « **Reply #59 on:** October 31, 2005, 05:34:24 pm »

what? i have just soldered it lol it seems to work

Franco · « **Reply #60 on:** October 31, 2005, 05:43:39 pm »

Yeah it should work fine. Its just that quick disconnects are handier as regards to maintenance or upgrades etc.

bill55 · « **Reply #61 on:** November 07, 2005, 08:06:18 am »

I am having some probs with my DC controls.

For some reason I cannot get my triggers to work correctly. I have all my buttons running into an IPAC4 (I use this cab for the DC as well as a MAME PC). I took my wires from the hacked DC pad and have those connected to the wires from the buttons at the IPAC. (It was easier to do it this way since the IPAC has screw terminals and I didn't want to redo all my quick disconnects)

Everything works fine except for the triggers. If I power the MAME PC on so the IPAC gets power, then the triggers work. I cannot make any sense of it since the wires from the DC pad are twisted with my button wires. The IPAC should really be doing nothing other than holding the wires together.

Do the triggers need power or something? I have my pads wired exactly like the pic from page 1 of this thread (dc.gif).

PLEASE HELP!!!!!

Thanks!
Bill

Minwah · « **Reply #62 on:** November 07, 2005, 10:26:08 am »

Bill I said try a search here not post the exact same question: http://www.mameworld.info/ubbthreads/showthreaded.php?Cat=&Number=54294&page=0&view=collapsed&sb=5&o=&fpart=1&vc=1

You probably didn't like my answer since it means you need to rewire stuff but trust me you really need to unless you want to damage something. DC controller ports don't take much to blow you know...

bill55 · « **Reply #63 on:** November 07, 2005, 12:50:58 pm »

Actually, I didn't see your other reply til just now. I replied here just after I made the other post before you replied. I thought posting on 2 different sites might help me get an answer. Not that I didn't like your answer. I just didn't see it. :-)

I do appreciate the help. (I replied on that thread)

Bill


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Author Topic: dc control hack??? (Read 10701 times)

Franco