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Another Tron-lookin trigger-stick hack

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MinerAl:
Same general idea as the Raider hack, but this one is a Macsense FunStick Pro F-108 handle grafted to a Happs Super with a 3/8" (couldn't find 1cm) steel tube. 

(the blue part is about 6" long)





I have yet to make the trigger and buttons functional.  There are fewer wires coming out than I would expect for a hat and 4 buttons (3 thumb and one trigger).  I would expect 4 from the hat, 4 from the buttons and 1 ground, but I've only got 6 wires total. 

Either the hat is sending code down 1 and the 5 others are 4 buttons and 1 ground, or the hat is 4, all the buttons share 1, and 1 ground.

I'll figure that out tomorrow.

If it's wired wacky, I may remove the opaque blue plastic card with the hat and the 2 round buttons on it, replacing it with a graphic similar to the Tron logo, then just wire up the thumb and trigger manually (oy! soldering!).

I'll make a little how-to if anybody's interested.

I'm VERY pleased with how solid the whole thing came out.  No wiggle, and I used an original way to keep it from twisting (which I will reveal once I make sure it works).

My only problem is that there's no room for this on my present cabinet.  Dang, I'm gonna have to start another one!

u_rebelscum:

--- Quote from: MinerAl on June 24, 2003, 11:45:37 pm ---I'll make a little how-to if anybody's interested.

I'm VERY pleased with how solid the whole thing came out.  No wiggle, and I used an original way to keep it from twisting (which I will reveal once I make sure it works).
--- End quote ---

Looks good. :)

I'd like to know how you made it not wiggle, if nothing else.  A how-to on the whole thing would be even better.  Thanks.


--- Quote ---My only problem is that there's no room for this on my present cabinet.  Dang, I'm gonna have to start another one!

--- End quote ---

Join the club!  ;D

GamingGreg:
Yes, a how-to would be very helpful.  How "sturdy" is this kind of hack, do you think?  Will the handle soon wiggle it's way off?

MinerAl:
I got to use a multimeter today to double check the wiring I figured out from tracing the leads on the pc-board.  The wires inside are:

Orange - Common (GND)
Black - Trigger
Brown - Offset thumb button
Yellow - Left top button
Green - Right top button
Red - Hat?

The idea that the red wire is for the hat switch is a guess.  No circuit was completed with the orange and red wires no matter what I did with any buttons including the hat.  I'm going to leave the blue card with the buttons and hat on the stick anyway, since the other two buttons each work.

I took one of the Happs Super base's switches off and drilled a hole in the (I thought) stationary cuff of the grommit thinggy that centers the joystick (part 96-1421-00 in the Happs exploded view) and drilled a corresponding hole in the shaft of the stick.  I lined them up, and stuck a little plastic clip in there to hold them together.  Then I put the joystick switch back.  Unfortunately the grommit thinggy does spin, but it is held against the bottom of the housing by the spring, so the friction is fairly high.  It won't spin unless you try to make it, so it's better than nothing.  I might try 1UP's no-spin hack later if it bugs me.

The reason the stick doesn't wiggle is because of the way the original Macsense Funstick Pro F-108 was put together.  The part that connects the blue plastic handle to the pots inside the base of the F-108 goes about an inch up into the handle and is secured by 4 plastic tabs.  That whole inch has a 3/8" hollow in the exact center.  All you have to do is cut the closed bottom off of that inch of the part, drill 4 holes in your 3/8" pipe and it fits like a frickin glove.  Solid.  No wiggle.  Really.

I would recommend thie Macsense Funstick Pro F-108 for hacking.  These, like the blue Raiders, are now thin on the ground, but it gives you two things to look for.  If the F-106's handle attaches the same way, it has an even more Tron-like look and isn't as right handed as the F-108.

MinerAl:
I got a F-106 from MegaMac ($4.99!) a few months ago and its handle does indeed connect the same way.  I like the looks of the 108 better, but it's much harder to come by.

I've also just bought a spinner from OSCAR and will be making a Mini-TRON cabinet as soon as school gets out and I have a minute to think.

In order to make the super/F-108 act like a "mostly 4-way" TRON stick, I'm going to shave down the 8-way end of the hourglass actuator until you have to really try to get it into the corners.  So the 8-way end will still be bigger than the 4-way, but only barely.  This works beautifully in my head... we'll see how it goes in real life :)

I'll be making the 106s into super-triggers too.  The conversion is too easy not to, and they're useless to me otherwise.  Maybe I'll have a TRON cocktail someday.

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