mr.mortified Posted February 17, 2011 Posted February 17, 2011 (edited) fuck i should just make a thread saying ask mr. mortified about joysticks here.... You can always get it off of akihabarashop.jp easy enough and there is always focusattack.com as well when it comes to joystick parts arcadespareparts.com has also been reliable but shipping from singapore though. be prepared to wait for aki though as they take brand new parts straight from the production batches. edit: if you're considering making your own joysticks and joystick cases. My first suggestion is NO. If you're trying to consider making a decent looking joystick will be cheaper than making your own stick the answer is it isnt. The tools, materials, equipment necessary, and not to mention the TIME it takes is going to put you in the drain more than a stock madcatz TE will cost you. Unless you're doing this for fun and considering it as your hobby (its a fucking expensive hobby) you're better off just buying a stock TE and making it look pretty with new art and buttons Edited February 17, 2011 by mr.mortified
RaveSage Posted February 17, 2011 Posted February 17, 2011 Well, if you happen to have hobby-shop equipment already (or a friend/relative who does) then building your own is a little less of a pain. The big squeeze on the wallet really comes from the tools. But yeah, building your own is pretty expensive and difficult when you first do one so it's better to not risk the waste. Get a TE and be a happy family. Also, LL restocked on Sanwa sticks just now. Get em while they exist.
Steez Posted February 17, 2011 Author Posted February 17, 2011 (edited) I'm just doing it for fun. I needed something to do in between work and school and I've been wanting one for a long ass time. I rather make it for around $100 and be the only one in the world with a Joystick like it. Rewarding in a sense. EDIT- Alright just to make sure before I press the "SHIP IT TO ME BUTTON" 9 Sanwa Buttons (getting an extra one just in case) 1 Sanwa Joystick 1 Sanwa Joystick Balltop 35m (standard amirite?) 1 Cthulu pad thingy 1 of each colored wire That's it right? Edited February 17, 2011 by Steez
Delrian Posted February 17, 2011 Posted February 17, 2011 I'm just doing it for fun. I needed something to do in between work and school and I've been wanting one for a long ass time. I rather make it for around $100 and be the only one in the world with a Joystick like it. Rewarding in a sense. EDIT- Alright just to make sure before I press the "SHIP IT TO ME BUTTON" 9 Sanwa Buttons (getting an extra one just in case) 1 Sanwa Joystick 1 Sanwa Joystick Balltop 35m (standard amirite?) 1 Cthulu pad thingy 1 of each colored wire That's it right? Um, I haven't looked into this much, but I think you need a cable that can connect the Cthulu to the PS3/PC. I think RJ-45 cable and a USB extension cord. Confirm/deny anyone?
KayEff Posted February 17, 2011 Posted February 17, 2011 (edited) Yes, you need the cable. If you want the cord to be detachable, you'll have to buy two USB A/B wires (one about 6 inches, the other however many feet you need/want) and a USB A/B jack. LL has them both at pretty good prices, so if you would like that, the option's there. Of course if you prefer the cord the way it is, then you can just buy a single USB A/B wire, however many feet you want. If it were up to me, I would buy a USB cable that have the leads sticking out. I personally find the USB cable/jack connection a little risky/flimsy, so I would just solder wires to certain points on the Cthulu PCB that act as the VCC, ground, D+ and D- line. Would need a soldering iron though. CHOICE IS YOURS. Edited February 17, 2011 by KayEff
Steez Posted February 17, 2011 Author Posted February 17, 2011 Can't I just splice any normal USB cable and solder them to the PCB and voila? As far as A/B cables go, I can get them for my employee discount cheap at Best Buy. xD
KayEff Posted February 17, 2011 Posted February 17, 2011 You can, as long as the other end connects to the console. That's what I did with mine Also if you are going with that method, a good way to test which points are which is using a multimeter. If anything, those things are essential if not necessary to wiring an arcade stick. Just look up a USB pinout and test out which points connect to which.
mr.mortified Posted February 17, 2011 Posted February 17, 2011 No, not an RJ45, its a plain jane male/male usb a/b. If you want a pass through so you can connect a usb to the case rather than have a usb wire sticking out, you'll need to add a neutrik usb a/b passthrough. No you do not need one of each colored wire. For a general joystick wiring job, you'll need maybe about 10 ft of wire maximum. Assuming you want to be able to hook up buttons with quick disconnects rather than soldering, get yourself enough .110 quick disconnects. Make sure that your sanwa JLF joystick comes with a wire harness rather otherwise you'd need 8 .187 quick disconnects for the joystick. 35 mm is standard for a balltop but it can go to 45 mm's or 30 mm's and yes GET A MOTHERFUCKING MULTIMETER the worst thing you can do to yourself is solder wrong and fry your PS3 or PC
RaveSage Posted February 17, 2011 Posted February 17, 2011 and yes GET A MOTHERFUCKING MULTIMETER the worst thing you can do to yourself is solder wrong and fry your PS3 or PC Far as I'm aware you can't fry em. They will disconnect the controller automatically. The cuthulu is really easy to put in a stick anyway and it being solder-less just makes things even easier. Also, (and I know this is going to sound like a no-brainer) don't use magnetic screwdrivers at any time. Took 5 dead pcbs for me to learn that lesson.
mr.mortified Posted February 17, 2011 Posted February 17, 2011 Far as I'm aware you can't fry em. They will disconnect the controller automatically. The cuthulu is really easy to put in a stick anyway and it being solder-less just makes things even easier. Also, (and I know this is going to sound like a no-brainer) don't use magnetic screwdrivers at any time. Took 5 dead pcbs for me to learn that lesson. not all usb ports have surge protection sadly The xbox's power brick goes red when you have a surge which eats fuses. The PS3 handles it in a way I don't know Most USB ports have surge protection now but who knows man. And a multimeter will come in handy
Steez Posted February 17, 2011 Author Posted February 17, 2011 Any other tips I should know before I proceed? Haha.
KayEff Posted February 17, 2011 Posted February 17, 2011 It really doesn't hurt to be prepared. Buying a multimeter to ensure that the PCB connections work is LOADS better than wild guessing everything with the chance of frying a PCB, whether you know it can be fried or not. In other words, multimeter >>> chance of having to buy several controllers
mr.mortified Posted February 17, 2011 Posted February 17, 2011 (edited) Get a crimper, know to double crimp http://shoryuken.com/f177/quick-connects-263410/ Get a multimeter, use it to test all of your connections Get a wire cutter, ones on the crimpers from radio shack dont' work so well Get lead based solder. Lead free solder sucks ass read slagcoin thoroughly 5 more times before proceeding Edited February 17, 2011 by mr.mortified
Steez Posted February 17, 2011 Author Posted February 17, 2011 (edited) So I need those little red crimp thingies as well if I use that PCB? EDIT- Also, which Sanwa JLF do I get? The one with or without the PCB? And I suggest 1 of each color because it'd be easier for me to identify which is which when I'm hooking everything up, wouldn't it? Edited February 17, 2011 by Steez
mr.mortified Posted February 17, 2011 Posted February 17, 2011 with the pcb, with the wire harness feel free to use multiple colors. Just make sure you don't have a see through bottom cuz it'll look like ass imo this was my first build and first job, use it as an inspiration http://www.joystickvault.com/showgallery.php?cat=1038&ppuser=3189
Steez Posted February 17, 2011 Author Posted February 17, 2011 (edited) Wow. That's pretty damn sick, not gonna lie. And yeah I just thought about that, rather keep it all white and simple haha. For a strictly for fighting game stick would an 8-button layout be preferable to a 6-button? I'm thinking it would be, especially for MVC3. But not so much for Blazblue, GG and Arcana. For the crimps, how many packs am I going to need? Just 1? And sorry for all the questions man. Just wanna get it right the first time y'know? xD Edited February 17, 2011 by Steez
mr.mortified Posted February 17, 2011 Posted February 17, 2011 you'll need 1 quick disconnect for every wire end going to a button and 1 button has 2 terminal assuming an 8 button layout + 3 for start/home/select that's 22 disconnects in total. that build took me like 2 months of planning and research. Be sure to plan and document your process in detail. MVC3 uses a 6 button layout. I have never seen a fighting game use 8 buttons. Vewlix layouts can suck my dick. Astro city for life Seriously though, read slagcoin again. And again. you'll have no more questions after that
Steez Posted February 17, 2011 Author Posted February 17, 2011 Out of curiosity, how come you went 8 buttons on that badboy then?
mr.mortified Posted February 17, 2011 Posted February 17, 2011 first build, that's all next build will be something like this debating whether to have L1/L2 on the face or on the side. top part that's semi-gray is wood, bottom black bar is also wood. Panel size comes out to about 16x6 inches for plexi and around 16x 8-ish inches for front face
Steez Posted February 18, 2011 Author Posted February 18, 2011 Quick question - How much clearance would I need to fit the joystick and all that other shit height wise? And what's the height of your finished box?
KayEff Posted February 18, 2011 Posted February 18, 2011 Depends on how much you're putting in there.
qwerty Posted February 19, 2011 Posted February 19, 2011 Vewlix layouts can suck my dick. Astro city for life
mr.mortified Posted February 19, 2011 Posted February 19, 2011 Quick question - How much clearance would I need to fit the joystick and all that other shit height wise? And what's the height of your finished box? height came out to about 2 inches. Just enough room for quick disconnects
Steez Posted March 4, 2011 Author Posted March 4, 2011 So I finally finished guys, made a pretty sick one with the help of my brother. May not be that impressive, but I learned a lot so the next one should come out sick. Here's the pics. At first the color scheme was going to be black and red, hence the red shoulder buttons. Ended up not liking the original design we had so we scraped it last second and came up with that blue box guy. Sadly, my PS3 just got the YLOD so I have nothing to use it on. :P
RaveSage Posted March 5, 2011 Posted March 5, 2011 (edited) Great job! Shame about your ps3 though. Maybe play some PC fighters? Edited March 5, 2011 by RaveSage
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