The PC Engine 6 button arcade stick

Drakon · 07/31/2012, 08:27 PM

Like the title says.

Duo_R · 07/31/2012, 09:42 PM

Sweet that has been a back burner project for me....bought an Ave 6 just for doing that.

Kaijuboy · 08/01/2012, 02:33 AM

There's actually an arcade stick put out by innovation years ago called the Multi-System Arcade stick and its a full 6 button joystick with actual arcade-y micro-switch parts inside that can swapped out for other components. AND it works on PCE, NeoGeo, GEn, & SNES. Just got done modding one up a bit to my tastes and it works fantastically!

Drakon · 08/01/2012, 06:43 AM

Yeah my arcade sticks are straight wired. I built adapters to make it work on the following:

snes
nes
genesis
xbox 1
playstation 1
playstation 2
PC usb (using a playstation to usb adapter)
my arcade supergun (4 button support for my neo geo mvs, 6 button support for my capcom pcbs which are cps1, cps2, zn2)
and now the pc engine

So the stick in this video works on all the listed consoles.

Heck building an adapter for my stick to work on a neo geo would be super easy neo geo ports are straight wired just like my stick so it would just be a quick wiring job from one port into another.

For my stick if I ever want to add support for another console I just use a sacrificial controller and I can build an adapter like I did for all the above systems. This 6 button PCE wiring I did the entire mod in a couple of hours it was pretty easy.

soop · 08/01/2012, 07:36 AM

Quote from: Drakon on 08/01/2012, 06:43 AMYeah my arcade sticks are straight wired. I built adapters to make it work on the following:

snes
nes
genesis
xbox 1
playstation 1
playstation 2
PC usb (using a playstation to usb adapter)
my arcade supergun (4 button support for my neo geo mvs, 6 button support for my capcom pcbs which are cps1, cps2, zn2)
and now the pc engine

So the stick in this video works on all the listed consoles.

Heck building an adapter for my stick to work on a neo geo would be super easy neo geo ports are straight wired just like my stick so it would just be a quick wiring job from one port into another.

For my stick if I ever want to add support for another console I just use a sacrificial controller and I can build an adapter like I did for all the above systems. This 6 button PCE wiring I did the entire mod in a couple of hours it was pretty easy.

that's a really good idea. Maybe I could do the same with my DC stick if I get the nice Sanwa parts.

NecroPhile · 08/01/2012, 09:47 AM

Pretty neato, and I like how you wired it up with a connector so you can still use the Avenue Pad on its own.

Drakon · 08/01/2012, 12:48 PM

Yeah this's doable with any stick I have a second stick wired the same way. It's a x-arcade shell I got for 10-15$ where I swapped out the happ stick for another seimitsu ls32 (had the sanwa jlf in it for a long time). Normally I wouldn't bother with the connector I'd just sacrifice the entire pcb but the avenue pad is rare and expensive so I still wanted to be able to use it normally as well. Luckily the traces for all the buttons connect to surface mount 47k ohm resistors on the back of the pcb giving me a way to solder each button from the back. So the front of the controller pcb where the buttons are wouldn't be interfered with in any way. I was also careful to mount the arcade stick connector in a spot where it would fit safely, and also in a place where it wouldn't interfere with holding the controller or operating it normally. Half of a project like this is just planning. When you plan something properly you avoid as many irreversible mistakes as possible which saves money over time for sure. One of the most common mistakes I see with modding projects is just something that's not planned or thought through well at all. Doing research and knowing all your options first makes a huge difference and saves a lot of time and money.

Later if I feel like it I can look into building a small project box to encase the joystick plug at the back to make the control pad look nicer. Really the only downside is it would be a royal pain getting at the back of the control pad pcb now since stuff is held in with hot glue. Still I'd rather have some hot glue to deal with than wires that randomly break off from random stress.

Drakon · 08/05/2012, 08:50 PM

Built the small box, this should demonstrate how horrible I am with casework!

/back_1.jpg

/top.jpg

/side.jpg

/front.jpg

PCEngineHell · 08/05/2012, 09:05 PM

In the future you may just want to go with a DB15 midi gameport extension cable or a Neo Geo AES extension cable, cut it in half, and daisy chain one half of that cable out of your gamepad like how some 3rd party 3DO gamepads did. That way all you would have to do is drill or dremel a small extra hole out of the back of the controller to run the cable through, and loop a knot so the cable cant be ripped out. The other half of the cable could be used to wire up a cable on the arcade stick. This way you would have a matching female and male wire set and a much more elegant approach when using a gamepad as a host.

Drakon · 08/06/2012, 06:54 AM

I'd much rather have this than a loose cord sticking out the back.

esteban · 08/06/2012, 07:54 AM

/top.jpg

If you modify this further, you can install a pre-amplifier in that case and listen to a phonograph on modern gear. That would be awesome.

Phonograph --> Bastardized 6-button PCE pad --> Flatscreen TV (or any device of your choosing)

PCEngineHell · 08/06/2012, 08:15 AM

Quote from: Drakon on 08/06/2012, 06:54 AMI'd much rather have this than a loose cord sticking out the back.

You could run the cable out of a drilled or dremeled spot right beside the normal controller cable. Seriously, it would look worlds better, and hold up a lot longer then just smearing hot glue all over a small external box thing you patched together. You clearly have skills for doing the soldering work, so there is no excuse to just ignore the fact that you could make it look worlds nicer if you took the time. It pays to go the distance.

Also, and granted you are probably not selling this one, but you need to keep in mind that many people are allergic to the chemicals in hot glue, like polyethylene glycol, so you want to expose people as little as possible to hot glue on any end product/project you sell or give away. A lot of people don't even know they are allergic to it until their first exposure. Just friendly advice from someone who has been doing this kind of stuff for over 16 years. Hot glue is meant as a product to be used internally as much as possible when electronics are concerned, or for items that will not be handled often like woodwork and crafts that sit on display.

Drakon · 08/06/2012, 09:48 AM

Hmm that's not a bad idea actually. I have some sacrificial printer cables that contain more than enough wires to do that. Thanks for the suggestion I'll build it right now.

Drakon · 08/06/2012, 01:13 PM

Version 3 of stickenthropus adaptererus is done:

/thepad.jpg

/padback2.jpg

/adapterplug.jpg

/entirepadrig.jpg

Huge thanks to PCEngineHell for coming up with this much better idea.

Duo_R · 08/06/2012, 01:20 PM

that is better, one suggestion I have is lose the zip ties and use shrink tube wrapping. Of course at this point it is going to be hard because it is all wired up but for the next one that is how I would do it and it would look cleaner.

Drakon · 08/06/2012, 02:31 PM

Quote from: Duo_R on 08/06/2012, 01:20 PMthat is better, one suggestion I have is lose the zip ties and use shrink tube wrapping. Of course at this point it is going to be hard because it is all wired up but for the next one that is how I would do it and it would look cleaner.

I agree that would look cleaner but I'm fine with this. thanks for the suggestion.