Homebuilt arcade stick problem - Someone proficient with modding xbox controllers that can help?

lightcycle

lightcycle

[09] Warrior
I have a homebuilt arcade stick that recently developed a problem. I took a regular Xbox 360 controller (Gamestop branded) and disassembled it, removing the buttons and insted soldering wires from the button copper pads to an arcade stick and arcade buttons and mounted it in a box. It has worked perfectly for a long time, but today when I was playing there was an electrostatic discharge when i touched the stick, and afterwards the left/right axis on the dpad is stuck on full right all the time. Disconnecting and reconnecting makes no difference. I connected to a computer and checked with a joystick testing program, and found that the dpad left/right axis has stuck on full right. I checked if the right direction somehow had been permanently shorted to ground, which would cause this behaviour, but there is no connection to ground from the right direction copper pad. In other words, even though the right direction is not active, something is causing the logic in the controller to think it is.

Is there anyone familiar with Xbox 360 controller modding that has any suggestion regarding how to (if possible) reset it to proper function? Or should I just give up and buy a new controller to solder to (or maybe buy a ready made stick, which I am thinking of)

TIA
 
Well thanks for the interest anyway :)
I posted pics of it in the stick thread a while back, here's the link if you want to have a look: http://8wayrun.com/threads/post-your-sticks-if-you-use-them.8455/#post-295059
Since that picture was taken, I have rearranged the buttons a bit to make it more ergonomical and useful.
There is a risk you may be disappointed, since it's not really very pretty or cool, but at least it worked very well up until I got this problem.
 
Replace the PCB with something better. I'd suggest a MadCatz FightPad since that's the standard most of us modders use for padhacking for 360s.

Either that, or spend a bit more and get a PS360+.
 
d3v said:
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Thanks for the reply. I take it you consider the PCB currently in the controller beyond repair, and I should just toss it then.
What would make a Mad Catz Fight Pad a better choice for modding? I guess the triggers are wired as regular buttons rather than pots on the Fight Pads which makes it a bit easier, but with the prices Fight Pads sell for, at Swedish retailers anyway, I'd rather spend some extra time converting regular controller triggers to buttons.

The PS360+ on the other hand seems like an interesting product that I did not know about earlier. I'll check around a bit to see if I can find a good price and will consider it.

Better as it may be, I doubt very much either the Fightpad or PS360+ would have been more resilient to
an electrostatic discharge than the PCB I used was. If I rebuild it with a new PCB I will look into some kind of insulation.
 
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