Another Quickshot/Madcatz360 twin stick build COMPLETED!

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Billkwando
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Another Quickshot/Madcatz360 twin stick build COMPLETED!

Post by Billkwando »

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$300? Don't I wish?

Hey all!

I wanted to share the progress of my twin stick build (using old NES Quick Shot controllers), in case it helps someone else working on the same thing. I wrote these two posts over the course of a few days, so it may be odd in places.

I was inspired by the cake pan twin sticks and, as awesome as they are, I wanted something a little less cakey. It's already been done, right?

First off, I'm starting off with the Madcatz "retro" arcade stick:

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Awful controller, but easy to mod.

With the help of MentholMoose, I was able to get my wiring mistakes sorted out. (You da man!)

I drilled the 360 guide button hole in the (ABS) plastic case using a 5/8 spade bit, at a very low speed, without really applying pressure. It's a slow process, so be patient, and take breaks to remove the dust and let the plastic cool. I hadn't really seen anybody salvage the guide button in one of these projects, so I wanted to give it a try. The bit isn't the right size, it's slightly smaller, but I used a dremel with a sanding drum to widen the hole:

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Now, to flush mount the guide button you need to grind the analog stick nubs down to nothing. I did this by clipping them as short as I could with wire cutters, then grinding them with the same sanding drum. You would think that the analog would flop all over the place while you're grinding it, but it didn't. They basically stayed perfectly still without me having to do anything. Here's the result, though probably hard to see:

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(For the uninitiated: each of the wires I soldered on corresponds with a button or direction on the xbox pad)

They made cool sparks that made me feel like a workin' man! ;)

The added benefit of leaving the analog sticks on the board is that, after they're ground down, they make perfect supports for the pcb, and position it at the perfect angle for flush mounting (albeit on only 2 corners....you still need more support. See the white posts I clipped off the controller shell and screwed back on?) so that once you've drilled your guide hole, you can drop the board right in and see how it's going to look:

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(I chewed the guide button bezel up a little doing something I shouldn't have been doing)

and here's what it looks like from the other side:

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(with ultra-sturdy masking tape mounting)

The Start & Back buttons I used are 24mm Sanwa snap-in buttons (that I had laying around to fix Neo Geo controllers), and I used another wrong-sized spade bit for those, a 7/8. Insert dremel, repeat. If you do this, and you want to avoid scratching your case (as the sanding bit will skitter out of the hole if you sand too close to the drum edge), stick your drum in further, so if it skitters, it will be out of the other side, & your bit shaft will just whack against the inside of your hole, instead of scratching your case.

Now for the XBox usb cable, to reuse the rubber flexi-boot thing (and give it a nice professional look), you want to cut a quarter inch notch out of your case (assuming it's thin enough to mount it using its original slot). I masking taped it to avoid scratching, and used a Dremel 420 cutoff wheel:

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(pay no attention to the sharpie on the left)

For the last cut, I lightly scored it with the cutoff wheel, then snapped it loose with a pair of needle nose pliers, then used a bastard file on the notch to clean it up. If you refer back to the pic of the board in the case, you can just barely see the boot in place (forgot to snap pic).


So for the Quickshot NES joysticks, I have to say I have a bit of a love/hate relationship with them after working them (at least the pair I bought).

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Quickshots, I stab at thee!

The main problem with the ones I got is that when I tried to unscrew the grips from the stick, the plastic posts just broke loose inside instead. I guess that's the danger of 20 year old plastic. I bought them as a pair, so maybe whoever had them last tightened them down like crazy. I've heard from at least one other person who was able to open a pair up with no problems. It's not like I went buttnuts on the screwdriver or anything. After the first one did it, I was super duper careful trying to unscrew the 2nd stick, and it still broke. Oh well, unless I buy another pair, I'll figure out some way to affix them. The posts that pass through the inner joystick are still intact, so I could just use glue or double sticky tape to attach them.

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That's old

One thing I've given a lot of thought to is the joystick housing on these. You can either mount the joystick on something like briefcase guy (not an option for me) or mount them in a case with the tops of the stick exposed, like cake pan guy. You can't really do it without them because the function of the stick is dependant on the top of the casing (it's sort of a spherical swivel, I suppose?).

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In case you're like "Spherical swivel? WTF??"

While trying to research ways of doing this well, I ran across tubbygaijin's (unfinished) twin stick blog:

http://www.tubbygaijin.co.uk/blog/games ... worklog-4/

I became particularly envious when I saw this:

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That's pimp!


I messaged him about it, and apparently he used hobby paint and sealant (see blog comments). Being a man who prides himself on laziness and cutting corners, I decided this was too much work for me, and went about looking for easier ways to paint plastic. I then learned about Krylon Fusion, which is especially for plastics. After reading a gun forum where a few people complained about it wearing off on the gun's grip (uh oh!), I decided that Fusion probably wasn't something I wanted to experiment with.

Then my googling took a sharp turn toward left field when I googled "how to dye plastic". The answer? Rit Dye!

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Yes you hippies, it's the same stuff you tie dye your shirts with

So yeah. I learned this on a paintball forum, but apparently it's practiced in the RC car world quite often. I even found some youtube videos about it. This one was particularly surreal:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CbhudOFO-8Q

Unlike paint, the dye bonds to the plastic, so it can't chip off like paint. Unless you gouge below the surface of the plastic, it's gonna stay black.

The great thing about Rit is that you don't have to order it online. A bunch of different stores carry it, and it's only a few bucks. I got some black, the powder kind, cos they didn't have the liquid (not that it matters). I ended up using a large metal coffee can, cos you can't eat out of a pot after you've dyed in it. I just got it almost boiling, then tied up the parts in some 18awg wire, and dipped it in. I did both grips together so they would have the exact same shade of black. I'd dip them for a minute or two, then I'd pull up the wire and check them. It took a while. For the first few sets of dips, they insisted on being this intense flurple color, but after a while they threw in the towel and turned black.

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and here's the flash version:

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That's black, yo!

So it turned out pretty successful!

To anyone doing this, I would encourage you to not leave your parts unattended, and check them often. I would also suggest, assuming your grips didn't explode when you took them apart, that you screw them back together before you dye them. Just in case you get explosive diarrhea in the middle of your dye session, and need to leave them for 5 or 10 minutes, there's a better chance of them fitting together if they warp. Lastly, and perhaps most importantly, make sure you check under where the wires are tied (if you're using wires) to make sure that the dye is getting in there. In my case, I had light spots under the wire, and had to retie them and redip them a few times to get those spots black. You could use a strainer instead, but then you can't use it for food again. A large enough strainer would allow you to dye without the plastic parts touching the hot bottom of the pot.

So yeah, I decided that the dye was so great, I'd dye my upper controller casings, which would solve my misgivings about having them poking up out of the case, what with their grayness and whatnot.

Here's where things go wrong.

I would like to proclaim that the following was 100% user error, and do not reflect your intended or expected results assuming that you are not, in fact, an idiot. Also, I had previously cut a piece out of one of them.


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Your results may vary.

So, um, a delivery guy showed up, carrying delicious burgers. The pieces were taking a long time to dye, since they were so light originally, so I decided to eat my tasty burger. Downstairs. Bad idea. When I got back, they were nice and black, but also nice and warped. I've learned from this that dipping and checking has an important additional function. It allows the plastic to cool while you're checking the color.

So now the brakes have been officially put on this aspect of the project, until I can get a new pair of quickshots, fashion a swivel for the current sticks with a dremel, or figure out a way to unwarp the existing pieces. I'll tell you this, if I do get a new pair, the cases are going right back into the dye. I'll just make sure to eat first.

Edit: I just bought 3 from the same seller on ebay. Let's hope I can get the screws out ok this time. I've got 2 more boxes of dye, so I can blacken stuff until the cows come home..

About the wire soldering, I did it following MetholMoose's instructions, and using the diagram from slagcoin. I also ordered some euro style terminal blocks, so I wouldn't have to twist 30awg single strand wire (360 jumpers) with stranded 22awg wire (on the quickshots when I do them), and to keep things organized. I labeled them with a fine tip sharpie. In case you're wondering, "G" is for ground. My 360 wires all have little masking tape flags to denote which wire is for which button/direction, so it'll be pretty much plug and play when it's done.

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That's pretty much all I can think of to mention, but I will post as things progress!

Bill

Edit (6/15): The 3 replacement Quick Shot joysticks I ordered came in today, so I'll be making with the dyeing (assuming I'm not too busy putting decals on the sides of my Neo Geo machine...they came in yesterday) ....too many projects! At least I'll have a buttload of spare joystick parts, should I ever need them.

(Continued below)
Last edited by Billkwando on 29 Jun 2011, 16:56, edited 8 times in total.
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Re: Another Quickshot/Madcatz360 twin stick build

Post by Billkwando »

Ok, so I got my set of 3 more quickshots in:

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Hi, we're the replacements

and then promptly melted them too. Well at least the grips. and I dropped one of the black ones I did successfully dye on a concrete floor and broke it. Naturally, I ordered yet another pair of quickshots. I just can't get this dye thing right. I used 2 packs in one coffee can and just couldn't get it to stick to the base part I was using as a test. Maybe it's cos my coffee can has some rust now? I've also heard of people using acetone to get the dye to stick, but I don't know if it will eat this kind of plastic.

On the bright side, I was able to unscrew the grips on all 3 with no difficulty. I used my stubby ratcheting screwdriver and was really careful.

I also wonder if the plastic is different. The first pair I did were dated 1988 on the board, and the 3 I just got are actually dated 1987. I doubt the plastic would be different but who knows? I hate giving up but I've already jacked up quite a few parts. I am talking to a guy on ebay about buying all his defective quickshots for cheap, so I can experiment with the parts.

Knowing my luck, after all this expense, I'll probably finally finish the controller and hate it for some reason.

Anyway, I did finally cut the holes for the sticks. I drilled through the part in the base that holds the stick spring (in one of my spare QS bases) and used that as a guide for pilot holes. Positioned the base exactly where I want it, drill through the guide hole, and that way I know exactly where the stick's gonna be. I then cut out the rough holes with the dremel cutoff wheel:

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That's rough

I then went back and cleaned up and widened the holes with the dremel sanding drum. That thing cuts through plastic like butter. I'll have more pics of that soon. I took them, but forgot to upload them.

Since I ran out of pics to comment on, I wanted to mention that my use of the term dremel is a bit of a misnomer. I'm not actually using a "Dremel", but rather a Wen Model 23 Rotary Tool. I picked it up at Amazon for $30, and have been using it for over a month with no problems. I highly recommend it, cos it's cheap, and you get the tool + bits & flex shaft(see above) for what you'd pay for just a Dremel flex shaft by itself. While you can use Dremel brand accessories with it, the only ones I've purchased are the #420 cutoff wheels, which work on the cutoff wheel mandrel that came with my tool. I just found cutting with the included wheels to be slow and frustrating. Then again, I'm afraid to turn the speed on the thing up past 3 (it goes to 7) because I'm a wuss.

Sorry for the aside, but I just wanted to mention it cos I was super apprehensive about buying a rotary tool cos they can be expensive or crappy, so I thought I should tell you guys about this one since it's neither.

So anyway.....

The third wave of quickshots has come in:

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This brings us up to 7 quickshots, in case you were counting.

The grips on these unscrewed just fine, like the last 3.

So I got the pics off my camera, and here's the case with the stick holes smoothed out some, using the sanding drum as I mentioned:

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Holy crap.


I decided to put the screw holes in the quickshot case in the uppermost part, the grips. This way the plastic is sandwiched right up against the case, rather than putting the screws through a part that might flex or break as I tighten the machine screws.

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Shiny screws

You'll notice my machine screws are upside down. To drill the case. I held the controller body where I wanted it, then drilled through both it and the black case at the same time. When I finished a hole, I'd drop a screw in to keep everything aligned, so when I drilled my last hole, there were already 3 screws in place. I was in the process of taking them out when I took this. Oh, I blackened the aluminum machine screws with Rustoleum Appliance Epoxy Touch Up Paint, which I had laying around for my Neo Geo machine. I figured it was better than nothing. Sharpie might do in a pinch, I suppose.

The QS cases still need to be cut at the top inner corners to make room for my 360 pcb.

Now things are beginning to take shape:

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For a second that reminded me of the robot from The Black Hole.


You will notice that symmetry and I are only passing acquaintances, and that I have no business using a tape measure. That said, I needed to do some modifications to a QS case in order to fit my center button in. Enter the dremel with the sanding drum again:

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Workaround.


and here's what it looks like on the inside (for now, until I cut the QS cases):

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Screws in place


Now, since the Rit dye technique doesn't seem to be working for this particular plastic, I've moved on to other methods. Did you notice the can of Plasti-Dip above? It's intended for tool handles, but people use it for everything from making little rubber men to redoing the their car interior. It coats whatever you spray it on with a thin rubber grippy coating. The more coats, the more rubberyness.

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Gettin' my spray on.


So you spray this stinky stuff (coat the entire thing on the first coat w/ no original color showing, but don't go crazy), wait a half hour, spray again, and do this as many times as you want. After each coat, use a pencil or something small to hook an inner part of the grip and move it slightly from where you sprayed it, to minimize the likelyhood of the grip sticking to the cardboard (or whatever you're spraying over. Then give it 4 hours to dry. This stuff coats very evenly on it's own, so as long as you don't go nuts and spray too much on a particular area, you'll get nice even coverage.

Eventually you get nice matte grippy goodness:

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Ahh, black grips again!

I also gave the tops of the QS cases a few coats, and they came out nice as well.

Keep in mind, this stuff is all or nothing. If you mess up and need to pull it off, the entire thing will snap off in one piece, like latex (I tried it on the battery cover of my phone, just for fun). For that reason, you don't wanna let your dog chew on it, cos it will rip if you scratch it with something sharp. ;) If you have to flip the finished controller over to work on it for any reason, you'll want to put a towel down and try not to drag the grips around too much.

If all goes as planned, I'll be finishing up the rest of the controller tonight or tomorrow.

A guide of quickshot solder points below. The one on the left is an '87 quickshot, and the one on the right is an '88. There doesn't seem to be any difference for our purposes.

NOTE: I goofed here and reversed left and right on my diagram. Will fix later.
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Thumb button is the 3rd contact from the top, ground is 4th, and the trigger is the 4th contact from the bottom.

The directional solder points are easy to find because they're round, and big enough to land a helicopter on. If you can solder wires on an Xbox controller, this should be a walk in the park. The solder is obviously really old, so I add a small blob of fresh stuff on top of the round points. It makes it a lot easier to attach the wire. Once you're done, you can test the buttons by setting your multimeter to resistance:
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then touch one probe to your ground, and the other to the wire for the button/direction you wish to test. Then, push the spring for the switch you're testing (carefully). You should hear a click, and see that it's connected on your multimeter display. Some multimeters make a noise, but in my case, my cheapy radio shack meter just goes from "OL" to any reading at all, then then returns to OL when I release the spring.

Here's my workspace:

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All up ons

So once the wires are all attached, you have to figure out how you want to route them out of the QS controller. In my case, it was easy cos I'd already cut a big chunk out of the upper cases (to make room for the bottom corners of the 360 controller pcb). Most folks probably just run them out of where the old NES cable was. Once you figure it out, it's time to start reassembling. I would recommend starting with the left hand stick, because if you put the right one on first, you'll be bumping into it with your screwdriver handle later, since the screws on the left stick are on the inside (meaning you'll have to stick your screwdriver between both sticks, also something unfun I have experience with).

I found it tricky at first, but if you get all your soldered wires out of the way and push your pcb down on top of the posts BEFORE you try to add the joystick, it's much easier to get the thumb and trigger button wires into their intended slot in the center of the bottom case. Make the joystick hasn't rotated, so your screw holes point right and left, and so the indentation on the stick's base lines up with the one white plastic post from the casing:

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(to spare you from scrolling up)

Once this is done, I think the easiest thing to do is gently feed the thumb and trigger switches up through the hole in your QS case (assuming you've already attached it to your outer casing) then carefully close up the QS controller, gently flipping it over and still holding it in your hand. Make sure you've already got the QS screws where you can get to them one handed, and screw the thing back together. Be careful not to swing those switches around too much, cos they're old. Then, flip it back over and attach your grips so the switches have protection and support.

Don't forget that the orange wire is the trigger and the red one is the thumb button (Edit: I now see that they're also conveniently labelled "top and "side", lol):

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These things were built to last, at least.

When you go to slide them back into their holders, the thumb button spring side points toward the player side of the controller, and the trigger spring side should point down toward the base, so the actuators can hit them correctly. When you slide the grip-half back on to the stick, you may need a screwdriver or something small to poke the wires out of the way of the screw posts. Then, while you're keeping an eye on your work so far, you'll need to pop the trigger/thumb assemby back into the grip-half you're working with. Take a good look and make sure everything looks good, then grab the opposite grip-half and pop it back on carefully (keeping in mind that the thumb and trigger both need to be slightly depressed in order for everything to snap together right. If it looks good, go ahead and grab a screw.

What seemed to work best for me was starting with the middle screw hole. While stripping the holes is a concern, I found that I was being a bit too cautious and had to tighten the screws 3 times before they were actually in right. The grips fit together surprisingly tight, which is funny because I always thought they looked kinda weird when I'd hold them together unscrewed. You can actually see the difference when they're screwed together properly. I recommend tightening the screws carefully, then grasping each side of the grip and gently pulling on the right side to see if it comes loose. If it starts to pop open, carefully tighten some more.

Once you have your sticks together and grips attached, you may want to check your screw tightness on the controller's top. In my case, I put a tab of masking tape over my flathead to avoid scratching the screws.

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No joke.

Now, before I go any further, I wanted to refer back to my previous post where I mentioned that I clipped the support posts off the original Xbox controllers to help hold the PCB in place. Now in order to be able to press the Guide button, I needed a way to secure the board to my plastic case. For this, I used a product called Devcon Plastic Welder. It's a 2 part plastic epoxy that you mix and apply, and costs about $4. What I did was, I put the Xbox PCB exactly where I wanted it in my case, then I mixed up a small batch of glue and had it ready (you have only 4 minutes of working time before it starts to set). Then, using the included stir stick, I lifted the board slightly and put a big gob under each post, then put the pcb back down (making sure it was still exactly where I wanted it. I still had some glue left over, so I also glued an old pair of sunglasses I'm particularly fond of but thought were unfixable (I was wrong). Set both the controller casing and the sunglasses aside over night to dry.

This plastic welder stuff is the real deal. It says on the package it'll hold 3500 lbs. I don't know about that, but it doesn't sound so crazy anymore. Once the glue had dried (and it actually bridged a gap between one of the posts and the casing) both posts were rock solid. I could easily screw and unscrew the board from the posts without a hint of give. If you look at the photo below, you can see them:

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(the one on the left is under the LB flag)

The stuff dries kinda yellow, but in small amounts (like on my glasses) you can't really see it. If you do use this stuff, be advised that the shelf life (especially after opening) is (perhaps significantly) less than a year, so glue early and glue often. Half the reviews on Amazon for this stuff are people complaining that theirs dried up.

Now, with the sticks in place and the pcb attached:

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Spaartaaaaaaaaaa!

Then comes one of the final steps, connecting your jumper wires from the 2 controllers. As mentioned above, I'm using euro-style terminal blocks. I've just learned from hard experience that you should make sure that you have a suitable screwdriver for the job, and that your screws all function properly. In my case, I'm using the screwdriver on the back of my dremel wrench, which is functional, but not fun for doing 29 screws (esp with crazy 30awg single strand wire). The other problem is I got halfway through both sides of a terminal block when I realized that one of my screws is cross-threaded and won't go in no matter what I do......and not having a real screwdriver with a twistable handle is not helping matters. (Edit: I ended up twisting the 2 wires together, tinning them so they stick, and then sticking them both inside the terminal block on the side that DID work. Fixed.)

As you can see from the madness above, I have button flags everywhere. I'm gonna leave them on. It might not look as organized as I might like, but it'll make it a lot easier if repairs are later necessary. I labelled the QS wires as their future destinations. For example, my right hand stick (when turned upright) is labelled X, Y, A, B, RC, RB, so all I have to do is plug them into the terminal block spot marked as one of those buttons. I also noted ahead of time which stick would be which, so when I soldered the wires on, I faced them toward the center of the twin stick so as not to stress the solder joint by bending them in a different direction during assembly.

The final major thing to do was to add my headphone extender to the (now) internal headphone jack:

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lolmess

Now, this convenient little cable came with my Rock Band 2 bundle, and was intended for using "puck" style headsets with the RB instruments. If you bought an RB2 bundle, then you have one of these laying around your house. It came in the same little brown box as the USB hub, IIRC. I secured it to the case with some hot glue on the inside.

I should note that a lot of the cramped space and odd mods I've had to do (like cutting the QS cases) were due to the small case I chose to use. It looked bigger when I started, and if I'd just given up and found a bigger box, it would've been easier....but I'm just too stubborn.

Then comes the monent of truth.....

Before closing up the case, I hooked it up to my computer. All inputs work!!!! YAY!!!! I did notice some intermittant fluctuations coming from the left analog stick (I didn't bore out a small space to keep the nub from making contact like I did with the right analog...darn), so if I had it to do again, I'd probably put a dab of hot glue in each of the analog sticks to hold them still.....but since there's no way I'm taking it apart, I'll live with it. It doesn't affect gameplay, so it doesn't matter anyway. The important thing is that it works.

So, here's what my headset/mic jack and cord boot look like:

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Yes, this could be cleaner.



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Now THAT'S what I'm talkin' 'bout!





and finally.......the money shot:






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Yes!

and a few more:

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I just finished testing it with Virtual On an hour or so ago, and it seems to be working 100%! There's a couple more cosmetic things I could do to it, but it's basically finished! The case I used even had its own rubber feet. LOL

I also have to remember to get some lithium grease to spray down inside the sticks, to keep them from wearing out.

Hopefully this guide will be helpful to anyone interested in doing a Quick Shot twin stick. While the throw on the sticks isn't as wide as my Saturn twin sticks, I think they're gonna be just fine. It might even be considered advantageous, cos they're quicker to respond to twitch movements.

If anybody has any questions or needs any help, feel free to replyI. Also if you break a part while working on yours, I might have a spare. *stares at the pile of trigger assemblies in tupperware container*

If you actually made it to the end without falling alseep, thanks for reading!

Bill


As always, the full photo album is available here: https://picasaweb.google.com/Billkwando ... 6367366194

Edit: You can jump cancel like a mofo with this thing!! :D :D :D
Last edited by Billkwando on 30 Jun 2011, 21:16, edited 75 times in total.
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Re: Another Quickshot/Madcatz360 twin stick build

Post by MentholMoose »

Looking good, I like the dyed sticks!
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Re: Another Quickshot/Madcatz360 twin stick build COMPLETED!

Post by Billkwando »

Thead updated, project complete! :D

(tho I may throw a couple more edits at it should I notice any typos or improvements I can do)
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Re: Another Quickshot/Madcatz360 twin stick build COMPLETED!

Post by neoKEN »

Nice mod!
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Re: Another Quickshot/Madcatz360 twin stick build COMPLETED!

Post by Billkwando »

neoKEN wrote:Nice mod!
Thanks!! I figured since I was spending sooo much time on it, I might as well document it really well so everybody else can benefit from my mistakes. :)
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Re: Another Quickshot/Madcatz360 twin stick build COMPLETED!

Post by MentholMoose »

Billkwando wrote:Thead updated, project complete! :D

(tho I may throw a couple more edits at it should I notice any typos or improvements I can do)
Excellent job, thanks for sharing all the details! I added your mod to the hall of fame. :D
Custom Twin Sticks roundup
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Re: Another Quickshot/Madcatz360 twin stick build COMPLETED!

Post by Billkwando »

MentholMoose wrote:
Billkwando wrote:Thead updated, project complete! :D

(tho I may throw a couple more edits at it should I notice any typos or improvements I can do)
Excellent job, thanks for sharing all the details! I added your mod to the hall of fame. :D
Custom Twin Sticks roundup
Thanks MM!

They're actually working out really really well. I played online with a Japanese guy for like an hour yesterday. I have a feeling he was kinda letting me practice on him, which was nice. At first he was kicking my ass, but after a while he'd do stuff like run up to me and quickstep around in circles until I could catch up with him and do a CC attack. It's like he could smell the fresh twin sticks. lol

So yeah they're getting a good workout. The only caveat is you have to remember not to "lean" on them unintentionally, so that when you do a move that requires the sticks to be neutral you don't whiff cos you were accidentally pushing a direction. They're sensitive, but it doesn't take long to get used to.

After a while it was almost like I forgot I was using them, which is about the highest compliment you can give a controller.
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Re: Another Quickshot/Madcatz360 twin stick build COMPLETED!

Post by MentholMoose »

Billkwando wrote:
MentholMoose wrote:
Billkwando wrote:Thead updated, project complete! :D

(tho I may throw a couple more edits at it should I notice any typos or improvements I can do)
Excellent job, thanks for sharing all the details! I added your mod to the hall of fame. :D
Custom Twin Sticks roundup
Thanks MM!

They're actually working out really really well. I played online with a Japanese guy for like an hour yesterday. I have a feeling he was kinda letting me practice on him, which was nice. At first he was kicking my ass, but after a while he'd do stuff like run up to me and quickstep around in circles until I could catch up with him and do a CC attack. It's like he could smell the fresh twin sticks. lol

So yeah they're getting a good workout. The only caveat is you have to remember not to "lean" on them unintentionally, so that when you do a move that requires the sticks to be neutral you don't whiff cos you were accidentally pushing a direction. They're sensitive, but it doesn't take long to get used to.

After a while it was almost like I forgot I was using them, which is about the highest compliment you can give a controller.
That's great news, your really efforts paid off. I'm glad they're working well.
MentholMoose
darksakul
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Re: Another Quickshot/Madcatz360 twin stick build COMPLETED!

Post by darksakul »

Nice twin stick Project. This is one of the cleaner looking Quick shot mod projects I seen yet.

One question, how did you keep the only NES chip on the Quick Shot from interfering with the Xbox 360 PCB?
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Billkwando
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Re: Another Quickshot/Madcatz360 twin stick build COMPLETED!

Post by Billkwando »

darksakul wrote:Nice twin stick Project. This is one of the cleaner looking Quick shot mod projects I seen yet.

One question, how did you keep the only NES chip on the Quick Shot from interfering with the Xbox 360 PCB?
Thanks!

Well, I did see someone had an issue with that chip, but it hasn't affected me at all. Keep in mind that I'm wiring directly to the contacts for the switches themselves (except for the buttons where I'm piggybacking off of the existing wires). If there's any stray interference from the chip, I haven't seen it yet. No buttons have failed, or gone turbo, or released themselves while being held down.

I've used the controller for hours and it's been just fine so far. :)
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Fredo
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Re: Another Quickshot/Madcatz360 twin stick build COMPLETED!

Post by Fredo »

When I modded a Genesis controller for Xbox 360 I had different problems due to some interferences of the Genesis chip, so I simply cut the tracks of the PCB to isolate the chip from the buttons and common ground. So if some problems appear, you know what to do.

Nice job !
Last edited by Fredo on 16 Jul 2011, 09:53, edited 1 time in total.
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Billkwando
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Re: Another Quickshot/Madcatz360 twin stick build COMPLETED!

Post by Billkwando »

Fredo wrote:When I modded a Genesis controller for Xbox 360 I had different problems due to some interferences of the Genesis chip, so I simply cut the tracks of the PC to isolate the chip from the buttons and common ground. So if some problems appear, you know what to do.

Nice job !
Awesome, and thanks! I think one of the guys from shoryuken who made a quickshot controller clipped the chips off the board, so that's where I originally heard of this problem.
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NGEFreek
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Re: Another Quickshot/Madcatz360 twin stick build COMPLETED!

Post by NGEFreek »

So how long till you start taking orders for these? haha.
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