Xbox 360 Wireless Arcade Controller Tutorial - Revised Options

[JamesV77]

Thanks Bear.....Sorry to hear about your banning. Crazy how ya get banned for helping their customers and you are not on the M$ payroll...lol.

Bear - "i think i would rather make two separate boxes for a two player cp than try to share one box on two laps."

LOL It sits on the coffee table in front the couch......oh and the 106" screen.....woo hoo
Thanks again so much for the motivation to ressurrect this control panel.

[beardawg252002]

wow, i wasn't really ready for all the attention this has gotten lately because of the new SF release. i have received a massive amount of email comments, props and questions over the last two weeks or so.

glad to see it has inspired so many wireless arcade controllers for the 360. the only way to play many of the old arcade games, imo. thank you for all the compliments too.

[greyfok]

Hi, excuse me for my poor english, I´m trying do this arcade wireless I solder all wires following the RCD tutorial on the pcb but the sync button dont work anymore, the controller work but just flash the leds, somebody could tell what I do wrong?

[ricecooker1280]

This is a GREAT tutorial.... I plan on starting this weekend, esp with the release of SF4....

I do have some questions for beardawg (or anyone that's done this) if I may...

- Is there a difference in terms of difficulty between using a wired & a wireless controller?
- I intend on using the joystick and buttons that the x-arcade already comes with for the time being... Is it as easing as gutting out the wires/board in the stick and soldering to them?

I've had some soldering experience during my rc car phase so I'm pretty sure I can do this... at least i hope so....

Thanks in advance!!

[beardawg252002]

This is a GREAT tutorial.... I plan on starting this weekend, esp with the release of SF4....

I do have some questions for beardawg (or anyone that's done this) if I may...

- Is there a difference in terms of difficulty between using a wired & a wireless controller?
- I intend on using the joystick and buttons that the x-arcade already comes with for the time being... Is it as easing as gutting out the wires/board in the stick and soldering to them?

I've had some soldering experience during my rc car phase so I'm pretty sure I can do this... at least i hope so....

Thanks in advance!!

no, no major difference between wired and wireless. just the cost of the controller. and, i HIGHLY recommend going wireless. all it takes is a $2 2xAA battery holder from radio shack. the only thing better than a real arcade controller for the 360 is a WIRELESS arcade controller for the 360.

yes, just gut the x-arcade. solder all your wires to the 360 pcb first. THEN install the pcb in the x-arcade shell and solder all the wires to the x-arcade joystick and button switches. much easier this way. don't try to do it the other way around. makes it much harder. i also found it very handy to label all my wires while working. this way, once i had all the pcb work done, i just mounted the pcb in the box and hooked up all my wires to micro-switches without having to trace them back to the pcb.

i also recommend replacing the x-arcade joystick with a happ or sanwa. i felt the x-arcade buttons are okay, but the joystick is lacking in overall quality and feel. also, some of the x-arcade micro-switches went bad on me. i was very happy when i switched to all happ stuff. but, i am a perfectionist and that stuff is all user opinion. take it as you will.

thank you for the compliment on the tutorial.

[ricecooker1280]

thanks for the timely response beardawg... very much appreciated... i actually already ordered a joystick from happ... should be here soon...

I did have one request if I may... the last image, where it shows the pcb all hooked up and inside the arcade box in Figure 4, would you happen to have a larger image of that so that I may see where wires were soldered into the vias and what it 'should' look like when I'm done?

Thanks again for all the help... really really appreciate it...

[beardawg252002]

thanks for the timely response beardawg... very much appreciated... i actually already ordered a joystick from happ... should be here soon...

I did have one request if I may... the last image, where it shows the pcb all hooked up and inside the arcade box in Figure 4, would you happen to have a larger image of that so that I may see where wires were soldered into the vias and what it 'should' look like when I'm done?

Thanks again for all the help... really really appreciate it...

nope, sorry, i don't have a detailed pic of the pcb after the soldering was done. i considered taking one, but its just a maze of wires and the details are just too small for my camera and photo skills. i would need a good macro setup, which i don't have. just a decent fuji 5 megapixel camera. sorry.

all you need to do is follow the trace from the diode marked in RDC's tutorial to the first via. if needed, follow the color coded traces in his pics to the other side of the board though a via. the 360 pcb's are just two sided, (not multi-layered) so a via simply takes a trace to the other side of the board. just make sure the trace is clean from the diode to the via where you are soldering (doesn't run through a resistor or cap or anything like that).

[maxjusticezero]

I just have a quick question i have the same matrix style of board and i was looking at the diagram for wiring the A,B,X,Y, guide start and back buttons. Do i just run one wire from each pad (signal and ground) to the connection im going to use on the barrier strip? So a total of 8 wires for A,B,X,Y and 6 more for the Start, back and sync pads? For the Directional pad i would like to use the via method but i would like to use a JLF sanwa stick and it accepts one common and 4 signal lines. Since up, down, and left share a common i could use one wire for those but could i combine the right direction common wire into one socket on the barrier strip and then one wire out to the stick or would that cause problems? This is my first stick i have ever built and pretty much an experiment please bear with my noobness i just want to make sure before i try.

thanks
Max

This post has been edited by maxjusticezero: Feb 21 2009, 11:04 AM

[beardawg252002]

I just have a quick question i have the same matrix style of board and i was looking at the diagram for wiring the A,B,X,Y, guide start and back buttons. Do i just run one wire from each pad (signal and ground) to the connection im going to use on the barrier strip? So a total of 8 wires for A,B,X,Y and 6 more for the Start, back and sync pads? For the Directional pad i would like to use the via method but i would like to use a JLF sanwa stick and it accepts one common and 4 signal lines. Since up, down, and left share a common i could use one wire for those but could i combine the right direction common wire into one socket on the barrier strip and then one wire out to the stick or would that cause problems? This is my first stick i have ever built and pretty much an experiment please bear with my noobness i just want to make sure before i try.

thanks
Max

for your first question, yes. 8 + 6 to the barrier strip for the major buttons and such. you can cut down on some of the common lines if you wish, since some of them are shared, but this will work just fine.

for the d-pad, if i am understanding correctly, it sounds like you should run two wires to the barrier strip from the pcb. then run both wires to your joystick common line. that may work, but not sure since i have no idea how this sanwa stick is setup. you definitely need two wires from the pcb to the barrier strip. after that, i cant really tell how it will work with the sanwa stick. it may work, it may not. sounds like this sanwa stick is made for a true common ground setup and might not work with a matrix pcb. i would get a different stick that has four micro-switches so you know you can wire it up correctly.

This post has been edited by beardawg252002: Feb 21 2009, 09:49 PM

[beardawg252002]

through contact with someone doing this project i have learned of a way around single common line joysticks when used with the matrix pcb. this person learned that four separate ground/common lines were run into one common line. so, they cut the traces and made the joystick into four common lines. it worked. just fyi for the people that have a single common line joystick and want to make it work with a matrix pcb.

[maxjusticezero]

Thanks for the info i hope to have this thing up and running this weekend your definately a life saver. This will be my first time doing anykind of fine electronics work and this is definately helpful!

[beardawg252002]

Thanks for the info i hope to have this thing up and running this weekend your definately a life saver. This will be my first time doing anykind of fine electronics work and this is definately helpful!

you are welcome. just be very careful with your d-pad connections and get/use a good soldering iron. the rest of the buttons (if you use the huge half moon contacts) are pretty easy. do not overheat a circuit board while using the iron. just some tips since you say this is your first electronics project.

let me know if you have any questions. but, definitely make sure to read the whole tut and all the posts first.

[ricecooker1280]

hey bear....

any suggestions on what 'kind' of soldering iron to use? some cousins tried to help me this weekend with the dpad and fried my board

also - are you heating up the contact on the board also or just tinnin' the wire and using that alone?

fortunately, i have a matrix pcb instead of the cg that was ruined so i could follow your tutorial step by step...

thanks in advance!!!

[beardawg252002]

hey bear....

any suggestions on what 'kind' of soldering iron to use? some cousins tried to help me this weekend with the dpad and fried my board

also - are you heating up the contact on the board also or just tinnin' the wire and using that alone?

fortunately, i have a matrix pcb instead of the cg that was ruined so i could follow your tutorial step by step...

thanks in advance!!!

for small work like this, i like to use cold solder ($20). its very fast and easy, but takes some getting used to after using a regular iron all my life. if you get one, practice on your fried board first. also, cold solder is only good for small stuff since its current based. you cant do anything large with it at all.

but, if you don't want to use that, i would just get a good iron with temperature control (can be pricey). a butane iron can be a good lower cost alternative. some medium cost butane irons have butane flow adjustment abilities. this allows you to effectively control the tip temperature. i have a "benzomatic" butane torch/iron that was about $30 and is adjustable. use low temps for delicate circuit board work. but, keep in mind, at lower temps you may need to heat up the contact and wire a bit more first. if you just want to use a cheap regular iron, practice on your fried board until you get a good idea of how much heat/time you need for a good solid connection.

as far as your last question, it depends on the connection. i tin the wire if there is already solder present at my connection point (such as the triggers and shoulder buttons). if there is no solder, i prefer to make a mechanical connection (ie, hold the wire to the half moon pad) while applying heat. once i feel there is enough pre-heat, i add the solder and then make sure the solder "smooths" out. this "smoothing" of the solder will tell you that the solder has made a good connection to the wire and the surface. then, make sure nothing moves until you have cooled the connection. a third hand is very handy in these projects (just a few dollars at any radio shack or electronics store). then, i hot glue over the connection once i have tested it and know it works. this adds some mechanical strength to the connection and takes stress off the solder if the wire moves.

lastly, are you sure your CG board is fried? if the d-pad contacts came off the board, there is a way around that. i would need more info on how it was fried.

This post has been edited by beardawg252002: Feb 25 2009, 09:34 PM

[ricecooker1280]

i'll look into a cold solder... i'm pretty confident the board is done... when we tried to remove the solder on one spot, it lifted a trace off the board and tore it off... besides, even if i wanted it back, i couldn't.... i was pissed and chucked it into the trash which was picked up this morning...

thanks again for the help... i learned alot from the first attempt... pretty sure this 2nd one will go a bit smoother....