Okay, so I took apart my ps3 controller tonight [my god, the innards are atrocious...] Little plastic bits and pieces go flying out all over... not even going to attempt putting this thing back together.. However, as a result of the odd construction, which includes a daughterboard comprised of a thin material, it looks like the majority of this mod is going to be easier than I had first expected.

The traces are easy to follow to find out which is for which button and it shouldn't be too tough to make new connections where this daughterboard connects to the rest of the controller. The biggest challenge will be moving the left joystick into position. The right joystick can be lined up almost perfectly without being moved.


Anyways, I'm new to soldering and have never really attempted a mod like this so progress is likely to be fairly slow... Any tips or any sort of help would be greatly appreciated. One of the things I'm not so sure of is how to efficiently connect multiple buttons to their common ground..

Well good luck with it. Should be awesome when you finish it....

Lol also good luck putting the controller back together.......those 2 plastic bits inbetween the L1, L2, R1 and R2 buttons are absolute bitches to get back in properly.....I spent about 1 hour getting those to sit properly...

One bit of advice, just be careful when you soldering to those tiny tracks.....when I was new to soldering I tried getting old computer motherboards and soldering random wires to it before I starting modding xboxs and PS2s.

EDIT: Typo

Yeah i have both the 360 (wired) and PS3 (6 axis, why not) controller spread out beside me . I've always hated the sony controllers, so if i can get this to work, i wont havet to feel like im going to break the controller when ever i play playstation 3 ...when ever i get one. (play playstation.. wtf?) anyways it looks like it should all "fit" inside the 360 shell. the D-pads line up rather nicely, and the rubber thumb grips from the 360 fit on the six axis joysticks (not the other way around too?) so it looks like it should work.

dude. if you get this to work. I'll pay a pretty good amount of money because those playstation controllers suck.

It's not so much the design of the controller, although it's hardly inspiring.

I think I would be far more excited about a mod to use either 360 or xbox analog sticks.

I HATE dualshock sticks and I thought Sony might have at least addressed this because everyone knows they are far to un responsive for any kind of accuracy.

I'm not sure that's even possible, unfortunately.

Srysly, if anyone can put just the insides of the PS3 controller into a 360 controller, so it would look and feel just like one, I would shell out big money.

i think it would b impossible, some bondo and cutting needs to take place. isnt the controller for the ps3 whider and thicker? the boards inside wouldnt match.

This is exactly what I plan to do and it's actually a very small board within the ps3 controller case. I'm confident that it will be possible to cram it into a 360 controller shell. It won't be easy mind you, but it should be possible. I'm just waiting for my credit card to arrive so I can order the needed parts. Sure some cutting may need to happen, but that's not a major issue.

please do it dude. that would be awesome.

good luck

Okay, so I have a ps3 now. Walked into futureshop just as they got a shipment of 4 So yea, should make things easier.. Anyways, I have finals this week but will place an order for tools, etc. Shortly. Then I just need to learn to solder... But considering the number of ps3's out there, I think it will be okay if it's not finished right away. I really want this controller though, so hopefully it will be complete by christmas or the week after. I know it's feasible.

Good luck, but i'm very skeptical that it will work; i done a lot of controller modding with adding extra buttons and such, and what you are doing i would not even attempt.

Never said it would be easy :-P But if this can be done, our mod can as well. I don't see it being finished too soon, though. I am going to take the time to work up some soldering skills before even attempting this mod. However, if you look at the ps3 controller's board, the majority of the mod should be much simpler than doing the equivalent to a 360 controller.

got any pics of the inside? i think it's funny how usually people that like the 360 like the controller better and vice versa

Over at qj.net there's some pics of the everything inside. jeremydammit of our forums also posted some pics here.

The difference between the single handed controller and this mod is they made a custom case for the single handed controller based on the PCB... basically just a custom case around existing electronics.

now with this you're customizing electronics to work within an existing case. It's a VERY different scenario...

I believe it can be done, though not without an F-ton of work, and it's definitely not comparable to the single handed controller mod.

You're right, that aspect of the mod is not comparable. However, in both mods, the joysticks, triggers, etc, all have to be moved. Removing the joysticks and triggers from the board and resoldering them in a different position is what I believe will be the most difficult portion of this mod.

The PS3 controller board is quite tiny. Cramming it in certainly won't be easy, but I do have tons of time to do this. There's no rush. If the size constraints do prove to simply be too much, I'm going to resort to using a logitech wireless xbox 1 controller shell instead. That will only be a last resort option.

tip on removing the triggers and joysticks:
use desoldeing braid and a desoldering iron!
both are cheap and save you TONS of time and mental frustration!

Yo, stop while your ahead man! Save that 50 dollar pcb for making yourself an arcade stick as this will definatelly not, I repeat not work. Maybe I am wrong, I've been known to be wrong a couple times in my life! But I don't think so.... I recently made, with an xbox street fighter anniversary pad, I repeat the pad, not the stick version (easy for hacks), an arcade stick with sanwa rg buttons, a sanwa jlf-8yt joystick, and two rare led sanwa buttons (one the shape of a star, the other a heart-used a two hacked usb cords to supply power to the bulbs), for my 5 yr. old daughter for Christmas. I think it is impossible due to needing microswitches to send the current to the copper source on the specific pad in question. The plastic buttons on the 360/ps3 are in totally different positions, and although you may be able to desolder the analog directs and realign them, I doubt one could move the copper traces on the pcb itself to align directly under the other system in questions buttons. Unless they make microswitches smaller than arcade ones, which I have never seen in a hacked pad... It's a great idea, but doubt it is possible. On a brighter note, that black strip on one side of the double sided ps3 pcb, looks as though it might be able to be used as a solderless hack. If indeed that black strip thingee has all the directions/button copper runs running to it.

Good luck man, all the best to 'ya. I'll tell you this though, practice practice practice before you start to solder. Because screw-ups can get way out of hand on tiny boards like controllers.

What you state probably would not be possible for someone like myself. That's why I plan to simply place small buttons, like the ones used for the numerous button-duplicating mods on the 360 forums, underneath of the 360's buttons.



Thanks! And I definitely do plan to practice quite a bit, following tutorials before I perform any soldering involving the controllers.

news?

If you make a guide, I will love you forever. I've been wanting to do this. Resistance on a 360 controller would be awesome.

I've received the 360 controller components via mail today, work on this mod should begin soon Upon completion, I will indeed post a guide. Planning is going full fledged now. I don't want this to be an ordinary controller mod. The hopes are to have everything working just as it does on th 360, and for that to happen, i've still a lot to learn.


By the end of this, the controller should be able to charge via the 360's play and charge cable as well as use the PnC battery packs instead of the ps3 controller's internal battery. If you have any knowledge on doing this in a safe manner, your input would be greatly appreciated


[Edit: typo]

hmmmm....i wonder if he gave up.... hope not. this sounds like a cool project

Naw, never gave up. I've just been side-tracked. School and girlfriend means not much time for stuff like this. My finals are over this week though, so hopefully I'll get a chance to do this. Benhack's already completed his own rendition. However, his site's down at the moment. If there's no guide describing the process, I'll hopefully be able to do this and write an in depth guide.