Looking up some of those SMT part numbers can be next to impossible sometimes.

The best thing to do would be to get one from another controller.

D1 is marked with 500 on it for the older Six-Axis only controllers, but it appears to be the same part on all of the different revisions no matter the part number, so any of them should work in place of that one.

It may work if it's just removed, as it seems to be on there only for protection, but if yours is burnt up there could be other problems with your controller as well since that part is also connected to the D+ and D- lines.


Google Translate

Guardando in alto alcuni di questi codici SMT può essere quasi impossibile a volte.

La cosa migliore da fare sarebbe quella di ottenere uno da un altro controller.

D1 è contrassegnato con 500 su di esso per i vecchi controllori unici a sei assi, ma sembra essere la stessa parte su tutte le versioni diverse non importa il numero di parte, quindi nessuno di loro dovrebbe funzionare al posto di quello.

Può funzionare se è appena rimosso, come sembra essere in lì solo per la protezione, ma se il vostro è bruciato ci potrebbero essere altri problemi con il controller e dal momento che parte è anche collegato ai D + e D-linee.

The Asuka Rev: 1.06 board has been added.

Thanks again to odingalt for donating the board.

@ RDC
thanks a lot =o)
i'll try as u suggested.

c u next time bye =o)

I would add that however, the controller works without wire but doesn't charge anymore. I'll try to repair it. bye

ASUKA REV: 1.06

The X is R1 and the [ ] is O on this pic.
I'm adding O and X mod but the points are wrong on this image.

Show pics of your board and soldering, because they aren't wrong for the one I have here, so those pics are correct.

is it possable to take an old style ribbon circuit board and put it into the newest generation of controllers?

im asking this because i want to do the ps led mod and i would like to have my led centered, and i know that on the new style controllers the contact for that button is in the middle and not the sides like the old version.

let me know, i would really appreciate it

Only the VX5 version is like that, from all the ones I've seen anyway, the rest are still a 'split' design.

Technically it's possible. You'll need to desolder one of the connectors from the older style boards and then wire it up to the corresponding spots on the newer style board, which would be far, far, far more work than just mounting the LED off to the side. The easiest thing to do would be to use the Daughter board and contact pad from another version of controller that still has the split design.

thanks for the fast reply. yeah it would be way too much work to try and do all of that.

the housing for my vx3 board doesnt fit into the new style shell

has anyone done a tutorial for installing a ps led on the vx5 board? ichibanstunter has one on youtube but he doesnt really specify where/how he mounts the led's

You wouldn't need to change the bracket and everything, just the FPC is all, the thin plastic Daughter board.

There isn't a tutorial for that specific version that I know of.

There's all kinds of room for LEDs, when you're using 0603 SMT size ones that is, to put it at the top or bottom edge of the PS button. It doesn't have to shine up from under the button to light it up. You can get a 3mm one stuffed in there, but it's more work than it needs to be also.

ah i was trying to figure out how to fit a 3mm one in there, im def going to go with the 0603 SMD now that you mentioned it. i might even get one of those clear start and select buttons off ebay and glow that bitch up, i never even considered using those

thanks a whole lot, you were a big help.

Welcome.

First and foremost let me just say THANK YOU. This is simply amazing. Its so easy to find everything, its all label nice and neat. Your the $h!t.

But...unfortunately I am a noob at modding and electronics in general. I wanted to know if I wanted to wire a tactile button to my O button how would I go about doing this. I have a VX3 controller a lil beat up but I figure I should practice with the crappy controller first. So...obviously (fingers crossed) I have to wire one leg of the switch to the trace on the pcb that you have marked as O, my question is where to wire the other leg? Thanks for the help.

Welcome.

All versions of the PS3 controllers use the same 3 Common line setup..

COM1 for the Left side, D-pad L1 and L2
COM2 for the Right side, X, O, [ ], /\, R1 and R2
COM3 for the Middle, Select, Start, L3 and R3.

On the VX3 TP18 is COM2 (first page of thread) so TP18 + O = O button.

Ok so.. i really need a direct answer. im new to the modding. i'm trying to add another Circle button for easyer access i have posted on many modding forums and none has answered me at all.
my controller is a MSU_VX4 PS3 Controller obvious lol. but anyways i looked at the pictures and i see

its laid out nice and neat but for the Pushbutton Switch can someone upload a picture of the VX4
and Put a Red dot and a Black dot on where to place the PushButton Switches wires? like exactly where they need to be soldered? so i dont mess up and break my only controller >_< which would make me sad.

Thanks for any help cause i really want to mod my controller since i have never modded a controller before.
Please and thanks! get all my stuff im going to need tomorrow. so hopefully by then you guys answer me
if not well i can wait.

If you need it done for you in that kind of detail then you're probably better off having someone just do it for you so it's done correctly.

The VX4 version board's spots are right there on the first page of this thread with all of the other controller versions TP spots, and they are all already clearly marked.

The orange dot above the O in the VX4 pic is for the O button, and then the same thing that applies to all PS3 controllers about the COM lines, that is stated in the reply above your post, as well as in the TP spots section, goes for the controller as well, in short that is, TP18 is the COM line for the O button. TP18 and the orange dot are the spots you'll use for the new O button.

Well no i dont need it done for me but thanks for the thought .
and i was confused on where to solder cause there is muti colors in different locations so i need to know where exactly. The orange DOT is one spot now where does the other wire need to be soldered to? the SL Purple DOT? thats all is im confused as to where

You clearly haven't bothered to read anything in this entire thread, or even the reply I posted.



TP18, which has been clearly marked already by Sony on the board, with the white TP18 next to it and the circle around it, can also easily be seen in the pic of the VX4 there.

I read all the post just like i said i have never ever done this type of modding so its all new to me and i want
to be sure before i attempt something. and like i said it was all colored so i didnt know if he colored the TP18
or if it was not colored at all. but now i know it was not and it was what i was thinking all along.
I'm sorry for being a moron but this isnt really newb friendly. and by newb i mean brand spanking new.
So sorry if i made you want to how do men say it nowadays? Smacka hoe? anyways you
cleared it all up and now i know and im glad that you helped me wrap my head around this.
now i understand how this all works and the pictures explains alot more then it did 10minutes ago. Thanks
If i could hug you i would.

It's about as newb friendly as it can get when it comes to the PS3 controllers. They're not your grandaddies controller by a long shot. If you haven't even had the thing open yet, then you'll probably be shocked to see that those spots are around 20 times smaller than what they look like in the pics there, a dime will cover most of the area in those pics. It's also not a controller I'd recommend cutting your teeth on, especially if you don't want to tank it during the process.

Well i have opened it up and looked at it its not bad will be harder then most of the stuff i have done.
But im gonna go for it Well thank you again for all the help!!! hope it ends well Hey forgot to ask

What type of Pushbutton switch should i get?

A Normally Open Pushbutton Momentary Switch? or could you link me one from Radioshack? or should i buy them from
somewhere else?

Thanks RDC.

Unfortunately I got impatient and went ahead and did it before you replied (wish I had waited). Destroyed both my controllers, dropped a big glob of solder on the one processor and melted the other daughter board to bits, but managed to bubblegum them together, got the button on and everything, but now my R1 doesnt work =[. Working on getting it fixed as I type this (waiting for the iron to heat up). At the risk of sounding like a fan boy I just wanted to say how much I appreciate what you guys are doing here It's really a big help.


***EDIT*** Destroyed it, hate my life

@ DesireX69 - Any N.O. type of switch will work, it's more of a personal preference what you decide to put in there as well as what will fit. One of the more typical switches used is the 6x6x7mm Tact switch, that can be found at Mouser, DigiKey and the like.


@ bobrocka387 - I doubt destroyed is the best definition, Daughter board is for sure as that's not meant to be soldered on, or even near, but those can be replaced. A solder blob doesn't mean it's ruined anything, just shorted things that shouldn't touch, and they can be removed in most cases without using the iron, and even if it was made into a mess of all the pins on the MCU shorted together it can still be removed. Even damaged traces and Vias can be repaired, though not typically by the same person that made them that way.

Ok back after buying the stuff for the mod.


Thanks for telling my the info i needed in the detail i asked of.

I opened it up and started working on it. guess what? i did it! all buttons work and everything switch works
Perfectly! i also went ahead and wired in some extra LED's for the PS Button! all work perfectly. Though i have noticed When holding down PS Button to get to the shutdown menu ETC. it wont let me use X only O to go back
But i can just tap the PS Button and go to the normal menu and exit game from there. not really a problem but its the only flaw there is! Thank you all for giving this info out to the public im happy with the finished mod.

Thanks RDC for putting this thread together.

I'm modding my controller (MSU_V2) by adding 4 extra buttons (X,/\,O,[]). I've already mapped the TP points, soldered each wire and tested them to make sure they work (they do). The solder points are about as good as I can get them to be, but they are still pretty fragile. My question is, can I cover the entire soldered area with a layer of non-conductive epoxy? Granted that I ensure the solder points do not touch each other?

Also, I don't plan on changing the mod once its finished.

Thanks,

peanut

Well i figured out why the X button doesnt work on that Menu for some reason i gotta hold the Pushbutton down and it will let me select shutdown options and press X im thinking i got solder on something else. will later open it back up and improve my job. Though im a bit afraid to try to improve the solder cause it was not easy getting it to stick in that tiny ass spot lol. though solder the COM line was easy.

Ok so i opened it up and noticed the switch was wired wrong... so i corrected that and secured the wires so if i drop it would not break on me lol


After doing that and putting it all back together Every button works no glitches or problems O and Switch work. before only Switch did. all buttons
work in the Shutdown menu unlike before it did not. so im happy it all works
So now i got a perfectly working controller with working mods.
Im done modding it for now though. Happy modding people!

Technically you could, though you're much better off using hot glue for that versus some kind of epoxy. If you'd ever have to take it back apart, or a wire still worked it's way loose after gluing it up with epoxy, you'd have an incredible mess to try and repair that and end up just doing more damage digging that stuff off the board. You also do not want to glue right on top of your solder joint unless you're planning to stick the board in some kind of harsh environment, try and glue back from it just a bit so you still have access to the joint if needed.

Hello,
Really dont know what to say, thank you first of all about this thread and for all the information you provide.


i have been searching this for a while, i want to create an arcade stick for my ps3, and i have MSU_VX5_0.06, and really don't know how to start.


tell me please, where do i have to put resistance and with which button??

how much resistance i have to get?

thanks for the reply.

Welcome.

The PS3 controller isn't like other controllers, and it can't be added to some existing arcade stick layout or another controller without doing some more work, so make sure this is going to be a PS3 only stick and that none of the switches in it are already wired together in any way. If you're making one from the ground up then you're good to go. You'll be able to wire up the COM lines with only 1 wire on the board for each one, and then just jumper around to the other buttons you need, instead of 1 COM wire for each button run back to the board (there's no room for that anyway) but they don't all share the same COM line. All of that info is in this thread also.

You can use any value from 2k to 10k really, though I'd just go with 10k as they are easier to get here and there. You will only need 2 of them for this.

On that VX5 there you can install the first Resistor from TP10 to TP17, then the other one from TP10 to TP18, and that will take care of the Pull-Ups that were on the Daughter board, so it can be tossed.

I don't recommend it for additional buttons and such, but since you're building an arcade stick from the controller, the best way to solder up all of the wires to where you need is to use the existing connection where the Daughter board mated up to the controller board, all of those black rectangle looking spots on the top of the board. You'll need to carefully scrape off that carbon coating and expose the copper, then tin it up with some new solder and then you can use those spots to solder up your wires. They're still small, and I'd use a 30awg size wire, but they're far easier to solder to than trying to prep and solder to the Vias on the board.

Hello,

Really thanks for the reply, you have already answered all my questions without even asking them.

i'll do what you have suggested, you're right, its the best way, i only need one last confirmation, this picture is about the diagram for an earlier version of the DS3, is the number's same for my DS version?





i'm talking about the numbers 1 to 20, i have checked, and found that the 20 is also the R2 and 1 is L2. !

need your confirmation before starting


Thank you.

The pinout for those connections is in the TP spots VX3 section, as that's when they started using it. You should have a read thru that whole post, as I really only cover major changed between versions, instead of making up a whole bunch of kind of useless pics and such for every single version since a lot of it is the same from one to the next. The layout hasn't changed since then and is the same for the VX4, VX5 and Asuka boards. It's also the same order as the older version there, they're just staggered versus the inline layout of the older type, but it's still the same 1st pad is L2 and the 20th pad is R2 layout.

Really thanks, i'll start this today, and post the result.

i'm back, last noob question about the GRD.

i'll use one ground for the joystick, another one for the buttons, can i use a third one for select start and ps button? or two grounds are correct?

The PS3 controllers do not use Ground for any of the buttons.

COM1 - D-pad, L1 and L2
COM2 - X, O, [ ], /\, R1 and R2
COM3 - Select, Start, L3 and R3
PS (Home) uses V as the other line for that button.

Thank you, i was out of line.

hey,

i bought a couple controller off ebay. claiming that they where genuine sony controllers

but i havnt seen this motherboard before :S and the daughter board is a solid board and not like the pictures ive seen :S

have i bought some knock offs or what?

heres a pik:



thanks

Official Sony controllers don't have their leads bent over on thru hole parts, like the Sticks there, or leave some of the joints unsoldered. They may change revisions more times than the wind blows, but at least they build them right, or have so far anyway. You'll find that kind of 'quality' on 3rd party and knockoff junk for sure though.

Can anyone confirm this is correct?



also can someone point me to where the tp point is for Triangle?

Thank you

That's an MSU_V3.5X and the TP spots are listed on the first page of this thread.

You have [ ] (TP30) and X (TP31) correct.

If that orange dot is supposed to be O it's incorrect. O is TP32, which is right next to TP33, which is for the /\ button. All of those TP spots are right there next to the 2 you already have marked. You can follow the line from the TP33, TP32, TP35, TP34 marking right to them. TP33, TP32 are in the top of that little group of 4 there, while TP35, TP34 are on the bottom.



Remember that TP18 is the Common connection for those buttons, which is to the right of the [ ] in your pic there in the row of 3 TP spots, TP25, TP18, TP57.

Like this



?? thank you ??

Yup, minus that other O spot there on the right.

Thread updated with the latest MSU_VX6_0.06 version board.

Hey guys, I know this is an old thread that is constantly updated by RDC (thanks a lot), don't know if anyone still checks for questions, though. Thought I'd risk it here first before creating a new thread.

So, apparently my controller is some version of the MSU_V3.5X and I'm trying to do the usual: add an extra X button to it.

So I was thinking.... could I solder the wires to the X and TP18 points on the daughter board's connections ? I know I would have to scrape a little of the carbon off, but my main question is, would the daughter board as a whole lose contact to the main board due to the extra space from the solder (on the ones that aren't soldered)?

Let me know your input... thanks in advance

Welcome.

That will make a mess of the DB connection unless you were to use extremely thin wire and a pretty small solder joint, plus it's really pointless, since the 3.5X already has nice TP spots on the back of the board for both of those connections, so you don't even have to take the controller completely apart. You'd be making far more work for yourself with issues that would eventually turn up doing it the other way.

Thanks for the reply, RDC. Apparently I said the wrong controller. The one I have is some kind of MSU_VX3_0.07 but mine has 0840 (on the top left of the BOTTOM side) instead of the 0842. And that is exactly why I was thinking about soldering on the daughter board contact on the main board. Because even though I have a TP18, I don't have a TP spot for the X. I could try soldering the pin 60 on the chip but I really think I would do better with something a little bigger like the contacts from the DB.

That number is more for production run data versus the controller version.

You'd be better off soldering to pin 60 of the MCU versus the DB connection. With 30awg wire, small solder and a little patience it's not really that difficult of a solder joint to make. Since it's right on the corner of the chip, as long as you're careful and use the proper tools and parts, the chance of bridging pins together is minimal. There is always the Via for the X button as well, either of which is far better than using the DB connections.

MSU_V2, MSU_V2.5 (Six-Axis) MSU_VX (DS3)


TP25 - COM 1
TP26 - COM 2

TP32 - PS
TP33 - Start
TP34 - R3
TP35 - L3
TP36 - Select

TP38 - [ ]
TP39 - X
TP40 - O
TP41 - /\
TP42 - R1
TP43 - R2

TP45 - L1
TP46 - L2
TP47 - DL
TP48 - DD
TP49 - DR
TP50 - DU

TP62 - V (Common Line for Home Button)

There is no TP spot for the COM 3 line on this version of board, best place to use is one of the solder joints of the L3/R3 buttons.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Hello RDC I appreciate the help that you are giving out to people on the forum and also as for myself. This is an old forum but hopefully I will get a reply from you. As the pictures and details you had given out, the picture above is the same model as mine and I would like to modify it but I have a few questions to ask before I start because I'm slightly confused and lost. Pretty much I got tactile switches. I would like to set my tactile switches as my "X" button and my "O" button. Now that I've got my wires set to.. TP39 and TP40 would I have to set 2 more wires on TP26 for com2? I've seen tutorials on "MSU_VX5" they would set 1 wire to the top pin of the chip ("X") 2 wires into TP18 ("COM2") and TP20 ("O") which I assume. but as for mine will I also set 2 wires onto TP26 (COM2)?
Appreciate for the help. Thanks.

If you have that V2, V2.5 or VX version board, then you use..

TP39 for X

TP40 for O

TP26 for the common connection for X and O