How to mod a 360 controller to make a genuine arcade stick.

[DumbledorsArmy]

I originally posted this at TetrisConcept but figured I would port it over to HardDrop. Anyone have any questions feel free to ask.


As some of you know, I have recently modded a Sega Dreamcast Arcade Stick made by Agetec. This was a fairly easy process (it would have been a HELL of a lot easier if my Dremmel didn't die), so I decided to post a little how to for anybody who finds it. Unfortunately I lost all of the pics that I took during the process, all I have is 'after' pics, but I just cleaned up the installation (it still looks really shitty and cuttered, IMO) but while I had it apart I took pics. Enjoy!!

This is what I started with. Xbox 360 Arcade GameStick™ (thanks Blink)


That became this, minus everything I circled. I removed both analog boxes, both L and R triggers (on the opposite side of the board), the rotating control for left and right, two small PCB's that were for the LB and RB buttons, both rumble motors, the large circular piece of plastic around the left analog box and the cord. Since I removed the analog boxes that were for the sticks and the two trigger buttons, I had to install some 10k 1/4w resistors to make them think that they were still installed. If not, it can make the controller act in a funky way if you are playing a game that allows input from the analog's. The other benefit to this is that I can now use the two analog trigger buttons as normal buttons with the resistors installed. There is a pic further down with the PCB completed, but installed. Didn't think to take a pic of it by itself. I found all the information on how to hook everything up on the internet but this site was most helpfull for the info regarding removing the analogs.

[!--ImageUrlBegin--][a href=\\\"http://i685.photobucket.com/albums/vv211/DumbledorsArmy360/Number0.jpg\\\" target=\\\"_new\\\"][!--ImageUrlEBegin--][img width=\\\"400\\\" class=\\\"attach\\\" src=\\\"http://i685.photobucket.com/albums/vv211/DumbledorsArmy360/Number0.jpg\\\" border=\\\'0\\\' alt=\\\"IPB Image\\\" /][!--ImageUrlEnd--][/a][!--ImageUrlEEnd--]



I pulled out the original stick and buttons (except for the 'start' button) and replaced them with Sanwa parts. A Sanwa JLF TP-8T, OBSF-30 click-in pushbuttons, 2 SDM-18 Pushbutton (18mm), and one Seimitsu PS-14-KN 30mm Pushbutton (screw-type, for the X-Guide button).

The top with the metal plate removed, everything stock stripped and the Sanwa mounted with zip screws:
[!--ImageUrlBegin--][a href=\\\"http://i685.photobucket.com/albums/vv211/DumbledorsArmy360/Number1.jpg\\\" target=\\\"_new\\\"][!--ImageUrlEBegin--][img width=\\\"400\\\" class=\\\"attach\\\" src=\\\"http://i685.photobucket.com/albums/vv211/DumbledorsArmy360/Number1.jpg\\\" border=\\\'0\\\' alt=\\\"IPB Image\\\" /][!--ImageUrlEnd--][/a][!--ImageUrlEEnd--]



The bottom with everything stock removed and the Sanwa mounted with zip screws:
[!--ImageUrlBegin--][a href=\\\"http://i685.photobucket.com/albums/vv211/DumbledorsArmy360/Number2.jpg\\\" target=\\\"_new\\\"][!--ImageUrlEBegin--][img width=\\\"400\\\" class=\\\"attach\\\" src=\\\"http://i685.photobucket.com/albums/vv211/DumbledorsArmy360/Number2.jpg\\\" border=\\\'0\\\' alt=\\\"IPB Image\\\" /][!--ImageUrlEnd--][/a][!--ImageUrlEEnd--]



To get the Sanwa mounted in I had the choice of cutting off the wings from the Sanwa, or cutting some of the
plastic of the shell. I opted for cutting the Sanwa up. It went well, the main problem I had was the screws for the mounting plate were so tight, I stripped one of them! I had a hell of a time getting it out and wound up maring up the surface of the stick.

[!--ImageUrlBegin--][a href=\\\"http://i685.photobucket.com/albums/vv211/DumbledorsArmy360/Number25.jpg\\\" target=\\\"_new\\\"][!--ImageUrlEBegin--][img width=\\\"400\\\" class=\\\"attach\\\" src=\\\"http://i685.photobucket.com/albums/vv211/DumbledorsArmy360/Number25.jpg\\\" border=\\\'0\\\' alt=\\\"IPB Image\\\" /][!--ImageUrlEnd--][/a][!--ImageUrlEEnd--]


On the left hand side you can see where I screwed it up (cirlcled red). I wound up having to pry up the mounting plate to finally remove it. The location of the  two wings that I cut off are circled yellow.

I also had to remove 4 screw mounts for the old stock stick (circled yellow) to get the Sanwa to sit flush. I then marked and drilled the holes to mount the Sanwa (circled red). I originaly mounted the stick with zip screws (self tapping screws). When I went back to clean up the installlation, I used 5/16" bolts and locknuts.

Joystick mounting area:
[!--ImageUrlBegin--][a href=\\\"http://i685.photobucket.com/albums/vv211/DumbledorsArmy360/Number3.jpg\\\" target=\\\"_new\\\"][!--ImageUrlEBegin--][img width=\\\"400\\\" class=\\\"attach\\\" src=\\\"http://i685.photobucket.com/albums/vv211/DumbledorsArmy360/Number3.jpg\\\" border=\\\'0\\\' alt=\\\"IPB Image\\\" /][!--ImageUrlEnd--][/a][!--ImageUrlEEnd--]



Final joystick mounting:
[!--ImageUrlBegin--][a href=\\\"http://i685.photobucket.com/albums/vv211/DumbledorsArmy360/Number33.jpg\\\" target=\\\"_new\\\"][!--ImageUrlEBegin--][img width=\\\"400\\\" class=\\\"attach\\\" src=\\\"http://i685.photobucket.com/albums/vv211/DumbledorsArmy360/Number33.jpg\\\" border=\\\'0\\\' alt=\\\"IPB Image\\\" /][!--ImageUrlEnd--][/a][!--ImageUrlEEnd--]


On the left the Sanwa mounted with zip screws. On the right, mounted with nuts and bolts.

For the metal top-plate, this is where the Dremmel would come in handy. The top-plate is mounted with 7 T10 screws. The hole cut-outs in the top-plate for the original buttons are slightly smaller than the new buttons. I used a hand file to enlarge them. Unfortunatley, I scratched up the top-plate a bit doing this and it took a little bit of time. If I had my Dremmel it would have taken about 10 minutes. By hand it took about 45 minutes and I have scratches unfortunately. The plastic shell's holes are already large enough, so I left them alone. I was toying with the idea to hack them out as well, but that's more work that I didn't need to do.
[!--ImageUrlBegin--][a href=\\\"http://i685.photobucket.com/albums/vv211/DumbledorsArmy360/Number39.jpg\\\" target=\\\"_new\\\"][!--ImageUrlEBegin--][img width=\\\"400\\\" class=\\\"attach\\\" src=\\\"http://i685.photobucket.com/albums/vv211/DumbledorsArmy360/Number39.jpg\\\" border=\\\'0\\\' alt=\\\"IPB Image\\\" /][!--ImageUrlEnd--][/a][!--ImageUrlEEnd--]



Then I made two holes for the two 18mm buttons to mount on the back. One is for the 'back' button on the 360 controller, the other is for the RT button. I also shaved off some of the plastic to allow me to mount the clear Seimitsu button in the hole that was originally for the VMU of the Dreamcast. At some point I plan on running LED's into it to mimic the functionality of the X-Guide button when used on the 360.
[!--ImageUrlBegin--][a href=\\\"http://i685.photobucket.com/albums/vv211/DumbledorsArmy360/Number4.jpg\\\" target=\\\"_new\\\"][!--ImageUrlEBegin--][img width=\\\"400\\\" class=\\\"attach\\\" src=\\\"http://i685.photobucket.com/albums/vv211/DumbledorsArmy360/Number4.jpg\\\" border=\\\'0\\\' alt=\\\"IPB Image\\\" /][!--ImageUrlEnd--][/a][!--ImageUrlEEnd--]



I re-assemble the top-plate and we are almost there...
[!--ImageUrlBegin--][a href=\\\"http://i685.photobucket.com/albums/vv211/DumbledorsArmy360/Number5.jpg\\\" target=\\\"_new\\\"][!--ImageUrlEBegin--][img width=\\\"400\\\" class=\\\"attach\\\" src=\\\"http://i685.photobucket.com/albums/vv211/DumbledorsArmy360/Number5.jpg\\\" border=\\\'0\\\' alt=\\\"IPB Image\\\" /][!--ImageUrlEnd--][/a][!--ImageUrlEEnd--]



So here is a pic of the innards before I install the PCB of the 360 controller and all the wires.
[!--ImageUrlBegin--][a href=\\\"http://i685.photobucket.com/albums/vv211/DumbledorsArmy360/Number6.jpg\\\" target=\\\"_new\\\"][!--ImageUrlEBegin--][img width=\\\"400\\\" class=\\\"attach\\\" src=\\\"http://i685.photobucket.com/albums/vv211/DumbledorsArmy360/Number6.jpg\\\" border=\\\'0\\\' alt=\\\"IPB Image\\\" /][!--ImageUrlEnd--][/a][!--ImageUrlEEnd--]



And here is the glorious mess that I call my arcade stick!! Isn't it sad that this is 'cleaned up'??? The items I
have circled are the resistors that I had to install for the analog mounts.
[!--ImageUrlBegin--][a href=\\\"http://i685.photobucket.com/albums/vv211/DumbledorsArmy360/Number7.jpg\\\" target=\\\"_new\\\"][!--ImageUrlEBegin--][img width=\\\"400\\\" class=\\\"attach\\\" src=\\\"http://i685.photobucket.com/albums/vv211/DumbledorsArmy360/Number7.jpg\\\" border=\\\'0\\\' alt=\\\"IPB Image\\\" /][!--ImageUrlEnd--][/a][!--ImageUrlEEnd--]



Complete!!!
[!--ImageUrlBegin--][a href=\\\"http://i685.photobucket.com/albums/vv211/DumbledorsArmy360/Number9.jpg\\\" target=\\\"_new\\\"][!--ImageUrlEBegin--][img width=\\\"400\\\" class=\\\"attach\\\" src=\\\"http://i685.photobucket.com/albums/vv211/DumbledorsArmy360/Number9.jpg\\\" border=\\\'0\\\' alt=\\\"IPB Image\\\" /][!--ImageUrlEnd--][/a][!--ImageUrlEEnd--]


[!--ImageUrlBegin--][a href=\\\"http://i685.photobucket.com/albums/vv211/DumbledorsArmy360/Number8.jpg\\\" target=\\\"_new\\\"][!--ImageUrlEBegin--][img width=\\\"400\\\" class=\\\"attach\\\" src=\\\"http://i685.photobucket.com/albums/vv211/DumbledorsArmy360/Number8.jpg\\\" border=\\\'0\\\' alt=\\\"IPB Image\\\" /][!--ImageUrlEnd--][/a][!--ImageUrlEEnd--]



And the kick-a** bubble-top for the Sanwa even though it's made by Seimitsu! At a later date, I might order the hollowed out shaft and put a LED in it to light it up.
[!--ImageUrlBegin--][a href=\\\"http://i685.photobucket.com/albums/vv211/DumbledorsArmy360/Number10.jpg\\\" target=\\\"_new\\\"][!--ImageUrlEBegin--][img width=\\\"400\\\" class=\\\"attach\\\" src=\\\"http://i685.photobucket.com/albums/vv211/DumbledorsArmy360/Number10.jpg\\\" border=\\\'0\\\' alt=\\\"IPB Image\\\" /][!--ImageUrlEnd--][/a][!--ImageUrlEEnd--]




Couple of notes. I installed the resistors on the RT/LT buttons to make them read 'zero' and make them function as normal buttons. This works on the computer, but not on the 360. I swear I have pics of the PCB of the 360 controller with the solder points marked out and if I ever find them I will update this. This controller also works great for Xbox Live Arcade classic side-scroll fighers.....

[GoldPlatedDish]

Wow, nice
Unfortunately, my name isn't Mike Holmes and I'm more of a Nintendo person

[Blink]

Nice, but there's several dead images.  Do you still have them?

[DumbledorsArmy]

Nice, but there's several dead images.  Do you still have them?

As far as I know they should still be on my ImageShack page. Unfortunately I don't have the foggiest idea of what my logon info is...... I sent a request to reset my info, but I've gotten nothing from them......


EDIT: Wow I just checked my original post on TC and they are missing there too. I guess I have some work to do.... Now I need to fix both of them. Uggggggggghhhhhhhh. And there are a lot more missing than I thought......

[Kitaru]

..I'm more of a Nintendo person

m_ has a nice Sanwa modded Wii Hori Fight Stick. Hori Fight Stick builds are mostly the same between versions for different consoles, so you could Google for modding instructions if you wanted to go that route.

[GoldPlatedDish]

I don't even have a Wii, plus I've got no knowledge of circuitry and electronics anyway, so if I modded something, it would be my brains, via electrocution

[Monte]

good guide but anybody anybody looking for an arcade stick that's near a frys should keep an eye out for the madcatz street fighter IV tournament edition fight sticks because they are often on sale for 90-100 bucks and they have genuine sanwa parts. there's also the madcatz standard edition stick that costs like 60 bucks and you can place sanwa parts in there with very little hassle and you don't have to solder a PCB.

[DumbledorsArmy]

Thanks everyone. I really wish it transferred over complete without the missing pics. I have all the pics and uploaded them to my photobucket account. Now I just need to revamp everything....... Was gonna do it tonight, but my brain is not functioning correctly at this point. Too tired. Soon it will be restored to its former glory......

[m__]

DumbledorsArmy, do you always play with a stick?  I do, i love it.  plus fast thumb button presses blow out my old shoulder, with a stick I can still play for hours!

Ice job on the stick and the guide!

Wow, nice
Unfortunately, my name isn't Mike Holmes and I'm more of a Nintendo person

m_ has a nice Sanwa modded Wii Hori Fight Stick. Hori Fight Stick builds are mostly the same between versions for different consoles, so you could Google for modding instructions if you wanted to go that route.

I modded a wii stick with all sanwa   as it's bluetooth it works with my computer.
that nintendo stick isn't a pipe dream!   it's not to hard, desoldering could be the hardest, but I have desoldering iron.  it literally sucks it clean in 1/2 a second.

[!--ImageUrlBegin--][!--ImageUrlEBegin--][img width=\\\"400\\\" class=\\\"attach\\\" src=\\\"http://i61.photobucket.com/albums/h67/aktech23/photo.jpg\\\" border=\\\'0\\\' alt=\\\"IPB Image\\\" /][!--ImageUrlEnd--][/a][!--ImageUrlEEnd--]



[a href=\\\"http://www.neo-geo.com/forums/showthread.php?t=179535]http://www.neo-geo.com/forums/showthread.php?t=179535

[Blink]

This is what I started with. From Mad Catz and can't think of what it's called.

Xbox 360 Arcade GameStick™

[DumbledorsArmy]

DumbledorsArmy, do you always play with a stick?  I do, i love it.  plus fast thumb button presses blow out my old shoulder, with a stick I can still play for hours!

Lately no. I was mainly using it to play TGM but for some reason my current computer won't run in without lag. I never really tried to play it with any SRS games.

nice job on the stick and the guide!

Thanks. Nice job on your arcade stick. I enjoy doing things like this.

Xbox 360 Arcade GameStick™

Thanks Blink. I'll update it when I redo the post.... Let me tell ya what a p.o.s. controller THAT was........


EDIT: Ok, I fixed all the missing pics and edited a little bit here and there. Unless I find the pre-soldering pics at some point this is now as complete as I care to make it.

Anyone else modified anything else? I modded my RockBand2 drum set. I had 2 of the pushbuttons left over from my joystick project so I mounted them in the feet of the drum set. Soldered on a couple of 1/8" headphone plugs. Purchased a 3 way adapter and I know have 3 ways to hit the bass pedal of the drum set.

[m__]

Lately no. I was mainly using it to play TGM but for some reason my current computer won't run in without lag. I never really tried to play it with any SRS games.

I've never gotten the das to feel like a TGM game, but nonetheless I do enjoy SRS with the stick.  it's by far the fastest way I can play.

however, I cannot play on a keyboard.  it hurts me after two games of sprint.  I have no idea why it's so much harder then typing all day.  Typing gives me a little trouble, but nothing like trying to play tetris.

[DumbledorsArmy]

Well when you're playing 40 lines, you're trying to push yourself to the limit. Do you do that typing all day? Die hard typer, sweat flying off your fingers...... :-)

[TGM]

I've never gotten the das to feel like a TGM game, but nonetheless I do enjoy SRS with the stick.  it's by far the fastest way I can play.

however, I cannot play on a keyboard.  it hurts me after two games of sprint.  I have no idea why it's so much harder then typing all day.  Typing gives me a little trouble, but nothing like trying to play tetris.

Same way, I only use a stick for PC/360 tetris. On ds it gets painful after a couple dozen matches; but on keyboard it only takes a handful.
If I keep going once it starts it can take 1-2 week for them to feel better again.  

[m__]

Same way, I only use a stick for PC/360 tetris. On ds it gets painful after a couple dozen matches; but on keyboard it only takes a handful.
If I keep going once it starts it can take 1-2 week for them to feel better again.  

luckily for me I get zero pain when I use a joystick!  I am faster then I ever was with a gamepad now.   Someone over on tetris concept (muf) recommend trying a stick for pain issues, and it worked!   I've been playing on it exclusively since Jan 01.   sitting out for two weeks 'cause I hurt myself playing a video game makes me feel old    I don't have a ds so it's not sitting around to tempt me. I think I've learned my lesson now.