DC 2 NES controller mod

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arrowhead
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DC 2 NES controller mod

Post by arrowhead »

Hello. I was wondering if any of you have modded a Sega brand controller to NES controller. The reason I ask is because today I went out and bought a madcatz controller and the board was completely different from the one used in dumbass's how-to. And since I am a complete nuttsack when it comes to figuring electronics out I didnt want to give it a shot and ruin the controller. I figure that the sega brand board probably doesnt change and i could follow that how-to and modify an original. Or do I just have to look for a green colored madcatz controller? The one I bought is red, so maybe it is revision of some sort? Anyway, thanks a lot.
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Post by Synlor »

i did mine with an official controller, i took it a part though, cause i'm doing other things with the controller right now. its very simple to do, follow the guide you already have, except on the dc part scrape a little off the green leeds(whatever there called) that connect up to the button. solder the wire there. basically your remapping the buttons. just ask if you need it clearer
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Post by NeonGenesis »

Hey, Corta, I have a DC and an NES controller sitting on my floor right now, both dissassembled. Think you could go into a little depth, post a picture on what you were saying to do on the official Sega controller? I believe I know, but I want to be sure before I get to work. Thanks
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Post by Synlor »

i believe i took some blurry pictures of the controller, lemme find if i still have them. for the nes part, just follow the tutorial marvin wrote, it is the exact same thing.
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Post by Synlor »

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okay, see all those wires and where they connect to the board? right where they are soldered i scraped up the covering of the wire on the board. you have to do this for every button you want to use. also not you won't use some of the wires, that would be used for the snes controller mod(which i'm halfway through, but probally will redo)
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Post by NeonGenesis »

Thanks a lot, Corta :D I assume, then, that the DC controller is unusable after this due to the fact that the buttons would not press down completely?
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Post by Synlor »

it still works for me, but x doesn't work half of the time. depending how close you solder, and how much you solder near the button depends how well it will work after the mod is done
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Post by NeonGenesis »

That's kind of what I was thinking would happen, because the solder would interfere with the original DC controller buttons making contact with the board. I think I'm going to go buy another DC controller before I give this a shot, just in case.
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Post by someoneElse »

NeonGenesis wrote:That's kind of what I was thinking would happen, because the solder would interfere with the original DC controller buttons making contact with the board. I think I'm going to go buy another DC controller before I give this a shot, just in case.
Try picking up a Madcatz Dreampad if you can find it. They're perfect for modification. There are solder points well away from the buttons, and the digital LR/CZ buttons make SNES shoulder buttons and the like very simple.

Also, there's the Quantum Fighterpad, but most people like the Madcatz better.

Here's Marvin's tutorial for the Madcatz, c/o TDA, and whoever did the Quantum, I can't remember, unfortunately...

MadCatz
Not all versions of the pad are like this, but the others are not too much harder to do. Look for the ones with the D-Pad straight up and down, not at a slight angle.

Quantum Fighterpad
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Post by someoneElse »

To mod the older version of the Madcatz Dreampad, just folow the traces back to the brass holes, and solder there instead of the join between PCBs on the newer versions. It's probably better to solder on the other side of the board, where the brass goes through, so as not to interfere with the buttons or pads. Just make sure you don't hold the soldering iron on the point for too long, here more than anywhere, becasue it's so close to the chips.

I made a quick diagram with my incredible photoshop paint bucket skills, here and here(mirror)

You can probably find a good point for the ground just about anywhere.
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Post by Cyphix »

Has anyone done this with an astropad?
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Post by az_bont »

You might find this link useful: http://nes2dc.nklb.net/
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Post by Lartrak »

Pretty cool getting my tutorial linked... :D

I should probably update some of it, with my "final" revision stuff. I did it so there's no external duct tape, both VMU slots are still as normal, the WHOLE quantum fighter pad still works, and the NES wire is a black very thin one (bought a $3 PC gamepad just for the wire) and the wire to the NES is stopped with a ziptie (no visible wires except the black and the cable going to the Dreamcast). It's much better done then the ugly, though functional, pad pictured at the bottom of the tutorial. I sold that one for $35 on eBay, by the way.. Used the money to make a new one :)

I should probably put up a picture of my first one - the case is completely covered in duct tape and stuff, it can't function as a 1 player controller so it is soley my second player controller. But hey, other then that it works fine.
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