Hey again, it’s been a while since I’ve posted but ever since I finished the TEasy Mod, I’ve been rather busy getting organized.

I still get asked to do mods by locals, and here’s a few. The first one is for my friend d0x, who wanted his Comic-Con PS3 TE dual modded.

Same set up as always

1 x Madcatz Xbox 360 Fightpad
1 x Imp board

Switches via control panel switch, RS = 36o, DP/LS = PS3

The next mod wasn’t terribly complex, but it was the first time I’ve dealt with Dreamcast Agetec sticks. He wanted me to make his twin Agetecs work on PSx as well as DC…no problem. Overall they’re nice to work with, the PCB is pretty damn easy to work with. However, the one gripe that I have is that whoever designed the PCB did a piss poor job at using thermals for their through hole spots. Heating up the ground pins enough to solder a wire to was really quite difficult, since the ground plane just acted like a gigantic heat sink.

This first one wasn’t bad, the PSX pad was an early version A type dual shock. Super easy to mod with. This wasn’t an untouched stick though, someone had popped in a JLF and sanwa buttons, and you can tell they didn’t plan ahead when splicing in the JLF. The terminal block that was already there was cut in too close to the PCB for my liking.

The second one was a gigantic pain in the ass.

The pad he supplied me with was a late version A type, which utilizes a flex cable for the tactile buttons. Instead of soldering to scraped traces, you have to solder to the other side of the flex cable connector, which is kind of a challenge since it’s got rather small points.

I ran into a bunch of problems. It went smoothly at first, but after fiddling mounting this thing in the case for 20 minutes I finally got to test it. Turns out I had a slight wiring issue and had to re-do it. Then, after unmounting it, changing the wires, and remounting it I found I had a short between R1 and R2…awesome.

So I finally fixed that up, then zip tied everything tight and closed it up once and for all. Now both sticks work on PSx as well as DC. I think I went through about 25 zip ties with this one, luckily they’re cheap.

Mod 1: Dual Mod XBOX 360 TE
Parts Required:
1 x Unassembled ChImp Kit
Random Accessories

Same ChImp dual mod set up as usual, this one was for Magic Marco’s brother, CannonSpook who plays a helluva Cammy.

Autodetection by ChImp for switchless selection of the system.

Mod 2: PS3 TE to Xbox360/PS3/PSx Tri-Mod
Parts Required:
1 x Madcatz Xbox360 Fightpad
1 x PS1 Dual Shock controller
1 x Imp Kit
2 x European style barrier strips
Random accessories, including lots of zip ties…

Okay, so this was definitely a first for me…and let me tell you, trying to cram 3 circuit boards together is no easy task. The idea behind it is incredibly simple, but the execution is just murder. I chose to use barrier strips because I didn’t feel like piggy-backing the solder joints, and in hindsight…that may have been the more difficult way to go.

By this time I’ve developed my soldering skills to a very good level, however…the wire I choose to use is pretty small (26 to 28 gauge, 24 for USB power/data lines… all stranded). That size of wire doesn’t really play well with the european style of blocks, since they utilize a screw down mechanic. I found it was easy to screw “too much” and either snip the end of the wire off…or just have a lot of trouble trying to cram 2 of them into 1 spot in general.

I think that the terminal blocks were probably the most difficult part of this for me, since the inclusion of a third pad was required, I needed to find a way to fit everything together nicely. The problem is that I tend to be OCD about wire control, so it takes me HOURS to get things situated to a point where I like them. However, the terminal blocks do make it so that if the PSx pad ever fails due to voltage differences, it’s VERY easy to swap it out for another one.

Another thing of note is that I was hoping to make it so that the PSx cable could be “inserted” into the case itself, so that everything would be contained within the TE shell. However, I found that it just wasn’t going to work, because there’s a lot of cable to cram in there, and way too much chance to accidentally snag something important trying to extend the cable.

Features: Switching via the LS/DP/RS switch.
LS/DP = PS3 mode
RS = 360 Mode
PSx will work with either mod selected.
PSx PCB is ANALOG, so converters for GC/DC will work perfectly (tested it on TvC, works great).

New Motto: Zip ties and wire are cheap, my sanity isn’t.

PS3 to PS3/360 dual mod for Helios, a fellow chun li player. I wasn’t expecting a round 2 when he asked me to do this for him. I’m glad it was though…these things are really quite nice, and have a little lighter feel to them than the round 1’s.

Parts Required:
1 x Madcatz Xbox 360 Fightpad (chun li version, since Helios mains chun it seemed fitting)
1 x Imp Kit
Random accessories

Sorry for the blurry pictures, this time I failed pretty bad with taking them. The work light I use is pretty damn bright, and unless I take a bazillion pictures to get it right I sometimes just get these. My micro SD card is being used for something else right now, so I just took a few as a record as is.

I was going to try using some rubber tubing on the wires to make things extra pretty. However, I already had enough problems getting the fightpad and wires to cooperate that by the time I finished with my standard zip tie approach, I just kinda said fuck it. This is probably the first time since the very first pad hack I’ve done that I’ve come across issues with prepping a pad, I think it may be time to order some new tips for my iron just in case.

I was also debating on writing up a tutorial, and using this mod for that purpose…but again, I’ll save that for another time.

Quick note: Floppy cable wires != IDE drive wires, they are both technically 28 gauge, but floppy cable wires have a thicker insulation, making them less suitable for intricate wiring.

No auto-detection, the selection is in the LS/DP/RS switch. LS/DP are PS3, and RS is Xbox 360.