Anatomy Of An F200 D-pad Mod

[DaveC]

I wanted a real d-pad so here is what I did. Not sure what use this info is as I made a custom D-pad piece myself. But just for info here it is for what it is worth.

(when the image doesn't show, try later bandwidth limit )

 

[Alex.]

That looks very good, and I bet it plays great too Nice job!

 

[___]

awesome! Now that's a solid mod. I still got that n-gage qd pad lying around. Once my F-200 arrives I think I might finally give it a shot and do the mod. I was always too lazy to pull it off on my F-100.

 

[Samba Pa Ti]

get gph to make them, or mod and sell them and il buy an f200.

how much do you think it would cost to make a run of moulded dpad thingys ?

 

[Reesy]

Very nice work Dave.... as usual.

 

[xcen]

This is good news =) What is the Replacement DPad you used?

There is no explaining how disappointed I was when I got my F200... a freaking DPad is a concept that's been around forever.... how come GPH gets it SO wrong?

I really feel like making this mod, I hate the DPad because the buttons are independant and quick transitions from one direction to the other are akward, especially since the buttons are so high for no good reason

damn it =P

EDIT: can't tell from the pic but maybe you know... is the contact for the stick click still on the F200 board? Could we mod a stick click button anyhow?

 

[Samba Pa Ti]

afaik the stick click on the f200 is meant to use the logic of all 4 buttons being pressed, but i think gph messed it up so it doesnt work right.

 

[senquack]

This is great, now you just need to get the DPAD mould to someone that can run off a few hundred for the rest of us

 

[prairiefire]

This is great, now you just need to get the DPAD mould to someone that can run off a few hundred for the rest of us

Done and done.

DPAD mould!

 

[senquack]

This is great, now you just need to get the DPAD mould to someone that can run off a few hundred for the rest of us

Done and done.

DPAD mould!



Aww don't make fun of my spore spelling

 

[xcen]

haha nice one

 

[Jarska333]

But... Is it any good? Feel?

 

[DaveC]

This is good news =) What is the Replacement DPad you used?

There is no explaining how disappointed I was when I got my F200... a freaking DPad is a concept that's been around forever.... how come GPH gets it SO wrong?

I really feel like making this mod, I hate the DPad because the buttons are independant and quick transitions from one direction to the other are akward, especially since the buttons are so high for no good reason

The replacement D-pad is one I made custom on a lathe and milling machine. That is why this mod is not much good to someone without such tools. A mold could be made but that is very expensive, since I don't have $10,000 laying around to have one made this is as far as it goes unfortunatly. You may want to look at that PSP pad mod that someone did, it was simple seemed to work quite well.

But... Is it any good? Feel?

Yeah it is good. It is much better than the separate buttons. It is not quite as good as a "real" d-pad specificaly designed for a console. I think that is due to the fact that it still uses the GPH long travel membrane. Still it is decent.

 

[xcen]

excuse my ignorance... Long Travel Membrane?

 

[DaveC]

excuse my ignorance... Long Travel Membrane?

You have to press in a long distance to make it contact.

 

[xcen]

aaaaaah makes sense =)

Perhaps one could add a piece of conducting material on the contacts to make the membrane reach the board earlier?

 

[bacteria]

Nice mod. Nice and simple. Well thought through.

 

[yodaofborg]

Looks nice, and not tacky at all. Now if the F200 came with a similar pad, I may think about replacing my trusty F100

 

[Duddyroar]

That is amazing. Why didn't they use that kind of pad in the first place?

 

[gruso]

Beautiful stuff! I've been planning to put a real d-pad in, this is the last bit of motivation I need. I've got a broken xbox controller around somewhere, so I might try fitting that pad in. Black on white won't look quite as nice, but I don't mind.

Moving our eyes to the right, has anyone modified the ABXY buttons? It would be nice to have them sit lower and feel firmer. Less travel would be lovely too, but I guess this is determined by the membrane. Maybe I'll have a look at xcen's idea - some "packing" material to shorten the distance. Sounds fiddly though.


[edit] Nope, the xbox d-pad will be too big. I've got an idea or two though, if I get anywhere with it I'll put my pics in this thread.