Closer To The Final Replacement Of Stick

[bacteria]

Looks hit and miss...

 

[Radek]

Looks hit and miss...

Except my dumb mistake with not unconnecting LCD's ribbon cable and damaging it (easily avoidable) it's not hard to do.

And polymorph stays elastic long enough to position a dpad. If not then there is always a hairdryer to longer available time. Or even repeat the process what can be done as many times as needed.

I can get it positioned perfect 2 times for 3 tries now.

 

[bacteria]

Looks hit and miss...

Except my dumb mistake with not unconnecting LCD's ribbon cable and damaging it (easily avoidable) it's not hard to do.

And polymorph stays elastic long enough to position a dpad. If not then there is always a hairdryer to longer available time. Or even repeat the process what can be done as many times as needed.

I can get it positioned perfect 2 times for 3 tries now.

Given that the joystick casing is in the same place on every GP2x, and the GP2x case itself is the same for every unit, and the polymorph has very little advisive power, it would seem logical to provide the completed D-pad complete with the polymorph fully attached and assembled; then all someone has to do is put the moulded polymorph unit directly onto the casing of the joystick mounting, and that is all. The polymorph could be stuck to the GP2x in place easily with a very small piece of blu-tac or weak glue in the old joystick assembly itself, after all. Surely this is not a problem? You have been making mods for your unit so many times, that you have got used to it; most people are scared to open their case as it is, so you have to consider making a fully competed unit.

Issues as I see them are:

1) the GP2x case has to be disassembled to remove the front cover and the LCD connectors
2) the original joystick has to be cut off to reveal the joystick mount (the brown hexagon)
3) the case has to be cut in the right place for the D-pad to be mounted, a wrong cut and the GP2x will look crap.
4) it is possible that people will be over zealous with the polymorph and it may go over the GP2x board - removing it could damage the circuitry (this is also applicable if the polymorph has to be remounted btw)
5) people have to use your D-pad, as the centre push works when all 4 directions are pressed at the same time - you can't do this on any normal D-pad. As you have also said, it is not easy to press diagonals with your D-pad - surely this is the whole point of getting your D-pad in the first place?
6) using a hairdrier to keep the polymorph supple is not a good idea - hairdriers give out a lot of heat, and using a hairdrier on the GP2x motherboard could easily damage the circuitry.
7) you have modified your case many times over recent months - 2 successful attempts out of 3 is not good, this means a normal user may in reality take 2 or 3 attempts before they get the unit mounted right, level, straight, and through the circular case hole....

Point 3 and 4 above could be solved if you made a completed assembly, so no-one has to faff about with hot water, melting plastic, etc, etc. Also, make it so people know exactly where the hole on the GP2x case is - what I mean is that the joystick base is centre to the existing hole, the existing hole is centre to the circular surround on the GP2x case, so it will be easy to tell people exactly where the hole is - eg "the circumference of the existing surround" or whatever - supply a template: what you need to supply is the board, the fully assembled and completed D-pad, and a template giving the precise hole size and position to be cut in precisely the right place on the GP2x (these are all consistant factors after all).

You must keep it simple, and pain free. At the moment, it doesn't appear to be. It is easy to say "that's all" but "that's all" after opening the case, cutting a hole in the case of exactly the right size and in exactly the right place, removing the LCD connectors, cutting off the old joystick.... Sorry if you don't like this post, but I am sure it reflects what people are thinking, who have stood back and thought about it in the cold light of day.

I can see a lot of people being disappointed, having damaged their GP2x unit by disassembly (eg the LCD, as you did) or cut a hole in the wrong place, or the wrong size, or mounted the D-pad on the skew, ot it catching on the case, etc, etc. In essence, they stand to lose the money the sent to you, and forking for a new GP2x as well. I am sure the GP2x suppliers are rubbing their hands with the prospect, as we speak.

 

[subin]

I can see a lot of people being disappointed, having damaged their GP2x unit by disassembly (eg the LCD, as you did) or cut a hole in the wrong place, or the wrong size, or mounted the D-pad on the skew, ot it catching on the case, etc, etc. In essence, they stand to lose the money the sent to you, and forking for a new GP2x as well. I am sure the GP2x suppliers are rubbing their hands with the prospect, as we speak.

i appreciate your points but right now, my gp2x stick is breaking, i can hardly use it, my gp2x doesn't mean that much to me so.... this mod is a definite for me.

will the polymorph come with the mod?

 

[bacteria]

I can see a lot of people being disappointed, having damaged their GP2x unit by disassembly (eg the LCD, as you did) or cut a hole in the wrong place, or the wrong size, or mounted the D-pad on the skew, ot it catching on the case, etc, etc. In essence, they stand to lose the money the sent to you, and forking for a new GP2x as well. I am sure the GP2x suppliers are rubbing their hands with the prospect, as we speak.

i appreciate your points but right now, my gp2x stick is breaking, i can hardly use it, my gp2x doesn't mean that much to me so.... this mod is a definite for me.

will the polymorph come with the mod?

Crikey - you say your stick is breaking - if you haven't modded the GP2x, you could always send it back for replacement you know - 1 year guarantee and all that. Perhaps the MK2 replacement would be better!

Are you heavy handed with your GP2x, or is this the typical life expectancy of the GP2x with normal wear (only a few months?). It looks like my tinfoil, foam pads and cardboard D-pad solution which people took the piss out of a few months back (which still runs everything including diagonals I add, perfectly fine) is more robust than the stock GP2x joystick!! (and can be easily swapped if it fails) : Horrah for innovation!!

 

[White Demon]

most people are scared to open their case as it is, so you have to consider making a fully competed unit.

You must keep it simple, and pain free. At the moment, it doesn't appear to be. It is easy to say "that's all" but "that's all" after opening the case, cutting a hole in the case of exactly the right size and in exactly the right place, removing the LCD connectors, cutting off the old joystick.... Sorry if you don't like this post, but I am sure it reflects what people are thinking, who have stood back and thought about it in the cold light of day.

I can see a lot of people being disappointed, having damaged their GP2x unit by disassembly (eg the LCD, as you did) or cut a hole in the wrong place, or the wrong size, or mounted the D-pad on the skew, ot it catching on the case, etc, etc. In essence, they stand to lose the money the sent to you, and forking for a new GP2x as well. I am sure the GP2x suppliers are rubbing their hands with the prospect, as we speak.

I remember back to when the GBA Afterburner kit came out, and with reading the things about having to cut the top half of the case. I don't like doing things like that myself, so I never looked into it until I saw it with a replacement case at the Lik-Sang site. Even then, after doijg the mod my LCD got full of dust that I hardly ever played it again, and of course my resale value was totally killed too.

After that horrible experience, I will never open anything similar (including GP2X) because I don't want it happening again.

So basically, unless I can get it done locally (and In South Australia, that's just not possible) then this mod is completely out for me.

 

[Radek]

Looks hit and miss...

Except my dumb mistake with not unconnecting LCD's ribbon cable and damaging it (easily avoidable) it's not hard to do.

And polymorph stays elastic long enough to position a dpad. If not then there is always a hairdryer to longer available time. Or even repeat the process what can be done as many times as needed.

I can get it positioned perfect 2 times for 3 tries now.

Given that the joystick casing is in the same place on every GP2x, and the GP2x case itself is the same for every unit, and the polymorph has very little advisive power, it would seem logical to provide the completed D-pad complete with the polymorph fully attached and assembled; then all someone has to do is put the moulded polymorph unit directly onto the casing of the joystick mounting, and that is all. The polymorph could be stuck to the GP2x in place easily with a very small piece of blu-tac or weak glue in the old joystick assembly itself, after all. Surely this is not a problem? You have been making mods for your unit so many times, that you have got used to it; most people are scared to open their case as it is, so you have to consider making a fully competed unit.

Issues as I see them are:

I was making everything clear and there are some people what aren't afraid of it all. I made (many times) point of needed skill too.

1) the GP2x case has to be disassembled to remove the front cover and the LCD connectors
2) the original joystick has to be cut off to reveal the joystick mount (the brown hexagon)
3) the case has to be cut in the right place for the D-pad to be mounted, a wrong cut and the GP2x will look crap.

It's given - it's a hardware modification after all. Isn't that clear for you?

And I made it using triangle shaped expanding file - there is info in this thread about it too.

4) it is possible that people will be over zealous with the polymorph and it may go over the GP2x board - removing it could damage the circuitry (this is also applicable if the polymorph has to be remounted btw)

People can always do something bad - is that what you were saying?

I will repeat (again) that this mod might not be for everyone.

5) people have to use your D-pad, as the centre push works when all 4 directions are pressed at the same time - you can't do this on any normal D-pad. As you have also said, it is not easy to press diagonals with your D-pad - surely this is the whole point of getting your D-pad in the first place?

Please get the QD dpad and test it for yourself. It can be bought on ebay rather easily. I said it's harder to hit diagonals because it's harder than ordinals. It's not impossible by any means and perhaps I was feeling so after using stock stick which major fault is strong diagonals bias. So the difference.

6) using a hairdrier to keep the polymorph supple is not a good idea - hairdriers give out a lot of heat, and using a hairdrier on the GP2x motherboard could easily damage the circuitry.

This is a nonsense - do you know how SMD chips (especially BGA like a MMSP2 chip) are soldered? No hairdryer will melt a tin or give over 200 celsius degress of a temperature.

7) you have modified your case many times over recent months - 2 successful attempts out of 3 is not good, this means a normal user may in reality take 2 or 3 attempts before they get the unit mounted right, level, straight, and through the circular case hole....

Polymorph takes some time to cast so it can be tweaked for a moment after closing GP2x. And again it's a hardware modification - some skils are needed.

Point 3 and 4 above could be solved if you made a completed assembly, so no-one has to faff about with hot water, melting plastic, etc, etc. Also, make it so people know exactly where the hole on the GP2x case is - what I mean is that the joystick base is centre to the existing hole, the existing hole is centre to the circular surround on the GP2x case, so it will be easy to tell people exactly where the hole is - eg "the circumference of the existing surround" or whatever - supply a template: what you need tosupply is the board, the fully assembled and completed D-pad, and a template giving the precise hole size and position to be cut in precisely the right place on the GP2x (these are all consistant factors after all).

You must keep it simple, and pain free. At the moment, it doesn't appear to be. It is easy to say "that's all" but "that's all" after opening the case, cutting a hole in the case of exactly the right size and in exactly the right place, removing the LCD connectors, cutting off the old joystick.... Sorry if you don't like this post, but I am sure it reflects what people are thinking, who have stood back and thought about it in the cold light of day.

I know what people are thinking. They were giving me constantly a feedback and most of what I have done was because of theirs suggestions.
(using the QD, reducing wiring by integrating connectors on converter PCB, changing to µC for extra functionality and smaller size)

And I don't mind your posts thinking they are good or bad. I actually find them very usefull.

At last - all infos what I was posting here were for a purpose to get potential customers informed. (and to allow to make an educated guess)

So that's all. It's really is as the design of this project is complete. It's not perfect nor "pain free". But it is and it works using common parts. And I'm not a magician - given a nature of this modification I have no idea how I could simplify it more.
(not that I'm implying it's perfect because it isn't but given my skills and tools what I could have I'm satisfied)

I can see a lot of people being disappointed, having damaged their GP2x unit by disassembly (eg the LCD, as you did) or cut a hole in the wrong place, or the wrong size, or mounted the D-pad on the skew, ot it catching on the case, etc, etc. In essence, they stand to lose the money the sent to you, and forking for a new GP2x as well. I am sure the GP2x suppliers are rubbing their hands with the prospect, as we speak.

I'm feeling so bad now... All those uninformed people on what I will prey on and all those GP2x suppliers what are rubbing their hands...
Man - you showed me the light - I should go to monastery or something to not expose others of dangers of me.

Actually I had a good laught, thanks.

 

[Radek]

most people are scared to open their case as it is, so you have to consider making a fully competed unit.

You must keep it simple, and pain free. At the moment, it doesn't appear to be. It is easy to say "that's all" but "that's all" after opening the case, cutting a hole in the case of exactly the right size and in exactly the right place, removing the LCD connectors, cutting off the old joystick.... Sorry if you don't like this post, but I am sure it reflects what people are thinking, who have stood back and thought about it in the cold light of day.

I can see a lot of people being disappointed, having damaged their GP2x unit by disassembly (eg the LCD, as you did) or cut a hole in the wrong place, or the wrong size, or mounted the D-pad on the skew, ot it catching on the case, etc, etc. In essence, they stand to lose the money the sent to you, and forking for a new GP2x as well. I am sure the GP2x suppliers are rubbing their hands with the prospect, as we speak.

I remember back to when the GBA Afterburner kit came out, and with reading the things about having to cut the top half of the case. I don't like doing things like that myself, so I never looked into it until I saw it with a replacement case at the Lik-Sang site. Even then, after doijg the mod my LCD got full of dust that I hardly ever played it again, and of course my resale value was totally killed too.

You can try to remove dust using can with compressed air. It works very well for that purpose. I have to clean radiators in my computer from time to time that way.

It will be harder if you made grease stains. Then use some weak solvent (just water with soap might be enough) and clean rag.

 

[bacteria]

I remember back to when the GBA Afterburner kit came out, and with reading the things about having to cut the top half of the case. I don't like doing things like that myself, so I never looked into it until I saw it with a replacement case at the Lik-Sang site. Even then, after doijg the mod my LCD got full of dust that I hardly ever played it again, and of course my resale value was totally killed too.

Yes, I too did this mod, it was my first real attempt at a mod. Problem with the Afterburner was that it was front lit (of course), and the unit appeared to have a pixel grid all over it (presumably to catch the light uniformly). The result was ok in that it gave good light to the GBA, however rather than having a nice screen, everything seemed pixilated, light was visable on the edges of the screen (despite careful cutting of the surround), it took hours to get all the bubbles off the anti-reflective LCD screen film, and I got dust in the unit too (I didn't know about compressed air cans then). It was not a good experience - it worked fine, but was a bit of a hack - it was not as good as I expected it to be. That is the problem with compromised type mods...

 

[DijiTao]

@Radek: Mod looks great and about as easy as it can get. A replacement case with the hole already cut in it would be ideal, but I understand how getting your hands on those might be a considerable undertaking. Have you tried contacting GPH to see if they’re willing to sell you the part?

@Bacteria: Providing constructive criticism is a good thing, but blatantly pulling things out of your ass (ie. “a hairdrier on the GP2x motherboard could easily damage the circuitry”) is bad. If you have a point to make, make it. Don’t pad your list with bullshit.

 

[Radek]

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@Radek: Mod looks great and about as easy as it can get. A replacement case with the hole already cut in it would be ideal, but I understand how getting your hands on those might be a considerable undertaking. Have you tried contacting GPH to see if they’re willing to sell you the part?

In a perfect situation there should be offered premodded front panels with fixed type mounting for dpad element.
(hopefully it will end just like that - I can not get to GPH directly but I have a contact with very capable person)

I will admit that my mechanic working capabilities are limited. It'd be better to have a fixed precisely done plug plus machine drilled frontpanel. In that sense Bacteria has a very good point but as I said - I can only use tools what I can get.

This method for dpad mounting works and with some patience it's potentially available for everyone - no special tools are needed.

If someone could make a more fixed dpad mounting I would gladly cooperate. My skills are more in digital electronics and PCB making.

For sure I'd like this mod to be more friendly and easier. But current design is in workable state and... it had be finalized at one moment.
I'm very satisfied with converter circuit - it get much better than I thought (compare it with my first attempts). I'm less satisfied with the dpad element because it could be improved. But it is and I have sucessfully replaced stock stick with dpad with complete compatibility.

 

[Ravnos]

Will this mod work with the Mk2's as well? If so, I might have to get two, in case I buy another GP2X.

 

[Radek]

Will this mod work with the Mk2's as well? If so, I might have to get two, in case I buy another GP2X.

The converter PCB will have to be changed to accommodate different position of stick's pins. The rest can stay the same.

I will do it as I should have the Mk2 in my hands soon.

 

[nubie]

i appreciate your points but right now, my gp2x stick is breaking, i can hardly use it, my gp2x doesn't mean that much to me so.... this mod is a definite for me.

Crikey - you say your stick is breaking - if you haven't modded the GP2x, you could always send it back for replacement you know - 1 year guarantee and all that. Perhaps the MK2 replacement would be better!

Are you heavy handed with your GP2x, or is this the typical life expectancy of the GP2x with normal wear (only a few months?). It looks like my tinfoil, foam pads and cardboard D-pad solution which people took the piss out of a few months back (which still runs everything including diagonals I add, perfectly fine) is more robust than the stock GP2x joystick!! (and can be easily swapped if it fails) : Horrah for innovation!!

Yes, I believe I have mentioned this before, the stick is only rated for 100,000 presses in the product Datasheet, which I have a PDF of.

You can easily exceed that in a couple months of hardcore gaming.

Hooray for Radek!! ( I have to praise his ingenuity, but GPH shouldn't have put crap on the market to begin with :angry: :angry At least it is fixable.

 

[invinciblegod]

I just realized, if this is a 4 way d pad mod, what about the native games? You know, the ones that attempt to make it "almost" analog by using all 16 or so ways of joystick movement (or was it 12?). Won't this d pad cripple those games (even though none are out yet that does this)?

 

[Radek]

I just realized, if this is a 4 way d pad mod, what about the native games? You know, the ones that attempt to make it "almost" analog by using all 16 or so ways of joystick movement (or was it 12?). Won't this d pad cripple those games (even though none are out yet that does this)?

The stock stick has 8 switches and therefore it can give 16 directions. But it's discrete so it's not so analog anyway (and there are some issues with those "16" direction - they aren't equal in sizes). To make a longer answer to be short... there is a chip what is handling it all for providing a compatibility:

So native games and apps will work exactly as before.

 

[jmetal88]

I just realized, if this is a 4 way d pad mod, what about the native games? You know, the ones that attempt to make it "almost" analog by using all 16 or so ways of joystick movement (or was it 12?). Won't this d pad cripple those games (even though none are out yet that does this)?

"Cripple" is probably a very strong word. Directions will be more limited, but whether this will actually "cripple" a game would depend on how a game would use the extra directional information, as well as the user's preference to precision.

 

[invinciblegod]

Say there was an overhead contra like game. If a segment required you to shoot at one of the directions other than the normal 8 ways (eg in between up left and up) wont the game become unbeatable because its impossible to use that direction on an 8 way d pad?

 

[Radek]

Say there was an overhead contra like game. If a segment required you to shoot at one of the directions other than the normal 8 ways (eg in between up left and up) wont the game become unbeatable because its impossible to use that direction on an 8 way d pad?

Well... if the stock stick would be alright then it might be an issue.
But look at this old thread.
The intermediate diagonals are tiny - it can be easily showed using joytest app. It's very hard to hit one of these "extra" 8 direction of the stock stick.

Most aplications are expecting just ordinals and diagonals (8 directions). So there will not be any loss as there isn't anything to loss anyway.

It's very interesting thing and to make some insights I will explain in a detail.
The GP2x isn't really reading the joystick as 8-switch based joystick but as 9 individual buttons. The 9 is for a center push and it all can be considered as 9bit wide databus. All of those lines can be set individually electronically. My converter circuit can do this - it can put any 9 bit value on that bus and GP2x will read those 9 bits independently.
For a purpose of just converting it's not needed but it might be handy for a future.
(think of expandability)

For what? Well... one of ideas would be to connect external controllers. My converter has some extra free I/O pins so it can be done.

 

[kablammyman]

Wow...I read all 18 pages!

Is there any updates? I cant wait to get this mod!