Closer To The Final Replacement Of Stick

[Radek]

Have a nice rest!

Thanks! Now I can work and talk again.

Does the kit work with other D-pads? I wish I wouldn't have trashed my old N-gage now. lol. It was a demo unit I salvaged from a store after the hurricane.

I don't know if you have read this topic, but the whole point behind his work here, IS TO MAKE ANY 4-BUTTON MOD POSSIBLE.

So Yes, it will work with any D-Pad that has 4 buttons, and Radek can likely program any other need into his chips .

I can provide a custom "firmware" if someone would have special needs.

How about you guys just buy the replacement buttonpads for the QD. I know they used to sell them for my N-Gage.

QD keypads (including the actual dpad) are very easy to buy on ebay. QD has springs and contact rubbers already built in. It's one (including availability) of its bigger pluses.

 

[DaveC]

I am getting a kit from Radek. I will look into making installation of his pad easy and repeatable. I will post results of this when I get them. If a good solution can be found complete kits should be available soon after from Radek or the store that sells his mod.

 

[TelcoLou]

I am getting a kit from Radek. I will look into making installation of his pad easy and repeatable. I will post results of this when I get them. If a good solution can be found complete kits should be available soon after from Radek or the store that sells his mod.

<anticipates>

 

[tshroom]

I am getting a kit from Radek. I will look into making installation of his pad easy and repeatable. I will post results of this when I get them. If a good solution can be found complete kits should be available soon after from Radek or the store that sells his mod.

Nice. Are you trying to make it to where there will be no need for using a dremel to cut the case? I don't mind soldering, but I don't know if I trust myself enough to cut up the gp2x's shell. I sometimes question why they didn't include a d-pad in the original design.. was the stick cheaper?

 

[grahf]

I received a sample logic board from Radek this morning, and just finished installing it. It works like a charm. If any of you remember i've already had a gamecube d-pad installed in my gp2x for a while now. Diagonals worked on most programs, but not on gngeo and some homebrew. Radeks board fixed that for me, and everything is playable as it should be. I also now have the center push function back.

I took a few pictures and will post them up tomorrow if its ok with Radek.

 

[tshroom]

I received a sample logic board from Radek this morning, and just finished installing it. It works like a charm. If any of you remember i've already had a gamecube d-pad installed in my gp2x for a while now. Diagonals worked on most programs, but not on gngeo and some homebrew. Radeks board fixed that for me, and everything is playable as it should be. I also now have the center push function back.

I took a few pictures and will post them up tomorrow if its ok with Radek.

Please post pics!! I remember seeing your GCN dpad mod and I thought it was fantastic. So radeks kit is an actual pcb board replacement? Now I am going to be searching for all manor of d-pads to test out if I ever get my hands on the kit.

 

[Nova]

I am getting a kit from Radek. I will look into making installation of his pad easy and repeatable. I will post results of this when I get them. If a good solution can be found complete kits should be available soon after from Radek or the store that sells his mod.

Good man.


And you Radek.

 

[grahf]

Its a fairly simple install. The board should just snap right on to the stock stick pins. Mine was a little different since i removed the stock one completely, and had to solder new pins to mount it.

I am sorry guys, but only one picture came out on my camera. It was late, and i didnt have it set right.

This board works very well. The microcontroller Radek is using is much quicker than needed, so the diagonals register instantly when you press them. The center push function works good as well. On my GC pad i had to trim it a little bit to allow me to press all 4 directions at once to trigger the center push, but it will work ok on the QD pad that Radek is including.

Any question let me know.

 

[god_at_hell]

mkey ... now i want one too, sice my stick is somewhat unresponsive. Is there any releasedate set?

 

[DaveC]

I am getting a kit from Radek. I will look into making installation of his pad easy and repeatable. I will post results of this when I get them. If a good solution can be found complete kits should be available soon after from Radek or the store that sells his mod.

Nice. Are you trying to make it to where there will be no need for using a dremel to cut the case? I don't mind soldering, but I don't know if I trust myself enough to cut up the gp2x's shell. I sometimes question why they didn't include a d-pad in the original design.. was the stick cheaper?

There is no way to do it without cutting the case unfortunatly..

BUT, I am looking into laser cutting a steel template which will be included with Radek's kit that will just fit over the raised circle as a guide. Just attach, cut and then pop out the template. It won't effect the case of the GP2X after you remove the template. It will give you the EXACT shape in the exact spot everytime though , no freehand, no guessing

 

[DijiTao]

There is no way to do it without cutting the case unfortunatly..

BUT, I am looking into laser cutting a steel template which will be included with Radek's kit that will just fit over the raised circle as a guide. Just attach, cut and then pop out the template. It won't effect the case of the GP2X after you remove the template. It will give you the EXACT shape in the exact spot everytime though , no freehand, no guessing

Where have I heard that idea before....

Any ideas on how to make the cutting as easy as possible? Maybe if you had a metal circle with a whole cut in the center of it the size of the hole needed for the QD. You could then line the metal circle up and then sand down the plastic to match the shape of the whole. I just worry that any attempt to drill or cut the whole might crack the case and that sanding is far safer. Of course the problem with the solution I just mentioned is keeping it lined up…

damn.. I knew I should have gotten a patent on that one...

 

[DaveC]

Where have I heard that idea before....

Any ideas on how to make the cutting as easy as possible? Maybe if you had a metal circle with a whole cut in the center of it the size of the hole needed for the QD. You could then line the metal circle up and then sand down the plastic to match the shape of the whole. I just worry that any attempt to drill or cut the whole might crack the case and that sanding is far safer. Of course the problem with the solution I just mentioned is keeping it lined up…

damn.. I knew I should have gotten a patent on that one...

I never said that I invented it, just that I was going to do it.

Honestly though I didn't remember your old post. But yes you said it before me.

 

[grahf]

A guide would be good for some lesser able folks. I dont think anyone needs to worry about cracking the plastic or anything though, since its fairly flexible. Its the kind of plastic that would bend instead of crack. But you never know, im sure somebody out there is going to cut their fingers off and burn the house down, no matter how easy you make it for them

 

[Ranma13]

What about those of us who don't own a Dremel or anything similar?

 

[tshroom]

What about those of us who don't own a Dremel or anything similar?

You know.. I need to use mine more often. Have we all come to a general consensus that the QDs pad is the best solution? I am eager to see more testing. In all honesty its not even a dpad, but rather a ridged circle. Cross pads have always been the preferred input method. I just want to see how much improvement it is over the stock MKII stick.

 

[jislizard]

Put me down for one !

The template sounds like a great idea, can they be sent back and reused to save resourses ?

Plus I can go back and re solder the headphone jack at the same time, it's a shame I can't keep my First Edition face plate unaltered but at least I can play mine sweeper again.

Any idea when we can start buying this mod? can't be soon enough for me

Cheers

 

[Magnulus]

This is sounding mighty cool by now. I'd love one! I'd have to get a soldering iron and a Dremel, but that's a minor detail. All home owners should have them, I suppose.

 

[grahf]

The absolute easiest method IMO would be to use a tapered reamer like this:

You just put it in the existing hole, and slowly turn it by hand. The downside is that its an expensive tool to buy just for doing a dpad mod.

 

[tshroom]

I figured a dremel would be the ideal solution.. I still wish there was a more generic or even more custom pad though. The qd pad is so noticeable. Everyone that sees it will recognize the thing.

 

[z32fairlady]

I'll use a plier to trim the spaces, then use sandpaper, semi-circle file to trim to the fitting size. Kind of things modelers would do...

Would not be perfect, but saves much time if using file alone and when dremel/tapered reamer is too expensive for this single piece of work.

BTW, I think some instructions on opening the case should be provided as well, so that we won't be breaking the ribbons between the circuit and LCD...