Gp2x With A D-pad.

[bacteria]

Ok, I have to work at the weekend, so will do my guide on Monday/Tuesday and will make it available for download; thought you might like some pics of the final product in the meantime. I painted the GP2x with some matt finish black paint - similar colour the the GP2x black (you can see the difference in the blacks in the second pic below). The enamel paint I had bought was rubbish. No photoshopping - direct camera shot. Total D-pad assembly is under 5mm high, which is low. My camera is not great, but these shots seem ok. I will take more pics next week, which might come out better.

It works great. The centre-push button is to the right of the GP2x sticker under the GP2x (near the left shoulder button area), so you can't see it on the pics above - it is positioned a bit like a "Z" button. It works great too, and is reliable (not on pics above, will be on my new topic post).

Do you like it?

 

[moz]

looking good, hows she play?

 

[LordFu]

Yeah, that looks pretty good. You should make a video of it in action sometime.

 

[nik166]

yup, hard to guess how it feels and moves from the pics....... i see a flat round poping out a square

 

[bacteria]

yup, hard to guess how it feels and moves from the pics....... i see a flat round poping out a square

It plays perfectly and is responsive. The square that you refer to secures the d-pad circle in place, provides the contacts for the d-pad, and a strong base.

 

[DaveC]

Aluminum wires just tend to fail. They're plenty conductive, but they don't age well.

Not only that good luck soldering to aluminum. You would have to just crimp it around wires to get it to contact but I can imagine after awhile you will get continuity problems.

I just installed another QD d-pad into my Gp2X M2 last night and it works even better than the first ones. I used proffessionally made PC boards this time and it is much better. I need to do some minor revisions to the board to get to the final version. Just some minor things like making some solder pads more accessable for the users that want to use without the logic board.

 

[bacteria]

Aluminum wires just tend to fail. They're plenty conductive, but they don't age well.

Not only that good luck soldering to aluminum. You would have to just crimp it around wires to get it to contact but I can imagine after awhile you will get continuity problems.

You don't need to solder aluminium foil to the electrical wires (as you rightly say, you can't solder foil to anything, it just vaporises). I thought foil was tin, it turns out to be aluminium BTW - makes no difference in real terms though - although aluminium doesn't rust easily, so maintains it electrical conductivity. The foil connects to the wires at the front of the D-pad (no soldering or crimping), the wires (at the rear) are soldered to the joystick pins. My solution is designed to work reliably for a long time. My last D-pad was working as perfectly a couple of days ago when I removed it as the day I made it (April) - it would have probably lasted for years to come - no issues, DaveC.

My solution is virtually free to make, almost anyone could make it, and it is a far less intrusive build. Easy to make, very little hassle.

 

[nik166]

hmmmmmm i feel like experimenting things too!

 

[nik166]

although aluminium doesn't rust easily, so maintains it electrical conductivity.

aluminium doesn't rust, but it oxydates, with a thin clear white layer , that layer is the reason why it doesn't oxydates more because it's air-proof , i'm not 100% sure if it keeps a good conductivity on long-term ?

 

[Julius]

aluminium doesn't rust, but it oxydates, with a thin clear white layer , that layer is the reason why it doesn't oxydates more because it's air-proof , i'm not 100% sure if it keeps a good conductivity on long-term ?

rust = oxydized iron B)

And yes aluminumoxide is less conductive, but I wouldn't worry about that in this case.

Edit: @DaveC: how much does it cost to have the boards professionally made?

 

[bacteria]

aluminium doesn't rust, but it oxydates, with a thin clear white layer , that layer is the reason why it doesn't oxydates more because it's air-proof , i'm not 100% sure if it keeps a good conductivity on long-term ?

rust = oxydized iron B)

And yes aluminumoxide is less conductive, but I wouldn't worry about that in this case.

Edit: @DaveC: how much does it cost to have the boards professionally made?

There is no issue with aluminium foil. I have not seen aluminium foil corroding (unless exposted to salt, which also doesn't do electronics any good either), but I have seen standard electrical wires corroding. :blink: None of my previous D-pads I made, or the foil I have had lying about for years, shows any evidence of corroding/oxidising (whatever). There is no issue.

I will be posting a guide on how to make the D-pad system tomorrow or Tuesday. It is very easy to make, and virtually free to do so. If you want to give money away, why not donate it to one of the game/emulator/application coders?

 

[bacteria]

hmmmmmm i feel like experimenting things too!

Good luck in your project.

If you are unsure as to where to solder your wires on the rear of the joystick connectors (for left/right/up/down/connect/centre-push), you might like to view my "how to make" guide I will release over the next couple of days; it might be useful to your project.

Nintendo pads come in different sizes and heights; the Gameboy one you show is a good size. If you really wanted to go small, the mobile unit (handheld) from the Dreamcast is very small (smallest one I have seen)

 

[andyB911]

Is bacteria the only one not trying to make a profit from his work? I commend him.

Just saw this comment and too angry not to reply, even though it was made a couple of days ago....

What the hell???? :angry:

Its great that Bacteria is willing to make plans freely available, but this is evidently not a particularly easy mod and not all of us will want to go the home-made route. So if somebody offers a kit or turn-key service, of course they should make some profit - and without such snide remarks.

I hardly actually use my gp2x these days as the stick annoys me so much which is a pity as everything else about it is great. And I've considered buying a mk2 but the mk2 stick reviews aren't that much better so the only real answer is to have a d-pad. And if your attitude prevents people from offering a kit/turn-key solution then I (and I'd bet many other people) will end up the losers.

Simiarly a few people gave DaveC a hard time for 'making profit' on his cap. For f*cks sake, I don't think he retired to Hawai on it given the numbers. But even if that were possible (somehow there were a few million more DaveC cap owners than we imagine) whats the problem? We got something we wanted at a reasonable cost.

Lets remember, the unit isn't free, the emulators aren't free (you are supposed to donate), much homebrew isn't free (you are supposed to donate), roms aren't free (you are supposed to buy the original game) and the newly available commercial game(s) aren't free.

Off to have my moring coffee and calm down. But if anyone is thinking of making a kit / supplying a service - please do so. I will happily pay and of course you should make some profit for the time / effort.

 

[Shikaku]

Is bacteria the only one not trying to make a profit from his work? I commend him.

Its great that Bacteria is willing to make plans freely available, but this is evidently not a particularly easy mod and not all of us will want to go the home-made route. So if somebody offers a kit or turn-key service, of course they should make some profit - and without such snide remarks.

Wanna know how easy it is?

Unscrew GP2X: only requires a small enough screwdriver and a little strength.

Pull apart, only requires pulling the right way.

Aluminum wiring does not require soldering, it only requires PINCHING. Of course at the right spots.

Then close it back up. Much easier then opening.

Done.

Edit: I just thought about this post and it sounds a lot like some weird sex ritual...

 

[bacteria]

Is bacteria the only one not trying to make a profit from his work? I commend him.

Its great that Bacteria is willing to make plans freely available, but this is evidently not a particularly easy mod and not all of us will want to go the home-made route. So if somebody offers a kit or turn-key service, of course they should make some profit - and without such snide remarks.

Wanna know how easy it is?

Unscrew GP2X: only requires a small enough screwdriver and a little strength.

Pull apart, only requires pulling the right way.

Aluminum wiring does not require soldering, it only requires PINCHING. Of course at the right spots.

Then close it back up. Much easier then opening.

Done.

Indeed. My mod is very EASY to make, and doesn't need a lot of parts to make it. People will see how easy it is to make when I release the guide in the next couple of days, hopefully then they will try and make one! I look forward to comments people make about my project after they read the guide.

Whether people use my method, or another, they will need to open their case up and do some work. The degree of the work depends on the solution they use. My method is far less intrusive, and less precise (as it is an external unit). Naturally, anyone doing any such mod will invalidate their guarantee, if that is important to you (not to me), don't consider doing a D-pad mod of any type.

@ AndyB911 - wow, chill out man, you'll give yourself a heart attack! <_<

 

[nik166]

Nintendo pads come in different sizes and heights; the Gameboy one you show is a good size. If you really wanted to go small, the mobile unit (handheld) from the Dreamcast is very small (smallest one I have seen)

ah yeah i forgot the VMU thingy
but that's way too small really

the GBC one looks just perfect from outside, i'll see how it 's like from inside,
i also have an old game&watch with a small cross, but i think it would be criminal to dismount it
there is still snes and nes to try! :]

 

[bacteria]

Nintendo pads come in different sizes and heights; the Gameboy one you show is a good size. If you really wanted to go small, the mobile unit (handheld) from the Dreamcast is very small (smallest one I have seen)

ah yeah i forgot the VMU thingy
but that's way too small really

the GBC one looks just perfect from outside, i'll see how it 's like from inside,
i also have an old game&watch with a small cross, but i think it would be criminal to dismount it
there is still snes and nes to try! :]

GBC one will be fine, as will one from a GBA, DS or game&watch. Ones from N64 or GameCube need shaving and cutting to make them smaller (which isn't easy) and the Snes one is too big. Better still, why not make your own one - it will give you far less headaches to make! (look out for my guide!). It really is simpler. :rolleyes:

 

[nik166]

GBC one will be fine, as will one from a GBA, DS or game&watch. Ones from N64 or GameCube need shaving and cutting to make them smaller (which isn't easy)

it's easy for meeee , i don't mind sculpting a bit
and i also do own a dremel 400
so i can do something quite professional-looking


i'll check snes (got a broken pad here, so it's better to dismount it than throwing it away ) and n64 too, but not gamecube , i still use it and i don't have too much pads!
i like the NES one by the way so i'll focus on this one :]

for DS it's different, except the DS lite, but the "tank" ds has a flat clicky thingy ...


looks like you have made quite some attempts with crosses, why did you gave'em up ?

 

[bacteria]

GBC one will be fine, as will one from a GBA, DS or game&watch. Ones from N64 or GameCube need shaving and cutting to make them smaller (which isn't easy)

it's easy for meeee , i don't mind sculpting a bit
and i also do own a dremel 400
so i can do something quite professional-looking


i'll check snes (got a broken pad here, so it's better to dismount it than throwing it away ) and n64 too, but not gamecube , i still use it and i don't have too much pads!
i like the NES one by the way so i'll focus on this one :]

for DS it's different, except the DS lite, but the "tank" ds has a flat clicky thingy ...


looks like you have made quite some attempts with crosses, why did you gave'em up ?

I don't have a dremmel; when I needed to shave the joystick recess down, I used a craft knift, and a sideways drill bit (which I used a saw to cut the end off) on a power drill - worked fine, but I had to be careful!

Yes, I experimented with crosses, but found that it was harder to get diagonals this way. I prefer to use a flat circle, and put some tiny "bumps" on the circle to denote the 8 directions. This gives equal emphasis then to all directions. Your finger can easily feel the bumps instinctively during gameplay this way.

 

[nik166]

so your pad is 8 way ?