bacteria
Modder & Portablizer
Challenge - how to make your own D-pad -
A D-pad with only 4 directions is in fact able to play games on the GP2x as 8 way. The doubters were adamant that Vektar wouldn't work - wrong - works perfectly. First game I played on it I got 78,000 points with my D-pad - is this good for a first play? You don't need a special chip, etc.
People are seemingly having lots of issues with the stock stick, especially as moving the stick to the left direction seems to get more problematic as the stick gets more and more use.
I thought, rather than keeping my project purely to myself (after I got seriously annoyed by a lot of post replies from people who could only demonstrate their loutishness and ability to be destructive rather than be constructive :angry: ), I would set you all a challenge - make your own, and use this topic to post your updates and pics (I won't post my pics yet as I want to see how you get on). :rolleyes:
To all you doubters, I can confirm that my D-pad project has progressed nicely, the design has changed dramatically, the unit is quite robust now, and it plays all game beautifully I have thrown at it, including diagonals (I haven't tested all games of course, just the couple of hundred of games (inc homebrew) I wanted to play).
Naturally, you will have to open your GP2x to do any modifications to it. If you were intending to modify your unit with another product then you will have the confidence to do this anyway. Naturally, you run the risk of invalidating your guarantee by opening your case and playing with the insides, you are responsible for your own actions and any damage you might cause by any means, your choice and risk, usual covenants apply, I am not liable or responsible in any way for anything you do or attempt to do, etc. As you know, this all also applies to firmware updates! I am only reporting on what worked for me - make a judgement and take your own educated risks.
I can confirm that the connectors at the back of the stock joystick appear to do everything you need - connections for the push button and the 8 directions. You do not need any special chips or electronics for this mod (unless you want to waste your money of course). You also don't have to do any drilling of your case or even remove the stock stick (see below).
The beauty of this mod is that if you don't like the result, you won't have damaged your GP2x case (unless you are careless or han-handed), nor removed/cut out the joystick; and by removing the solder from the joints from the wires for this mod, your GP2x is back where it started from.
Connection of the wires: <_<
Looking at the joystick connections (top right on the GP2x motherboard, when you remove the 4 screws and open the case)
C & I seem to do the same thing and only one is required, so I use "I" (try using "C" if you prefer).
A+I = up
D+I = left
G+I = down
J+I = right
F+L = centre push
Considerations for your build: :blink:
i) Use the thinnest (insulated) wires you can get - ones from an old (and no longer required) joystick/gamepad/scart cable ideal. They need to be thin, you need to get 7 wires though the front of the GP2x in the joystick hole. Use quality solder - 60/40% standard electrical solder is fine.
ii) If you use an existing D-pad from a games controller (eg Nintendo one, or whatever), you have the problem of drilling a hole in the GP2x case and ruining it, and also supporting a flat circuit board in the right position, reliably (and removing the stock joystick unit completely). Not a good idea in practice. Best to make an external D-pad - you need to make one yourself (which is what I did). This means making a solid base, and a top which completes the contacts.
iii) An external D-pad assembly has to fit over the place the existing joystick is based (wires connecting from the D-pad, round to the back of the motherboard by the left shoulder button (you can see the recess in the picture above), soldered to the corresponding contacts as shown above). The external D-pad needs to be secure on the Gp2x so it doesn't move, yet able to be removed if you want to (so don't use glue!).
iv) You need to mount a basic switch for the centre push button - you must have a centre push, as most emulators and games on the GP2x use it to exit to menu or during the game itself. This is ideally situated next to, but not on the D-pad, as otherwise it makes assembly more difficult, and gets in the way anyway.
v) A switch is only two contacts separated, when pressed together make a contact. This can be done my many methods, including using metal and foam pads, rubber, whatever - depends how flat you want them. Flatter final product, the better. You need to make 5 switches in total (directions and push). The contacts separating the D-pad can be made in a large variety of ways.
vi) Don't laugh, or go "WTF"; but you can make a reliable D-pad with: sticky foam pads, mounting board, self-adhesive floor tiles, tin foil, staples, adhesive labels, foam, tissue paper and glue. Household items. Might sound rubbish, but with this you can make a cheap, sturdy and reliable unit, and a basic circuit board (if you want to make a flat and good job of it), which you will need to do. It looks quite good too as a final product, and is easy to modify if you need to for any further improvements. Don't laugh - experiment - my unit works perfectly, and is reliable, and quite good looking. You are only restricted my your ability.
vii) Test your completed product's circuits all work fine by connecting a battery to a light, touch the 2 corresponding wires of your D-pad to these wires (ie one of the wires from the battery/light to the wire you intend to solder to "A" and the other one to "I" to complete the circuit - press the D-pad in the "up" direction, and if the light works, test the other contacts - when all work, think about attaching it to the GP2x. If you haven't made a unit which responds to up/down/left/right/push, don't install it in the GP2x - you can test the unit easily by this proceedure.
viii) D-pad needs to be elevated above the stock joystick as you don't want the joystick to move at all - the D-pad needs to be above the stick, the only relevance the old joystick has is that you are using its connections at its rear.
ix) Make the unit to be strong, but also as flat as possible. You can adjust how responsive you like the D-pad to be by the materials you use. Mine is very responsive - as I like it.
Challenge: h34r:
Make your unit. Should only cost you pennies to make it (but a fair bit of time). Post pics and comments as well as your WIP.
I will be interested to see how many of you are creative enough to do this, and what your final unit looks like. When others have posted their pics, I will post mine. Could be fun, and productive.
It is a shame that people flamed me so much abuse on my previous D-pad topic, there are many hostile and childish people on this Forum.
I figured:
* show you how to make your own D-pad unit in a way which doesn't need major work on the GP2x (and backward compatible)
* let you experiment with making one which looks nice and is reliable
* post your pics and get praise and comments
* see who can make the best unit
* make a good project for people
* provide a way to test the D-pad before even opening your GP2x case - nothing ventured, nothing gained
* gives me a chance to give a positive contribution to the community
* either people will make their own D-pad (great), or if I decided to sell mine (probably won't, will see how it goes) - 1) people won't steal my work (as I have given away the principles of it here anyway), 2) people will hopefully realise how great this system works and will stop making comments to the contrary. As the saying goes, "proof is in the pudding".
* I have a good working unit - will be interested to hear how you get on
A D-pad with only 4 directions is in fact able to play games on the GP2x as 8 way. The doubters were adamant that Vektar wouldn't work - wrong - works perfectly. First game I played on it I got 78,000 points with my D-pad - is this good for a first play? You don't need a special chip, etc.
People are seemingly having lots of issues with the stock stick, especially as moving the stick to the left direction seems to get more problematic as the stick gets more and more use.
I thought, rather than keeping my project purely to myself (after I got seriously annoyed by a lot of post replies from people who could only demonstrate their loutishness and ability to be destructive rather than be constructive :angry: ), I would set you all a challenge - make your own, and use this topic to post your updates and pics (I won't post my pics yet as I want to see how you get on). :rolleyes:
To all you doubters, I can confirm that my D-pad project has progressed nicely, the design has changed dramatically, the unit is quite robust now, and it plays all game beautifully I have thrown at it, including diagonals (I haven't tested all games of course, just the couple of hundred of games (inc homebrew) I wanted to play).
Naturally, you will have to open your GP2x to do any modifications to it. If you were intending to modify your unit with another product then you will have the confidence to do this anyway. Naturally, you run the risk of invalidating your guarantee by opening your case and playing with the insides, you are responsible for your own actions and any damage you might cause by any means, your choice and risk, usual covenants apply, I am not liable or responsible in any way for anything you do or attempt to do, etc. As you know, this all also applies to firmware updates! I am only reporting on what worked for me - make a judgement and take your own educated risks.
I can confirm that the connectors at the back of the stock joystick appear to do everything you need - connections for the push button and the 8 directions. You do not need any special chips or electronics for this mod (unless you want to waste your money of course). You also don't have to do any drilling of your case or even remove the stock stick (see below).
The beauty of this mod is that if you don't like the result, you won't have damaged your GP2x case (unless you are careless or han-handed), nor removed/cut out the joystick; and by removing the solder from the joints from the wires for this mod, your GP2x is back where it started from.
Connection of the wires: <_<
Looking at the joystick connections (top right on the GP2x motherboard, when you remove the 4 screws and open the case)
C & I seem to do the same thing and only one is required, so I use "I" (try using "C" if you prefer).
A+I = up
D+I = left
G+I = down
J+I = right
F+L = centre push
Considerations for your build: :blink:
i) Use the thinnest (insulated) wires you can get - ones from an old (and no longer required) joystick/gamepad/scart cable ideal. They need to be thin, you need to get 7 wires though the front of the GP2x in the joystick hole. Use quality solder - 60/40% standard electrical solder is fine.
ii) If you use an existing D-pad from a games controller (eg Nintendo one, or whatever), you have the problem of drilling a hole in the GP2x case and ruining it, and also supporting a flat circuit board in the right position, reliably (and removing the stock joystick unit completely). Not a good idea in practice. Best to make an external D-pad - you need to make one yourself (which is what I did). This means making a solid base, and a top which completes the contacts.
iii) An external D-pad assembly has to fit over the place the existing joystick is based (wires connecting from the D-pad, round to the back of the motherboard by the left shoulder button (you can see the recess in the picture above), soldered to the corresponding contacts as shown above). The external D-pad needs to be secure on the Gp2x so it doesn't move, yet able to be removed if you want to (so don't use glue!).
iv) You need to mount a basic switch for the centre push button - you must have a centre push, as most emulators and games on the GP2x use it to exit to menu or during the game itself. This is ideally situated next to, but not on the D-pad, as otherwise it makes assembly more difficult, and gets in the way anyway.
v) A switch is only two contacts separated, when pressed together make a contact. This can be done my many methods, including using metal and foam pads, rubber, whatever - depends how flat you want them. Flatter final product, the better. You need to make 5 switches in total (directions and push). The contacts separating the D-pad can be made in a large variety of ways.
vi) Don't laugh, or go "WTF"; but you can make a reliable D-pad with: sticky foam pads, mounting board, self-adhesive floor tiles, tin foil, staples, adhesive labels, foam, tissue paper and glue. Household items. Might sound rubbish, but with this you can make a cheap, sturdy and reliable unit, and a basic circuit board (if you want to make a flat and good job of it), which you will need to do. It looks quite good too as a final product, and is easy to modify if you need to for any further improvements. Don't laugh - experiment - my unit works perfectly, and is reliable, and quite good looking. You are only restricted my your ability.
vii) Test your completed product's circuits all work fine by connecting a battery to a light, touch the 2 corresponding wires of your D-pad to these wires (ie one of the wires from the battery/light to the wire you intend to solder to "A" and the other one to "I" to complete the circuit - press the D-pad in the "up" direction, and if the light works, test the other contacts - when all work, think about attaching it to the GP2x. If you haven't made a unit which responds to up/down/left/right/push, don't install it in the GP2x - you can test the unit easily by this proceedure.
viii) D-pad needs to be elevated above the stock joystick as you don't want the joystick to move at all - the D-pad needs to be above the stick, the only relevance the old joystick has is that you are using its connections at its rear.
ix) Make the unit to be strong, but also as flat as possible. You can adjust how responsive you like the D-pad to be by the materials you use. Mine is very responsive - as I like it.
Challenge: h34r:
Make your unit. Should only cost you pennies to make it (but a fair bit of time). Post pics and comments as well as your WIP.
I will be interested to see how many of you are creative enough to do this, and what your final unit looks like. When others have posted their pics, I will post mine. Could be fun, and productive.
It is a shame that people flamed me so much abuse on my previous D-pad topic, there are many hostile and childish people on this Forum.
I figured:
* show you how to make your own D-pad unit in a way which doesn't need major work on the GP2x (and backward compatible)
* let you experiment with making one which looks nice and is reliable
* post your pics and get praise and comments
* see who can make the best unit
* make a good project for people
* provide a way to test the D-pad before even opening your GP2x case - nothing ventured, nothing gained
* gives me a chance to give a positive contribution to the community
* either people will make their own D-pad (great), or if I decided to sell mine (probably won't, will see how it goes) - 1) people won't steal my work (as I have given away the principles of it here anyway), 2) people will hopefully realise how great this system works and will stop making comments to the contrary. As the saying goes, "proof is in the pudding".
* I have a good working unit - will be interested to hear how you get on