I Have Made A D-pad Work For The Gp2x !


bacteria

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I have managed to make a D-Pad and make it work - 4 way with centre button. :lol:

FEATURES
* 4 way (up/down/left/right). No diagonals, but then I find using diagonals tricky to use on a small controller, so I prefer standard 4-way, as used successfully for example on Nintendo systems.
* Only need to take the back of the GP2x off, not the motherboard. This makes it easy to fit as only the 4 outer screws need to come off the GP2x to get access.
* Only VERY basic soldering required - my soldering skills are low, I had no problems.
* No damage to the outside of the GP2x (eg no cutting, etc). No removal of existing joystick unit - so you can easily revert the unit back to the way it was if you want to in the future.
* No microchips or additional boards, so no potential issues with any new firmwares.
* No complex fitting, or moulding required.
* Height of D-pad is (about) the height of the current GP2x stick with cap.

4 way is actually very easy to use - plays Metal Slug, Pop 'N' Pop, 1942, Pacman, Yoshi's Cookie, TileMatch, and even the menu on DrMD - all very easily and naturally (try playing Yoshi's Cookie (NES) with the stock stick and you know what I mean!!)

These D-pads are home made, so don't expect nicely welded plastic, etc. The fact is, it works. I also had to make it in such a way as not to contrevine the Nintendo patent...

I am going to continue playing with the D-pad for a few more days yet before I advertise it for sale - I want to get an idea of any further improvements I need to make (if any) to it.

I would be intending to sell them for £11 each to UK customers. The materials are neglegable cost for manufacture, however it takes about an hour to make each one by hand, so £11 including standard postage seems fair and reasonable. If this D-pad proves popular with the UK market, I intend to set up a PayPal account (or similar) for people to buy easily outside the UK.

Questions B)
1) What do you think about this - any comments? (see picture below).
2) Would you buy one? - please indicate if you are in the UK or what country you live in. This will give me a feel for its commercial viability.

GP2x.jpg
 
is it just me, or is that a dpad that is just on top of the joystick so it is in actuality, a very flat joystick? Because that's what it looks like to me.
 
As far as I'm concerned you really need to get together with Radek and use his circuit to add diagonals to it.

The stock stick doesn't seem like it would need much modification if all you wanted to do was cut the diagonals off and convert it to have 4 85-degree contacts instead.

Personally, I wouldn't buy it as it is, but some more details would still be nice. Who knows, you might change my mind.
 
Yes, more info and pics please...this seems like all you're doing is putting a d-pad over top the original joystick opening (after taking off the cap) and wiring it up to the back of the pins for the original joystick...I had an idea similar, but have very minimal knowledge of such things...if it's as simpe as soldering in 4 wires (maybe 8?) most people could do this themselves, and it would be nicer if you would just post a tutorial rather than trying to sell something...

But hey...I'm sure once someone gets one they'll do just that...after someone buys one you're "secret" will be out :p
 
invinciblegod posted on Mar 24 2006 at 06:00 PM said:
is it just me, or is that a dpad that is just on top of the joystick so it is in actuality, a very flat joystick? Because that's what it looks like to me.

A D-pad works by pressing one side of it (up/down/right/left) and the corresponding action happens. A joystick has to be moved in a completely different way. It is far more natural to use a D-pad than a joystick - anyone who has played on a GBA, DS, Gameboy, etc can vouch for this. ;)

I made the D-pad as large as it realistically could be on the GP2x, any larger and it looks wierd, and is less effective to use.
 
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garteth posted on Mar 24 2006 at 06:03 PM said:
Well if basic soldering skills are required then I expect it's much more than that.

No - only solder 6 wires to the back of the joystick connections (the joystick connections pertrude from the back of the motherboard. It is very easy...
 
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Cbass182 posted on Mar 24 2006 at 06:03 PM said:
Yes, more info and pics please...this seems like all you're doing is putting a d-pad over top the original joystick opening (after taking off the cap) and wiring it up to the back of the pins for the original joystick...I had an idea similar, but have very minimal knowledge of such things...if it's as simpe as soldering in 4 wires (maybe 8?) most people could do this themselves, and it would be nicer if you would just post a tutorial rather than trying to sell something...

But hey...I'm sure once someone gets one they'll do just that...after someone buys one you're "secret" will be out :p

In principle, you are right with your first comment. Why reinvent the wheel?

If you can make a D-pad, carry on. As with all things, it is easy to think of something and harder to achieve it.

I had to make about 10 prototypes to get to where I am now (about 30 hours graft in thinking and making time).

The point is that there are hundreds of people who are complaining (rightly so) about the stock joystick, and I have come up with a solution. It is up to people to decide if they want to "have-a-go" themselves, or buy one pre-made. Bottom line is I made this for myself, and it works.
 
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FluffyPanda posted on Mar 24 2006 at 06:03 PM said:
As far as I'm concerned you really need to get together with Radek and use his circuit to add diagonals to it.

The stock stick doesn't seem like it would need much modification if all you wanted to do was cut the diagonals off and convert it to have 4 85-degree contacts instead.

Personally, I wouldn't buy it as it is, but some more details would still be nice. Who knows, you might change my mind.

My solution isn't quite the same as Radek's - people who need an 8-way D-pad will buy his, and rightly so. I have large (adult) hands and find it hard to use diagonals - so my solution is purely 4-way. In saying this, I was very pleasantly chuffed to find that games I thought would not be playable (Metal Slug, etc) ARE. Radek's solution will be fantastic for people who need diagonals (fighter games with combos), those of us who prefer more "old-school" games don't - and each direction key works at nearly a quarter of the pad area, so is easy to use. :)
 
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What the...? So there are no diagonals working when pressing up and left for example? You need diagonal movement for very much things the gp2x has to offer o_O

Or am I just lost in translation?
 
The lack of diagonals pretty much kill this. You need diagonals for alot of games, sorry. I doubt you will get too much interest until they are added. To do that properly you do need Radek's chip
 
Also, it looks pretty cheap, come on... it's not like Nintendo is gonna sue you ._.
 
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