Shoulder Buttons And Emulators

[God Ginrai]

I am wondering though if the Pandora is maybe too thin to accommodate those extra L and R2 buttons comfortably. It may get a little cramped which may result in activating those triggers by accident when gaming. I'm only thinking about this as it's thinner than the DS Phat (and even a DS Phat would be awkward if it had extra triggers..).

That would be true, if you used the standard Playstation style of stacking one on top of the other. But imagine this:

________
_______|_] <-- Normal Shoulder
_____/_/ <---- Second Set

If you have the second set of shoulder buttons angled in, you could still press them comfortably, and there would be virtually no chance of accidentally hitting the wrong shoulders.

-God Ginrai

 

[Consequence_9]

Why not use the usb-otg port? have something that clamps onto it & slides snug against the pandora. maybe it could even be screwed into place for extra security or those who aren't planning on taking the panda out in their pockets for a while. It's a much better solution than crafting a whole replacement bottom.

 

[Pleng]

Also, if you're mod crazy there are actually L2 and R2 on the board itself, you could mod triggers on the underside of the Pandora case somehow. I haven't played the Dreamcast much but I like the triggers it had, something like that is what I envision a L2 and R2 mod like. The triggers would also keep the Pandora propped up at an angle, but make it awkward to put in your pocket.

You can't use the L2 and R2 for analogue triggers; they can only carry on-off signals

 

[gruso]

Hacking up something like this to fit Pandora might be fun: http://www.amazon.com/Nintendo-DS-Lite-Stereo-Grip/dp/B0015QGA3Y

(I haven't looked closely at that one, but they generally have shoulder buttons built in)

 

[Pleng]

That just looks like a pair of speakers to me. If they did have shoulder buttons, I'd imagine they are just dumb covers for the original shoulder buttons. I don't think they'd have any electronics in them to use as additional buttons. After all, what software for the DS is designed with additional shoulder buttons in mind?

 

[gruso]

That's correct, they're just dummy buttons that activate the standard DS buttons. But if someone was thinking about creating a whole new clip-on thingo for Pandora with another pair of shoulder buttons, it could give them a big head start. Any electronics inside would be irrelevant of course, you'd still have to do that from scratch.

 

[God Ginrai]

Why not use the usb-otg port? have something that clamps onto it & slides snug against the pandora. maybe it could even be screwed into place for extra security or those who aren't planning on taking the panda out in their pockets for a while. It's a much better solution than crafting a whole replacement bottom.

Why waste a good USB OTG port to handle button signals that we already have places for on the PCB?

-God Ginrai

 

[Consequence_9]

Why not use the usb-otg port? have something that clamps onto it & slides snug against the pandora. maybe it could even be screwed into place for extra security or those who aren't planning on taking the panda out in their pockets for a while. It's a much better solution than crafting a whole replacement bottom.

Why waste a good USB OTG port to handle button signals that we already have places for on the PCB?

-God Ginrai

'cause most people will probably never/rarely use the usb otg port. It would be simpler, more cost effective, and easier to remove on a whim if you wanted your panda to take ur panda on the go. I mean I suppose you could replicate the whole bottom part of the case & build in some system where contact can be made between the pads & buttons could be slid in place or something, but it just seems like overkill. The pcb pads are fine when it comes to modding in your own (presumably permanent) L2/R2, but for something that was to be manufactured it'd be more effective to go the usb route imo.

 

[God Ginrai]

Why not use the usb-otg port? have something that clamps onto it & slides snug against the pandora. maybe it could even be screwed into place for extra security or those who aren't planning on taking the panda out in their pockets for a while. It's a much better solution than crafting a whole replacement bottom.

Why waste a good USB OTG port to handle button signals that we already have places for on the PCB?

-God Ginrai

'cause most people will probably never/rarely use the usb otg port. It would be simpler, more cost effective, and easier to remove on a whim if you wanted your panda to take ur panda on the go. I mean I suppose you could replicate the whole bottom part of the case & build in some system where contact can be made between the pads & buttons could be slid in place or something, but it just seems like overkill. The pcb pads are fine when it comes to modding in your own (presumably permanent) L2/R2, but for something that was to be manufactured it'd be more effective to go the usb route imo.

When did we ever mention manufacturing these? We were talking about modding.

-God Ginrai

 

[laurencevde]

Or just get an external bluetooth/usb-controller that has all the buttons you want. F.ex. The PS3-controller.
Yes, I know, that's a bit less portable, but oh well, can't have everything...

 

[gruso]

But modding is fun!

 

[punkysfamily]

here is my idea for L2 and R2 it would work fine and only put a small hole in the case
sorry for the crude drawings done fast at work

edit: improved drawing

 

[Shock-Socks]

here is my idea for L2 and R2 it would work fine and only put a small hole in the case
sorry for the crude drawings done fast at work

edit: improved drawing

that's a great idea, i was thinking of something along those lines too, but i think it might be better if instead of drilling a small hole and having a very delicate post sticking through to act as an L2 and R2 button, i'd probably just saw each shoulder piece in half, that way when i put the two half's back on the post that they rotate on, they can rotate independently from each other, then i'd just mod in another button on the inside and wire it to the L2 R2 ports on the moboard.

 

[worzyl]

I am wondering though if the Pandora is maybe too thin to accommodate those extra L and R2 buttons comfortably. It may get a little cramped which may result in activating those triggers by accident when gaming. I'm only thinking about this as it's thinner than the DS Phat (and even a DS Phat would be awkward if it had extra triggers..).

That would be true, if you used the standard Playstation style of stacking one on top of the other. But imagine this:

________
_______|_] <-- Normal Shoulder
_____/_/ <---- Second Set

If you have the second set of shoulder buttons angled in, you could still press them comfortably, and there would be virtually no chance of accidentally hitting the wrong shoulders.

-God Ginrai

That's brilliant! If that is anyway doable, I'd be all for it.

 

[bzar]

This is the kind of stuff where a 3D printer could really come in handy

 

[El Jefe]

here is my idea for L2 and R2 it would work fine and only put a small hole in the case
sorry for the crude drawings done fast at work

edit: improved drawing

Pimpin idea, only practical/possible one I see yet

 

[GizmoTheGreen]

here is my idea for L2 and R2 it would work fine and only put a small hole in the case
sorry for the crude drawings done fast at work

edit: improved drawing

Pimpin idea, only practical/possible one I see yet

I thought of something similar, moving the hinge to the middle, giving you a +/- volume like button.

 

[rowie4life]

What about something like these connectors for the extra buttons?


This way you could slide off the buttons when not in use.