Wiz D-Pad Mod. Now You Can Have Great Control!

[DaveC]

Well I have done a simple d-pad mod for the Wiz that makes the D-pad on the Wiz very good. The "Straight Pin mod". A small thing can make a BIG difference. I can now do those fancy SFII moves at will, even Ms. PacMan and various shooters now play better too. I did like 10 Hadokens in a row on the thing without trouble. I also did dragon punches fairly easy too. While pretty easy I wouldn't attempt unless you are halfway skilled. It takes more time to take apart and re-assemble actually, the actual mod itself is really quick. You can bugger up the Wiz if you are not careful. (BTW this applies to the production Wiz models, I don't know how the early prototypes were made and if this mod will work on those) Good luck, and enjoy the great D-pad control.

Below is just a low res preview picture. Download the Zip file for instructions and a full size image.

http://www.geocities.com/dcancilier@sbcglobal.net/wizpad.zip

 

[rabidpoobear]

Well I have done a simple d-pad mod for the Wiz that makes the D-pad on the Wiz very good.

But we won't have to do something like this for the Pandora, right?
btw, thanks for all your work on the case & D-Pad! it's much appreciated.
Thanks for this tutorial too, even though I don't have a Wiz... yet.

 

[DRED]

How does this work exactly, can't seem to figure it out.

 

[Quiest]

It just makes the pivot bigger, giving you a longer way to push down a direction, making it harder to accidently push two directions at once,
in short, it gives you more control
Nice mod, DaveC, I think I'm going to try it once I can get my hands on a soldering iron.

 

[Enverex]

But we won't have to do something like this for the Pandora, right?

Well Dave designed the controls on the Pandora so I'm expecting the best set of game-controls in the history of any device and gamepad ever....

 

[aho]

>It just makes the pivot bigger, giving you a longer way to push down a direction [...]

That distance actually doesn't change. Well, it does if you generally press the whole thing down and only shift the pressure point slightly.

Currently the pivot point hangs a bit to high in the air. It actually feels like there isn't any pivot at all. I only noticed that there must be one, because shifting the pressure point around while pressing the whole dpad down does get registered.

What this modification basically does: It increases the minimum tilting angle of the dpad, which means better feedback and as a result also more control.

@DaveC

Excellent work. Step #3 looks sorta scary though. Are the speakers hot-glued on or something? (Edit: Nevermind... the RTF does mention that stuff.)

 

[RupeeClock]

Oh wouldn't it be lovely if GPH, or someone else made replacement D-pads, that you just buy online, and you simply disassemble and then reassemble the Wiz?

Lovely indeed, I'm buy one.

 

[DRED]

Oh wouldn't it be lovely if GPH, or someone else made replacement D-pads, that you just buy online, and you simply disassemble and then reassemble the Wiz?

Lovely indeed, I'm buy one.

Thats the last thing they would want people to do is open it up. I could do something like this because I'm technical and know how to deal with these small parts. I can imagine anyone else I know personally trying to attempt such a thing, they would break something.

 

[absolofdoom]

I'm thinking about trying this. I tried to play Guilty Gear in gpSP and that didn't work out too well. I'm pretty scared of screwing up my d-pad though. I'm not sure what size the pin needs to be.

 

[DRED]

Will the D-pad actually feel different when using it? Or will it just register inside differently?

 

[BEERSandVIDEOS]

This looks like a great work around for the D-Pad problem. If I get the nerve to open the system up, I'll give it a shot.

Seriously, who was the idiot who came up with the D-Pad / buttons on the Wiz? The controls on this thing are crap. I've never played anything with such poor production put into the controls. 25 year old NES control pads give a more quality feel. Are all the buttons supposed to feel lose and rattle when you shake the Wiz? And, it's not like my thumbs don't get banged up enough with an angular D-Pad that has hardly any pivot, but then they have to give all the buttons corners (why not just round buttons on the right?) and GIVE THEM METAL EDGES? I mean who designs something like this? Did ANYONE at GPH test these controls first? Maybe ask a gamer? Did any feedback given point out how sub-par these controls are? Sorry to rant, but t's stunning to me, really.

The Wiz is an amazing machine, but for the money paid, it's pretty sad that there are is already a post about how to fix the poorly designed D-Pad just a few months after the Wiz debut. I hope GPH takes note. Even the Dingoo has better feeling controls...

 

[DaveC]

Will the D-pad actually feel different when using it? Or will it just register inside differently?

It will feel pretty much the same as it does now. The main difference is that when you change direction it will work much better. For example if you are pressing RIGHT and want to go DOWN it will do that instead of doing a diagonal instead due to the whole pad collapsing down and not pivoting.

It does make a big difference. I would say with this mod the pad is as good as any and better than the Dingoo as this one sticks up far enough and doesn't sink into the case.

I'm thinking about trying this. I tried to play Guilty Gear in gpSP and that didn't work out too well. I'm pretty scared of screwing up my d-pad though. I'm not sure what size the pin needs to be.

Any pin that looks close to the one pictures will work. The important thing is that it sticks up about 1/2 mm to 3/4 mm from the existing pivot. If your pin is thicker it will melt into the plastic more, if it is thinner the head will rest on top more.

 

[absolofdoom]

Any pin that looks close to the one pictures will work. The important thing is that it sticks up about 1/2 mm to 3/4 mm from the existing pivot. If your pin is thicker it will melt into the plastic more, if it is thinner the head will rest on top more.

Alright, thanks. I appreciate you putting up instructions for everyone, quite helpful of you. I'm going to order a screwdriver, the only one I have that is small enough isn't a phillips; I'll be trying this as soon as I get it.

 

[DaveC]

Any pin that looks close to the one pictures will work. The important thing is that it sticks up about 1/2 mm to 3/4 mm from the existing pivot. If your pin is thicker it will melt into the plastic more, if it is thinner the head will rest on top more.

Alright, thanks. I appreciate you putting up instructions for everyone, quite helpful of you. I'm going to order a screwdriver, the only one I have that is small enough isn't a phillips; I'll be trying this as soon as I get it.

Good luck.

I would suggest pins twith heads that are as large as possible, within reason. The ones I used had heads just under 2 mm in diameter. I have seen some that are really tiny and while it would do something it wouldn't be as good.

 

[sixela]

Any pin that looks close to the one pictures will work. The important thing is that it sticks up about 1/2 mm to 3/4 mm from the existing pivot. If your pin is thicker it will melt into the plastic more, if it is thinner the head will rest on top more.

Alright, thanks. I appreciate you putting up instructions for everyone, quite helpful of you. I'm going to order a screwdriver, the only one I have that is small enough isn't a phillips; I'll be trying this as soon as I get it.

Good luck.

I would suggest pins twith heads that are as large as possible, within reason. The ones I used had heads just under 2 mm in diameter. I have seen some that are really tiny and while it would do something it wouldn't be as good.

Just did the mod, and I can confirm that it works AMAZING!

This was the biggest thing for me that was missing in the WIZ. Definitely has made the street fighter type games 150% times more playable. Ryu and Ken are kicking ass again!

I will just say, that for me the hardest part of the mod, was putting everything back together. Just thought I would add a few tips when doing this..

Putting the membrane back over the back of the Dpad is something that required a little patience for me. Dont rush this. Make sure when you put it on, it looks like how you see the membrane on the back of the XYAB buttons, i.e. pegs in the membrane holes provided. You will know you have not done this properly (as I learnt the hard way), when you start putting the Wiz back together and you realise that the casing has a very tight fit, particularly around the Dpad!

Remember the orientation of the volume buttons, and the power buttons. Put these in first, along with the shoulder buttons, and place the red surround CAREFULLY (headphone side first)over these. Again, take your time with this part as the red surround is particularly bendy and fragile.

When putting the battery back, make sure its in properly. It will seem like you have put the battery in place, but you actually have to press the battery in for it to make contact. Again, I put this in willy nilly and got no power from the battery. When you press the battery in, you will hear a satisfying click.

Finally a big thank you to DaveC for discovering this, and putting out some great instructions.

 

[Joshwaan2k]

DaveC, Could you do this mod to my Wiz one day?

how much you charge?

Not very good at pulling things apart normally break them hehe.

 

[DaveC]

DaveC, Could you do this mod to my Wiz one day?

how much you charge?

Not very good at pulling things apart normally break them hehe.

I don't think that would be practical. I am in the US so shipping both ways would be expensive, then if I got a few bucks for the mod you would really pay allot. Maybe find someone around your area that is good with stuff like that and then give him these instructions. That would probably be the best and cheapest option.

 

[b1ueskycomp1ex]

How hard do you think it would be to stick an NES or GBA/GBC pad in there? Too difficult?

 

[DaveC]

How hard do you think it would be to stick an NES or GBA/GBC pad in there? Too difficult?

It would be much more difficult than this mod as you would have to modify the Wiz case.

It would also be pretty much a waste of time too as after this mod the D-pad is pretty much as good as those pads.

 

[beavith]

Hey Dave, im in the US , id pay for it. Im just worried im going to wreck my WIZ. But doing fatalitys in MK hasnt worked so good.