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

[b1ueskycomp1ex]

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.

Yeah, I did it. Don't ask how, but I managed to put a GIANT crack down my screen. Just be careful when doing this mod

So far the crack hasn't affected my screen at all, and you can see through it when looking straight at the wiz anyway.

The D-Pad mod is fairly good, although the difference for me isn't insane, but I didn't have much of a problem with the pad to begin with. Just goes to show kids, don't fix what isn't broken.

 

[DaveC]

Yeah, I did it. Don't ask how, but I managed to put a GIANT crack down my screen. Just be careful when doing this mod

So far the crack hasn't affected my screen at all, and you can see through it when looking straight at the wiz anyway.

The D-Pad mod is fairly good, although the difference for me isn't insane, but I didn't have much of a problem with the pad to begin with. Just goes to show kids, don't fix what isn't broken.

I don't know how you did it either. You don't even have to touch the screen to do the mod. I guess the moral here is *don't force anything* if it isn't going back together easily check what is interfering first.

As for fixing what isn't broken, it kind of is. The pad is not terrible and is useable as is but gameplay has improved allot for me after the mod. Even simple games (less missed turns in MsPacman) benefit and shooters as well as fighters are better.

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.

I hesitate to do things like this because if something happened (like it broke) I would be liable for it. Shipping both ways would be kind of costly. The best option is if you have a friend that is good at stuff like this.

 

[crookedmouth]

It's too bad that GPH didn't sell D-pad replacements. I really feel that I would have no trouble opening up the case and removing the speakers and such. I just think the actual insertion of the pin would be nerve wracking. You screw up your d-pad and thats pretty much it, right. I wish I could practice on a couple to make sure it is exactly right. I mean I also wouldn't want to go through all this trouble and insert the pin too far, therefore gleaning no benefit.

 

[beavith]

I understand Dave, because i would have a lawsuit filed faster than you could say " oh crap i broke it". I kid of course, but a friend of mine said he's going to do it on his first, then mine, so thanks.

 

[b1ueskycomp1ex]

I understand Dave, because i would have a lawsuit filed faster than you could say " oh crap i broke it". I kid of course, but a friend of mine said he's going to do it on his first, then mine, so thanks.

well, if you can live with the pad the way it is, there's no real reason to fix it, right? =P It's interesting though, that that crack isn't really affecting the screen at all.

 

[DaveC]

I understand Dave, because i would have a lawsuit filed faster than you could say " oh crap i broke it". I kid of course, but a friend of mine said he's going to do it on his first, then mine, so thanks.

well, if you can live with the pad the way it is, there's no real reason to fix it, right? =P It's interesting though, that that crack isn't really affecting the screen at all.

I thought I could live with the pad as it isn't terrible. But then I started noticing that many MAME games, shooters and fighters weren't as good as they would be on a DS SNES pad etc. After the mod the pad was pretty much as good as those others.

The crack probably doesn't effect it as much as it would an LCD is because there is no liquid to leak out on an OLED. I am suprised none of the connections were broken though.

 

[b1ueskycomp1ex]

I understand Dave, because i would have a lawsuit filed faster than you could say " oh crap i broke it". I kid of course, but a friend of mine said he's going to do it on his first, then mine, so thanks.

well, if you can live with the pad the way it is, there's no real reason to fix it, right? =P It's interesting though, that that crack isn't really affecting the screen at all.

I thought I could live with the pad as it isn't terrible. But then I started noticing that many MAME games, shooters and fighters weren't as good as they would be on a DS SNES pad etc. After the mod the pad was pretty much as good as those others.

The crack probably doesn't effect it as much as it would an LCD is because there is no liquid to leak out on an OLED. I am suprised none of the connections were broken though.

Well, the unique way I broke my screen might be responsible for that.

 

[GaryMcT]

The image seems to be a dead link now. Anyone have a copy of it around?

Thanks!
Gary

 

[DaveC]

The image seems to be a dead link now. Anyone have a copy of it around?

Thanks!
Gary

It is in the archive here: http://dl.openhandhelds.org/cgi-bin/wiz.cgi?0,0,0,0,23,192

 

[GaryMcT]

The strange thing is that had they used the sane design fir the left dpad as the right dpad, it would have worked fine. Precisely firing in Robotron is good, movement is bad. Tends to favor diagonals.

 

[abstrakt42]

Hi everyone,

I came across this guide this morning and wanted to thank you for the idea. I wanted to share, though, that I found a slightly easier, and potentially safer way to fix the D-Pad movement.

I followed the breakdown instructions provided by the original author, but instead of melting a pin into the pivot point (which seemed slightly dangerous and a little too permanent), I left the pad itself completely untouched, and instead glued a small piece of plastic onto the PCB. There's actually a square indentation on the board you can use as a point of reference. I used a piece of packaging plastic (you know, that annoying stuff you have to cut up with scissors when you get a new toy) that was slightly thinner than a credit card. I just cut it about 1x1cm, and glued it on the board.

Once it was attached, I put everything back together and fired up Street Fighter 2 - Shoryukens are no problem now!

I hope this helps at least 1 person

 

[DaveC]

Hi everyone,

I came across this guide this morning and wanted to thank you for the idea. I wanted to share, though, that I found a slightly easier, and potentially safer way to fix the D-Pad movement.

I followed the breakdown instructions provided by the original author, but instead of melting a pin into the pivot point (which seemed slightly dangerous and a little too permanent), I left the pad itself completely untouched, and instead glued a small piece of plastic onto the PCB. There's actually a square indentation on the board you can use as a point of reference. I used a piece of packaging plastic (you know, that annoying stuff you have to cut up with scissors when you get a new toy) that was slightly thinner than a credit card. I just cut it about 1x1cm, and glued it on the board.

Once it was attached, I put everything back together and fired up Street Fighter 2 - Shoryukens are no problem now!

I hope this helps at least 1 person

That sounds ok if you really don't want a permanent solution not sure why). The problem is glue tends to loosen with use like that of a d-pad. That plastic you mention doesn't stay glued when I tried things with it. It is an interedsting alternative though.

 

[abstrakt42]

That sounds ok if you really don't want a permanent solution not sure why). The problem is glue tends to loosen with use like that of a d-pad. That plastic you mention doesn't stay glued when I tried things with it. It is an interedsting alternative though.

I suppose time will tell if the plastic stays in place or not. The main reason I decided against the pin mod was that it seemed as though replacing a soft, rounded plastic pivot point with a smaller, harder metal nub would potentially damage the board over time by introducing a focused wear-point.

I'd be curious if, after say 6 months of use, the board below the D-pad was still in its factory condition when using the pin.

Don't get me wrong, I think you have a fantastic idea (I wouldn't have thought of that), I just think using something rounded and made of plastic would be a safer solution.

 

[GaryMcT]

I haven't taken my wiz apart yet, but for those that have, I'm curious if the dpad-like button arrangement on the right side is a drop-in replacement on the left side if I had a second wiz to get parts from. Also, how complex is the part that is being modded/added to? I'm curious if a CAD model couldn't be built of it with the fixes made and sent off to one of the CNC companies to make some replacement parts.

Thanks!
Gary

 

[abstrakt42]

I haven't taken my wiz apart yet, but for those that have, I'm curious if the dpad-like button arrangement on the right side is a drop-in replacement on the left side if I had a second wiz to get parts from. Also, how complex is the part that is being modded/added to? I'm curious if a CAD model couldn't be built of it with the fixes made and sent off to one of the CNC companies to make some replacement parts.

Thanks!
Gary

The pad on the right side is actually 4 independent buttons, and not at all the same as the 1-piece DPad on the left. There's no way to swap parts from a second wiz, if that's your intention.

The part that is modded is just a molded plastic piece; it's extremely simple. I suppose in theory it could be professionally rebuilt, but I don't imagine that the R&D and production costs would be balanced by sales in the end.

I suggest you just do the mod Either my way or DaveC's, both are pretty simple.