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RedOctane Metal Pad Control Box for PC
 
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Tom Mark
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0. PostPosted: Sun Nov 23, 2003 12:40 pm    Post subject: RedOctane Metal Pad Control Box for PC Reply with quote

I bought the item here for my metal pad a week ago. When I finally received it, I plugged it in to find out that it maps the arrows to an axis (!!!). I was completely disappointed as anyone could imagine. You would think that something being sold as a control box for a dance pad would not do this sort of thing. There are no drivers or support to speak of either. This is NOT a PSX to USB adapter either, so none of the fixes mentioned here will work.

Update

selmo wrote:
In other news, I did get a response from RedOctane today. They said try hitting SELECT+START+UP ARROW all at the same time. It's supposed to switch the controller to some other mode, and it might fix the issue. Try that and see if it helps. It might fix it without having to rewire anything or void any warranty. (I'd have to rewire mine back to the original state to check myself)


This trick maps the arrows as buttons and must be done every time the controller is plugged in. E1.gif
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Last edited by Tom Mark on Thu Nov 27, 2003 8:18 am, edited 1 time in total
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selmo
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1. PostPosted: Mon Nov 24, 2003 7:18 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I too purchased this box and found it did not support left+right or up+down simultaneously. Lame. I emailed Red Octane, but haven't gotten a reply. Red Octane should know better than that, claiming to be a DDR HQ and all that.

It did work under XP and 2000 without any extra required drivers, claiming to be an MP-8888 joypad.

Rather than wait forever for Red Octane to answer, I opened the box up and rewired it myself. The pcboard is labeled clearly and it's a pretty simple matter to move the wiring from the left and up pads to two other buttons. Since UpLeft and UpRight are already mapped to X and O, I mapped Left to Triangle and Up to Square. (mapping them to trigger left and trigger right buttons did NOT work). This works OK with stepmania, which lets you do your own button assignments. Unfortunately, you do lose the LED lights on those pads (which were pretty lame anyway, I think). But up+down and left+right now work fine.

I am still having a problem with "missed" hits on the metal pad with the red octane controller tho in stepmania. I definitely stomp in the right spot at the right time and it doesn't hear it at all. I didn't have this problem with this metal pad on the PSX DDR with the PSX controller, so the problem is either in the USB controller itself or stepmania. Not sure what's up with that...

Red Octane claims to have a 60 day refund policy on this thing, so if you're not up to rewiring it yourself, just send it back and get a refund. I'd try a PSX->USB adapter and use the PSX control box for the metal pad as a next step.
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Tom Mark
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2. PostPosted: Tue Nov 25, 2003 6:27 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Wow, cool! Thanks for the information.

I thought of rewiring the thing, but I figured it would have been a complicated ordeal and it would eliminate the option of returning it.

I keep trying to get a return number for it so I can send it back, but I never get an E-mail back from RedOctane with a return number. So, if my time runs out and I can't return it, I will certainly give rewiring a try.

As far as getting a PSX->USB adapter, it seems the BOOM adapter is the one to go with, so that may be my next try.

I've already gone through the Kiki X-series adapter (from Fry's) and this RedOctane USB control box. The third time is the charm as they say. E1.gif

My only concern with using an adapter with the RO metal pad is I’m afraid it will make the response time really crappy.
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selmo
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3. PostPosted: Wed Nov 26, 2003 12:06 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Tom Mark wrote:
I thought of rewiring the thing, but I figured it would have been a complicated ordeal and it would eliminate the option of returning it.


3 wires was all that needed to be moved. The connections are well labeled with little O, X symbols, left, up, etc. so it's all pretty obvious once you unscrew the lid. The soldering is all large thru-holes (no tiny surface mount) so it's a pretty easy fix.

But yes, it would eliminate the return option.

In other news, I did get a response from RedOctane today. They said try hitting SELECT+START+UP ARROW all at the same time. It's supposed to switch the controller to some other mode, and it might fix the issue. Try that and see if it helps. It might fix it without having to rewire anything or void any warranty. (I'd have to rewire mine back to the original state to check myself)

Tom Mark wrote:
My only concern with using an adapter with the RO metal pad is I’m afraid it will make the response time really crappy.


I'll have to play with mine more and see what's up with the missed events. I was having a hard time with stepmania even on easy settings compared to what I was used to with the PSX versions, but maybe that was just me being lame! E1.gif But there was definitely something weird going on, it didn't really feel the same as the PSX version did in terms of response. So I'll look into trying to adjust stepmania's ini file params and also testing the controller & pad with other DDR type PC games. If nothing works, then I guess I'll be looking for a PSX->USB adapter that works.
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Dark Dexter
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Location: At my computer programming...
4. PostPosted: Wed Nov 26, 2003 5:07 pm    Post subject: Another responce Reply with quote

I called RedOctane and they said that they are going to look into the problem. I am looking at a better fix than to resauder the PC Board. They said they would respond to me via e-mail and i will put up a solution on my thread ( http://www.ddrfreak.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=77717 )when one comes.
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Tom Mark
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5. PostPosted: Thu Nov 27, 2003 8:02 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

selmo wrote:
In other news, I did get a response from RedOctane today. They said try hitting SELECT+START+UP ARROW all at the same time. It's supposed to switch the controller to some other mode, and it might fix the issue. Try that and see if it helps. It might fix it without having to rewire anything or void any warranty. (I'd have to rewire mine back to the original state to check myself)



OMG! This trick actually works!! I went to the properties for the controller, hit SELECT+START+UP ARROW and now the arrows actually register as buttons!! This has to be done every time the thing is plugged in. This works great in Stepmania (I would have posted this sooner, but I've been playing all morning). Response time is great. Now the only thing slowing me down is my own ability and the quality of the .DWI files. E1.gif

BTW RedOctane is finally sending me a return label for the thing, it figures because now I want to keep it. sarc.gif

This news made this a truly Happy Thanksgiving. Thanks a bunch!!

P.S. don't you think RedOctane should have included this somewhere (perhaps the product page or on a piece of paper with the thing)?
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