My home built metal DDR pad (Part IV)

dieKatze88 · Trick Member Joined: 10 Aug 2003

I dont know if anybodys mentioned it before (didnt want to read 84 pages), but if you have the 20 bucks extra per a pad, or if you have a bunch of really crappy ones lieing around (like any ddr freak) use the circut board from a madkatz syle pad. since i was going to throw them out after the pads were made, i took them apart, there is a HUGE connector to solder to. like its 1/4th inch by 3/4ths inch. its big. you dont have to be accurate. and theres a ton of space between them.
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tolookah · Posted: Thu Mar 04, 2004 5:50 pm Post subject:

stony003 · Basic Member Joined: 21 Feb 2004

I'm building DDRHomepad's Pad soon. I was wondering if i can make an X button and maybe and O or start button. I'm just thinking about putting on an X button since O isn't commonly used. Start isnt used much either so how would i go about doing so?

Would i just ignore the last Steel on Plywood and make 4 and leave the right side with only one metal support for the X button that would go on the upper right hand side?

Is soldering basically making the wires from the controller longer and connecting it to the Steel sheets?

hooded__paladin · Trick Member Joined: 10 Nov 2003

ah, you're talking about making a button in the corner. This is impossible with DDRHomePad's design. What you can do is, say, attach a pushbutton (like, a normal button) to work as that.
OR you can build a riptide-designed pad. Since the non-arrow-panels and the arrow-panels aren't connected to one another, it's simple to build an arrow instead of a button panel.

Building no non-button-panel wouldn't work with DDRHomePad. The corner brackets screw into the non-button-panels in that design, meaning they all have to be there.

Soldering is electrically (and physically) attaching conductors to each other using solder. This means, you solder one end of a wire onto a place on the controller and the other onto a place on your pad, and thus pressing the buttons on your pad will send a signal to the controller. So, yes, it is kind of like that, but that's a bad explanation for it.

Read tolookah's guide on soldering (it's in his profile.) (Read my contribution to the guide, too, and don't you DARE ask to help you find where on the controller to solder.)

Blue Beefman · Trick Member Joined: 31 Oct 2002 Location: WI

tolookah-

No that wasnt me and Landmark, yes I have been there before, but put up no scores that stayed. That is my friend Beefman, he has long blonde hair their is a difference. But yeah Landmark suxorz for DDR. Their pads are way to slippery.
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ddrtchnobeatz · Basic Member Joined: 04 Mar 2004 Location: Mech., VA

ok, im new with the metal pads. i am going to bulid one sooon and i have one question. how does the pad register a step???

I.F.C · Trick Member Joined: 04 Nov 2003 Location: TX

Hey guys im almost finish with my pad except for one thing, THE LEFT AND RIGHT WORK RANDOMLY and the left doesnt really register as same for the right so its random that they work, If you guys face this problem before help me out plz cuz im following DDR homepads design and did every thing right and for some reason this crap happen and its only the right and left so if you can help thanks guys

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hooded__paladin · Trick Member Joined: 10 Nov 2003

ddrtchnobeatz (

)
a button press is registered on the controller when electricity flows from one contact (side) of the button area (the GROUND) to the other contact (side) (the 'hot' side). This is accomplished with a normal controller by pressing the button down, which presses a piece of electrically conductive material (electricity can flow through it) up against the ground and the hot side, electrically connecting them. To make a DDR pad work, you connect the top piece of metal of an arrow to one of the button contacts of the controller with a wire, and the other piece of metal to the other contact with another wire. When you step on the arrow, the metal pieces touch and electricity flows and the pad registers a step.

IDK85 - it sounds like the left and right arrows both have the problem of being ALMOST connected. Thus, they randomly flicker on and off. Make sure neither of the wires is in contact with the ground wire and that there's enough space between the two pieces of sheet metal.

DX Manaic · Trick Member Joined: 28 Aug 2002 Location: Outer Limits

dieKatze88 · Trick Member Joined: 10 Aug 2003

stony, if you use DDR USA, then you need circle in case you want to play couple/vs/double, otherwize dont loose any sleep over it. if you use Disney mix, you must use X becuse the interface in disney mix uses circle for "go back to the previous menu" so lets consider a quick situation.
I have only the PS1 and stepmania, so i have
DDRUSA, Disney Mix, and Konamix.
I like to play double.
I need X and Circle
My friend has PS2
He has DDR USA, DDR MAX and DDR MAX2. he cant play doubles for food.
He does not play disney mix.
He should use either. but both would be un nessacary.
if your really good with electronics, it would be easy to build a switch into the pad that would switch this button from X to circle, and back again.
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tolookah · Posted: Fri Mar 05, 2004 4:42 pm Post subject:

then theres always the option of a terter box (external box with those buttons)... check the first page of the thread
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dieKatze88 · Trick Member Joined: 10 Aug 2003

yea, ive been looking at that, if you plan to use dedicated buttons in stepmania with the arcade style control box, AND use a solo pad, then your gonna have to remap the Left Right and Confirm buttons on that to something else, like Square, Triangle and Select, because stepmania is evil like that and doesnt let you use Confirm and X or Circle at the same time. gee i wonder why
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CHROMEDOME · Trick Member Joined: 29 Mar 2003 Location: San Ramon, CA

I need help with some solder points on my controllers. I picked up a 3rd party PSX controller at funco the other day(not the one on DDRHP's site)Can I solder the wire to the gold part where the buttons should be...Like the offical PSX controller with the black stuff still on. Bascally I need help finding the points to solder to...
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hooded__paladin · Trick Member Joined: 10 Nov 2003

If you're asking how to find the contacts, see my contribution to tolookah's guide (in his sig). If you're asking whether those gold things are the contact points, YES OF COURSE. Those are even EASIER to solder to (since they don't have that black covering that solder won't stick to)

Really, people, use your knowledge of electrical theory. Or GET some knowledge of electrical theory. That way, we wouldn't have to hold your hand through the whole process.

Tenesu · Basic Member Joined: 05 Feb 2004

tolookah · Posted: Sat Mar 06, 2004 5:32 am Post subject:

dieKatze88 · Trick Member Joined: 10 Aug 2003

heh. the enginner in you is cool.
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I.F.C · Trick Member Joined: 04 Nov 2003 Location: TX

game3eak · Trick Member Joined: 17 Feb 2004

Alight i preatty much finished my pad but the solder wont stick to the controller?

i tried useing a cheap 5.99 one from EB games and i thought that was the problem so i bought a madkatz paddle from Walmart. The solder wont stick to either of the ones i bought?

EDIT: The soldering gun we have is reeeally old it still melts the solder but it takes a while.. ? could it be it's not hot enough?
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XtremeDDRPlayer · Trick Member Joined: 05 Oct 2002 Location: Central-MO

Last person that posted: Getting the solder to stick with an old iron might be pretty difficult. However, if it's melting it, it should be able to hold the wires. Practice on something else for awhile and then try again. If you don't have any luck, get someone with more experience to help you.

---

Anyways, I didn't want to wade through 85 pages, but, if anybody needs any help with a pad, you can IM me at kds200613. I can help you. I built one a little over a year ago.

What I really came here for is to see if anybody would be willing to buy my pad. I'm not really wanting to sell it, but I never have time to use it anymore and I just found out that my DDRMAX cd doesn't work! I really don't want to sell it, but it's just sitting around doing nothing. I remember back when I was making mine, people were offering big bucks for home made pads because they didn't think they could build them themselves. If I put my pad on ebay, how much would it bring? Has anyone done this? My pad works perfectly. I can get an A on MAX300 Heavy. I've got at least an A on every song on DDRMAX on every difficulty, so it's a very good pad.

About how much would it bring? Thanks. And remember, if you need help building one of these things, just IM me.