My home built metal DDR pad (Part IV)

SHSbrando · Basic Member Joined: 23 Aug 2004

On the pad i just built, i sodered 2 controllers into the pad and it works fine. The PS2 controller is just sodered through the directional pad, and the type of controller i used was a mad cats PS1 controller. I have used it in all 3 of my pads so far, so it does work. As far as the other controler, its a thruster that connects through the USB on my computer. When i sodered this controller, i sodered the contacts to the Triangle, Square, Circle, and X and programed DWI to work with it. When selecting songs or starting the game, i just left the R1, R2, L1, and L2 buttons. There is no problem in doing this, and it will register every step fine, even the 2 step jumps.

One thing i noticed tho when doing this is that when i first tried to soder the contacts to the directional pad in the Thruster, it wouldnt register any 2 step jumps, so thats why i tried to soder the contacts to the buttons instead, and it works like a charm.

ill be posting pictures soon

mikieson · Trick Member Joined: 14 Nov 2003

You people keep trying to use these cheap controllers for all this soldering. They are really not very good for the job. You should just order a cheap softpad off ebay and use the board out if it. The board has contacts big enough to drill in and tie the wire to it. No need for soldering at all. You rip the softpad apart and you can find the wire diagram right there. Just follow what they already have.
I have built 4 pads this way and sell them without any regrets of my quality.
My new pads are as good as any arcade DDR I have ever played on. Im 250+lbs and use the heck out of mine. Plus my 2 boys and my 18 yr old nephew.

Deuce · Trick Member Joined: 23 Jun 2005

Ive tried two crappy soft pads already but i cant get it to work... i set up the wires and it works great for about 5 minutes, then every time i pressed the down arrow it said to plug in ps2 controller like it fell out or something... on the second one the same thing happened with the up arrow. These were not soldered they were just clamped so i dont know if that has anything to do with it. I tried soldering 2 PS1 controllers already but they just never worked cause im really bad at soldering... any help would be great
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Ron: Oh, Bonnie. You remind me of the cruel kids back at camp. Sticks and stones.
Tara: They called you names?
Ron: Yes. While they were hitting me with sticks and stones.

http://ddrecall.com/user.php?mode=viewprofile&user=1911

NiGHTS Chao · Basic Member Joined: 30 Jun 2005

Deuce · Trick Member Joined: 23 Jun 2005

Alright ill try soldering again, but when i did the first time it didnt look anything like those pictures... i cant get the solder to flatten out, i got the right kind i know cause i looked it up before i got it. When i soldered it, it just turns into little balls that dont stick well at all... also should i be drilling holes in the board to put the wires through and then solder it?
_________________

Ron: Oh, Bonnie. You remind me of the cruel kids back at camp. Sticks and stones.
Tara: They called you names?
Ron: Yes. While they were hitting me with sticks and stones.

http://ddrecall.com/user.php?mode=viewprofile&user=1911

NiGHTS Chao · Basic Member Joined: 30 Jun 2005

tolookah · Posted: Mon Jul 18, 2005 6:56 pm Post subject:

Deuce: For solder to stick well, you have to apply the solder to the item and not to the iron. What you want to do is heat up the item you are soldering to and applying solder to that. You should be ok so long as you dont hold it there too long, just keep away from the components so you don't burn them up. (also what helps is applying solder to the wire first, same way i just mentioned, minus a board, plus a wire)
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Aim: Tolookah
MSN: Tolookah
XBox: Tolookah
DDRPad Soldering and electrical Help: http://www.tolookah.net/DDR/ As hooded_paladin put it: "Currently, help for Beatpad Pro, official Sony Playstation Controller and ANY controller unless you are extremely stupid or lazy."

Aflac · Trick Member Joined: 28 Mar 2005

Another thing that helps for making solder stick is soldering resin. I was using Rosin Core Solder (yes, supposedly with "built-in" rosin) and it was not sticking to the sheet metal, no matter how much I would sand it. My dad then told me to use a little thingie of soldering paste/resin and then try soldering. It worked like a charm.

Aflac · Trick Member Joined: 28 Mar 2005

OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG HOLY JESUS I FINISHED

I can't really play in socks, the screws hurt me feet.

The rubber tubing I used mushroomed up against that one screw closest to bottom, but its actually pretty cool.

Those last two pictures show how the pad is connected to the circuit board. As of now I have the wires taped to the circuit board, but eventually I will be making a TerTerBox to house the circuit board and start/select/X buttons. ooh i'm so excited

Everything looks great except for the side borders, which I screwed up when I clamped them during the bending process (plus, the aluminum for the side borders are different than the top/bottom borders and the stationary panels). Other than that I love it.

Oh and this is Stoli's design if you haven't noticed. Thanks a lot to STOLI for the designs, the awesome pictures, the easy to follow instructions, and the help whenever I needed it. Thanks some more to Klott for the inspiration for the ITG arrows - I saw his pad and thought it was pretty neat. And thanks to you for reading my post

.

stickfigureman3 · Trick Member Joined: 24 Jan 2005 Location: Redmond, WA

Well, I've got a few more questions before I start (and all of these are for the Stoli pad).

First: How much does it weigh?
Second: Are the aluminum tape and spray adhesive replaceable by duct tape and Gorilla Glue, respectively?
Third: Is there really no other way to cut the sheet metal besides tin snips and/or an industrial sheet metal cutter?

Thanks again for all the help!
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"Let us whack mightily upon our enemy as the oaken staff assaults an unwary pinata! All for the chocolaty treasures within!" --Javier

stupidbarber · Trick Member Joined: 28 Feb 2005

mikieson · Trick Member Joined: 14 Nov 2003

I use a really nice double sidded sticky tape for my top and bottom contacts. Never has failed me yet...

mikieson · Trick Member Joined: 14 Nov 2003

You did a real nice job on your pad. Does it play as good as it looks?...Sweet job!!!......Nothing like making your own pad. Beats spending all your money on some RO or CF pad that never seems to work.
Have Fun!!!!

Aflac · Trick Member Joined: 28 Mar 2005

Deuce · Trick Member Joined: 23 Jun 2005

Well i was definitely doing the soldering completely wrong heating the solder and whatnot... i also had the rosin core stuff so ill try it with paste... lastly those pictures that are up with the taped wiring are pretty much exactly what i did but it would just stop working after a few minutes so did you do something different than just tape it... sorry i just want to be sure of everything cause i dont want to bust another circut board.
_________________

Ron: Oh, Bonnie. You remind me of the cruel kids back at camp. Sticks and stones.
Tara: They called you names?
Ron: Yes. While they were hitting me with sticks and stones.

http://ddrecall.com/user.php?mode=viewprofile&user=1911

Ulala321 · Trick Member Joined: 28 Sep 2004

Anyone know the *minimum* size/power soldering iron that can be used to solder to the sheet metal (not the circuit board, but the actual metal panels in the arrows)? I need to know if I have to go buy a bigger one.

riptide · Trick Member Joined: 14 Aug 2002

My instruction videos have BitTorrents created for them now. I was having trouble keeping interested people hosting the videos so now they are on torrents. I hope there will be enough people seeding them to make them work. The torrents are available where the download links used to be on my site:
http://www.digitaltorque.com/mydancepad/
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- RipTide
riptide (at) digitaltorque (dot) com

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My pad design: http://www.wubros.com/ddrpad/

tolookah · Posted: Wed Jul 20, 2005 12:48 pm Post subject:

Awesome Riptide! When i get back home, I will leech then seed until i forget to seed (and if someone PMs me, I can open torrent program again and seed some more)
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Aim: Tolookah
MSN: Tolookah
XBox: Tolookah
DDRPad Soldering and electrical Help: http://www.tolookah.net/DDR/ As hooded_paladin put it: "Currently, help for Beatpad Pro, official Sony Playstation Controller and ANY controller unless you are extremely stupid or lazy."

Aflac · Trick Member Joined: 28 Mar 2005

Oh jeez. uhm... what do I do if my lucite is cracked? I have a tiny crack in my up arrow lucite. Maybe my Optix plexiglass is the problem... only 15 times stronger than glass? Anyway should I replace it or do anything different with my screws?

Synaesthesia · Posted: Wed Jul 20, 2005 4:09 pm Post subject:

stickfigureman3, be aware that if you decide to deviate from any particular set of instructions, you could get a much heavier pad. I decided to use CF-type materials/construction, plus more support than recommended (i.e., n+1 rails), and my pad weighs something over 100 lbs. (by my best estimate, coming from weight-training and the fact that it's easier to pick up than 3 40 lb. bags of dirt, but harder than 2).
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