Posted by Devin on January 18, 2002 at 20:00:49:
Just thought I'd drop a message to share what I learned about the new Microsoft Sidewinder USB gamepads. I searched all over the net for information on this, and all I found were glowing reviews for how easy it was to modify for attachment to arcade controls, what with the pre-drilled holes and labeled solder points. This all referred to the game port version. I crossed my fingers and bought a new USB version for $25.
Nice controller, but the layout has changed considerably since then. The board doesn't even match the pictures of the earlier USB versions I've seen on the net. Gone are the pre-drilled, labeled holes and solder points. Also, the controller does notuse a single common ground for the entire controller, which I guess I expected. The contact points for the buttons are covered in a black coating that must be scraped to expose metal. I found that even after I scraped the black stuff off, I couldn't solder to these points. The only other place to solder seemed to be small buttons of solder labeled TP1, TP2, and so on. (Test Pads?) These are too small to solder to with any strength. The little dot of solder would get sucked right onto the tip of my 15 watt soldering pencil. So I finally said "Torpedoes be damed! Full speed ahead!" and soldered right onto the surface mount diodes. Seemed to work, although the solder joints aren't too strong.
After I got it hooked up to a Happ Super joystick, I found the diagonals WAY too hard to hit when playing Street Fighter games. I've logged literally thousands of hours on SF2 series games, and I know what a DP and fireball should feel like. So I spent a couple hours bending the little metal levers back and forth trying to tweak the sensitivity of the damn thing, but it's still far from what I'm looking for.
Now I'm thinking of giving up on the Super. I'ver ordered the Ultimate Joystick from Happ, in hopes this is closer to what I'm looking for. I also bought a Gravis Gamepad Pro USB for $15, and it looks WAY easier to work with than the MS Sidewinder. If I get it all together, I'll take pictures for the website. I'm not making a cabinet for this, rather I'm making a small trasportable box like console gaming system. Joysticks will be on cords. The case for the computer will be the very cool looking Shuttle SV24. ( http://www.shuttleonline.com/sv24.htm )
I hope this is helpful to some!
Devin