Bacteria's project: "Project Unity"

[bacteria]

Been sick with flu (proper flu) for a week now, today i'm starting to recover although got a while to go yet to get back to speed.

Only spent a few minutes on project as it's all I could manage (still sick after all); but managed to standardise the shoulder trigger connections, thereby getting them both working properly as should be. Tested, work fine now.

[bacteria]

Making good progress, now i'm feeling well again. Not doing much modding but making it count.

Made the surrounds for the joysticks for the console controller case and tested so far, will work well inside the master controller. Decided to use the GameCube grey and yellow caps instead of the black ones. With any luck, I might have the GameCube controller section completed tomorrow and can upload a couple of pics. Not been easy to make as everything is designed to "just fit ok".

Only some systems will use joysticks, the others will use joystick hole blanks, which will screw into the console controller sections to make life easier.

[bacteria]

Got the other joystick to install, but this one installs into the master controller easily and accurately. Need to also insert a metal plate on the side that touches the master controller, to keep the joysticks in place via magnetism. When the other joystick is completed, should be able to close the unit up and give a final test before making the 2nd controller section.

This looks far neater than my previous effort; used an upturned and trimmed old joystick cap as only needed half height.



I'll upload pics when done of course.

[bacteria]

Spent a LOT of time getting this made from start to end, the result is worth it, the console section (GameCube in this case) inserts perfectly into place into the master controller, allows the interface port to work perfectly, the metal piece between the joysticks which keeps the unit in place due to the strong computer hard drive magnet in the master controller works great too. Frankly, couldn't make it any more exact or perfectly.

Insides - the glob at the bottom of the case section is a hole through the case, hot glue holding the metal piece in place. It is tight in there, only gave myself 8mm height, ie the height of the board and the small capacitor, to give an idea...



Here is the controller section underside (circular metal piece inserted after photo taken):



In place and secure! The tiny white bits of the joystick holes will be made the same colour as the case in due course.



Front view, showing the joysticks - move nicely! The slight ridges on the top of the case were from where it rested for a couple of days upside down on a couple of wires - will resolve later on.



Just need to do final testing; and make some differently coloured buttons too (grey for X and Y for example).

[bacteria]

Did what should have been a routine test with the GameCube controller this morning, however wasn't. I'd wired the joysticks backwards (easily resolvable), however the shoulder analogues were behaving strangely, like they did a while back before I "fixed" them; obviously not. So, it's all opened up again, this time, i'm using GameCube fully shielded cable (5 wires inside cable, ideal), soldered the shielding to ground, using the 5 wires to feed the two shoulder buttons and the three pots on the analogue shoulder. Done one side, need to do the other side now. Having to use longer wires as the cable is fairly thick, however shielded cable isn't an issue, it's unshielded wires that are. The side i've done allows the case to close ok, crossed fingers the other side too as it's all rather snug in there.

The idea of course of this shielded cable is to reduce a lot of interference, which is making the pots behave strangely still. The wires were only about 3-4 inches long, but of course by the time you add the wire in the console controller section too, you're up to about 5-6 inches in total, hence issue. Interestingly enough, no issues with the action buttons or d-pad or keypad, just the pots on the shoulder buttons - at the moment, one of the shoulder analogues works but after a few uses, "sticks"; and the other one moves only a little bit. These issues have to be fixed, hence shielded cable.

Hopefully when this is done, I can close the master controller up for the very final time and move on with the project; it's hard enough as it is, sometimes you think "for goodness sake, let something work first time without so much hassle fixing it to work" (still, that's part of the fun I guess of a project!)

[bacteria]

So, got the shielded wires in place; one side was still working fine, other side not so; so also used headphone wire (earphone type) as has two wires inside, used one for wiring to the joystick connection and another one to the trigger button; same thing. Nothing made any odds. I then realised why, the issue wasn't with the wiring, it was with one of the pots, the grounding pin (middle pin) was loose and only occasionally making contact; meaning sometimes it worked, sometimes not, sometimes activated itself fully for no reason - loose contact in other words moving around. Took the pot apart gently, held the detached pin and soldered to the pin; the acetate backing crinkled slightly, but did the job.

Tested, works fine, both analogue shoulders are responsive and behaving as should, phew! After a couple of hours or more wondering what the problem was and how it could be fixed, ended up being a damaged pot!

[bacteria]

Ok, finally finished the GameBoy section, closed it up. At last.

Stupidly tried to test the "C" joystick on XIII game on GameCube, not a very good game by the looks of it, but needed something to test "C" out with. What I didn't realise is for some weird reason they make left = right and up = down for that game (why?; also, if you "invert", then up and down work fine but left = right and right = left still (!)), when realised it wasn't a good game to test with, changed to Sphinx, as it uses "C" to look around. Anyway, tested, works great. I think I can safely say the GameCube is fine and completed, at last; between Sphinx and Bomberman Generation all the controls seem to have been tested ok and fully fine now.

It looks like I can finally start to make a second console casing, Amiga CD32 one; i'll probably then make an Intellivision one to show off the keypad better, that way I can demo three systems in the next video instead of two.

[Frizz.Meister]

Keep it up. This is the first original mod i've heard of since errrr probably the first portable n64. Seriously whilst the modding scene has grown loads in recent years its just become people copying each others works. Yours is original, complex and best of all slightly crazy, im 80% done on three projects at the moment but for the last 3 months money has been tight and these sorts of things aint cheap.

Keep going!

[thelolotov]

Keep it up. This is the first original mod i've heard of since errrr probably the first portable n64. Seriously whilst the modding scene has grown loads in recent years its just become people copying each others works. Yours is original, complex and best of all slightly crazy, im 80% done on three projects at the moment but for the last 3 months money has been tight and these sorts of things aint cheap.

Keep going!

That's kinda because the best obvious mods have been done.

[AppleQueso]

Ok, finally finished the GameBoy section, closed it up. At last.

Stupidly tried to test the "C" joystick on XIII game on GameCube, not a very good game by the looks of it, but needed something to test "C" out with. What I didn't realise is for some weird reason they make left = right and up = down for that game (why?; also, if you "invert", then up and down work fine but left = right and right = left still (!)), when realised it wasn't a good game to test with, changed to Sphinx, as it uses "C" to look around. Anyway, tested, works great. I think I can safely say the GameCube is fine and completed, at last; between Sphinx and Bomberman Generation all the controls seem to have been tested ok and fully fine now.

It looks like I can finally start to make a second console casing, Amiga CD32 one; i'll probably then make an Intellivision one to show off the keypad better, that way I can demo three systems in the next video instead of two.

Too late to mention now, but it might've been best to test the c-stick on a game like Metroid Prime, where there's zero chance of the game using an inverted camera or something like that, since the c-stick doesn't control the camera at all.