This is the MadCatz Dreampad. There is also a newer
model with a clear purple or orange shell. The other version has a different circuit layout on it,
however, it still has the small holes. If you look at both you should be able
to figure out where to solder on it. Rodney Butler was kind enough to send me a scan
of the new pad. Click here to see it.
Be cautious when choosing a controller for a PS2 project,
some of these have analog buttons. For maximum compatibility use a pad that has analog sticks on it but not analog buttons. If
you use a PSOne pad that doesn't have analog sticks it might not work with some PS2 games that try to detect a dual shock controller. |
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| Start by removing these screws from the back: |
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| Disassemble it, Here is what you'll have now: |
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| Throw away all but a couple of screws, and the green circuit board.
Notice the large copper circular areas? Those are
what you'll be soldering to. Well, actually, the smaller copper circles
with little holes which are on the same circuits are what you want to use.
The four on the left are the Direction pad, the six on the right
are the buttons, and the one near the bottom center is Start. The blue circle
is highlighting the "Program" button. I didn't think it was useful so I
never used it in the project. Click on the image for a closer view. |
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| Here is a closeup of the D-pad connections and the
soldering points. Note the colored circles. Blue is Left, Yellow is Down, Green is Up. The connection
for Right is not showing in this image, but the red circle shows what
circuit path it is on. The Purple square would be an excellent place
to wire a ground connection. If your pad is different from this, and
you are having trouble deciding where to solder your ground connection,
read the next section. Click on the image for a closer view. |
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| This helps pay for the bandwidth ^_^ |
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| And here are the button connections. Yellow is X,
Red is A, Blue is B, Green is Y, White is C, Purple is Z. If you have a brand of pad that doesn't have these small holes,
DO NOT ATTEMPT to drill them yourself! If you cut a resistor on the back of the pad, you WILL burn out
the controller ports on your dreamcast! Solder directly onto the copper for the buttons instead, but take care not to get solder on
both sides of the connection. One great suggestion I've seen is to use a Dremel tool to
cut across the center of the "teeth" so that they cannot complete a circuit if you spill a bit. Click on the image for a closer view. |
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| This is Start. The red circle shows where to solder the hot connection.
Click on the image for a larger view. |
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