I did to suit my own purposes. If you want to try this yourself, you WILL void your warranty, and
I cannot be held responsible for any error on your part.
Please do not steal my work, but rather link to it. If you want to tell others
about it, please mention my name
Questions/Comments?: Email me at neal0007@tc.umn.edu
Z-button mod.
Introduction:
Thanks all for joining me for yet another mod. This one was by far the most challenging for me. I started off
thinking I would be using buttons from the N64 controller for this mod, but I soon discovered that not only would
this ruin a controller, but it would also be extremely difficult to mount inside the controller. I finally found
something at radioshack.com that seems to be exactly what I was looking for in the first place. It is honestly as
easy a solution as I can come up with, so hopefully some of you that are really looking forward to it will find it
to be acceptable and achieveable.
What you'll need:
I've included in this list all of the things you should need for this modification, please be sure you have everything
before you even begin to go forward with this modification:
1. Electronics soldering iron for soldering in tight areas.
2. Electric solder.
3. Electric wire(the smaller the better! I used 30 gauge wire)
4. Wire cutter, and a "wire wrapper" tool if you use 30 gauge wire. Wire wrapper can be found at Radioshack.
5. SPDT On-(On/Off) Round 8.8mm Red Push Button Switch Solder Terminal
Click here to order from Radioshack.com
If the link doesn't work(if they change something), just go to Radioshack.com and
search for part number 900-7736 .
6. Sharp tipped black marker
7. 2.0mm flathead screwdriver for opening controller
8. 1/16 inch drill bit, 1/8 inch drill bit, 3/8 inch drill bit.
You will obviously need to drill a hole for the new button. You will find it much easier and more accurate to start with a small bit, and incrementally size upward.
9. Variable Speed Drill for using drill bits.
- you NEED to use a variable speed drill, as just a straight power drill will more than like cause damage and/or injury due to its strictly high torque.
10. 1/4 inch round file for perfectly sizing hole. (after drilling you still need to file a little plastic away.) 11. Testing circuit. This is for making sure you have the switch wired correctly. The switch I named above can be either wired for "ON" when pushed
or "OFF" when pushed. You will obviously want it to be "ON" when pushed. The circuit only needs to be a small motor and battery, or small light and battery, etc.
Procedure:
PART ZERO: Before taking apart the controller, take notice of where exactly you want to put the button and, using a marker, mark the spot where you want your button to be. Make sure you leave enough room from the edge of the lower piece of the plastic so you can drill the hole(which will be about 3/8 inch).
I enhanced the spot I put on there a little since the picture was fuzzy.
1. Remove the six screws from the underside of the controller:
WARNING!!! To open the controller, you can use a 2.0mm flathead screwdriver with a fairly skinny blade on it. Be CAREFUL and press firm so you don't strip screws or the screwdriver!!!!
2. Slowly take off the back of the controller(if it resists than you don't have all the screws
loosened). It will look like this:
3. For now, we'll just be working with the bottom half of the controller. I chose to the lower right area of the controller for my button. Make sure you make noet of this from the start in "Part ZERO" above. You don't want to end up with a hole in the wrong end do you? ;)
The button we're using has threads on its sides, so you will be able to firmly screw this into the plastic provided you drill the hole properly.
Start off by drilling a small 1/16 inch bit directly into the spot you marked earlier. PRESS FIRMLY, so that the bit doesn't travel as you start to drill. If it begins to slip, stop immediately and reset on your mark. Be careful not to drill to hard and go right through the other end. After this first hole is drilled, drill the next couple of sized bits I named above through the same hole, being vary careful not to stray away from the hole. You only get one chance to drill this hole, so if you don't think you can do it, DON'T! The mod is extremely cool, but not worth wrecking your controller over.
After you are done drilling the 3/8" hole, you will find that the button still doesn't quite fit. The buttons actually insertion diameter appears to be 13/32", so you will have to file a little plastic away unless you have such a bit(I don't know if they come in that size). I think 7/16" is too big, and will make the threads on the button useless(and thus make it very hard to mount the button securely. Be careful when filing!!!!! Hold the file in such a way that your hand always protets the opposite handle from being scratched by the file.
My hole right after drilling the 3/8" hole.
Filing away at the hole to make button fit. Must file uniformly around the hole a little at a time. Your filing
doesn't have to be "perfect" as there is a rim at top of button that will cover up small imperfections.
4. Now lets find the right connections on the button. There are three prongs coming out the button:
Using your little tester circuit, see what combination of two prongs will make it so that the circuit is "OFF" when you're not pressing the button, and "ON" when you are pressing the button. Use your marker to mark the two prongs that offer proper functionality. DO NOT solder the wires onto the switch yet! We need to screw the switch into the plastic of the controller first.
5. It is now time to screw in the button. Get your needlenose ready. Make sure you can get the threads to catch into the plastic, and that you'll be able to screw it in(don't worry if its tight, the tighter the better actually). DO NOT solder any wiring until the button is screwed all the way in. As you start to screw the button in, make sure that it is going in such that it will end up flush with the controller! If its starting to go crooked, screw it back out and try again. Use you needlenose to firmly screw it in, but stop before you get it all the way in! If you try to screw it all the way in with the needlenose, you will end up scratching the surface of your controller. Once you are to the point that your pliers could possibly scratch the controller, start turning the button from the inside as shown in the picture below:
Screwing in the button from the outside, stopping short of all the way in!
Screwing in the button from the inside to prevent scratching the outside. There is a smooth part near the prongs where you should grip with the needlenose and finish tightening.
6. Now it is time to solder the wires to the button's prongs. First we need to strip some wire ends. I really hope you used the 30 gauge wire I recommended, as it will be much easier to work with when it comes to keeping it in the controller. Cut two pieces of wire, both about 4-5 inches long. I know thats pretty long, but you need some room so that you can move the two halfs of the controller a little once the wires are soldered on both ends. Strip both ends of each wire with the special stripping tool that comes with the wire wrapper (or your own stripping tool if you decided to use thicker wire). Get your soldering iron hot, and your solder ready. Once the iron is hot, bead some solder onto the two prongs that you marked earlier with a marker. Once you have a good bead on each prong, solder an end of each wire to the prongs; one wire per prong:
Switch with wires soldered to it(I know its hard to see, my camera isn't top notch anymore)
Now we need to solder the other end of the wires to the two prongs coming from the existing z-button solder. Make sure you route the free ends of your wires in a way such that you don't obstruct the final reclosure of the controller. The solder points are found on the circuitboard of the controller itself, right next to where the z-button is:
You can use the existing solder, but be careful not to let the solder liquify for too long as it can hurt the existing button's connection as a result.
7. Check the solder connections. If you are satisfied that you have everything soldered securely, stuff any excess wire into the controller and prepare to close it up. Make sure all components are where they should be. There are two white sliders that the L and R trigger manipulate that must be kept as high up in the direction of the cord as possible so that when you put the controller back together the L and R buttons function correctly:
Make sure the wires are out of the way of any plastic contacts so that they aren't crimped when you close the controller.
8. Close up the controller. Don't put the screws on yet! Hold it together with your hands while you test it in a game to make sure it is working correctly. If it is, make sure you check the original z-button to make sure that is still operational as well. If the button doesnt' work, recheck to make sure you have all the soldering done correctly. This includes quality of soldering as well as soldering the correct pins.
The finished product(bunch of views):
- I realize the grey control stick is crooked. It straightens up nice and pretty when tighten the screws(they're only on loosely right now)
Conclusion:
This is not an easy mod, but with enough patience I believe just about anyone can do this. The most difficult part by far is just drilling the hole and making sure that you can file it such that the button fits perfectly. Soldering the wires is pretty trivial for anyone that has ever done it before. I couldn't be more pleased with my new z-button. The button I use is a little more stiff than the others, which is good and intended. This way, when you are pressing other buttons and don't intend to use teh z-button, it won't just inadvertantly press just cause your finger slides across it. On the other hand, its stiffness makes it behave more like a trigger, which is a more comfortable and natural feel. Overall appearance is very nice as well. The chrome of the button adds a little pizzaz, while the red button looks very similar to the B-button. For anybody that has the guts to try it, I recommend this modification 100%/
Copyright © 2002 Peter Nealy.