A good donor controller?

[devillion]

Whats a good donor controller? It can either be Playstation2 or USB. I have a PS2 -> USB converter

I've purchased a fighting game controller (arcade stick) for the playstation 3. Even though it has a USB port, it does not work on PC. I'd like to use it for MAME and such.

So i am modding the buttons and joystick onto a PS2 controller board, or a PC-USB controller board. I've already tried using a PS2 controller, however it's circuit board was made of plastic, and could not be soldered to.

I realize this is probably a common and simple exercise for the pros here, so i wondered what controller you prefer? Whats a simple controller with a soldering-friendly PCB? I'm looking for at least 6 buttons + dpad. 8 + dpad would be nice.

I notice Ben Heck uses non-analog PSX controllers frequently, however these are really hard to come by! I'll be ordering one offline, but wanted to see what you pros reccomend first.

Thanks

[Super Cameraman]

For an arcade joystick, I suggest a USB interface like the I-PAC.

http://www.ultimarc.com/ipac1.html

Don't even have to solder! (To the interface. The controller might be a different story.)

[schmellyfart]

I've already tried using a PS2 controller, however it's circuit board was made of plastic, and could not be soldered to.

Did you try soldering to the board that the plastic film was connected to?

[Killer_Rabbit]

Look through this thread. Shoryuken's Tech forums (and that thread in particular) are pretty much devoted to building custom arcade sticks.