PS3 controller with PS2 shoulder buttons

[tiff_lee]

Hi all this is my first post so please be gentle , I came across this site by pure accident and was amazed as to how much modding goes on and hopefully someone here may be able to help with what I want to achieve.

As per the title I wanted to fit ps1/2 shoulder buttons (L2 & R2) to a PS3 controller as I hate the triggers. Having taken a ps2 and ps3 controller apart the only problem I can see now is that the circuit board/membrane (not sure what these are called) that runs under the buttons is slightly shorter on the ps3 compared to the ps2, is there anyway to mod these or extend them?

[RDC]

That flex cable (Daughter board) can't be soldered on, and it makes for doing some things on the PS3 controllers a real pain. Even if you could extend them, you'll have more issues mechanically getting the buttons into the PS3 shell. One thing to do if you have all of the mechanics sorted out already is to use some of the actual Daughter board from the DS2 controller, but that depends on the version of DS2 controller as some of them have a different way of connecting to the main board like the PS3 controllers do now, so in short it's a huge mess up one side and down the other to do it one way or another.

Another thing to try would be to stuff the DS3 into a DS2 shell (something I'll probably get around to one day) but even that would be a HUGE ordeal and just off the top of my head take a few controllers to pull off and be all kinds of issues along the way to figure out.

You can always forgo the Daughter board contacts for the L2/R2 and find some other type of switch to put in there behind it, again if you have the mechanics of it all sorted out, and then just wire those up to the main board, but that will detract from the feel of it some.

[tiff_lee]

Hi RDC, the mechanics of the shoulder buttons was actually the easiest part to do, well the way in which I've done it anyhow. Using the DS2 rear housing along with a part of the DS2 inner frame works a treat, obviously a small amount of dremel work needs to be done where the charging point is and the two centre screw holes are in different locations but for me that's a fair price to pay.



The problem with the membranes is the DS2 has the tracks on the underside with conductive pressure points underneath it, so when pressure is simply applied to the top it makes the circuit. However on the sixaxis the conductive tracks are on the top and the circuit is made by a conductive point/tip on the underside of the rubber push buttons.



I was playing around last night and actually wrote off my sixaxis membrane but picked up a replacement on ebay for £3, as crude as it sounds I was actually able to cut the membrane and bridge/extend it using very thin wire (removed from DS2 cable) and tape. The problem now is that the original rubber pressure points of the sixaxis are not as long as the DS2 and the DS2 are non-conductive. So I plan to remove the DS2 conductive pressure points which sit under the membrane (can be seen in top pic) flip it over and then put the DS2 rubber pressure pad on top if you see what I mean.....

Sorry if that's all a little confusing my terminology is all over but hopefully the pictures help clear things up?

[RDC]

Tape and wire is going to end up being intermittent before long. You might be able to get away with using conductive glue there to make it a more solid connection.

That's one of the newer version DS2 controllers where Sony inverted the contacts, for whatever reason. There are probably as many versions of those things as there are of the PS3 controllers, 13 of them so far and 7 of those are DS3, but I have no exact idea how many DS2 versions are floating about, but know that's a newer one for sure. The older ones are more like the PS3 where the Resistive trace is on the top of the Daughter board and the rubber pads are still conductive. This is a set from an older DS2.




Look forward to seeing this completed as well.

[tiff_lee]

Wow you certainly know your stuff about these controllers I had no idea there was that many variations. It would make it easier if I had an older DS2 with the conductive rubber pads seeing as that is the way my sixaxis works however ill give it a go with what I got and flip the conductive trace onto the top and use the non conductive pads for now.

I did consider conductive epoxy but for the price it just didn't seem worthwhile, i'll give a few things a try when the new daughter board turns up and take it from there, even if it does turn out intermittent its progress nonetheless.

Thanks for the info as well

[RDC]

I've only had a handful of the DS2 controllers apart, but every one I did was a different version, at least 3 for sure that I know of, and I'd guarantee there are way more than that. Sony loves to flush money down the revision toilet.

The DS3 controllers I've documented a little bit on though. - http://forums.xbox-scene.com/index.php?showtopic=648322" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

You might want to look at just cutting the DS3 controllers L1/2 and R1/2 pads up as well. They're pretty much the same spacing from the edges, just stretched in the center is all on the DS2, and a couple sets of them and an X-acto blade will get you a decent set of conductive ones made up, course it would probably be a lot easier to find an older DS2 controller and use them instead.