I've been Arcade Gaming for 16 years and don't know how to make a Neo arcade stick. Help

It's pretty sad I have never build my own Neo Geo stick. I have had a gutted mas supernove stick with 8 buttons sitting in my closet for the last 10 years or so that I gave up trying to make a PS2 arcade stick with because I sucked at it. Couldn't ever get all the buttons to work and solder rarely stuck to the PCB even after scraping it.

So I am possibly selling my cabinet tuesday and getting a supergun. I have the gutted stick, all the happs buttons, and none of the skill. Every tutorial online involves these Cthulhu pcb's. I don't even think I need a PCB.

Things I know:

1. I need wires

2. I need to ground all the buttons.

3. I need to refer to the neo pinout.

4. I assume I need some sort of DB15 cord from monoprice.

Things I do not know:

1. What gauge wire I need, and if there is just a harness I can get to make it faster.

2. Exactly how to ground everything. I guess I route all buttons together on the ground part and then connect them to ground according to the neo pinout.

3. What clamps I need to piggyback wires for grounding.

4. Maybe I need more parts. Not sure.

5. How I would prepare the DB cable, and if I need male/male male/female etc.. Do I just cut the wire, strip the casing, then start connecting up? And is there a better way?

re 5. dont butcher the db15 cable use a 15 port female on the controller... wire to that. this way you have no strain relief issues later on.

A prayer

werejag said:

re 5. dont butcher the db15 cable use a 15 port female on the controller... wire to that. this way you have no strain relief issues later on.

Click to expand...

Could you link me exactly what you are talking about? So I would need one of those, and then a male/female cord for length between the system and the controller correct?

wiring from buttons and joystick to> a 15 pin female joystick port > cable here uncut > system

this way you do not cut the cable and it looks cleaner and less headaches

greedostick said:

Could you link me exactly what you are talking about? So I would need one of those, and then a male/female cord for length between the system and the controller correct?

Click to expand...

Found this in another topic here and saved the link for when I get around to making mine. I hate cutting cables too and thought I'd have to buy something with bare wires. This part bypasses all that. Extension cables are plentiful, as we speak there are 2 topics in the market offering them. Maybe you want to join in.

http://winfordengineering.com/products/brksd15.php


It's not a hard process it just takes a little time. For your Q's:
The gauge of wire doesn't matter that I know of.
Yes, grounding is that easy. Make a daisy chain between the buttons.
Clamps? I used quick disconnect terminals which slide onto the switches (no soldering).

Greedo,
Check this thread out, granted the TE stick might be more complicated with the PCB in the mix, the idea is the same.
http://www.neo-geo.com/forums/showt...ghtstick-Pro-TE-DB15-Neo-Geo-mod-wth-pictures

It looks very overwhelming at first if you have never done this, but if you take your time and you are careful; you'll realize how easy it is.

Before starting, make sure you have all right tools and every button, wire, piece, whatever you need, because it really sucks when you figure out you're missing something in the middle of building.

Look through some of the links above.

Test, test, test. Don't seal things ups, or heatshrink tube, or permanently affix anything until it works. You can test your wiring, buttons, and stick just laying there, or mounted in a cardboard box.

Don't cut up and mangle a bunch of stuff until you are sure you need to.

Don't cut up controllers or sticks to get parts. You can find everything online or here.

To make your life easier with the wiring, you can spend some money at so we here like Paradise or Focus Attack for joystick harnesses, daisy chained ground wires, and other wires with quick disconnect connectors already built in. Even if you can do this all yourself easily (and you can) it will save you valuable time and patience.

Good luck!

cool thanks for the info everyone. With one of those DB15 connectors, and that guide, this is looking much easier. I am pretty sure I can do this, it was just the best parts to use, and the grounding of wires.