(MOD) Perfect Source of Joysticks
 

First, a big shout-out to Latency for coming up with this idea at work yesterday. You da man..too bad I'm gonna roast you at the LP track tonight. ;)

Okay, here's the scoop. Almost anything that attaches to the back of a computer comes with thumb screws. Most are a little too long for this (printer cables, etc,) but I found two old PS2 / DB9 Serial adapters I had laying around from some old serial mice (Yeah, I keep everything.) The thumb screws from these are virtually the perfect length and they already have threads for screwing into the ZZ controller buttons. They even look like they were designed for the job:

http://24.210.28.38/images/controllers.jpg

Here's what I did to attach them:

1. I used electrical tape to mask off all but the very center of each of the ZZ controller buttons. This performs two functions:
a. Prevents the button from moving while you mess with it,
b. Makes it much easier to start the hole, especially if you are going to drill it.

2. Using a 5/64" drill bit with my Dremel, I carefully drilled a hole through the center of each ZZ button. This hole will actually be a little small for the thumb screws, but you can widen it manually as long as you do it carefully. The 5/64" bit was all I had around, and I wanted a nice tight fit, so I didn't want to go any bigger anyway. I suppose you could also melt a hole through the buttons with a super-heated paperclip or something, but drilling worked perfectly for me.

3. I screwed in the thumbscrews. This is by far the most difficult part, and requires some patience. If I had realized the tape prevented the button from moving, I would have left it on, but I took it off and then struggled to get the thread started into the plastic, while simultaneously trying to keep it aligned straight and prevent the button from squirming. Because 5/64" is a little small, and the fact that the thumbscrews do not self-start, it took a pretty good amount of pressure while turning very slowly. Again, keeping it aligned straight is tricky, but as soon as the threads start to take hold, re-straighten the thumbscrew, and then rotate controller around it. (I found that easier than trying to actually turn the thumbscrew itself.)

I screwed them in until there was maybe a turn or two of thread left. This was plenty tight, and I didn't want to strip the hole I had just made. Voila! They work great and are pretty easy to find.

Now Latency will have his hands full at his newly decorated track!

very nice. Might have to try this myself. The buttons on the Zap are not kind to people with fat hands :) hehe

nice job... it's great when you can do a mod for little or no cost...

i recommended tapping a small depression in each button with the hot tip of a soldering iron as a 'starter' - avoids sliding of the drill bit when first drilling...

other items to use include the DB9 bolts you used, but ones without the nice handles - in this case, TrackPoint caps work well for nubbies with some grip...

my favorites are the soft rubber appliance feet, which can screw into mobo standoffs...

i like the idea of the handles though... i'm going to run down downstairs and grab a set to see if the threading is the same as mobo standoffs and the other DB9 bolts i used (they probably are, in which case i now have three different sets of joysticks for my controllers!)

thanks!

Looks good....
 

I must say, my idea was BRILLIANT, and kudos to you for a good execution. :D

hehe...but seriously, you got nothing on me, specially at my track! Bring your "excuseanairy", as you will need it, but don't worry, I will help you keep track of the number of times I lap you. :D

Good work on your mod though...

yep - the longer ones fit perfectly, too!

woo hoo!

happy! happy! joy! joy!

p.s. one caveat: make sure that the drilled holes are *perfectly* straight, else the longer handles will reflect any deviation!

next mod...
 

next mod up for a zz controller:

- insert switch on front and addt'l pcb to allow use of either 27 or 49 from the same controller! (failing that, acquire source of 27 and 49 crystals to add to an existing PCB)

- of course, we'll all have to buy more zz stuff!

:-)

looks good so far.

VERY FINE JOB!

Re: next mod...
 

Working on that, just waiting for my 49 xtal.