- Thread starter Mitsurugi-w
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PaulWoodpross3r
Enthusiast
Nice!! I should track me a joystick for Sky Target or Star Wars Trilogy and get that wired to a DB15 cable. What you have did look like one of the really old Gameport controllers, and most of those require a soldering iron to add a new wire to every pot.
I found a couple of old RadioShack branded PS1 wheels (same as those cheap Pelican wheels but slightly different wheel) that use the hand pedals. Unfortunately one of the pots snapped for the brake, but little did I know that I could actually just remove the pot entirely as it is not secured to anything, so I'm attempting a 2nd one. Below is a picture of the steering potentiometer which initially has only two wires. Most of the PS2 era ones and later should have 3 though.
This wheel requires a lot of internal modding but it's cleaner than some others I've cracked open. Will probably whip my dad's multimeter out to check which button is which to prepare for the 2nd attempt at modding.
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PaulWoodpross3r
Enthusiast
So a few days ago I had a crack at modding the RadioShack Mini Racing Wheel again. There are some models with the same mold that are probably a lot easier to modify, but if you are prepared to do a lot of hand soldering, it is an excellent wheel! Been playing a lot of Scud Race on my Model 3 Step 1.5 with it and the controls are tight, even with just Automatic transmission! It's wired to a DB15 cable so it may work with the S-JIHP too.
Basically I had to add a new wire to every pot, then I ran new wires directly from the internal face button and D-pad PCB tracks (I didn't hook up the shoulder buttons from the middle PCB as I was afraid of bumping something out of place, plus I want to comfortably reach the buttons I mapped out to unlock a (SPOILER!) particular secret car in LeMans24.
Though it doesn't have a clamp this is a wheel I recommend having a go at modding as it has plenty of buttons for most arcade drivers. Way nicer and more compact than the Mad Catz or Dreamcast wheels IMO.
Basically I had to add a new wire to every pot, then I ran new wires directly from the internal face button and D-pad PCB tracks (I didn't hook up the shoulder buttons from the middle PCB as I was afraid of bumping something out of place, plus I want to comfortably reach the buttons I mapped out to unlock a (SPOILER!) particular secret car in LeMans24.
Though it doesn't have a clamp this is a wheel I recommend having a go at modding as it has plenty of buttons for most arcade drivers. Way nicer and more compact than the Mad Catz or Dreamcast wheels IMO.
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PaulWoodpross3r
Enthusiast
I've also come to realize all of the 3rd party Playstation wheels are very hard to mod because the buttons are not isolated and instead all on one motherboard, running directly to a black blob chip, so you will need to cut traces with a box cutter or an exacto knife. So they are absolutely not for beginners. First-party wheels or non-generic ones like HKT-7400 are nice because usually those have isolated pads and often have the circuitry in the motherboard accessible from the main body.
The one wheel I have been dying to use for my driving PCBs is the NASCAR Sprint, as it has the clamp screw style, and I'd like to have better posture when reaching my keyboard with the wheel still attached.
I've cracked a couple open and due to such narrow space, you will need to hand-solder a data cable from the wheel's back lid where the hand pedal pots and buttons are located, and have heat shrink tubing on hand, then possibly hot glue the wires down conveniently. Crimp connections and solder-seal are no go for this one; not enough room. It only has 4 buttons and the pots need to be completely rewired, but if you have the right tools it should theoretically work.
The initial colors for the wires on this wheel, at least the buttons, are as follows if you look closely at the picture:
Ground - Red (daisy chained from purple wires)
Button 1 (top left) - Yellow
Button 3 (bottom left) - Brown
Button 2 (top right) - Green
Button 4 (bottom right) - White
I think I was using too large guages of wire on my first attempt. Probably better to use smaller wires like those in a PS2 controller cable.\
Edit: I did recently get this controller working using hot glue for the cable. Sturdy and mostly works a charm. Though it does not have a lot of buttons it is definitely a wheel worth modding if you want a comfortable pedal-free wheel that you can clamp to your desk. I absolutely love this wheel!
The one wheel I have been dying to use for my driving PCBs is the NASCAR Sprint, as it has the clamp screw style, and I'd like to have better posture when reaching my keyboard with the wheel still attached.
I've cracked a couple open and due to such narrow space, you will need to hand-solder a data cable from the wheel's back lid where the hand pedal pots and buttons are located, and have heat shrink tubing on hand, then possibly hot glue the wires down conveniently. Crimp connections and solder-seal are no go for this one; not enough room. It only has 4 buttons and the pots need to be completely rewired, but if you have the right tools it should theoretically work.
The initial colors for the wires on this wheel, at least the buttons, are as follows if you look closely at the picture:
Ground - Red (daisy chained from purple wires)
Button 1 (top left) - Yellow
Button 3 (bottom left) - Brown
Button 2 (top right) - Green
Button 4 (bottom right) - White
I think I was using too large guages of wire on my first attempt. Probably better to use smaller wires like those in a PS2 controller cable.\
Edit: I did recently get this controller working using hot glue for the cable. Sturdy and mostly works a charm. Though it does not have a lot of buttons it is definitely a wheel worth modding if you want a comfortable pedal-free wheel that you can clamp to your desk. I absolutely love this wheel!
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