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Replacement Jag Controller Buttons


Judas-Prime

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The Jaguar d-pad has always been an issue for me, not just its lack of any kind of guiding into the directions (makes an arcade port we made recently pretty difficult to control 100% reliably as Gaztee's frustration will attest to!) but it's more the sharp, angular edges of the thing - I can sit & play a playstation all day but after only a short a while the Jaguar d-pad gets my thumb quite tender. I'll be happy to give a go to a few different designs for d-pads if it means I can play more comfortably (well that or a ps2 jaguar pad adapter :P ).

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The Jaguar d-pad has always been an issue for me, not just its lack of any kind of guiding into the directions (makes an arcade port we made recently pretty difficult to control 100% reliably as Gaztee's frustration will attest to!) but it's more the sharp, angular edges of the thing - I can sit & play a playstation all day but after only a short a while the Jaguar d-pad gets my thumb quite tender. I'll be happy to give a go to a few different designs for d-pads if it means I can play more comfortably (well that or a ps2 jaguar pad adapter :P ).

 

I know exactly what you mean.... This mod is a simple one, but hopefully it will help....as I posted earlier I believe that a nice set of microswitches is the best non-standard replacement as it removes one element from the equation....the silicon membrane. Ill post more when the moulds cure and i cast a few d-pads. Thanks for the positive addition to this topic. I appreciate it!

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Judas-Prime was kind enough to send me a set of orange buttons, orange d-pad and the black "Double Dee" Nub. I installed them in my rapid-fire Jag controller - you can see some photos below.

 

My quick take after a few games of Zero 5 and Raiden:

  • Double Dee Nub: Not digging the Double Dee as much as I thought I would. I think I'm expecting it to move like a 360 analog stick (since that's what it's molded after), but it just doesn't because, well duh, it's a D-Pad. I think I'm going to stick with the standard d-pad. Cool concept though.
  • Orange buttons and D-Pad: Good stuff., like the way they look and feel. Pretty much indistinguishable to the original Atari buttons aside from the color. They do seem to stiffen up the controls a bit - could be they're just ever so slightly thicker than the original Atari buttons.

Overall a cool, cheap way to mod your Jag controller, customize it and make it your own without altering the original controller. I'd pass on the Double Dee though.

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Judas-Prime was kind enough to send me a set of orange buttons, orange d-pad and the black "Double Dee" Nub. I installed them in my rapid-fire Jag controller - you can see some photos below.

 

My quick take after a few games of Zero 5 and Raiden:

  • Double Dee Nub: Not digging the Double Dee as much as I thought I would. I think I'm expecting it to move like a 360 analog stick (since that's what it's molded after), but it just doesn't because, well duh, it's a D-Pad. I think I'm going to stick with the standard d-pad. Cool concept though.
  • Orange buttons and D-Pad: Good stuff., like the way they look and feel. Pretty much indistinguishable to the original Atari buttons aside from the color. They do seem to stiffen up the controls a bit - could be they're just ever so slightly thicker than the original Atari buttons.

Overall a cool, cheap way to mod your Jag controller, customize it and make it your own without altering the original controller. I'd pass on the Double Dee though.

 

 

 

Thanks for the feedback! The Double Dee has a unique "feel" or sure, but yes its not for everybody. Thanks for the open and honest feedback / review. It all goes to the next round of molds and crafts to improve my process and quality of goods.

 

...wait until you see the the next "D-pad".

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Hi all! Im back to share a d-pad / joystick hybrid with everyone. I wanted to make a classic style atari joystick for the jag so I stayed true to my Roots and used a 5200 joystick. I attached the 5200 joystick to the center of a standard Jag D-Pad, cast the silicon moulds, then cast the piece in solid black resin. The results are my new Jag "D-pad" that is called......

 

"The D-Rad"

 

post-32638-0-72996300-1335842092_thumb.jpg post-32638-0-39121600-1335842100_thumb.jpg

 

post-32638-0-32222100-1335842109_thumb.jpg post-32638-0-49631400-1335842120_thumb.jpg

 

The D-Rad features a revised "strike arm" that is bigger and longer than the stock jag d-pad. This results in reducing the amount of pressure required to activate a confirmed input of a directional press. It also feels good to hold and gives the jag controller a nostalgic feel.

 

I dig it.

 

D-RAD IS RAD!

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Judas-Prime,

 

When are you going to entertain making controller cases? Have you considered cartridge cases as well?

 

Im in the process right now actually. I am pouring the controller case moulds right now and have to wait for them to cure. Since it requires ALOT of liquid silicon I am going to let the moulds cure overnight and will cast a controller back in white resin first thing in the morning.

 

I have considered doing cartridges, but i only have Tempest 2000 and Im not taking it apart to do the moulds. If I had a blank / empty cartridge case I would have done it already. Thats a dead simple mould to do and would take very little in the way of silicon and resin supplies to replicate.

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Cybermorph carts are pretty easy to come buy and are typically dirt cheap. If I had my Jag collection with me I'd be willing to donate an extra cart or two if that would help with cart moulds. I'm sure there are others here who might be willing also?

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Controller shell update....

 

I poured the moulds last night for the back half of the controller and poured half of the mould for the front half of the controller and.....ran out of liquid silicon ...again. The controller case molds use ALOT of liquid silicon...there is just so much negative space to fill on the insides of the cases. Anyway I will be able to cast the back half of the controller later tonight, but i will have to wait until I order more liquid silicon to pour the rest of the front half. Sorry if this is confusing, but progress is being made... Ill update tonight once I cast a controller back half in white.

 

BTW the liquid silicone is expensive so Im taking my time to make sure I dont waste any by making costly mistakes and poor planning.

 

Please be patient with me....updates soon....I promise.

Edited by Judas-Prime
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I wonder where you could find bulk amounts of silicon if you are planning to do this as much as I hope you are....

 

I can buy it by the gallon, its just very expensive and I dont have the room for gallon jugs of liquid silicone in my apartment. Plus im starting a new job in three weeks, So Im moving to Los Angeles. Lots going on...the mould making is my stress relief. But yes...once im settled in I will buy in bulk.

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Controller Shell Update!

 

So I cast a back controller shell today and the results were non-optimal. I now need to add some additional air vents and channels for the liquid resin to flow. Minor setback and I should be able to add those tomorrow. I also will be heating my moulds and using baby powder to reduce the surface tension allow the resin to flow more smoothly and evenly. Overall Im stoked that it worked, and with a few modifications to the moulds...Ill be able to make cases pretty consistently.

 

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post-32638-0-92996100-1335943555_thumb.jpg post-32638-0-61823000-1335943584_thumb.jpg

 

 

We're almost there gang......

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How is the fit with the original other half? I notice when I make resin parts there is a little bit of shrinkage. The two halves will shrink the same amount so should fit each other well, but what about buttons and pcbs?

 

Top work by the way! Someone asked me if I would consider making coloured buttons once and I dismissed it as being too much hard work :-D

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Someone mentioned to me (when I was talking about releasing a Jaguar cart game) that apparently it's not the best idea to produce anything with 'Atari' and the Fuji on it, so maybe you should blank those from your moulds to be safe (or maybe you're hardcore and don't care ;-) ) Just thought I'd mention it before you made dozens of them and some hater started pointing fingers and contacting Atari.

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I doubt Atari is going to go after a hobbyist in a forum that isn't commercially offering their items, just making it for fun.
Well, their lawyers sent us a cease-and-desist letter, because one of our hobbyists conventions was named "Atari Connexion", though the fliers and posters made it clear that it was about old Atari hardware and that there was no affiliation with the present-day company. (We had to change the name.)

 

They don't seem to care about homebrew in general, or even most of their former franchises (though they're reviving some of them on new platforms, so if you start releasing clones of their old games on the App Store like someone did, expect to hear from them) ; but they tend to crack down on any non-official usage of their brand and logo, no matter how it's used. So be careful.

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Hi all! Im back to share a d-pad / joystick hybrid with everyone. I wanted to make a classic style atari joystick for the jag so I stayed true to my Roots and used a 5200 joystick. I attached the 5200 joystick to the center of a standard Jag D-Pad, cast the silicon moulds, then cast the piece in solid black resin. The results are my new Jag "D-pad" that is called......

 

"The D-Rad"

 

post-32638-0-72996300-1335842092_thumb.jpg post-32638-0-39121600-1335842100_thumb.jpg

 

post-32638-0-32222100-1335842109_thumb.jpg post-32638-0-49631400-1335842120_thumb.jpg

 

The D-Rad features a revised "strike arm" that is bigger and longer than the stock jag d-pad. This results in reducing the amount of pressure required to activate a confirmed input of a directional press. It also feels good to hold and gives the jag controller a nostalgic feel.

 

I dig it.

 

D-RAD IS RAD!

 

Now this I really like. My guess is it is about 2 inches high.

 

I think you have done a nice job with the colored buttons too.

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Hi all! Im back to share a d-pad / joystick hybrid with everyone. I wanted to make a classic style atari joystick for the jag so I stayed true to my Roots and used a 5200 joystick. I attached the 5200 joystick to the center of a standard Jag D-Pad, cast the silicon moulds, then cast the piece in solid black resin. The results are my new Jag "D-pad" that is called......

 

"The D-Rad"

 

post-32638-0-72996300-1335842092_thumb.jpg post-32638-0-39121600-1335842100_thumb.jpg

 

post-32638-0-32222100-1335842109_thumb.jpg post-32638-0-49631400-1335842120_thumb.jpg

 

The D-Rad features a revised "strike arm" that is bigger and longer than the stock jag d-pad. This results in reducing the amount of pressure required to activate a confirmed input of a directional press. It also feels good to hold and gives the jag controller a nostalgic feel.

 

I dig it.

 

D-RAD IS RAD!

 

I love the D-RAD. How much if I wanted to buy a couple of those sticks?

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Controller case update....

 

Progress! I still have some additional pour channels to improves the resin flow during pouring. Right now the mould takes longer to fill than the amount of time the resin has before hardening. So, Ill continue to add pour channels and hopefully solve the casting problems......

 

I cast this half case in black as I have more of it than the white. There are some weak "walls" and parts that are not fully hardened so this means the resin was not flowing properly to reach every area fully. I have a solution and will work on improving the mould tonight. At least the whole case was filled.

 

post-32638-0-84454300-1336005814_thumb.jpg post-32638-0-01102500-1336005828_thumb.jpg post-32638-0-73458200-1336005839_thumb.jpg

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How is the fit with the original other half? I notice when I make resin parts there is a little bit of shrinkage. The two halves will shrink the same amount so should fit each other well, but what about buttons and pcbs?

 

Top work by the way! Someone asked me if I would consider making coloured buttons once and I dismissed it as being too much hard work :-D

 

The fit is a bit rough at the moment. Due to many reasons.....once I clean up a piece it fits really well....but fresh out of the mould it still needs some work. Buttons aren't too hard too do...a bit pricey but once you are up and running its decently affordable......these controller shells are a pain though, and its getting really expensive each failed try means money spent........Ill figure it out soon i think.

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