I've just noticed yesterday that the "down" direction on my D-pad has become highly unresponsive, and I need to push down hard to get it to work, unlike the other directions where a slight push does the trick - anybody else noticed this?
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I've just noticed yesterday that the "down" direction on my D-pad has become highly unresponsive, and I need to push down hard to get it to work, unlike the other directions where a slight push does the trick - anybody else noticed this?
Problem... SOLVED!
Okay, here's what happened.
I figured out that this problem only started two days after I waxed my PSP, and some liquid wax did go into my D-pad. I figured the controller might have a bad contact because of some infiltration.
Contacting Sony regarding servicing was a total dud. I mean... mail my PSP from Canada to the united states for a procedure that would take 5 minutes? No way. I bought myself some tiny screwdrivers from Circuit City (formerly Radio Shack in Canada until earlier this year) and proceeded, with some guidance from my friend Google to... DUM DUM DUUUUUM!!! Open my PSP and VOID MY GUARANTEEEEEEEE!!! (sound of ominous organ music indicating the Sony MiBs are on their way to my house)
(for those interested: http://boards.ign.com/PSP_Lobby/b7205/83203969/?11 )
As it turns out, the mechanism of the D-pad and control buttons is deceptively simple and thus remarkable in its efficiency. The pad has no springs or metal parts, the pad itself lying on a single thermoformed piece of rubber which allows the "click" sensation when you press on a direction, lowering a piece of metal on an incomplete circuit to allow for current to run through when the pad is pressed. Those of you familiar with opening game pads know what I'm talking about here.
As it turned out, there was a SOLID piece of wax stuck in between the electronic circuit base and the rubber piece, located halfway between the "down" and "right" position (my down had gotten unresponsive since first posting this thread) and once it fell out, I merely gave the components a good alcohol cleaning, and VOILA!
GOOD AS NEW!
I place the blame on Sony for not providing us with easily accessible certified technicians to fix these things. I would have gladly forked over the repair fee to NOT have to open it myself and thus VOID MY GUARANTEE (thunder crashes) but hey, a geek's got to do what a geek's got to do.
Besides, I've already opened just about every electronic device I own already, and taught myself to jury-rig quick fix repairs when my SNES shoulder buttons broke by using paperclips. For this I am eternally grateful to McGuyver, who taught me this invaluable lesson that not even bazookas can stop a man armed with a shoelace and paperclips :)
And now back to racing!
*sound of explosion in background as his beloved Piranha craft blows to bits*
*shakes fist at sky*
TRIAKISSSSSSS!!!
* puts above post into "Cool Posts Archive" *
That "TRIAKISSSSSSS!!!" is very very siggable, but it appears sigs aren't cool here.
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Drakkenmensch, you forgot the most important device of all, the Swiss Army knife [my preference being the ones made by Victorinox]
.. and... um... what do you recommend to fix a MadCatz Dreamcast controller with a broken rightside [throttle] trigger [ too intense driving in F355 Challenge]?
syckls: nope, no sigs allowed here. too much noise.
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I've never opened one of those, but it all boils down to finding exactly which part of that trigger broke. Is it the actual contact, the spring loaded mechanism that resets the button, or the trigger itself? (in my experience, the hinge which acts as a fulcrum for the trigger is the weakest part of the button, thus most likely to break)
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it's an overly fragile plastic tab that is an extension of the trigger casting itself. it would be merely a cemented edge if one glued it back on, too weak to survive even slight stress, much less in-the-zone fanatic i'm-gonna-pass-that-damned-first-place-car-if-it-kills-me trigger pressure
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Okay, then this sounds exactly like what my SNES controllers went through.
Your first instinct was right, using crazy glue will make your repair last all of ten seconds. Forget that idea entirely.
Here is the symptom: the trigger button with the hinge snapped off from too much Street Fighter 2
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v7...kentrigger.png
Here is the open controller, each shoulder button has a paperclip wedged underneath to provide a new resting point for the edge of the button.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v7...controller.png
Here is an extreme closeup of the paperclip in full McGuyver action!
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v7...emecloseup.png
Hope this helps!!!
I think my PSP is intermittently playing up too. Only seems to happen when I'm racing at Citta Nuova on Rapier and above, which is weird...
Basically my controls just seem to go tits-up to such a degree that I cannot place in the top 4. Only on this track though...
What is they say about bad workmen and their tools... :oops:
Oh, and Drak - are you getting any sort of councelling about your T... T... Triakis phobia? I can recommend a good one if you're ever in the UK... :oops:
If it only happens in certain tracks, it may be a software issue - when you downloaded gamma pack 2, did you re-download GP1 first?
Personally, I knew my problem was the controller itself when I tried another game and ran in the same problem, same thing when I was scrolling through my MP3 list with great difficulty.
As far as my relation with Triakis, it's not phobia as much as it is a deep-seated rivalry. And there ARE consctructive ways to deal with it! :twisted:
*presses a big red button on a remote control*
*sound of faraway explosion*
*smoking piece of torn hull lands nearby, sporting half of the Triakis logo*
*hides remote behind his back and whistles innocently*
:oops:
Apologies... was trying to explain away how bad I suck at at Citta Nuova with talk of technical glitches, when all along, it's just plain old 'user error'...
Funny, my 'dealings' with Triakis have calmed somewhat recently. Since I unlocked the Medievil ship and got the Tigron, I rarely see Triakis anymore... Oh how I long for confrontation with an old nemesis... :roll:
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Drakkenmensch: i have edited your post to eliminate the img tags so that the images will not be displayed directly but will only have links to them. if you read the WZ guidelines, you will find that individual images over 50 KB and series of images that total over 50 KB in one post are not allowed. you had a total of 323 KB in the series with two of the images over 100 KB each.
on the other hand, interesting illustrations of emergency engineering. :)
however, the MadCatz Dc trigger is a single plastic casting with a separate metal coil spring, so this particular solution of yours does not apply. i may have to abandon the controller because there seems to be insufficient room to provide a ''sister plank'' for attachment and reinforcement of the broken part, a tab which is a motion limiter or trigger stop which also serves to keep the spring from falling out of the trigger when the trigger moves too far. i must think more about it. luckily i recently acquired two original Sega Dc controllers for free. although i'd would still like the use of the MC because of different ergonomics and re-programmable button functions, no matter what button assignments a game tries to force on you.
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Sorry about the image size limit, I'll remember that for future posts.
If I could see the controller, I'm sure I'd be twisting my brain trying to squeeze out a McGuyver-esque solution to fix it ;)
Lance, I may have a spare Mad Catz DC controller at home, so if you can't get yours fixed, I'd be happy to send one out to you. All free and gratis like... 8)
At last count I had 3 MC controllers and 2 WORKING Sega ones (pretty rare now I would imagine...)
Just let me know... Would be my pleasure to help out not only a fellow W'O" fan, but also a DC fan! :D
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the Dreamcast is my favourite games machine. [the PSX is a close second]
it has a balance in its engineering design that few consoles have, and there is an aesthetic feel to the whole Dreamcast experience that just fits me. and the games sTill look good after all this time even against the latest machinery. the fall of SEGA as a console maker is a sad story and a loss to the gaming world. they deserved every success for having produced such a brilliant machine. it changed gaming forever by producing a whole new level of excellence that gamers came to expect from every machine that came after it.
Sumi, thank you for the offer. i doubt that i will take you up on it [what a curious language English is! what the hell does that really mean when you break down the grammatical structure and analyse the words? crazy, that's what this language is! :D ] i should be able to fix it somehow if i can drag my posterior away from the internet for long enough.
i thought that SEGA's own controllers were pretty reliable. so you've not found that to be the case?
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I have been saying that to people since DC's launch, but over here in the UK, I get the sort of looks from folks that lead me to suspect that they're contemplating having me committed... :oops:
The DC IS a GREAT games machine, even today! I nearly cry every time I pass a cheapo games store and see a boxed DC in the window with Virtua Fighter 3, Jet Set Radio and Sonic Adventure, all for £29.99!!! 8O Is this world we live in so MAD that people cannot see what a bargain this is?!? For the price of ONE new game, you could get a whole new console and three absolute CLASSICS!!! :roll:
Anyway, rant over...
Lance, I just checked my supply of DC pads, and I do indeed have a spare Madcatz one (in red), so if you change your mind, let me know.
I found that the Sega ones always failed in, believe it or not, the shoulder buttons. The plastic mechanism just seems to give way after too much Crazy Taxi (aceeeelllllleeeeeerrrraaaaattttteeeeeee... BRAKE!!! - repeat ad nauseum...)
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mm... it's that rightside analogue shoulder/trigger/accelerate button that failed on my MadCatz.
they made them in red? the only ones i saw here in U.S. were the same colour as the SEGA original, but with bluealmostblack pads right where the heels of the thumbs go in order to give a bit of extra grip. i like them because they flare out a bit wider than the original Dc controller, which keeps your wrists almost completely straight instead of slightly bent back. the analogue stick is not quite as perfect as the SEGA one, but still good, and the D-pad has a bit of slack that it shouldn't, but overall it's an excellent controller.
sigh. i wish the Dreamcast were still made, and that development of a new even better one were being done by the same team that did the original. those guys had the right concept for a games machine and the talent to make that concept a reality almost without a flaw. [yes, the cooling fan is a bit noisy]
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Lance, piccy:
http://homepage.ntlworld.com/paul.beards/DC_MC_Padz.jpg
I seem to remember seeing one or two DC OEM coloured pads over here, but the majority were like this trio.
My DC was pretty quiet, but then I had (still got) one of the first Japanese ones (with pics from the Japanese TV ad all over the box) and it was water cooled... :? (...Hey, I'd rather have my S2000 than a VW beetle, so what gives?!?) I know the UK version had a noisier fan and no water piping (and a blue spiral...)
But you're dead right - the DC was well ahead of it's time, and is sadly missed by anyone who knows their stuff. I had Dead or Alive 2 on both DC and PS2, and the PS2 version looked really shoddy in places in comparison. Curse you aliasing issues!!!
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woot!
those really jump out at ya. especially the yellowamber. even though i tend to like 'subtle', i like those. red and white has always been a favourite colour combination of mine, too. but all three of those work for me.
hey, i like air-cooling, so much simpler, a more elegant engineering solution. that old air-cooled Porsche cabriolet that i was lucky enough to own as my first car [!!!] for two years was the simplest, yet most effective and fun car i could wish for. i loved it. should never have traded it for something faster. ah those were good days. sheesh. that was 41 years ago when i bought that. yai yai yai.
now i can't even afford a 50cc scooter! but there are other things in life, eh? or so i've found.
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Yes it is an old one but can anyone find the link for me because my psp is having same problems with Drak, so I`m using my son`s psp atm but his firmware has not been updated yet (2.77) which I already knew the latest firmware problems. My psp has 3.01 firmware which I`m really happy with it and don`t want to upgrade it yet.Quote:
Originally Posted by Drakkenmensch
Thanxs
stevie
Well I`ve did fixed it myself and works like a dream!
I have found a link through YouTube to show me how to open the PSP carefully and saves me alot of money!:)
Only took less than ten minutes.
stevie:)
Cool, that sounds good. Any dust though? I opened my PSP once and now my screen has quite a bit of dust inside. I reckon if I get some compressed air I could probably clean it but haven't yet tried it.
Yes mostly around the inside edges so I clean that and there is not much dust on the screen but I dare not to touch it so I use cotton buds to clean really careful.
I gotta admit, screws are a bit tighter than I did thought.
stevie)