Retro topic: N64 controllers

You're a braver man than I. Just seems like too much effort, and not something I'd try to tackle.

Hoping the end result turns out awesome.:up:
 
Meteor_of_War said:
You're a braver man than I. Just seems like too much effort, and not something I'd try to tackle.

Hoping the end result turns out awesome.:up:
Click to expand...

I don't mind the effort, as I enjoy the journey. It is pretty expensive though...

Honestly I just want a permanent solution, for n64 controllers that will be reliable forever, and I'm willing to put in some effort to get that done.
 
SubCog said:
I don't mind the effort, as I enjoy the journey. It is pretty expensive though...

Honestly I just want a permanent solution, for n64 controllers that will be reliable forever, and I'm willing to put in some effort to get that done.
Click to expand...

I hear you on that. But I guess I'd rather wait to see if something like the Retro Fighters controller turns out OK, and just buy that.

Hell, I would like to also mod an NES to have HDMI but I've never learned how to work with soldering so I am hesitant to try. At some point I'm going to try though. I want to at least be competent enough to change a save battery.
 
Meteor_of_War said:
I hear you on that. But I guess I'd rather wait to see if something like the Retro Fighters controller turns out OK, and just buy that.

Hell, I would like to also mod an NES to have HDMI but I've never learned how to work with soldering so I am hesitant to try. At some point I'm going to try though. I want to at least be competent enough to change a save battery.
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I ordered a couple of retro fighters controllers too, btw. I do want to have a full set of the 3-prong controllers though. Especially for fps titles... I've found nowadays that my preferred control option is to put my hands on the left and middle prongs, then I can look with my right thumb on the stick and move around with the d-pad... really a pretty modern option.

I've also been considering installing an additional switch to flip the vertical axis, as some fps games don't support the way I like to play.
 
So I've got one controller complete, and it really is pretty good. The deadzone in the center is just slightly off-center, but otherwise it's perfect, and frankly I wouldn't know it wasn't perfect unless I was really nitpicking. I'm happy with the quality of the stick now, and I'm looking forward to putting together the other 3.

To get it working, I had to install a new firmware on these PCBs, which uses a different calibration method that's supposed to get better results even with some variations between the potentiometers.

In order to flash the firmware, I had to build one of these contraptions:
yZbeqSi.jpg


It's built with ~$4.00 of parts from aliexpress, although I ordered duplicates of each part from different vendors, to hopefully improve shipping time. That worked, as it only took ~ 2 weeks for 1 of each part to arrive.

There's a fairly long and complex set of tools and drivers that you have to download and install, but the document lays everything out in a straight forward way. The final step had to be done through a command prompt, and I mis-typed one letter so that through me off several times. Also, I had to solder the timing jumper on the usb tool. But once I got those right, everything worked, and I was able to quickly flash all 4 PCBs.
 
I remember the first time I played Golden Eye with TWO n64 controllers (analogue stick in each hand) for 3d movement. That was some next gen leetness. 😃
 
I've always wanted to try that. I've seen people mod 2 n64 controllers together to do that, and I always think maybe someday I'll do that.

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SubCog said:
So now there's a bunch of options. Here is perhaps the ultimate:

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Basically someone has started making sticks (and bowls) out of machined steel.
https://steelsticks64.com/
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While I appreciate the effort, $125 for a single stick mod is a lot. Unfortunately, there's not enough customer base that they could ever get any kind of economy of scale going.
 
I wonder if I got a better controller I'd play the N64 more. I've got over 60 games for it but have little interest in playing many of them. Think the controller is definitely a part of that. Not really a fan.
 
I finally got my UltraHDMI kits for my N64's, so need to install them soon. Haven't even gotten to try the Retro Fighters N64 controllers I got. I'll have to give them a shot when I test the HDMI stuff.
 
Elysian said:
While I appreciate the effort, $125 for a single stick mod is a lot. Unfortunately, there's not enough customer base that they could ever get any kind of economy of scale going.
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Yup. $125 seems appropriate, to make it worth their while, for the small volumes they must be selling. A bit rich for my blood though.
 
Yup, and it would last as long as a new controller too. The expensive steel controllers should last forever!
 
Picked up a couple of the Retrofighters Brawlers. These are practically perfect.

aPl9JiU.jpg


Geez, I need to dust my 64. That thing's filthy!
 
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