Modding Neo Geo X sticks to work with AES and MVS systems

[Taiyaki]

Has anyone considered or perhaps already tried to mod the recent Neo Geo X sticks to work with the AES and consolized MVS systems?

I was thinking about this looking at how expensive used (often times very much broken into) AES Neo Geo sticks go for, and the Neo X sticks appear mostly identical (even shots of the insides) and sell for about 40 bucks brand new.

From what I read, there's a resurgence of interest in consolized MVS units in recent years, and now with the recent SD Neo it looks like the Neo Geo could get new life, but I feel there's a good possibility the sticks are just not going to be around in enough quantities or durable enough to sustain this potential revival.

Would be fantastic if the Neo Geo X sticks could solve this (and it would help SNK with more profits in the process).

[ATTRACTS]

I have a friend who just did it. The parts inside are not identical and def require some solder work and wiring knowledge but it can be done. Honestly for $15 more, I would just buy a real AES stick. His tag on Instagram is: richardamorgan if you want to see pics and maybe hit him up for details.

[Taiyaki]

I have a friend who just did it. The parts inside are not identical and def require some solder work and wiring knowledge but it can be done. Honestly for $15 more, I would just buy a real AES stick. His tag on Instagram is: richardamorgan if you want to see pics and maybe hit him up for details.

Thanks! What an awesome friend you have. Too bad I don't use Instagram.

[Shoryukev]

If you are somewhat handy I'd say for $40 you could easily build a better stick from scratch. You can wire the buttons directly to a DB15 connector so the electrical side of taking on a project like that would be incredibly easy.

I have a pair of original AES sticks and I honestly never use them, the quality is just not all that great. Even if you went cheap and used all HAPP components it would still be an improvement.

[Taiyaki]

If you are somewhat handy I'd say for $40 you could easily build a better stick from scratch. You can wire the buttons directly to a DB15 connector so the electrical side of taking on a project like that would be incredibly easy.

I have a pair of original AES sticks and I honestly never use them, the quality is just not all that great. Even if you went cheap and used all HAPP components it would still be an improvement.

Thanks. Great to know. I know how to solder and wire but I'm completely illiterate at reading board components and figuring out what to wire where. I basically need documentation for what I'm doing. Wish someone would document the mod process to create neogeo stick out of some other arcade stick someday.

[gray117]

Neo geo stick modding is not worth the effort. The x is an OK toy stick for those wanting a cheap aes nostalgia fix. The old sticks are better but they are getting really old now and although you can mod them up there's a lot of messing around to fit something into that case and at the end of the day - better or worse - it's not going to be the same... And besides the aes stick was never the same as the two main mvs variations found in a Japan (seimitsu ball tops)/America (happ bats) or the other countless cabs (all types but almost inevitably Sanwa ball tops in most candy cabs) that played host to an mvs.

Fortunately, making a neo geo stick for aes / mvs ports / supergun is pretty easy. A ground wire can be Diasy chained from the joystick to every button to the plug/lead and all other buttons/directions connected to the plug/lead that matches the pinout. All that happens with a button or direction press is that a switch is closed and a connection made. The only pcb looking part on joysticks is just a solid trace on a board - nothing complicated and most come with a little plug harness for the 4 directions + 1 common (daisy chained) ground wires so you don't have to solder anything to the actual stick.

Plenty of examples how about:
http://forums.shoryuken.com/discussion/ ... -geo-stick

Usually the hardest part to making a neo stick is finding a decent case/enclosure and dremeling the button holes. Everything else is either clip in or a basic solder job to connect wires.

[Taiyaki]

Thanks for the tips. Funny thing is, a gutted older TE arcade stick I do have on hand.

Would this sort of addon work?

http://www.ebay.com/itm/15-pin-cable-fo ... 2350133557

So with something like this one just has to wire the arcade stick and buttons harness' and one ground that gets passed on over each button (and stick too?) and then just plug it in?

[Shoryukev]

As long as you have a voltmeter to test for continuity you should be able to use one of those. You'll basically just be using it to figure out which color is pin 1, 2, 3, etc. Personally I'd just use a regular panel mount DB15 connector, and then buy a regular neo geo controller extension and you can use that as a detachable cord for your stick.

There's some pretty good detail on how to put together everything in this thread. If you look at the posts by butteroj in that thread, his example didn't even need anything to be soldered lol. Hopefully it helps!

http://forums.shoryuken.com/discussion/ ... cade-stick

[Taiyaki]

As long as you have a voltmeter to test for continuity you should be able to use one of those. You'll basically just be using it to figure out which color is pin 1, 2, 3, etc. Personally I'd just use a regular panel mount DB15 connector, and then buy a regular neo geo controller extension and you can use that as a detachable cord for your stick.

There's some pretty good detail on how to put together everything in this thread. If you look at the posts by butteroj in that thread, his example didn't even need anything to be soldered lol. Hopefully it helps!

http://forums.shoryuken.com/discussion/ ... cade-stick

Oh my gosh Shoryukev you are awesome, that is so great! Thanks a bunch for sharing.

So buying one of these male pb15 breakout boards and a pb15 extension cord can get the job done. From what I understand it needs a shared ground that gets daisychained between all the buttons and the joystick is this correct? Then I just tighten the wire ends into the correct pin number slot on the breakout board.

The only thing missing would be the wiring harness itself, one that allows for the ground daisychaining like the one butteroj used. I'm a noob at this so I'm not sure what to buy, any recommendations?

[Shoryukev]

This is what I used in my mame control panel. Depending on what kind of buttons you use be warned that you might need .110" connectors instead of these .187" ones. I originally soldered everything in my setup, but it made troubleshooting a really big hassle so I redid it with this stuff. Much easier to swap out a defective microswitch without having to break out the soldering iron I think. I have two young kids that sometimes get a little too excited so I'd say I lose at least one microswitch a year....lol.

https://www.focusattack.com/30-connecti ... hain-wire/
https://www.focusattack.com/16pc-22-awg ... isconnect/

Here's a picture of what the end result looks like (with a Sanwa JLF joystick and Happ buttons). My control panel is made out of 3/4" thick plywood so I just used zip-ties with a mounting hole in them to screw everything down. In your case all these wires would be leading up to a DB15 connector of some sort.

[Taiyaki]

Your children are playing on good gear. Also clearly they must be quite strong.

Thanks for the links. You've been so helpful. Looks like I'll be set. For the stick's connector I just pull out the black ground and replace it with the daisychained ground then? I guess that might be one soldering point required after all.

[Shoryukev]

No problem, people on this forum have helped me a ton so I try to return the favor whenever I can. What goes around comes around.

If you get a stick like my JLF's with a wiring harness on it you can just attach both the daisy chain and the stick's ground wire to the same pin. If you get an IL or happ stick they will not have a harness and instead the stick will just have the same exact connections as the buttons for each direction so you'll just daisy chain that too.

[Taiyaki]

No problem, people on this forum have helped me a ton so I try to return the favor whenever I can. What goes around comes around.

If you get a stick like my JLF's with a wiring harness on it you can just attach both the daisy chain and the stick's ground wire to the same pin. If you get an IL or happ stick they will not have a harness and instead the stick will just have the same exact connections as the buttons for each direction so you'll just daisy chain that too.

Oh, I didn't know it was possible to wire both grounds to the same pin in a circuit breaker. I'm pretty lightweight when it comes to modding. Learning something new everyday.

Happy new year by the way.

[Taiyaki]

Reviving the thread because I had a question. Is it possible to wire one button to press two? For example I was going to install an extra side button and was hoping I could get it to work as both start and select together for easier access to the Unibios.