AGETEC MOD guide

[thchardcore]

From the SRK thread a year ago....

I wrote this a little while back, forgot to throw it up. Hope it helps.

In reponse to the flood of PMs I've gotten and do to the fact I can't answer them all over again with the same information. Here is my thread on customizing your stock agetec Dc stick. I will cover a lot of ground here, if you have any questions for clarification, let me know. I can get pictures up later if you need, but school is really kicking in already.

Okay, the first thing you're going to need to do is actually get a stick. If your modding it, just check around ebay and find one that has a good condition plastic shell and metal overlay. It can be broken as fuck, just as long as you have the case in tact without cracks, you're good to go.

Now onto the replacement parts

1 Sanwa JLFBall top stick
6 Sanwa 30 mm buttons, screw type
1 Sanwa SQUARE plate
1 Five-pin cable

All of these parts can be ordered through www.Himuragames.com, The owner, Rod is an exceptionally nice businessman and also a fan of the schene, great service and decent prices, all good all around.

Next up are tools. All this job really requires is....

metal file (for opening up the button holes)

sandpaper of a decent grit (like 400, this is for sanding down the inside where you will mount the new stick)

Ps dualshock or pcb of your choice (to replace the stock DC one)

Soldering iron and some wires/solder ect

Torx screwdriver bit, I think a T-20 works.

Possibly a multimeter to test connections (it came in handy) and maybe a varibit to make opening up the button holes a hell of a lot easier.

Alright, not so bad, if you need a soldering iron get one they're at most 8 bucks for this type of work. If you need a diagram of your pbc, ask around online or use a meter to check your traces ect. I won't go over in detail how to solder, just remember don't be liberal. There are faqs online and you can ask around here in the other threads for pcb hacking.

Okay, assuming you hacked a pbc to have something to hook up your stick and buttons to, use a screwdriver to open the stick up from the bottom. UNhook all the connections that go to the Dreamcast PCB via those little ribbon cables. Next use your torx to take off the top metal plate. After you have down this, lift the plate out of it's resting nook and look under, notice the buttons and how they're clipped in? You need to unclip them and snip the wires to get them out of the case. After you have removed all the buttons, unscrew the pcb and lay it to the side then go for the stick. There will be a metal shaft with a little "e" ring facing you, use a pair of needlenose or a screwdriver to pry it off., you must push down on the white spring cap that is on the otherside to make sure it comes off easier and to avoid having the ring fly off and hurt you or get lost. Be careful. After that you should see that you can unscrew the ball top via putting a screwdriver in the slot and keeping it firm while you unscrew the ball.

With the stock stick removed we begin our first alteration on the case, specifically the plastic housing that consists of strips and circular tabs. Carefully using big plyers break off the tabs and strips of plastic. I found gripping on tight and carefully bending did the trick. After all of the above is removed, use sandpaper to sand any rocky plastic flat, you need to have have this area perfectly flat in order to mount the stick corectly. The black housing that comes with the stick with all the holes will be what we need to mount in order for the stick to hold. I will give you the 4 hole version. It is the strongest and most secure way to mount the stick without any external bolts. Okay look at the 4 outmost holes in the corners of the plastic mounting plate, that's where the screws will end up. I used 8/32 by 5/8 or 1/2 (can't recall) screws (after pre drilling holes obviously) and attched nuts and washers on top (so that they are upside down with the nuts and washers inside the recessed plastic area which is located under the metal overlay.) This is super strong and the metal plate covers it. After getting your plate on, it's a pretty straight forward assmelby of the stick that's left. Don't forget to put the dustcover on!

Now, it's time to make room for the buttons. If you ordered screw type 30 mm Sanwas then you'll need to go the adventerous route and use your needle nose plyers to "snip" a chunk of plastic from each of the 6 plastic circles that are about a 1/2 inch tall. After that, use the same plyer method mentioned in the above paragraph to rip them off the shell and sand them flat, also like above. That's part one, now comes the real work. Using a drill equiped with a vari-bit or a large circular file to open each of the holes on the metal overlay until a Sanwa button fits perfectly inside (don't worry you have a fair amount of slack as far as the button covering "mistakes", but try to stay snug if possible). After checking to make sure each button fits inside, go ahead and screw them down easily, given that the plastic rings were sanded flat. After that you should be set.

You can hot glue your pbc to the side of thye case, be creative, as long as it fits it's fine. There is also a great thread on how to multi-wire pcbs for a single stick that Shinace has up, check that out.

Props to Cigarbob and Dreadedfist as well as all others that helped with general ideas.

[destructor]

1 Sanwa JLW Ball top stick
6 Sanwa 30 mm buttons, screw type
1 Sanwa Octagonal plate
1 Five-pin cable

Octagonal plate? Do you say about octagonal restrictor? I think this doesn;t fit to JLW sticks, to JLF only. And with octagonal restrictor you have longer throw, it isn't good for shmups.

[thchardcore]

Shit, edit!

Good call.

[Balzac]

Very informative guide. I have two of these babies lying around (picked one up at a Gamestop a few years back for only 9 dollars! ) so I might give it a try.

Any chance you can post a picture of yours?