Icade for ipad *stick related!

ed1371

Been watching this controller/stick for a while now... Seems it didn't come out as I had hoped.

Oh well... I might get one and mod it with some decent parts :)

Icade for iPad

Hmmm...Bluetooth pcb.... I wonder what toodles or some of the crazy modders here could do with that....

Salamande

I just wish it was an actual dock, instead of just using Bluetooth. Still looks like a neat little case, though.

Nerrage

JLF knock off it looks like, but that could probably be swapped for a JLF without a mounting plate easily.

This is one of the times and reasons I wish JLF-TMs were still in production

And it's 8-button, so much Dick

The buttons don't look 30mm, so it will probably require grinding to be able to accept Japanese buttons. But, at least we could see the insides. If all else fails, buy it for the PCB!

ed1371

I can't tell if they are 30mm or not... They are certainly close together though... Might be kinda fun to use... IF it gets support for the few fighting games that are out there.

phaedrus

dock is a no go. most likely cause due to ease of BT connection and all the BS you have to go through to get made for mac certification. plus no charging while playing in that case. and yes a mod on the icade would be needed to charge.

Solineus

I must say that the concept is cool and all, but I would rather spend the $100 on a TE stick or on mod parts/ materials. Sweet post none-the-less!

d3v

Nerrage, post: 5119654 wrote:

JLF knock off it looks like, but that could probably be swapped for a JLF without a mounting plate easily.

Looks like it's got a weird mod to the stock JLF form factor going on to allow the screws that keep it in to fit.

Darksakul

I am thinking there should be a cheaper blue tooth solution.

After some googling This is what I found, I do not know if this thing is common ground or not.
$24.28 - MSI BGP100 Bluetooth Gamepad (1*AAA Battery Included) - PC Game Controllers

Pad hack this baby, ans you got a bluetooth stick for iPod, ipad, Android Phone and PC.

d3v

Darksakul, post: 5119659 wrote:

I am thinking there should be a cheaper blue tooth solution.

After some googling This is what I found, I do not know if this thing is common ground or not.
$24.28 - MSI BGP100 Bluetooth Gamepad (1*AAA Battery Included) - PC Game Controllers

Pad hack this baby, ans you got a bluetooth stick for iPod, ipad, Android Phone and PC.

The question is, how much are the parts/case worth.

Zero106

Darksakul, post: 5119659 wrote:

I am thinking there should be a cheaper blue tooth solution.

After some googling This is what I found, I do not know if this thing is common ground or not.
$24.28 - MSI BGP100 Bluetooth Gamepad (1*AAA Battery Included) - PC Game Controllers

Pad hack this baby, ans you got a bluetooth stick for iPod, ipad, Android Phone and PC.

Does that baby have confirmed support for iOS & Android? What good games other than emulatos i can play with it? How about Cave shumps on iOS?

kikimaru024

Darksakul, post: 5119659 wrote:

I am thinking there should be a cheaper blue tooth solution.

After some googling This is what I found, I do not know if this thing is common ground or not.
$24.28 - MSI BGP100 Bluetooth Gamepad (1*AAA Battery Included) - PC Game Controllers

Pad hack this baby, ans you got a bluetooth stick for iPod, ipad, Android Phone and PC.

that looks cool, I might have to get one for my laptop gaming needs.

SirSerpa

Haven't seen it in person, but a buddy actually told me that he got his TvC Stick to work via piggy-backing off a WiiMote through Bluetooth. He says it registers as a classic controller. Can anyone confirm?

Zero106

Wii classic contoller & original wiimote works perfectly for both android & iOS. I think TvC stick works fine too.


I have Wiimote, but i dont want to padhack my classic contoller. I want to use my fighting stick with MC Cthulhu + good converter from any Cthulhu supported console (like PS2) to Wiimote. Are there any good converters for affordable price on market?

earlyberd

Two problems I see with this:

It only comes bundled with a few Atari games, which means you're going to need to jailbreak your iPad just to be able to play emulated games you already have in your collection on PC/Mac.

Now I realize that many people that are probably considering this device have already jailbroken their iPads for the emulator support, but the other problem is that the device utilizes a brand new API, which means you're going to have to wait for developers to implement it before you'll be able to play other games using the iCade. Existing emulators already have support for Wii controllers, and for $100 you can easily get a Wii remote and a decent arcade stick, and you can leave your iPad on its charging dock while you play.

We don't even know if the parts being used in the unit are any better than the Hori/MadCatz/Exar sticks for Wii. So at $100, I don't think the iCade is worth it.

kikimaru024

We actually DO know that the parts are crap (follow the link, picture 4).

Also:

To bring the iCADE to life, ThinkGeek has partnered with ION. Atari, the first name in classic arcade games, also signed up to bring a huge suite of classic arcade titles including Asteroids® to market with iCADE support built right in. When released, a friendly API will be made available to developers to add iCADE support to almost any game.

-Atari providing classic games ready to go with the iCADE, including Asteroids and other top games.
-API to be released allowing any iOS developer to create iCADE-compatible games.

You're forgetting that for $100, you can get a Wiimote & stick, BUT NOT a cute little cabinet.

Which is the whole point of this.

earlyberd

So the parts are crappy, the dock itself requires two AA batteries to run the controls, and you only get 10 free games with the device, while the rest of the Atari classics are going to cost you another $15. Oh, and for some strange reason the dock will only allow you to play your games in a scaled portrait mode.

But wait, it has cheap generic retro designs stuck to the sides! I can hardly contain my excitement!



I could understand the price point if it had fancy limited edition artwork from a famous game artist, but it doesn't. It's just a couple pieces of MDF and a bunch of cheap knockoff parts. I'm sure this kind of thing appeals to collectors out there that have more money than sense, but I wasn't expecting anybody in Tech Talk to think this was actually a good idea.

Jelloman581

Had a limited amount of time, but I opened up mine. No pro here, but here's what I saw:

- Buttons are Yenox with Zippy microswitches. Sanwa 30mm will not fit without grinding away plastics
- Not sure what brand is the joystick, no name on the switches, but this is screaming for a Sanwa or something. Too much deadzone on the stick before registering a click.

Works great with MAME on the iPad, has a few quirks, but the developer is working on them. It's wetting my appetite to get one made that will support a mini PC inside. Sure, its a novelty item, but its fun, and even if I have to mod it after, who cares? I see it as a Madcatz SE stick: it's got potential!

d3v

Jelloman581, post: 5570207 wrote:

Had a limited amount of time, but I opened up mine. No pro here, but here's what I saw:

- Buttons are Yenox with Zippy microswitches. Sanwa 30mm will not fit without grinding away plastics
- Not sure what brand is the joystick, no name on the switches, but this is screaming for a Sanwa or something. Too much deadzone on the stick before registering a click.

Works great with MAME on the iPad, has a few quirks, but the developer is working on them. It's wetting my appetite to get one made that will support a mini PC inside. Sure, its a novelty item, but its fun, and even if I have to mod it after, who cares? I see it as a Madcatz SE stick: it's got potential!

Pics pls.

Tonepoet

What size are the buttons anyway? It'd be pretty silly to go through all the trouble of modifying anything to force in 30mm Sanwa buttons if it's perfectly well suited to take in 24mm buttons already in my humble opinion. Yeah it's a bigger area to press but in such a cramped space, do you really want that? Seems like a good way to hit accidental inputs to me, since it won't be an official arcade layout...

Zero106, post: 5119664 wrote:

Wii classic contoller & original wiimote works perfectly for both android & iOS. I think TvC stick works fine too.

[Video removed from quote]

I have Wiimote, but i dont want to padhack my classic contoller. I want to use my fighting stick with MC Cthulhu + good converter from any Cthulhu supported console (like PS2) to Wiimote. Are there any good converters for affordable price on market?

Toodles makes something called a PiiWee you can get here on Lizardlick. Is that suitable?

Jelloman581

I took a couple for reference, but I'll do a proper teardown this weekend. Would like some opinions on replacing the joystick, so pics would help.

Jelloman581

They are Yenox buttons, 1.125"
http://www.lizardlick.com/Yenox-Pushbuttons_c_156.html

The switches are from Zippy.

Jelloman581

Sorry for the delay, I have taken pictures, but just a quick update:

1) Kept the Yenox buttons. I tried to replace them with Happ Competition buttons I purchased from Lizard Lick, but the Happs are too long and do not allow the case to close. I replaced the Zippy switches with the switches that came with the Happs; the buttons are much more responsive now.

2) The joystick was a Sanwa JLF, or a cheap knockoff, as it had a lot of wiggle dead zone before it came in contact with a switch. There was no branding on the plastic. I replaced the stick with a Sanwa JLF-TM-8T-SK Joystick, removing the mounting plate to install it. Resoldered the wiring to the switches, and bam, works so much better now.

It's too bad they couldn't spend a little extra to get quality parts, but then Mad Catz did the same with the SEs and that didn't stop us from modding it to arcade spec!

Kyle

Jelloman581, post: 5641072 wrote:

Sorry for the delay, I have taken pictures, but just a quick update

Neeeeeeeeeeds pictures!

Jelloman581

Well, by popular demand, here are the pics I took:

http://imageshack.us/g/225/img0968wo.jpg/

tl613

I got one of these for my birthday and was going to look into modding it too, thanks for the pics! By the looks of it, I'm guessing a Seimitsu stick wouldn't be easily mounted in there would it?

Jelloman581

No personal experience with Seimitsus, but looks like different mounting holes, so you'll have to drill some holes. Not worth possibly cracking the plastic, but that's just me.

wywywywy

So has anyone found an easy way to mod it with better stick/buttons yet?

Neomatt

Kinda-sorta. I started tinkering with mine.
I decided to go full-Sanwa: OBSF-30 buttons and a JLF-TP stick. Ordered, not here yet (I'll add photos when it's done).

For the buttons, I'll use a bit of sandpaper to slightly enlarge the holes (tried it yesterday on one hole, with a Sanwa button I had left), and for the TP stick, I'll use a screw terminal to connect the wires from the PCB to the ones in the 5-pin connector.
I have also other customization plans (adding a marquee, creating a slit on the side(s) to have a better landscape mode than the current groove, maybe some Bluetooth-connected speakers in the new marquee), but right now, it's buttons, stick and a bit of artwork.

wywywywy

Sounds interesting.
Please keep us updated!
(And post some pics)

Neomatt

Okay, got the hardware on Saturday, and upgraded right away.

First, enlarging the holes: the sandpaper worked fine, and having a Sanwa button alongside to test, I managed to do the 8 of them in about an hour.

I also enlarged the hole for the stick a little bit (it was a few mm too small), and most importantly, I rotated the PCB 90° (a plastic part was blocking it).
I put the terminal on top, but you can also choose to direct it to the bottom (just invert the directions in the next step).

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/27482871/IMG_0519.JPG

For the stick cables, I checked the cables, and put this terminal:
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/27482871/IMG_0520.JPG

Black cable of any direction is used as the common ground (that's how it's done on the PCB), and white for each direction.

Then, voilà, it was done!
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/27482871/IMG_0522.jpg

I also spent the weekend on making a template for the sides, the panel at the bottom and the control panel. I'll do another post when those are here.

phaedrus

@neomatt good stuff. i want one but no funds atm.

phaedrus

http://www.thinkgeek.com/files/11-10-03-icade-template.pdf template for icade.

Neomatt

Damn, that would have been easier.
And useful, since I messed up my measurements for the part on the bottom. :(

Also, the stickers for the sides are too washed-out. The panel is OK though (just a matte black sticker with the NeoGeo logo on the bottom left).

I'll probably go with paint later on. But now, it's a quest to find a wood router and make trenches on the inside to allow for a better landscape mode.

phaedrus

Neomatt, post: 6003342 wrote:

Damn, that would have been easier.
And useful, since I messed up my measurements for the part on the bottom. :(

Also, the stickers for the sides are too washed-out. The panel is OK though (just a matte black sticker with the NeoGeo logo on the bottom left).

I'll probably go with paint later on. But now, it's a quest to find a wood router and make trenches on the inside to allow for a better landscape mode.

sorry man found that just after you posted yours. at least you have one for future reference now.

ExtremeYoshiFan

Zero106, post: 5119664 wrote:

Wii classic contoller & original wiimote works perfectly for both android & iOS. I think TvC stick works fine too.
[snip]

I have Wiimote, but i dont want to padhack my classic contoller. I want to use my fighting stick with MC Cthulhu + good converter from any Cthulhu supported console (like PS2) to Wiimote. Are there any good converters for affordable price on market?

Actually, Wiimotes don't work perfectly on android, with many phones yes, but any that don't use stock android builds(AOSP) generally will not work, this includes Samsung Galaxy Phones, All HTC Phones(he used cyanogenmod, a custom rom), LG Phones, and quite a few others(if it isn't the stock UI it isn't stock android). However, if you truly want it to work, you can always install Cyanogenmod/Oxygen Rom/other AOSP build on your device and it will work.

butteroj

Got mine today for xmas. Thank god I got iMAME before they took it down.

Kyle

Got a chance to see one of these boxed today. Has anyone used an LCD with one other than the iPad?

osotogari

will this work with sf games from capcom not emulated games?

phaedrus

osotogari, post: 6307514, member: 5039 wrote:

will this work with sf games from capcom not emulated games?

no.

butteroj

Bed Bath and Beyond currently has these on clearance for $49.99. Sign up for emails and get a printable 20% coupon bringing it to $39.99!!!

Lex_Eskobar

I just got one as a gift and I don't have an iPad. I was thinking of putting in all happ parts and fitting a mini LCD screen into it and plugging my PS3 into it. Thoughts? Can it be done?

Hero of South Town

The buttons are (I believe) Tiawanese Happ clones. Similar (or possibly identical) to the ones that paradise arcade sells and that Qanba uses for the non essential buttons in their lower end sticks. They are pretty much identical in quality to Happ or iL competition buttons and have extremely strong springs in them (either a plus or a minus depending on preference).

butteroj

The buttons are Lenox, and available from lizardlick.com

osotogari

the buttons in the icade are shorter than Happ competition buttons. can't close the icade with happ buttons

Hero of South Town

butteroj, post: 6338309, member: 9891 wrote:

The buttons are Lenox, and available from lizardlick.com

Yeah, that's the company, I couldn't remember the name. They use those very distinctively shaped screw in buttons.

Kyle

butteroj, post: 6309274, member: 9891 wrote:

Bed Bath and Beyond currently has these on clearance for $49.99. Sign up for emails and get a printable 20% coupon bringing it to $39.99!!!

Thanks for the heads up. This is in stock locally. Still need an LCD! What about a portable DVD player? Is there something easy with composite/component inputs?

Wil

I just picked one of these up from Bed, Bath, and Beyond at the sale price. I got iMAME up and running but don't know how to map the buttons to my liking. Anyone know how?

rtdzign

I am actually working on my MAME and emulator iCade conversion. I found this monitor online.
http://www.lilliputweb.net/index.php?Controller=User_Product&action=Index&category_id=22

I am combining it with a fit-PC2 computer.

Lex_Eskobar

Imame was taken off the app store otherwise I'd put that on my Girlfriend's ipad and try that. That 7" LCD is dope. I'm thinking since I don't have good pad hacking or soldering skills I will gut a brawl stick from gamestop and try to put the guts in the icade somewhere then wire it up, switch out the button colors (But keep the same brand) and get a bat top for the stick.
THEN, I'll redo the exterior of the cab to look like a Street Fighter 2 cab. OK!

rtdzign

Just finished Putting my Bartop all together. I am using Maximus Arcade for my Front End.

protomonkey

Neomatt, post: 5907225, member: 55566 wrote:

Okay, got the hardware on Saturday, and upgraded right away.

First, enlarging the holes: the sandpaper worked fine, and having a Sanwa button alongside to test, I managed to do the 8 of them in about an hour.

I also enlarged the hole for the stick a little bit (it was a few mm too small), and most importantly, I rotated the PCB 90° (a plastic part was blocking it).
I put the terminal on top, but you can also choose to direct it to the bottom (just invert the directions in the next step).

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/27482871/IMG_0519.JPG

For the stick cables, I checked the cables, and put this terminal:
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/27482871/IMG_0520.JPG

Black cable of any direction is used as the common ground (that's how it's done on the PCB), and white for each direction.

Then, voilà, it was done!
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/27482871/IMG_0522.jpg

I also spent the weekend on making a template for the sides, the panel at the bottom and the control panel. I'll do another post when those are here.

Hello NeoMatt, Can you please help me out with where I can buy the cable terminal thingin you have for the joystick wires to work without soldering? Anyone that knows what that thing is call please help... I have been googling trying to find that thing since I am not good with soldering.

Also another silly question regarding the JLF-TP stick... do you need a different mounting plate since there are a few different versions of the JLF-TP, I am just trying to figure out what exactly I need to order so I dont mess up modding my iCade. There is the JLF-TP-8S, JLF-TP-8S-SK, JLF-TP-8Y, and JLF-TP-8Y-SK... Can anyone tell me what the differences between these are as well? sorry for so many questions...

<--- N00b here... :-/


Thank you!