Need more advice from Xbox360 owners

Tech Talk
#1

I’m about to draw up and order some PCB’s made for a little x360 interface board to make piggybacking it on a UPCB easier (and make the x360 a common ground setup, so doing multiple pcb’s in one stick is tons easier).

My worry is about the Guide button, the one that turns the xbox360 on. The big X. Now, the UPCB is made for six main buttons, start, and select, with the option for two extra play buttons. No room for a guide button, so I’d like a button combination to activate the guide button. The obvious choice is pressing Start and Select at the same time. The easiest way to do that is with a OR gate, but Start and Select will still be pressed.

Can you think of any problems having Guide, Start, and Back pressed at the same time on an Xbox360, in order to turn on the xbox or bring up the ‘return to dashboard’ menu or the ‘shutdown console/shutdown controller’ menu when its held?

#2

Toodles, your the expert, so I will ask you if its possible. Theres no problems pressing down all the buttons to make it work. But couldn’t theoretically the stick builder add another button as guide and hotwire it so when its pressed it sends the signal to all those 3 buttons? As if they were all being pressed. I wouldn’t mind making the adjustment on my end. cheers ;).

#3

Toodles, I’m starting up my 360 right now to see if I can force some kind of a problem with all 3 buttons pressed.

Here’s what I can tell:
You cannot start up the console (or turn on the controller) by pressing all 3 buttons. If anything is pressed besides just the menu button, it ignores everything.

It will, however, bring up the menu during a game, on the blades, etc.

It will also bring up the menu for shutting down the console and turning off the controller.

#4

well, if you play 3s on your 360 for xbl, wouldn’t it press guide + also reset the game possibly?

#5

You should know I’m all about options :slight_smile: Yes, the way I have it planned, you can choose to not put in the OR gate chip, and wire a separate button to dedicate to Guide. Hmm, I will have to put a spot for a pull up resistor though. Maybe put in bunches of spots for pull up resistors for those NOT using it with a UPCB. Hmmmm

Appreciate the testing. THe only controllers I have here are a gutting 3rd part wired pcb, and an official wireless. Both of them can turn on the console with Start. Is this different from what you’re seeing? Can anyone confirm if you can turn on the xbox360 by pressing start on a DOA4 stick?

Does Back and Start reset to the game attract screen like the PS2?

#6

The wireless controllers can’t start up the console by pressing all 3 buttons together, that’s all I know. Oh, I can test a wired controller, too. I have back/start/menu on my official wired PCB’s arcade stick.

…Weird. It seems like pressing all 3 buttons together on my official wired-controller PCB starts the machine up. So I guess it’s a wireless-PCB-only issue?

#7

yes it resets the game.

#8

Just tried on the wireless I have, and you’re right. It doesn’t start up if all three are pressed and held at one. But, doesn’t yours start up the console with Start only? If so, then there’s no functionality lost. We can start up the console with Start, and bring up both Guide menus with Start+Back+Guide while its on. SFAC reset to the attract screen if Back and Start are pressed, but really, why would you need to access the Guide in that game in the first place? And as an added perk, if tournament mode is activated on the UPCB, then you cannot bring up Start or Guide, either of which should be a disqualification. :slight_smile:

I’m not seeing a reason not to set it up this way. If anyone can think of a reason not to do it this way (Back + Start will press Back+Start+Guide), please say so.

#9

You’re correct. The start button fires up the console for any controller I have available to me.