Cramming a 360 PCB into a Saturn pad?

[duncan]

I managed to get my hands on a USB Saturn pad, and predictably after waiting two weeks for it to make its way across the planet, the down button on the d-pad doesn't work.

I checked each trace (a word I just learned today) going to the down button and I can't see any problems, but I don't have x-ray vision and I don't really know what to look for anyway. So I figure if I want the pad to work on my PC I've got two options:

1. Learn what the hell I'm doing and solder a couple of wires onto the PCB to circumvent what I'm assuming is a broken circuit somewhere to try and fix the down button

2. Learn what the hell I'm doing, and jam a 360 PCB in there so that I have a controller that still works on my PC, but also the 360

There's a few obvious problems with the second option. First of all, the insides of a Saturn pad are pretty compact, but this looks like it might be small enough do the trick:



Second is that all the buttons are obviously in different positions, along with there being two extraneous analog sticks and rumble motors. There's also the fact that there's 8 buttons on a Saturn pad, but 6 buttons and 2 triggers on a 360 pad.

Just trying to fix the pad is clearly the easiest option, but I find this whole thing fascinating and I'd like a new project to work on.

So my questions are, how robust and hardy are controller PCBs? Can I completely sever part of a PCB and reconnect it with wires? Are there any easy methods for getting a PCB to adhere to a different layout? Is this a really stupid idea?

Thanks in advance if you can help.

[kendrick]

It's not a dumb idea, but I wouldn't write off the USB Saturn pad yet. I've had both a PC controller and an ASCII PS2 fighting controller that had problems registering directions on the D-pad. Turns out the traces on the encoder chip weren't properly connected. Had to take my handy SMD rework station and blow hot air all around the chip to reflow the solder and get the traces nice and solid.

It's also possible that there's just some schmutz on the rubber pad that actually makes the even pressure point over the contact. It's worth cleaning off, but not with anything that's got oil or a metal-based solvent.

[ManekiNeko]

He's right, you know.  Saturn USB pads are incredibly rare, and there's no point in sacrificing one for a project like this.  Shop around on eBay or a used game store and pick yourself up an actual Saturn pad for ten dollars; maybe less.  Last year, I was able to buy a NEW Saturn joypad, in the box, from an online retailer for five dollars!

As for putting the Xbox 360 PCB into a Saturn joypad, it ain't gonna happen.  The best you'll probably be able to do is use that circuit board as an adapter, as I've done with my own Saturn pad.  You connect wires to each of the copper pads on the Xbox 360 PCB, then connect the wires to a 15-pin connector.  Then you pull the chip off the Saturn joypad's circuit board, solder wires to the bare traces, and cap the wires with a 15-pin connector of the opposite gender. 

It's possible to make a Saturn controller adapter without mangling a Saturn joypad in the process, but you'd need to program a logic chip in order to do it, and not everyone has access to the necessary tools for the job.