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MAK/Superguns

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Autor: kowal© Translating: Pap

Modifying: Dreamcast Arcade Stick

 

           Dreamcast Arcade Stick is an OEM made by Agetec for SEGA. In many opinions the outer box used to build it is made from high quality components. Metal top, small-compact size and good, ergonomic buttons layout known from the 2^nd Player (the right side) layout in Astro City cabinets. What is more, the stick is placed more further away from the buttons than in many genuine Japanese layouts used both in arcades and in Arcade Sticks. The reason for this was that the DCAS had a memory card placed between the buttons and the joystick. This distance is very good because it gives more comfort, especially for European users. The box is convenient and not high too much but high enough to fit in it any Japanese joystick, no matter what model would it be. Sanwa or Seimitsu joysticks and buttons are the most common used components to modify this arcade stick. This tutorial will show you how to modify your own DCAS in a clear step-by-step way.

 Replacing joystick

           First thing you have to do is to unscrew the bottom cover, this way you will get access to the inside of the box. After that, detach the cables from both joystick and buttons. Screw off the joystick, then turn over the box and take off the top which is attached with 7 torx screws. T10 torx screwdriver will be a necessity.

           After taking the metal top off you have to remove the plastic molding for the original joystick. The best way to do this is to rip it off with some pliers, and after that smooth it with sand-paper.

           Now you have to choose the replacement joystick. Seimitsu LS—32 is mostly used (advice: visit Tychom.org). In my opinion, the LS—32 mounted in that way don’t stick out enough. You have to take off the mounting plate from the joystick, this way it will stick out 1,5mm more. It is also good to cut off the surplus of the material from the base of the joystick near the screws area, 8 areas in total. This will give you another 1,5mm more. Make holes in the box using the mounting plate as a stencil. With LS—40 and LS—33 you can do the same thing (both models will have a problem with the stick height). On the other hand, LS—55 and LS—56 will fit perfectly in this way of mounting.

           If your choice was the LS—32, the best thing to do is to cut out the whole plastic mounting socket form the top of the box. Also, you have to cut some material near the memory card hub and half of the round profile inside. The best screws to use would be the thinnest ones, M3 is a good choice. Attach the joystick from the bottom side with some screws and the mounting plate. The shaft of the joystick should stick out for at least 22mm in this way of mounting, and it’s good enough. Do the same for the LS—40 and LS—33 models or the Japanese JLW balltop version.

           My choice was the JLF and J-stick (JLW), those models fit much better for this modification. If someone really want to use Seimitsu, the LS—56 would be the best choice.

           If u choose the JLF, take the version with no mounting plate (or just unscrew it). The base of this joystick is equipped with 2 more holes for screws to mount it. Position the JLF in horizontal or vertical orientation and attach it with 2 screws. The heads of the screws could partly intrude with the plastic face of the cavity, if this occurs cut it a little bit.

           When mounting the J-stick, unscrew the mounting plate. Be careful, this will cause to fall out the middle part of the base with the shaft in it and the pivot mechanism. But don’t worry, when you attach the joystick to the plastic top of the DCAS everything will get back to normal place. To mount the J-stick use the screw places in the base that once hold the mounting plate. To make the holes in the box, again use the mounting plate as a stencil (use 2-4 screws).

Replacing buttons

           Begin with detaching the cables from the old buttons and unscrew the metal top. After that, take out the buttons which are attached by a snap fastener.

           The biggest problem is the holes for the buttons in the DCAS, their diameter is 28mm. Most Japanese cabinet buttons have 30mm.

           Before widening the holes, mark the area which will be grinded with some kind of stencil and a marker. When I was doing this, I grinded the holes a grinding stone attached to a power drill which was placed in a vise.

           If the Arcade Stick is going to be used on something else than DC it would be wise to cut 2 holes for COIN (SELECT) and START buttons, the best place is on the back panel of the DCAS. If you are interested, the position of the middle of the hole for buttons on the back will be: 42mm from the sides edge (left and right if you want 1 button on left side and one on right one) and 22,5mm from the bottom edge. The back panel is made from some kind of plastic so drilling in it is very easy.

           After that, remove the moldings which stabilized the original buttons, again using the pliers. And then clean the surface with some sand-paper. After attaching the metal top to the box, you can begin to mount the buttons. This is the moment when you encounter another problem: buttons 1&5, 2&3 and 5&6 are very close to each other. Sanwa caps (the orange ones) will rub against each other I suggest using caps from Seimitsu buttons (the yellow ones), they are more narrow.

           After mounting the buttons and joystick ale you have to do is to mount the interface and wiring.

           Ready-to-go effect of my own modification! As for a true K.O.F. fan I arranged the buttons in the NeoGeo color style.