The afternoon projects thread
- Thread starter Basement_Modder
- Start date
I modded my pro controller to have tacts for the shoulder and trigger buttons.
I've had a Switch for a while now and I've been using the pro controller almost exclusively to play games. The R shoulder button started needing a lot more force in order for it to register, and sometimes if I held it it would just press the button once, then release.
Apparently this is a somewhat common issue, though I couldn't find a fix for it online. I figured I'd open up my controller to see if I could spot anything obvious. In the process, I damaged the ribbon cable for the shoulder buttons/triggers, and further attempts to fix it only made it worse. So new switches it is!
I couldn't see anything obvious about what caused the problem in the first place, either. The flex was super fragile (not just because I was rough with it), so it's possible one of the carbon-plated contacts could have been making a poor connection or a trace was cracking.
There's teardowns online, but the basic steps are:
1. Remove the 2x JIS00 screws (or a phillips works) on the ends of the handles
2. Remove the 4x JIS00 screws to take off the back plastic (there are clips at the top, so be careful not to snap them)
3. Remove the battery
4. Remove the 5x JIS1 screws
5. Split the case halves. The LRAs in the handles have adhesive tape, so it will take a little force. There's a flex going between the two halves, so be careful not to damage it.
6. Gently lift the plastic retainer latch for the flex on the front side PCB (you don't want it in the way while doing the soldering)
7. Lift the latch for the 5-pin shoulder button/trigger ribbon cable, and GENTLY remove it with your tweezers or else you'll accidentally scrape them across the contacts and slice 3 of the 5 connections, thus forcing you to do this mod. Best of luck scraping any traces either, the copper is super thin!
8. Undo the two JIS1 screws that hold down the plastic of the shoulder/trigger button assembly. You can now remove it from the faceplate.
9. Take out the pins that hold the triggers in. This is rather tricky because there are small foam pads that keep them held in place. I had to use very thin needle-nose pliers to twist and wiggle the pins out. If you wreck the foam like I did you'll need to fix it later so the pin doesn't rattle.
10. Remove the shoulder and trigger buttons, and remove the four rubber membranes (but keep them, because we use them again as-is)
Don't forget to clean your controller a bit while you're in there. I swapped the left and right joystick caps with each other, as well.
For this mod, I used big thin tact switches and just adhered them directly on top of the original contacts, then added a little spacer on the buttons to make the travel distance just right.
The tacts I used are 7.5x7.0mm by 0.6mm thick and have a 1.6N operating force. ALPS part number SKRRABE010. That's just what I had on hand, but you do need a very thin and large tact or you'll have to do more extensive modifications to make sure the button gets pressed correctly.
I think I might have preferred the 1N force button (SKRRAAE010), especially on the shoulder buttons. 1.6N isn't too much force but I would have preferred a bit lighter. The triggers feel about right. Might as well buy both and try it out for yourself, they're cheap. There's a 2.0N version as well if you're so inclined.
To adhere these I used 3M 468MP adhesive transfer tape. This stuff is great for everything, it's super sticky, extremely thin, and not too difficult to peel off if necessary. It's expensive but I recommend it.
For best results, unroll a little tape, put the switch on there, then use an xacto knife to slice it to size.
You can stick this right on top of the original flex since it is also adhered down.
Note that you may find it easier to solder the wires onto the buttons before you glue them down. I forgot to do this so the soldering was tricker to not burn the plastic, but it did allow me to easily get all the wires to look nice and be the right length. Also, it's easier to ensure the tact is completely flat against the plastic, or else it can easily be damaged in use.
Here's a poor photo of the soldering. I stripped one wire completely bare to use as the common wire; I've highlighted the routing in red. Make sure you use very thin wire so you don't stress the joints, and also because when you re-assemble this, the wires need to fit in a tight space in order to close. 32 AWG solid-core ribbon cable works great for this.
Run the common wire out the middle with all the rest of the wires; this will save you from having to make a small cut in the plastic later.
At this point, if you want, you can put the membranes and buttons/triggers back on to see if you like how they feel. The tact switch isn't thick enough by itself, so there's a little first press that compresses the membrane, then you have to press the button further to actually press the tact. I added small spacers on the buttons to fix this.
On the shoulder buttons I used a piece of an old gift card (~1mm thick), and on the triggers I used the plastic from the tape that the tacts came on (~0.5mm thick). Feel free to experiment if you want a different feel.
I adhered them with the 468MP again.
Reassemble the buttons. For the trigger pins mentioned earlier, I found after adding the spacers that there was just enough tension on the pin that it didn't slide. You may potentially have to add some tape, glue, or foam to keep the pin from moving (it's retained when the controller is back together but it'll rattle if it's loose).
Cut these notches out of the two screw posts on the top edge of the controller, or they'll interfere with the wiring when you put the shoulder button assembly back on. Just use an xacto knife to take little chunks/slices out at a time.
You'll need to cut a piece out of the shoulder button plastic so you can solder to the PCB when it's re-assembled. A jeweler's saw with a fine-pitch blade took care of it fast, but a dremel would work too.
Assemble the buttons back onto the faceplate and put the two screws back in. Here's a pinout of what vias you need to solder to, be sure to use a little flux. You could also try removing the original flex connector and soldering to those pads, but I didn't want to take my chances.
And here's the finished mod. As mentioned earlier, I recommend running the ground wire through the middle (green line) so you don't have to cut the notch in the corner for the cable to pass through (or it'll get pinched when you close the controller). I had already put the buttons back on and didn't want to take them off again.
While I did this mod out of necessity due to a failed autopsy, I actually really like the feel and I think I might prefer it to the stock long-travel bumpers and triggers. It's great for Crash Team Racing because it's easier for drifting and boosting. It's good for Smash, too.
The click of the switch is audible, but it's rather quiet since the rubber is in there to dampen it. The bumpers are slightly louder than the triggers. There's no travel, which helps be more precise. Overall, I like it.
I tried to get a video of the sound and travel but it's really quiet, you'll need to turn your volume up a bit. It's louder in real life.
I've had a Switch for a while now and I've been using the pro controller almost exclusively to play games. The R shoulder button started needing a lot more force in order for it to register, and sometimes if I held it it would just press the button once, then release.
Apparently this is a somewhat common issue, though I couldn't find a fix for it online. I figured I'd open up my controller to see if I could spot anything obvious. In the process, I damaged the ribbon cable for the shoulder buttons/triggers, and further attempts to fix it only made it worse. So new switches it is!
I couldn't see anything obvious about what caused the problem in the first place, either. The flex was super fragile (not just because I was rough with it), so it's possible one of the carbon-plated contacts could have been making a poor connection or a trace was cracking.
There's teardowns online, but the basic steps are:
1. Remove the 2x JIS00 screws (or a phillips works) on the ends of the handles
2. Remove the 4x JIS00 screws to take off the back plastic (there are clips at the top, so be careful not to snap them)
3. Remove the battery
4. Remove the 5x JIS1 screws
5. Split the case halves. The LRAs in the handles have adhesive tape, so it will take a little force. There's a flex going between the two halves, so be careful not to damage it.
6. Gently lift the plastic retainer latch for the flex on the front side PCB (you don't want it in the way while doing the soldering)
7. Lift the latch for the 5-pin shoulder button/trigger ribbon cable, and GENTLY remove it with your tweezers or else you'll accidentally scrape them across the contacts and slice 3 of the 5 connections, thus forcing you to do this mod. Best of luck scraping any traces either, the copper is super thin!
8. Undo the two JIS1 screws that hold down the plastic of the shoulder/trigger button assembly. You can now remove it from the faceplate.
9. Take out the pins that hold the triggers in. This is rather tricky because there are small foam pads that keep them held in place. I had to use very thin needle-nose pliers to twist and wiggle the pins out. If you wreck the foam like I did you'll need to fix it later so the pin doesn't rattle.
10. Remove the shoulder and trigger buttons, and remove the four rubber membranes (but keep them, because we use them again as-is)
Don't forget to clean your controller a bit while you're in there. I swapped the left and right joystick caps with each other, as well.
For this mod, I used big thin tact switches and just adhered them directly on top of the original contacts, then added a little spacer on the buttons to make the travel distance just right.
The tacts I used are 7.5x7.0mm by 0.6mm thick and have a 1.6N operating force. ALPS part number SKRRABE010. That's just what I had on hand, but you do need a very thin and large tact or you'll have to do more extensive modifications to make sure the button gets pressed correctly.
I think I might have preferred the 1N force button (SKRRAAE010), especially on the shoulder buttons. 1.6N isn't too much force but I would have preferred a bit lighter. The triggers feel about right. Might as well buy both and try it out for yourself, they're cheap. There's a 2.0N version as well if you're so inclined.
To adhere these I used 3M 468MP adhesive transfer tape. This stuff is great for everything, it's super sticky, extremely thin, and not too difficult to peel off if necessary. It's expensive but I recommend it.
For best results, unroll a little tape, put the switch on there, then use an xacto knife to slice it to size.
You can stick this right on top of the original flex since it is also adhered down.
Note that you may find it easier to solder the wires onto the buttons before you glue them down. I forgot to do this so the soldering was tricker to not burn the plastic, but it did allow me to easily get all the wires to look nice and be the right length. Also, it's easier to ensure the tact is completely flat against the plastic, or else it can easily be damaged in use.
Here's a poor photo of the soldering. I stripped one wire completely bare to use as the common wire; I've highlighted the routing in red. Make sure you use very thin wire so you don't stress the joints, and also because when you re-assemble this, the wires need to fit in a tight space in order to close. 32 AWG solid-core ribbon cable works great for this.
Run the common wire out the middle with all the rest of the wires; this will save you from having to make a small cut in the plastic later.
At this point, if you want, you can put the membranes and buttons/triggers back on to see if you like how they feel. The tact switch isn't thick enough by itself, so there's a little first press that compresses the membrane, then you have to press the button further to actually press the tact. I added small spacers on the buttons to fix this.
On the shoulder buttons I used a piece of an old gift card (~1mm thick), and on the triggers I used the plastic from the tape that the tacts came on (~0.5mm thick). Feel free to experiment if you want a different feel.
I adhered them with the 468MP again.
Reassemble the buttons. For the trigger pins mentioned earlier, I found after adding the spacers that there was just enough tension on the pin that it didn't slide. You may potentially have to add some tape, glue, or foam to keep the pin from moving (it's retained when the controller is back together but it'll rattle if it's loose).
Cut these notches out of the two screw posts on the top edge of the controller, or they'll interfere with the wiring when you put the shoulder button assembly back on. Just use an xacto knife to take little chunks/slices out at a time.
You'll need to cut a piece out of the shoulder button plastic so you can solder to the PCB when it's re-assembled. A jeweler's saw with a fine-pitch blade took care of it fast, but a dremel would work too.
Assemble the buttons back onto the faceplate and put the two screws back in. Here's a pinout of what vias you need to solder to, be sure to use a little flux. You could also try removing the original flex connector and soldering to those pads, but I didn't want to take my chances.
And here's the finished mod. As mentioned earlier, I recommend running the ground wire through the middle (green line) so you don't have to cut the notch in the corner for the cable to pass through (or it'll get pinched when you close the controller). I had already put the buttons back on and didn't want to take them off again.
While I did this mod out of necessity due to a failed autopsy, I actually really like the feel and I think I might prefer it to the stock long-travel bumpers and triggers. It's great for Crash Team Racing because it's easier for drifting and boosting. It's good for Smash, too.
The click of the switch is audible, but it's rather quiet since the rubber is in there to dampen it. The bumpers are slightly louder than the triggers. There's no travel, which helps be more precise. Overall, I like it.
I tried to get a video of the sound and travel but it's really quiet, you'll need to turn your volume up a bit. It's louder in real life.
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