Wireless Defender / Defender II / Stargate Controller for the PS3

Wireless Defender / Defender II / Stargate Controller for the PS3
by
Axel Olmos
10/14/2009

Stargate is my favorite arcade game.

I used to own a full size Stargate when I was a CS major in College.
I traded it for a 19" monochrome monitor for my Atari Mega 4 ST. The monitor
meant I could more easily do CS projects at home instead of in the lab.
I sacrificed entertainment for education.

As soon as the Stargate left my house, I promised myself I would get it back. That was 18 years ago...

Today there are many options for playing emulated versions of Defender / Stargate.
I tried the Williams Classics version on the 60 GB PS3 via PS2 emulation.
It seemed dead on, but the SIXAXIS just wasn't going to do it for me.

The original Defender / Stargate controller is like Unix-
complicated, intimidating, frustrating for most of the people out there.

But once you learn it, you are hooked by its power and grace.

This controller is not cheap. But this wasn't about money, or being practical,
it was about keeping a promise to myself...

Disclaimer: These directions are at your own risk, may not work,
batterys can explode, power tools are dangerous, etc. etc. etc.
Don't try this unless you are willing to take responsibility for the results of your own actions.

Parts List

Stargate Arcade Overlay
$36.00

Early version of Sony SIXAXIS PS3 Controller $50.00

AXISdapter $36.00

Williams Arcade Classics PS2 $23.99

Ebay
Sanwa JLF-TP-8YT-SK Arcade Joystick $32.19
Switched to 4 way position

12 long Horizontal Microswitch Push Buttons Colors HAPP $25.10
4 White
3 Red
2 Blue
1 Green
1 Yellow
1 Extra

USB cables from Monoprice.com
362 USB A Female to A Female Coupler Adaptor $0.94
4816 USB B Female to Mini 5 pin (B5) Male Adaptor $1.36
4817 USB A Male to Mini 5 pin (B5) Female Adaptor $1.36
5436 USB 2.0 A Male to B Male 28/24AWG Cable - (Gold Plated) – 1.5ft $0.71

Lumber / Drill bit Home Depot
1 1/8" Drill bit $5.14
1/2" plywood 24x48" ~$10.00
Brad nails, small wood screws, washers $3.00

Radio Shack
Qty 3) 8 Female Insulated Crimp On Quick Disconnects 3/16” $6.57
Qty 1) 22 Gauge Stranded Hookup Wire 278-1224 $6.59

Total: $238.95
Playing Defender / Stargate with real controls wirelessly on your PS3: Priceless

Tools needed: Electric drill, sander, hammer, exacto knife, pliers, wire cutter, wire stripper,
screwdrivers.

How I made it:

I cut Plywood to approximately:
qty 2) 6.5" x 24"
qty 2) 2 x 24"
qty 2) 2 x 5.5"

These measurements are rough guidelines.
Match the wood up with your Stargate overlay and create better ones.

I took one of the big pieces, and laid the Stargate Control Panel Overlay on top of it.

I poked holes in the middle of the buttons to make a mark so I would know where to drill.

Drill out the holes, do not try and drill through the overlay or you risk disaster.

I added the two blue buttons for L2 and R2, and the yellow for the PS (PlayStation) button.
I laid out their location both visually and by measuring to see where they looked good and made sense.
The PS button on the right where I have it can get hit by accident when moving the controller, annoyingly booting your PS3.
(You may want to choose another location for your PS button.)

When the holes are drilled, nail the box together using brads, but don't put the bottom on.

I made the mistake of drilling the holes AFTER I built the box which meant that my PS3 button
was too close to the edge, and it was random luck that it fit at all.

When your box is built, the holes are drilled, and you've sanded so you don't get splinters,
place the overlay into position on top of the box. Don't actually affix it yet.

Carefully make a small hole in one of the buttons on the overlay, and expand it using your exacto knife until your
push button body fits through it ok.
Be sure not to make the hole too large!

The joystick hole uses the same method. Make sure you can move the joystick in all directions without
scraping the wood, and the overlay hole is large enough so it works, but not larger than the plastic
cover that comes with the joystick and will cover the hole.

At this point I DID NOT remove the back of the overlay, but put it into position to make sure it would
fit as expected, and the button holes were properly cut out. Putting all the pieces in place loosely
will make sure everything is ok, and the overlay will fit correctly. Fine tune as needed.

If you notice the pictures at this point, my box suddenly went from a depth of 6" or so, to a depth of 2".
This is because I realized that instead of going for an exact reproduction in depth of the
arcade plywood box, going smaller meant better ergonomics. I cut 4" off the plywood box, so
that it just barely was bigger than the depth of the pushbuttons.
This made the controller something you could sit comfortably on your lap while you played.

Remove the buttons and joystick to prepare for overlay installation.
Peel off back of overlay.
Do not think of the hundreds of times as a kid you put a sticker on wrong, pulled it off to fix it,
and tore the sticker making a mess.
Confidently put your overlay on right the first time.
Put all the buttons in place and tighten them up using pliers if needed and be gentle.
The buttons will help hold the overlay in place while its adhesive dries.
You may breathe again.
Switch the Sanwa joystick into 4 way mode, if so desired, and screw
it to the plywood. Make sure your screws do not go all the way through
your plywood and puncture your new overlay.

BEFORE you decide to cut any excess off the Stargate overlay remember that
you are missing the last piece of plywood at this point.
If you do decide to cut now, put the last piece of plywood in place before
cutting thoe overlay so you don't it cut too small.

Disassemble the PS3 SIXAXIS.

Make some standoffs for your PS3 controller so you can safely screw it to the plywood.
I didn't feel like making another trip to the hardware store
so I improvised with a Bic pen, a plastic washer, and some cable ties.

Decide where you are going to put the SIXAXIS, its battery, and the AXISdapter.
Securely mount them to the plywood so when you hit the Hyperspace button, they really
don't make the jump to lightspeed but remain attached.

It's time to begin wiring everything up to the AXISdapter.
The pushbutton contacts are NO, Normally Open.

Here's what mine looked like (you can click these images to zoom in for wiring details):

Rotated 90 degrees clockwise:

When wiring the Sanwa joystick, no need for quick connects, it goes straight to the AXISdapter.

For the buttons, I put the quick connects on first, and then spooled out the wire to the AXISdapter.
I then cut to length and attached them to the AXISdapter.

The AXISdapter comes with instructions for how the wiring should be done.

Connect the series of USB cables and connectors to the SIXAXIS, cut or drill a small
hole so you can have the USB connector externally available.

Test it out, and enjoy.

Eventually you will want to cut a hole in the remaining piece of plywood (the bottom cover)
so you can see the lights on the SIXAXIS. When the bottom piece of plywood has the hole needed,
and is screwed in place, you can fold, attach, or cut the excess amounts of the overlay and call it done.

Everything worked for me on the first try, except for one button which I miswired
NC instead of NO. Switching the wiring fixed this, (and was easy to do with
the quick connects) and the controller has been perfect ever since.

Many thanks to Jimmy 'ShinJN' Nguyen whose board takes the soldering out of
this project and made it all possible.

Questions I think you might have:

1. How does playing with a 4 way joystick differ from the original spring leaf 2 way?

It's sloppier. You get used to it pretty quickly. It would be possible to
lock it down using two metal rails so it only slides up and down, but I
enjoy using the joystick for Pac Man as well. In 8 way joystick mode, I used to
lose some lives, but in 4 way, it seems fine.

2. How are the push buttons different from the original spring leaf buttons?

They are louder and seem to take slightly more effort to push than the originals.
I don't play marathon sessions so it's not an issue.

3. Can I use this with other games?

Yes, it's a standard PS3 controller, but some aspects are missing
such as the right joystick, L3 / R3 (when you push down on the joysticks) etc.
It depends on the game. Things like Pac Man, Galaga, Joust work great with this controller.

4. I own the real thing. This is no real thing.
Why didn't you just spend more and buy the real thing?

Nothing beats the charm and nostalgia of owning a real arcade game.

That being said, for those people who have their PS3's connected to
big screens or video projectors and have big speakers- it's
a level of immersion that you don't get with the original arcade cabinet.

The short answer is I owned one and it was great, but
this solution made the most sense for me today.

5. I don't have a PS2 compatible PS3 will this work?

NO. I'm running Williams Arcade Classics using PS2 emulation.
Additional thinking / engineering would need to be done to
figure something else out. (I think a PS2 controller can be
modified with the AXISdapter...)

6. Why do you say early version of SIXAXIS?

The AXISdapter depends on versions of the SIXAXIS having
a 20 position connector (FFC connector). If your controller doesn't have that
connector, it won't work. See the AXISdapter site for more info.

7. What is your high score?

For all my love of the game, I'm not that great. For Defender,
back in the day, it was 207K or so. For Stargate, I think
it was around 100K.

When I was growing up, there was a guy named Larry. He was
a year or two older than me, but called me "Son". He could
play Defender as long as he wanted, and I saw him get to a
million. I'm still chasing that goal 25 years later.

8. Will this work with MAME on a PC?

YES! You need a PS3 controller driver. There used to be one by motioninjoy.