Okay, so Jen cutter’s down, we have been playing a butt-loaded video games, more specifically a lot of DDR. This is a DDR pad for the X-Box. It works all fine in Dandy but for me, it sucks!
I need something that is bigger and harder, because that bunch is under my feet and I step heavy. And plus, I got big feet and I hit like 500 freaking buttons at once.
Now, solution, I could not go but a red octane pad for $200 freaking, not going to happen. I make my own shit, so that is what I did. I went out and I made my own hard DDR pad for just under 50 bucks and here is how I did it.
Materials for this project include: an old cheap crappy DDR pad, not a necessity, you can hack a controllers to do the same thing. See episode 4 on how to hack a controller. 36x36 plywood or MDF, half inch would be the best. 36x36 flexi or acrylic, and it need to be an 8” thick. 36x36 costume printed pad graphic. Whatever you want, just make sure that the graphics on the pad line up to how your buttons are going to be on your pad
Screws, aluminum foil and wire, I personally prefer cut 5. Tools, soldering iron, solder, drill, duct tape and save the foam padding from the mat if you use one.
Here is your process. First, cut the old crappy DDR pad, you are going to need the computer board, the board and the brains, and the plastic thing at top, and the foam from inside. Everything else, throw away, just make sure you keep track of which way the trace is go for the buttons.
Now the reason you paid attention to the traces on the pad on the inside. Is that we are soldering wires to the connection points on the board and running wires from there to the buttons. So after all you get your soldering done, lay your grounding foil on your plywood itself, and tape it down. Duct tape is the greatest thing ever invented. And now, position your buttons around on the pad, as you see fit, where they are going to work out best for you. And the buttons needs to be ground foil on the bottom, then a layer of foam with holes in it, just got to have the hole so that when you lay the foam on top and step on it, it will actually make a connection.
Then connect the wire to the top foil, and that does not have to be anything fancy. You can just twist it up in there, and it works just great. Tape it all down; make a nice big duct tape sandwich. Latter rinse in your pit for every button until you are done. Simple as that, once all your buttons are laid out, all tape down and look half way decent. Lay your graphic on top. Put the plexy on top of that, screw it down very carefully. Drill pile holes before you put the screw on it, or else you will run a very high risk of splitting the plexy with the screw.
Play! That is all you have to do, that is all the risk too! Plug it in, have a ball. If something does not work right, take it apart, wiggle it a little bit. Done!
Lessons learned: Now, when you are doing mobs, everything that you see that we do, is normally rev 1. It is the first time I did it, and it pretty much works out, I have to work out the things before you see it. But, you know, take your time and have a lot of fun with it. It does not have to be perfect. I did my 36x36 because I am 6 foot 1. I have a long legs span, but make it fit your size.
If you decide to do it, please email us. Send us picture, show us what you did and how you made it better. That would great, west@hak5.org info at hack 5. Any of us, email us and let us know. Wiring diagrams, plans pictures and our personal graphic will be posted in the show notes on the forums.
Enjoy the rest of the show.
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