red button probably bad on hori ex2

It works sometimes fine, but when it doesn't work, it might take a couple tries to get it to register again. So I guess when a button on these goes bad, it doesn't die all at once? Just wondering if a cleaning would help instead of having to learn to solder.. still can use X,Y, and LT, plus it actually feels better than A, B, and X.

I need to save up for something with a smaller throw, so I don't have to push so far to hit the wall or sides. Maybe just a smaller gate. I'd like to just make one, if I could find some cool box to build one into, otherwise it'd be to expensive buying something fancy. I look for broken joysticks online, that I could rebuild but haven't found much. Was thinking of a hori mini, but they look a little too cheap.

 

The ex2 is kind of a notoriously unreliable stick. It was made before the current arcade stick boom and before Mad Catz started really upping the quality of the market. As such it doesn't use quality parts for the stick or buttons, and a lot of people have reported them failing under serious use pretty quickly.

I bought one back when vanilla VF5 dropped on the xbox and it was good enough back then. However, going back to it a few weeks back when I didn't have any other xbox sticks felt terrible after getting used to all the great sticks that are on the market now. If you really look around on sites like SRK's trading outlet I bet you could find used SEs and TEs pretty cheap and get a very solid stick with quality parts.

 

I will google that. Thanks

 

Its time to buy a new one.The same thing happened 2 me on my ex2. The B button became unresponsive followed by the A and then the X. Amazon has sales on the sticks every blue moon, or you can wait until one of the big fighting game tourneys because madcatz/hori usually have some kind of promotion going on. You just need to check one of the streams or srk for the promo code.

 

Alright. I was hoping that wasn't it. I'm trying to get signed up with SRK to view the adds, but it's not working now. Maybe I can find a deal, or make myself a custom vf stick.

 

The EX2 buttons are certainly known for failure, which I had all of mine swapped for Mad Catz parts (One man's trash SE parts was another's redemption). The tricky part with your button is that it's soldered directly to the main board of your stick (A &B actually - X,Y,LT &RT are on separate daughterboard.

A modder's answer would be to replace the Hori PCB with a padhack or a Paewang Revolution board from eTokki.com for dual mod action. Dropping in Seimitsu PS-15 buttons and some Cherry Microswitches for the joystick would give you a good fix, though most consumer sticks would cost about the same price.

 

Dude, you answered my question about PCB's before I even asked it. My ideal thing would be to somehow pick up one of those soul edge sticks, then fix my EX2. I'd like to have 2 sticks if possible, but my budget might not allow the soul edge. I got into SRK and saw all the stuff people are selling. I play with my hori bungied to a shelf I built on my tv stand. Sort of a homemade gaming desk. Anyway I was thinking of building a joystick right into the shelf itself. Got to do some research though..

 

Before you throw the PCB out the window you could just test the circuit using a amp-meter Then you'll know if you really need to buy a PCB or not.

 

I don't have any reason to think it's the pcb. If I was going to not scavenge anything off the hori, id need a pcb, and I had wondered if the only way to get one was off an xbox controller or not. I want to keep the ex2 and repair it later, if I can.

 

Ah, then just get a new button. The only issue you'll have are the pins on sanwas/seimatsu are longer and thicker than the ones in the hori ex2. You'll just need to bend the pins and so a wee bit of soldering with very short wires.

 

They have soldering instructional kits for kids on ebay for about $10. It comes with common soldering tools and a little project to practice. If I do good, then maybe I'll consider just replacing the button(s)

 

The biggest issue with the hori ex 2 isn't about the bigger buttons but about the holes!!!
The hori ex 2 doesn't have a regular circular hole for his buttons. Ever hole has some extra metal to guide the hori buttons so they won't move, but for a sanwa/seimitsu button that is a big problem, so you need to "plane" that extra piece of metal.

Second issue is that you need to cut some cables to attach the sanwa/seimitsu buttons. After that the pcb will float inside the stick and the bottom pannel is metal too. Use some tape to avoid problem with the pcb.

This is just for buttons, there isn't enough space to mount a jlf stick inside a hori ex 2 (one my friend had to make the stick taller and leave the mounting plate). When i modded a hori ex 2 i just changed the switches. If you change the switches buy another spring because the lever won't return neutral but will go in the opposite direction each time you move it.

Modding that piece of crap isn't easy and friendly and it won't last long. It's really better buying another one for the weight and quality of the materials.

Hope you find this post usefull.

 

@ Mister, I ended up insulating the metal panel inside with some paper to prevent any short circuit from occurring, but the copper cable I used (think thermostat wire - 18-22 AWG) is rigid enough that it doesn't touch anything. Mind you the connection to the buttons are all soldered rather than using quick disconnects. While I don't have easy swap out of components, it's solid like a champ and takes a beating from my 3 year old.

Those tabs had to be filed away. A good bastard file did the trick. The buttons themselves also had some little ridges on the shell that needed to be scraped away with an Xacto knife before placing them in the holes. Makes for a smoother fit.

 

Dude, just get a desoldering stick from Radio Shack for $15... the one with the built in air bulb. Then get an Aoyue soldering station at Amazon for about $55. These are great investments that will pay back in time. The Aoyue gets usability hot in less than a minute, and you can monitor the tip temp.

Honestly, I would just buy a shitty PS3 controller, the Soldering station, the desoldering stick, and a pin vise from a hobby store to put holes in the PCB. That way, you can do original stuff on the cheap.

 

something on the cheap you can look out for that is better than an ex2 is the madcatz wwe brawl stick
http://www.amazon.com/PlayStation-WWE-Stars-Brawl-Stick-3/dp/B004M25NNQ i've seen them go for as low as $30 shipped for both ps3 and 360 versions new.

it has quick disconnects for the buttons so you can upgrade to any 30mm button and the mounting plate can fit sanwa jlf or seimitsu ls32 if you want to upgrade it later all without having to solder. you can even do a solderless dual mod if you get a 360 version and buy a toodles kitty class pcb to go with it.

 

Ya know, that's what I should have gotten in the first place. I just really hate wrestling.. I see them new on ebay for $35. This is probably the cheapest way to go. I might just have to do that. Then when it wears out, I can do like you said. Ya know, I wonder if I can get at least $35 for my almost broken hori. People pay lots for used ones, just because their un available. Hmm..

 

and here it is..