Strange Gamepads

Another arcade stick find from internet auction. This time the Saitek Titan Series Megamaster VII MX-541 for the Sega Mega Drive (Genesis). I think this was most commonly known just as Megamaster VII. Saitek Megamaster VII Next to original Mega Drive model 1. Quite massive controller. I got this one for cheap since the seller said that there was some problems with the Z-button not working correctly. I thought that should be fixable and this thing deserves to be fixed. Saitek made some quality controllers and this one is no exception. So lets start disassembling. Back of the controller. Chunky suction cups. Back plate is made out of plastic. No metal here like in the Asciiware stick for PS1 I cleaned in this post:  https://strangegamepads.blogspot.com/2019/04/asciiware-arcade-stick-sleh-0002-for.html First thing I noticed was this strange door. What could be the purpose of this. Hidden compartment Well there was absolutely nothing there. Looks like it might be battery holder for 2 A...

I recently spotted a good deal for a Retro-Bit's 8-button USB pad that takes inspiration from the original Mega Drive / Genesis controller. It's apparently officially licensed by SEGA and I've read some favorable reviews online so for 16€ including shipping this seemed like a good deal. Front of the box Back of the box The box pretty much says it all. It's compatible with pretty much everything, has 8 buttons, long USB cable and is officially licensed by SEGA. The latter claim unfortunately doesn't tell much since even the horrible AtGames stuff five or so years back was also officially licensed. To be fair it seems that AtGames are now producing some interesting quality stuff but that is another story. The important page of the instructions leaflet Inside of the box is the controller itself in a plastic tray and an instruction leaflet. The leaflet has some important instuctions on how the switch between D-Input and X-Input modes and the button functionalities for d...

I had urge to play some emulated Sensible Soccer but wanted to use the original Mega Drive (Genesis) controller. Unfortunately the only controller I have is not working very well. The conductive pads for buttons are almost gone. I cleaned this one in a previous post  https://strangegamepads.blogspot.com/2019/05/sega-megadrive-3-button-controller.html Sad state of the original conductive pads I still don't have the proper conductive pads for this and replacement pads are still quite hard to find and expensive. However I noticed by accident that the PS1/PS2/PS3 controller conductive pads for the buttons are almost exactly the same size. Mega Drive pads on top of PS3 (left) and PS2 (right) pads There is however slight difference in height. Also the conductive area is smaller in PS pads. But this should not make a huge difference since the copper area on the PCB is so large. So I sacrificed one PS2 replacement conductive pad and just cut it with scissors to separate the four circular a...