PS3 Dual Shock 3 Sixaxis Joystick Swap
A lot of people have a lot to say about how bad the Sony PlayStation3 and/or the controller is, mmmonkey couldn't get on with the controller, not liking the Triggers or the Joysticks/Thumbsticks. The Triggers were an easy fix with thanks to Future Publishing mag - PSW giving away some clip on Trigger Extenders (hopefully these will be available to buy separately soon).
mmmonkey always found that thumbs would slip off of the thumbsticks, so decided to find a replacement. The easiest would have been to replace them with the thumbsticks from the PS1 analogue controllers that were released just before the original Dual Shock, these were concaved and mmmonkey found them easier to use (the Sony Part Numbers for the controllers if you want to track them down are SCPH-1150 - released in Japan, and SCPH-1180 - released everywhere else).
mmmonkey couldn't find one of these controllers despite people using them for photo's on eBay, but then sending a regular Dual Shock, so decided to go elsewhere and use a Microsoft XBOX Controller S as a donor, it's nearly a perfect fit a requires very little modding to get them to sit in properly.
The first thing to do is rip apart the XBOX controller and pull the thumbsticks off, this is very easy to do so no instructions aren't shown here for that. Taking apart a Dual Shock 3 or a Sixaxis can be trouble, work very carefully and in a clutter free area so you don't lose any parts. Undo all the screws on the rear and then pull it apart slightly by the USB plug. Then squeeze the bottom half of the casing in between the thumbsticks, you should feel it click/unlock and you can now pull it apart.
The R1/L1 buttons and the bit of plastic between these and the triggers may fall out now, and if you're doing this on the non-rumble Sixaxis then be careful of the small power button which may fallout (mmmonkey forgot to take photo of it, but the taller part rests against the battery). Under the battery is a screw holding the board in, and if you're doing this to a Dual Shock 3 then remove the screws holding the motors in place, finally remove the inner workings.
Pull one of the thumbsticks off and replace it with one you removed from the XBOX controller. You may find that the round base of the XBOX thumbstick sits a little higher than the PlayStation one (you might be able to see it in the pic above, it's fitted to the right), this may cause a problem with it rubbing on the casing when you put it back together. You can either file off a small piece pole that the thumbstick sits on, or (as mmmonkey did) use a small screwdriver to make the hole on the bottom of the XBOX thumbstick a bit deeper, just scrape from side-to-side inside the hole to remove a small amount of plastic. Do a couple of test fits by holding the board back in the upper half of the case and moving the stick around to make sure it moves freely.
Once you've fitted both thumbsticks, it's time to put the whole pad back together, this can be difficult! Put the board back in and slide the L2/R2 triggers back into place first...
...then gently lift it out a bit, not all the way out though, then put the button back in place - start by lining up the round part on the rear of the button with the round part of the rubber contact that it pushes in; then slide both the trigger and the button back into place. Try the L1/R1 button out, it shouldn't feel like it's stuck, it should have a very gentle click to it.
Here's another image showing the rear of the button and the contact pad lining up before sliding them down into place.
Once you've got the triggers and buttons in place and they appear to be working properly then it's time to get that small piece of plastic in that divides them. Squeeze the trigger to open the gap up a bit, then slide the plastic into place. To make the job a little easier use some sellotape to hold that bit of plastic and the L1/R1 button in place.
Don't forget to screw the board in, and if you've got rumble motors screw them in also before fitting the rest of the case. Start with the rear of the case and line up the case around the triggers before clipping it back together at the front, put the screws in and your done!
If you test fitted the thumbsticks whilst fitting them then you should be finished, if they stick a bit then take it apart and remove a bit more plastic from the hole on the underside of the thumbstick. You can just about see the trigger extensions on the final photo, they look ugly but they make using the triggers a lot easier.
Cheerio!
