NES Advantage Rebuild - BauTek Industries

[@BaneMcDeath]

I do so love workshops. I haven't had one since my grandpa passed a few decades back and we had to sell the plot. Workbenches/shops are pure heaven. Cheers.

[@VRestoration]

cool! I just acquired a nes advantage and I think I'm going to try to make this modification. at least that of the joystick since in my opinion that is the part that feels the worst quality in this peripheral

[@0neDoomedSpaceMarine]

Agree, even though I would occasionally take this thing out as a kid, because it was really cool and felt hefty and "powerful", the joystick is just so clumsy and awful to play games with, so I would quickly go back to the regular old blocky gamepad. The turbo could sort of help with some games, but the stick would offset that advantage.

[@emmettturner9452]

FYI: You can get ABS Cement at Lowe’s or Home Depot. It’s in the plumbing section near the PVC Cement and All-Purpose Cement (intended for ABS pipes). It’s basically just ABS dissolved in acetone. The solvent will dissolve some of the original plastic too and ensure a nice, structural, bond with extra ABS plastic all around from the ABS Cement.

[@icaoberg]

I used to have it and I loved it. What it made this controller amazing (for me and probably some people in my generation) was that it felt like you were playing the game in an arcade, which were still available at the time.

[@SouthSideChiTown]

nice job! I like your videos, very detail-oriented and thorough. I used your video on converting ATX power supplies and it has worked so well, thanks for all the videos you put up and the information you present.

[@BauTekIndustries]

Thanks!

[@triple_lei]

It's always the hard joystick mods that are the most interesting. Thanks for the video.

[@bryan2garcia]

I re-watch every so often to see how cool it is and dream of owning it someday

[@bryan2garcia]

TheBomb545 I am aware, I own several, its just the modifications that he did

[@bryan2garcia]

TheBomb545 I wish I owned the talents to do this

[@TimothyTimPSP]

@@bryan2garcia That's the point.

[@foreverclassic105]

That joystick is music to the ears

[@Spolupyo]

For another video you could make this same mod to the Genesis power stick, which also had rubber pad based joystick and buttons..

[@BauTekIndustries]

I actually have one of those kicking around here! I'm actually more than tempted to build a sweet multi-system arcade stick with sick 90's style. ;)

[@Spolupyo]

BauTek Industries I'm sure building a retro joystick from scratch would be a fun project, however if you want the cheapest/sleekest solution, get yourself any Hori or Madcatz Fightstick and install MCcthulhu PCB which is compatible with almost 90% of the retro systems, also there are individual Tototek adapters which let you use any PS1/PS2 controller on almost every console made to date.

[@rebeldog5567]

I want one !!!

[@0neDoomedSpaceMarine]

Apparently the Japanese release actually did use microswitches for the stick, but they cheaped out and did rubber domes for the international ones. IMO, converting it to switches would just be upgrading it to proper spec. Adding adjustable turbo for each button would be cool too, tbh.

[@cjameslv]

Full mod with arcade joystick and sanwa buttons done back in january '15 here: nintendoage.com/forum/messageview.cfm?catid=7&threadid=141582 All done with original housing, no exterior modding needed.

[@BauTekIndustries]

+cjameslv Nice!

[@doubleHLabs]

Nice, I'm actually doing almost the same project! Cool to see it can be done!

[@Tall_Order]

I just got a advantage controller to relive my youth playing galaga and other arcade style games. I was wondering, that red joystick ball, could that screw onto the default stick? It would be nice to have a larger ball than the default one without having to operate.

[@BrianDelaCruz]

Have you ever thought about adding sanwa buttons? I'm sure it will involve more plastic hacking to get it to fit.

[@emmettturner9452]

The Advantage had been revised internally a ridiculous number of times. There are many different models from different manufacturers (Hori, Mitsubishi, etc). It's likely that you will find a stronger plastic stick base in other units.

[@JamilThePimpLol]

I noticed this when taking apart 2 of my advantages recently. Wires ran differently, one of them had a cross plate that was screwed into the board on the backside while the other did not. Small differences

[@emmettturner9452]

@@JamilThePimpLol Yep. I’ve also seen some with PCBs designed by hand and others designed with CAD.

[@77tynitty]

man I want mine like that. I just bought one last week it was perfect but now the joystick got the man moving to the right only. even when you move the stick to left the man moves right. all the other button witks.. what's wrong with it.

[@SatoshiMatrix1]

Hey. Could I commission you to build me one of these? What I'd want is mostly the same as you did, but use an actual sanwa JLF and possibly add two sanwa OBSF 30mm buttons in place of the small tock red contact buttons. This is something that has interested me for a long time, but I figured it couldn't be done due to the extremely shallow base. You've gotten around that issue. I don't have any of the equiptment to do what you did, I've just got padhacking and soldering skills. Let me know if this is possible or just a pipedream.

[@rawkfistgaming]

OK, so I just got a refurbished Advantage, and while I do like it generally speaking, the mesh inputs are such a mental separation from actual arcade-quality hardware (I use a MayFlash F300 for fighting games), I feel duty-bound to do something similar to what you've done. Unfortunately, I have the electrical and mechanical proficiency of a slice of pizza. Would this conversion be the kind of thing you'd be willing to take commissions on? And if so, what would you charge?

[@belvlnzla]

Hello where can I find the wire/cable replacement? or is there an alternative? I need to replace the cables

[@indcsion]

Mine doesnt power on. Is there cap inside I should replace?

[@MentalPolution]

Im going to give this a try. mine probably wont end up as nice as yours but I found a nes advantage broken on ebay for $5 so why not right? thanks so much for the video!

[@0neDoomedSpaceMarine]

How'd it go?

[@apollolux]

What was the voltage of the capacitor you replaced? All I can read is "124J" which apparently means 0.12uF, but no voltage rating.

[@pixelatednate4864]

How much easier would it be to simply mod the joystick with tactile switches?

[@BauTekIndustries]

A lot easier, but I had those cherries lying around and "why the heck not" got the better of me. ;)

[@pixelatednate4864]

BauTek Industries yeah, true

[@0neDoomedSpaceMarine]

@@BauTekIndustries It worked out well though, that's what matters.

[@uroborous01]

Its so beautiful. If i send you an nes advantage, and pay for parts and pay for your time and trouble, would you mod it to be like this one you have built?

[@TimothyTimPSP]

No gameplay demo?

[@stevecucamonga]

could you repost the pictures to another site the link in the description doesn't work anymore

[@j.enriquez]

How can you mod it with bluetooth?

[@Custom.And.Design]

I must have missed it, but did you show how you wired in the joystick? great video though.

[@rustyshackelford1413]

It's been almost a decae since you threw up this video, so you probably haven't even thought about it on a very long time. On the off chance you have; did you figure out how to put in the arcade style buttons? That is my issue too.

[@jamesm1083]

What exactly were the dimensions of the mdf board you used, and where did you get it?

[@BauTekIndustries]

It was 1/2" MDF, I usually pick mine up from the home store where it's available in sheets that start at 2 x 4 feet.

[@drewirons2646]

Would it be easier to build your own NES compatible joystick? I love what you have done here, but I am not as skilled!

[@BauTekIndustries]

Depends on how nuts you want to go with the new joystick. ;) I'd actually love to build a multi console arcade stick at some point, there are a few awesome control board's that support NES, SNES, Genesis, etc.

[@drewirons2646]

Really? I wasn't aware! I was going to just tear apart an old NES controller and solder onto the shift register so I could connect some arcade buttons. Of course I need to get some sort of a project box to put it in.

[@BauTekIndustries]

They're a bit more spendy than tearing apart controllers, but you can connect a bunch of different consoles using cables that terminate in a RJ45. This is the one I've had bookmarked for awhile, might give it a go when I build a new stick: www.focusattack.com/akishop-ps360-multi-console-joystick-pcb/

[@bryan2garcia]

Update?

[@ShaneG924]

Link to these parts?

[@0neDoomedSpaceMarine]

I really don't agree that it's one of Nintendo's best controllers, the mushy domed joystick is just not any good at all. At least the Ninendo 64's analog stick has a lot of really fine precision in spite of durability issues, this thing just makes most games control worse for me, which is why I barely used it when I was a little kid. Brought it out sometimes because it was cool, but would always go back to the regular square gamepad. The overall arcade cabinet feel and adjustable turbo buttons are sweet, but the stick is considerably inferior to the regular D-Pad in my opinion. If one isn't worried about the collectible value (not that these are rare or anything), then upgrading the stick like this feels like it'd be essential to make it a really good controller. Upgrading the buttons like this is also pretty cool actually, so even if maybe there was a bit of slop, you did fix the little screwups, and what matters is that the thing works well and looks good externally. I bet your modified Advantage would be excellent for something like Mike Tyson's Punch-Out

[@markoglazersout611]

Broooo where is the gameplay :(! Great job tho!

[@justgeneric0]

awesome video!!!!

[@joeyd5607]

Are you selling the NES Advantage?

[@bryan2garcia]

can you mod mines if I send it to you?

[@SumDumGy]

If you mail mines, they will explode in transit.

[@RyanBarrett80]

Dude completely skips/glosses over everything regarding the joystick. Only talks about mounting it to the chassy. WTF.

[@gjms]

Upvote because of "nintendium" XD

[@TheRealJPhillips]

nice

[@BauTekIndustries]

Thanks!

[@henryblazer20]

incredible work (now make me one) LOL. but seriously. iw ant one