The DDR homepad building and softpad modding thread! (HUGE TOPIC)

How difficult is it to convert a 6 panel DDR Game Tournament pad to a 9 panel pad? Does anyone have pictures/video of the disassembly for this particular pad? I have parts on the way to make a custom control box for a ps2 version of the pad and am going to have extra slots available on the zero delay encoder anyway so I figured why not add the extra panels to play PIU too?

Has anyone already done this so I can know what I am getting myself into?

A company called "Team Fast Pad" used to take these pads and modify them into 5 panel PIU style pads, so I guess it's possible but I'd imagine it would be a pain in the ass to do. It's one thing to rearrange what's there but something else to add stuff that isn't there.

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I'm not really intimidated by the prospect to be honest. I have a hackerspace with woodworking tools and I know enough about electronics to be able to get it to work. I am mainly worried about whether it is structurally sound enough to take the modification to 9 panels. Seems like it will be ok if other people are doing it though.

Here's their monstrosity: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z_SvnhF7M5E

To be fair they said it wasn't holding up which is how I got involved, I designed their 5-panel pad for them and they bought 12 more plus are working with us for all of their pads. They said the problem was the panels were sliding and I think other problems. But they indeed built it.

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I have an suggestion if you wanted to make like a DDR Arcade Pad like the real ones.

Get 2 metal pads without the bar and then make the base out of wood and then get the metal and create a bar thats what i might do.

Didn't some of the bootleg DDR cabs use wood inside their pads and cabs with sheet metal on top? So you can use a wood base, but it may not last as long, depending on your Play level. For me. I used some thick rugs, or heavy material under and inside my pads which not only made them quite as f*#~ but kept my cheap sensors from rattling and mis-step my combos. So it's a good idea to add soft material to your base design to maintain its sound structure well.

to answer the above, yes -there's an album on aij with a namco crapocab being disassembled, though the project didn't get very far at all.

Also, just stopping by to post that jesus christ this thread's still here and i'm not dead yet.

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Indeed this kind of topic will probably always exist. Just enough of us DDR Freaks around to build our own "Perfect Homemade Cab" But hey, maybe one day Dedi-cabs will be cheap enough, and they'll teach coding in Elementary school and we'll make our own Machines to do a long outdated function. Just like Vinyl seems to have "died" and came back recently (so im told). Have faith, we will never stop improving with the help of our fellow players /)^..^(\

Preach Bridget, preach.

I'm just gonna end up modding my softpad, unless I can convince my mother to help me make a pad out of wood or something. She's good with woodwork. I'm not too sure how reliable these pads can be, especially since it's copper wire attached to a control board, which then uses aluminum foil on the sensors to activate a press. I'll give it a shot if possible though. I have a piece of crap 3rd party mat lying around, might as well gut it for the board lol.

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I was actually thinking of turning my TV into a machine by getting 2 metal pads, using my laptop to run SM, then connecting the laptop to the TV and use the 2 dance pads.

For the select/start buttons I could use something that can make things function as a keyboard...

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most metal dance pads from like DDRGames had a box that it comes with that has a select and start button.

You also gotta be careful with syncing the input with the TV. Some TVs refresh rate adds lag to the song. A lot of simple things can be done to fix it, global offsets, adding various modifications to the config. files, but 99% of the time it runs perfect. I just remember using a VGA to RCA adapter in my graphics card and the TV signal was like 20ms off or w/e. Didn't notice it was an issue till i kept wondering why I could never get a AA on easy songs.

But a better idea (if you can bother) get a TV with HDMI (or VGA from older PCs) input so you can use your TV for PC and TV needs. I did, and it couldn't work out better to watch crap Cable TV and have PIP of DDR ha ha /)^..^(\

I've been thinking about building my own pad... But the thing is, I have very little/no experience working with wood and metal, and I don't know anything about wiring things, except maybe the very basics. I would buy a hard/metal pad, but A) they're more expensive, and B) a lot of the times, the reviews are very polarized. Should I take a risk on buying a pad, or take the time to learn how to build my own?

I'm in the same boat as you, but things are a lot harder for me since I'm in Chile, so shipping gets a lot pricier. Maybe some simple wiring schematics and I'm done, this thread has a lot of guidelines on building materials as far as I can tell.

If someone can provide those, please, I'd really appreciate that.

for the both of you, building a pad is best, but if not then I would recommend this pad:

And do a hard mod on it. I can show what I did to show you guys. It isn't arcade perfect but it will work for the home.

@Imationer you can try to do what I did. staple a softpad to wood. (use long staples or else it will fall out. you can go back a few pages to see how I liked it back then.)

Then cover it with Weather-ALL Plastic Sheeting for $10 or so.

I had 0 issues with this mod and it lasted me a year or so till the wires died (the pad was like 4 bucks, cant get upset over that)

If only I had the money to do this

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Do you have a soft pad but have no money or something like that?

Gotta be Careful with using a softpad over a hard surface like that. Not only are the softpads using a very slim design for the sensors, they can also tear very easy over time (depending on how your skill/style of steps is.) I tried with one of the old PS1 pads that came with Konamix like a month after I started trying DDR. Even on Trick I started seeing micro tears in the fabric, and after trying so hard to get it centered, and stable on a piece of plastic office pad, it stopped working after the sensors got torn out, and micro-tears turned into big gashes T_T

BUT, I have seen ideas to take the pad, and Sew into a piece of thick cloth or w/e. This re-enforces the material to resist tearing A LOT more (and adding layers makes it softer for your feet, and Quieter when you step.) So if you got some one who can careful sew around the edges, in-between the panels, and not affect the sensors then you may have a Soft-pad made Hard /)^..^(\

This is true, but their is nothing one can do about this sadly.(I assume you mean the inside) From my experience, it happens faster when you fold the mat so I thought it was alot better to do it how I did it. Does Not move, feels solid, and I had 0 issues throughout the time I used it. (A Little over a year?)

and after trying so hard to get it centered, and stable on a piece of plastic office pad, it stopped working after the sensors got torn out, and micro-tears turned into big gashes T_T

Also forgot a tip for soft pads is use duck tape under the sensor and on top. But leave the middle part so the switch still makes contact. This helps to keep the sensor itself from ripping but again as said, they don't last for long T_T