Well it seems Ben is up to his usual mayhem again, and has modded something interesting indeed. This time, it's an Xbox360 wireless controller stuffed into an old Xbox Duke (also referred to as a "fatty") controller. After receiving several requests, he got one of those wild hairs like he does every so often and decided it might be fun. As always, he makes this stuff look easy.
Keep reading to see his story, with nice large clear photos and a movie clip of him using it to play Stranglehold...
For some reason I have put the guts of a wireless Xbox 360 controller inside of an original, huge, 2001-model Xbox 1 controller - commonly referred to as “the Duke”, though what it has in common with John Wayne is beyond me.
Believe it or not this mod is suggested to me every once in a while so I figured I might as well take a crack at it and see what happens. It’s not often you get to work on a controller so large it’s classified by NASA as a low-level Earth-orbit object. For this reason, during the modding, I was careful not to drop it as this would have created an impact crater sufficient to snuff out all life on Earth and the dinosaurs, whichever comes first. Aerosmith and Bruce Willis were standing by to save the day in case of mishaps.
All ripping aside, it ended up being about as difficult as the PS360 controller, nothing I couldn’t handle. Since I did this on my own accord it is unclaimed and up for grabs. Best price gets it, so make an offer! Could ship just in time for Halo 3.
Based off the difficulty of this mod (harder than I would have liked) and the number of other projects I have going on I probably won’t duplicate this anytime soon, so first come, only served. More pics and a video below.
Looks quite normal from the front, except for the added guide button (between/above back and start) and the headset jack at the base. Couldn’t forget that, what’s trash-talking without one?
Back is also fairly normal, except for a small, recessed “sync” button below where the cord used to come out. Remember, if a burglar or elephant is in your house you can throw this controller at them for an easy knockout. (See your local state laws before carrying it in your purse, however)
Click here for large version
Closer view of the wireless Xbox 360 controller PCB. Click here to supersize (sorry no fries).
The dreaded shoulder buttons. For the right analog trigger I was able to hook up a potentiometer normally. For the left I had to saw a 360 shoulder assembly in half and connect it via a rod to the Duke’s shoulder button. What a mess. But it works.
Click here to download a short, yet thrilling, video of this amazingly backwards controller in action. And no, I don’t have an HDTV set yet, sorry. Think of it, in just minutes a day, by lifting and playing with this controller, you can burn off twice the calories of the regular Xbox 360 alone! Now how much would you pay?
Well it looks like another success story off of Ben's workbench. As always, he finds a way to keep all the functionality while managing to stuff the hardware into somewhere it doesn't belong.
My favorite points include the sync button in a screw hole, the accessable batteries, and the fact that he wrote "Ben was here" on the inside. There aren't many drawbacks (assuming you want a huge heavy controller) but I can't see any shoulder buttons, the massive jewel doesn't work as the guide button, and the most serious issue... NO LEDS! Geez, really, with all those modding skills I just wish he'd spent another couple minutes to pimp it up a little.
All kidding aside, a very nice mod. My rating: 4 out of 5 leds.
