Work begins on Oliver's Madcatz TE 360

The intent of this project is to take a Madcatz Tournament Edition 360 stick and make it playable on both 360 and PS3.  I will be using the ChImpSMD (Godlike Controls) board to make this possible.  In addition to this, per the client's request I am installing an octogate on the joystick, effectively changing the feel considerably.

Opting for a more complete disassemble than most other modders use, rather than just take the faceplate off with some hex keys, I've gone in through the bottom and muscled my way through what felt like thirty screws covered in a loc-tite-like solution.  My hands are too big to screw around with anything but total pull apart haha.  Anyway, this left two large parts still connected by wires.  Fairly cumbersome.

I disconnected the wires from the buttons that ran to the terminal strip, the wires that ran to the joystick and the one that went to the guide button area so that the two halves could be held separately.  In this configuration, I should mostly only have to deal with the portion of the stick pictured on the right.

Pressing in the four plastic tabs and pulling out the old gate gets easier every time I do it, but was reminded that this device is pretty much the only thing holding the joystick itself together.  Once accidentally disassembled, I took this opportunity to check the stick itself for any defects or wear and it seemed to all check out.  Popping in the new gate was as simple as connecting two legos. 

Now I just need to wait for the part to arrive and according to tracking, that should be tomorrow.  In the meantime, Mochi keeps guard over the disassembled stick.