For this project, I’m going to show you how to hack an N64 game controller, into a
rocket launch controller, that’ll ignite fireworks up to 30 feet away, or launch a
rocket the moment you say so.
Let’s start this project with a Nintendo 64 game controller. I chose yellow because
this way it’ll match the Randomizer rocket I’ll show you how to build in another project
video. Keep an eye out for that.
Now if we flip the control over, you’ll see there are 9 screws holding the two halves
together, and all it takes to remove them, is a small phillips head screwdriver. Make
sure you save the screws in a really safe place, because we will need them to put the
controller back together at the end.
With the screws removed, let’s separate the two halves and take a peek inside.
You can see the upper half is the more complicated side where all the buttons and electronics
are, so let’s just leave that alone for a second and work on the bottom half instead.
Grab a pair of pliers and look for the plastic support where the “A” button goes, then
grip it firmly and tear it off, because we don’t need it. While we’re here, let’s
rip the top off the housing where the controller packs go as well. It’ll all make sense in just a second.
Now it’s really helpful to file and grind down the little ridges on the inner walls
of the slot, and clean up the rough edges where any plastic got removed. It’ll take
a bit of work, but when the walls are relatively flat and you’ve smoothed down most of the
rough edges, you’ll find that you can push two 9 volt batteries inside, and they fit
perfectly. That means, we can make an improvised power pack to keep the whole system portable, and self-contained.
Ok, we’re finished with the bottom half of the controller for now, so let’s move
over to the top side.
Go ahead and rip the circuit board right out of the casing, but make sure you keep all
the buttons in safe place so you don’t have to waste time looking for them later.
I removed the 3 small screws that hold the thumbstick assembly to the casing, and, as
you can see, the whole thing just pops out now in one piece. Before we start modifying
this unit, there are a few quick adjustments that need to made to the understand of the
casing, like breaking off the plastic ridge right above the start button area, and tearing
off the support walls where the “A” button used to be. This’ll free up some space for a few new components.
Now we also need to drill a couple of holes in the top, so I’m using a 15/64” drill
bit to cut a hole directly in the center of where the Nintendo logo would normally be,
and a 3/32” bit to cut a sound hole just below that.
At this point the upper casing is completely finished, so let’s get back to modifying the thumbstick assembly.
Only one screw holds the assembly together, but you need to be extremely careful when
removing it because the whole casing is spring loaded, and will try to burst open on you.
It’ll be a lot easier if you don’t let that happen.
The bottom part of the assembly is where the trigger button used to be, and our goal here
is to replace it with a momentary pushbutton switch. Of course that means we’ll need to cut a space for it.
I tried using a 5/16” bit to carve a channel halfway through the casing, which apparently
keeps the brackets for the circuit board intact, while creating just enough room to accommodate
the button on the inside.
Now if we dig up the original “Z” button circuit board, and cut a 5/16” hole straight
through the contact pad, we should end up with a hole the right size for our switch.
I found this momentary switch in packs of 4 at a local electronics shop and we don’t need the cap, or the
little tip on the end, so go ahead and snap it off with a pair of pliers.
Flip the switch over, and solder insulated copper wires to each of the terminals for
durability and good electrical contact, and when the solder cools, you can see that connecting
the button to the circuit board is as simple as pushing it through from the underside,
then tightening the washer and hex nut securely on the top. With the circuit board locked
back in place, you should be able to see how this new trigger button mimics the old “Z” button almost perfectly.
Let’s go ahead and replace the joystick components so we can reattach the spring-loaded
assembly, and screw it all back together.
With that, the modified assembly is finished so it can go back into place on the control
cover, and we can replace the 3 screws that hold it in position. Now before you do anything
else, it’s a good idea to put the control casing back together and make sure the new
switch aligns with the trigger button.
I hooked mine to a multimeter to be extra sure, and tested for electrical continuity
each time the button was pressed. It seems like everything’s working perfectly, so
that means it’s time to load the controller with a few more goodies. And you’ll see
what all these do in just a minute.
I found a red pushbutton that’s an awesome replacement for the old “A” button, and
this is going to become the ignition switch for the actual rocket launch. It’s got a
plastic nut holding it from the back side which keeps it tight, and helps prevent it
from popping back out. ‘
The next step is attaching the buzzer and a green LED.
I found that a ring of hot glue around the center hole is all it takes to hold the buzzer
right where we need it. And of course it works best if you can line the center up with the
small sound hole we made earlier.
Now you should find that the subminiature, green LED makes an excellent fit with the
other hole we made at the top, and this one will need to be held in place with hot glue
as well because there’s no room for the hex nut. Just use a liberal amount of hot glue, and
when it cools, that LED won’t be going anywhere.
At this point, all the major components are installed so let’s solder them together,
and bring this launch controller to life.
I cut up the cord from an old cell phone charger and wired everything together, using this
schematic. I designed the circuit to run on two 9 volt batteries in parallel, so it has
a higher current. The LED and buzzer are set in parallel as well, but only work if the
button in the trigger is pressed. When the trigger is pulled, a very small electrical
current will pass through the ignitor to check whether it’s intact or whether it’s damaged.
If the connection is good, then the small electrical current continues to flow through
the circuit, lighting up the LED and sounding the warning buzzer, letting you know that the ignitor
has continuity, and is ready for ignition.
Now even though electricity is flowing, it’s only around 40mA, and
that’s not near enough to set off the igniter. It actually needs closer to 2 amps, or 50 times
more power for proper ignition.
If you’re ready to launch, keep the trigger pulled, and press the red button simultaneously.
This opens the electrical flood gates, and sends a surge of around 6 amps through the
ignitor, firing it off instantly.
Alright, now that all the connection points are soldered and insulated with electrical
tape, we’ve just got a few finishing touches left.
Find the circuit board you ripped out earlier, and draw two lines. One on the bottom side
of the controller pack connection, and another that humps up and over the contact pad for the “A” button.
We can make things a little more tidy by ripping all the wires and cords off the board, and
if we use a large pair of pliers to grip the slot for the controller pack, and give it
a good twist, it’ll snap right off.
Now carefully break off pieces of the board around the “A” button, then grind down
any rough edges with a file to clean it up and make it look a bit nicer.
Find the silicone button pad next, with the 6 contacts on it, and if you use a marker to
draw a line separating out where the “A” button would be, then simply use a pair of
scissors to cut it off, then that’s it.
We can go ahead and gather up all the buttons now, and put the whole thing back together.
When the components are back in place, go ahead and lay the modified button pad in position.
And now it should make sense why we had to make that cut.
The circuit board goes in next to help keep the buttons from falling out, and to make sure
they look, and act like normal.
Now before we screw the casing together, there’s just one thing left to do, and that’s to
add 30 foot lead wires so we can ignite rockets from a distance. And for that, I’m using
a 100ft roll of 24 gauge speaker wire I found at the hardware store.
I soldered and taped the wires into position, then tied a knot on the inside of the casing
to protect the wire from getting pulled out accidentally.
At this point let’s feed the two 9 volt battery clips through the slot for the controller
pack, and screw the two halves back together. Just like that, our N64 rocket launch controller
is completely finished, and ready for testing.
I hooked up two 9 volt batteries and pushed them into place, then gathered a handful of
my homemade rocket ignitors. Which you can learn how to make in another project video.
Just for convenience, I attached alligator clips on the ends of each wire so the leads
will bite onto the igniters. This way we can hook up, and even change ignitors, within a matter of seconds.
Now if the electric match has continuity, then when we press the trigger button, a green
light and a buzzer come on telling us the system is armed and ready for launch. And
pressing the red button next will light it up.
And of course, 30 foot lead wires, mean we can remotely launch our rockets now, from
a pretty good distance away.
I took this launch controller out into the desert to test on homemade Rockets, and sugar
motors that I showed you how to make in another project video.
You can see that with everything connected properly, the controller works exactly how
we hoped it would, so we don’t have to worry about lighting a fuse and running away anymore,
because instead, now we have the ability to launch rockets or even light pyrotechnics,
with the simple push of a button.
Well now you know how to convert an old video game controller, into a remote controlled
rocket launch controller, that not only looks awesome, but launches freakin’ rockets in real life.
By the way, if you’re wondering what to do with the leftover cord from the controller,
don’t throw it away. Instead, use it to mass produce another round of igniters, for future launches.
Well that’s it for now. If you like this project perhaps you’ll like some of my others.
Check them out at www.thekingofrandom.com