Help: identify pad problem

[huzi]

Hi,

One (right) arrow on my pad stopped working and I have been trying to figure out why. It happened after my kids came back from school and the first thing they wanted to do was dancing. Not long after the first song the right arrow did not register anything. In other words, it was working for half to 1 minute or so.

I checked the connection from the step to the DB9 and they are working, and stepping on it and the connection to the DB9's common is working too. Then the DB9 goes to the controller.

Now seems the only possibility is the controller, which was taken out of the gamestop's soft pad.

My questions are:
How do we really know if the controller is fried?
Also, assume the damage is done by static, how do we really know for sure?

The step is composed of (from bottom to top) metal, 1/8" hardboard, 1/4" closed cell foam (yes I want to be easy on our legs). I doubt this combination can easily generate static but I don't know for sure.

I don't have problem buying a new softpad to replace the controller but I would like it to last. The current controller lasted 3 weeks.

Last but not least, how to reduce/prevent static? Many people talk about ground the pad but I have yet found anything that details how, like a picture or schematic.

Appreciate your inputs,
Huzi

[slvrshdw]

is it a homebuilt pad, because it sounds like it is.

if it is, it should be easier to fix IMO.

first, only plug in the controller to the ps2/whatever you are using, then try to close the right contact on the controller to see if that even responds.
if it does, its probably a sensor for the arrow.

if its controller itself, just buy a really cheap softpad, or find an old one from a friend or something, then use it
softpad circuit boards are much easier to use, and are better to resist static. (i've had one in mine for well over a year, no problems)

as for the static buildup, i remember seeing the post about it.
basically, all they did was make all 5 metal top pieces join together, then attach a wire to a screw that went to the bottom of the pad

if i'm not mistaken, i would just wire that to the ground on the controller, because that would basically do the same thing (NOTE: im not sure if that will harm anything though)
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[huzi]

Thanks slvrshdw.

Yes it is a homebuilt pad.

I am not quite getting the ground part still. Maybe I have read the method you talked about but since I didn't understand maybe I just forgot.

My pad does not have the 5 metal top (non-functioning) pieces, if these are the ones you talked about. They are just wood pieces. Do you see static buildup on those?

Also, what about the chance of a "sudden" snap. I was thinking along the line that my kids just stepped out of the car and without doing anything else they started using the pad. Maybe they carried a lot of static. But then, once they were on the step, the connection to the ground is closed and the static should just go away.

Is it true that the static is built up during the stepping by friction of the shoes/feet/socks with the plastic and then transfered to the metal stationary pads? How does that get into the controller?

I guess I am just not very clear about the static problem specific to dance pad.

I will try shorting at the controller end as you suggested tonight.

Thanks,
Huzi

[huzi]

I fixed it temporarily. The controller has some unused signals (say for X and O which I don't need). I moved the right arrow to a different one and remapped in PC.

Thanks,
Huzi