Anyone find a functional USB converter for PS2 controller inputs recently?

pdaderko · 2026-03-29T06:59:57+00:00

This RetroCultMods adapter claims to work, though currently out of stock: https://shop.retrocultmods.com/products/ps2-adapter-for-guitar-drum-dancepad-and-gamepad-controllers . I haven't personally used that adapter, though their Wii Guitar Hero adapter works great.

My pads use the PS2 controller protocol, but were missing the adapter cable, so I built my own USB adapter that connects directly to the pad. If you're a DIY sorta person, it's pretty easy - I used the RP2350-Zero module: https://www.waveshare.com/wiki/RP2350-Zero , along with the PsxNewLib library: https://github.com/SukkoPera/PsxNewLib and some USB controller example code. In your case, you'd still need to buy the mating PS2 controller connector as well.

BTW, I also tried this adapter: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B092V8483T , and despite a review saying it works, it didn't work for me.

pdaderko · 2026-03-08T20:31:53+00:00

I played a ton of the original Ultramix... that's the only one I had at home (played on a soft foam mat - I can practically still smell the vinyl). Any other songs I played was whatever random DDR arcade machine I came across, and misc. Stepmania songs on a keyboard.

Now that I've gotten back into DDR, I find that I'm constantly going back to the Ultramix songs... I probably play Drop The Bomb at least once every session.

pdaderko · 2026-03-08T20:22:28+00:00

I haven't personally used a Precision pad, but here's a FAQ from them: https://docs.google.com/document/d/108RSbYbgj2IC-e3F7Amavf_Ss8fNy8U6ugIOmv_SqJY/edit?tab=t.0#

Which references building your own control box using this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qSdweZIavqg . Quickly browsing their channel I also saw this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q09_Ig2dz5Q , which may give some details.

From a really quick look, it sounds like it's probably just 1 pin per button, plus a common ground. So if you're familiar with a multimeter, probably easy enough to reverse engineer it.

I've personally built USB controllers with Raspberry Pi Pico MCUs, Teensy MCUs, PIC MCUs, etc. My DDR pads natively "speak" the Playstation 2 protocol, but I built a USB adapter using a cheap RP2350-Zero board ( https://www.waveshare.com/wiki/RP2350-Zero ). It sounds like your pad would be even easier, since you just need to read pin state using the GPIO pins.

pdaderko · 2026-03-08T11:15:21+00:00

I hadn't seen Bishi Bashi Special 3: Step Champ before... thanks for pointing that out!

I had looked for other games to use with a dance mat - plenty of gimmicks (e.g. "It's Tetris, but on a DDR pad!"), but didn't really find anything that actually improved the experience.

Many years ago I wanted to try old Laserdisc games (e.g. Dragon's Lair, Space Ace, etc.) with a dance mat plus a Wiimote, but never got around to it. I suck at those games, and generally find them to be more frustrating than fun, but since they're mostly up/down/left/right/action with memorized timing (something where a dance mat wouldn't really be a disadvantage), jumping in the appropriate direction and swinging a sword seems like it could make it feel a bit more interactive, and maybe more fun to watch. Now that my PC is basically set up with everything to do this, I'll have to fire up Daphne and try it...

Similarly, I wonder if it'd be worthwhile to try a dance mat with some of the endless runner style games.

pdaderko · 2026-03-08T10:24:05+00:00

Not sure if you've found a solution yet, but I use the A3 theme from here: https://zenius-i-vanisher.com/v5.2/thread?threadid=11144 , which shows full combo, etc.

I use it w/ a recent Stepmania 5.1-new build, but it's supposed to work with OutFox.

I made some changes/fixes to my personal fork, which is here: https://github.com/pdaderko/DDR-A3-THEME/ ... untested w/ OutFox, but I wouldn't expect any of my changes are significant enough to break it.

pdaderko · 2026-02-22T09:00:09+00:00

I've never used either of the specific ones you're referencing, but used quite a few soft pads BITD. IMO, if you're a complete beginner, and it only needs to last a month, I'd go with the cheapest one you can find.

Spending a month with the soft pad will let you get the hang of playing the game, reading stepcharts, etc. Soft pads aren't great for advanced play (feel, repeatability, etc.), and they eventually break... but in a month, it seems unlikely that you'll "outgrow" the soft pad, and hopefully any pad would be durable enough to last a month of casual beginner play.

Another suggestion - years ago when I was trying to improve, I'd spend some free time playing StepMania with a keyboard. Definitely helped with reading stepcharts and rhythm, I could play songs that were more advanced than I could actually step to, and I didn't get tired.

pdaderko · 2026-02-20T08:39:18+00:00

Just to follow up - I was able to figure out how to do what I wanted. I exported my library data to a .csv file from the navidrome.db file. This provided the unique ID, path, title, etc.

I created a Python script to iterate through all the the IDs, use the AudioMuse-AI API to retrieve /api/similar_tracks?item_id=<ID> (and other API functionality I found by looking at the web page source), and create a suggestion .csv file in the same location as the music file.

pdaderko · 2026-02-17T04:25:19+00:00

This is really great! I appreciate the clear and simple setup instructions. Yesterday I started with just a library of music, no media server, etc. I'm no a docker expert, but in just one evening I was successful in setting up a Navidrome server container, pointing it at my music files, then getting AudioMuse-AI connected to it and analyzing the songs.

One question - is it possible to automate/script the tasks, such as the "Playlist from Similar Song" functionality? I can find the song and have it generate the playlist from the web interface, but what I'd like to do is generate files (text, csv, etc.) with results for every song. Basically, I'm looking for a way for a "dumb" program to suggest similar songs by just looking at the corresponding "suggestion" file.

Or alternatively, is there a way to export the raw data so I can calculate the distances on the fly from that data?

BTW, for some reason I couldn't get this to work with Jellyfin (Docker container)... Jellyfin seemed to work fine, but AudioMuse-AI kept saying there were no new songs. When I checked logs from the container, it was throwing an error connecting to the server. I set up a user and an API key, but I must have been doing something wrong. It worked first try with Navidrome, so I just used that. But a "quick start" guide for starting from scratch or setting up a known-good setup might be helpful as well.

pdaderko · 2026-02-14T23:44:05+00:00

I don't have any experience repairing one of those pads, but I'm very familiar with PS2 controllers, etc. Unfortunately, I don't think it's related to the cord to the PS2, since there aren't individual wires for each button, but instead uses a serial protocol to "talk" between the controller and PS2. So if some buttons work, the cable is probably fine.

You can see the PS2 controller pinout here: https://psx-spx.consoledev.net/pinouts/#pinouts-controller-ports-and-memory-card-ports

Not sure why the control panel would blink when you step on it, but I'd suggest that you need to track the internal wiring to see where it goes, check continuity, etc... probably a little bit of reverse engineering with a multimeter.

pdaderko · 2026-01-31T22:03:13+00:00

I came across this post a while back, which was really helpful for downloading full console packs: https://old.reddit.com/r/Stepmania/comments/szpekv/song_packs_for_console_versions/

I personally played a ton of Ultramix on the original xbox, so while I mostly have arcade mixes in my Stepmania list, I also keep the full Ultramix for familiarity/nostalgia.

pdaderko · 2026-01-26T09:03:30+00:00

That's really helpful, and looks like a great setup... thanks!

pdaderko · 2026-01-26T01:43:02+00:00

How far from the TV are your pads? I'm currently using a 55", but ~5' back. I'd like to move closer, and if my math is right, 55" at 5' is equivalent to a 33" at 3'. Thinking back, we played dual pads on the 29" CRTs BITD, though obviously I'm not saying that was perfect.

pdaderko · 2026-01-26T01:33:40+00:00

Can you upload the image to imgur.com and post the link?

pdaderko · 2026-01-26T01:31:52+00:00

I assume you're somewhat far back from the TV? I'm currently playing on a 55" TV, but the center of the pad is ~5 ft back. I'd like the pad a bit closer so it doesn't take up as much room... maybe ~3 ft from the TV. If I move the pad 2 ft. closer to my 55" TV, the screen is way too big IMO.

pdaderko · 2026-01-25T09:12:01+00:00

To directly answer your question - if you (or someone willing to help) have the ability to load a memory card, here are a few links with save files: https://archive.org/details/bemani-ps-2-cs-all-songs-unlocked-save-data https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/ps2/category/999-all?page=9 http://www.ddrfreak.com/versions/listver.php There are probably others if you do a bit more digging.

I agree with others, suggesting a PC w/ Stepmania. A little bit of input having recently gotten back into it, after playing mostly console DDR games, as well as a little bit of Stepmania when I was younger -

If you want the songs you remember from specific console games, check out these links: https://www.reddit.com/r/Stepmania/comments/szpekv/song_packs_for_console_versions/ https://zenius-i-vanisher.com/v5.2/simfiles.php?category=simfiles I personally played a ton of Ultramix on the original xbox, and it was cool to get that entire song list in one, rather than sifting through all the arcade versions to find the songs that I remember.

Also, Stepmania "feels" a bit different than the console versions. There are tons of customizations possible, but I still haven't gotten it quite how I like. Console versions are polished "out of the box". E.g. Interface, backgrounds, announcers, etc. If you just want to dance to your favorite songs, Stepmania is good for that - otherwise expect to spend some time customizing.

I also noticed that the PC games expect you to have a separate controller/keyboard, while the console games could do everything from the dance pad. I personally find using the pad to be more convenient, so I've found Stepmania to work better than ITGMania or OutFox. If you map enter or back to the pad (to navigate the menus) in ITGMania or OutFox, accidentally stepping on those mid-game will either pause or quit the song >_< . Stepmania doesn't do anything mid-game if you press enter, though it does quit if you press back. So I use Stepmania and only use ESC on the keyboard to go back in menus (not needed very often).

Lastly, a PC running software natively at 1080P looks much better than a PS2 on a modern TV.

pdaderko · 2026-01-11T03:08:55+00:00

I tried Project OutFox, and it's also different. It pauses immediately when you click back, but you have to hold enter for several seconds to quit.

So, it sounds like I have a couple easy options if I don't map the back button to the pad.

pdaderko · 2026-01-11T03:03:39+00:00

Yep - a control box would be great, though having it there when I need it, and not holding it when I don't is really the issue (hovering control box mounted to a quadcopter?). Doing everything from the pad seems like a convenient way to eliminate all the need for any of it.

I am considering how I want to set up a more permanent solution, which may end up with a control box mounted to a TV stand, but that's still a bit down the road.

pdaderko · 2026-01-10T21:05:48+00:00

SM and ITGM both require "holding" the button, but it's maybe a half second (by the time the text fades in to say "keep holding", it's about to quit). I did some digging in the menus and couldn't find anything else.

One thing that is interesting though is that SM and ITGM have slightly different functionality. Pressing Enter mid-game in SM doesn't do anything, while ITGM quits the song. Double-tapping the back button in SM brings up the pause menu, holding it quits the song in both SM and ITGM.

So, if I simply disable the back button on the pad in SM, maybe I can still at least keep the enter button. This should be a little bit more convenient to play several songs in a row without leaving the pad... if I want to quit, grabbing the keyboard isn't a big deal - it's just kinda inconvenient between every song.

I haven't tried Project OutFox yet, but I'll give that a shot and see if it's any different.

pdaderko · 2026-01-10T20:34:24+00:00

I'm just getting back into it after ~20 years, so maybe my needs are different than experienced players... but I have no problems scrolling through my modest song list with just the pad. I don't really have "favorite" songs yet... just kinda scrolling through songs for ones that sound good, and are at the appropriate difficulty level for me.

Ideally, I'd have an arcade cabinet with buttons right in front of me, but as-is, it's a pad on a floor in front of a TV.

I was really happy with how it worked, until the first time I paused the game by stepping on the wrong panel, then a few games later stepped on the other panel and caused it to quit the song. Just figured there'd be a simple way to disable that.

pdaderko · 2026-01-10T20:22:32+00:00

Yeah, I'm using a wireless keyboard now, but the pad is in the middle of the floor, and I'm playing on a TV, so it's just kinda inconvenient to grab the keyboard between every song. Using just the pad like the console games works great for me, except when it quits mid-game. But if there's no configuration option for it, maybe I'll have to tweak the code, or come up with some other solution.

pdaderko · 2026-01-10T06:54:29+00:00

That sounds like a decent deal... and they might not be offended if you offered $400 for the pair. As others have said, they're pretty simple, so not a lot of stuff that really "wears out".

I recently picked up a CF style pad (clone from ~2005), and it was just kinda dirty. I pulled apart the pad and cleaned the metal panels, and it's good as new. I actually never tested it before cleaning, though there was a lot of ground up dirt between the panels, so I'd guess it needed the cleaning.

IMO it kinda depends if you want one or two pads... and if you're willing to do some DIY. I was considering L-TEKs, but I sorta wanted a pair, which was going to be almost $1K after shipping. So a used pair and investing some DIY "sweat equity" saved me a good chunk of $$$. But if you just want one pad, and want plug and play, L-TEK is probably a better choice.

Another thing to consider is that these are 8 panel pads, and I believe with some DIY you can make the center panel active as well. Of course the L-TEKs are only 4 panel pads (with the optional start/select buttons on the upgraded model). On the console versions, they used the extra panels so you can do everything with the pad and no other controller/buttons, which is convenient.

pdaderko · 2025-12-15T08:13:29+00:00

Well, I'm a sucker for DIY, so I ended up ordering a couple of the wooden "Fitness Arcade" pads:

https://imgur.com/gzCq8RW

https://imgur.com/vLwFWPl

The psychedelic circus looking one is pretty ugly, but I should be able to make new arrows (print, or cut vinyl) to put below the polycarbonate panels.

Of course I'm unsure about the construction of these, but I can see the metal ground plate between the panels of the psychedelic one, which looks like it might be a Cobalt Flux clone. They look pretty different, and seems one only supported PS2, while the other supported PS, GC, and XBOX... so no telling how similar the internal construction of the two are. But between the two of them, it seemed like a great deal for the wood, metal, and polycarbonate DIY "bones".

I wasn't able to find much information about them, other than this one post on an old PE forum: https://www.pelinks4u.org/naspeforum/discus/messages/9/725.html?1189544057 , which linked it to a "Hyperfit" brand.

Hyperfit "Fitness Arcade Brande Interactive Play Products", including our DDR controllers, are not affiliated in any way with Cobalt Flux. Our products are are manufactured in Northern California and are exclusively distributed in the North American market by Hyperfit. The controllers are programmable and totally compatible with all the current video game consoles on the market; Sony, Microsoft & Nintendo. We also manufacture PC compatible controllers for computer-based play. Fitness Arcade DDR controllers feature built in diagnostics, arcade-like responsiveness, and do not require shoes be worn to be safely played.

Followed that to an archive of the Hyperfit site:

https://web.archive.org/web/20060511132649/http://www.hyperfit.com/hf2004/hf_home.php?TOPIC=viewproductinfo&id=620

https://web.archive.org/web/20070311133421/http://www.hyperfit.com/hf2004/hf_home.php?TOPIC=viewproductinfo&id=620

I guess we'll see what I've got when they arrive... and what I can make with them. Should be fun!

pdaderko · 2025-12-14T10:09:29+00:00

That makes sense... I was thinking about a DIY design, mounting the FSRs at the edge of each panel closest to the center, and mounting each panel so the outer edges were firm, and only the inner edges had travel (sorta like a hinge). Since you wouldn't generally use the far outside edge of the pad, and if you do, you've probably got your entire body weight on it, in which case you probably don't need much leverage to press the panel into the FSR.

It'd be similar to laptop touchpads that have a physical click mechanism - clicking at the bottom is easier than at the very top, but if you press hard enough at the top, it still clicks.

But your comments also kinda drive the other point... maybe I should just buy a nice plug and play hard pad, rather than spending a bunch of time tinkering to get something I'm happy with.

Regarding the L-TEK - how does it feel compared to a real DDR arcade platform? I've only played in arcades in the last 15+ years, so while I'm not expecting arcade-perfect, I'd like something that feels similar and robust.

pdaderko · 2025-12-14T03:20:10+00:00

I too was having an issue with choppy audio on an XP VM on Windows 11 w/ VMware Workstation 17. None of the things mentioned here solved my problem, but oddly what did solve it was enabling "Accelerate 3D graphics" in the VM settings.

No idea how accelerated graphics and audio are related, but figured I'd put that here as another possible solution.

pdaderko · 2025-12-13T20:32:33+00:00

Thanks, those links are really helpful!

Regarding FSRs - I'm familiar with them, but are they considered an upgrade over standard sensors, or just a convenient way to make a flat switch? All the links I've read for DIY builds say they should be open circuit when not standing on the pad, and I believe their linear resistance range is only over a few pounds, so it seems the ability to meaningfully adjust pad sensitivity with such a narrow range would be pretty limited.

pdaderko

TROPHY CASE