modding cobalt flux pads

[Kalek]

the pennies raise up the contacts on the edge so it takes less force/less panel movement to set off a button. with the pennies there, i can hit in the corners of the arrows much more easily, and while the arrow may not contact in the center (where it normally would), it'll skim the pennies and set off the arrow anyway.

[jctaft]

The biggest thing that affects the sensitivity of your cobalt flux is how tight the screws are (and keep in mind they are too tight when it ships). You need to loosen those, so they don't bow the panels at all. Look at the panels from the side, and if they bow even a little bit, then those panels will only register if you hit them smack dab in the middle, but if your panel is completely straight, then you'll have the same sensitivity everywhere on the panel.

At least this is true for mine. I have two and they both had to be loosened before they worked well.

[Kiri_No_Haku]

Hmmm, this may also be why mine occasionally misses. How much do you think I should loosen the screws? A half turn or full? (as in unscrewing)

[jctaft]

Originally Posted by 霧の白

Hmmm, this may also be why mine occasionally misses. How much do you think I should loosen the screws? A half turn or full? (as in unscrewing)

Well what I do is I put my head on the ground and I loosen each of the four screws until there is a noticeable gap between the screw and the panel. Then I tighten the screws just until they touch the plastic, put don't push down on it.

[alielmejor]

Originally Posted by Kalek

the pennies raise up the contacts on the edge so it takes less force/less panel movement to set off a button. with the pennies there, i can hit in the corners of the arrows much more easily, and while the arrow may not contact in the center (where it normally would), it'll skim the pennies and set off the arrow anyway.

Thanks, but it will damage? maybe the pennies will work as sensors (i don't know), and arrow will be working different, but will recess the arrow?, and after, you take off the pennies, will it be as before? I really want to try this but also I don't want problems since my pad is kind of new (like 3 months)

Thanks..

[Kalek]

Originally Posted by jctaft

The biggest thing that affects the sensitivity of your cobalt flux is how tight the screws are (and keep in mind they are too tight when it ships). You need to loosen those, so they don't bow the panels at all. Look at the panels from the side, and if they bow even a little bit, then those panels will only register if you hit them smack dab in the middle, but if your panel is completely straight, then you'll have the same sensitivity everywhere on the panel.

At least this is true for mine. I have two and they both had to be loosened before they worked well.

i am very aware of that. when i debow the panels, it IMPROVES the sensitivity, but still total shit and borderline unplayable for me.

Originally Posted by alielmejor

Thanks, but it will damage? maybe the pennies will work as sensors (i don't know), and arrow will be working different, but will recess the arrow?, and after, you take off the pennies, will it be as before? I really want to try this but also I don't want problems since my pad is kind of new (like 3 months)

Thanks..

i am not going to guarantee that the pad will go undamaged because i can't guarantee that. this will not recess the arrows at all. after taking out the pennies, it should still work as before. the damage that i can see them possibly doing is the sheet metal might get dented a little, but i don't see that affecting game play.

[Kiri_No_Haku]

Wow, I was ecstatic when I tried this. The panels scared me because, after trying to get the velco off of the first metal sheet, I almost ripped off the wire and got scared. While doing this, I also learned how dirty the inside could get and how the crap on it never comes off no matter how hard you clean. >>

Well, I got pissed off when I popped in my EX JP and started breaking up on Graduation and 1998, so I grabbed a handful of pennies and tried it. I went ahead and put them on with duck tape where you applied your own. After playing around 40 more songs, I noticed that it worked like a charm. Instead of getting my combo broken on almost every song, I FCed most of them and I noticed that maybe out of 5 times on 40 songs that the pad still screwed up; could have been my fault. That was A LOT better than it screwing up on each song. I think about 3 of those 5 were because there were a few songs I tried out that I never did on pad before for some reason. (xenon, jet world, 321 [almost PFC])

Thanks for this info because it really helped me out. I'll get back after a week to see how it really changed.....now to test this on 300 more songs.

[Kalek]

glad to see it's working out

[Kiri_No_Haku]

Originally Posted by Kalek

glad to see it's working out

I've been playing for a week and there seems to be very few combo-breaks now. I might get 2-4 out of every 90 minutes.

[Kiri_No_Haku]

Sorry about the bump, but I wanted to ask Kalek something.

I have noticed lately that two of my screws on the right-arrow panel have split the wood; therefore, they will not tighten and it is being more of a bother to keep the lexan from moving. Do you think wood glue would help this, or is this unable to be fixed? Would it really affect my gameplay in the future since it hasn't yet?




Yes, I just realized I could have PMed him. ><

[Kalek]

I'm actually not the best person to ask in this case.

I am not handy at all. I just happened to notice a flaw in Cobalts and fixed it to my own liking and figured others might be interested in knowing.

[Norkusa]

Just did this penny mod on my flux tonight. My CF is on its last legs and I was planning on buying a new one in a few weeks, so I figured I might as well try this before I give up on it. Wow, it totally made a difference.

The one thing I hated about the flux is the 'mushy' feeling arrows. The penny mod totally fixes that though and now it feels much more solid and accurate. It also makes that satisfying clicking sound that arcade pads make. This totally helps me on my timing since I can audibly follow the beat better with my steps. It almost feels like I'm using a completely different pad now.

The only thing I'm worried about is that the pennies may dent the arrows over time, causing them to cave-in. So far I played an hour and a half with the mod and took one of the arrows off to look for any denting but couldn't find any, so maybe it'll hold up over time.

Big thanks to Kalek for groundbreaking discovery. I was ready to drop $350 on a new flux + arcade mod soon but this penny mod fixes almost all my problems with my pad. All I need now is to find a way to fix the stripped screws that hold my left and right arrows in and I'll be set!

[JPOP]

Man ive been braggin about cobalt fluxes, and i do have one, but now i want to sell mine and get a blueshark 2 =P
Cant stand my Flux anymore, can even play 11's on it yet i can play 11's on shitty pads at FNS lol xD
I even got the arcade mod.....

[Kiri_No_Haku]

Well, fluxes are awesome for endurance, which is the reason I bought mine. Sure, their sensors are low-quality when compared to Blueshark, but most people just buy them for their durability.

I wanted a Blueshark before, but you don't see too many of them for sale anymore.

[Norkusa]

I started shopping around for a used Blueshark a couple months ago but I'm going to stick with my penny-modded Flux. My main problem with the flux was the bowed arrows that felt too 'mushy' when you step on them, throwing my timing off and giving me Excellent's on steps that should have been Fantastic's. This penny mod flattens them out though so it feels like you're actually stepping on a level panel.

It probably doesn't feel as good as a Blueshark but this penny mod combined with CF's durability (and the arcade mod) is good enough for me.