ITGFreak.com (lol not really)

[Hellacious]

Hey Everybody. Some of you may know me and some of you may not in this community. Regardless that is besides the point of why I am making this topic. I have played dancing games since back in 1999. I started off on DDR 3rd Mix and DDR USA. I later got into Techno Motion and Pump It Up. Something that has always intrigued me over the years has been why is it that some pads are just awful and some are just great. I have since bought my own PIU Machine and I come to you with some answers and some of my own personal modifications to eliminate panel recession and also increase pad sensitivity. So with that being said I am going to post a few pictures here and explain them. I will also go through here and explain why I use what I am using instead of what other people have possibly used in the past. So here we go!


This first picture is just showing you what a normal panel should look like. The L bracket is what goes over the top of the sensor. As you can see it has a foam/rubber piece on top of the L bracket. What happens in most cases with pads is that the sensors themselves don't necessarily go bad. What happens is that this layer of foam/rubber wears away over time down to nothing but metal. Without having that foam/rubber there, you lose pad sensitivity and also gain panel recession. Most places do not consider this an issue and just say that the sensors need replaced because typically new sensors need a breaking in period. New sensors are more sensitive however, you don't have to replace all your sensors to achieve good quality pads. This helps but doesn't correct the overall problem because new sensors are expensive. I know that in the past people have used foam mounting tape to correct this issue but I will tell you a better method below. So here is the 1st picture.



Alright so that was a basic picture of what a normal panel looks like. As I said before I do not use foam mounting tape because I find that it is for one very expensive. And most importantly it simply does not last very long before you have to modify the pad again with more foam mounting tape or double or triple stack it. So what do I propose that you use? I propose that you use something called Foamie Sheets. I get mine from the local Meijer store *Midwest only store like Walmart*. The Foamie Sheets can be found in just about any craft store or department. I buy 2mm for the thickness of them. They come in 8X11 sheets for around .39 CENTS per sheet. Hence why I stated earlier that foam mounting tape is far too expensive when you can obtain the same great results with better longevity. Here is a picture to attempt to show you the thickness of them.





As you can see they aren't super thick however they do the job very well. I cut the foam into rectangles the size of the L bracket and then tape them to the top of the L bracket as seen in the pictures below.





With this simple modification to your pads, you will see highly increased pad sensitivity and also reduce or completely eliminate panel recession. The ultimate goal is that when you put the panel into place, it lines up directly with the metal on the triangle brackets before you put the brackets themselves down. The panel and the metal L brackets should be level with each other. If the panel is slightly above the metal, you may find that you have a stuck sensor. Slightly un-tightening a screw or two may fix this problem and it may not. This is a sign of possibly you have really good sensors that do not need this mod or you have too much foam stacked up or you simply have 1 sensor that is more sensitive than the rest in the panel. My recommendation when you have only 1 sensor being held down is work step on the panel quite a bit like you are playing the game. You will shortly wear down the foam enough that the sensor will no longer be stuck and you will have an extremely sensitive panel. Please note than once you have this mod completed, you have to be very careful putting the panel back in place ensuring that all of your foam pieces are laid down flat on top of the L bracket. The tape is mainly used to keep the foam secured on top of the L brackets. You may notice that when you tape it like I did in the pictures above that the foam raises up away from where it is taped. That is ok, you just need to make sure that when you put the panel on it is all held down. The panel itself will put pressure on the L brackets after you put it back on. Once you have done that, screw the triangle brackets back on the pad and get to playing. If you are getting a few pad misses here and there, I would say that is to be expected for a week or so depending on how much the machine gets played. This mod may require some break-in time however once it is broken in, the results are absolutely amazing.

We have currently tested the above method at the Bavarian Inn Lodge in Frankenmuth, Michigan for several months now on their ITG2 Dedicab. It has also been tested at a LAN Center in Michigan where my good friend Kuhazan has his own PIU NX2 machine set-up. I have tested it also at my house on my own PIU NX2 machine and have not had any issues with it at all. I encourage everyone to give their feedback and also ask any questions along the way. If you have played at the Lodge or any place listed that has had this modification done please give some feedback as to your experience with it.

I hope this guide is helpful for everyone and again if you have any questions at all, please let me know. I will be glad to help you out.

-Hellacious
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[belink]

Sweet guide. This deserves a sticky!
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OpenITG, k.

[shadowlord]

Nice guide. Easy to follow.
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Proof that you cant satisfy whining DDR players who avoid ITG like the plague. Especially those on DDR community

[cheesecake]

nice guide Ryan. Request sticky
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Join the West Michigan Pump Club...Even if you are from east Michigan

Roxor, Andamiro and Konami should team up to make a dancing game;
Roxor would make the game,
Andamiro would make the cabinet
and Konami would make the money

[Zash]

I've been using a very similar method in my DDR machine. Rather than using the foam sheets, I've been using strips of weather stripping (from home depot). It was very cheap (like 5-10 bucks for a roll that could, easily, do both pads for 3 or 4 machines lol). It's worked out very well so far. There are very few pad flaws (and our pads are using the original Konami sensors I believe). I might look into getting some of this stuff and redo one side of the pad in this.

[Hellacious]

Yeah one 8X11 sheet is enough to do one entire 4 panel machine. You need just over 1 sheet to do an entire 5 panel machine. So for those that have Techno Motion machines, you would need essentially 3 sheets of this stuff. But like I said originally .39 cents per sheet of this stuff destroys anything else in price and does an incredible job that lasts. I look forward to hearing your results of doing the mod on 1 pad and seeing how you like it.
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[th34nt0ni0]

We have been using thick garage weather stripping for a while now, and I think it feels too soft and squishy sometimes... pretty much not solid at all like other machines. I'll see if I can try using this stuff instead but is it going to be more solid?

[Hellacious]

This stuff is almost exactly like what the pads come with from the factory. I would consider my PIU pads to be solid. You can definitely feel the pad like you normally would. If I had a camera, I would make a video for you. I know that Tessa uploaded a couple new videos of the lodge machine that has the mod done to it. Maybe that will help you determine it but without truly doing it yourself, I don't know if you will really be able to tell. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uy-E6k9_WwI - Tessa - Feels Just Like That Night.

EDIT: I just talked with Tessa and she said that the pads feel great and kinda squishy. And that they also have a little bounce to them. If you have ever played on a pad with the foam worn down to nothing but the metal L bracket, you will notice that you get fatigued a lot quicker and also may end up with sore ankles the next day. The pads are supposed to have a little bounce/cushioning to them so yeah. As far as testing out my PIU machine pads, I don't feel the squishyness on them at all. I suppose that it should be noted that this mod does take some time to break-in. I've had it on my pads for several months now. As far as comments from the Lodge, fellow ITG player and tech Jeff said you really have to play on them a lot to break them in and then they work grrrreat. So yeah take it for what you will. Best thing that I can tell you is to try it out but give it some time to break in and then judge how well you like it. So far we don't have any complaints up here since everything has gotten broken in.
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[jers]

I think I'll do this to our pads. I'm assuming it'll work just as fine with ddr pads. I'm so tired of playing on an upgrade but it's all i have unless I want to go 2hours away. The managers let me do what I want with the machine and are willing to help me out in any way.

I think I could afford to spend $1 though to work on the pads myself.

I'll take pics and whatnot when I have the time to do this. working 6days a week and keeping my girlfriend entertained kinda takes up a lot of time.

Also.. I'm kinda worried about getting the pads broken in. I'm the only person that plays on a regular basis.. and now since I'm working so much I barely get to play twice a week, and even then it's only for an hour or two if I'm lucky.

The machine doesn't get too much play from random customers either.

How long do you think it will take to break in?

[T-Dog!]

alright, im no tech expert, but will this method also work for blueshark pads? i dont own one nor seen one except on youtube videos, and i was just curious if this kind of maintenance can be done on the bluesharks. thanks.

[Hellacious]

As far as the break-in period, it overall depends on how good the sensors are to begin with. If they are really sensitive then it could take awhile up to a month. Example our ITG2 Dedicab gets a lot of play but the sensors in it are still like new really. It took probably a month of heavy play before it got broken in. My PIU machine on the other hand took a few days as most of my sensors are older and not quite as sensitive. You will be able to tell very quickly from the I/O Test menu whether or not things are too sensitive or even after playing 1 game. What I did to a really sensitive sensor was physically step down on the L bracket with the foam on top of it. Be extremely careful when doing this as if you misstep or fall off the L bracket, you are liable to break your lights inside the panel. It will work on a DDR machine also.

I've never personally played on a Blueshark pad. I know that they are set-up quite similar so if anything, I would just say to try it and post results. So maybe someone that has a Blueshark could answer that question for you.
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[AllusiveGold]

[IH.infamouspat]

very interesting & informative

A++ will skim through again
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OpenITG.

[DF.Rynker]

K so I can tell this definitely makes the pads more sensitive.
But how do you fix oversensitive sensors?
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Youtube

[Chino]