At the end of June, I decided I’d rather build the MyGamepad myself than buy an Azeron Cyborg for over €350. Ideally, the MyGamepad should cost around €150 in parts if I build it with controller functionality. And, of course, if I don’t have to buy all the parts in bulk. Fortunately, MIRE, the creator of the MyGamepad, was kind enough to offer suitable kits on Kleinanzeigen. So, after I had everything together and printed, the real fun began.
****For clarification: The €350 refers to buying it from the official shop with accessories.
I mentioned it in the first post about the MyGamepad: I had to buy a soldering iron first. I opted for a very cheap set for 17 euros. Certainly not a soldering iron that will last me the rest of my life, but for the first 36 years of my life, I’ve hardly had a need for one. The iron should be sufficient for this project. And it was, even though I managed to melt one of the tips. 200°C was too low for my solder, and 350°C was apparently too much for the tip to handle continuously. I should have just left the tip it came with on.
The print files are very well made, although I reoriented some of them. This either reduced print time and/or improved quality. I would print the palm rest on its front edge. This makes it smoother, and the vertical layer lines prevent slipping. I might reprint some parts. I printed the keycaps with a zig-zag pattern. I’ll test whether a concentric top surface that follows the shape would be better. I’ve also ordered a filament dryer now. Some minor bubbles are still visible in the print. And I still need to move the Z-seam on some parts so it’s not on visible surfaces. I had left that up to the slicer, which doesn’t always produce good results.
The Assembly
But let’s get to the assembly. Michael invested a lot of time into writing a guide that I got along with quite well. I would have described some things more precisely or in a different order, but if you go through the guide once beforehand, you’ll manage just fine. Some things weren’t entirely easy for me, but that’s due to my lack of experience with electronics. How on earth do you actually solder a connector to a circuit board? And why are the pins crooked afterward? Because I had too much heat on the soldering iron and soldered for too long, I suspect. You shouldn’t solder all four pins one after the other. Cooling breaks seem like a good idea. Feel free to give me feedback on whether my suspicion is correct. And soldering wires together or to terminals is harder than I thought. The thin wires for the MyGamepad are not easy to heat up and therefore barely accept the solder. But in the end, I managed it somehow, for the most part.
With a multimeter, you can check if you’ve soldered all connections correctly before assembly.
One key doesn’t seem to have contact, I realized after assembly. Since it’s one of the end keys, I haven’t fixed it yet. But I learned something: A multimeter can cost less than €7 and is very helpful for electronics. I haven’t yet tried to understand how the other functions work, apart from the continuity test, or what they’re for. Furthermore, the MyGamepad has a mode where it identifies itself to the PC as a controller instead of a keyboard. This requires two additional chips, a USB hub, and a Teensy 4.0. I have both here, but they are not (yet) in use. Honestly, I’m having trouble soldering the USB hub. I either overheated and destroyed it, or I can’t manage to solder the cable on cleanly. I’m not getting any power or data to the Arduino, which in turn is very picky about the USB-C connector. So, currently, I only have the keyboard function, with the analog stick acting as a replacement for WASD. However, there seem to be few games that support simultaneous controller and mouse input.
Usage and Setup
And that brings us to the operation and the time after assembly. MIRE has put a lot of effort into the MyGamepad. Instead of having to install any driver software on the PC, you connect the MyGamepad to your Wi-Fi and put it into configuration mode when needed. Then, the configuration is easily accessible and adjustable via the browser. 20 profiles, 40 macros, 25 keys, a 5-way stick, and an analog stick. All freely configurable, including USB frequency, debounce timer, and much more. I’ve corresponded a lot with MIRE and received a great deal of help, as well as direct responses to my feedback. So direct, in fact, that he created a flatter version of the palm rest and adjusted firmware versions overnight. You can tell that MIRE created the MyGamepad out of passion and that a lot of thought has gone into the device.
I’ve grown up with a mouse and keyboard for over 25 years. I’ve used controllers for racing games at most. And now I have something in front of me that is nothing like a keyboard. I’m getting along surprisingly well with WASD on the stick. But the new key layout is still difficult for me. Where do I put which key or function? In Destiny 2, should I put the skills on the main row or is it better to have movements like jumping and sprinting there? Do I do it the same for every game or adapt it to the specific game? And if I do it the same, do I create a new profile for the game, or do I adjust the keybindings in the game? Questions upon questions that I haven’t definitively answered for myself yet. Many options lead to many decisions.
It takes time to get used to a new control scheme. Use a setting for several hours before changing it. Only after a few hours will you notice if and what needs to be changed.
The original palm rest was too high for me. It forced my hand into a very steep angle. This was both because of my small hand and surely because I’ve always kept my hand much flatter on the keyboard. But MIRE went to the trouble of creating a flatter version. This one feels much better to me. But in what position do I set the keys and sticks? I’ve been fiddling with that for days as well. I think I’ve found a good setting now. Even if it doesn’t please my aesthetic sense. But here, I’m giving ergonomics priority. Funnily enough, typing this text on my normal keyboard now feels strange for my left hand. In terms of reachability, I prefer rows two through four. The first and fifth rows are harder to reach, which is why I only put functions there that I rarely need. Nevertheless, it’s amazing how strong muscle memory is. My fingers still sometimes twitch in the familiar direction of the key positions on a keyboard. But it’s getting better quickly, and my hand is grateful for the added ergonomics.
Conclusion
First off, a big praise and thank you to MIRE, who has invested a lot of time, thought, and money into the development of the MyGamepad. Additionally, he went to the effort of offering parts kits on Kleinanzeigen and has tirelessly answered my questions and feedback for weeks, and acted on them.
You can tell at some points that the controller is a personal project. The web interface isn’t pretty, not even after the recent overhaul. The guide could be better structured (a new version is supposedly coming soon). But the functionality, ergonomics, and construction are top-notch. Compared to the Azeron Cyborg, this uses real keys instead of mouse switches. The longer travel to the keys might reduce actuation speed, but it prevents accidental presses. The display certainly loses some of its relevance as you get used to it, but it’s very helpful at the beginning. And the lack of a driver on the computer makes the MyGamepad compatible with all devices that recognize a keyboard (or a controller). So, basically all devices, from Windows to macOS to Linux to smartphones.
The assembly is manageable even for an absolute beginner in electronics, if you read carefully beforehand and get into it a bit. At least I managed it, and for this project, I held a soldering iron and a multimeter in my hands for the first time in my life. Even though I suspect an electronics technician would have a fit at the sight of my solder joints. For the 3D printing of the parts, I deviated from the instructions in some cases, but I think everyone has to figure that out for themselves. Filament and printer play a big role there. In the end, it took me four days, working two to six hours each day, until the controller was usable, and I’ve probably invested another ten hours in optimization and adjustment since then. The latter, however, is due to my urge to tinker. The MyGamepad was fully usable right after assembly.
If you’re a gamer, are up for a small project, and either already have experience with electronics or want to learn, then the MyGamepad is a great idea. It’s simple enough that it can be built with a basic understanding, but complex enough to learn a lot about electronics, microcontrollers, and computer peripherals.