PS3 SIXAXIS Charging Station

A DIY dual charging docking station for the PS3 SIXAXIS wireless control pads.

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Step 1: Gather the materials and tools

Gather the materials and tools.

Dremel
2 x Standard USB to Micro USB cables
Black Spray Paint
Bluetak
Hacksaw with wood cutting blade
Single sided sticky foam
Wood

Felt (Which I didn't actually use, as I could get the controllers to fit)

corporatezero35 says: Jul 16, 2007. 12:36 AM

Great Instructable. I've started making one based off of this except I am making it vertical with 4 controllers as to save space. I will post photos when I am finished.

Also, I have also looked into the USB powering issue and from what I have researched, the absolute maximum amount of power the can be drawn from a USB is 500mA. as long as the device reqests and is given more then the 100mA baseline. My USB keyboard that I use for the PS3 draws 5V --- 250mA and works fine.

Therefore one could conclude that since a PS3 controller draws 3.7V and only 30mA (it's on the back of the controller) then is is definitely feasible to have 4 controllers. Even 7 which is the max the PS3 can recognize. While 3 controllers would still be under the 100mA baseline. As far as the voltage, it would be shared through all the ports. ( I think)

geraldrubalcava in reply to corporatezero35Jan 13, 2011. 10:54 AM

well no. you dont understand. its not the voltage that the back of the controller uses. if you take apart the controller and you look at your battery its just telling you 3.7 @660 Mah. while the controller takes only 30ma. well by doing the math you can tell how long the battery will last charged. and the battery says 4.2v charge at maximum for charging. but you may not know that this is just for the battery. the controller consumes some voltage too. so 5v is plenty to charge and play. this is how sony made is. but there should be some sort of pullup resistor combination that will trick the controller to charge. im still trying to find out what but the best bet is to buy a chinese charger and dissect it to see what makes it tick. maybe we will find the right resistors. or the right voltage with amperage plus some sort of chip to trick the controller..

Andrew2_2 says: Oct 15, 2010. 12:17 AM

some ipod chargers with usb ports might work

camb00 says: Mar 17, 2008. 8:20 AM

for running it on the mains you coul buy a ipod thingey and mod it or spray it ..........

trrwilson in reply to camb00Mar 4, 2009. 9:57 AM

You could attempt to find out the voltage delivered to the controller (I'm guessing it's somewhere between 5 and 7) and find a cellular phone charger that uses the same voltage and also has a mini-usb plug. The mini USB plug is pretty common on newer phones, so as long as the voltage is within a tolerable range, it should be pretty painless to replace the USB cables with USB chargers.

killerke in reply to trrwilsonOct 13, 2010. 1:01 PM

it is 3.7 volts

ktalex in reply to trrwilsonSep 11, 2009. 8:18 PM

for some reason u cant charge a ps3 controller with that it only works on a computer.

Arathefu in reply to ktalexJul 17, 2010. 11:41 AM

You're wrong, DS3 can be charged with almost any USB port.

ktalex in reply to ArathefuJul 18, 2010. 11:58 PM

I tried to charge it on my bluetooth headset charger but it just wouldnt charge.

Arathefu in reply to ktalexJul 19, 2010. 8:52 AM

Maybe your headset charger is somehow protected against charging anything that's not a headset?

Roshy10 in reply to ArathefuOct 29, 2012. 4:34 PM

you need to get two 100k resistors (per remote) and connect one end to =ve and the other end to data.http://www.instructables.com/files/deriv/F6M/Z2D7/H8I43UEB/F6MZ2D7H8I43UEB.THUMB.jpg This works on apple devices too. it is used to protect the device from too much current/voltage, so use at your own risk. but works for me.

jamesyoder1992 says: Feb 22, 2010. 6:57 PM

i dont have access to bluetack, what would be a good alternative.

darked69 says: Apr 12, 2009. 12:31 PM

nice job .. i hope that you provide us the measurements though

PKTraceur says: Jan 28, 2009. 3:51 PM

Nice Instructble, however I would add some more detail. I was having trouble grasping that the cable would stay, and if a controller was added, then removed, well, stay where it was put. ~RoAr

drummonkey92 says: Mar 21, 2008. 4:44 AM

nice instructable! could someone please help me, my controller always wants to scroll to the left (maybey the left button is stuck)does anyone no how i could fix this? i didnt realy wanna open it up without an idea of what i was doing. thanks

agdollison in reply to drummonkey92Jun 14, 2008. 9:34 AM

this happened to my psp i bought a new joystick

drummonkey92 in reply to agdollisonJun 16, 2008. 10:32 AM

its semi-sorted now if i turn the controller off then back on again its (usualy) fine

JOE1903 in reply to drummonkey92Jan 1, 2009. 9:11 AM

Push the stick in as hard as you can and jerk it to the right. This worked with my PS2 controller after I broke the thumbstick when I threw it at the wall.

drummonkey92 in reply to JOE1903Jan 2, 2009. 8:42 AM

thanks

collard41 says: Aug 15, 2008. 8:27 AM

i actually made one of these by vacuum forming plastic, and a DIY split usb cable so you only need one port on the ps3. the gloss plastic looks better than wood.

alexzander says: Jul 5, 2007. 12:51 PM

why not take one of them and conect the the power(the black and red one inside of the usb cable) from one of them and conect it to the other one so that you only get one cable ot and it looks eaven sweeter and i like your idea...