Madcatz Alpha Mod

Q: "I bought A MadCatz Alpha and i was wondering what restrictor (gate) do you recommend?"

A: The restrictor gate on the lever that comes stock unfortunately would not be easily replaced as the stick is not officially Sanwa but a clone. You would need to replace the jlf clone with an official Sanwa JLF, using the screws that came with the Alpha mounts.

A customer (SoftserveSpecial) of Focus Attack created a video with instructions on how to mod the Alpha. 

On Twitter

A robust addition to this article is offered courtesy of @AaronCurran.

Disconnect all the harnesses and move the board out of the way (two screws). Get ready to yank on (or snip) wires.

Pull or snip the wiring harness off the original buttons. They’re held on with glue.

Using the original harness, strip enough of each wire to crimp on some qd’s. I used this: 

Waldom W-HT-1921-P Universal Solderless Terminal Crimping Tool and Bolt Cutter

For the ground wire:

10 Connection 22 AWG .110" Ground Daisy Chain Wire

 Clip off the extra and crimp it onto the original

Here’s the finished harness. I used these:

• .110" (2.8mm) Open-Barrel Non-Insulated Quick Disconnect Terminal
• Nylon .110" Quick Connector Insulation Sleeve

I strongly recommend the Seimitsu PS-15 buttons, as they fit into the case without shenanigans. However...

I loved the FA Nippon Red/Blue Bi-Color Balltop, so I got Sanwa to match:

• Sanwa OBSC 30mm Translucent Pushbutton Red
• Sanwa OBSC 30mm Translucent Pushbutton Blue

Here’s the easy part. Take the old stick out and drop this one in: 

Sanwa JLF-TP-8YT Joystick

It’s a perfect fit.

Here’s everything reconnected. To close the case, you’ll have to gently bend the terminals.

It’s a tight fit around the jab button due to the USB cable. I bent those terminals in opposite directions.

Again, no bending required with the PS-15 buttons.

Big thanks to @AaronCurran for his permission to turn his Twitter conversation into a support article.