1) What is a Panther XL USB ?

The Panther XL USB is a hand made controller based on the Panther XL from Mad Catz using the outer shell of a Panther XL as well as the joystick and buttons of a Panther XL.

The unit also has a USB Trackball made with a Microsoft Intellieye mouse (or optional MX518 Mouse), new bearings and a textured stock PXL Ball. The trackball mod is same mod I have been performing for 4 years.

2) How is the Panther XL made into a USB Controller ?

As above the shell, joystick and buttons of the Panther XL are retained and a USB controller board is installed and wired to the existing wires. The new USB board supports joystick axis, but only 3 axis (X, Y and Throttle Z) are used by the Panther XL. The USB board also supports X and Y rotation, but this is not used by a Panther XL.

3) Where is the USB board from ?

The USB board is made by a computer hobbyist who happens to be into MAME video game cabinets. The unit was intended to control 2 analog joysticks with 7 buttons and 3 axis each and to be used in MAME emulation gaming cabinets. The unit has be redesigned for the Panther XL and now controls one analog joystick with 14 buttons.

In the case of the version 3, the USB controller board can be programmed for all sorts of arcade cabinet control solutions and USB Joystick mode as well as USB Keystick mode !

4) Do all the buttons work like my Panther XL ?

All the buttons on the Panther XL USB work as joystick button pushes with the exception of the three buttons above the trackball. These buttons are now the left, center and right mouse buttons from the intellieye used to control the trackball. You can now use the Panther XL USB trackball in windows and double click, right click and scroll (middle button) just like you can with a mouse ! Only the mouse wheel is missing...

With the Version 3 Panther XL in Keystick mode, the button pushes with be sent to the computer as keyboard key inputs.  The keyboard button assignments can be changed in the config program for each Panther XL button.  The default button layout works as well with the user needing to go into the Game control panel, keyboard settings and assigning the keys to the requested action. 

5) What about that POV Hat, I could never get that to work in Unreal2/UT2K3

The POV (Point of View) Hat on the stock Panther XL reported buttons Joy24 to Joy27 when pushed even though the stick it's self had only 17 buttons ?. Unreal2 and UT2K3 as well as games using that engine could not support buttons above a certain range and therefore the POV hat would not function.

By dumb luck the new USB board counts up from Joy1 to Joy14 and when the former POV hat is wired in it works just like any other button ! So games like Unreal2 and UT2K3 now support the POV Hat on the USB Panther XL

6) What about the throttle, I can't live without my throttle !

Unlike the Panther DX based Panther XL v1, the Panther XL USB v2/v3 has support for the throttle of the Panther XL. I make sure the throttle is wired in so the stock throttle can be used.

7. 7)What is the new button layout ? - Ver2 and Ver3 in Joystick Mode
   

Buttons 1 to 7 (joy1 to joy7) and buttons 9 and 10 (joy9 and joy10) are the same as the stock Panther XL. The former POV hat now buttons 11 to 14, and the three buttons above trackball are mouse buttons. You can use the Panther XL trackball as a windows pointing device.

8) What is difference between Panther XL USB v1 and v2 and v3

Version 1 of the Panther XL USB (or v1) was based on the Panther DX USB internals and joystick. Throttle was removed due to incompatibility problems. All USB v1 PXL's needed a working Panther DX to make the conversion, the world has many more buyers than Mad Catz made USB Panther DX's. The Panther DX suffered the same problems with wire breakage over time as the Panther XL before it.

Version 2 of the Panther XL USB (or v2) uses a USB controller board to turn the unit into a USB stick. The throttle of the PXL is used by this version. USB Panther XL v2 require no other stick to make conversion and an endless supply of USB boards is available to use for the conversion.

The version 3 is vastly different, see the version 3 page here

9) Why is the USB Panther XL better than the Joystick Port version I have now ?

The USB version of the Panther XL is better because the JoyPort version is what is called "Legacy Support Hardware" and is much slower port than a USB port. Most new computers have no Joyport but do have many USB ports. Using the Joystick port also uses more system resources than using USB. You will see a drop in the speed of your computer when using a Joystick connected to the joystick port, as much as a 20% drop in framerates has been noted over the years ! No recordable performance drop has been noted in games using USB devices.

So long as you have two open USB ports, one for MS intellieye powered trackball and one for the USB powered joystick/buttons, you can use the Panther XL USB in the following OS's: Windows 98SE WinME, Win2K, WinXP Pro/Home, Vista 32/64 bit, Windows 7 32/64 bit, Linux 2.4+, MAC and other OS's using HID USB.

10) What is the High-flex replacement wiring harness and why do I need some ?

The stock Panther XL and DX have a wiring harness that is good for about 50,000 cycles (times it can be bent). Over time the wires in the PXL gimble would bend until they break and slowly one by one the buttons on the joystick would stop working or work intermittently. The replacement wiring harness I have had produced for the Panther XL uses wires intended for robotics uses where the wires need to be flexed millions of times over long periods and not break ! These wires are slightly thicker, but more importantly use alloys that are resistant to breaking when flexed ! The outer layer of the bundle is also stronger so it will not allow the wires to be pinch like the stock PXL wires can. The gimble shaft and output channel get bored out and wire routed differently to ensure the wire bends even less than it did in stock PXL's.

I would like to say that the wires will last 3 or 5 or 10 years, but until we beat on them for a long time we do not know ! They will last longer and they are replaceable again if they do wear out. I am charging nothing extra for the wire to be installed.  After 3+ years and hundreds of installs, NO modded PXL with this harness has been returned for replacement !

                Wiring Harness Video

ALL USB MODS get the high-flex wiring harness as part of the mod !  No need to ask for it, it is in each and every mod !

11. 11) Will the USB Panther XL Stick work in any game even if the game has no joystick support ?
    

The ver3 USB Panther XL when programmed by the user in Keystick Mode WILL support any game that supports keyboard and mouse input !

The Panther XL USB v1/v2 (and ver3 in joystick mode) will not give support for games that support no joysticks. Just like the Panther XL stock, a program for joystick emulation will have to be used to turn the joystick movements and button pushes into keyboard actions.

12) Will the USB Panther XL Trackball work in any game even if the game has no Joystick support ?

The Panther XL USB v1/v2/v3 has a trackball that is now a windows pointing device ! The stock trackball of the Panther XL was a joystick device that required support from the game for the extra axis. With the PXL USB the ball is seen as a mouse and works in any game with mouse support !

13) I love my Logitech MX510/MX518 Gaming Mouse, will you mod one into my PXL ?

The Logitech MX510 (now replaced by the MX518) is a new mouse for gaming, it has an optical eye that is two times faster than the MS mice and reportedly can track 40 inches of movement in one second ! I have modded this mouse into Panther XL's, the mouse does track better at faster speeds than the MS Optical Mice. If you would like one in your PXL mod, you can buy the MX510/518 for yourself and include it with your PXL shipment, or you can include $51 to the price and I will mod one in for you ! This mouse is very expensive, no OEM versions have been found. I use only the MX510/518 as the MX500 and MX310 do not track like the MX510/518 !

14. 14)What Operating systems does the Panther XL USB Support ?
    

The Panther XL USB supports all modern OS’s after Windows 98 SE, the unit is an HID device so no drivers are needed to get full support !

Windows 98 SE

Windows ME

Windows 2000

Windows XP all 32 bit and 64 bit versions

Windows Server

Windows Vista all 32 and 64 bit versions

Windows 7 all 32 bit and 64 bit versions

Linux all 2.4 kernel and higher

Mac OSX all versions