These PhobGCC mainboards are produced by JLCPCB (except for the blue option that's produced by Elecrow). Getting a 2.0 PCB is highly recommended, 1.2.2 / 1.2.3 should only be used in rework cases or if you have excess Teensy development boards that you'd rather use than sell, as they make the process take much longer. 1.2.3 also requires through-hole hall effect sensors, as on PhobGCC 1.X those were not pre-soldered as SMD parts by the factory yet.
PCB specifications:
• All versions: all SMD components soldered to the boards by JLCPCB
• All versions: the USB connector type is micro-USB.
• 1.2.2, 1.2.3: ENIG (golden top surface), 1u thickness. Trigger daughterboards are included, but I advise not to use those (they are often inconsistent, better go with my more precise design instead)
• 2.0.2: ENIG, 1u thickness. The ABXY digital input traces still have the OEM shape and are similar in actuation speed. There is no extra voltage input capacitor yet on this version, so unless you add those manually, there might be connection dropouts on some Switch consoles.
• 2.0.5: ENIG, 2u thickness. The ABXY digital input traces have a finer shape that makes inputs actuate more consistently and a bit earlier (when pressing rather softly). The doubled gold layer thickness increases the lifespan of all silicone-dome digital inputs (ABXY, D-Pad, start). My trigger daughterboards are also produced with 2u ENIG.
Useful links:
Support or teaching of how to solder / troubleshooting of installation problems is not included in the price, but available for an hourly rate of 40€ upon request.
Extra tips from my personal experience not mentioned in the build guide:
• Rather than using 6 individual wires for the mainboard – C-stick daughterboard connection or re-using a ribbon cable desoldered from a Gamecube / Wii Classic Controller, it's much easier and more reliable to use a new ribbon cable. You can buy them from my shop here together with the Phob mainboard: 6-pin (PhobGCC 2.0) / 4-pin (PhobGCC 1.2.3)
• For cleaning flux residue from the board, which is very important and should be done after every set of soldering steps, especially those in which flux gel is used, I find that using tissue such as toilet paper with 1-3 drops of isopropylic alcohol (or ethanol) works very well in getting the surface completely clean after doing the initial cleaning with a Q-tip with a few drops of IPA.
• As Phob controllers lack the structural support provided by the stick potentiometers soldered in place on OEM controllers, I highly recommend using screw lock (a type of glue) on the stickbox screws to prevent the stickbox screws from loosening over time.
I've had good experiences with Loctite 243 so far, but a tiny drop of super glue (best applied with a toothpick) also works.
• The current PhobGCC snapback filter is not capable of fully eliminating snapback on all stickbox configurations (as of 2023-09-04). In my experience, stock stickboxes from older controllers (JP 2008 white and earlier) with the stock grease usually have more mechanical snapback than the filter can handle.
In order to prevent in-game misinputs from snapback, the stickbox should be washed and greased generously with a thicker grease, around NLGI class 2. I will be selling the stick grease that I've had the best experiences with regarding mechanical dampening under this link, prepared for convenient application with a syringe tip of the ideal diameter.
• For the stickbox and trigger screws, I recommend going with Wiha PicoFinish screwdrivers, as these have a much more comfortable handle that allows you to apply more force than with the McMaster JIS J1 screwdriver.
