i think i just found what i was looking for, on the wiki. it has all of the pcb files along with the BOM for each controller revision. i'm at home on my little laptop right now (and also it's bed time) so i can't view gerber files, but as soon as i do that, i can match up the pcb layers to figure out which edition of the board i have and then start building it up
still so much to learn.
today i built a vacuum cannon, by putting box tape over both ends of a piece of PVC pipe, pulling a (strong) vacuum on the pipe, and then puncturing the tape at one end of the pipe. anything you put inside the pipe before you seal the ends with tape gets blasted out the opposite end when the tape seal breaks. if anyone wants to have a look i'll stick up a video somewhere. i know it's a little off topic for this thread...but i did it in the same room i'm working on the controller in, so it kind of counts
