Control Panel?

[twist]

I am building a cocktail cabinet MAME machine. I want to buy a pre-built control panel.

It needs to be:
Width: 5 inches or less
Height: 10 inches or less
Length: 20 inches or less

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(top view)
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(side view)
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[Lilwolf]

why spend time building a cocktail table and not just do it all?  The control panel will be a TON easier then the cabinet....

Get an Ipac.

Get a few joysticks and a bunch of buttons.

Hook them up.  (this will take 10 minutes).

You wont be saving yourself anything by buying a premade controller.  Most of what you pay for on a premade is the box it's in and the encoder.  Well, the encoder is easy and cheap (ipac again) and you will have to remove it from the box anyway to make it look right in your cabinet.

do yourself a favor and just do it.  

[twist]

I don't have a soldering iron, and I've never ever used one before.

Also, how do I hook 'em up? Any good tutorials?

[gnat3y3]

no soldering needed, just buy a bag of female .187 quick disconnects, and a wire stripper/crimper. check the ultimarc site for  a full guide, its so very simple, trust me ipac rules.

[Mameham]

I agree, Ultimarc rules...

JPac.

IPac.

Optipac ( my personal fav... )

Too bad he wasn't around when I started all of this...

- Eric

[twist]

Where do I get "a bag of female .187 quick disconnects"?

What kind of stripper/crimper?

[JustMichael]

Have you tried the connectors page of Bob Roberts' site?

[twist]

Eh..I'll go to radioshack and get the stuff  

And I'm going to do the keyboard hack myself, I'm not going to bother spending $39+tax on an I-PAC, when I can just do it my self. It's more fun that way.

[Lilwolf]

I got my crimps at the local hardware shop.  They are used in many areas..  Automotive and electronics.

Go in to a good hardware store and ask for them by name.  They will point them out for you.

btw, 100 for about 5 bucks.  Very easy.

oh yeah.  Buy a crimper.  I didn't and only used pliers.  I have to redo a few more often then I like