Thanks for the replies guys, heh heh, I didn't see any on the examples page so I'm asking here. As Tiger-Heli questioned, how would I go about hooking up the Panther contols and Arcade controls to the same encoder?
Lilwolf, as far as building an arcade machine, I'd love to and eventually will, but for now I want to build an entertainment center with real arcade controls. Basically, everythings going to be centered around a P.C. with a T.V. out and a 32" television in my basement. A coffee table, couch and Atari 2600 will round out the set-up
When I make my own machine I'll go all out controller-wise, but for now I want to put everything together as cheap as possible because building the room is going to cost me some $$$.
Ok, I was being sarcastic and having some fun with LilWolf.
Getting back On-topic, here are some real answers:
You have basically four options (and you could go in stages):
Option 1 - The Panther XL is either gameport or USB (don't know which) It will work with MAME and a PC as is. Or you could mount it into a panel somehow. This could be as simple as velcro or super-gluing it to some plywood to as complex as taking all the components out and re-working it.
Option 2 - You could forget about the Panther XL and build a control panel based on a KeyWiz or I-PAC encoder and genuine arcade controls as Lilwolf suggests. Will run you about $100 ($40 for the controls, $40-ish for the encoder, $20 for wood and connectors, wire, etc.) Or you could just BUY a HotRod or Slikstik or OzStick or X-arcade, but those are dirty words around here.
Option 3 - You can combine options 1 and 2, use the Panther for games it is better at, use the arcade controls for games that need it.
Option 4 - At this stage you can get into removable panels and integrating stuff to use with your encoder. I haven't seen the Panther XL used, but both 1Up and
www.oscarcontrols.com have tutorials on mounting a Raider Pro PC joystick handle to a Happ Arcade joystick base, and this would be the same type of hack. As Lilwolf said, you will probably spend more integrating the trackball controller than you would buying an arcade trackball ($50 with the mounting plate and interface if you go 2-1/4 and Oscar USB mouse.
You might also want to check out my FAQ page:
http://www.fraggersxtreme.com/arcadepanels/faq.htm (specifically the Tron sticks section and whatever else you want.)
Welcome to the hobby! It can get expensive and consume all your time if you let it.
BTW, instead or an arcade machine, when you want to spend some serious cash consider OSCAR's sketch in this post:
http://www.arcadecontrols.org/yabbse/index.php?board=1;action=display;threadid=3994;start=0My idea, is you take that concept, make the control pedestal removable (so you can have mutiple control panels for 2-player Street Fighter, 4 player X-men, a Star Wars yoke . . . )
Ummmm, where was I . . .
Ok, removable control pedestal, maybe have a cherry wood finish on the cabinet, wood doors to cover the TV when not in use (the kind that open out and then slide back). A couple of 3 foot by 2 foot by 2 foot speakers on the side, A stereo under glass doors in the lower portion of the cabinet. . .
Now you have a system that will be totally full tilt for arcade games, but will look like a piece of furniture for entertaining (and the wife might be more likely to approve) (if that's a concern).
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Topic: Panther XL with arcade controllers? (Read 3390 times)
