i call her "bArcade"

[swaffar]

Clever build.  I like the use of headphone jacks for the sticks.

[tony.silveira]

You know if that cab had a urinal on the front, you'd never have to pause the game...   

i was seriously contemplating adding a toaster to it.  everyone thinks they're a comedian when they see it for the first time "yeah, but does it make toast?"

why yes, yes it does...

[GIZMOGAMES]

haha thats awsome and great find on the atari yolkstick
one quistion is there anymore info regarding the headphone adapter ADAPTER lol
 the whole slip on/off stick idea appeals greatly for me and the headphone adapter is a perfect solution to the wiring prob
OH and keep up the inventiveness  

[tony.silveira]

gonna try answering a few questions here, specifically, parts i used:

1. magnets - these are the exact magnets i used:  http://www.kjmagnetics.com/proddetail.asp?prod=D48-N52

2. collar (small tube around the magnet) - got these at orchard supply.  took my magnet in and just looked for a bearing that fit snuggly around it.  i think i kept the baggy that it came in and will update this post when i get home

3. tube (this is the larger tube that slips around everything).  this is a brass tube bought again at orchard.  it's in a section where they have hobby metals.  also picked up the brass sheet of thin metal that i used in the balltop, as outlined in the wiki.  again, i will update when i get home as the tube still has the sticker on it.

NOTE:  for that outter tube, you will need to take your joystick shaft into the store and try different sized tubes as different joysticks have different sized shafts

4. headphone adaptor - this is exactly what i bought:  http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2103446&numProdsPerPage=60

NOTE: simply unscrew and remove the black housing.  solder your wires on then drill a hole that is slightly smaller than the silver female audio jack.  then slip it into the panel and screw it down.  this piece is threaded so it will screw right into a wood panel


as for them being solid, i think they are great.  yes, i can sit there and spin a ball top if i wanted to but during play, it stays put just fine.  and all that putty at the base of the trigger sticks really adds a a nice weight to them

[willybeamish]

Subbed because this is awesome 

[willybeamish]

Hey I know I'm bringing this back from the dead. I have to ask do you have any issues with the fridge throwing out heat and affecting the wood at all?

[ViriiGuy]

That is an excellent idea!!! I would use it myself, but I don;t think my beer fridge will fit...

[willybeamish]

That is an excellent idea!!! I would use it myself, but I don;t think my beer fridge will fit...

Nonsense slap some vasoline on it and shove it in:P

[ViriiGuy]

Nonsense slap some vasoline on it and shove it in:P
[/quote]

LOL!!

[tony.silveira]

Hey I know I'm bringing this back from the dead. I have to ask do you have any issues with the fridge throwing out heat and affecting the wood at all?

i haven't noticed any issues.  i have some fans mounted to the top of the cab drawing air out.

[willybeamish]

Did you do anything special in case of a power loss and the thing defrosts all over the base of the cab ??

[EMDB]

nice setup!

[tony.silveira]

hey all,

been a while but i found some time and decided to add my hang-on controller.  first up, thanks to lechuck and jennifer for the thoughts and ideas to get it working.

here is a quick pic of the "proof of concept" for the controller add on.  if you look thru this post, this hang-on add on sits on the cab just like my star wars controller add on.  i have two sidewinder hacks wired to a 15 pin VGA and all of the wiring for this add on plugs into that port.  i'll be doing the same attachment to my star wars controller also someday down the line.

when i redo my panel, the sidewinder VGA cable will be flush mounted on the panel and when lowering these add ons into place, they will plug right in.  this way, my FE and MAME will always see those two controllers and you truly hot swap the controllers. 

here is the pic to my hang on controller.  it's a rough build to just test it.  i'll be cleaning and painting it soon so it will look like my star wars controller.

enough of the rambling, here you go.

[tony.silveira]

hey all,

been a while but i found some time and decided to add my hang-on controller.  first up, thanks to lechuck and jennifer for the thoughts and ideas to get it working.

here is a quick pic of the "proof of concept" for the controller add on.  if you look thru this post, this hang-on add on sits on the cab just like my star wars controller add on.  i have two sidewinder hacks wired to a 15 pin VGA and all of the wiring for this add on plugs into that port.  i'll be doing the same attachment to my star wars controller also someday down the line.

when i redo my panel, the sidewinder VGA cable will be flush mounted on the panel and when lowering these add ons into place, they will plug right in.  this way, my FE and MAME will always see those two controllers and you can truly hot swap the controllers. 

here is the pic to my hang on controller.  it's a rough build to just test it.  i'll be cleaning and painting it soon so it will look like my star wars controller.

enough of the rambling, here you go.

[PL1]

Here's the full size pic instead of the thumbnail.   




Scott

[Le Chuck]

The hang on bars look great, you can pick up some grip covers on Amazon, the right one is 1/8 larger on most (make sure in the description) to fit the throttle handle and they really dress up the look.  Just make sure they're long enough if you decide to. 

I was looking at this design again and have an addition that those building their own should consider:

Around the copper sleeve carve a shallow channel (easy to do with a scroll saw or even by hand in the soft metal) and affix an E-clip.  This will add a locking element when the putty hardens around the shaft.  I haven't had a shaft pull out yet on either of mine but it's an easy cheap step that just adds one more layer of sturdyness to the build. 

This build looks so great, keep additing to it!

[tony.silveira]

thanks for the info on the grips lechuck.  i certainly want to replace the right one as it is torn up a bit.  the right one is shorter and looks like new, i'm sure it was replaced.  but i like the shorter handle on the right as there are two mounted buttons on the left side.  for the right, i also want to replace the plastic collar so i'll do moth at the same time.

good idea on the e-clip for that handle.

[tony.silveira]

ok, this one came to me in a dream, seriously.

i have the pop out 360 wheel but what about those 270 degree games?  i thought of making another add on like my star wars and hang on, but in a dream, this made so much sense to me so away we go with...

an add on to my add on!  the below is simply a proof of concept build to make sure it is sturdy enough.

first pic, my original star wars add on



second pic, my steering wheel add on



third pic, my steering wheel add on making sweet add on love to my star wars add on



basically, this slips right over the hub of the star wars yoke.  i have on order some strong earth magnets that i plan to counter sink into the inside of the steering wheel add on along the top and the front.  these magnets have 20 lbs of strength so they should hold rather well.  it is pretty snug and sturdy already but i want a bit more strength to hold it in play should a game session get overly aggressive.

the steering wheel is a microsoft precision wheel (not force feedback) that i took apart and gutted.  in addition to just the wheel, i am going to be wiring the 6 face buttons and two paddles that are behind the wheel up to the star wars yoke base that i built. 

basically, the top of the base that i built, i'll be installing a vga connector that passes wires from the star wars add on wiring up to the top of the case.  when you slip the wheel on, you plug it into the aforementioned vga sitting on top of the star wars base.

more pics coming soon as i work on this this weekend.

[tony.silveira]

couple of quick pics for an update.

here is the star wars add on attached to the cab.



and here is the wheel add on attached to the star wars yoke.  i think i'm going to cancel my magnet order, this thing slips on and is rock solid.  i still need to do the wiring for the buttons but had to do a bit of play "testing" first

as is, i can do 4 buttons on the wheel easily but want to get all 8 wired up so  have some figuring to do...

[darthpaul]

Good stuff Tony, looks to be much sturdier than my set-up.

[Le Chuck]

This build is more and more awesomer with every add-on.  That's pretty slick man.

[tony.silveira]

coming from you lechuck, I take great pride in that!

I think I'm running out of things to add on though, anyone have any suggestions?  I still have t2 guns in the back of my head but that's more of a pipe dream.

next up will be the full cabinet from scratch with some of the other ideas I have but I'm not looking forward to that