What stores sell premade controllers.

[ATWindsor]

I have for some time been interested in getting a arcade cabinet, now I have my own apartment, and I am going to a trip where i am stopping in the US, so finally the dream might come true I did some research on the topic some time ago, but things seems to have changed since then, old stores and suppliers no longer exists. (is the hobby less popular than before, or have there bust been a change in the stores?) I am looking for a "slikstick-style" controller, that is a pretty big and well-equipped one. O have been through the wiki and my old bookmakrs, and the only ones I culd find that might qualify is:

http://www.customarcades.com
http://www.mameroom.com/home.asp

Any other tips or recomendation? Or evntually experiences with the two listed? I need a reliable shop, I am only visiting LA a couple of days in november, so i need someone who can deliver to a given time, and no later.

[reptileink]

I think most here would agree that a brick and mortar store is not going to have what you want.

Most here would also condemn you for buying an X-Arcade system, but that's what I went with 

I am not a "serious arcade restorer" so this was a great option for me. However, I am gutting it and putting the components into my existinng control panel.

Of course it would be more rewarding to build your own, as you can choose what you want, colors, etc.

But to answer your first question, you are better off online these days, as that's where the hobby is really trending(spoken from someone who's about 3 months fresh into it...lol)

[BobA]

I think the Mameroom (North Coast Customs) arcade panels that you populate yourself is the most cost effective way to get a Slikstick looking controller.  On line CP kit and online parts from reputable supplies is the way to go.  This is based on the assumption that you do not want to build your own CP.

Added a link to a review of one of their bare panels.

Review

[ATWindsor]

Just to clarify, I want to order from an online store, however i need it to be reputable and good with dates, if the shipping is late, I might have left the country. Or if its way to early it might be troublesome for the hotel to hold on to it. But you think its cheaper to buy all the control-panbel-stuff yourself, and add it to a premade bare panel? Frankly i feel more comfortable with the technical side of the woodworking stuff, then the wiring. The design can be difficult, and the premade bare ones are pretty cheap. Do you know if mameroom has a cdp-desgin-file of their standard 2 player controller unit wich i can import into the designer-program? (its easier to begin eith an existing deisign, and then modify, than starting from a scratch)

[BobA]

Wiring a panel is fairly easy.  I don't think anyone can deliver is a few days time frame.  The Control Panel kits are shipped flat pack but I do not know where you would have to send it if you are at home.  If you are in the US you can get fairly cheap shipping but overseas you would have to ask them.   If you are in the US, UK or EU there are arcade shops on line in those countries who can provide the internals far a Control Panel kit.

I don't know about the layout plans for the regular 2 player panels as the web site seems to be off line right now.  It was OK yesterday but who knows

[bkenobi]

If it's what you want, the X-Arcade stuff should be available at Fry's stores.  I'm not a fan myself (I personally think it's ugly), but a friend has one and it does seem fairly solid.

[saint]

mameroom.com
dreamauthentics.com

[ATWindsor]

Wiring a panel is fairly easy.  I don't think anyone can deliver is a few days time frame.  The Control Panel kits are shipped flat pack but I do not know where you would have to send it if you are at home.  If you are in the US you can get fairly cheap shipping but overseas you would have to ask them.   If you are in the US, UK or EU there are arcade shops on line in those countries who can provide the internals far a Control Panel kit.

I don't know about the layout plans for the regular 2 player panels as the web site seems to be off line right now.  It was OK yesterday but who knows

I am sorry if I am beeing unclear, my english might not be that good I can order stuff now, weeks, or even months in advance, I just need the delivery itself to be within  lets say a 4-5 day interval. I don't need the them to deliver extremly fast, but they do have to deliver when they say they are going to deliver.

Sending it to norway where i Live will cause it to be a lot more expensive, both due to shipping, and not to mention customs taxes on everything. Are there any recommended shops for buying the internals to the panel (sticks, buttons rollers and so on)?

About the x-arcade, I am not to fond of that controller, so I don't think its for me.

[Raitsa]

For you as a norwegian retrogamer, take a look at these websites in Sweden:

http://www.arcadegames.se/
http://www.arkadtorget.se

And finally, greetings from Finland

[ATWindsor]

For you as a norwegian retrogamer, take a look at these websites in Sweden:

http://www.arcadegames.se/
http://www.arkadtorget.se

And finally, greetings from Finland

Thanks for greetings and tips, on the first site they sell happ conrolls, but say that they are good quality japanese copies, do you have any experience with their product, i was under the impression that happ was a brand of joysticks and so on, but is it just the name of a "style" of buttons and joysticks?

[newmanfamilyvlogs]

Where I work we've got a wood working facility that produces custom furniture. Several of us have been thinking about designing some 'high-end' arcade stuff made out of nice wood with stained finishes and the like, but we're not sure what the market might be, since heavy items are prohibitively expensive to ship.

We're still trying to judge what we could do profitably, what would you pay for a custom built control panel?

[ATWindsor]

Where I work we've got a wood working facility that produces custom furniture. Several of us have been thinking about designing some 'high-end' arcade stuff made out of nice wood with stained finishes and the like, but we're not sure what the market might be, since heavy items are prohibitively expensive to ship.

We're still trying to judge what we could do profitably, what would you pay for a custom built control panel?

Hmm, what are the advantages for me when compared too the existing options (wich are black MDF or something?), do you have a picture of the kind of wood/finishing you would offer?

[bkenobi]

Real wood is lighter than MDF, so it might be cheaper to ship.  However, it is obviously going to be much more expensive for materials and labor (staining is a longer process than spray paint).  If you like the look of stained wood over black MDF, the advantage is obvious.

There are a few cabinets that have been posted on this forum that were made from some nice quality wood and stained.  If you want to know what a CP would look like, you would be best served searching for one of those cabs.

[ATWindsor]

Real wood is lighter than MDF, so it might be cheaper to ship.  However, it is obviously going to be much more expensive for materials and labor (staining is a longer process than spray paint).  If you like the look of stained wood over black MDF, the advantage is obvious.

There are a few cabinets that have been posted on this forum that were made from some nice quality wood and stained.  If you want to know what a CP would look like, you would be best served searching for one of those cabs.

Ok, i am not that familiar with the english terms, but stained wood is basically oiled or laqured wood?

[bkenobi]

Technically, staining is the process of applying a material that enhances the grains (there are oil and water based stains).  Once you stain the wood, it is virtually always protected with some kind of clear coating (polyurethane, varnish, clear coat paint, etc).

MDF is made from compressing saw dust and resins (glue) together to create a wood based material.  Since it has no grains, it's not usually something you would want to look at.  People almost always paint MDF both to improve the looks and to protect it from water damage.

If you want to see the difference between stained wood and MDF, do a google image search.  It will be VERY clear.   

[Paul Olson]

If you are comfortable with the woodworking, I would suggest building one yourself. Hooking up the wires is very simple, and you can get any help you might need here in the forums. Carrying parts back would be much easier than a whole panel. There are a few forum members that sell parts, so I am sure they would be willing to work with you to make sure you get the parts while you are here in the states.

By building the panel yourself, you are free to redesign it as needed until you find what works best for you. I think all of us, after playing on our new cps (whether bought or built), have found things that we don't like, and it is nice to be able to redo it when you need to. Building the box is less than $20 in wood, so it is just your time really.

[newmanfamilyvlogs]

Hmm, what are the advantages for me when compared too the existing options (wich are black MDF or something?), do you have a picture of the kind of wood/finishing you would offer?

The advantages? It's something custom. I don't know. Like I said, we're just thinking about something we could design/build/sell. Maybe just kits, maybe unpopulated CPs where you add the buttons/joysticks to pre-drilled holes or something. We've got a pretty wide variety of hardwoods, as well as MDF and the like.

They're really versatile as far as building stuff and the various stains, finishes, etc.

Here's the furniture design page if you were interested:
http://www.bourgeoisie3d.com/shop.php

Personally I've been thinking we could design and cut mini cocktail cabinets and sell them as kits (a bartop cocktail? (: ). We've got a massive CNC and could probably do 4-5 of them per sheet of MDF with very little waste.

[ATWindsor]

Hmm, what are the advantages for me when compared too the existing options (wich are black MDF or something?), do you have a picture of the kind of wood/finishing you would offer?

The advantages? It's something custom. I don't know. Like I said, we're just thinking about something we could design/build/sell. Maybe just kits, maybe unpopulated CPs where you add the buttons/joysticks to pre-drilled holes or something. We've got a pretty wide variety of hardwoods, as well as MDF and the like.

They're really versatile as far as building stuff and the various stains, finishes, etc.

Here's the furniture design page if you were interested:
http://www.bourgeoisie3d.com/shop.php

Personally I've been thinking we could design and cut mini cocktail cabinets and sell them as kits (a bartop cocktail? (: ). We've got a massive CNC and could probably do 4-5 of them per sheet of MDF with very little waste.

Ok, when it comes to "nice wood", i think I personally would not be inclined to pay much more, frankly i find the cabinet to look best when painted black, in combination with a lot of nice overlays. For that I guess MDF would be just as good. Since mameroom already sells kits of this type, it would have to be soehing in the same pricerange as they have. I don't know if that is the information you need, but hopefully you can use it for something, I might not be that representative for the common arcade entusiast though.

[ATWindsor]

If you are comfortable with the woodworking, I would suggest building one yourself. Hooking up the wires is very simple, and you can get any help you might need here in the forums. Carrying parts back would be much easier than a whole panel. There are a few forum members that sell parts, so I am sure they would be willing to work with you to make sure you get the parts while you are here in the states.

By building the panel yourself, you are free to redesign it as needed until you find what works best for you. I think all of us, after playing on our new cps (whether bought or built), have found things that we don't like, and it is nice to be able to redo it when you need to. Building the box is less than $20 in wood, so it is just your time really.

Ok, thanks for the feedback, I have seen some stuff on the ultimarc-site, wich seems to be a good site, any other recomendations for sites selling equipment?

And i want to put a big thanks out to the forums, me thread has already gotten a lot of useful answers, I know it can be boring to answer newbie questions again and again, so It's really nice to see such an active and helpful forum.

[CheffoJeffo]

Don't forget the wiki !

http://wiki.arcadecontrols.com/wiki/Vendors

[bkenobi]

I've ordered from groovygamegear and have never been disappointed.  They are based out of the US, so that might save some money on shipping.  I found that their prices were a bit cheaper overall as well.

[I/O]

For you as a norwegian retrogamer, take a look at these websites in Sweden:

http://www.arcadegames.se/

And finally, greetings from Finland

Oh my, this is a winner:

(5501) Sling Dong - Black boner joystick utan microswitchar




In any case, they seem to have all the US and Japanese die-hard gamer's controls stock.

[Paul Olson]

Ultimarc is a great site, and shipping from them in the UK to the US is usually cheaper and faster than most US based sellers. http://www.therealbobroberts.net/ is another great site, and Bob carries a ton of stuff. He doesn't take Paypal, but if you contact him and let him know the situation, he should be able to get you your order while you are here in the states. Bob is one of the few who can get me my orders quicker than Andy at Ultimarc.

There are a few others that you can find in the Buy/Sell forums. I am not sure who all is currently selling these days, but there are a few. I can't think of much you can't get for a basic setup from Andy and Bob, so I would probably start there. GroovyGameGear has some good products as well.

[ATWindsor]

You guys have convinced me, I will wire up the cabinet myself. I went through the whole wiki, and have found a few alternatives which i can check out)

Ultimarc
Groovygamegear
Divemaster (the forum member)
Theplaydiumstore
Mikesarcade.com

So I think i will get sticks and buttons from these dealers. Any tips for laying out the controller? Any newbie errors i can make, or things people usually forget? (i am thinking of getting a a layout more or less similar to the classic controller in mameroom, but probably without a spinner), and how do you make plexiglass overlay for custom control panels?

[Turnarcades]

So I think i will get sticks and buttons from these dealers. Any tips for laying out the controller? Any newbie errors i can make, or things people usually forget? (i am thinking of getting a a layout more or less similar to the classic controller in mameroom, but probably without a spinner), and how do you make plexiglass overlay for custom control panels?

To re-iterate Cheff, read the Wiki. also check out the other guides from the main BYOAC page and the examples links. There's way too much to discuss to put in a discussion like this, so read up. You could also get Saint's book and start your own build thread in 'projects' for more specific help as you go along in your planning and construction.