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Many questions. One post
DirtyDachshunds:
I've been planning my new 4 player cab for some time now. I have all of my software configured (Hyperspin), and am almost ready to start construction, but have some questions. I thought I'd combine all my questions to one post rather than making 10 separate posts. Any help is appreciated.
1. Aimtrak. I've seem to read that aimtrak is the way to go for lightguns, but would like recoil on my gun. Has anyone tried the aimtrak with a recoil gun? If so, what gun would you recommend, and how easy/hard is it to configure the gun with the aimtrak electronics.
2. Control Panel plexiglas work. Having never worked with plexiglass, first, what is the best way to adhere the glass to the MDF control panel? Also, what is the best way to cut the glass? I was thinking of using the MDF CP as a guide to cut the button/trackball/ect holes with a flush bit router, or can I cut holes say with a hole saw and sand them down using high grit sandpaper?
This is more of a general plexiglas tutorial question. I haven't been able to find any good links on this.
3. 640x480 PC games. This is my max resolution and I was wondering if there are any good PC games that are good for a arcade that run in this resolution? One good one I found was TNMT. I thought the Lego games (starwars, harry potter) would be good, but their minimum resolution is 800x600. :timebomb:
4. Arcade Part Venders. I have been shopping around for parts and here is what I I think I will be ordering:
2xU360s (ultimarc)
2xhard springs (ultimarc)
2xrestrictor plates (ultimarc)
2xaimtrak electronics, and possible gun kits (ultimarc)
1xiPac4 (ultimarc)
1xoptipac (ultimarc)
1xspinner (undecided)
2xSanwa JLW-UM-8 (jammacade)
42xtranslucent buttons (undecided vendor)
1x3" happ trackball (happcontrols)
I wanted to know if there were cheaper vendors for these parts. And does anyone know where to get a wide variety of translucent buttons? I did not including the LEDs in my list as that will be added later.
I think thats all for now. Before I found this site I knew I wanted to make a arcade cabinet, but after stumbling across these forums and seeing all of your projects, I've been inspired to make something great.
:cheers:
severdhed:
well, i'll do my best:
1. i have never used an aimtrak, so i'll be no help here
2. in most cases you don't need to do anythign to adhere the plexiglass to the control panel. pushbuttons have a wide top and a nut on the bottom, so every button you install acts like a bolt that holds the plexi on. if you install Tmolding so that it sits flush with the plexi (covers the edges), then you should have no problems at all. if your plexi sits above the Tmolding, then you may need some small fasteners around the edges. i drilled all of my button holes in the MDf, clamped the plexi to it, and used a router to cut the plexi) there are several good threads on this subject if you use the search feature.
3. no idea, i only run mame
4. there are many good places to order arcade parts, here are a few that i have used and have been very happy with:
ultimarc.com (excellent customer service, above and beyond anything i have ever experienced, and awesome products U360 and Utrak are amazing)
groovygamegear.com - great selection, great products, great prices
lizardlick.com - good source for japanese style controls, as well as more standard american style stuff, huge selection, quick service
forum member divemaster127, he has a thread in the B/S/T forum, and a webstore at: ARCADEEMULATOR.NET - he has a great selection and great prices, especially on happ products.
kronic24601:
I'll also take a crack.
1) I Own two Aimtracks and they work great. In addition to working out the actual guns you should consider how they will attach to your cab, and where your LED board will be mounted. So, is it easy to hack a gun and make the aimtrak work, yes it was. Will it be easy to configure the rumble effect to work? I guess that depends on the gun and how it get's it's signal. I vaguely remember that guns like those require 12v instead of the 5V that USB provides, if this is the case you would have to bring up a USB cable AND another wire for the 12V (+1 for ground probably). So that's something to research first.
2) First of all, if you get a CP top from somewhere like GameonGraphics you may not even NEED a piece of plexi. However, it can look nice and provide some added protection. With that said, people generally prefer traditional plexi rather than Lexan, even though Lexan is easy to work with, it can scratch a bit more easily (I used Lexan, but sorta wished I used Plexi at this point.) As far as how is it held in place. There are pretty much 2 ways. The one stated above which is that the buttons hold it in place. If you do this, you should either use smaller MDF (5/8") just for the top, that way your 1/8 plexi + 5/8 MDF = 3/4 for T-molding. This essentially makes a slot border for your plexi to fit into and then won't fall/shift in anyway. OR, some people still use 3/4" MDF, but they offset the T-molding so the same effect applies, but they round the edges of the bottom of the CP so you can't tell (See Mountains project here). Lastly, people use black carriage bolts through the plexi ... this is also more "arcade standard" from what I can tell.
3) Check out this thread HERE
4) 42 BUTTONS? WTH?. Dude that's kinda alot. You might want to post pictures of your intended CP to get feedback or risk ending up on CRAPMAME. I cannot imagine that you would actually need that many buttons.
As far as your list goes that all seems like a good option. I have used a lot of items from Ultimarc, but am not familiar with the Optipac or Happ trackball. I have spinners & a trackball from Groovygame gear that work great, and the nice thing is there is no need for an optipac with something that is USB plug n play.
I agree with the above post about those 4 vendors, they are really almost all you will need. As for the translucent buttons, unfortunately other than Lizard lick the only guy I found (ponyboy) is no longer selling them.
One last thing, if you do use LED's with the translucent buttons, you should use button diffusers or go blind. Also, you don't HAVE to use translucent buttons to get a cool light up effect. I have two panels, one with translucent and one with opaque HAPP buttons (red, blue, yellow, and green) and both look really cool. At times I even prefer the opaque kind over the others. If you want some really powerful LED's to really bright up those opaque buttons check these out. They are 100ma instead of the standard 20ma, so they will be a bit brighter.
My only other suggestions would be to check out the wiki, read other peoples projects for ideas (just sort by the most viewed) and be sure to post plans for constructive feedback.
DirtyDachshunds:
Thanks guys. A ton of great infor. kronic, below are some responses I had
From kronic24601::
I'll also take a crack.
1) I Own two Aimtracks and they work great. In addition to working out the actual guns you should consider how they will attach to your cab, and where your LED board will be mounted. So, is it easy to hack a gun and make the aimtrak work, yes it was. Will it be easy to configure the rumble effect to work? I guess that depends on the gun and how it get's it's signal. I vaguely remember that guns like those require 12v instead of the 5V that USB provides, if this is the case you would have to bring up a USB cable AND another wire for the 12V (+1 for ground probably). So that's something to research first.
>>>I haven't done any research on the guns yet. But if the guns are 12V for the recoil, it might be more of a hassle then it is worth. I assume for the 12V you would generally get that off a molex connection in the PC? And it would probably need shielded separately from the USB cable going to the gun. I'll look into that.
2) First of all, if you get a CP top from somewhere like GameonGraphics you may not even NEED a piece of plexi. However, it can look nice and provide some added protection. With that said, people generally prefer traditional plexi rather than Lexan, even though Lexan is easy to work with, it can scratch a bit more easily (I used Lexan, but sorta wished I used Plexi at this point.) As far as how is it held in place. There are pretty much 2 ways. The one stated above which is that the buttons hold it in place. If you do this, you should either use smaller MDF (5/8") just for the top, that way your 1/8 plexi + 5/8 MDF = 3/4 for T-molding. This essentially makes a slot border for your plexi to fit into and then won't fall/shift in anyway. OR, some people still use 3/4" MDF, but they offset the T-molding so the same effect applies, but they round the edges of the bottom of the CP so you can't tell (See Mountains project here). Lastly, people use black carriage bolts through the plexi ... this is also more "arcade standard" from what I can tell.
>>>I am using my own design for the art, and don't know where I will have it printed yet. I want to use plexi regardless of the art print. I think I will just use the buttons as bolts and I'll try to find 5/8" MDF if I can. I didn't even think about that regarding T-modling
3) Check out this thread HERE
4) 42 BUTTONS? WTH?. Dude that's kinda alot. You might want to post pictures of your intended CP to get feedback or risk ending up on CRAPMAME. I cannot imagine that you would actually need that many buttons.
>>>Here is what I was thinking. I want this cabinet to play almost everything. So with that said, here is my current button layout.
>>>6 player buttons X 4 players = 24 buttons
>>>4 coin buttons (under the CP)
>>>4 player start buttons
>>>2 quick load/quick save buttons
>>>2 buttons dedicated to the trackball (thought it would be nice for golden tee)
>>>1 pause button
>>>1 exit button
>>>4 pinball buttons under the CP
>>>=42 buttons
>>>I know its a ton, but my CP is pretty big and 8 of the buttons will be under the CP
As far as your list goes that all seems like a good option. I have used a lot of items from Ultimarc, but am not familiar with the Optipac or Happ trackball. I have spinners & a trackball from Groovygame gear that work great, and the nice thing is there is no need for an optipac with something that is USB plug n play.
>>>I'll look into GGG. That may be an easier option instead of the optipac.
I agree with the above post about those 4 vendors, they are really almost all you will need. As for the translucent buttons, unfortunately other than Lizard lick the only guy I found (ponyboy) is no longer selling them.
One last thing, if you do use LED's with the translucent buttons, you should use button diffusers or go blind. Also, you don't HAVE to use translucent buttons to get a cool light up effect. I have two panels, one with translucent and one with opaque HAPP buttons (red, blue, yellow, and green) and both look really cool. At times I even prefer the opaque kind over the others. If you want some really powerful LED's to really bright up those opaque buttons check these out. They are 100ma instead of the standard 20ma, so they will be a bit brighter.
>>>What would you say is brighter? The 100ma LEDs with opaque buttons, or the 20ma LEDs with translucent buttons using the diffusers? If they are about the same, I may try the opaque button route. They'd definitely look better without the lights.
My only other suggestions would be to check out the wiki, read other peoples projects for ideas (just sort by the most viewed) and be sure to post plans for constructive feedback.
>>>I'll be sure to do that. Thanks!
DirtyDachshunds:
Oh and how do you cut MDF so that the trackball mounting plate is completely flush with the wood? ie I don't want the mounting plate on top my my graphic. I've seen pictures of this, but always wondered how they did it.