Building a control panel help please

[notroubleclubber]

After recently getting rid of my jamma converted mame cab ive decided to build one of my own with mdf.
I usually use zippy joysticks, cheap buttons from ebay and an ipac from ultimarc.

I decided that the new cab will be my last ever cab and i want to make it as perfect as possible.

Ive started collecting bits for my control panel which is going to be a 2player panel.

Ive managed to get hold of ultimarcs led buttons with leds etc and a trackball (usb) made by ultimarc too.

Ive also managed to get hold of a ultrastick 360 made by ultimarc from ebay for cheap too.

I want to make the control panel as perfect as possible but also try to do it as cost effective as possible too. So i realise instead of buying another ipac i can use the u360s interface via usb to connect my buttons to. I would then buy another u360 from ultimarc and use that interface for buttons for player 2.

BUT - i have a few questions:

1. Ive decided to get the top mount restrictor plates so i can easily change 4-8 way etc without opening the panels. According to ultimarcs site these come with an extra long shaft so im guessing i wont need to buy longer shafts which i was originally going to do without the restrictors? Also ive read on this site that most people like to change the springs to the harder ones available as an option from ultimarcs site - is this still recommended?

2. Ive read on Andys site that the buttons when connected to the u360 act as joypad buttons and not keyboard presses as the ipac. Will this cause problems with the emulators and frontend i intend to use (Maximus Arcade for frontend - Mame, Snes emu,Nes emu, Genesis emu, Master system emu, Daphne, zinc, finalalpha, epsxe, nulldc)? Or will i need to use something like JoyKeypadder or something?

3. Will the ultimarc trackball work as a usb mouse so will it be ok for PC games etc?

4. Will the u360s and buttons work with an xbox360 adapter as i may put a jtag xbox into the cab and use a KVM switch from pc to jtag (or maybe use PS3 instead of xbox)?

5. To power the leds in the buttons will one of ultimarcs Pacdrive be ok for 6 Buttons per player and 1 coin per player and 1 start per player? (It does state it will drive 16 leds)

Lots of questions but id prefer to get answers instead of wasting money i havent got!

[mytymaus007]

Dude keep reading its all in here thats what everyone else is doing now, plus to many questions at one time