NEO GEO Evolution (EVS-1) - Experimenting with DIY trackball

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BadMouth:

--- Quote from: WakiMiko on November 13, 2013, 06:18:37 pm ---It looks like your actuator actually has feedback (the yellow, blue, white wires), meaning you wouldn't have needed limit switches at all because you can tell it via software how far it should go :P

--- End quote ---

Yup, has a built in potentiometer. I didn't put as much into learning the software as I should have.
The original setup with the limit switches was designed to work using the printer port.
It wasn't until I gave up on getting the printer port working with Vista64, that I switched to the pololu controller.

I've been making lots of progress on the cab, but it's stuff you'd assume was already done. :lol
Finally grounded the audio panel and coin door, organized the wiring, switched the fans over to 5v so they're quieter,
crimped some ends on the wires hanging by the coin switches and hooked those up, fixed a lot of small software issues, etc.
Got a LOT of loose ends tied up.

What follows is more random stuff that progress has haphazardly been made on, but hey...it's progress.

I hadn't originally planned for this cab to be connected to the internet, but got into Steam and changed my mind. To avoid having to mess with any extra wiring outside the cab, I installed a powerline adapter that transmits the signal through the electric cord. It didn't work so well when plugged into the power strip, so I installed a splitter before the power strip. Seemed to be working good at first, but then got flaky. It turned out to be a software issue caused by me disabling services, but before I figured that out, I made this nifty Ethernet port (I don't like the looks of the neutrik ones):

Started with a panel mount extension:

Grinded the sides off of it:

Until it fit in a cut up power inlet from an old PC:

JB welded in place from the back, then topped off with liquid electrical tape in front. This turned out to be a mistake. I thought the liquid tape would pool and make a shiny black surface. It kinda did, but not as smooth as I thought it would be. It would have looked much better if I'd filled with bondo and spray painted. Since it's on the back, I don't care enough to redo it. Still need to pick up some mounting screws.

(used a black sharpie to touch up the edges of the cut area. Apparently I slipped. I did not notice any of this before looking at the pic. Guess I should run the paint roller over that area)

Been setting up HLSL separately for each resolution. I'm finding that the theoretical best settings for the really low resolution games look like crap on a monitor this big.
Using pics of the real games on original hardware for reference, the results are pretty awesome:

My method is to find a section of the screen where the lines are easily counted and then make sure HLSL has the correct number of lines, then get the size and darkness of them to match.
I wish the curved edges of the pincushioned image were smoother and the corners were more rounded, so I might try to make a .lay overlay that has the look I want.

CP art is evolving:

The idea is something between the original NEO GEO and modern candy cabs.
Pixelhugger is doing the art. Part of the deal when he agreed to take the job was that I realized that he didn't have much spare time to work on it, so it will be done whenever it is done.
The part that says evolution will probably be different by the time it's done. Maybe NEO GEO in the bump out area, and evolution stretched across the whole bottom...

Need to work on next:
Make HLSL settings for a few more resolutions.
Redesign exit button art and print on sheet along with serial plate.
Set up Joychoose and pololu controller for 4/8 way switching.

mike boss:
Awesome project.
The artwork is amazing.

BadMouth:
Finally got around to wrapping the 4/8 way switching up.
Ran into an issue caused by recent changes in the joystick descriptions in mame.xml, but was able to manually correct it.
More info on that here: http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php/topic,117692.0.html

pcbs not mounted, some twist and taping going on. It will be mounted properly when I make a new cp top. Waiting to have artwork as a template before making it.

Never did do a vid of the screen rotation triggered by the front end, so shot a short one:

Still need to fine tune the splash screen. Especially for emulators other than MAME.

The to-do list is getting pretty short as long as I don't let the feature creep back in.....yet. ;D

DaOld Man:
Great work Badmouth!
I like the usb in the old power entry idea. Will have to remember that one.
Looks like your joystick switch has worked out good too.

BadMouth:
Well, the end of the year came and went and the cab still isn't done. :lol
Still waiting on the artwork design, but there are other things that need done too.

I didn't like the cheap mylar tweeters, so have been on the lookout for some silk dome ones with a compatible mounting plate.
.....how about the exact same mounting plate. ;D

Got these installed and they accomplished everything I'd hoped. The mylar ones were very directional so they sounded completely different when playing seated vs standing.
The silk domes are smoother and not nearly as directional.

I really like having Steam games on this cab, but they are getting more and more difficult to set up controls for unless you're using xbox 360 controllers.
There are workarounds in most cases, but the last few I did were a serious PITA, so I've decided to switch to pad hacks.
Injustice:Gods Among Us was the one that put me over the edge. Gonna add some sports games after I get these in.
Picked up NBA2K14 cheap and have Madden '08 with updated rosters. Not sure how big of a difference not having analog controls will make.
They play ok with a d-pad, so should play ok with a standard joystick.

I picked up a pair of Mad Catz street fighter x tekken fight pads. These are a good bit smaller than the old SSFIV fight pads.
I like them much better, they remind me more of Sega Genesis controllers.

More compact, common ground and the solder points look pretty easy.

Hopefully I'll have enough time tomorrow evening to get both of them done.

Oh and if you missed it in the everything else subforum, the cab has had a faint burning smell which has gotten worse recently.
Turned out to be this:

Unsure of the exact cause, but it was probably the cable. It was an old random pc power cable that was laying around.
I ordered a new 14 gauge one with a 15A rating and a new power inlet. If you smell a faint burning smell, don't wait to track it down!

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