help with my control panel?

[Brian74]

Im trying to setup a 2 player 7 buttons and a trackball on a cp that's 28.5 by 14 anyone have any ideas?

[harveybirdman]

14 inches is plenty deep for various types of arrangements, some of the more popular are mentioned below.

You could actually get by with less depth, unless you just want a panel that deep.

My initial plans call for a panel 7 to 8 inches deep, if you do go with less depth on your panel then make sure you leave plenty of wrist room, I failed to account for this on my first mockup and it's uncomfortable.


*Edited to reflect what I was really trying to say instead of something retarded, as paigeoliver correctly pointed out.

[PL1]

Im trying to setup a 2 player 7 buttons and a trackball on a cp that's 28.5 by 14 anyone have any ideas?

If you're asking about layouts, you might want to look in the Hall of Fame thread, the Post a Picture of your Control Panel thread and the obligatory visit to Slagcoin.

Or are you asking for joystick/button/trackball/encoder recommendations?   


Scott

[Dervacumen]

Only suggest putting a smaller 2.25" happ trackball in th center as close to the front as possible, the two joysticks as close to the screen as possible, and cramming the buttons in like I've laid out here...

[MaxVolume]

at 14 inches deep make sure you leave enough room for your wrists.

+1

[BadMouth]

28.75" x 13" 

[MaxVolume]

Only suggest putting a smaller 2.25" happ trackball in th center as close to the front as possible, the two joysticks as close to the screen as possible, and cramming the buttons in like I've laid out here...

Why is the left set of buttons in such a strange pattern?  I'd recommend consistency in all multi-player designs... you never know when someone who's used to being Player 1 might end up being Player 2, 3, or 4.

[Mysterioii]

I'm guessing he just dropped the buttons in the diagram really quickly and freehand...  Otherwise yeah that's odd...   

[MaxVolume]

Oh, and don't angle the joysticks, right everyone? 

[MaxVolume]

Okay, here's another one of my pet peeves that I was reminded of by the X-Arcade stick posted above... having all buttons the same color.  Am I alone in that?

Believe it or not, I'm not actually ranting, I'm genuinely curious... isn't that confusing?  I mean I know after a while you kind of get into a pattern with certain games, but especially when you're playing games where the buttons are in a different place than they were on the original control panel, isn't it a bit difficult to remember which button does what?  Maybe it's just me.

[Dervacumen]

Okay, here's another one of my pet peeves that I was reminded of by the X-Arcade stick posted above... having all buttons the same color.  Am I alone in that?

Believe it or not, I'm not actually ranting, I'm genuinely curious... isn't that confusing?  I mean I know after a while you kind of get into a pattern with certain games, but especially when you're playing games where the buttons are in a different place than they were on the original control panel, isn't it a bit difficult to remember which button does what?  Maybe it's just me.

It's confusing every time someone other than myself plays and needs instructions.  It's far easier to yell "use the red button" or whatever from across the room.  Otherwise, I think it's important your buttons fit whatever color scheme you got goin' on.

I'm guessing he just dropped the buttons in the diagram really quickly and freehand...  Otherwise yeah that's odd...   

That I even drew that up in 45 seconds was more than I usually do when responding to these posts.
Yeah, imagine everything nicely spaced and symmetrical.  I guess the X-Arcade beat me to it.  That's how I got started in this hobby BTW.

[Brian74]

Well Im trying not to have to redo the whole cp. I really wanted to go with 7 buttons but I ended up with going with 6. I wanted to try to keep the track ball in the middle and have enough room under the joystick, buttons and trackball. I moved the buttons in on one side and the joystick in on the other. Now I have enough room. I guess down the road I can change it and build a new cp with my flight stick too. Now I just need to come up with a name theme and color scheme.

[dzorbas]

My CP is 24"x12". The trackball is a 3" and those are Magstik Plus joysticks. I think you would have enough space to add another button to this layout if needed. I don't have any issues with wrist space or anything like that.

Dino Z.

[DaveMMR]

Im trying to setup a 2 player 7 buttons and a trackball on a cp that's 28.5 by 14 anyone have any ideas?

See my original panel below. It's only 25" and has a 3" trackball. You basically have an extra 3.5" to work with (and definitely more depth).



Some tips:

• Basically, the button bezels can overlap the TB mounting plate. That gives you a little extra space.
• The buttons can pretty much be right next to the joystick base without issue, again the button's bezel can overlap.
• The joystick plates are oriented vertically (you can rotate the PCB if using something like the U360, otherwise just wire appropriately.)

Simply put, you have more than enough space.

[Brian74]

I have a tb that I got from x-arcade, is the housing the same size as a happ?

[DaveMMR]

I have a tb that I got from x-arcade, is the housing the same size as a happ?

Not sure about that but it looks like you'll have even more room since they advertise it as not requiring a mounting plate.

To install into a new wood opening, use a router to cut out 5-7/8” by 5-7/8” down to ¼”. Cut 2-7/8” hole for lip/ball. On the top of the assembly you will notice a small line which represents up.

No mounting plate is required, but can be used if desired (though we do not sell them).

But it looks like it has the standard holes that can replace a Happs for the most part (though the cases are different shapes).

[Brian74]

So, now I need help deciding which joysticks to get. Should I go with a dedicated 4 way and 2 8 ways? Or switchable 4 to 8 ways? Right now I think I have happ comps but Im not sure. Whats the best over all ones to get?

[ghettodish]

28"x10"

[paigeoliver]

14" deep is deeper than almost every control panel made prior to the release of Gauntlet (most were 6" to 8" deep). A control panel isn't a keyboard.

at 14 inches deep make sure you leave enough room for your wrists.

[dzorbas]

I'm struggling a little bit with my choice of joysticks. I currently have the Ultimarc Magstik Plus joysticks installed which can be switched between 4 and 8-way from the top. They work well enough as 4-way but I like playing Robotron and I get a little frustrated because I can't hit the verticals and horizontals as easily any more. I used to have Happ Supers (I think) and they were pretty good for 8-way games but horrible for things like Pacman. I guess it all depends on what games you like to play most. The Magstiks are solid joysticks and little bit pricey but the convenience of being able to switch them from on top can't be beat.

Still, I'm looking for something that works all around, particularly for Robotron which is one of my favourites. I'd love to hear the opinions of some experts. I was thinking of starting another thread about this today...

Dino Z.

[MacGyver]

You can shoehorn a lot of stuff into that size, here is my daughters CPO, it's 29x13 and has 2x spinners, 1x trackball, 6x buttons per side, 2x led JLF joysticks (the picture has MagStiks), and 2x player select buttons.  there are leds in everything, and Angle eyes under the spinners.  I could even put a flightstick in the middle if I moved some stuff around, but that would be really crowded.  It doesn't feel crowded at all right now, even with all those controls in it.


Just use the technical drawings for the devices you plan on using (scale them to the proper sizes), for instance, that trackball is huge on two corners, but small on the others, using the technical drawings will help avoid making mistakes by misjudging how big things are on the bottom (eg. joysticks take up 4 times the space below the panel).

[mamenewb100]

That Kimpossible CP is nice. Those spinners come in suprisingly handy for racing and pong-type games due to the smooth analog input. Thought it would be a waste to have one, until I was able to try it out.

[rCadeGaming]

The issues of straight vs curved layouts and American vs Japanese parts have been argued to death here:

http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?topic=118842.0

As to what you should put on it, I think one stick and seven buttons per player, trackball, and start/admin buttons is plenty for 95% of the games you'll want to play.  That's what I like.

Still working on my cabinet, but here's a portable stick I made.  The cabinet's cp will this times two, plus trackball:



Still enough space for a spinner if that's your preference, and you could cut out some buttons if you're not into 6-button fighters.