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| swirlee:
Hi PL1 Thanks for the quick reply. Do you mind dumbing down and elaborating a few of your explanations? And also, please anyone else chime in. What is the best encoder if not the X-Arcade? I can always return it. Bear in mind I am going for simplicity of use/installation and I probably won't need every feature under the sun. This is going to be a 2 player setup with a trackball. I do plan on playing a lot of console games on this setup, but really just the nintendo to playstation 1 era of games. Think 6 buttons would still suffice? I might end up just doing 8 to make it a little future proof. Plus I am a pretty big Neo Geo fan and like the idea of arranging them in a similar 4 buttons fashion. I've ran into most of these online shops for pushbuttons. Each style/brand only seems to have the "primary" colors, no real in between hues. As far as wiring goes, I'm not sure exactly what all I'd need. The female daisy chains for the ground/negative correct? And then individual wires leading to whatever encoder I ultimately end up using? Do trackballs usually plug into these encoders as well, or do USB ones exist yet? Also, I'm pretty interested in getting a few light guns setup for this. Also, any opinions on the power up options? Thanks! |
| ark_ader:
Stick with the X Arcade controller, you can then have plenty of console expansion. The only reason for the apprehension for the X Arcade controller is the wiring. But if you follow the instructions you will be fine. Your CP layout should be what is the most comfortable. PC? Well it all depends on what games you play. Classics? a Xbox1 with COinOPS would be suitable. Anything beefier would be looking at a 3Ghz bare bone PC and add parts or just build it from the many examples on this site. |
| mgb:
Good luck with the project. I'd advise you to definitely keep researching to keep from making costly mistakes. It seems that you want this machine to do a lot on a kinda tight budget. I agree, the multi sync CRT is great. I have a 27" multi sync CRT in my cab and I love it. Though if I were to build another, I'd probably go LCD due to price and weight. I see you reference SuzoHapp on your parts. Your best ordering from the sources that pl1 has listed. Best advice is to take a good long look at the project announcements area to see what others are doing and what works for them. Be careful about just wanting everything, especially on a budget. You said you want 8 buttons per player but then you asked what the extra 2 buttons are for. Be careful with that because if you just throw a bunch of controls in there because it seems to cover every single game made, you will end up with a cluttered useless control panel. Personally I believe in keeping it simple and high quality. |
| PL1:
--- Quote from: swirlee on March 22, 2013, 06:46:40 pm ---What is the best encoder if not the X-Arcade? I can always return it. Bear in mind I am going for simplicity of use/installation and I probably won't need every feature under the sun. This is going to be a 2 player setup with a trackball. --- End quote --- My concern about the X-arcade encoder is based on threads like this one. Based on your description, I suggest you look at the Ultimarc U-Trak trackball and the "Mini-Pac Opti. with harness and USB cable". The U-Trak plugs directly into the Mini-Pac harness. --- Quote from: swirlee on March 22, 2013, 06:46:40 pm ---I've ran into most of these online shops for pushbuttons. Each style/brand only seems to have the "primary" colors, no real in between hues. --- End quote --- To get those "in-between" hues, you have 2 options: 1. RGB LED buttons and a controller -- expensive, but you can set exact colors and blink/flash. 2. Order white buttons and Rit dye -- get extra buttons to experiment with --- Quote from: swirlee on March 22, 2013, 06:46:40 pm ---As far as wiring goes, I'm not sure exactly what all I'd need. The female daisy chains for the ground/negative correct? And then individual wires leading to whatever encoder I ultimately end up using? --- End quote --- That is a good description of the wiring for the buttons. --- Quote from: swirlee on March 22, 2013, 06:46:40 pm ---Do trackballs usually plug into these encoders as well, or do USB ones exist yet? --- End quote --- The wiki has an intro to the subject of encoders. Encoders for buttons fall under either keyboard-type or gamepad-type. Optical encoders are used for spinners and trackballs. The Mini-Pac opti. that I mentioned above has a keyboard-type encoder and an optical encoder in one board. Scott |
| swirlee:
Thanks for letting me in on the issues with the X-Arcade encoder. Seems like mapping ctrl, alt, delete buttons to allow 9 buttons presses sorta solves the issue. If I have a friends over and they're mashing that many buttons, they deserve to have a few inputs be missed. I just chose this encoder because I order the monitor from X-Gaming and it just seems convenient to order other parts on top of it. Still a bit confused why people seem to think this build will cost more than $1,000. My empty cab cost me $75, sure the monitor was expensive, but it'll be worth it. Then there is PC, as some pointed out a used $100 machine does the job, but I decided to use a decently powerful laptop that I never use anymore so that takes care of that... add in buttons, joysticks, trackball and wiring and I think I'll be well under my budget. My monitor should get here in the next few days, pretty excited for this. I'm going to have to figure out a way to extend inputs out of the cab so I can hookup some of my retro consoles when I don't want to run MAME. It's my understanding that setting up MAME, organizing all the ROMS, installing Hyperspin and all the artwork/video is a pain in the ass? Are there some good tutorials out there for the novice? Also, still no comment as to how some of you power up your cabs... I get wiring an external switch to a power strip inside, but how do you power up your PC at the same time? |
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