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Author Topic: Review: redoctane.com Arcade Style Case and playstation pcb  (Read 7198 times)

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slicer_d

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Review: redoctane.com Arcade Style Case and playstation pcb
« on: November 06, 2003, 02:34:55 am »
This is my review of the redoctane.com Arcade Style Case and playstation pcb.
http://www.redoctane.com/arcadecasepcb.html

Quick and dirty review:

Minuses:
-Had this horrible fake t-molding stuff on it and took 1+ hour to get it all off.  It looks decent on the website but trust be really crappy looking when you get it.
-The painted on craphics on the plexi top they might be ok it they where done better but they look slap dash and when I tried to stip the paint off I killed the plexi and had to get a new piece of lexan.
-The PCB had no instructions with it, if a layout hadnt been on the net already it would have been really interesting to figure out. I also had to take off the extra ground wires because there was one for each switch.
-The bloddy bolt holes didn't line up!!! It was fixed easilly enough but it was a pain.
-Controller cable was pretty short, they seemed shorter then the official PS2 ones
-Have to use a chisel to raise the competition stick up higher

Pluses:
+After everything was stripped of the the black vinear stuff was pretty nice looking and all the rounded corners where done well
+They gave me two PCB controller boards so I can now build a second stick I dont know if they always do this but it was pretty cool.
+Playstation PCB seems to work really well

Overall:
I was kind of disappointed with the entire thing with all the exrtra work I had to do just to take all of the extra "finishing" stuff they put on there off.  Some one needs to tell these people less is more!  If you wanted a arcade stick quick and dirty you might consider this if you didnt really care about the plexi graphics or having all 8 buttons you could get it setup pretty quick.  If they hadnt given me the extra playstaion PCB I would have felt much more ripped off but I with it I can do my next custom built stick and not have to do a controller hack so that made me happy.





In Depth Review and details on how I built mine.

A little backround: I was really dying for an arcadestick to play Guilty Gear X2 and looking around I found some decent sounding arcade stick but they where pretty expensive about 50 bucks plus shipping from Japan which wouldnt be cheap.  I found this extremely great site with all you great people then somehow found the redoctane stick. I thought it a decent deal and I could get a decent stick together real quick.  Ideally I would like to build my own and will this x-mas break I think I will with a friend who has a lot of tools that we can use.

Stupidlly I didnt take pictures but this is basically what mine looked like minus the game and controlls.

http://store3.yimg.com/I/adux_1764_364730

For some reason it looks kind of blue in the pic but it is really this textured black laminate stuff that looks pretty decent.  But the stuff that looks like t-molding with the red and the white isn't acutally t-molding at all!!  Its really just these thin plastic strips taped to the sides and it looks like total CRAP!!!  I can't stress this enough it does look truly horrid, the plastic does come off pretty easy but it leaves this super sticky double sided tape stuff all the way around the sides and the front.  Did I mention it was SUPER STICKY!!!  It seriously took me like 1+ to get all the sticky stuff off.  You first need to rub the top layer of it to get this fiber stuff off then you need goo gone stuff to get rid of the actual sticky stuff.  And you cant just spray the goo gone stuff on the case either because the laminite stuff starts to come off, so you have to apply it to the rag then rub rub rub my fingers where killing me by the end of the nite.

After the removal of the fake t-molding crap it looked pretty good.  But the plexi had these wierd designs on it and they where kind of half-a$$ed done so I had this brilliant idea to use the anti stick stuff I had used to get the tape off the side to try and remove the paint on the plexi.  At first it seemed to be working because the paint looked like it was comming off but then something wierd happened the plexi started to become goo like on the surface.  So in the end I killed it the paint was mostly removed but the plexi looked like it had been slightly melted and some of the paint was still mixed it with the melted part.  Of course all this is probably my fault because I used the wrong type of stuff but it still sucked and if they had just not put graphics on it I would have been much happier.  In the end I bought some new lexan and and cut to shape and it all worked out.

This part only really applies to people that want happs competition sticks.  The comp stick is about 1/4 inch shorter so you have thin the wood out on the case.  If you where building your own stick you could route out the section no problem but the prebuilt case you cant fit in the router.  I found the below post on the forums about chiseling out the 1/4 inch this would only work on MDF and fortunatally the case was MDF so it all worked out fine it only took 30-45 min and it worked very very well.

http://www.arcadecontrols.org/yabbse/index.php?board=1;action=display;threadid=2496;start=0
http://www.oscarcontrols.com/tmp/router-chisel.jpg

I also drilled two extra holes that where off center of the capcom 6 so I could make an arc that would work better for NEOGeo games and such.  This worked pretty well and no complaints there.  

At this point I had cut my lexan and drilled holes in it and was basically read to install the buttons and stick.  Then I ran into this BIG problem the bolt holes for the stick didnt line up!!!  I dont know if the stick bolt holes are stnadardized or not but this really pissed me off.  They where about 1/4 inch to far apart they would almost fit in the joystick at an angle but it didnt quite work.  I ended up getting some new bolts and drilling the holes bigger then counter sinking them so they layed flush withe the top and they worked just fine from there but it was a pain in the but and I really didnt appreciate it.

After that whole debacle I had to setup the playstaion PCB.  Another strange thing is that the case came with a PCB attached to a pretty short playstation controller cord it also had a second PCB without any controller cable attached to it and quick disconnects at the ends of the wires.  At first I thought I was supposed to use both somehow, but I looked into it further and all you need to do is hook up one of them.  So it was a definite bonus to the entire thing I dont have to do a controller hack for my next joystick anymore.  For some strange reason the PCB that was already installed had a ground wire for each switch this made for basically twice as many wires to deal with, the second PCB I had only had the one ground wire so I dont know why the other one had all of them.  I ended up soldering off all but one of the ground wires and also attaching the L1 L2 wires.  After that I hooked up some quick disconnects and bam I was done!!

Here is the pcb layout just so you know what goes to what.
http://www.geocities.com/armad1ll0/images/RedOctanePCB.jpg

Over all I wasn't to thrilled with the entire experience maybe if I had used supers and hadnt had to chisel out the 1/4 inch and redrill the bolt holes and then strip the crap fake t-molding and and replace the plexi it would have been better but it was a lot more work that I had planned. Like I said in the above short review if you dont mind the plexi graphics and only want six buttons and a super joystick this would be an easy joystick project.  You would still have to strip the fake t-molding because it looks horrid but other than that it would be an 2 hour project I probably spent more like 4-5 on mine.

armad1ll0

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Re:Review: redoctane.com Arcade Style Case and playstation pcb
« Reply #1 on: November 06, 2003, 04:48:15 am »
Believe me, I know more about those redoctane cases than anyone else around.

They know about the crappy tape and they are going to address it in the future.

They know about the crappy joystick and are addressing it in the future.

If you carefully pull of the tape you can get most of the adhesive side off with the tape.

You can't get Happ super's in there cause it bottoms out the other side. (bottom panel) Only Ultimates fit right in there after you force it to fit the bolt holes.

91% Isopropyl alchohol strips off the paint off of the plexiglas.

And that's a link to my website where I host the map to their PCB. Areas of failure include the cable if you twist it around too much, and soldering to the PCB where you can tear the copper off of the PCB.

Cameronj

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Re:Review: redoctane.com Arcade Style Case and playstation pcb
« Reply #2 on: November 06, 2003, 11:16:16 am »
Dude looking at their pics I thought awesome! I will get one of these it is perfect and a good price for a quick DIY single panel.

After reading your post, there is no way I will get that one. It would be much easier to make the darn thing myself.

Cameron

armad1ll0

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Re:Review: redoctane.com Arcade Style Case and playstation pcb
« Reply #3 on: November 06, 2003, 12:02:39 pm »
depending on your expectations, those cases can get you started pretty fast and you can make some really decent sticks from them.

I've made more than a few using redoctane cases and I get pretty good feedback on them. My site has lots of pics.

tmasman

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Re:Review: redoctane.com Arcade Style Case and playstation pcb
« Reply #4 on: November 06, 2003, 12:43:11 pm »
depending on your expectations, those cases can get you started pretty fast and you can make some really decent sticks from them.

I've made more than a few using redoctane cases and I get pretty good feedback on them. My site has lots of pics.

A little OT...
Hey armad1ll0...
On your site you mention that you have/can get Capcom overlays...
Where do you get them? I'm trying to restore a SFIIce cab & I need a good sized Capcom overlay... I'm just looking for a reseller some where & coming up with nothing... (although I haven't talked to the local coin ops yet...)

Thanks!

To get back on Topic...
I'd rather spend my time building my own box than buy a Red Octane case... bleh!
I'm not a freak!...
Oh wait...
Yes I am...

Howard_Casto

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Re:Review: redoctane.com Arcade Style Case and playstation pcb
« Reply #5 on: November 06, 2003, 01:33:22 pm »
You guys saw the pics and didn't think they were crap right out of the gate?  First off the design is terrible.  You NEVER put the sides exposed like that, you are supposed to have the control panel top cover the sides.  They could have pulled it of if they hadn't put that ridiculous bevel (knocked off corner) on the cp.  Those are for big panels, little panels never have the bevel because it wastes valuable space.  Also you can tell quite plainly from the pics that the "t-molding" on those cabs isn't official.  Even with the flat t-molding when you photograph it you get a nice sheen showing the contour.  With this it looks like a painted line.  

And finally the pcb, I don't think I even have to comment on it, it looks so patched together.  

Basically you paid an insaine amount of money for a shop to go and buy scrap pieces of pre-surfaced material and slap it together with a hacked playstation pcb.  


I'm sorry to rant but for ages people have said "how cool" these things look and all the while I've been thinking that they look like utter crap on a stick.  Your findings just prove what I've said all along.  

MameMaster!

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Re:Review: redoctane.com Arcade Style Case and playstation pcb
« Reply #6 on: November 06, 2003, 01:40:51 pm »
....you know for $20.00 this is a quick and easy way to get a decent sized box for making your own stick. With a little wood putty you could fill the holes and have a blank slate for a custom controller......

....me thinks this may be worth investigating further!

.....and no, I don't have carpentry skills...so this would be good for me.

The MameMaster!
Seriously. Will it fit in my basement or what?

menace

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Re:Review: redoctane.com Arcade Style Case and playstation pcb
« Reply #7 on: November 06, 2003, 02:02:14 pm »
 Normally I ignore these posts but Howards Be-littling little rant there desrved some kind of response

Quote
You NEVER put the sides exposed like that, you are supposed to have the control panel top cover the sides

Supposed to?  who says? you?  most two player cabs have the sides jutting above the panel top--now granted its not ideal but I wouldn't say they've broken some design taboo.

Quote
Also you can tell quite plainly from the pics that the "t-molding" on those cabs isn't official

Where is this official design book? can I get one? When I look at the pics it is not as plain as you seem to suggest, but then I don't have the 'official' design manual so there ya go..

Quote
all the while I've been thinking that they look like utter crap on a stick.  Your findings just prove what I've said all along.  

Were you thinking it or saying it?  I wish we were all as enlightened as you but some of us lowly peons like to try something first, maybe experiment a bit.

Like most people were saying it may not be the end all controller but it does represent a starting point for the budget conscious.

sorry to rant ;D
its better to not post and be thought a fool, then to whip out your keyboard and remove all doubt...

mastahkaz

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Re:Review: redoctane.com Arcade Style Case and playstation pcb
« Reply #8 on: November 06, 2003, 03:06:29 pm »
First off the design is terrible.  You NEVER put the sides exposed like that, you are supposed to have the control panel top cover the sides.  

I'd have to disagree with this comment too, i think CP's with side coming up a little bit over the cp top look better and give a more stable build.  The MAS sticks are like this, and to me they are the best custom sticks you can get (design & function).

armad1ll0

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Re:Review: redoctane.com Arcade Style Case and playstation pcb
« Reply #9 on: November 06, 2003, 04:11:23 pm »
RedOctane cases...

Look, about the sides to not come up over the surface of the cp... I don't like it when it does cause if you slide you hands across I don't want to feel anything. This is not the case with these cases. Look carefully before you open your mouth. If you've never even held one of them, how can you go off on such a rant too... from a little picture.

That "flat T-molding" is not T-molding but just some tape for some cheap graphic effect. You can peel the ---steaming pile of meadow muffin--- right off... another error from a casual glance... The initial posting even mentioned that it was tape...

That small lip 1/8" is for acrylic to seat in there. This way the acrylic looks framed by a 3/4" boarder all over. Maybe this isn't as nice as it meeting flush all around but it's definately not a design taboo.

INSANE AMOUNTs OF MONEY? They sold them for $25 after coupon at one point.... wood PSX joystick for $25... I don't care how bad some of the parts were... $25 ... "insane amounts of money...." Someone must not ever go out for a decent meal or they would spend "insane amounts of money"

about Capcom overlays?  Uhhh I work at Capcom and Hugo gave them to me...

They sell them though. But you can't just roll one up and mail it out cause you don't want to bend the things.
« Last Edit: November 06, 2003, 06:12:05 pm by armad1ll0 »

rockhopper

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Re:Review: redoctane.com Arcade Style Case and playstation pcb
« Reply #10 on: November 06, 2003, 05:33:28 pm »
My cocktail (WIP) has the sides of the cp rising up over the surface of the control panel too.  But then I based it on Kyle Lindstrom's plans which in turn are based on the actual cocktail - therefore this must also be a 'terrible design' and everyone who has one of these style cabinets should destroy them immediately to ensure Howard is happy.

sorry for the rant, but I don't think Howard thought to carefully when he made that statement.


slicer_d

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Re:Review: redoctane.com Arcade Style Case and playstation pcb
« Reply #11 on: November 06, 2003, 07:35:11 pm »
Wow peoeple actually responded  ;)

First I forgot to thank armad1ll0 for the PCB pic I really do appreciate it man.

Just like armad1ll0 said the sides actually work really well becuase with the plexi in there the top is basically flat and you barely notice it.

Also with the plastic tape / fake t-molding stuff I tried to get the sticky to peal off with it but it was stuck on hard core.  Maybe it was from the AZ heat or something but it was a ---smurfette--- to get off.

My case also had a little circle routed out in the bottem pannel I would assume this was trying to help accomodate the supers but I cant veryify this.

I did also notice the copper comming up on one connection of the PCB's but the other one seemed fine.

Also just to reiterate I dont feel like I was tottaly ripped off but if the stupid tape wasnt there and the holes linned up I would have been much happier.  The stick cost 33 shipped if it was more like 25 shipped I think it would be about perfect price.  Maybe if they where to not put on any graphics or trim and fix the holes it would be worth the 33 but I really dont think so at this point.




armad1ll0

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Re:Review: redoctane.com Arcade Style Case and playstation pcb
« Reply #12 on: November 07, 2003, 02:39:27 pm »
For people that know what they are doing...

This is what can be done:

Stripped off the tape carefully pulling most of the adhesive off.
Wipped the left over sticky stuff off with "goof-off"
I drilled two holes and added the L1 & L2 buttons
Swapped all of the buttons for generic concave black buttons.
Swapped in there a Happ Ultimate.
The plexiglas graphics would have come off w/ alchohol

This stick cost less than $50 in parts. It was just a little know how, and about 2 hours or so...
« Last Edit: November 07, 2003, 02:47:57 pm by armad1ll0 »

armad1ll0

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Re:Review: redoctane.com Arcade Style Case and playstation pcb
« Reply #13 on: November 14, 2003, 07:07:42 pm »
here's another one with just a little more work than the last joystick that I showed.