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steve42:

OK, so I'm probably a bit of an oddity in the forum.  Truth be told, I joined more because of the DWjukebox section than anything else, and as a teen, I was much more into pinball and the cockpit-style Turbo and Pole Position games than in the other arcade games. But now I am a grown-up and I have kids who love to play these games, and I would probably enjoy the older arcade games more if I didn't have to pay to play them.

The "show us your CP" thread is really nice for those of us who have not yet begun to build.  It appears that many of you are happy with the basic 2 Player layout using 2 joysticks and 6 buttons, plus a few admin buttons. 

I have a friend who has a CNC routing table and I'd like to get him to do a CP cutout for us to try as a tabletop unit and then we can decide to either go with that one as the final version or make changes based on our preferences.

Also, I've seen some of the cabinets with the rotating CPs and the flipup extensions for things like trackballs.  Has anyone ever designed a quick-change plug-and-play cabinet for swapping from driving to flight to conventional joystick/button CP configurations?

Thanks in advance for your assistance!

Steve

nussmier:

I think you are talking about a modular control panel.  Check out the wiki here  http://wiki.arcadecontrols.com/wiki/Modular_Control_Panels


shponglefan:

I've been working on designing swappable panels using roller catches.  The main thing I don't like about other modular designs (imho) is they don't allow for nice CP art.  So I want something where each panel is fully self-contained.  For simplicity I'm going with a seperate interface for each panel.  The interface will be mounted to the underside of the panel, with all controls wired up to it.  So then the only thing required to plug/unplug is just a USB cable.

So far I have a single player prototype w/ a couple removable panels.  Roller catches seem to hold the panel in place well enough, although I've thought of experimenting with other latches/catches.

The downside of this approach is it's more expensive as it requires seperate interfaces, plexi, art, etc for each CP panel.

keilmillerjr:

I am no professional, and my first build is currently in early stages. However, if I were to go the route you have explained, I would:

Make superstar control panels.
Control panels released via "quick release" pin or other method. Think aerocatch brand flush auto hood pins.
Each control panel contains necessary encoders built in.
Each control panel has a USB port underneath, where a short USB cable can attach control panel to USB port on cabinet.

steve42:

You are all thinking fairly close to the lines along which I was going. 

Nussmier was close, but it got me to where I could find the Swappable Control Panels writeup (such that it is).

What I was considering was 3 different CPs, each with its own custom artwork, (Arcade Superstars, Air/Space Combat, Street Racer) that swap out with some manner of snap in/out solution.

Rather than use a separate encoder for each CP, I was thinking about programming one larger capability encoder for all of the various functions that would be in play for the games and accessories we have and then using a few multi-pin connectors (like the http://www.mcmelectronics.com/product/DISTRIBUTED-BY-MCM-28-2195-/28-2195) to plug and play the desired CP.  If the CP installed didn't have a particular function, that pair of wires would just be unterminated on that specific CP.

i would not need a 4-player option like the I-PAC 4 has, but the more programmable models that allow for 2 player clusters, plus a trackball, plus a spinner, plus a flight stick, etc would be the best for this configuration.

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