Control Panel Started, Opinions Welcome

[tkropp17]

This is my first attempt at a control panel and I'm looking to take my time with it and start over if I need too at any point that I do not like the build. I've posted here before to gain more knowledge and have come up with a plan. There will be a trackball coming soon. Let me know what you think!

Top Row

P1 Start, Coin 1, HS Nav, Start, Exit, HS Nav, P1 Start, Coin 2

2nd Row

4-way Joy, button, button, button, Spinner

1st Row

Joystick, 7 buttons, Joystick, Trackball, Joystick, 7 buttons, Joystick

[tkropp17]

Got a little work done this weekend. I'm not sure if I routed too deep to use carriage bots?

[EMDB]

I would map HS navigation and Start to joystick Up/Down and P1-Button1. Handy Admin buttons could be Exit, Pause, Mute, ...

[tkropp17]

I would map HS navigation and Start to joystick Up/Down and P1-Button1. Handy Admin buttons could be Exit, Pause, Mute, ...

Thanks for checking it out. I'm going to have 4 admin buttons at the top, ordered a bunch of parts last night! BTW I like your cab, turned out nice!

[tkropp17]

Making progress. Can anyone confirm if it matters what direction the track ball is mounted?

[keilmillerjr]

Making progress. Can anyone confirm if it matters what direction the track ball is mounted?

You can always swap the wires for the axis, assuming it connects to an encoder. Just make sure it is not positioned diagonally or some bs.

[PL1]

Making progress. Can anyone confirm if it matters what direction the track ball is mounted?

Looks like you have the right basic alignment, but you may need to turn it 180 degrees. (plug it in to verify the desired up/down and left/right motion)

The two pairs of mounting holes (top/bottom, left/right) line up with the vertical and horizontal axes.


Scott

[tkropp17]

Good call on the testing it out first. I wasn't sure how this thing worked lol I'll give it a go before I route anything.

[Saneless]

Just by looking at it, my concern would be the CP "box" that this would sit on. There's very little room around the edges for that to happen and still have room for a slight overhang or even room for buttons. The top looks very tight and you're going to have to manage around the bottom curve in ways I'd give up on.

[tkropp17]

haha ya I agree, it will be a challenge to create the box around it. If it's too much of a pain, then I'll start over. Luckily it's less than a days work to cut and route a new piece and do it right.

[AzureKnight]

Making progress. Can anyone confirm if it matters what direction the track ball is mounted?

I'm still building mine, so I haven't powered it up yet to confirm...but mine has an arrow pointing in a direction just above the trackball, I assume that is up.

[Saneless]

I followed the arrow and was fine.

A tip: Make sure the bits you tap into the wood for the bolts to screw into are flush.  I think one of mine was slightly raised and there's an ever so tiny lowered part of the ball that makes me a little irritated. I'm probably the only one who will ever notice though.

[tkropp17]

Thanks for the tips. I'm going to grab a hole saw at Lowe's tonight to start on this. I also think I'm going to mount it without the trim ring. It's a much easier process and after checking out other builds, I think it looks pretty clean too.

[yotsuya]

Thanks for the tips. I'm going to grab a hole saw at Lowe's tonight to start on this. I also think I'm going to mount it without the trim ring. It's a much easier process and after checking out other builds, I think it looks pretty clean too.

Only problem is that you're not going to find a hole saw with the exact diameter,  hence the need for the ring. I think it looks better with the ring, personally.

[dkersten]

As stated, there is an arrow on the trackball that shows which direction to orient it. Also as stated, if you have to mount it in a different orientation, you can swap the axes pins (the actual pins in the plug, not the plugs) to get it right.  The pins in question are the center pins, not the outside pins, leave those alone and still plug them in to the proper places on your encoder.

The top buttons will be a little bit of a challenge when building the housing for the CP, but otherwise you have enough clearance.  The only admin buttons I would do would be a select button, a pause, an exit, and maybe a mute.  Don't put them in the path of your trackball or you will inevitably hit the exit when playing golden tee or shuffleshot..

any time you put a control above another, you will want to set the control panel to the height and angle it will rest when complete, and then stand in front of it and use each control as if you are playing a game.  You will find that some controls are awkward to handle, leave you in uncomfortable positions, or are just plain in the way of other controls.  Since you already cut your panel out, set it up and get your hands on it and see.  Don't be afraid to start over at this point, you don't have art on it yet, so it can always be redone. 

They don't make a hole saw that is a perfect fit for that trackball, and IMHO a holesaw makes a pretty ragged cut even when you are careful, so my advice would be to make a test piece, cut the hole the way you plan to, and see if you like the fit.  I wrote a little tutorial in the woodworking section on using a router and the trim ring to cut a perfect hole for the ultimarc trackball, might want to peek at it even if you are just going to use a hole saw that is a few mm too big.

[dkersten]

Thanks for the tips. I'm going to grab a hole saw at Lowe's tonight to start on this. I also think I'm going to mount it without the trim ring. It's a much easier process and after checking out other builds, I think it looks pretty clean too.

Only problem is that you're not going to find a hole saw with the exact diameter,  hence the need for the ring. I think it looks better with the ring, personally.

Just to add to that, if you are going to use the trim ring, you need to make the thickness of the CP 5/8" since the trim ring won't fit on with 3/4" wood.  Just route out the backside to the profile of the trackball. 

[tkropp17]

This should work, no?

http://www.lowes.com/ProductDisplay?partNumber=348147-28303-1772966&langId=-1&storeId=10151&productId=3361294&catalogId=10051&cmRelshp=req&rel=nofollow&cId=PDIO1

According too
http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/?topic=83988.0

[yotsuya]

This should work, no?

http://www.lowes.com/ProductDisplay?partNumber=348147-28303-1772966&langId=-1&storeId=10151&productId=3361294&catalogId=10051&cmRelshp=req&rel=nofollow&cId=PDIO1

According too
http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/?topic=83988.0

Yeah, but you'll have to special order it. Most places don't have a 3 1/4 in stock (once they get that big, the seem to only carry the 1/2 sizes). If it is, that would be a first.

I bought a 3 1/2 and used the flush ring - looked great.

[dkersten]

Even with a 3 1/4" hole, it will be a pretty loose fit.  The trackball "sleeve" or "stem" or whatever you call it is tapered, so it is 82mm at the base, but a mm or two smaller at the top (the part you see when it is flush mounted).  Using a 3.25" holesaw you will probably end up with about an 84mm hole as holesaws are not very precise tools, so about a 2mm gap all the way around (and a fairly ragged hole to boot).

[Saneless]

I have that 3 1/4 saw from Lowes. Here's how it turned out.

The hole IMO is nearly perfect. My cutting skills? Less so. The bezel would cover up any issues

[tkropp17]

Saneless, that looks really nice! I picked up a hole saw tonight to do some test runs on my MDF. I figure if I don't like it, I can route a larger hole. I didn't mind buying the hole saw, tools are always good to have!

[yotsuya]

Saneless, that looks really nice! I picked up a hole saw tonight to do some test runs on my MDF. I figure if I don't like it, I can route a larger hole. I didn't mind buying the hole saw, tools are always good to have!

Good thing they had your size. That's a first! 

[Saneless]

Thanks.

The sad part? I misread things and my first hole was 3". I had to somehow get a new slightly bigger hole drilled out.

You haven't had fun until you had to wedge in you old hole puck with tokens (appropriate) so you could reuse the pilot hole.

[tkropp17]

Progress tonight!

[tkropp17]

Underside.

[horizon]

That looks really good my man!

[tkropp17]

That looks really good my man!

Thanks! I read everyone's comments and opinions (which I asked for and thank you), this seemed to me to have the lowest risk/highest reward factor. If the hole saw chewed it up too bad, then I could route it out for the ring. If I immediately opted for the trip ring, that meant routing the bottom and a larger opening. There is no reversing that option! I'm very satisfied with it and I like the clean look of it. I ordered my ipac 4 last night and plan on building out the base. Stay tuned!

[Saneless]

Looks real clean.  Good luck on cutting the graphic, that's where mine isn't 100% anymore but still damn close.

[tkropp17]

Instead of starting a new thread, I figured I'd ask here. As you can see in the pics closer to the top, my 4-way pac pro sits way too low. I don't know if I can really route the bottom out any more and use carriage bolts to bring it up much higher... I emailed Randy but I know he's a busy guy. Is this setup doable???

http://groovygamegear.com/webstore/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=65&products_id=287
http://groovygamegear.com/webstore/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=310
http://groovygamegear.com/webstore/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=381

[yotsuya]

Personally, I like having the dedicated 4-way sit low like that because you're not really moving it around all that much. Does it not feel right to you, or are you worried about it visually?

[tkropp17]

Personally, I like having the dedicated 4-way sit low like that because you're not really moving it around all that much. Does it not feel right to you, or are you worried about it visually?

More so functionality and it does seem to look like it sits really low. You can't fit a finger between the ball top and control panel. I don't even have as much room as pictured.

[Saneless]

When I had the short-stick Zippy without routing it was as low as you're describing.  I didn't like it much, I felt like I couldn't really get a good hold on it comfortably.

I routed out 1/4" and it's at a good height, at least as high as the Ms Pac Man pic.  Now, the Pac joystick is smaller than the short stick ones so that's why it's probably lower.  If I had to do it again I'd probably go with GGG's True Leaf Pro balltop which would probably be about the same as the zippy.

[tkropp17]

When I had the short-stick Zippy without routing it was as low as you're describing.  I didn't like it much, I felt like I couldn't really get a good hold on it comfortably.

I routed out 1/4" and it's at a good height, at least as high as the Ms Pac Man pic.  Now, the Pac joystick is smaller than the short stick ones so that's why it's probably lower.  If I had to do it again I'd probably go with GGG's True Leaf Pro balltop which would probably be about the same as the zippy.

The True Leaf looks to be sold out at GGG. I like the zippy, I'm routed 1/4 right now. Did you get the standard zippy or the extended one?

[Saneless]

I initially had the long shaft zippy to get around routing. Didn't like the feel though for 4 way old games. Bought a short one and routed it out. It's considerably better than the long.

Also IMO it was worth getting the quieter switches from GGG.

[RandyT]

The True Leaf looks to be sold out at GGG.

More are on the way.  The last batch went quicker than expected.  IMHO, you won't find a better 4-way for the price.   But if you go the Zippyy route, you'll definitely want a short shaft for 4-way, and the upgraded switches are recommended.

[Saneless]

Randy: Is the True Leaf joystick and the short zippy the same size/length?  Same mounting?  Any big reason to go TLP vs Zippy?  It's not like it's a major price difference but if it's so much beter....

[RandyT]

Randy: Is the True Leaf joystick and the short zippy the same size/length?  Same mounting?  Any big reason to go TLP vs Zippy?  It's not like it's a major price difference but if it's so much beter....

Without going into detail as to why leaf switches are better than micros (there's a lot of info and opinion to find on these forums) I will just state that I've had a number folks tell me that this stick has finally allowed them to recreate the maze gaming experience they remember from the arcades, after being disappointed with others out there.  My experience in testing concurs.  There are other good 4-way options, but not in that price range.

The mounting pattern is different from the Zippyy, but the mounting method is the same, as well as the stick height.  The Zippyy allows for different balltop options, but the TrueLeaf Pro has a fixed red knob.

[tkropp17]

Thanks guys! Randy, I just placed an order on your site for the short shaft zippy. I'm already routed 1/4" for it and I don't think it would make sense for me to try and remount the Leaf-Pro.

[tkropp17]

A couple updates. Nothing crazy.

[tkropp17]

Chugging along.