MortalKab 4 player DIY slim arcade cabinet/ Finished / Update?

[vwalbridge]

Oh! ....remember to turn OFF windows updates. You will thank me later! 

[deezdrama]

First thing i did after formating lol.



Yeah...im going to skip shelling.... boot logo,background change is good enough for me.

[deezdrama]

Got some controls in..... unfortunately all my buttons are missing the microswitches and leds.
Also missing a jlf hollow shaft. I did get a second tracking number today so hopefully all the bits are in route.

I ordered a led jlf and the parts needed to light the jlf I already have.
The jlf I already have looks completely different than the one I just got and dont know why.
Mine has switches on a pcb board with pins for output and uses a harness.

The one I just got I like better as the switches are all exposed and can be wired directly.
Are these two different models?
 
Will there be any issues installing the hollow shaft/led in the jlf that uses a harness?

I dont see anything on any of my led sticks (2 jlf led sticks, 2 paradise led sticks)to prevent the led wires from twisting.... do I need to order slip rings or something?

Kind of wish I would of shelled out for the hoku white rgb buttons or the clear ring/black plunger.
Not super fond of the color scheme I got going with the buttons but I can always change those down the road.

[Slippyblade]

The PCB with harness rig is the Jap version.  Not sure if the other parts are interchangeable.

[deezdrama]

The PCB with harness rig is the Jap version.  Not sure if the other parts are interchangeable.

I had no idea there were different versions....arggggg. guess I need to order another jlf

[BGoulette]

If you have the crimp connectors, couldn't you just crimp male lugs on the free wires coming off the PCB harness, then connect to those without having to order another jlf?

The PCB with harness rig is the Jap version.  Not sure if the other parts are interchangeable.

I had no idea there were different versions....arggggg. guess I need to order another jlf

[Slippyblade]

If you have the crimp connectors, couldn't you just crimp male lugs on the free wires coming off the PCB harness, then connect to those without having to order another jlf?

There are no wires coming off the PCB, it's designed to take a 5 pin plug.

[BGoulette]

Right, what I meant was the wires coming off the 5-pin plug. Unless that wasn't included...

If you have the crimp connectors, couldn't you just crimp male lugs on the free wires coming off the PCB harness, then connect to those without having to order another jlf?

There are no wires coming off the PCB, it's designed to take a 5 pin plug.

[harveybirdman]

The pcb is interchangeable with micro switches.

Also the only damn difference is a common ground.

You don't need another jlf.

[deezdrama]

I just dismantled the pcb jlf and the pcb part lifts off and is removeable.....is there a regular microswitch one that I can drop in?
I do have 2 jlf harnesses and a conversion harness that I ordered for

"i dont know what this is but ill buy for just in case reasons" lol

So ill have no problems installing the led kit. I would just rather have everything under the hood match.....(ocd?) 

I replaced the 1lb spring in the new jlf with a 3lb spring... allong with the extended shaft it feels perfect!

I kinda wonder if I should of went with all white buttons....or half blue half yellow.

I think the ticket would of been the clear ring/black plunger but couldnt justify waiting to save and drop $400 for controls....im getting impatient and want it done.
Although my cp now is looking like a lollipop factory lmao.... oh well, it might look better lit up and the kids like it 


I figured the led sticks would have slip-rings installed but guess not. Is wire tangling a real issue im likely to face?
How hard is it to install slip rings and where do you get them?

Just when you think your getting close..... more and more to do lol.

[harveybirdman]

+1 for half blue and half yellow. Of course IMHO LED sticks and buttons are stupid but to each his own.

You can just put in four non levered micro switches where the pcb was. There are little holes in the side of them, its easy just take of the clear restrictior remove the pcb slap in any old micro switches and you're done. If you only ran one ground wire for the sticks just daisy chain the grounds.

You're making it harder than it is.

[severdhed]

that looks awesome, good job

[deezdrama]

Yeah ... couldnt make my mind up on buttons. Kept flopping from the hokus to the clear ringed to these.
ended up being a cheap ass and now regretting the lollipop factory.

oh well.... the buttons were cheap. I can always throw some different balltops on and swap out buttons.
Probablly go rgb with all white hoku buttons/balltops, or smoked balltops and clear/black buttons.....
Cant decide what would look better.

im going to build the kids a bartop so these buttons can go into that.

[deezdrama]

that looks awesome, good job

serious or sarcasm? 

I dont know, everytime I look at the joysticks I think some kid will try n rip one off and start licking it.

seriously ... I just think the red looks out of place. Thinking about yellow for player 2 and white for p4

Found slip rings on ebay for $6

[jmcginley]

I'm in the planning stages of making a Control Panel exactly like the one you've made here. I've read elsewhere that in order to have a 4p setup with a trackball and LEDs, then you'd need 2 I-PAC Ultimarc I/Os. I'm assuming one is wired for 2 players and a trackball and the other is wired for the other 2 players (since Ultimarc says one Ultimate I/O does not support 4p with trackball). Is that what you did on your build? I'm just concerned because I've also read posts from people saying their system cannot recognize two separate I/Os. So I'm just kind of confused on what to purchase in order to have 4p w/ a trackball and LEDs.

[deezdrama]

I believe your pc wont recognize 2 seperate io ultimates.

For now im only going to run single color leds so just running the ipac4 and providing power to the leds from the power supply.
I got the utrak with usb.

For this cp and rgb leds you would need the ipac4 and two pac64led's

[jmcginley]

Oh gotcha. I thought you were doing RGB, but I see now where you discussed it in the thread. Thanks for clearing things up for me, I can get to ordering now!

[Scotty_C]

You can use 2 IPAC-U IO's(I am in my build). One of the UIOs has to have specific firmware on it to change the ID. IMO Running 2 UIO's is a little bit cleaner overall, but using an I-PAC4 combined with 2 PACLED64's and USB U-TRAK as deezdrama pointed out would work just fine as well

[deezdrama]

Where the hell can you find 22awg wire at brick and mortar stores?
Went to 4 different places- lowes,farm and fleet, walmart, rural king.

Smallest gauge I could find was 18. I have some 22 awg black coming from ebay but want to get started now.

I have tons of old cat5 cable I was going to use for wiring the buttons.
Concerned the wire is too small for long chains of 34 buttons plus joysticks....

Or would the 24awg from cat5 be fine for long 12v and 5v daisy chains?

[yotsuya]

You've gonna pump 12v through CAT5 strands?

[rablack97]

Where the hell can you find 22awg wire at brick and mortar stores?
Went to 4 different places- lowes,farm and fleet, walmart, rural king.

Smallest gauge I could find was 18. I have some 22 awg black coming from ebay but want to get started now.

I have tons of old cat5 cable I was going to use for wiring the buttons.
Concerned the wire is too small for long chains of 34 buttons plus joysticks....

Or would the 24awg from cat5 be fine for long 12v and 5v daisy chains?

Man you gotta find you a hobby store around your area, or a radio shack, Fry's etc, or even your local craigslist, some folks surplus wire and practically give it away.

[deezdrama]

You've gonna pump 12v through CAT5 strands?

My instinct was no, asked to confirm. Didnt know if anyones done it.
Its cool to run the cat5 24awg for input wiring though right?

Whats the min awg that 12v could be daisy chained through 34 buttons? 22awg?
Maybe I should of just got the 18 awg 


I have a radio shack....its just clear on the other end of town but will probably make it out there fri.
Theres an RC shop near me.... wonder if they would carry any

[rablack97]

RC shop will have it, they have spools of all guage wire...

[deezdrama]

Sweet.... that will be on the way home tomorrow.


When I ordered buttons from paradise ...there p1 p2 p3 p4 25€ button insert page on the site wouldnt load....

Anyone know who carries nice looking ones?

[deezdrama]

Im ordering my ipac4 tomorrow. The usb version doesnt have a keyboard passthrough?
Does the ps2 version have the interactive utility?

Im also getting a pac drive to rgb light my utrak and figure Ill also grab 4 rgb leds to light my admin buttons with rgb.

All the rest of my buttons are single color 12v led's. Can I use a output on the pac drive to daisy chain the single color led buttons or will that not work and I should just wire them to my power supply like I originally planned?

[BlueGhost]

Im ordering my ipac4 tomorrow. The usb version doesnt have a keyboard passthrough?
Does the ps2 version have the interactive utility?

Im also getting a pac drive to rgb light my utrak and figure Ill also grab 4 rgb leds to light my admin buttons with rgb.

All the rest of my buttons are single color 12v led's. Can I use a output on the pac drive to daisy chain the single color led buttons or will that not work and I should just wire them to my power supply like I originally planned?

Why not buy an Ultimate IO, it only $5 more than buying an ipac4 and a pacdrive?  You would have enough led outputs to all light of your buttons individually and do things like only light the buttons used based on the game you select.

[PL1]

You've gonna pump 12v through CAT5 strands?

My instinct was no, asked to confirm. Didnt know if anyones done it.

It can be done, depending on how much current you need to run through the wire.

Its cool to run the cat5 24awg for input wiring though right?

Yes.  Most of the pre-crimped input wires and daisy chains that I've bought are 24 AWG.

You could use 30 AWG (or smaller) for inputs since they only draw a few milliamps, but wires that small are harder to work with and easier to damage.

Whats the min awg that 12v could be daisy chained through 34 buttons? 22awg?

Voltage isn't the possible issue here, it's how many amps you need for the LEDs.

Test the current draw of a single LED if you aren't sure about the specs on your LEDs -- most draw 20 mA, but some draw more.
(The Helio9 RGB LEDs from GGG draw 165 mA -- 55 mA per color  )

Once you know the current draw per LED, the math is easy.

Number of LEDs * current draw per LED = total current draw.

34 LEDs * 20 mA/LED  = 680 mA = 0.68 Amps total

According to the American Wire Gauge (AWG) Sizes and Properties Table here,

- 22 AWG "Max Current [Amperes]" rating is 0.92 Amps
  -- Large enough to power all your LEDs on a single 12v daisy-chain with a single ground daisy-chain.

- 24 AWG "Max Current [Amperes]" rating is 0.577 Amps
  -- You can use it if you divide the 34 LEDs into two daisy-chains of about 17 each (340 mA) and still have lots of wiggle room.

- 30 AWG "Max Current [Amperes]" rating is 0.142 Amps
  -- I wouldn't use it for more than 5 LEDs (100 mA) per daisy-chain -- not a good choice for this project IMHO.   


Scott

[yotsuya]

Regardless of what the Scottbot says, I certainly wouldn't be running any current through cat 5 wire. Just because you can do it doesn't mean you should do it. Use proper electrical wire. You'll feel better about it.

[deezdrama]

Thanks guys..... ill check the draw on my leds and probably end up with 20-22awg.

As for the ultimate IO.... I havnt read much on them because I didnt plan on any rgb leds untill yesterday.

I have 30 buttons + 4 admin plus the 16 needed for joysticks = 50
I think the ult IO has 48 but could live without 2 admin buttons I guess.
I have 2 coin switches but planned on piggybacking those to the coin button switches so no problems there.

I have no idea what admin buttons are even needed ...would 2 be enough?


Also never thought about driving the single color leds with a controller.
What would I have to do....daisy chain 12v to all pos leds and negs to the Ult io?

Could the ult IO support 34 buttons plus rgb trackball?

Anyone have suggestions...? Im ordering tonight

[Scotty_C]

I personally would stick with 4 admin buttons. IE for hyperspin FE (sorry I only know that one) I use select, favorites, genre, exit...in game they map to select, misc(bezel change, config menu, etc..), pause, exit

So you have 50inputs, USB trackball, 4 RGB joysticks. That's 165 LED channels. (this is assuming you are doing RGB on every button)

UIO will do a max of 48 inputs (trackball uses 4, spinner uses 2 and buttons use 1),96 LED channels. Per Andy you can map all the trackball and spinner pins so that you can utilize all 48 for buttons

You can map the trackball as buttons instead which will give 4 extra, or the spinner to buttons instead which would give 2 extra.

So your options are (Sticking with Ultimarc products here)

48buttons (only 2 admin buttons), USB Trackball, 159 LED channels
-1 UIO + 1 PAC64LED (48 inputs, 160 LED channels)
-IPAC4 (56 inputs) + 3x PACLED64 (192 channels)

50inputs, USB trackball, and 165 LED channels
-IPAC4 (56 inputs) + 3x PACLED64 (192 channels)
-2x UIO's (96 inputs) (192 LED channels)

[BlueGhost]

I personally would stick with 4 admin buttons. IE for hyperspin FE (sorry I only know that one) I use select, favorites, genre, exit...in game they map to select, misc(bezel change, config menu, etc..), pause, exit

So you have 50inputs, USB trackball, 4 RGB joysticks. That's 165 LED channels. (this is assuming you are doing RGB on every button)

UIO will do a max of 48 inputs (trackball uses 4, spinner uses 2 and buttons use 1),96 LED channels. Per Andy you can map all the trackball and spinner pins so that you can utilize all 48 for buttons

You can map the trackball as buttons instead which will give 4 extra, or the spinner to buttons instead which would give 2 extra.

So your options are (Sticking with Ultimarc products here)

48buttons (only 2 admin buttons), USB Trackball, 159 LED channels
-1 UIO + 1 PAC64LED (48 inputs, 160 LED channels)
-IPAC4 (56 inputs) + 3x PACLED64 (192 channels)

50inputs, USB trackball, and 165 LED channels
-IPAC4 (56 inputs) + 3x PACLED64 (192 channels)
-2x UIO's (96 inputs) (192 LED channels)

He's not lighting every input and currently has single color buttons for the controls.  If you went full RGB you would have 4 Joysticks, 2x7 buttons for P1 & P2, 2x4 buttons for P3 and P4, 4 start buttons, 4 coin buttons and lets say 2 admin buttons and 1 track ball, for a total of 37 buttons or 111 channels. 

Now drop the Start, Coin and Admin buttons to single colors, that's 27 RGB leds and 10 single color or 91 channels.  Now you can save the cost of a second led driver.

For admin 2 buttons should be plenty, I would use Pause and Exit, or Favorites and Exit, then use the shift function for anything else.

You may need to verify that the Ultimate IO will work with your 12V leds, the PacLED64 will, but I couldn't find a voltage range for the UIO.

[deezdrama]

Thanks guys for breaking things down..... its starting to get overwhelming for a noob lol.....
Im just going to stick with an ipac4 and a pacdrive for now. Ill just do my utrak and 4 admin buttons in rgb for now....and probably my coin reject lights.

I want to keep wiring fairly easy on my first build.

Will go full rgb on next cab or on this one once I get the feel for everything.

[yotsuya]

Actually, I guarantee you on your next one, you're going to live by the Mantra "less is more". It happens to all of us.  First cabinet is where you think all the bling is good stuff, then you realize it doesn't improve game play at all, and so you simplify on your next couple builds.

Unless, of course, you're building it for someone else.

[deezdrama]

Your right about that.... if I would of went for a 22" monitor 2p cab without bling I would of been done months ago.

[Brian74]

Love my bling

Sent from my LG-H811 using Tapatalk

[Brian74]

Love my bling

Sent from my LG-H811 using Tapatalk

Sent from my LG-H811 using Tapatalk

[deezdrama]

What buttons are you using?

I think it will be worth it in the end. Next cab is just going to be 2p though for sure.

I want to run hoku, electric ice type rgb buttons but could not justify spending that much on 4p

[deezdrama]

I ordered a led jlf and the parts needed to light the jlf I already have.
The jlf I already have looks completely different than the one I just got and dont know why.
Mine has switches on a pcb board with pins for output and uses a harness.

I figured out why the jlf i just got from paradise feels/sounds so much better. It has cherry switches.
Now I need to order 4 more for the other jlf.

Anyone know if I just need to order the pushbutton cherry switches?

[deezdrama]

Just thought about something.

How can I get my tv to turn on with the computer? I know my ps3 turns my tv on but think it was a setting in the ps3 to do this.
Even if I got a smart strip.... just giving it power when the pc is switched on wont actually turn it on will it?

[harveybirdman]

I don't know how to say it without sounding like a complete ass but....


Have you ever looked at the Wiki or the parent site of these forums?  Alot of the questions you have are addressed and you don't have to wait for members to answer.

There are ways to accomplish what you want how you do it depends largely on if the TV has power return. Check that first.