Main Restorations Software Audio/Jukebox/MP3 Everything Else Buy/Sell/Trade
Project Announcements Monitor/Video GroovyMAME Merit/JVL Touchscreen Meet Up Retail Vendors
Driving & Racing Woodworking Software Support Forums Consoles Project Arcade Reviews
Automated Projects Artwork Frontend Support Forums Pinball Forum Discussion Old Boards
Raspberry Pi & Dev Board controls.dat Linux Miscellaneous Arcade Wiki Discussion Old Archives
Lightguns Arcade1Up Try the site in https mode Site News

Unread posts | New Replies | Recent posts | Rules | Chatroom | Wiki | File Repository | RSS | Submit news

  

Author Topic: The Grid....  (Read 182392 times)

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

javeryh

  • Trade Count: (+1)
  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Online Online
  • Posts: 7901
  • Last login:Today at 10:18:31 am
Re: The Grid....
« Reply #720 on: March 05, 2021, 02:13:38 pm »
WOW.  The marquee came out awesome.  It's almost 3D looking.  All of the little touches with the lights are really going to make this thing stand out.  You are getting so close!!

wp34

  • Trade Count: (+3)
  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 4794
  • Last login:April 10, 2022, 09:48:19 pm
Re: The Grid....
« Reply #721 on: March 10, 2021, 11:51:29 am »
Amazing work Arroyo.  That marquee is fire!

Always a surprise with you.  I hope this build never ends.

bperkins01

  • Trade Count: (0)
  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 895
  • Last login:September 24, 2023, 02:13:35 pm
  • Plenty of skills.. gaining experience..
Re: The Grid....
« Reply #722 on: March 10, 2021, 11:53:38 am »
Amazing work Arroyo.  That marquee is fire!

Always a surprise with you.  I hope this build never ends.
Don't worry... it won't...   :laugh2:
My Arcade Cabinet Build and other projects here:
Centipede, Joust, Joust Cocktail, Asteroids, Galaga, Ms. Pacman Cabaret, Defender, Space Invaders Cocktail
https://bperkins.wordpress.com/

Mike A

  • Trade Count: (0)
  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Online Online
  • Posts: 5884
  • Last login:Today at 10:22:08 am
  • This plan is foolproof
Re: The Grid....
« Reply #723 on: March 10, 2021, 11:56:09 am »
Oh ---steaming pile of meadow muffin---.

Bperkins01 for the win.

jdbailey1206

  • Trade Count: (+1)
  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 2656
  • Last login:March 11, 2023, 01:32:56 pm
  • No. It's your top score on Pole Position.
Re: The Grid....
« Reply #724 on: March 10, 2021, 12:45:54 pm »
Amazing work Arroyo.  That marquee is fire!

Always a surprise with you.  I hope this build never ends.
Don't worry... it won't...   :laugh2:

Don't worry it will.  Arroyo doesn't seem like the type to complete a build and then charge people over $50 for just the plans.

Arroyo

  • Trade Count: (0)
  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 1558
  • Last login:Today at 02:59:27 am
  • Budgets are boring
    • newforum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php/topic,156267.0.html
Re: The Grid....
« Reply #725 on: March 29, 2021, 11:28:56 am »
Well I promised OND I would do a quick post if he did his.  Just to show I’m not twiddling my thumbs:





I hope to do a full write up soon.
« Last Edit: April 22, 2021, 07:00:18 pm by Arroyo »

Zebidee

  • Trade Count: (+9)
  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 3239
  • Last login:Today at 02:30:39 am
Re: The Grid....
« Reply #726 on: March 29, 2021, 11:43:50 am »
Wow, almost like the joystick ball is floating
Check out my completed projects!


vertexguy

  • Trade Count: (0)
  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 325
  • Last login:March 20, 2024, 05:26:12 pm
  • ...but this one goes to 11.
    • forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php/topic,161694.0.html
    • V E R T E X G U Y - The Online Portfolio of Chris Kline
Re: The Grid....
« Reply #727 on: March 29, 2021, 11:56:02 am »
Lookin bad ass as usual.  So is the smallest plastic ring next to the joystick shaft (basically your dust washer) lit by the LED circle ring being directly under it, or is it side lighting?
« Last Edit: April 08, 2021, 06:27:34 pm by vertexguy »

Ond

  • Trade Count: (0)
  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 2267
  • Last login:March 18, 2024, 11:41:19 pm
Re: The Grid....
« Reply #728 on: March 29, 2021, 11:58:54 am »
Heh, we had this deal...  Looks really nice man!   I get this vibe from the work going on here that's Tron for sure but also that Sci Fi table top display from the movie Oblivion.  The lighting bling is carefully crafted and not excessive.  Now if I can just get my own acrylic inserts lit evenly like these...

wp34

  • Trade Count: (+3)
  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 4794
  • Last login:April 10, 2022, 09:48:19 pm
Re: The Grid....
« Reply #729 on: March 29, 2021, 12:12:23 pm »
 :applaud:

javeryh

  • Trade Count: (+1)
  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Online Online
  • Posts: 7901
  • Last login:Today at 10:18:31 am
Re: The Grid....
« Reply #730 on: March 29, 2021, 12:31:06 pm »
It looks so good I can't believe it was made by hand.   :applaud:

Vigo

  • the Scourage of Carpathia
  • Global Moderator
  • Trade Count: (+24)
  • Full Member
  • *****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 6417
  • Last login:March 21, 2024, 08:20:28 am
Re: The Grid....
« Reply #731 on: March 29, 2021, 12:33:35 pm »
You are not gonna want to play this without dimming the lights for atmosphere. Excellent stuff.  :cheers:

bperkins01

  • Trade Count: (0)
  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 895
  • Last login:September 24, 2023, 02:13:35 pm
  • Plenty of skills.. gaining experience..
Re: The Grid....
« Reply #732 on: March 29, 2021, 12:41:41 pm »
Nice work  :applaud:

Seems you have lots of external motivation   >:D
My Arcade Cabinet Build and other projects here:
Centipede, Joust, Joust Cocktail, Asteroids, Galaga, Ms. Pacman Cabaret, Defender, Space Invaders Cocktail
https://bperkins.wordpress.com/

Mike A

  • Trade Count: (0)
  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Online Online
  • Posts: 5884
  • Last login:Today at 10:22:08 am
  • This plan is foolproof
Re: The Grid....
« Reply #733 on: March 29, 2021, 12:46:59 pm »
He is not sure what I will do if it isn't playable when I show up.

opt2not

  • Trade Count: (+15)
  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 6173
  • Last login:February 15, 2024, 07:31:21 pm
Re: The Grid....
« Reply #734 on: March 29, 2021, 02:28:27 pm »
That is some sexy bling bling  :cheers:

Jimbo

  • Trade Count: (+1)
  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 1014
  • Last login:March 06, 2024, 08:12:05 am
  • I have no idea what I'm doing.
    • Wood Finishes Direct
Re: The Grid....
« Reply #735 on: March 29, 2021, 03:29:03 pm »
Looks awesome mate!  I've done a fair bit of playing around with joysticks and leds myself, so I know the effort involved in something like this.  Great stuff :)

DaOld Man

  • Trade Count: (+4)
  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 5139
  • Last login:December 13, 2023, 12:03:14 am
  • Wheres my coffee?
    • Skenny's Outpost
Re: The Grid....
« Reply #736 on: March 29, 2021, 07:26:21 pm »
Wow! Love that CP.

bobbyb13

  • Trade Count: (+2)
  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 1897
  • Last login:Today at 12:03:17 am
  • I believe I may need an intervention
Re: The Grid....
« Reply #737 on: March 29, 2021, 09:23:59 pm »
I love how so many projects here are just beyond adequate description
Relax, all right? My old man is a television repairman, he's got this ultimate set of tools! I can fix it.

Gilrock

  • Trade Count: (0)
  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 1049
  • Last login:March 14, 2024, 05:47:24 pm
Re: The Grid....
« Reply #738 on: March 30, 2021, 08:45:12 am »
Nice...when's the big reveal party? :)

emphatic

  • Trade Count: (0)
  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 2008
  • Last login:Today at 09:41:25 am
  • -"Suck it, Donny!" -"No, YOU suck it.... more".
    • Emphatic's Video Game Collection
Re: The Grid....
« Reply #739 on: March 30, 2021, 05:01:10 pm »
Beautiful work!  :applaud:

Arroyo

  • Trade Count: (0)
  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 1558
  • Last login:Today at 02:59:27 am
  • Budgets are boring
    • newforum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php/topic,156267.0.html
Re: The Grid....
« Reply #740 on: April 22, 2021, 06:54:56 pm »
Well ---steaming pile of meadow muffin---, I totally dropped the ball on replies.  I was frantically trying to get the thing playable before MikeA and Bperkins showed up......and I failed.

You guys keep me going though with the words of encouragement, so let me update this thread.  Long post incoming.


Capping off the Marquee, here it is lit in the housing:



That gave me the confidence to move onto the control panel.  I bought a manual laminator from DryTac (same company that does the Optically Clear Adhesive) as I knew I couldn’t do the whole control panel by hand like I did the Marquee.  Setup for the lamination:



I followed the techniques like they did in the video I posted from DryTac (that I posted above).  That’s an acrylic sled with the print and the Optically Clear Adhesive on top.  Ran it through after cleaning the print thoroughly of dust and lint.   Came out great on that side, no problems.  Then it was flipping over the print with the OCA attached and applying to the acrylic it was mounting to:



Was excited to remove the masking and see how it went.  Made it 2/3rd’s of the way and then…..---fudgesicle---:



This had me pacing back and forth for a day swearing.  After finally calming down and considering all things (with the help of some friends advice) I decided to keep going.  I could always redo that piece if it bothered me (it subsequently has not).  If I were to do it again I would probably ditch the laminator and take it to the pro’s.

Started checking out lighting:



Pattern cut around the wood:



Used the U-Trak template I made previously to remove the laminate layer on the back so the trackball housing would be flush with the top:





I then went onto my joystick plates and cut the inlays for those out:







I epoxy the screws into the slots for a HAPP/IL/WICO pattern and that way I can swap joysticks with 4 wing nuts and a Molex connector:




(Small control panel I built)



I epoxied dust washers on the other side to create a gap when attaching the joysticks so the wires for the lighting won’t get crushed:



Then knew I needed to figure out the lighting around the joysticks.  I really didn’t want to have top mounted dust washers, but the problem was all the stuff below the joystick. After I played around with the lighting, knew I had to try:



What it meant was I needed to widen the etched acrylic layer below to allow a dust washer to move around.



I cut a funky piece by hand of a “dust washer” to see how it would work:



That got me this:



I liked the look a lot, but there wasn’t enough room to move the joystick because the dust washer was banging into the etched acrylic hole below.  So I needed to widen the hole underneath which got me thinking about the lighting.  The side lit LED’s are great but the brightness starts to fall off the further into the panel you get.  That meant that the white circle around the joystick above were bright on the side closest to the LED’s and darker on the other.  To solve this I decided it would be good insert the LED’s around the joystick shaft for even lighting:



Lighting check with graphics on top:





Then it was off to mount the Turbo Twist Hi/Low to the etched acrylic:



Then a hole on the top panel and a quick mount test:



With all these controls there is going to be some serious wiring on the back.  I decided it would be best to handle top and joystick lighting wiring on top:



That routing took awhile as did the wiring job.  I needed to minimize the number of wires running around so put one larger ground wire for all grounds, and two power wires for the 5V and 24V needed for the two types of LED’s.  I then decided to splice off the wires where needed by removing the insulation with an Exacto knife, and wrapping a wire around and soldering:




For a minute I panicked when thinking that I hadn’t run wires for the signal lines for the addressable LED rings around the joysticks.  Took me awhile to realize the advantage of addressable LED’s is they have a data in and a data out pad so it really meant running one line between them. 



That’s kind of the current state of things, I am in the middle of putting the LED strip around the Control Panel and then it’s kind of putting it together.  I hope to be able to work on it this weekend.   :cheers:

Mike A

  • Trade Count: (0)
  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Online Online
  • Posts: 5884
  • Last login:Today at 10:22:08 am
  • This plan is foolproof
Re: The Grid....
« Reply #741 on: April 22, 2021, 07:37:59 pm »
A wise old man once told me hope doesn't get ---steaming pile of meadow muffin--- done.

opt2not

  • Trade Count: (+15)
  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 6173
  • Last login:February 15, 2024, 07:31:21 pm
Re: The Grid....
« Reply #742 on: April 22, 2021, 07:38:27 pm »
HOLY F**K this is EPIC.

bperkins01

  • Trade Count: (0)
  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 895
  • Last login:September 24, 2023, 02:13:35 pm
  • Plenty of skills.. gaining experience..
Re: The Grid....
« Reply #743 on: April 22, 2021, 07:41:29 pm »
Seriously nice work :)  You even adjusted the design mid-stream..  I like it!



My Arcade Cabinet Build and other projects here:
Centipede, Joust, Joust Cocktail, Asteroids, Galaga, Ms. Pacman Cabaret, Defender, Space Invaders Cocktail
https://bperkins.wordpress.com/

Mike A

  • Trade Count: (0)
  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Online Online
  • Posts: 5884
  • Last login:Today at 10:22:08 am
  • This plan is foolproof
Re: The Grid....
« Reply #744 on: April 22, 2021, 07:46:17 pm »
You should see it in person Opt.

It is really impressive.


nexusmtz

  • Trade Count: (0)
  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 489
  • Last login:June 01, 2022, 03:14:22 am
Re: The Grid....
« Reply #745 on: April 23, 2021, 01:02:47 am »
Quite the execution there! Always next level.

Jimbo

  • Trade Count: (+1)
  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 1014
  • Last login:March 06, 2024, 08:12:05 am
  • I have no idea what I'm doing.
    • Wood Finishes Direct
Re: The Grid....
« Reply #746 on: April 23, 2021, 03:50:11 am »
Wow that looks fantastic.  Hope you bought your router a beer! ;)   Man I'd love to come help you wire all that up.  It sure is gonna take a while.  Nice solution for swapping the joysticks out.     :cheers:

emphatic

  • Trade Count: (0)
  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 2008
  • Last login:Today at 09:41:25 am
  • -"Suck it, Donny!" -"No, YOU suck it.... more".
    • Emphatic's Video Game Collection
Re: The Grid....
« Reply #747 on: April 23, 2021, 09:23:58 am »
This thread is exciting.  :cheers:

javeryh

  • Trade Count: (+1)
  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Online Online
  • Posts: 7901
  • Last login:Today at 10:18:31 am
Re: The Grid....
« Reply #748 on: April 23, 2021, 10:26:13 am »
HOLY F**K this is EPIC.

Seriously... look at the routing involved on the back of the panel.   :dizzy: :dizzy: :dizzy:

I can't even dream something like this up let alone actually making it.

wp34

  • Trade Count: (+3)
  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 4794
  • Last login:April 10, 2022, 09:48:19 pm
Re: The Grid....
« Reply #749 on: April 23, 2021, 10:33:13 am »
 :applaud:

Just amazing.

opt2not

  • Trade Count: (+15)
  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 6173
  • Last login:February 15, 2024, 07:31:21 pm
Re: The Grid....
« Reply #750 on: April 23, 2021, 02:37:26 pm »
You should see it in person Opt.

It is really impressive.

One of these days I would like to. My wife and I have been talking about going back up to the Bay Area to visit friends, when we’re more in the clear. Would be cool to hang out with you guys again.

Mike A

  • Trade Count: (0)
  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Online Online
  • Posts: 5884
  • Last login:Today at 10:22:08 am
  • This plan is foolproof
Re: The Grid....
« Reply #751 on: April 23, 2021, 03:15:35 pm »
I was just out at Arroyo's.
Next time I am out that way I would like to meet up with you Opt.

vertexguy

  • Trade Count: (0)
  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 325
  • Last login:March 20, 2024, 05:26:12 pm
  • ...but this one goes to 11.
    • forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php/topic,161694.0.html
    • V E R T E X G U Y - The Online Portfolio of Chris Kline
Re: The Grid....
« Reply #752 on: April 23, 2021, 04:55:33 pm »
That joystick mount and led solution looks fantastic!   :cheers:

Arroyo

  • Trade Count: (0)
  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 1558
  • Last login:Today at 02:59:27 am
  • Budgets are boring
    • newforum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php/topic,156267.0.html
Re: The Grid....
« Reply #753 on: August 10, 2021, 03:08:43 pm »
Has it really been three months?  :o

I've been working on this but struggling to get momentum and not been checking in here lately.  I hope to change both of those.  Figured I would update with where I am currently.

Wired up the LED strips to surround the joysticks and light up the blue rings (green and black wires on 24v):



I had mistakenly cut out another inner circle for a 2nd LED ring, but as you can see in the picture above it was better to have the LED’s firing sideways to light up the etching rather than fire them below.  It also meant I ran into a problem with mounting the trackball as I hadn’t done that before making that cut.  Below you can see that the threaded inserts weren’t grabbing onto wood all around.



Epoxy and wood flour to the rescue:







Consistency is like peanut butter, and when dried is as hard as a rock.

Had to account for the LED’s that would mount on the trackball housing so off to the sanding:







You can see the white LED strip that sits between the plastic and the trackball housing which lights up the two white etchings on the acrylic.

Here’s how the dust washer solution and LED strip with LED ring work:





Side firing LED’s touch the acrylic edge while ring LED wires up to change the dust washer.

Have to leave a gap so the dust washer can move with the joystick shaft.  The dust washer is made of High Density Polyethlene (HDPE) which although wasn’t listed as a plastic for light diffusion I found it to be the best, and it also matches the white color of the graphics on top.



Joystick together.

The wiring was a lot to manage:



I wanted to get rid of any strain on the wires and solder joints so I used what I had available on the other side so I could “plug in” the power and data lines for communication with the 24v LED strips and 5v LED rings everywhere:







That’s a VGA breakout box with the wires running into it for power and data just below the trackball mounting area.



Here it is with all the lights in place and the edge lighting taped to the UNDER side of the acrylic.  When I tried on top the edges of the tap would show.



Here’s the solution I ended up using for light indication on the spinner.  Simple single addressable LED to light up below the spinner head.


Putting on T-molding ended up being problematic.  I hadn’t realized what was wrong with my small control panel, but it became obvious after enough experience:



Because there wasn’t enough wood on top of the slot cut the wood bowed where the spline of the T-molding was installed.  This meant 3/4” molding wouldn’t fit, and it also meant the grip on the spline was weaker.  To solve this I got larger t-molding and used contact cement on the spline and inside the slot cut to keep it affixed.  After installing it I used a flat razor blade to cut the excess t-molding:



Installation was by hand as I couldn’t use a hammer to band in the t-modling for risk of crushing the LED strip.



The part of the CP that met the smoked acrylic bezel could not fit molding, so I had to come up with a solution:





Not so pretty but it kept the wires out of the way.  You can see a good side shot of the three layers of wood, etched acrylic and acrylic with graphics.  You can also see the white LED strips side firing into the middle layer.   You can also see my poor paint job to prevent light leaking.  I ended up using the wrong paint and didn’t realize until after.


To cover up that mess I went back to what I had experience with and cut a thin strip of laminate to cover all three sides:



Used contact cement as always and came out better then I would have thought:



Started wiring but first built a stand for it as I couldn’t remove the flight stick (or would have been a lot more trouble):







Mounting of iPAC Ultimate’s with PCB legs facing inward:









Installation of Paradise Arcade LED’s for IL buttons:





Let the wiring begin:



4 conductor 22 AWG security wire makes for a handy cleaner install.  The Molex pins on the left are for the iPAC Ultimate board, and the 22AWG .187 quick disconnects are for the buttons and joysticks.



Molex pins being shoved into the 8 pin Molex housing for players 3 & 4.



Player 1 & 3 buttons crimped all around and neatly organized (best I can).  Ground loops are daisy chained at the top.  The colors are broken out from the sheathing for the button connections.



Player 2 buttons almost done.  I didn’t know when buying the iPAC ultimate (a long time ago) that you can’t have 4 players and also have a trackball and spinner.  So as you can see I have to iPAC Ultimates (necessary for the number for controls and number of LED’s being driven).

A gratuitous shot fo the backside of the joystick housing:



Current state of things:





Hopefully things pick up with the kids back in school…….








Zebidee

  • Trade Count: (+9)
  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 3239
  • Last login:Today at 02:30:39 am
Re: The Grid....
« Reply #754 on: August 10, 2021, 03:21:20 pm »
Nice, very nice....

Glad to see you back updating Arroyo :D

One day I'll come back to this thread for ideas.
Check out my completed projects!


Mike A

  • Trade Count: (0)
  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Online Online
  • Posts: 5884
  • Last login:Today at 10:22:08 am
  • This plan is foolproof
Re: The Grid....
« Reply #755 on: August 10, 2021, 03:24:03 pm »
If you wait 25 years then you can just see the whole thing completed...maybe.

bperkins01

  • Trade Count: (0)
  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 895
  • Last login:September 24, 2023, 02:13:35 pm
  • Plenty of skills.. gaining experience..
Re: The Grid....
« Reply #756 on: August 10, 2021, 04:25:52 pm »
Nice update..  Now.. Everyone on the forum needs to hound Arroyo for more frequent updates.
:)
My Arcade Cabinet Build and other projects here:
Centipede, Joust, Joust Cocktail, Asteroids, Galaga, Ms. Pacman Cabaret, Defender, Space Invaders Cocktail
https://bperkins.wordpress.com/

bobbyb13

  • Trade Count: (+2)
  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 1897
  • Last login:Today at 12:03:17 am
  • I believe I may need an intervention
Re: The Grid....
« Reply #757 on: August 11, 2021, 12:24:53 am »
Nice epoxy concoction.
This build always leaves me floored.
Relax, all right? My old man is a television repairman, he's got this ultimate set of tools! I can fix it.

Zebidee

  • Trade Count: (+9)
  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 3239
  • Last login:Today at 02:30:39 am
Re: The Grid....
« Reply #758 on: August 11, 2021, 07:19:46 pm »
Nice epoxy concoction.
This build always leaves me floored.

When I see that epoxy I get hungry for peanut butter sandwiches
Check out my completed projects!


javeryh

  • Trade Count: (+1)
  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Online Online
  • Posts: 7901
  • Last login:Today at 10:18:31 am
Re: The Grid....
« Reply #759 on: August 11, 2021, 08:43:58 pm »
Finally something awesome to read!  This has to be the most insane control panel I've ever seen on this site.  Nice update - keep the momentum going.