Some general questions...

[dema]

Hey all. I'm new and have been reading up on posts for the past several weeks to assist me in my venture into arcade cabinetry development. I'm currently in the stage of ordering parts and I'm kinda stumped. I've also never attempted anything like this in the past, including carpentry, so this ought to be a major undertaking for me. My wife is even excited to get an arcade cabinet for games, so this is going to be a great project for me and my brother to tackle for my gameroom. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

I intend to build swappable control panels to accomodate 2 and 4 player setups. On the 2 player panel I intend to get a Happs trackball and an Oscar Vortex spinner, but the question I'm having relates to the joysticks. I just can't decide between the Happs P360, the Happs Super or Competition, or the Ultimarc T-Stick plus, for the main 1 and 2 player spots. I also want to get a 4 way dedicated joystick with a ball top, so I was guessing I'd go with the Happs Replacement Joystick for Ms Pac-Man/Galaga (if this makes sense). Can anyone help me out on this because I just can't figure out the best way to address this dilemma, and I'd rather get it close to right on the first try rather than buy a bunch of joysticks because of my carelessness.

Also, I've read a bunch of posts that discuss people's success with the Ultimarc I-Pac and Opti-Pac, and I was wondering if I should go with those encoders or if I should go with Ultimarc's new product, the Mini-Pac (http://www.ultimarc.com/minipac.html). I figured the Mini-Pac would allow me to get everything in one card, and would spare me the learning curve for crimping and wiring that's necessary with those two cards. Does anyone know if this new product is a step up enough to justify going with a couple of those over the I-Pac and Opti-Pac? Would a single Mini-Pac accomodate a control panel with three joysticks, a trackball, a spinner, and approximately 22 - 24 buttons (no coin door), seeing how there are 28 switches? Or would I need to buy a couple.

I'm sorry for the length but I'm totally lost. Any suggestions would be a tremendous help.

T.J.

[orntar]

stripping and crimping is not to hard or tedious (i kinda like it), i say this because of the number of inputs you want, the mini-pac would not be enough. i would get the i-pac4, and opti-pac. one for each of your setups. this would give you 56 standard inputs and then the opti-pac.

on the 4-player setup, it would share the same inputs as the 2player setup (provided you dont plan on using them at the same time   )  if you wanted to use the mini-pac, you would need 2 of em. probably more than buying a one i-pac4, and one opti-pac.

hope that helped.

[dema]

Yeah, I was thinking that the number of inputs on the Mini-Pac would be cutting it close. I guess I need to solidify the control panel schematics before I decide on the Mini-Pac or the others. Thanks for the reply.

[mushmouth]

Dema,

Regarding having a dedicated 4-way: I'm at the tail end of completing my 3 swappable panels. Save yourself the real-estate if you're already thinking about T-Stick Plus joysticks. That's what I decided to do. Why have a dedicated 4-way when you're already planning to outfit the panel with a stick that will already serve that purpose nicely? (also 4 less inputs needed when figuring out if the mini-pac will work for you)

my 2 cents...

[dema]

How do you like the T-Stick Plus compared to other joysticks? I was starting to think of going with the P360s as my main sticks and then getting the Ms Pac Man/Galaga 4-way from Happs.

[mushmouth]

This is like a deja-vu of the conversation I had in my head about a month ago when I *almost* ordered a replacement MsPac/Galaga 4-way out of sheer desperation. Nothing fit my bill. I was waiting for the Omni-stick retro to be released, which it hasn't been and doesn't look like it's going to be, and the T-Stick Plus 'ball-top' version wasn't being publicly talked about yet.

My T-Stick Plus hasn't arrived yet. Andy is still waiting for the black ball-tops to come in, so I'm waiting too. My entire project is on hold waiting for that one stick. Literally on hold. I can't finish my main control panel because I don't have the joystick for placement to route out the tee-nuts into the cp top to hold the stick in place. *breathe* The wait, being THIS close to having my cab finally finished, is seriously stressing me out big time.

I needed above the panel 4/8 way switchability, without a mounting plate, available in a 1-3/8" black balltop. The T-Stick Plus ball-top *IS* my only option. But I've heard great things about them. Others who have them can comment further. I know they have a very short throw. They're also known as being very "clicky", however now Andy has released a new quiet microswitch you can use with it that promises to be much better.

Personally, I'm psyched and can't WAIT for mine.

[dmsuchy]

I'm also waiting for my order from Andy, by the way he's great guy with tons of patience. But I second the Ball top T-stick plus, everything I've heard is great. Crimping isn't that big of a deal, I used to make car alternator in a shop, so the I-pac is ideal. I'm in the same boat waiting for stuff just so I can START designing the layout.