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Control Questions / Need Advice Before Ordering

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Josh:

I want to thank everyone that replied to my first thread.  There are a lot of very helpful people on this board

My cabinet is coming along fairly well.  I have almost everything cut out and ready for assembly.  I am working on planning my control panel now and need some help

I am building the Ultimate Control Panel from the Mameroom.com  Attached is a picture of what it will look like hopefully

I don't quite understand what all the buttons are.
There are 4 joysticks with 6 buttons for each user
There is a trackball and a spinner
what are the 3 sets of buttons on the middle row used for?
I guessed that the top row on the right is a set of 4 buttons.  Are these player 1-4 buttons?

What would the other 5 buttons on the top row be used for?

I am just trying to get this all figured out so that I can get most of what I need in one order

What is the opinion of this coin door?
http://www.happcontrols.com/coindoors/40000800.htm
I want to set it up so that when you press the coin return button it gives that player a credit.  

What kind of buttons are prefered?  Where is the best place to buy them?

I need 4 joysticks.  I know there are many choices and I have read many things about them.  Do I want joysticks that I can switch from 8 way to 4 way?  What about the T-stik plus from ultimarc?  What are some better alternatives?  Where should I buy them from?

What trackballs are recomended?  What about spinners?

I think I am going to use a I-PAC4 USB to interface with the keyboard

Here is my original thread
http://www.arcadecontrols.org/yabbse/index.php?board=1;action=display;threadid=19384


I know there are a lot of questions, but I think it works better to ask people that have knowledge before wasting a lot of money on parts that I don't need or that don't work

Thanks Again for all the help

Josh

Sasquatch!:

An 1182 x 660 attachment?!?  GREAT SCOTT MAN!  Seriously though, please trim that down.  My monitor is at 1280 x 960 and I still have to scroll back-and-forth to read your post.

Anyways, to answer your questions...

--- Quote ---I don't quite understand what all the buttons are.
what are the 3 sets of buttons on the middle row used for?
I guessed that the top row on the right is a set of 4 buttons.  Are these player 1-4 buttons?
What would the other 5 buttons on the top row be used for?
--- End quote ---
"Trackball" buttons?  Maybe "admin" buttons like Pause, Quit, Tab, etc.?  In all honesty though, if you don't know what they are, YOU DON'T NEED THEM.  I only have two "admin" buttons (that is, buttons that aren't "gameplay") on my panel: Pause and Quit.  Some people like to have a "credit" button next to each Player Start button, so maybe those.  But think about what you want to have - don't just slap a metric ton of buttons on there unless you actually have a good reason to do so.

--- Quote ---What is the opinion of this coin door?
http://www.happcontrols.com/coindoors/40000800.htm
--- End quote ---
Happcontrols.com isn't coming up for me right now, so I dunno.  Most people go with the "Over/Under" door from Happ though.

--- Quote ---I want to set it up so that when you press the coin return button it gives that player a credit.
--- End quote ---
You'll have to wire in a switch yourself.  1UP did this and documented how he did so on his website.

--- Quote ---What kind of buttons are prefered?  Where is the best place to buy them?
--- End quote ---
The Happ Pushbutton with Horizontal Microswitch is probably THE standard.  I'd link ya to it, but like I said, I can't get to happcontrols.com for some reason.

--- Quote --- Do I want joysticks that I can switch from 8 way to 4 way?
--- End quote ---
I don't know...do you? :)  Playing 4-way-only games like Pac Man, Frogger, Donkey Kong, etc. with an 8-way joystick produces less-than-desireable results (the diagonal directions can screw up gameplay).  That said though, even if you DO want to play 4-way-only games, I can't think of a single game where you'd need MULTIPLE 4-way joysticks.  If you do play a lot of 4-way-only games, I would think about mounting a separate 4-way joystick on your control panel personally.  Either that, or maybe just have the Player 1 (and maybe the Player 2) joystick be switchable.  For Player 3 and Player 4, it won't matter because you'll never use them as 4-way sticks.

--- Quote ---What about the T-stik plus from ultimarc?  What are some better alternatives?  Where should I buy them from?
--- End quote ---
This is like asking "What's the best car, Chevy or Ford?"...you're going to get different responses based on people's opinions.  I haven't use the T-Stik Plus myself, but I've heard good things about it.

--- Quote ---What trackballs are recomended?
--- End quote ---
The Happ Trackball - while probably the most expensive - seems to be the best in terms of feel AND durability.  I own one and I absolutely love it.  I don't think that any of the other trackballs "suck" though.  Again, it's my personal opinion.

--- Quote ---What about spinners?
--- End quote ---
Opinion again, but I'd definitely go with the OSCAR Controls Vortex spinner.  It's the most "arcade authentic" spinner out there.

*WHEW!*  Hope this helps!

NoOne=NBA=:


--- Quote from: Josh on May 22, 2004, 09:56:51 pm ---What is the opinion of this coin door?
http://www.happcontrols.com/coindoors/40000800.htm
I want to set it up so that when you press the coin return button it gives that player a credit.
--- End quote ---
Should work fine for you.
Don't forget to buy the cashbox assembly as well.


--- Quote ---What kind of buttons are prefered?  Where is the best place to buy them?
--- End quote ---
Another personal preference.
I PREFER leafswitches because you can adjust them so they trigger if you breathe on them; BUT, given how many buttons you have, the Happ micros will save you ALOT of money, and work well for you.


--- Quote ---I need 4 joysticks.  I know there are many choices and I have read many things about them.  Do I want joysticks that I can switch from 8 way to 4 way?  What about the T-stik plus from ultimarc?  What are some better alternatives?  Where should I buy them from?
--- End quote ---
This answer is somewhat game dependent.

The best concensus I've been able to come up with for what MOST people prefer is:
Classics=Wico leafswitch sticks (4-way or 8-way depending on game)
4/8-way swappables=T-stik Plus
Fighting Games=Happ Ultimates or Supers

There's nothing saying you can't mix and match either.

I haven't tried these sticks yet; but based on their description, I'm guessing they will work great.
They are commonly referred to as a microleaf.
They have the rubber centering grommet like the Wico sticks, but use microswitches.
(I've got one on the way to test, but it's not here yet).


--- Quote ---What trackballs are recomended?
--- End quote ---
It's hard to beat a new Happs.
The others aren't BAD, but the Happs ones are better.


--- Quote ---What about spinners?
--- End quote ---
If space is not an issue, I'd get whatever strikes your fancy from Oscar.
If space IS an issue, I'd get the Tornado from Slik-Stik.


--- Quote ---I think I am going to use a I-PAC4 USB to interface with the keyboard
--- End quote ---
Mine works GREAT.


Josh:

Thanks for the great replies

sorry about the attachment size, it is fixed now



Josh:

Thanks everyone for all the help, I will post some pictures when I get them taken



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