Any good concepts for a larger panel in my Defender cab?

[daveg2000]

Hey all.
I currently am using a defender cab for my Emulators


The Control panel is pretty small, (24"x8" if I remember right)


It works good... for most games using 1 button up to 6,
but I dont like how close the controls are, plus would like a trackball mounted in the panel somehow.. and the exisitng layout and/or size of the panel just won't allow it.

Anyone have any ideas how I can extend the cabinet maybe like another 6 to 8" off each side... maybe then I can separate the
joysticks a little more and fit a trackball inbetween?

I have someone that can help with the wood cutting, but I need
a plan to work off of first and am just wondering if anyone here may have a good idea or two.

I dont care about hacking up the cabinet and making a frankencab out of it, just so it looks a little normal when Its all said and done...
 

[mahuti]

Dont' hack that Defender cab... especially with such a fine example of the Williams coin door.

Use swappable panels man.

I know someone else on this board that has a panel that extends out forward, but I don't think the door still has room as I recall.

Rather than hacking, what I would recommend is setting a new panel on top of the molding, that wraps around the outside edges. (Graphic attached) and also have it come forward off of the cabinet. That way it can easily be reset to its original status. Only bad thing is that the coin door might be uncomfortably close to the panel.

[snipa]

I'm having the same dilemma at the moment, as I only have a cabaret cab that just isn't wide enough for what I want.

Here's a few examples of cabs with larger control panels I've found for inspiration:

http://ubercade.randomdrivel.com/

http://sparhawk.sbc.edu/MAME/

[Samstag]

I've got a 23x8" control panel and I'm going with modular panels.  It doesn't look like you have room for the same thing I'm doing, though, as there's a 2" flip-down door at the front of mine.  You could do a full panel swap without too much trouble.

It'd be a shame to obscure that coin door.

[Lilwolf]

I would go with moduler myself. 

I think its just cool to see a great moduler setup... And you can put together a new part without building up a whole new cp and all the buttons / ect.

[daveg2000]

Good call guys.

Like I mentioned - I want the machine to look normal when done, and
covering up the coin door obviously would make it look like
a freak machine.... I definately dont want to do that....

good ideas on 'widening' the panel though...  too bad that
coin door is so close to the top of the panel...

 

[Lilwolf]

search for the moduler examples.  If done right they look amazing... And give you WAY more options!

[sWampy]

Wierd, I just ordered a spinner for my defender cabinet, and am going to start tonight the process of making a bigger control panel.   I'm just planning on raising the panel up to the height of the sides, like 2 inches, and extend the front 5 inches or so and round it off like the one pictured below.   I want to raise it up to the top of the sides for extra room for trackball and buttons and bottom while leaving room to open the coin door.  I don't plan on 4 player though, the defender cabinet just seems to small to try to cram 4 people around.

[RayB]

Another reason to go modular, other than aesthetics, is that otherwise you'll be smashing your hand against a joystick when you go nuts with the trackball.

[mahuti]

I use swappable panels on my defender. Right now I just have 2. I'm in the process of building a 3rd just for tron. The thing about the defender is that it's really not a big stretch to build an entirely new panel every time you want different controls since the board is completely flat.  It's still a bit tight for 2 players, but it works fine... many of the original 2 player machines were this wide, so I just tough it out on 2 player fighting games, etc.

[RacerX]

I also have a Defender cab, and I use swappable panels on it.  I have one with the standard fighter setup, one with trackball and spinner, and my Turbo Sub yoke panel is (and has been for like 3 years  ) in the planning stages.

[daveg2000]

Boy, lots of good ideas and examples here!  I like the picture above with the trackball, but if if the panel is raised up an inch or two, is it uncomfortable to use?  I think the 'lower' side of the control panel already sits 40.5" off the floor...

I'm wondering if any higher would be uncomfortable...?

To those of you using swappable control panels, any chance you
could snap a picture of the panel(s) and I'd be curious to see how
you disconnect/reconnect the wires underneath.
I have an idea of the plugs you would use for this (dont know
the exact name of these) but would be interested to see this
stuff if there are any pics available....?

Thanks again.
Dave

[Lilwolf]

btw I have a defender cab that holds my dreamcast...  And they are right about how easy it is to make a new control panel.  Only trouble is trying to angle the back so that it fits tight with front bezel.

btw, how did you lock down your control panel?  I want to build another one for an act-labs steering wheel... but I didn't come up with any good ways to lock down the control panel...

[sWampy]

Boy, lots of good ideas and examples here!  I like the picture above with the trackball, but if if the panel is raised up an inch or two, is it uncomfortable to use?  I think the 'lower' side of the control panel already sits 40.5" off the floor...

I'm wondering if any higher would be uncomfortable...?

To those of you using swappable control panels, any chance you
could snap a picture of the panel(s) and I'd be curious to see how
you disconnect/reconnect the wires underneath.
I have an idea of the plugs you would use for this (dont know
the exact name of these) but would be interested to see this
stuff if there are any pics available....?

Thanks again.
Dave

I'm 6'3, so it is acutally better for me.   My wife who is 5' doesn't seem bothered by it.   I haven't made the bigger panel yet, but stuck a couple of 1x2's under the current one and played for a few days and everyone seemed to like the height.   

[telengard]

Hey all.
I currently am using a defender cab for my Emulators


The Control panel is pretty small, (24"x8" if I remember right)


It works good... for most games using 1 button up to 6,
but I dont like how close the controls are, plus would like a trackball mounted in the panel somehow.. and the exisitng layout and/or size of the panel just won't allow it.

Anyone have any ideas how I can extend the cabinet maybe like another 6 to 8" off each side... maybe then I can separate the
joysticks a little more and fit a trackball inbetween?

I have someone that can help with the wood cutting, but I need
a plan to work off of first and am just wondering if anyone here may have a good idea or two.

I dont care about hacking up the cabinet and making a frankencab out of it, just so it looks a little normal when Its all said and done...
 

As others have mentioned I highly recommend going swappable in your case.  Modular may be possible too.

I couldn't find the link, but someone with a Defender cab made some very nice swappable panels.  It didn't seem that difficult.

good luck

[Stingray]

To those of you using swappable control panels, any chance you
could snap a picture of the panel(s) and I'd be curious to see how
you disconnect/reconnect the wires underneath.
I have an idea of the plugs you would use for this (dont know
the exact name of these) but would be interested to see this
stuff if there are any pics available....?

You can ignore most of the lables in this pic. I did this for a not terribly technical friend who wanted to know how everything plugs in.



And here's the inside of one of the panels. It's wired through an old printer cable that plugs into #2 in the previous picture. My trackball/spinner panel has an extra cable that plugs into #5.



Hope that helps.

-S

[telengard]

I would go with moduler myself. 

I think its just cool to see a great moduler setup... And you can put together a new part without building up a whole new cp and all the buttons / ect.

I'm very glad I went the modular route.  Allows for just about any combination imaginable and it's very easy to incorporate new controls as you get them and not have to have duplicates of stuff.

My cab is in the sig below for pics of the modular setup.  I've since changed some things that aren't in the pics.  I no longer use molex connectors but instead use ethernet cables.  Way easier to deal with.

[daveg2000]

The modular examples are very interesting... but I"m also about
simplicity.  If I want to switch between Robotron and Street Fighter, I dont want to have to change out control panel pieces... I'd rather have as much as I can on a ctrl panel, and call it there.

So, I dont think I"d go that route....

[mahuti]

I currently have 2 panels, and i'm getting ready to start on a third.

Panel 1;
I switchable joystick, 4 buttons, one trackball, one spinner. Its configuration effectively plays a large number of games comfortably, without being overly confusing.
Red button- used for 1 button games.
Grn & Blue button - used for 2 button games.
Yel, Grn & Blue buttons - used for 3 button games.
If you really wanna get nuts and play a 4 button game, I suppose you could, but this panel isn't really configured for that.

Panel 2. I only use this for side by side 2 player games (fighters, etc. ) It's impossible to remember what button does what, and guests get very confused if this is used on anything except fighting games.

I'm not really interested in modular panels for the following reasons;
1. Some designs take too long to swap
2. Some designs don't attach well enough
3. Don't like the big cut lines that are visible.
4. I'm not a complete purist... don't really care if things are completely accurate.

I just wanna have room for expansion, I want things to be easy for my friends to setup & change, and I want to have good aeshetics on my cabinet.

Someone asked about connectors... I use 37 pin connectors... I solder the wire to them myself. I think that 21 gauge wire is the best for arcade stuff (except for power & ground on 18) Using phone lines, ethernet, and printer cables are fine, but I prefer thicker wire. My soldering skills have gotten pretty good, so it's a pretty quick process to set up a new connector. If I had it to do again, I think I'd use 36 pin connectors... they're easier to find. I've looked for a system in the past with zero (or low) insertion force for the connectors, but an inexpensive and functional system hasn't presented itself.

[daveg2000]

btw, how did you lock down your control panel?  I want to build another one for an act-labs steering wheel... but I didn't come up with any good ways to lock down the control panel...

Actually, when I got the machine, it's existing control panel
(for some Trivia game) was clamped down with these
puppies.  They work awesome.... that panel doesn't budge
a bit....

(from other machine pics I've seen.. these look like the factory installed clamps.  I just removed the "L" shaped hooks from under the control panel and put them on my new one... if this is what you are asking....?)

[daveg2000]

I'm having the same dilemma at the moment, as I only have a cabaret cab that just isn't wide enough for what I want.

Here's a few examples of cabs with larger control panels I've found for inspiration:

http://ubercade.randomdrivel.com/

This pic was on the above website.. (hope its okay for me to show)
This looks like  a real nice layout for expanding on a defender cab.
The trackball, extra joy & spinner all look very nicely accessable.
Its 2-player controls has lots of space inbetween,
and they are not far-away to reach like the picture above, which
makes this much more comfortable to play on - than the picture
that was shown above by Lilwolf.
(Dont get me wrong.. that panel looks very nice also!)


My only issue here would be that darned coin door....

[mahuti]

Wrap that panel around the cab a bit to help the aeshetics.