Newbie Alert! (kinda)

[Texasmame]

Hello, all!
My name is John and I'm a native New Englander living in Texas!

Once upon a time, I had a pretty nice collection of dedicated classics as well as a goodly sum of 2600, 5200 and 7800 stuff. Upon the move to Texas in September '04, though, all of it was sold due to financial/practical reasons. Below is a link to pics of that stuff if interested.  Also, if you poke around in the root, you

[Vigo]

Welcome John,

I guess I'll be the first person to throw in my 2 cents...

First, you have a complicated control panel that you are planning out...I'm not saying that it is bad or anything. I just want to let you know thet trying to do too much to soon can stop some people from ever finishing. Not all people have the time or skill to build a rotating panel...I'm not accusing you of either, but you should definitely think about how big of a project you can take on...I would suggest starting by building the sides of the cabinet, and using that as a guide of how confident you are with the woodworking...I'm not trying to discourage you either, many people have built very nice machines on their first attempt.

I also note that on your six way panel, you are only thinking of a few games that you want it for...(defender/stargate) you should design your control panel for the maximum button game that you are willing to play...meaning that if you want to be able to play street fighter 2, you should put in six playable buttons and a start button for each player 1 and 2. and don't worry so much about a few extra buttons, it is actually pretty simple to know what buttons to push for most games, even if there are a few extras.

also, i want you to know in case you didn't think about it, for your rotating control panel, you have to measure out the distance for the steering wheel, joystick, or whatever else you mount in there, otherwise it will get hit the front of the cabinet when spinning...

I just want to throw out some thoughts and hope that it helps you...just keep in mind, start with the simple, and work your way up...


I love the taito cabinet!!!! good call... It is very mobile too! you may have to modify the style a little though, as I remember that taito cabs didn't have a very large control panel space.



Remember, you can always search the forums for any questions you may have, and ask any question if you can't find the answer from a search...there is also a wiki rescource that is like a little dictionary http://wiki.arcadecontrols.com/wiki/Main_Page

Good luck, and keep us posted with your progress!!!
 

[Animeka]

In your situation, also based on your past experiences, I'd say go with 2 cabs... You used to have a lot, it'll feel lonely having only one

That would also allow you to have a more flexible CP scheme... You could put 3 of your panel ideas on one, and 3 on the other, keeping the same design, but making it feasible. a 6 sided rotating panel would be kind of huge IMHO...

Good luck and please share pictures when you start building!

btw, I wish I had the $ and space to have a collection like you had must have been great having friends over!

Marc

[Texasmame]

In your situation, also based on your past experiences, I'd say go with 2 cabs... You used to have a lot, it'll feel lonely having only one

That would also allow you to have a more flexible CP scheme... You could put 3 of your panel ideas on one, and 3 on the other, keeping the same design, but making it feasible. a 6 sided rotating panel would be kind of huge IMHO...

Good luck and please share pictures when you start building!

btw, I wish I had the $ and space to have a collection like you had must have been great having friends over!

Marc

Yeah, strongly leaning towards the two cab design.  Heh.  Lonely with one cab.  Heh.  Cute, never thought of that!  Likely do a generic/pole position two sided rotating one on one and my modular on the other.

Yeah, the holidays were the best.  Lots of people playing lots of games!

[Texasmame]

Welcome John,

I guess I'll be the first person to throw in my 2 cents...

First, you have a complicated control panel that you are planning out...I'm not saying that it is bad or anything. I just want to let you know thet trying to do too much to soon can stop some people from ever finishing. Not all people have the time or skill to build a rotating panel...I'm not accusing you of either, but you should definitely think about how big of a project you can take on...I would suggest starting by building the sides of the cabinet, and using that as a guide of how confident you are with the woodworking...I'm not trying to discourage you either, many people have built very nice machines on their first attempt.

I also note that on your six way panel, you are only thinking of a few games that you want it for...(defender/stargate) you should design your control panel for the maximum button game that you are willing to play...meaning that if you want to be able to play street fighter 2, you should put in six playable buttons and a start button for each player 1 and 2. and don't worry so much about a few extra buttons, it is actually pretty simple to know what buttons to push for most games, even if there are a few extras.

also, i want you to know in case you didn't think about it, for your rotating control panel, you have to measure out the distance for the steering wheel, joystick, or whatever else you mount in there, otherwise it will get hit the front of the cabinet when spinning...

I just want to throw out some thoughts and hope that it helps you...just keep in mind, start with the simple, and work your way up...


I love the taito cabinet!!!! good call... It is very mobile too! you may have to modify the style a little though, as I remember that taito cabs didn't have a very large control panel space.



Remember, you can always search the forums for any questions you may have, and ask any question if you can't find the answer from a search...there is also a wiki rescource that is like a little dictionary http://wiki.arcadecontrols.com/wiki/Main_Page

Good luck, and keep us posted with your progress!!!
 

Guess it's not very clear on that pic - the front of the panel will fold down to allow lots of space for rotation there.  The monitor height would appear to be a problem, however.  I don't intend to have a backsplash as part of the panel drum, I'll have one that flips up, under the monitor area, to allow for more rotating space.  Also, I'm thinking any admin buttons would be on that little flip up panel.

As noted on another post, thinking two cabs may be best bet now. 

[NoOne=NBA=]

Something else you might consider is swappable panels, rather than a modular system.
Color-coding would make it really easy for novices to switch them out as necessary.

I used different colored RJ-45 jacks on my cab, so that I could color code the wiring.
Purple wire to purple jack, yellow wire to yellow jack, would eliminate guesswork/uncertainty for the novices.

[Vigo]

Two cabs ain't a bad idea, neither is swappable control panels...

So many decisions...isn't there 

[horseboy]

Something else you might consider is swappable panels, rather than a modular system.
Color-coding would make it really easy for novices to switch them out as necessary.

I used different colored RJ-45 jacks on my cab, so that I could color code the wiring.
Purple wire to purple jack, yellow wire to yellow jack, would eliminate guesswork/uncertainty for the novices.

Or you could just use one big plug, and then any idiot could plug it in.

I have anphenol plugs. Can't beat 50 pins with a nice smooth reliable connector.



You can get just the plugs. You can also get pigtails, or you can save some money and get jumpers and cut them in half.

[Texasmame]

Or you could just use one big plug, and then any idiot could plug it in.

I have anphenol plugs. Can't beat 50 pins with a nice smooth reliable connector.



You can get just the plugs. You can also get pigtails, or you can save some money and get jumpers and cut them in half.


[/quote]


How are these to splice with?  I read in Doc's writeup that he felt the regular network connection wires were a bit thin and would break easily with splicing.

Sure, 50 possible connections sounds good to me!  Haven't done much research yet on the IPAC or other interfaces but I'm guessing they're not a nightmare to work with, wire, etc.

[horseboy]

If you use an IPAC, then no splicing is necessary. They have screw-in wire terminals. Also, plenty of people have used cat 5 around here. I stipped these and had them hooked up to my IPAC quickly and easily. FYI the jumpers and pigtails listed are Cat3 25 pair. Cat3 is the exact same as Cat5, except it has a lighter twist, so it is slightly easier to work with.