Control Panel Database: Post a picture of your Control Panel!

[TheMajorHavoc]

Here's my 4 player cab racing panels i am building   

[JRChristenson]

I use this with my laptop.

[dyldebus]

Super clean looking. What kind of buttons are those? I'm using the RGB LED's from Ultimarc and it was a chore to get them to feel "correct".

[konp]

Here's my cabinet:



It's the first (and currently only) one I've built, and I made more than a few mistakes along the way. Hence the name AlphaCade V0.1. I've got a second one in the works, that's going to be significantly bigger and hopefully better, specifically designed for the Mortal Kombat KE PC release (I can run it on this cabinet, barely, but it doesn't run well - enough for a proof of concept though).

Here's the build picture album. Got the bulk of the cabinet put together in a day - more like 8 hours, actually.

, here is when it actually got put in.

Mistakes I made:

Marquee hole wasn't put together correctly, resulting in a difficult-to-attach marquee.
Monitor mount was a pain in the rear end to both design and fit, and caused problems for a while afterwards.
Monitor not mounted precisely in the center - closer to the left edge than the right.
Didn't get the angle for the speaker board right causing them to sort of be in your face - but they sound awesome.
Nowhere to put keyboard.
Got semi-duped into buying cheap joysticks. They play exactly the way cheap joysticks should - cheaply and sloppily.

I'm more than likely going to rebuild the cabinet at a later date because MDF is cheap where I am.

[Rydon]

Here is my pic.  The shot isn't great, but if you want to see more of the arcade you can check out the blog.  www.rightonrydon.blogspot.com

[ppv]

Here is mine!

Lol!

This is only the prototype I did to test my layout (from slagcoin, thank jeebus for that awesome site). I did help me learn two things though:
1) I wont use plywood, it's mdf all the way now.
2) I am really gonna need a frostner bit, or whatever those thing are called.

Bought my part from retroactivearcade.com, review coming soon. (Teaser: good experience!)

[OpFlash]

Here are some pics of my scratch built 4 player CP

[CoryBee]

Here are some pics of my scratch built 4 player CP

Will players 3 and 4 be strictly playing Q-Bert?

 

[mercury187]

I just submitted a build thread but here is mine. I designed all the artwork myself in Photoshop and used the guides and ruler tools to make sure everything was in the right place before having it printed.

[darkSSide]

Damn thats alot of empty space

Sent from my Atari 2600

[mercury187]

Damn thats alot of empty space

Sent from my Atari 2600

Yeah, I might add a spinner and I haven't figured out if i'm going to add players 3 and 4 and how.

[mcseforsale]

Wow.  Seems like the CPs in this thread are getting more and more out of control.

AJ

I just submitted a build thread but here is mine. I designed all the artwork myself in Photoshop and used the guides and ruler tools to make sure everything was in the right place before having it printed.

[Maximus]

Yeah, I might add a spinner and I haven't figured out if i'm going to add players 3 and 4 and how.

And perhaps Air Hockey?

[darkSSide]

Yeah, I might add a spinner and I haven't figured out if i'm going to add players 3 and 4 and how.

And perhaps Air Hockey?

Hahahaha
Seriously think about cutting holes for cups or something. Extra players will be uncomfortable with the way you have it set up.

Sent from my Atari 2600

[mcseforsale]

cricket pitch?

[ppv]

Yeah, I might add a spinner and I haven't figured out if i'm going to add players 3 and 4 and how.

And perhaps Air Hockey?

[ark_ader]

22" touch screen?

[konp]

How do people get their wiring so neat and tidy and organised? Every time I try it just winds up looking like the creature from the black lagoon. It's terribly distressing.

[edekoning]

For starters, don't use pre-made/pre-crimped wires, or you'll just end up with loads of exces wire length. Keep wires as short as possible and try to make as many follow the same path. Just look at those panels that you consider to be neat/tidy, and see how they accomplished that.

[mcseforsale]

Best idea I ever got was from Knievel.  It's solid-core doorbell wire.  4 bux a roll (I think 75 ft. per roll) in multiple colors.  The solid core stays put since it's less flexible then stranded wire.  Just don't use it where the wire will see a lot of bending, otherwise the inner wire will break:









AJ

How do people get their wiring so neat and tidy and organised? Every time I try it just winds up looking like the creature from the black lagoon. It's terribly distressing.

[PL1]

How do people get their wiring so neat and tidy and organised? Every time I try it just winds up looking like the creature from the black lagoon. It's terribly distressing.

Plan your wire paths before you start.

You can use velcro wraps to temporarily hold wire bundles.

Use zip ties every 3-4 inches to tie the bundles together.

Use loop clamps as needed to hold the bundles in position and/or for strain relief.

For starters, don't use pre-made/pre-crimped wires, or you'll just end up with loads of exces wire length.

   Sounds like you're starting at the encoder -- start at the microswitch.

Thread the wire through the velcro wraps until you get to the encoder.

Cut the wire to length, strip the end and connect under the screw.

For the Mini-Pac harness, you can turn the wire several loops to shorten it without cutting it -- use velcro wraps/zip ties to keep the loops neat.

Best idea I ever got was from Knievel.  It's solid-core doorbell wire.  4 bux a roll (I think 75 ft. per roll) in multiple colors.  The solid core stays put since it's less flexible then stranded wire.  Just don't use it where the wire will see a lot of bending, otherwise the inner wire will break:

One thing to watch out for with solid core is that crimp QDs won't result in a strong connection (compared to stranded wire) unless you also solder them.


Scott

[edekoning]

  Sounds like you're starting at the encoder -- start at the microswitch.

No I was more referring to the pre-made ground daisy-chains, which you can't easily shorten. I used f-crimp connectors, which also provide strain relief, so I had to start at the switch.

[steved61]

What are these called and what are they used for? See them on some builds but not all.
Thanks
SteveD61

[PL1]

  Sounds like you're starting at the encoder -- start at the microswitch.

No I was more referring to the pre-made ground daisy-chains, which you can't easily shorten. I used f-crimp connectors, which also provide strain relief, so I had to start at the switch.

Yeah, pre-fab daisy chains are a lot harder to make look good, but you can mix and match a bit by splicing in a straight wire for the longer runs and using sections of the pre-fab where the buttons and sticks are close enough to use all the QDs on the daisy chain.

I think this approach provides the best results for time/effort expended -- a nice balance between no-effort rat nest wiring and high-effort wiring pr0n.

What are these called and what are they used for?

They are called Euro-style terminal blocks -- available at GGG and Radio Shack.

The screw terminals allow you to connect two (or more) wires straight across -- top-to-bottom in this photo.



You can easily cut these to length if desired.


Scott

[steved61]

But why would you use these on a control panel, instead of direct wiring? What does it get you/
Steved61

[PL1]

But why would you use these on a control panel, instead of direct wiring?

IIRC one guy used them for temporary single color LED button wiring while he figured out (and gathered the funds for) an RGB LED button setup.

They are an easy way to disconnect/replace RGB LEDs that come with wire leads instead of running new wires all the way to the controller and messing up the existing wire bundles.

Also the euro terminals work better than crimps (un-soldered) if you need to splice solid core wiring.


Scott

[Garza]

Good thought on the RGB's didnt think of that. I am redoing my cp right now and will use the bridges. However was looking at yours, not showing in detail of the hook up. Do you just daisy chain all your RGB's and then at the end you just have one wire for each RGB power going in? Thats what I got out of it. Can you let me know? Thanks 

[PL1]

Here is a recent post on that topic with an excellent diagram.
[/thread derail]


Scott

[JustAskJack]

[shponglefan]

^ Love the concept and way you made the borders for the various controls (esp. the trackball).  But why does the textured part of the art stop so premature of the bottom edge of the panel?

[redbeard30]

Here's mine. I basically had no budget so I got the art from the bargain bin at a web dealer, zippyy joys with aluminum bat tops, homemade button logos. Its a re purposed golden tee cab, I plugged the existing button holes with dowel rod and 40 minute epoxy then redrilled my new layout. I'm upgrading the zippyys to IL competitions Wednesday.

[JustAskJack]

^ Love the concept and way you made the borders for the various controls (esp. the trackball).  But why does the textured part of the art stop so premature of the bottom edge of the panel?

I started with a different design... and when I converted to the textures, I kept the original shape of the design. I tested it with the graphics running the whole length, it looked wrong. I wasn't 100% happy, but the way I work, at some point I need to just call it done, or it'll never get done, if you know what I mean. It doesn't really look as off in person as it does on the image.

Here's my wiring... not as pretty as some of the ones in this thread, but I thought it was satisfactory for a first timer...

[zoup]

Still miles behind some of the professional work seen above, this was my original panel from 2008.
NOS LS-30 for Player 2 and a Happs Mechanical Rotary for Player 1.
3 inch Happs Trackball and a Slickstick Tornado Spinner, along with a standard 4 Way at the top in the middle.
I'm big on left hand and/or right hand friendliness along with adequate distance between player spacing.
During Arkanoid, for example either of the red buttons next to the trackball serve as the P1 fire button in conjuntion with the spinner making it both Rh and Lh friendly.
I have another 21" crt and am working on a double stack monitor setup (think Punchout), but with an optional vertical orientation for the top monitor.
There is also an additional,modular, single monitor stand to support side by side monitors side by side for spirited 2 player simultaneous action.
I am considering a trigger stick for the area to the right of the Spinner for the standard Tron Setup.
I only recently broke out the router and routed the bottom of the panel for the 4 way and the player 1 rotary joysticks.
The top of the panel was routed for the track ball mounting plate as well as the top mounted wooden plate for the SNK Rotary.

[CaptainMarvel]

More Knievel goodness.  Here's the CP for "Fistful of Quarters":









AJ

Does "Kneivel" offer these control panel top designs for sale?

[mcseforsale]

Not sure what you mean.  Knievel designed the layout and I got a copy of it in .PDF that I have printed at Kinkos/Fedex and use to cut it out.  The artwork was done in Photoshop by me.

You can PM Knievel, I know he sells cabs.  Also, Yaksplat sells pre-cut/custom CPs.  PM him, too.

AJ

Does "Kneivel" offer these control panel top designs for sale?

[severdhed]

here is the control panel on my 4 player pedestal build...



here is a full shot of the cabinet...

[subzero1970]

my first proper CP

[Bambam1963]

This is my second kick at the kick at the cat.  I modified the controls to suit my playing style as my first cab was not quite right.  I moved the trackball towards the player so that my right hand would not strike the "Player 2" 8-way joystick during heated game play.  This meant moving my "Player 1" and "Player 2" controls up and extending the control panel by 2" towards the user.  The CP measures 38" x 18" and is just right.  I also moved the 4-way to the left and above the "Player 1" 8-way joystick.  This is mirrored by my Tron Joystick above and to the right of the "Player 2" 8-way.  This fits in nicer with the spinner control for Tron play.  The templates were downloaded from here as was most of the art work.  Thank you to the respective contributors of this art work (especially the Asteroids Artwork from my favourite game back in the day) and allowing us to use them.  Now to get rolling on locating an Aimtrack Gun, getting my LED Wiz rolling, building my driving cabinet and getting my old "Contact" pinball table up and running as a Virtual Pinball machine  Completed panel photos to follow.
Thanks for all of the advice from the experts on these forums and thanks to Saint for the book that got me into this hobby so many years ago.

John

[Bambam1963]

More Knievel goodness.  Here's the CP for "Fistful of Quarters":









AJ

Does "Kneivel" offer these control panel top designs for sale?

Great Theme - I love the colours. 

[Bambam1963]

Very nice industrial look.