Control Panel Planning Stage

[Ryu-Is-Rad]

Hello, I am Ryu-Is-Rad but can also go by Dave.  I am currently collecting the pieces for the rebuilding/converting of a MAME cabinet and I'm almost done.

I'm at work so all I have access to is MS Paint, but it gets my basic point across.  This is the design I am kicking around for my control panel.  As you can see I love fighters and wanted a setup that was both CAPCOM and SNK friendly.  I can't decide on red or black for the sticks so any opinions would be appreciated.  The CP is 37" x 18" with plenty of room.  The red border on the pic represents red T-molding. 



The CPO I'm getting can be found here:

http://www.mamemarquees.com/fighting-control-panel-from-p-214.html

Does anyone have any experience with the polycarbinate laminate mentioned for this product, and if so is it really just as good as Plexi as far as durability?

Also, to anyone that has installed a HAPP Perfect 360, I heard they are slightly different to hook up.  What exactly is different about them?  I am trying to connect them to this device:

http://cgi.ebay.com/PC-Arcade-Controller-For-2-Player-MAME-Panel-necessary_W0QQitemZ170055299505QQihZ007QQcategoryZ13718QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1

Sorry the link is so long.  This item has already been purchased and is on the way, but without a brand or anything like that I cannot find any technical info for it what-so-ever on the internet.  Has anyone used one of these and if so is it compatible with the P360?  If necessary I will wait for it to come in the mail and describe the schematics/terminations.

I know this is question-heavy but these are the only things I cannot find concrete answers for.  I was hoping that you guys would be in the know before I start shelling out the cash.

Thanks in advance for any advice. 

[AtomSmasher]

A couple of things you may want on the CP is coin buttons and a pause button.  Also, the joysticks are really close to the buttons, the 7th button is under the joystick, which doesn't seem like a good thing.

The thing you bought on ebay is probably just a keyboard hack put into a box, which means ghosting might be an issue.  After you get it, you may want to download ghostkey to see if any issues come up when you press multiple buttons together. 

I don't know much about the 360's, but I'm pretty much positive they do not use 4 microswitches, which means that encoder you bought will not work with the 360's.  I'm sure someone who has a 360 can chime in and tell you what you need to run it.

[quarterback]

I'm a P360 user.  Even though they don't use microswitches, they still emit a "connected" or "open" signal like microswitches or leafs, so they should still work with whatever encoder you have.  They (the p360s) just need a power hookup but beyond that, they work pretty much the same.

[Ryu-Is-Rad]

That PC Arcade controller arrived recently.  It works now but not without a bit of tinkering.  I opened the box and luckily it didn't need a solder job, but simply a reseating of the three plugs into the small circuit board.  I tested all the inputs and they all seem to work.  One thing though, about the microswitch connectors.  They seem to have a locking mechanism that makes it quite difficult to disconnect.  Is there some sort of proper way or tool that works better than most to disconnect these?  I have to get rather forceful with them and am worried I might sever the solder eventually.  I will have to test the ghosting problem after the holidays as I will be visiting family. 

Reguarding the Pause button, I am not sure what I want more, an F2 Setup button or Pause.  If there was some way to access F2 from the TAB menu it would be an easy choice.  I might just leave the F2 action up to the keyboard.  The Coin button will be on the coin door.  I am installing one of these:
http://www.happcontrols.com/pushbuttons/5400042x.htm
in the 1/2 Player lock holes.  They are almost a perfect fit, just need to be bored out a bit first.

I've been thinking alot about the button placement and considering I am working with a panel that has everything already drilled, I might move all the existing buttons to the right one hole and drill 2 new ones on the side.

Any thoughts?

[toasty]

Hey man, I know this isn't really what you were asking about, but I do have a suggestion from more of an aesthetic standpoint.  You've got a lot of color on that CP overlay, and the buttons are multicolored as well.  The buttons kinda get lost in the overlay, IMO. 

If you're really hell-bent on using bright, multicolored buttons, you might think about taking down the intensity of the colors in the overlay a bit -- for example, you could use Photoshop to decrease the color saturation so that it washes the color out some (or just go grayscale) and the bright buttons will be much easier to pick up.  If you'd prefer to have the more colorful overlay, though, you could keep the overlay as it is and just use black or gray buttons.

Just a suggestion, take it for what it's worth.

[Bloinkxp]

FYI,
Give paint.net a try.  It's free and really should do whatever you need for a CPO!

Great looking panel!

-d

[Ryu-Is-Rad]

It is a shock to the senses, however I think people will be able to handle it.  I rarely look at the buttons anyway.  I thought about your suggestion for a while, and was considering either a slightly darker transparent frame to go around the button area, or maybe even giving the whole thing a classic sepia look, but then I realized that I can't alter the CPO itself, as I am getting it from www.mamemarquees.com and I think they come as is.  Also, it is very important to me that people instantly recognize my attempt to replicate a dual NEO-GEO/Capcom button setup.  Fortunately, the actual buttons will not be nearly that bright.  As you can see here:
http://www.happcontrols.com/pushbuttons/5896xxl.htm
they are a bit dull, almost pastel compared to the pic.

What does everyone think of this marque idea?  I'm using the streetjam poster:


but I will be putting this Capcom styled MAME logo I made on there somewhere:


Now I just need to make a decision on the sideart and I'll be all set.