More Control Panel Questions From The Biggest Newb Ever!

[Scott84]

For my panel i will be using 2 Happs Super 8's.... and 8 buttons per player, with 2 coin buttons and 2 start up buttons.... As soon below:



My questions:

1. With the Happ Super 8's.... i plan on doing a top mount, but what are the measurements i would cut for the hole (for the joystick to fit into)? And what tool should i use to do this? Jigsaw?

2. For the buttons, i know you have to drill the holes with a 1 1/8" Drill Bit, I know its not a screwdriver drill bit, whats the name of it? Also, could someone provide a link to it on a website i could buy it from?

3. I plan on screwing the IPAC to the wood, what nessary steps should i take to make sure the Ipac is on properly? Can it touch the wood? Do i need anything to keep it from touching the wood?

4. Does anyone know of a tutorial that can teach me to apply quick disconnects to gauge wire?

5. What type of gauge wire and why? People keep telling me whats the best, but its always different from what someone else said!

Thanks for you time guys! (and gals.....)

[anthony691]

#2: There are two choices and people argue both ways. You can use a spade bit or a hole saw. There was a thread on it here about a month ago, I would search for that. (my preference is the spade bit because it is slightly cheaper)

#3: You need some standoffs. You can get them at The Home Depot. (to be safe. You could probably do it w/o them)

#4: This is very easy.

#5: This dosn't matter that much.

[rampy]

what's with the top mount of the supers?   why? *shrug*

just curious...

rampy

[Frostillicus]

you'd get better results with a forstner bit for the holes.  

isn't 'Super 8' some sort of hotel chain?

I would recommend getting some small NYLON SPACERS at home depot for the IPAC.  I don't see how you could screw the board directly to wood without them and not break the thing...

Most people use stranded wire because solid will eventually break if you wiggle it (doesn't take much!)

[Scott84]

you'd get better results with a forstner bit for the holes.  

Forstner? Also, i might do an inside mount... but i dont know any instructions on how to do that!

And can someone give me the details on what i need to make the hole for the Happs Pushbuttons? What tool do i need, and what kind of accessory do i need for the tool? Specifics would be nice!

[Dak-ak]

i just mounted the pushbuttons through a hole i drilled with a 1-1/8 spade bit... mounted it in a drill press and drilled the hole.. no big deal...

I did the same with the super... its got a button size hole for the stick and 4 holes around it to for the mounting holes...

[rampy]

bah...

the forstner bit in a drill press is supposedly the greatest/smoothest/best results.

I sorta liked using a hole saw bit

A spade bit will work to0... but you have to be careful about "bloow out" ... which can be minimized if you go finished side first ( I think) and have a spare piece of wood underneath to drill through when you drill gets to the "otehr side"  to lessen blowout...

*shrug*

rampy

PS do a forum search for forstner and you'll find the last great button drilling debate/discussion in the forum

[OSCAR]

1. With the Happ Super 8's.... i plan on doing a top mount, but what are the measurements i would cut for the hole (for the joystick to fit into)? And what tool should i use to do this? Jigsaw?

I would highly suggest bottom mounting the joysticks.  I think you will be much happier with their appearance and that is how they are intended to be installed.  You can use a 1-1/8" spade drill bit (same for buttons, except Wico translucents which need 1-3/16") for the center hole.  If you use a 3/4" thick control panel, many people recommend you route 1/4"-3/8" recess for the joystick base.  In the below pic you can see how I have the joystick base recessed into the control panel.  The reason for the recess is so your joysticks are a bit taller.

2. For the buttons, i know you have to drill the holes with a 1 1/8" Drill Bit, I know its not a screwdriver drill bit, whats the name of it? Also, could someone provide a link to it on a website i could buy it from?

Spade bits are the cheapest way to go.  They will dull quicker than hole saws or Forstner bits, but they are very easy to use.  A Forstner bit is probably the best type of bit you can buy for making holes, but they can get expensive.  Your local Home Depot/Lowe's/Ace Hardware will have the 1-1/8" spade bits and you can expect to pick them up for around $5 I'd guess.

3. I plan on screwing the IPAC to the wood, what nessary steps should i take to make sure the Ipac is on properly? Can it touch the wood? Do i need anything to keep it from touching the wood?

Definitely use some kind of standoff or PCB feet.  In the above photo, you can see I used standard PCB feet to secure the I-PAC.

4. Does anyone know of a tutorial that can teach me to apply quick disconnects to gauge wire?

5. What type of gauge wire and why? People keep telling me whats the best, but its always different from what someone else said!

I have used many different kinds of wire for control panels and I have found the easiest to work with is 20 or 22 AWG stranded.  You can find this in a local Radio Shack or other electronics retailers.  It's typically referred to as "Hook up wire".

With 22-18 AWG, you will need to use the "red" female disconnects for all your buttons.  Most arcade controls use the 3/16" size connectors.

To connect the disconnects, simply strip off about 1/8" of the wire insulation, insert the bare wire into the connector, then crimp the connector.  A cheap wire crimper will make this much easier.

[Frostillicus]

wow oscar that's the cleanest CP wiring i've ever seen...is that heat shrink tubing I see? what's it like to easily identify which wire is which? hehe

My forstner bit was 15 bucks at lowes.  Kind of pricey BUT i ended up using it for each joystick and button - many many times so well worth the cash.  I'd only recommend it though if you have a drill press or hand drill precision guide.

[OSCAR]

wow oscar that's the cleanest CP wiring i've ever seen...is that heat shrink tubing I see? what's it like to easily identify which wire is which? hehe

It's actually a multiconductor cable, 5 conductors.  This cable here, to be exact.  I still have a few spools of it left over from when I changed my optic board design and now I use it for everything.  It works great for wiring control panels since every wire is a different color, and if you were to get a 7 conductor cable you would only need one run of cable for a 6 button layout w/ ground.  I did heat shrink the ends (seen in black) where I stripped back the sheath.  Not necessary, but I like to keep things neat looking when possible.  

The price isn't too bad either.  Figure $22 for about 500' of wire (5 conductors x 100' each), that's only around $.05 per foot for a very clean and neat installation.

[Scott84]

Thanks guys!

Oscar!, very detailed! thanks!

How do i make it recess into the wood? Like how would i do that? Is there a tutorial? What tools would i use?

[Sasquatch!]

A router would make those recesses.

[OSCAR]

Thanks guys!

Oscar!, very detailed! thanks!

How do i make it recess into the wood? Like how would i do that? Is there a tutorial? What tools would i use?

The #1 recommended way to do this would be with a router and a straight or template bit.  A cheaper way to do it would be simply with a hammer and chisel.  Be aware that the hammer/chisel method would not be recommended for particle board.  It works great on MDF, though.

See this thread, http://www.arcadecontrols.org/yabbse/index.php?board=1;action=display;threadid=2496;start=0, where I linked pictures of routing the recess in MDF with a router and with a chisel.

[shmokes]

I'll second that Oscar...very clean.  Could CAT-5 or CAT-6 wire be used for this?  There are a lot more wires running through network cabling, probably of a much smaller gauge.  I've generally got CAT-5 wire coming out my ears at work.

[OSCAR]

I'll second that Oscar...very clean.  Could CAT-5 or CAT-6 wire be used for this?  There are a lot more wires running through network cabling, probably of a much smaller gauge.  I've generally got CAT-5 wire coming out my ears at work.

Thanks!  I've seen people suggest using CAT-5 here many times, but I personally don't care for it.  Because it is much smaller gauge and solid core, I've found that I have to be very careful to to not break the wire just crimping on the disconnects.  And if you don't crimp it hard enough the wire will slip right out of the disconnect.  It also doesn't take very much to break the wire because it is so small.  Granted that CAT-5 is pretty tough when all 8 conductors are bundled together in the PVC sheath, but for wiring control panels you will be mostly dealing with the wires individually.

[Nikodemz]

Just to add another beginner quesiton to this thread. Oscar on the layout you have there, are you just using one ground wire and then just going to each button and back to the ground on the Ipac? Is that one of the wires in the 5 conductor bundle or is just a separate black 20awg wire.

I'm going to be wiring things up my CP in the next couple of days and I want make it as neat as I can. I'm an accomplished woodworker but this electrical stuff is all new to me. Thanks for any help or suggestions you have.

-Niko

[Nikodemz]

You can ignore that last post. I took my head out of you know where and reved up the IPAC documentation that Andy sends along with the Ipac and Optipac and it answered my question. Thanks

[mastercave]

just asking, are you planning on adding some emulator control buttons on there? like escape, service, reset, menu?

[SirPeale]

I would highly suggest bottom mounting the joysticks.  I think you will be much happier with their appearance and that is how they are intended to be installed.  You can use a 1-1/8" spade drill bit (same for buttons, except Wico translucents which need 1-3/16") for the center hole.  If you use a 3/4" thick control panel, many people recommend you route 1/4"-3/8" recess for the joystick base.  In the below pic you can see how I have the joystick base recessed into the control panel.  The reason for the recess is so your joysticks are a bit taller.

I was just looking over the Capcom pdf file for the Street Fighter II (available on the main site) and it says to use a 1 3/16 hole for the buttons.  Were these Wico buttons as well?

I have used many different kinds of wire for control panels and I have found the easiest to work with is 20 or 22 AWG stranded.  You can find this in a local Radio Shack or other electronics retailers.  It's typically referred to as "Hook up wire".

I personally like telephone wire.  Multi stranded, and although it's solid core, it's tougher than CAT-5/6

[OSCAR]

I was just looking over the Capcom pdf file for the Street Fighter II (available on the main site) and it says to use a 1 3/16 hole for the buttons.  Were these Wico buttons as well?

The only buttons I've found that *require* a 1 3/16" hole are the Wico transluscents.  The Wico m'switch button fits in a 1 1/8" hole just as well as the Happ one does.  There are a few notable differences between the Wico & Happ m'switch buttons, but they are not related to the body diameter.  See post #27 in this thread where I mention some differences between the Happ & Wico.

I imagine the Capcom template says 1 3/16" is because it will also work and gives you an extra 1/32" clearance in the hole around the button for a margin of error.