Recommend me a good temporary turnkey control panel setup

[Joystick Jerk]

Phew! Been away for a while. Good to see you guys again!

Anyways, I just recently sold my MAME cab(the BenderCade, if anyone remembers my concept drawings from a few years ago), as a local dealer gave me an offer I couldn't refuse. While I am going to be building a brand new MAME cab in the future, for now I'm just going to be MAME'ing on my PC. I thought I might as well get a decent arcade controller to impart some sense of realism to the affair, and I'm hoping you guys can give me some recommendations on what to look at.

Right now I'm leaning towards the X-Arcade Solo. It's small and simple, so it would fit great on my lap or desktop. It's also quite cheap now at $99. The only other option I've seen right now at that price range was the Hanaho model. That one has me a little worried, as it's a dual controller for a similar price to X-Arcade's Solo. I don't know if that's Hanaho being generous, or compensating for poor quality. There's the SlikStik Solitaire too, but that's a big jump up in price for something I'm only going to use for about a year.

Are X-Arcade and Hanaho the only options for decent, low-priced controller setups, or are there some other super deals out there I haven't seen?

[BobA]

Retroblast has brought quite a few reviews together at http://www.retroblast.com/reviews/controller1.html

I personally prefer the feel of the Hanaho because they use Happs controls while the X arcade uses their own inports.   The X arcade highlight is that it much more flexable for interfacing different game systems.

[knave]

Since you've built a CP before, why don't you get a GP-wiz for $20 and throw some controls into a box? (I've even seen sturdy cardboard used...not by me though  )

[SavannahLion]

....I've even seen sturdy cardboard used...not by me though  )

Admit it, you know you want to. 

[Joystick Jerk]

Since you've built a CP before, why don't you get a GP-wiz for $20 and throw some controls into a box? (I've even seen sturdy cardboard used...not by me though  )

I certainly could, but because of the limited amount of time I'm going to use it, and the inevitable MAME cab I'm going to be building, I just need something quick and dirty to tide me over for now. Don't want to use up all my creative juices(and money) building a control setup when I have a full cab build to look forward to! Besides, I can always resell it here and pass the savings on to someone new to the MAME scene who needs to be eased into the hobby.

[Tiger-Heli]

Get the Hanaho - Didn't know it was down to $99, now.  Regarding Knave's suggestion,

KeyWiz - GP-Wiz Eco non-solder - approx $25
2 Joysticks - approx $20.
20 buttons - approx $30

So you are only paying $25-$45 (high number includes Hanaho shipping, low number does not but neither includes shipping on the buttons/joys either) for the box, the T-molding, and the overlay, and the time to build it.  I don't think you could build a box to that standard for much less than that, even without factoring in your time.

If you were keeping it longer, I would say it would still be a good buy, but rip out it's encoder and throw in a GP-Wiz or KeyWiz Eco, but if you just want it for a year for MAME, don't bother.

Right now I'm leaning towards the X-Arcade Solo. It's small and simple, so it would fit great on my lap or desktop. It's also quite cheap now at $99. The only other option I've seen right now at that price range was the Hanaho model. That one has me a little worried, as it's a dual controller for a similar price to X-Arcade's Solo. I don't know if that's Hanaho being generous, or compensating for poor quality.

As mentioned - Hanaho uses better parts than X-Arcade.  Their encoders are non-programmable and some people have reported lag with them.  X-Arcade has a programmable (through hardware) encoder and can be used with console systems as well as PC's.  I have heard some reports of lag and or blocking with their encoders as well.

As for Hanaho being generous - what I think is happening is X-Arcade is gaining marketshare through an expanded productline and exposure through Fry's and E-bay, etc.  Hanaho is now mainly known for their ArcadePC cabinets which are somewhat pricey, so they dropped the price on these to stay competitive.  The Hanaho product has actually been around longer and is better quality IMHO.

http://www.mameworld.info/ubbthreads/showthreaded.php?Cat=&Number=81939&page=7&view=expanded&sb=5&o=&fpart=1&vc=1

http://www.mameworld.net/xarcade/xarcadereview.html

I thought KC had a full HotRod review, but can't locate it.

[bfauska]

If you're going to build a cabinet soon anyway, couldn't you just re-use parts from a temporary CP?  I realize that you already said you would rather not use up your time and creativity, but you need to buy the parts anyway.   Heck, I'd even send you the empty box from my prototype 1 player CP if you paid shipping and you could use it with your own parts.
 Here's my thread with some pics of the box I am talking about.

Since you sound like you are looking for one player (for size reasons) I could send you the un-painted one on the right in the pics.  A single player CP also means only about $60 for parts shipped, and you could likely use them again.

PM me if you want that box, it's 9"x11" and made out of 1/2" or 5/8" MDF so I don't think it would cost much to ship.

[Herk]

Joystick Jerk,

     Try a-power.com if you end up going with x-arcade stuff, they are in Vancouver and well priced.  I have done business with them a couple of times and they were great for me.  The solo is $125 CAD.

Herk

[Joystick Jerk]

If you're going to build a cabinet soon anyway, couldn't you just re-use parts from a temporary CP?  I realize that you already said you would rather not use up your time and creativity, but you need to buy the parts anyway.   Heck, I'd even send you the empty box from my prototype 1 player CP if you paid shipping and you could use it with your own parts.
 Here's my thread with some pics of the box I am talking about.

Since you sound like you are looking for one player (for size reasons) I could send you the un-painted one on the right in the pics.  A single player CP also means only about $60 for parts shipped, and you could likely use them again.

PM me if you want that box, it's 9"x11" and made out of 1/2" or 5/8" MDF so I don't think it would cost much to ship.

Thanks for the offer, but for now I'll just go with the prebuilt setup. Sure I could build one for a bit cheaper, but I'm not even sure what exact controls I'll be using on the full cab. If I started planning for a small controller, I know I'd get "the bug" and just start going nuts and planning everything right now. And time is one thing I'm short of now. I just recently changed careers, and free time is something I have very little of right now. This next cab build is going to take a LONG time.

So far now, I'll go with X-Arcades unit. And thanks for the tip Herk. Assuming they have one in stock, I can pick it up tomorrow!