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Complete n00b, need some starting advice
The cranky hermit:
I want to build an arcade control panel, but I have no idea where to start. I've looked around the site, but I can't find any practical information or instructions. I already know what I want my panel to look like, what I don't understand is how to physically connect the joysticks, buttons, and spinner to my PC, or where and what to buy. For example, I thought an interface kit would be necessary, but I looked at prices at www.happcontrols.com, and the cheapest control interface is $185.
Please, help a beginner out.
The cranky hermit:
Here's a way you can help me directly. Let's say I wanted to build a control panel with the following:
2 8-way joysticks
1 4-way joystick
15 colored buttons
1 and 2 player buttons
1 trackball
1 spinner
And I wanted it to connect to a computer through a USB port.
Could someone make a complete list of parts I would need in order to build this? Please include EVERYTHING. I would appreciate this a lot. Thank you.
Distortion:
click on the thing that says "interfaces" on the left.
Sasquatch!:
Easy enough. The joysticks, buttons and trackball can all be procured from www.happcontrols.com.
Happ Supers are probably the best "overall" 8-way sticks, but people have said that the Happ Competitions are better for "fighter"-type games. There's a good review comparing the Super to the Competition here. You could also check out some of the joysticks from Ultimarc.com too. Quite a few people have used the E-Stick from Ultimarc as their 4-way stick and have liked it.
While you're at ultimarc.com, there's your interface answer. Get an I-Pac to interface the joystick and buttons and an Opti-Pac for the trackball and spinner. They both have USB options on them.
For the spinner, go for the most excellent OSCAR Pro from www.oscarcontrols.com. Or, if a push-pull spinner for Discs of Tron is more up your alley, oscarcontrols.com will have those available shortly.
That help?
Sasquatch!:
Specific links to the parts I was talking about:
Happ Controls Super Joystick
http://www.happcontrols.com/joysticks/super_joy.htm
Happ Controls Competition Joystick
http://www.happcontrols.com/joysticks/competition_joy.htm
Happ Controls Pushbutton with Horizontal Microswitch
http://www.happcontrols.com/pushbuttons/5891xxl.htm
Happ Controls Trackball
http://www.happcontrols.com/industrial/trackballs/565500xx.htm
Ultimarc joysticks
http://www.ultimarc.com/controls.html
Ultimarc I-Pac keyboard encoder (for joysticks and buttons)
http://www.ultimarc.com/ipac1.html
Ultimarc Opti-Pac optical encoder (for trackball and spinner)
http://www.ultimarc.com/optipac1.html
Oscar Pro spinner
http://www.oscarcontrols.com/index_pro.htm