Futuram Cab w/4 sided rotating control panel **UPDATE 10/23 CP OPINIONS WANTED**

[Xiaou2]

 Just a thought... but,  That magnetic holding device may not be
designed for long term "ON"  status.    (esp considering what
was written below)

 If on too long, maybe it could overheat and burn out.

 Not to mention,  its not the most Green way to do things.
(constant power on = waste   )

[Bender]

I'm defiantly using a smart strip so the magnet would only be on while the game was on(I don't like leaving things on when I don't need to). The cp will be held in place by a ball catch when the magnet is not on.

Also I found these magnetic featerboard lockdowns at woodcraft and took them apart. I found that if I place one ontop of the other it doubles the magnetic force and one on/off nob works for both of them. so I could have one on each side of the cp and one fixed in the cab with the on/off nob. I think its like 600lbs of breackaway presure so I don't think it will go anywhere. I think I might be able to use them insted, no electricity at all! and I wouldn't need the ball catch back-up

[vertygo]

I'd love an update on this project, as I'm seriously considering a rotating control panel

[Bender]

FINALLY an update EHH! (this is a long one so please bare with me, there are some pictures to look at though)
I had an enormous amount of work for the last few months so the project was on hold (except for gathering even more parts)
I decided, after seeing Artifact's project thread as well as a few others, that for something this complicated it would be better to build it first in the computer using Sketch-UP very cool free program! I'll post all of the components I made for this project somewhere when it's all done (Maybe a BYOAC parts depot, any ideas Saint? )
So with some inspiration and wiki help from Artifact I'm teaching myself Sketch Up
the folowing are the results for the control panels
I'd love some input on each layout or any suggestions on swapping items around.
list of controllers has grown (must stop buying parts, must stop buying parts, someone stop me before I buy more parts! Oh My, that Major Havoc roller over at Ram Controls sure looks nice )

IN THE 4 SIDED ROTATING PANEL
Please not each panel has
4 white buttons for Player 1, Coin 1, Player 2, Coin 2
3 Black admin buttons for Enter, Exit, Pause + Shift function for more admin functionality




1. Fighter Panel:
    2 Ultimarc U360 Joysticks
    1 Happ 3" Trackball (this was the original plan but see below for a new idea)
    2 Sets of 7 buttons




2. Star Wars Panel:
    Original Star Wars Yolk (doubles as a 270 steering wheel)
    Happ Turbo Shifter
    4 buttons
    2 Happ 3" Trackballs+Buttons (this is a new Idea I came up with to be able to play 2 player Marble Madness, but I don't think I want to do both this and the single trackball from the first panel)




3. Tron/Ikari panel
    2 Tron Joysticks w/2 thumb buttons
    2 Apache push/pull Spinners (oh yeah! call any one say Discs of Tron!)
    2 SNK 8 way mechanical rotary joysticks (ikari)
    1 Ultimarc mag-Stick Plus 4-way/8-way (for the restictor feel in the classics)
    4 additional buttons for each player




4. Driving Panel:
    Pole Position style 360 Steering Wheel
    4 buttons
    Act Labs RS Shifter (with switchable plates to get a true all in one shifter, all Hail Saint and his book for this but one of a million incredible suggestions that make attempting this cab even a possibility, let me say Thanks Again!!
   

Not on rotating panel but some where in the cab there will be:
    Side Buttons for Virtual Pinball (I have to find a way to do this so that the button is only 3/4" deep as not to interfere with the rotating panel)
    Petals for driving games
    Power button
    Volume/Mute/Headphone jack
    2 act Labs PC Light guns (I was hesitant to pick these up as I was never that into the light gun games in the arcade, mostly because I sucked at them and they sucked up all my quarters. But I have got to say not having to put quarters in I really got sucked in as I was "testing" them and man are they a hell of a lot of fun, especially with two players.)

Phew!

Any suggestions?
Thanks so much!!

PS: Futurama is Back November 27th with "Bender's big score" on DVD! BUY IT we want more Futurama and a whole lot more Bender!
 

[Spyridon]

    2 Tron Joysticks w/2 thumb buttons
 

Why the 2 Tron sticks?  Can you play Discs of Tron with 2 players?

[Bender]

    2 Tron Joysticks w/2 thumb buttons
 

Why the 2 Tron sticks?  Can you play Discs of Tron with 2 players?

No unfortunately you can't play Discs of tron two player simultaneously
but there are a few 4-way, 8-way and 2-way games that use dual trigger sticks including:

2-way:
Battle Zone
Ultra Tank
Tank 8
Sarge

4-way:
Assault
Inferno

8-Way:
Future Spy
Strategy
SDI - Strategic Defense Initiative
Tube Panic   
Block Out
Nova 2001
Shadow Warriors

[dmworking247]

This is a very ambitious project (and expensive too)... I'll be very interested to see it move into reality.

As far as 'frankenpanels' go though, I can see this being one of (if not the very) best examples of how to have every control combination available.

[vertygo]

Do you plan on having this panel do full 360 rotation over and over ? or will it only spin a certain amount ?

The reason I ask is because I've been struggling to figure out how the wire from the CP to the PC works without getting pulled too much.. is it just alot of slack and the panel stops rotating one direction after 3 turns ?

[Bender]

Do you plan on having this panel do full 360 rotation over and over ? or will it only spin a certain amount ?

The reason I ask is because I've been struggling to figure out how the wire from the CP to the PC works without getting pulled too much.. is it just alot of slack and the panel stops rotating one direction after 3 turns ?

I am designing it  rotate 360 in either direction infinitely
at the beginning of the thread I talk about hacking a usb cable and a phone Cord detangler
http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?topic=68865.msg702415#msg702415

Savannahlion suggested something called a slip ring which is exactly what we need (although I'm going to try my hack first)
http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?topic=68865.msg703897#msg703897

[vertygo]

Excellent!

Anyone know if you pulled apart a usb cable, could you attach the stripped wires to a slip ring, then reverse it for the other side and connect to the PC ? And what if you wanted more than one connection, ie add some power for LEDs ?

[BrentRadio]

What is the total cost of just the controls? That's gotta be some serious dough!

Brent