Question on control panels

[wonkalow]

Ok, After months of research and reading, I think Im finnally ready to start ordering parts. Im down to one last detail... the control panel. I have a fairly basic understading on how much of this works, and could get by im sure, but before i start spending tons of money, I want to be sure.

I plan to have the cabinet run the following emulators.. Maybe not all off the bat but eventually I want to add these, as well as 2 LED gun's, so I want it to support it if I add extra emulator's (By that I mean, have enough buttons to cover them).. I dont have any plans for a trackball or spinner or anything other than what I listed, if I consider any of that, it'll be for my next project.

Atari 2600
Sega genesis
NES
SNES
Dreamcast
Mame

I am thinking so far, of  2 Players, with 6 buttons per, with a P1 and P2 start a Pause button and a shift button, with 2 joysticks...Would that be enough to cover all of the games for these systems? or atleast 99%?

Here's the things im not too sure on.

Using the Shift button would let me have more commands without using more spaces on an ipac correct? for example, Shift +p1 start would work as p1 coin in or Shift pause could be esc to front end. The command is a simple key binding right? not hardware related?

and im not too sure how many slots on an ipac alot of these things use yet, would I be able to get away with the small one, or would I need the biggest?

and finally, I went to an arcade auction recently and while none of the machines were on, some of the hand built ones were there, and I noticed some buttons were stiffer than others, and I believe there are different types of joysticks, some I believe 8 way, some 12? etc, Im a little confused as to the differences in the two, and which would suite me best? If it matters id like to cover a wide veriety of games esspecially fighting.  and was it just the machine wasnt broke in? or are hand built machines buttons allways much stiffer?

Also, looking at buttons there seems to be two kinds listed on happ, "Ultimate push buttons with microswitch" and "competition" Is there any difference in the two other than accuracy? If the better ones dont use extra spots on ipac or anything I think id prefer them

[falkensmaze]

I asked my self all these questions like everyone else who builds there first cab so ill give u my shillins worth.
I went with gameex as front end and will run all your emulators you mentioned you might want to consider using 2   8-way happ supers as these cover a LOT of games but you also might want a 4 way as well possibly at the top of your CP to play games that really require a 4 way joystick eg. popeye, Mario brothers etc. As for buttons i went with the 7 button layout  ( which is 3 buttons top and bottom and one extra to the lower left for some 4 button games eg neo-geo fighting games )and should cover virtually all games . Happ or ultimarc buttons will do the job. As for shift key the i-pac is extremely easy to program your key assignments and a big thing you want to think about is changing the shift key to another key like the pause button i was recommended to do this --BINGO! Either that, or I was attempting to say "before" but it was too many letters to type-- i built my cab and am glad i did  as it avoids using shifted keys by mistake. Also depending on how many admin buttons you want think about how important pause and exit will be also coin as well these are popular choices amongst cab builders. But u can shift them if u want a minimalist approach. hope this helps...

[wonkalow]

cool thanks for the help. I think ill go with the 7 button setup to be safe, and I assume ill need atleast the biggest IPAC.  On the joysticks though, will some games not work with the 4 way? or not work as well? I was hoping one would cover everything. I assume the 8 way would be a requirement for fighting games, unless theres something better? I assume 8 directions would be about all you would need.

[Havok]

Get The Book

If this is a two player panel, you do not need the biggest Ipac. You might even want to consider GroovyGameGear's KeyWiz

[BradC]

You won't need the biggest IPAC unless you're doing a 4-player setup. The IPAC-2 has room for:
Two controllers (4 switches each)
16 buttons (8 for each player)
Player 1 Start
Player 2 Start
Player 1 Coin/Credit
Player 2 Coin/Credit

Then it has built in Shift buttons for Pause, Esc, Enter, Tab and ~ (for volume & gamma adjustments).

Some of the older games that used to use dedicated 4-ways will have issues with an 8-way, and may not respond properly. You can install a dedicated 4-way, or get a switchable. You can find 8-ways that switch to 4-way by getting inside the control panel, or there are also some that are switchable without opening up the CP.

[wonkalow]

cool thank you, so if i go with the small one, would that leave me the option in the future of adding 2 LED guns if I choose to? or I think some use USB right? the one I was looking at last is, the LCD topgun, which I believe uses USB (The picture is fairly small I cant tell) Im anxious to order whats left tonight so sorry for any dumb questions, im too eager to wait any longer I wanna get started 

[wonkalow]

im starting to get a little lost again 

Is there a difference in Internal or external microswitches?

Does anyone happen to know of a site that sells the joysticks and buttons as a package? like a kit, I found one but they only sell in minimum orders of $75


In total I need.
Buttons
Joysticks
Ipac
Wiring (Not exactly sure what kind, I keep seeing different kinds listed, is there a specific "Best" wire to use?
PC
TV
and of course cabinet and art.

and to sum up in an extremly quick way, Hook it all together and im good to go? 

[BradC]

I don't know about the LCD guns as I've never used one.

For the buttons and Joysticks, check out eBay. THere are people there selling packages where you get two joys and like 16 buttons for a specific price. Plus, those guys usually have the IPac as well.

For the wiring, you can find a kit that includes a ton of wire, a pair of crimpers/wire strippers, and some quick disconnects all together.

This is the item but I will let you know that I purchased my stuff from this seller, and it took a VERY long time to get my stuff (almost 3 weeks). I think he orders the stuff once you buy it, so he has to wait for it to arrive to him before he will ship it out to you. I don't know for sure, that's just what it seems like to me. Ultimarc.com sells the item too.

[xmenxmen]

For the joystick button package, I would get it here from either divemaster or pony.  Look for them in the buy/sale forum.

[Crowquill]

For good info on all the different joysticks and buttons, check out that section of the Wiki

Using the new Oscar Controls mirror, here's a review that was done a few years back of the Happ 8-ways.

I definitely prefer the Competitions to the Supers. The bigger handle and stiffer spring just doesn't feel as nice.

I think my next project is going to use a Ulitmarc U360 or similar. A Mag-Stick plus is also a cheaper versatile option. It should work well for console games (which are all 8-way) and be able to switch to 4-way for a decent game of Donkey Kong. It all depends how accurate you want your classic games. Some games freak out when receiving both up and left signals. In Donkey Kong it's easy to get "trapped" on a ladder. The games are definitely playable with an 8-way, though.

As far as buttons go, for a standard non-translucent buttons the Happ "Pushbuttons with Horizontal Switch" are usually used. The difference between those and the Competitions is shape. The Horizontal buttons are concave (like most US arcade games used), Competitions are convex (like most Japanese arcade games use). Supposedly the convex buttons have a quicker response which is why they're popular for fighting game panels.

Definitely buy Happ parts from Ponyboy and Divemaster over in B/S/T. They'll save you money and the hassle of dealing with Happ themselves.

[unclet]

Are you going to want to buy a monitor bezel?   Perhaps add some right/left pinball flipper buttons to the side of your control panel?

[lanman31337]

In doing my control panel, I have my standard 6 buttons, then a 7th button up top, and to the right of it the player start button.  this way i can have my select/start buttons for nes/snes, and i have enough buttons for dreamcast and the rest of them.

[wonkalow]

Great thank you, I think I have a pretty solid idea now. The only other thing im curious about is the wiring. Ive looked over tons of peoples project websites and they usually just say they "wired it together" with "xxx" wiring, but I see normally people selling "wiring harnesses" Is that just all of the wiring allready done? if so id rather just get the wiring and do it myself (if not too complicated, which so far it doesnt sound like it is)..

and I think that might do it, I believe thats my very last question and i should be ready to order (I hope)

[BradC]

I believe the wiring harness you're seeing are the Jamma harnesses for building a jamma cabinet. The wiring is easy to do yourself, as long as you put a little thought and a bit of planning into it.

[wonkalow]

Awesome thank you. im searching around for everything I need to order now, hopefully ill be able to get started on it next week, unless I get anxious and get quicker shipping 

Im considering this package
$26 for
2 new eight-way (4-way convertible) joysticks.
1 Player one pushbutton
1 Player two pushbutton
1 Blue pushbutton
1 Red pushbutton
12 Black pushbuttons

All come complete with microswitches. Fits up to 3/4" wood.


I just wish there was some place locally I could see the buttons/joysticks before I buy them. I assume different manufacturer's will make them slightly different and not all buttons will feel exactly right, im just a little worried ill get something that wont feel right... but hey its only $26, not too big of a loss if so... ive been researching too long, im dien to get started 

[BradC]

I have the Happ Competition controllers, and the Happ concave pushbuttons. These feel VERY familiar to me, exactly like I remember playing Street Fighter (which is the feel I was going for).

I don't know which controllers you're getting if they're switchable, but for $26 it sounds like a good deal.

[Scottk]

BTW, for the wiring hardware, Andy @Ultimarc sells a lot of these things.

When I bought my stuff from him, I bought the "wiring kit", which has whats needed all in a nice bundle.