Is this box large enough?

[The cranky hermit]

I want to build a control panel. Eventually, it will have:

2 happ competition joysticks (I hear they're the best for fighters)
1 4-way joystick (someone recommend a good brand for me)
1 trackball (again, I need a brand recommendation, nothing too expensive)
1 spinner (ditto)
6 action buttons per competition joystick
4 action buttons, two on each side of the 4-way
4 more buttons, for "coin 1," "coin 2," "1 player," and "2 players."
An IPac and Optipac for the interfaces

I found a control panel box that looks very nice and practical, and I want to know if it's big enough for everything above. The dimensions are:
Base: 17

[BobA]

You did not say if those were the outside dims of your base or the inside dims.   But either way my personal opinion is NO WAY.  The dims you gave are smaller than a HotRod in width and depth and only height of the base is greater and while a HotRod might take a spinner and some more buttons there is no room for another stick and buttons and a trackball.

Give it a try with the layout program to determine what space you need and remember that the base if you are using as standalone CP must enclose all the parts so it does not matter the extent of the top if the parts dont fit into the base.

BobA

[The cranky hermit]

I just discovered the ICPD. It looks like the base's inside dimentions would be around 24 X 14. I've attatched a JPEG of my blueprint. I would appreciate any comments, criticisms, suggestions, or anything at all about it. Secondly, if this is a good design, do you know of any control panel boxes I could buy to put it in?

About the control panel, I'm trying to build one that can play Street Fighter 2, Robotron, Araknoid, Galaga, Mrs. Pac-Man, and Crystal Castles. If the CP is good for all of those, I'm happy.

[Veto]

I've got a similar layout to what you're looking to do.  The top of my cp is 16" x 34" and is about perfect.  You don't want anything too close to the trackball if you're gonna be playing Golden Tee, and you want some empty space at the front.

[paigeoliver]

About the control panel, I'm trying to build one that can play Street Fighter 2, Robotron, Araknoid, Galaga, Mrs. Pac-Man, and Crystal Castles. If the CP is good for all of those, I'm happy.

Good game choices. Let's examine the control requirements. First we will look at one player action only, and then what would be required to make it a two player panel.

Robotron requires two 8-way sticks, and it doesn't feel right unless they are leaf. So now we have two 8-way sticks.

Street Fighter 2 adds 6 buttons to the right of the first 8-way stick. Mrs. Pac adds a 4-way to the left of the first 8-way (sharing the buttons that the 8-way uses).

Galaga adds nothing.

Crystal Castles adds a trackball, which I would place on the far right.

Arkanoid will play fine with a trackball, but is better with a spinner.


So that would leave you with this minimum layout.

P1 P2
4WAY 8WAY 123 8WAY TRACKBALL
          456

P1 and P2 are start buttons. Everything else seems self explanatory.

That layout will fit on a 24" panel, but just barely. Right now I have a 22" panel, and have that layout minus the second 8-way. 2 more inches and it would have fit easily.

Adding a second player adds about 5-10" width to that layout, because you need not only the room for the second set of 6 buttons, but you also need a few inches of breathing room so player 2's joystick hand isn't bapping your button hand.  Sticking the trackball between player 1 buttons and player 2 stick removes the need for an extra space, but when combined with a second 4-way (for player 2), it places the two 8-ways a lot further apart than what would be optimal for Robotron (which really shouldn't affect you, unless you have been practicing on a dedicated machine for 20 years).

I am not a big fan of adding controls that are above or below other controls in the layout, because they often get in the way of each other. But straight across works great.

[BASSOFeeSH]

I have much less than you're planning, & my CP is 28" x 11".

[Chris]

but when combined with a second 4-way (for player 2), it places the two 8-ways a lot further apart than what would be optimal for Robotron (which really shouldn't affect you, unless you have been practicing on a dedicated machine for 20 years).

Looking at that game list, I don't think Player 2 needs a 4-way.  Ms. Pac-Man is the only 4-way on the list, and it alternates on one stick.

--Chris