You've all covinced a newb . .

[Guywiththegun]

. . to build his own control panel. First off, I've been dreaming about a MAME cab for years and have finally decided to build one. I got a cheap old cab a few weeks ago (looks like it was previously a really crappy MAME cab). I WAS gonna get a HotRod Joystick, but after searching through the forum a lot of your posts have inspired me to build my own.

So . . what am I look at here? As someone with NO experience with wiring or any of this stuff. Would anyone recommend the mini-PAC? It looks like the perfect start for someone new like me, but I do want this thing to last a long time. Also, anyone have experience setting up a trackball with the mini-PAC?

And joysticks . . I know the Ultimarc 360's are popular around here, but I don't want to spend $100+ on joysticks. I'm mostly looking for fighting-game style joysticks (just 2 for this first cab) but I'd love to be able to play 4-direction games too. I never have any problems switching between Pac-Man and Marvel vs Capcom on a gamepad . . what's the difference? So basically . . what's the best reasonably priced joystick that will do a good job but maybe not re-invent the wheel?

Sorry for all the questions but I'm pretty much a complete newb at all this stuff sans playing the actual games and setting up frontends.

Thanks in advance, and (not to sound too formal) I look forward to working with you all. 

[Kaytrim]

Welcome to our never ending hobby.  Interfaces from Ultimarc.com or GroovyGameGear.com will do you just fine.  Both companies have excellent customer service and will help you get started.  Both are very active here on these forums as well.

If you are going with a simple fighter layout then I would recommend the Happ Competition sticks and buttons.  They will give you the best bang for your buck.  For your 4-way games you need to find a 4-way stick.  Playing Pac-Man on a 8-way will cause missed turns or turns when you don't want them.  This is because the game and all 4-way games expect a single directional input at a time.  If it receives two as if you go in a diagonal direction the program dosen't know what to do and will give you strange behavior.  The only options IMHO for a multipurpose stick are the Utimarc 360 or a 49-way stick with the GroovyGameGear.com GPWiz49 interface card.

TTFN
Kaytrim

[Ayrk]

The minipac and wiring harness makes wiring everything up a piece of cake. All you have to do is follow the color coded wires and attach them to the correct places.

Of course then you fire it up and realize that when you throw the joystick left Pac-Man moves right so you then swap the wires around and you are good to go.

At least that's what happened to me. 

[Kajoq]

My personal suggestion if you're mainly a fighter player is Sanwa buttons/sticks.  I just finished building my control panel with all sanwa parts and couldn't be happier.  I picked up all of the parts from http://www.lizardlick.com

The joysticks are much smaller throw and have a much more precise feel to them than HAPP joysticks.  The buttons are significantly more sensitive and have a nice solid feel to the press, not a mushy springy feel.




Excuse the exposed mounting plates under the plexi, I haven't gotten a chance to get art yet.

[DaOld Man]

Looks like a good job on the CP..
May I ask a question?
(If no, please disregard rest of message.)
Is the blue joystick mounted at an angle to the monitor? If so, why?

[divemaster127]

I carry the happ & ultimarc lines here on the forums, send me a pm if you need a quote
dm

[Kajoq]

Is the blue joystick mounted at an angle to the monitor? If so, why?

Yes, its 5 degrees from straight on.  I tested it a bit, and it actually does a perfect job of making sure no elbows are bumping while playing.  The way the sanwa joysticks restrictors are, its not really noticeable since the corners are so defined.  Not to mention the fact the buttons are turned 5 degrees as well.

Some japanese cabs are like this as well

[fjl]

Hey, I had originally designed my CP that way as well but everyone cried foul and said it would never work so I changed it. 

[Kajoq]

It works just fine.  It could be an issue with HAPP sticks because you dont have the restrictor to let you know where the corners are, but I have no problem playing on p2 side

[xmenxmen]

if you are looking at the cheaper side, definitely go with happ competition joystick and button.  Most arcade fighter uses the happ ultimate joystick.  Problem with the ultimate is that they don't last very long, so the competition are the closest them them but last close to forever. 

As for the encoder, both the keywiz or gpwiz are my recommendation.  And if you got that route, you can also get the optiwiz for your trackball/spinner. 

But if you don't care to spend more, the minipac is a good one solution as long as you buy the harness.