first cab

[grbgemen]

So I am looking to build my first MAME cabinet in the next month or so.  I have been doing a lot of reading and have found most of the answers to my questions except a few.  I am going for a two player set up with a trackball in between.  The joysticks I plan to use are the UltraStik 360's.  These offer up to 8 input buttons each.  Each player is going to have 6 action buttons and the other two will be for player start and coin.  I also planned on using the Happ 3" USB trackball. 

With the setup i listed above, this should technically eliminate the need for a I-Pac or similar device.  BUT i would like to have some admin buttons such as ESC, Pause, and TAB.  Does the UltraStik 360 have a shift feature like the I-Pac?  I thought i read on here that it did but i cannot seem to verify that from the Ultimarc website.  If the joysticks do offer this feature, then would it be possible to make one of the player buttons(1 or 2) or the coin buttons(1 or 2) be the shift?  This way it does not get pressed easily during game play. 

OR, would it just be easier/wiser to add an I-Pac or similar device and wire the admin buttons to that? 

I was originally going to go with an I-Pac and some different Happ joysticks(not sure which kind), ones that could switch between 4-way and 8-way, but i wanted to be able to switch easily.  In other words, not from underneath.   So then I saw the Mag-Stick Plus's but decided against those due to the short throw.

So this is where im at now.  The U360's switch from 4-way to 8-way on the fly correct?  Do these have to be programmed or is it done automatically?         

[fjl]

The latest firmware for the u360 joystick has the shift feature.

The u360 does not change from 4 to 8 way by itself. It needs help from another program to do that. Usually a frontend does this change. Many frontends have this capability. I use to do that.

The need for an Ipac is really up to your prefference. my setup has two U360's and an I-pac 4. I got the I-pac4 which has 48 input just incase I would actually need all those inputs. But I could have gotten away with the regular I-pac. The 8 inputs from the U360s where not enough for me so I had to go with i-pac.

[grbgemen]

yes now that im thinking about it, i do remember reading that the front end changes the mode. 

are there any other joysticks that can be changed like the U360?  what about the perfect 360's from happ?  i heard these have to be modified.  if i went with those then the need for the i-pac becomes necessary.  then i would have 4 buttons left i could use for dedicated admin buttons.

but do these switch from 4-way to 8-way like the U360?  i mean through the front end?  how do these compare to the U360's.  obviously a lot cheaper.

[Jdurg]

I would honestly suggest that you pick up an I-Pac, for future modifications.  If you go the I-Pac route, you could add some things like a spinner or dedicated four-way in the future if you wanted to.  Or if you decided to completely redo everything, you'd have your keyboard encoder already. 

I'm in the planning/building stages myself, and started a thread in the Project Announcement forum.  I plan on having a 3" trackball with two buttons, two Happs Competition joysticks, 7 buttons for eachplayer, a four way stick with two buttons (with the four-way I'll wire it in parallel with the player 1 8-way), a spinner with two buttons, and a player 1 and player 2 start button.  I'm still working on where I want to put the admin buttons, but I'm thinking about having them in the back of the CP on the side.  (The side angled inward towards the cabinet as seen in my sketchup).

Have fun with it.  There is no rush and I'm getting excited just thinking about the woodworking I have ahead of me and the hopefully good outcome.  (I'm starting out slow since I've never really used a power tool before aside from a drill.  Today I'll use the jigsaw to cut out the basic outline and then use the scrap to practice with the other tools).

[Green Giant]

yes now that im thinking about it, i do remember reading that the front end changes the mode. 

are there any other joysticks that can be changed like the U360?  what about the perfect 360's from happ?  i heard these have to be modified.  if i went with those then the need for the i-pac becomes necessary.  then i would have 4 buttons left i could use for dedicated admin buttons.

but do these switch from 4-way to 8-way like the U360?  i mean through the front end?  how do these compare to the U360's.  obviously a lot cheaper.

The only other stick that switches through the frontend is the 49-way.  This was the original multi use stick that would change depending on the game.  Most of the inspiration for the U360 started here.  The 49-way is just about as versatile as the U-360, just no true analog and a different feel from the gromet used. 

Of course you have to use the Gp-wiz 49's from groovy gamegear to get them to work.  I think in the end you can pick up 2 GP-wiz's and 2 49-way's, from ebay, for less than the price of a single U360.  The bonus is you get 23 inputs plus shift with the GP-wiz 49 along with the 49-way connection.  This means you could potentially have one 49-way for different types of games and an 8-way for player 2 for very little money.

[grbgemen]

well it looks like i have to put this project on hold.  the day after i last posted, i slipped on the ice at work and broke my ankle.  all i can do now is basically read and read.  im out for 6 weeks.

in the mean time, im looking for a empty cab for cheap.  i can build my own but if i can find one cheaper, then i will go that route.  im in Lincoln, NE.  would post this in the bst but i dont got enough posts.

anyways, back to reading....

[CheffoJeffo]

If you go the I-Pac route, you could add some things like a spinner

 

[LeedsFan]

If you want to use a Happs trackball I wouldn't get the USB version. Get a regular version and run it through an encoder. I've read a lot of bad stuff about the USB Happs trackball. Maybe it's been sorted out I dunno. Some people on here could clarify that. Certainly the Happs trackball is top quality.... just there were issues with the USB variant I believe.

[RayB]

If you go the I-Pac route, you could add some things like a spinner