Control Panel Height

[gajaman]

I'm starting to build my cab in the next couple of weeks and wanted some opinions on control panel heights. The design I have is to have the leading edge at 950mm from the floor with it going up at the back edge at 15 degrees (so it will be slightly higher at the back).

Too high, too low or about right?     :-/

[Vectoraster]

Mine is 29.75 inches from the floor (cabinet bottom, actually) and it's perfect.  It slopes up at 9.5

[darkmanx]

the way i see it is this....short people can always use a stool. but tall people are going to have to bend over and be uncomfortable on a cp that is too low to the ground. lusid's is a good height for me, but honestly i would prefer it about 1 inch higher. Im like 5'10" and a half. about average i think?

[Evil]

Oooh... mental note, raise the height in my design!  I'm 6'2".

-Evil

[ErikRuud]

After reading this and looking at MAMEGtx's web site, I think I may biuld a sort of hybrid sit down cabinet.

MAMEGtx's cab is a side by side cocktail cabinet, I think I may go with something similar but with an upright screen.

[1UP]

Anatomically speaking, I think a good rule of thumb is to put the CP with the leading edge about 2" below your belly button.    Hey, no poking please!  Anyway, I got caught in an arcade without a tape measure, and the machine that was most comfortable to me when standing was right about there, which happens to be exactly 36" for me (I'm also 5'10").  My wife's a bit shorter, but she had no problem playing with that height.  No kids yet, but if the nephews and neices come over, I'll have some good arcade type stools ready for em.

[Thenasty]

Yeap 1UP, you nailed that height without the tape measure. I went to my local Arcade and brought my Tape measure and measured Blitz, Tekken 4, Battle Balls etc... and from the floor to the top of the CP is exactly 36". I got to rebuild mine cause its 38". That 2" makes a big difference. 36" is the way to go...

[Vectoraster]

DOH! Correction.  My CP top starts an additional 5" from the 29.75" which is based on the Mortal Kombat style and many Williams cabs.  The bottom of the CP box is 29.75" from the floor. A CP top starting at 29.75" would be more like a cabaret style mini game.

Mine is 29.75 inches from the floor (cabinet bottom, actually) and it's perfect.

[Carsten]

Hi! I'm still planning, too and gonna start building the next weeks, at least I hope so.

For now, I 'll set the CP at 1020 mm (40,16") height - when sitting on a bar stool I need about 900 mm (a bit less then 36") to put my knees comfortable under the CP, and to have enough space for the controls, I add 100 mm plus 20 cm thick wood.

I wouldn't angle the CP too much - as stated on a website I don't remember exactly it can 'cause "a pain in the wrist" if you angle it to strong. Just an easy test - grab an imaginery joystick at 0 degrees and the same at 20 degrees - which one feels better?

Maybe I'll go with 3 to 5 degress, just to give it a better look, but with unlimited quarters at home I'd like it to be ergonomical.

Oh, and it's even more than 2" under my belly button!

[RandyT]

I'll jump in on this one .

My opinion, from an ergonomics standpoint, is to measure from the floor to your elbow.  This will allow your hands to be at a comfortable "straight-out" position, which will keep you from having to bend your wrists at too much of an angle while working the controls.  I am a big fan of the Defender and Joust type cabinets, where the panel is up high and without much angle.   This keeps you from having to hunch over at the controls.  Just build a stool for the kiddies if they want to play.

RandyT

[Carsten Carlos]

My opinion, from an ergonomics standpoint, is to measure from the floor to your elbow.

:)Would be even 1080mm for me! To this, it can't be to bad to get the CP at 1020 mm instead of 916 mm.
Anyway, my girlfriend is much shorter than me, and she should have at least a chance to reach controls without arcade stool

Although, mostly I want to sit on a bar stool anyway, just need to fix where to put the beer-bootles.

[Thenasty]

Seems like everyone is at least 5'+ in here. What would be a good height for Midgets ...

[Bren R.]

My CP is about 41 1/16" high at the front, 42 1/4" at the back, but I'm also a smidge over 6' 3".

Bren