Advice for a Canadian

[Ryogo]

Hello! My name's Ryan, and I'm new to all the "Do it yourself" arcade projects. I'm planning on building an arcade cab at some point, but right now I'm a poor university student with no where to put it, and probably wont be able to until I'm out of university. So for now, I just want to build a control panel for myself and an extra one for if a friend is over. However, being in Canada, shipping will be jacked a good amount judging from my past experiences with eBay and other online retailers.
I'm just curious if anyone knows who would be the best people to order from in my case, or if their shipping costs/times are all generally the same from everyone. I just want two basic single 8-way joystick, 8 button pads plus a Start and Coin button on each, so 20 pushbuttons, and two joysticks. Also, what method would be best if I wanted the units separate from each other and not just one block with two sets of controls in it? I've read through the wiki and the main pages, I'm just still unsure of how I should be going about this. I figured I'd ask the pros before I just charge ahead and waste some money.

Thanks in advance for the help!

[BobA]

I am in Canada.   There is no real penalty if you order from ultimarc (ipac,jpac,etc) It arrives just as fast from the UK as the US.  If you want to order from the US order from GGG.  The exchange is the most painful part of the transaction the way our dollar has been going.

[EvilTwin]

Hey man,

I'm from Canada too and new to this hobby. I know that if you live in Southern Ontario, the Playdium Store (on the 401 in Toronto) is an option.

The link is:

http://www.theplaydiumstore.com

I'm not sure how their shipping is, but it might be cheaper.

[Ryogo]

I'm from New Brunswick, but I have a friend or two from the Southern Ontario area so I might be able to get one of them to go there and ship them to me themselves...

I just did a comparison using a currency converter. From Playdium, 20 generic pushbuttons + 2 "Sanwa Japanese joysticks" (it was the closest thing to a J-Stik Cherry Top I could find on there, I have no clue what they're like) comes to a total of about $116 with regular shipping in CND.

From Ultimarc 20 generic push buttons + 2 J-Stik Cherry Top joysticks came to exactly $107 USD with shipping. Factoring a currency conversion, it comes to about $134.50 CND.

But... The Sanwa joysticks didn't look like they had the microswitches included with them in the pictures, and I know that I want the J-stiks if I do get this done, so I'd be tempted to go with Ultimarc anyways.

Also, is that something I should watch out for when buying a joystick? Making sure they come included with the microswitches first so I don't make a mistake of not ordering them with the stick too? Or do all joysticks come with them/don't come with them?

EDIT: I just checked out Groovy Game Gear as well. Their prices come to be MUCH cheaper for me. It's only $1.20 USD for their pushbuttons instead of about 2 bucks. Comes to $56.64 USD total with snail shipping, which comes to about $71 CND. Holy price difference, Batman!  But they don't have the Cherry topped joysticks, which is part of why its so much cheaper too.
The sticks they had were only about 8 bucks (HAPP Competition sticks) instead of 21 for the J-Stiks on the other sites, but even adding about 40 bucks to compensate, the price would STILL be cheaper. Wowza.

Another Question: It mentioned for the pushbuttons at GGG that they fit a 3/4" hole. All the other sites say their buttons fit into a 1-1/8" hole. I assume this means the GGG buttons are smaller in size? Realized they meant a 3/4" thick board, not hole size

[severdhed]

i'm not in canada, so i cannot help you there..but to answer your question about having two seperate control panels...you have a few options.

you have to decide on what kind of encoder you want to use.  assuming you are ordering from GGG,  you have essentially two options...the keywiz or the gpwiz. 

the keywiz connects via PS2 keyboard port, which means it would have to be connected before you turn the computer on, it shows up to the computer as a keyboard.

the gpwiz connects via USB, so it can be connected without shutting the computer off, however it shows up as a gamepad/joystick to windows, which makes it a little less flexible with some emulators/pc games.

if you are to have 10 buttons and 1 joystick per panel, that is 14 inputs each, so you could either buy an encoder for each panel, which allows them to both be used independently, but costs more....or you can buy an encoder for panel 1, and set it up so that panel 2 plugs into panel 1 when you want to use it.

if you go with that method, you will need an encoder that has at least 28 inputs, both of those have 40, so that is no problem there.    then you basically install the encoder in stick 1, and wire up the controls for that player.  you then wire up the the controls for player 2 and run them to some type of wire harness of your choice. (has to have at least 15 pins for your proposed setup...you could always used multiple wire harnesses if you have to)  then you wire up the second stick to the other ends of the harness...that way you just plug it in to the first stick and you are good to go.


i hope that helps

[ideft]

You could also look at doing a gamepad hack(if you are comfortable with soldering).  Dealextreme has them for 10 bucks(free shipping) each or ggg has some for 7.  Plus if you are planning to do 2 cp's it would save you from buying two encoders(I'm assuming these will be two single player cp's).

[RayB]

Shipping from the US is quite reasonable as long as you go with USPS (US Postal Service). I've had large boxes shipped for a reasonable $15-$18, while if I bought from BC, it would have cost $20 to $30 or more thanks to Canada Post's ridiculous rates.

Just avoid UPS shipping, buy when our dollar is high, and you won't get gouged too much.

www.cgcc.ca

[Ryogo]

I'll probably end up caving and just building a single two player unit. It sounds like it'd be an easier first build, and will probably be cheaper in the end too (Less wood, only one encoder, etc) and cost is a factor with me right now.

If I were to get a keyboard encoder, which type would you guys recommend? If I were to use the PS/2 port to make my CP, could I still use my USB keyboard while it's plugged it? Sorry for all the questions, I just want to get my stuff straight before I even attempt to order parts. I'd like to at least have SOME idea of what I should be doing beforehand

[Breaker]

Hi there,

You could also try Starburst Coin  www.starburstcoin.com
They are located in Toronto and can supply anything from the Happ catalog - just supply them will a part number.             
No duty, decent prices, quick shipping, great service.
I've dealt with them many times and rate them A+.

Breaker.

[BobA]

Playdium is Starburst Coin plus part of Playdium that existed after Centers closed.

[opt2not]

Have you considered ordering your parts through divemaster127's service?
http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?topic=47066.0

It might be a bit cheaper. I've got DM to ship me a bunch of stuff, he's reliable and very professional.   A bunch of guys on this board have gone through him for parts.