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Building My First Controls
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Harbringer:
Hello, I'm excited to announce that I am getting ready to make my first controller parts purchases!

I've decided on the HAPP competition joy, and the buttons are HAPP buttons called "Pushbutton w/ Microswith"
(Pictures Below)

I already have this old HP keyboard that I will be cannabilizing for the controls.

I have seen the wiring done with Cat5 Networking cable (Which I may use -- would you recommend this?)

But my main question is wiring, and what else do I need? Will it be fairly straightforward to wire these buttons and joystick? Are there are any other parts I need? Feel free to recommend them. I have been reading about building this and I want to make a purchase soon so I can get my hands dirty ;) but I more than welcome any/all suggestions and won't make my final purchase until I hear your input.

Thanks! -Harbringer

Edit: Just wanted to add I'll be using 2 joysticks and 6 buttons per player, then a couple other buttons for insert coin or reset etc etc
pinballwizard79:
Do not use a keyboard
javeryh:
Are you building a MAME cab?  If so, any reason why you don't want to use the U360?  You are going to have trouble playing the 4-ways and stuff with an 8-way joy.  Also, the U360 has a harness so you don't have to do a keyboard hack.   :cheers:
DaveMMR:

--- Quote from: pinballwizard79 on June 08, 2009, 10:33:10 pm ---Do not use a keyboard

--- End quote ---

To elaborate on what he said, keyboard hacks back in the day were done out of necessity.  Nowadays, encoders are cheap (especially considering some people may go through multiple keyboards if they mess something up) so there really is no need to deal with the problems of a keyboard hack.

If you're doing it for the sake of doing it, however (e.g. just to say you did) then go for it.  If you want your controls working as quick as possible with minimal headaches, ditch the hack.   :burgerking:
Harbringer:
Thanks for the input guys!  :cheers:

All this time I was preparing to do the keyboard hack - But WOW i have not seen the u360's until now and they look amazing! I read about some incompatability issues with usb, will these still work with MAME? So they support 8 buttons per stick, is the wiring fairly straght forward? If you have a link or a picture of the buttons wired to the ultimarc 360 please post.

Your input has really helped me avoid working waaayy to hard and I appreciate it guys. The main thing that drew me to the keyboard hack design was the affordability - I saw the joysticks running for about $14 a pop. Although the u360 does look like I can have the controllers up and running within a few hrs. If you have a reputable seller of the u360 for a decent price please pm me (or post here not sure if forum rules allow)

Once again, Cheers!  :cheers:

-Harbringer
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