Some last-minute questions before I order CP parts...

[Bobulus]

Well, I'm not quite far enough in my cabinet design (going to go with LuSiD's v7 plans, just haven't decided on colors and theme and such) to make a Project Thread, but I think I can at least start ordering the control panel parts so that I can receive and start testing them while find a free weekend for the wood-working end of things.

That said, I'd like to double-check with people here, make sure I didn't forget anything, etc, etc.

I want to say ahead of time that I'm mostly basing this off of looking at other control panels and what looks good to me, since I can't seem to get ahold of Saint's book (Amazon is only offering used copies for $100. I'm going to have to check the local bookstores....)

Attached below is my current CP plans, with scales a little fudged. (You can tell I emailed this back and forth to myself from work and home a bunch of times...fonts are all subtly different  ).

Here's what I'm thinking:

Joysticks:
2x u360s, attached via both usb and to the encoder (via u360 output mode), so that I can use it both with the mala plugin reprogramming and as navigation buttons in games that don't support analog sticks. After researching here, going to order the whole package so I can experiment...heavy springs, octagonal restrictors, long sticks.

Player Buttons:
7x NovaGem buttons per player (So 14). I'm leaning towards a blue and black theme, so probably the blue ones, since RGB ones are an extravagance for me at the moment.

Other misc buttons:
2x NovaGem white buttons for Player 1 and Player 2 inputs.
2x NovaGem colored buttons for pinball style flipper buttons (wired up to the same inputs as some of the player 1 buttons to save on input need)
5x Unlit, normal buttons (probably off the Happs website) for less noticeable Admin buttons, Pause and Exit on the control panel, others hidden.

Trackball:
1x Utrak plus USB cable

Spinner:
1x TT2 Spinner w/ USB cable
1x heavy knob

Encoder:
1x IPac2 w/ the 3-LED cable so I can correctly link my 1/2/coin flashing in MAME.

Misc:
2x Ultimarc joystick mounting kits
1x LED-Wiz
1x Happs fake coin door (Planning on modding it with microswitches to accept reject button as coin-press button.
2x Microswitches (probably from GGG or happs) for the coin-reject buttons
2x Blue reject buttons (which I will stick LEDs in) that fit the door and match the theme

I think this'll be enough to cover a majority of games, stand up to the test of time, and look nice and shiny to any guests I may have.

So, just a few questions before I order a whole paycheck's worth of stuff...

- How does my cp layout look? I tried not to make it too cluttered, etc.
- I'll have five USB cords in this CP (cheaper than using an encoder with included spinner/trackball support), and I'm wondering if one powered USB hub will work to consolidate the cords, or will this limit the bandwidth to the computer too much?
- I'm a little worried about my lack of mouse buttons. For trackball games, I can map the player 1 or 2 buttons easily enough, but for using the trackball as a mouse....if I'm using MaLa and not playing many PC games, is there any pressing need for a mouse?
- Assuming I pick a blue-ish theme, I'm tempted to go with the Blue novagem buttons so they fit the theme while still powered off...but clear ones with blue LEDs would mean I could upgrade them to RGB later if the need hit me. Hmm...
- Will two normal buttons look out of place on a cp with all Novagem buttons? I feel like if I light the exit/pause buttons, people will be more likely to push them accidentally, but ascetics are important, too.

Thoughts?

[Bobulus]

Anyone?

[smalltownguy]

Don't sweat not having mouse buttons. You'll be fine. Get a wireless mouse if you feel you need it, and stow it somewhere in case you need it.

I'd consider moving your 'exit game' button to somewhere other than your panel. Too easy to accidentally hit it. You could shift it to another button with the IPAC, for example. Or move it to the top of the cab.

Other than that, it looks good. I can see you've done some reading 

[Bobulus]

...apparently not enough reading! I still haven't ordered yet (can't decide on cabinet color scheme) and in doing more reading, discovered that controlling P1/P2 MAME blinking via the ledwiz and a program like ledblinky would be easier (and cheaper) than buying the LED-cord for the ipac. Live and learn.

[smalltownguy]

...apparently not enough reading! I still haven't ordered yet (can't decide on cabinet color scheme) and in doing more reading, discovered that controlling P1/P2 MAME blinking via the ledwiz and a program like ledblinky would be easier (and cheaper) than buying the LED-cord for the ipac. Live and learn.

True, but remember, it's not for ALL games. Atari does it on a lot of it's games, but I'm not sure what others. I do have the LED blinking going on my cabinet, but it took some configuration work. The biggest hurdle I had to get over was that I needed to make sure my caps lock and num lock LED's were in the proper 'status' when Mame launched. If either of them were toggled the opposite, I got the reverse behavior.

[Bobulus]

Yeah, I realize it's a limited number of games. I'm just saying I can do it with software and save on buying more hardware and hookups. 

My big limiting factor at the moment is design and color. No idea where to start there. 

[Bobulus]

Ah, crud, I just noticed Randy's store is out of RBG-drives. Now I need to decide if I want to wait for them to get back in stock, or just order single-color buttons for now.

---steaming pile of meadow muffin---.

[mdcoblentz]

its been that way for the last 2 or 3 weeks... I've been wanting to buy some too. I sent him an email two weeks ago asking when they might be in and he said he hoped they would be back available by the end of this past week but that didn't quite happen apparently. I'm hoping they will become available again any time....

[Bobulus]

Okay, got my joysticks order and I've started the cabinet build, so its time I finally ordered the buttons.

I see Randy has the RGB drives back in stock, so I'd like to order fast while I can still get some. 

I'm trying to pinch every penny I can, though, and I just want to double-check something:

I've read in past threads that NovaGem buttons are very similar (or identical?) to the Happs translucent buttons that are sold elsewhere, they just have the hole drilled and the LED pre-inserted. But I'd need to swap out the LED anyway if I was putting in the RGB drive, so I'm leaning towards getting the happs translucent buttons elsewhere, simply because it seems like a major part of the cost can be saved that way.

I contacted Randy and asked him how much his NovaGems would be without any LEDs. Not sure what is quote will be, or if he'd like me publishing it here, but I guess I want to ask while I wait: I see DiveMaster and Ponyboy also have the Happs Translucent buttons, and they seem cheaper.
 Ponyboy:

iL Concave Horizontal Translucent Pushbuttons w/Cherry .187  $1.75 ea. Red, Blue, Green, Yellow, Orange and Clear.

Divemaster:

HAPP HORIZONTAL TRANSLUCENT PUSHBUTTONS
Buttons includes Nut & Cherry Switch $2.75 EACH 

So, questions:
- I'm curious about the price difference between the two. Both seem to have cherry switches, etc. Am I missing something?
- Other than having to drill a hole (and a cherry switch vs the ones that GGG sells) is there any difference between these and the GGG ones?

Thanks for the help. Since I'm ordering something like 15 buttons, a $5 price difference can mean a lot

[Bobulus]

Anyone?

[Bobulus]

Oh, darnit, I waited too long and now the NovaGem buttons are sold out. 

[DashRendar]

Looking at Lizard Lick's website (http://www.lizardlick.com/pages/pushbuttons.shtml), there doesn't seem to be much difference between the Happ and the iL buttons.

IL Translucent Pushbutton with Horizontal Microswitch
Virtually identical to the Happ buttons above, but translucent. These are actually made in the same molds that IL used to use when they made Happ's buttons. They look great when illuminated from below. Fits standard 1.125" hole, includes Cherry microswitch with .187" terminals, and black nylon mounting nut.

Not sure which Happ buttons you're looking at, but the ones I've seen have a black collar- where the iL buttons have the same color collar as the button itself. 

There might also be a difference with the plastic used.  Some issues with cheap translucent buttons is that they don't light up very brightly because of the plastic used.

[Bobulus]

Ack, I am guilty of something I get annoyed with others for doing...not updating when the problem is solved!

Novagem buttons went back into stock a few days after my last post, and so I just ordered a whole pile of them. Comparing them to the Happs non-translucent buttons that I already had, they are very, very similar. The only even minor differences is that they've got slightly longer threads and the microswitch seems to seat every-so-slightly less tightly. (I can jiggle it a bit more).

So I probably could have gone with one of the other resellers, but this was just more convenient.