Build Your Own Arcade Controls Forum
Main => Main Forum => Topic started by: kevo1321 on March 12, 2010, 12:10:28 pm
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hi so im new to this... gonna attempt to build my own arcade control panel.. im just a little lost on a few small things..
i see in some videos and pics the people have 3-5 buttons at the top of their control panels for like start back and exit and sometimes other stuff...
i planned on using the ipac4 and i dont see anywhere on there to be able to setup keys for that... is that when the shift key function comes into play? like if enter was suppose to be player 1 button held down and tap button 1 for player 1... so i can just wire up my custom "ENTER" button to hit both those keys at the same time? is that how it works? if that made any sense to anyone...
also i dont understand the coin buttons... why do you need the coin button next to the player buttons? do you have to like give yourself credits to play? dont get the coin button...
if anyone can help me out with the whole coin button and start / back / exit buttons it would be greatly appreciated.. i havnt been able to find anything on those specific topics..
thx
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Hi. You should read the WIKI. There is a lot of info in there. You should also read as much as you can over at Mameworld (http://mameworld.info/)so you get a better understanding of MAME (coin buttons are not totally necessary but 99% of people include them because they don't want to keep a roll of quarters near by in order to play). As for the iPac - all it does really is act as a keyboard - in MAME the "Coin" button is default at "5". You can make any button on your CP do anything you want it to.
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thx.. thats pretty much what i needed to know.. just needed some clarification.. im making my layout for my control panel and i needed to know what buttons i needed... so its good to know i can make some custom buttons.. ill go read some stuff at mame world
thx again
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I definitely recommend installing MAME on your main computer and learning it, then figure out what functions you will want on your control panel or hidden on your cabinet.
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great idea... gonna do that...
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if you don't want to have coin buttons on your panel, you could use shifted buttons to insert coins, but this is confusing for friends and family. Alot of people rig up switches behind the coin reject buttons on the coin door to act as coin buttons. this keeps the panel clutter down, and makes it feel more authentic since you have to reach down to the coin door in insert a coin
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I made a hybrid coin door/buttons for MAME. They are both wired to 5 (since most games are only 1 player on this particular cabinet) But for 2 players I can easily wire them to 5 and 6. (coin 1 and coin 2). It's the same concept and having a switch behind the coin return or a button on the panel. Just an idea...
Green Invader Update v.1.2 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KpyqTlVKPHw#ws)
D
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Alot of people rig up switches behind the coin reject buttons on the coin door to act as coin buttons. this keeps the panel clutter down, and makes it feel more authentic since you have to reach down to the coin door in insert a coin
My player 2 reject has a switch behind it to give credits. I don't even bother with quarters anymore, but I still feel like I'm getting use out of my coin door.
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With my rig I couldn't do a coin door, so i have coin buttons next to each players start button.
My trackball came with 3 mouse inputs. I first tried to use those for esc, pause, and enter (select game, pause game, exit game) but ran into issues using them with maximus. So Later I hooked those 3 buttons into my ipac to make it easier to set those buttons within maximus arcade.
Those 3 buttons imo are useful because it makes it extemely easy for my kids and friends to negotiate the fe menus without having to be a rocket scientist,
Then I have 'hidden' controls utilizing the shift key feature with the ipac on player one. With these I can bring up mame menu's and change individual games or settings etc.
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I made a hybrid coin door/buttons for MAME. They are both wired to 5 (since most games are only 1 player on this particular cabinet) But for 2 players I can easily wire them to 5 and 6. (coin 1 and coin 2). It's the same concept and having a switch behind the coin return or a button on the panel. Just an idea...
Green Invader Update v.1.2 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KpyqTlVKPHw#ws)
D
Is it possible to rig the old Donkey Kong style coin returns this way?
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Is it possible to rig the old Donkey Kong style coin returns this way?
Anything is possible. I used a Dremel with a steel cutting bit and earplugs to make my hole. I suppose you could do the same for any coin door.
I did a TON of thinking about it before I did it though. I sat there staring at it imagining how I would go about it. Then I measured and re-measured until I got it right.
D
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Is it possible to rig the old Donkey Kong style coin returns this way?
Anything is possible.
This. I'm sure you could figure something out. :cheers:
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Is it possible to rig the old Donkey Kong style coin returns this way?
of course it is... i modded my DK coin door so that the reject buttons insert coins..it is quite easy. just open the door and press one of the reject buttons so you can see what all moves when you press it..then you just need to mount a standard switch in there somehow so that it gets activated when pressing the button.
here are some pics of mine..it is a little hard to see, but you get the idea. i used some nintendo button brackets that i didnt need and mounted the switches on one of the existing bolts so i didn't have to modify the coin door or mechs. (i did modify the mechs so that they would accept the steel washers i occasionally use as tokens)
(http://www.severdhed.com/images/arcade/dk/IMG_1764.JPG)
(http://www.severdhed.com/images/arcade/dk/IMG_1765.JPG)