Build Your Own Arcade Controls Forum
Main => Main Forum => Topic started by: Gavica on June 27, 2009, 10:30:51 pm
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Someone with zero experience on building much anything.
But say I got something like this:
http://www.mameroom.com/ProductDetail.asp?ID=UAIICAB27E4
Which come with an easy to assamble control panel.
But how hard would it be to put in the joysticks, buttons, trackball, and all the connections.
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Before I started this hobby I had some building experience sort of in building tiny building models. I had never ever wired something in my life. Hooking up the controls was the easiest (and most fun) part. Anyone can do it.
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Javeryh's right. The wiring (joysticks, trackballs, etc) really is about the easiest part of the build, though not necessarily the fastest part ;)
Building the cabinet is by far the most difficult element. If you start with a prebuilt cab, the rest would be almost plug and play. Keep in mind, most of the controls these days can be plugged in via USB, so there's no need for keyboard hacks, or any of that weirdness anymore.
Trackballs can be USB, even the joysticks if you go with Ultimarc u360's. and all the buttons can be wired to an IPAC which can also be USB. Grab a cheapo USB hub to tie them all together and you've got 1 USB cable into your PC.
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The complexity really depends on what you are putting together. If you have a simple 2 player CP with just 2 joysticks and 6 buttons (plus admin stuff), you can assemble things and have it wired anywhere from 15 minutes to 2 hours (depends on if you rush and have experience or are new and take your time). If you are building a more complicated setup (e.g., 4 player, 6 buttons each, trackball, spinner, 4 way joystick, rotary joysticks, 3 color LED everything, etc), then you could be looking at a multi-day job.
The good thing is that you can work slowly and get some stuff working and tested as you go. If you try to wire up a monster panel all at once and test it at the end, you could be in for a HUGE headache! Either way though, this is definitely a project anyone can do if they take time and stay organized. Have fun with it!
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When I first started building custom sticks for people...it was a little difficult because I had to figure out what saw was best for what....and figure out all the little details that would make the stick easier to assemble, paint and all that.
After 1 or 2 it got a lot easier so I decided what the heck I'll tackle a full cab next.
Just make sure you've got a good set of plans that you can follow, some good tools, and some patience. Measure twice, cut once.
Its not really all that difficult if you take it one step at a time and try not to overload yourself with everything all at once. And try not to put yourself on a deadline. I haven't managed to hit one of mine yet. lol.
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If there is one thing I have learned from doing any project (car, house, arcade cab) is that having the proper tools makes any job easy.
That being said, I wouldn't try to build a cab or the controls for it unless you are willing to buy the right tools, otherwise it's not going to be fun and it will most likely turn out like crap.
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My advice is build the Controll panel out of card board 1st.
The thing I screwed up on at first was wiring up the joystick.
I did not take in account I was looking at it upside down.
so up was down and right was left. Yep every thing was backwards
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My advice is build the Controll panel out of card board 1st.
The thing I screwed up on at first was wiring up the joystick.
I did not take in account I was looking at it upside down.
so up was down and right was left. Yep every thing was backwards
I didn't do that but i sure as hell had to stare at it for a good while trying to figure out which direction is which :laugh2:
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I use a sharpie (small tip permanent marker) to mark the microswitches on the joystick before mounting the joysticks to the panel. U. D, L, and R.
Makes it a lot easier to wire up.