Need control panel advice for fixing my current panel....READ

[electricd]

Ok here is the situation.  I made an arcade cabinet based solely on the mameroom.com UAII design.  I didn't have any plans or anything, but it turned out just fine.  Now to the problem.  I made the control panels just like they look on the site.  A trapezoidal looking thing where the 1 and 2 player controls are exactly parallel with the horizontal on the monitor.  That works great, up is up in relation to the screen, down is down, left is left, and so on.  The 3 and 4 player controls I made parallel with the angle on the panel.  So up is almost up/right, down is down/left, etc...  Making sense so far??  So basically what I want to do is modify the joysticks somehow so that I can get the up/down/left/right to be identical to the 1 and 2 player controls.  Modifying the control panel is not an option as it is already laminated over the Teenuts which hold the joystics in.   Anyone got any ideas??  Thanks in advance!!

ED7

[Lilwolf]

Spend some time creating a control panel with scrap wood...  Nice to try things...

Next... Are you ever planning on playing 2 player smashtv?  If so, light all 4 up.

Next.... Don't angle 3 & 4 much (or 1 & 4 depending)... If you do it confuses everyone.  My first 4player was almost 45% and everyone had troubles using it.  You can do a little and it helps...

[RayB]

I'd be curious to see what angle the joys are in Atari's Gauntlet.

I figure... copy the pros!

[shmokes]

Guys....unless I'm reading his post wrong I don't think he's asking whether he should angle all four joysticks the same, he's asking HOW can he change them since he's already made the mistake of angling the outside sticks.

The only thing I can think of is to ditch the tee-nuts, rotate the joystick to the desired angle and secure it from the bottom with wood screws that aren't long enough to pierce the laminate on top of the panel.  Maybe you can fashion some kind of brackets under the sticks that can also be screwed in from the bottom for added support.  

[Tiger-Heli]

Guys....unless I'm reading his post wrong I don't think he's asking whether he should angle all four joysticks the same, he's asking HOW can he change them since he's already made the mistake of angling the outside sticks.

The only thing I can think of is to ditch the tee-nuts, rotate the joystick to the desired angle and secure it from the bottom with wood screws that aren't long enough to pierce the laminate on top of the panel.  Maybe you can fashion some kind of brackets under the sticks that can also be screwed in from the bottom for added support.  

You could use the threaded inserts that RandyT recommends in this thread: http://www.arcadecontrols.org/yabbse/index.php?board=1;action=display;threadid=5195;start=msg34250#msg34250

Just be sure they are shorter than your MDF and don't drill too deep.

I think they install with an Allen key and then accept machine screws.

[electricd]

shmokes - Thanks for clearing it up for all, that is exactly what the problem is.

Tiger-Heli - That is a great idea, now where on earth can I find some of these?  Anyone have 8 they want to send to help a brother out?  


ED7

[Tiger-Heli]

shmokes - Thanks for clearing it up for all, that is exactly what the problem is.

Tiger-Heli - That is a great idea, now where on earth can I find some of these?  Anyone have 8 they want to send to help a brother out?  
ED7

I'm pretty sure Home Depot or Lowe's will have them.  You might want to print out the drawing from the other thread so they can tell what you're talking about.

[Lilwolf]

I'm still sticking with my answers..

make a crap control panel and test it out before touching yours.  You might find that you get it wrong the second time.

I've redone my 4 way once (and its currently scrapped).  I redid my 2 player 8way a few times (6 buttons, then 8, then 7... now I want to move the 7th).

[electricd]

I don't understand what working on a scrap panel will do for me?  I just need to rotate my sticks about 10 -15 degrees so it is parallel with the 1 and 2 player controls?  Even if I use a scrap panel and get it right, I still have to duplicate it again on the production panel so I will just cut the first step!  

ED7

[Tiger-Heli]

I don't understand what working on a scrap panel will do for me?  I just need to rotate my sticks about 10 -15 degrees so it is parallel with the 1 and 2 player controls?  Even if I use a scrap panel and get it right, I still have to duplicate it again on the production panel so I will just cut the first step!  
ED7

What LilWolf means (and it's not a bad idea) is if parallel with the P1 controls is not ideal for you, you would then have a panel with eight holes for each joystick and not be able to reorient them any more.

What you might want to do is mount your controls to cardboard or foamboard and test that on the cabinet and make sure you're happy with your proposed change, then modify your current CP to fix it.