Ive got a few newbie questions

[muell67]

Hi great website. I just got the project arcade book and Im siked up to start building. I just have a few questions.

1. I know this has probably been asked before but I cant seem to find it. Can I hook a perfect 360 joystick to a I-pac or do I need the opti pac because its optical? Is there any soldering involved? Is there a good tutorial on this?

2. When hooking up a standard contol panel including happ buttons perfect 360 joystick and a seperate usb trackball and a I-pac is there any soldering involved or just crimping conections.

3. I work in a cabinet shop as a draftsman & cnc programer so most of my cabinet parts will be cut there. I have decided to use 3/4 mdf for the majority of the parts. My question is has anyone used melamine on ther cabinets we have sheets already attached to mdf and it seem like a cheeper alternative to laminate.

Thanks, for the help.

[AmericanDemon]

Only soldering required is if you want to do it that way.  Most use Quick Disconnects.

You can use an IPAC.  No need for a Opti-Pac for P360s.

Thats awesome that you have access to said equipment.  I did at my previous employer but never got around to abusing the privileges.  You could do the melamine if you so desired.  Most dont have the privilege or want to go for the added expense.  Also comes the added concern for most when they drill through it and attach pieces with screws then they use wood putty to fill.... wouldnt look good.

If you work at a cabinet shop though you would have access to plugs to of course cover this.    Welcome aboard the boards.

[crashwg]

when they drill through it and attach pieces with screws then they use wood putty to fill.... wouldnt look good.

You don't have to put screws through the outside of the cab by any means...  I've never seen a real cab constructed that way and I believe most people's mame cabs aren't either.

[RayB]

You don't have to put screws through the outside of the cab by any means...  I've never seen a real cab constructed that way and I believe most people's mame cabs aren't either.

No, but you will see carriage bolts through the sides. Same difference really...

[Sylentwulf]

No, I think he means NOTHING put through the sides. I didn't put any screws or bolts through any outside surfaces on my cab (just the CP). It's all done with 3/4" ledgers from the inside.

[Tiger-Heli]

1. I know this has probably been asked before but I cant seem to find it. Can I hook a perfect 360 joystick to a I-pac or do I need the opti pac because its optical? Is there any soldering involved? Is there a good tutorial on this?

Perfect 360's don't need an opti-pac.  They do need a +5V source, which you can steal from the I-PAC's LED header.  There's also the KeyWiz from www.groovygamegear.com which has a terminal for +5V out.   No soldering involved.  I think the main page of this site explains how to hook them up.  Basically, they need to be oriented correctly and then you connect wires to +5V, GND (on the encoder) and the four input terminals.  They are awkward to switch from 4-way to 8-way, if this is a concern, though.

2. When hooking up a standard contol panel including happ buttons perfect 360 joystick and a seperate usb trackball and a I-pac is there any soldering involved or just crimping conections.

Just crimping, although the trackball will require an opti-pac or www.oscarcontrols.com mouse hack to connect (or could be cheaper to buy this way than pre-made for USB.)

My question is has anyone used melamine on ther cabinets we have sheets already attached to mdf and it seem like a cheeper alternative to laminate.

Pretty sure it's been done.  Easier but probably less durable than laminate (not that it would matter).