Well whaddya know, it works!

[MattMaan]

Well, wouldja look at that.  I've managed to wire up a prototype for a CP (via a gamepad hack) which hopefully I can plunge into a cabinet.  Pretty amazing what you can do when you put your mind to it... and get some good help!  

But setting up a CP has made me think of some important considerations that I thought I could get some advice on.

First - lots of CPs have 4-way joysticks mounted in the center, for the classics.  I'm thinking to go this way, but would it be worth it pricewise?  And if so, would it be equally worth it to splurge for a leaf stick, for "classic" feel?

Second and more importantly - its pretty obvious that a trackball or spinner is awfully important for enjoying a lot of games.  Looking at panels, I've seen a few solutions, the cheapest of which being simply attatching a PC trackball.  Any good suggestions for ones that are widely available (easy to mount, authentic feel, etc).  

For spinners, there are all sorts of online instructions for building your own - any of those to recommend?  I'm a bit boggled looking at all the choices...  

Thanks for any advice!
-MATT

[paigeoliver]

I have personally found that old used leaf switch sticks are cheaper than new microswitch sticks anyway. Get them on ebay, or just buy some entire panels on ebay (often cheap if they are for crap games). And grab the leaf switch sticks from them (player 1 if often horked, but the player 2 stick is usually good).

I put my 4-way right next to my 8-way, and they share the same set of buttons. Saves a lot of space.

[Tiger-Heli]

Second and more importantly - its pretty obvious that a trackball or spinner is awfully important for enjoying a lot of games.  Looking at panels, I've seen a few solutions, the cheapest of which being simply attatching a PC trackball.  Any good suggestions for ones that are widely available (easy to mount, authentic feel, etc).  

For spinners, there are all sorts of online instructions for building your own - any of those to recommend?  I'm a bit boggled looking at all the choices...  

Thanks for any advice!
-MATT

Trackballs - I ordered a MacAlly I-ball http://shop2.outpost.com/product/2422410 for $2.99, but's it's been backordered over a month :-(

I don't expect authentic feel from it, but for the price and for occasional use . . .

1Up used a kidsball, but I don't expect that to be authentic feel either (and I think they're discontinued).

For a little more money, I think Imperial sells refurbished 3" trackballs for $30 and www.wicothesource sell 2-1/4" for $25 and 3" for $50.

Get www.oscarcontrols.com mouse interface to hook them up.

Spinners - A lot of people like Dhansen's HD spinner, but I don't have the link offhand.  Also, if you don't already have the components, I think this will cost more and not work as well as buying a spinner from OSCAR.

[AX]

i opt to do custom builds whenever possible but as for the spinner it looks like a bigger pain in the arse then buying one from oscar.

[MattMaan]

Agreed that buying is easier, but I'm trying to put this together on a pretty tight budget... as to building a spinner, a mouse hack looks to me to be by far the cheapest route (especially when you go to Goodwill for your electronics! ).  Certainly, buying from Oscar would be far easier, and he certainly has some nice looking products... but living in Canada, a $50 or $60 US order can easy spike to $100 or $120 Canadian after shipping, customs, and the ever-fearsome exchange rate... and that's not even looking at the optipac!

For a trackball I was pricing out the logitech trackball used in MAMEHAM (http://www.arcadepinball.com/basement/), especially looking at the mouting job at http://www.mamefever.com/, but I haven't heard much about said ball, beyond these two sites.  It's not much like a real arcade trackball, but you dont have to hack it and its widely available.. or at least locally available  

For a 4-way stick, a local guy is selling leaf-switch sticks for $10, so I think I'll go for it.  I've seen some people daisy chaining to the player 1 stick.  Seemed to make most sense to me, that's probably what I'd do, but just wondering if there's anything I should know....

Thanks again!

[Tiger-Heli]

as to building a spinner, a mouse hack looks to me to be by far the cheapest route ... and that's not even looking at the optipac!

Use oscar's $9 mouse interface instead of the Optipac, if you want to save some cash.

[Sasquatch!]

Use oscar's $9 mouse interface instead of the Optipac, if you want to save some cash.

I've got an OSCAR USB interface and it works perfectly.

[MattMaan]

Maybe I should just crack down and buy something.. it's a wad of cash though, even without the optipac.  

I'd still prefer to try and whip something up, even if it's only temporary...  

-MATT

[IceCold]

Trackballs - I ordered a MacAlly I-ball http://shop2.outpost.com/product/2422410 for $2.99, but's it's been backordered over a month :-(

Yeah, so did I, still back ordered