On the edge - Someone push me!!

[Lumpy]

I guess what I'm looking for is a kick in the butt.  I'm gonna build my first cabinet.

Here's what's running around in my head.

1. If I mess this up the wife will kill me and hence I won't be able to build a second one the right way.

2.  I only have money for a two player control panel right now, but really want a 4 player control panel.  Using hacked sidewinders....do I go with an 2 Player I-pac to start or get the 4 person right of the bat for later expansion?

3. I've seen many different plans and don't know what to go with.  SirPoonga and the Supercade plans are awesome.  However I know some one who has the ultimate arcade plans, but never got around to building it.  It's easy to follow directions, but I want a detachable control panel and a cabinet that looks like the Simpsons.  (Anyone have the exact dimensions?)

4.  My biggest concern is the height of the control panel.  What's a comfortable height?  I'm 6' and all my friends are about the same height.  

Can anyone make any recommendations for a newbie on how to just make the first cut.

Thanks.....

Lumpy

[SirPoonga]

2.  I only have money for a two player control panel right now, but really want a 4 player control panel.  Using hacked sidewinders....do I go with an 2 Player I-pac to start or get the 4 person right of the bat for later expansion?

You mean the sidewinders that daisy chain.  They don;t work in XP I hear.  Anyway, 4 player is ok, if oyu know you will be playing the few 4 player games with friends over and over and over.  I just put two usb ports on my cp just incase a 3rd and 4th player would want to play.

[Lumpy]

Guess I should clarify.  Right now I'm using two sidewinders.  One is USB and the other is a regular game port.  They're hacked to the controls.  Right now I have seperate control panels ( joysticks and buttons in seperate cardboard boxes). The wife is going to buy an I-pac for me for my birthday in a few weeks and I want to get started with the shell.

I love a lot of the four player games and plan on having a lot of people over when I get the basement fixed up.  Another thing that will miff the wife, but what you gonna do.  

My biggest concern is the height of the control panel.  There aren't any arcades near me so I have no way of knowing what the default height is.  

Also can someone recommend a trackball to hack for bowling and horseshoes.  This is a low budget deal to start out with until I can convince the wife it will be used.


SirPoonga where did you buy the paint you used?

[Tiger-Heli]

Also can someone recommend a trackball to hack for bowling and horseshoes.  This is a low budget deal to start out with until I can convince the wife it will be used.

And Centipede.  Most women love Centipede. . . (Might help with the wife.)

Low budget is http://www.softwareandstuff.com/h_acc_mactrack.html
They are $3.95 each but shipping is a little high (~$8).  I bought two of these and think they work pretty well, but then again, I wasn't that unhappy with using the mouse.  They have a translucent blue 2" ball and another thread talks about hacking them to a panel and using a 2-1/4 inch or billiard ball with them.  No bearings in them though, which kinda sucks.  Good for Cabal and Missile Command.  Ok for Centipede.  Not so good for bowling and golf games.

Medium budget is www.wicothesouce.com with 2-1/4" trackballs for $25 and 3" for $50 and then www.oscarcontrols.com 's mouse USB interface for $9 without buttons or $13 with.

Betson also sells refurbished PS/2 trackballs, but I forget the prices.  Check with Rampy.

On the two/4-player thing, if you pretty sure what you're doing, you could stretch a KeyWiz www.groovygamegear.com to make it work for 4 players.   (You need to not map the select buttons as I mentioned in another thread).

Otherwise, I would get the single I-PAC/2 for now.  You can daisy chain another in later.  Or as SirPoonga said, mount a USB hub on your cab and plug in some gamepads for the four-player games.

[1UP]

34"-36" is pretty standard height.  I'm 5'10" and the leading edge of my CP (including 1" casters) is 34", and the CP inclines at 15^o.  This height seems perfect for me, but you might want to use 36" if you're 6'.  Basically, divide your height in half, or center the front of the CP at ,er , crotch level.

Anyway, best thing to do is actually go to an arcade with a tape measure, find a game that is comfortable to play, and measure that.  Also consider who else will be playing (my wife is about 5'2" and sometimes feels the controls are a little high.)

Good luck.

[Lumpy]

Thanks for the responses so far.....

Tiger-Heli - I'm looking to play the bowling games, shuuz, and shuffle shot so I guess my best bet is going with the wicothesource trackball.  The only other ones I've seen are Happs and they are pretty expensive.  

I can see having 4 people over quite a bit, but maybe I should start out with a two player and use the usb hub.  I guess that's why I was looking for an arcade plan that had a removable control panel.  I want to be able to swith it out at a later date.

1UP - Thanks for the height info.  I'm 6', but my wife is 5'4" so I was trying to find a standard height.  One of my buddies called me and said there is a Simpson's cab at a bar a few towns over so it looks like a road trip.

Also....I was wondering.... has anyone put a mini fridge in where the coin slot is suppose to be.  I'm thinking of doing that, but don't know what that will do for moisture or heat.....  Any thoughts or comments?

I'm almost over the edge........

[1UP]

I havent' heard of a fridge in a cab, but anything's possible.  Guess you could jam one of those 6-pack coolers in there.  I personally shy away from anything that takes away from authenticity.  Since you don't want a coindoor, you might just build a large front access door with your PC near the front of the cab, for easy access.  (Most people have to go to the back to plug/unplug/reboot etc.)

I like having a coin door because a) it looks authentic, b) allows me to control play times/sharing if my nephews come over, c) you can use the coin return buttons as credit buttons in MAME with the easy addition of a couple switches, and d) it can double as a piggy-bank!  They're pretty dang cheap off of ebay (usually $10-$15)

[REBIRTH]

Also....I was wondering.... has anyone put a mini fridge in where the coin slot is suppose to be.  I'm thinking of doing that, but don't know what that will do for moisture or heat.....  Any thoughts or comments?

I'm almost over the edge........

Ha haaaaaa!!!!!

I actually thought of the same thing.  My main reason for shying away from it, have you ever felt the hot air that is generated out the back of a mini fridge (or any fridge for that matter)?  Those things generate a good amount of heat, which I wouldn't want anywhere near the PC - especially in a closed cabinet.  Stick the mini fridge next to the cabinet instead, on top of the cigar humidor and margarita bar!!!!

Make the cab!  Good luck.

[ErikRuud]

I have enough room in the bottom of mine for a mini fridge, but like ReBirth said, I would be concerned about the heat. Yoy would probably want to seal that part off from the rest of the cab and make sure there is plent of ventilation in the bottom half.

I keep two 25 gallon rubbermaid storage totes in mine, that way it serves a practical purpose, which also helps with the wife.

Surprisingly my wife was pretty cool about the cab, a lot more than she was about the 5' x 12' slot car track that I built.  

[nighthawk2099]

I was thinking of bulding a cabinet OUT of an old fridge.... Might have to make it a thin cabinet attached to the front of the door and use a Flat screen monitor....... Ummmm..... No wait too many projects...... brain over----over---- loading.....  

[Tiger-Heli]

Also....I was wondering.... has anyone put a mini fridge in where the coin slot is suppose to be.  I'm thinking of doing that, but don't know what that will do for moisture or heat.....  Any thoughts or comments?

What you need is one of those dispensers from a coke machine, so when someone presses the coin return, your choice ice-cold beverage drops down  . . .

I'm almost over the edge........

You and me both.

[Lumpy]

Well everyone....

Thanks for the input.  I guess I'm going to leave out the fridge after everyones comments.  Just thought it would look cool....and save me a walk for more beer.

I guess I'll keep my eye open for a coin door.  I didn't think of looking on ebay (smacks head)   ...I thought they were a lot more expensive then that.

I'm now thinking of doing a tapper theme.  I have a lot of old tappers, but am unsure if they can be used to control the poor/serve functions.  If anyone has done that could the please let me know. Would you have to screw that on another joystick to get the right control or is there a way to rig it up to buttons.  Thanks for all you help so far.  I should be getting started in the next two weeks.  I'm aquiring all the need tools right now.

[AlanS17]

I personally shy away from anything that takes away from authenticity.

You mean like a rotating control panel?   j/k j/k j/k