??? anyone sell or make custom dreamcast controller port plates out of metal ???

[northerngames]

just wondering if anyone makes custom dreamcast controller port plate's out of metal.

  I have a 2 player control panel with everything internal and the cords run from the inside of the control panels DC pcbs and they plug into the DC console that is also internal.

 I was thinking of adding a flat square plate with 2 dreamcast controller port hole shapes cut into it with 2 threaded legs welded to the bottom for mounting like a trackball mounting kit would from happ.

 Then I could take my controller extension cables and plug them into the console and have the plate mounted on top of the control panel with the extension ends fastened to the plate from the inside.

 So then I could unplug player 1-2 from the console and plug the extensions into the console and plug in 2 light guns into the control panel.

 Or leave the 1-2 player plugged in like normal and connect the extensions to the p3-4 side of the console and then have the 2 player arcade CP and P3-4 on DC controllers plugged into the CP as another option.

anyone sell these or think they could make me one I could do one out of wood but my cp is already done and I dont want it ruined or looking silly.

 I dont have a welder and a simple flat flush mounting plate like explained above would be nifty if I could get one made.

[ChadTower]

No, but I have some cast iron punctuation I'll sell cheap.

[northerngames]

what is that?

[ChadTower]

what is that?

 

Perfection.   

[northerngames]

if you meant my typing I was never into it in school and dont have 20 thousand+ plus post count becuase I am too busy trying to get things done then stay on the pc all day making sure my typing gets a A++ for the puncutation class I guess I'm more of a hands on get things done type then sitting on my rear all day type making sure my puncuation is A++

[Crowquill]

I'd hit the electrical aisle of home depot. Near the electrical boxes that mount inside the wall for switches and outlets you'll find simple plates in both sheet metal and plastic. drill a couple holes, and presto! DC controller port plate. What's going to attach to the backside of this plate (that the controllers will plug into)?

if you meant my typing I was never into it in school and dont have 20 thousand+ plus post count becuase I am too busy trying to get things done then stay on the pc all day making sure my typing gets a A++ for the puncutation class I guess I'm more of a hands on get things done type then sitting on my rear all day type making sure my puncuation is A++

I'd describe singing in the Glee Club as something "I was never into." Writing in English is unavoidable (at least in the US and UK). Maybe you should take the extra second-and-a-half to add periods as you go. That's nothing compared to the time it took me to re-read your post 2 extra times to make sense of it. It's not a matter, of arrogance, it's a matter of communicating effectively.

IIRC, someone here is using some variation of this in their sig.

"Remember people: capitalization and grammar are the differences between 'I helped my uncle, Jack, off a horse' and 'i helped my uncle jack off a horse.'"

[SirPeale]

Yeah, I didn't even bother reading your post because there were no paragraphs or punctuation.

[Jeff AMN]

It's just common courtesy to communicate well when you're asking for help or advice. I usually overlook poor grammar and sentence structure, but you have to at least make an effort.

[northerngames]

I'd hit the electrical aisle of home depot. Near the electrical boxes that mount inside the wall for switches and outlets you'll find simple plates in both sheet metal and plastic. drill a couple holes, and presto! DC controller port plate. What's going to attach to the backside of this plate (that the controllers will plug into)?

I have all kinds of plates but the dreamcast does not have circle's for controller ports they have a 3 sided square with the 4rth side bowed out like a circle.

 I wanted it to match and look clean and not have a gap around all of the ports becuase of a circle.

I still do not have a welder to attach the threaded legs to bolt the plate down like a happs trackball mounting kit would and again I want a clean install no gaps or bolts showing anywhere.

and as stated above the controller extension cables will be mounted to the plate from the inside of the control panel and the plate will be mounted on top the control panel so I have 2 extra ports to plug in light guns or a player 3-4 controller's if needed.

 I'm sorry I made one long sentence instead of making it better written and probably the first time I have done that in awhile and I get attacked for it lol.

I worked construction roofing and machine shops and my handwritting is far worst but in those feilds a pencil and paper is hard to find.

 As for the bills or important paperwork I have a wife with plenty of time that is more then happy to write them out with her neat perfect handwriting writing becuase that is what she is does and is into.

[SavannahLion]

I worked construction roofing and machine shops and my handwritting is far worst but in those feilds a pencil and paper is hard to find.

That's an interesting thing. I'm not attacking you personally, it just seems to be a common comment from a lot of people who work in some type of construction or manufacturing today. My father worked construction in some fashion for 50+ years and you would never see him without a pencil and a paper pad. At the "bottom" when he was making dinner tables all the way up to when he became a foreman working in Hollywood (at one point overseeing maintainence on the Hollywood landmark) every photo of him shows him with a pencil (or pen) located somewhere on his body.

I suppose it's the cost. When Home Depot started charging fifty cents per pencil, people kind of lost interest or something. 

In any case, back on topic.

In wood construction, you can purchase a "square" drill bit to cut more or less square holes in wood. One type is a square mortise drill bit (my preference) or a Reuleaux drill bit (requires a special drill) to drill relatively square holes that can be easily cleaned up. Isn't there any equalivent in metal working?

From looking at the pictures, isn't the controller port a circle with a flattened top?

[shardian]

Get you some thin aluminum stock from Lowes. trace the plugs onto the aluminum, then use a dremel to cut out the holes. Super glue the extenders in place under the cp and that should hold pretty well as long as you don't hammer the plug into place.

There is no need to do any welding on something as simple as this. If you are wanting flush mounted screw holes, buy some plastic bushings of varying lengths with an internal diameter smaller than the screw you wish to use and Gorilla glue them to the mounting plate. This is the method of choice in Ben Heck's portable system book.

[northerngames]

I should have specified the construction part I did excavating road work I was building man holes from block, sand, shovel, mortar bucket and keys to the back-hoe were my main tools.

only guys that used the pencils was the guys shooting grade or doing the mapping of the road, pipes, gas etc. but all the guys on the crew with me did not carry any writing materials we were hard working laborer's and not sitting in a truck barking orders or writing checks out so we have no use for them and they wont pay $20.00+ an hour for someone to do that either.

the pencils guys worked for another company shooting grade or were the forman of our comapany.

only time I used a pencil was to write my name on the check sheet stating I was paid and recieved that weeks pay.




shardian:

I was thinking of using some type of a washer/spacer to adjust the height of the controller port extension cable that mounts to the plate.

 That way the controller extension cable end would come out of the mounting plate hole flush at the surface.

 I was going to use a bunch of hot glue to hold them in and was thinking if I cannot get one made like above I would just go legless and hot glue it in from the inside but not sure how well it would hold that way.



 

[shardian]

Hot glue wouldn't be a durable solution for something like this I don't think. You will be pushing on the connection to get it in place. You could try it, but you'll end up redoing it in the end.

[ChadTower]

Hot glue probably won't adhere to a surface like metal very well.

[northerngames]

There is no need to do any welding on something as simple as this. If you are wanting flush mounted screw holes, buy some plastic bushings of varying lengths with an internal diameter smaller than the screw you wish to use and Gorilla glue them to the mounting plate. This is the method of choice in Ben Heck's portable system book.

possible to show me a picture or link to what your saying becuase I dont understand what the materials are except the gorilla glue.

 The original idea was to get it like a trackball mounting kit where it has the 2 threaded post welded to the bottom so all I would need to do is cut a square hole in the control panel and then drill the 2 holes for the threaded post to go through.

 Then fasten it down with the bolts for the threaded post.

the hot glue probably would only work for a week and then fail like stated above so I will not use it becuase I dont want to have to keep going back.

[SavannahLion]

Epoxy, like Liquid Steel perhaps?