My complete overhaul of the X-arcade Tankstick

[molton]

finished project



The Tankstick seems great on the surface, the truth of the matter is it's not bad, but it's not great either.  The joysticks aren't too bad, the buttons aren't too bad, but the encoder board that sends commands to your computer is falsely overrated by x-arcade, and overlooked by every single online reviewer I can find.  X-arcade claims that they use technology that allows all the buttons on the control panel to be active at once.  That is a not true as far as I can tell. 

I did not realize this downside to the X-arcade controllers untill after I purchased an Xtension arcade cabinet for the X-arcade tankstick from rec room masters.  Now I have an arcade cabinet built around the X-arcade tankstick, so buying another arcade control panel is out of the question, do other control panels even exist anymore?

So the plan is to replace the X-arcade internal electronics with the Ultimark I-PAC 2 interface, which is supposed to be about as good as it gets for registering simultaneous keyboard inputs.  I will be changing this out and adding the OMNI2 4-way / 8-way switchable joystick that restricts the 4-way motion of the joystick with a diamond shaped restrictor plate that rotates by a lever at the bottom to 8-way, which is perfect for my setup with the Xtension cabinet because if I drill a little access hole on the bottom of the X-arcade control panel, it can easily be lifted up a couple inches to make the switch.  I'm only installing one of these for now, if the 8-way function of the OMNI2 is that much better than the x-arcade joysticks I'll install another, I just don't need 2 joysticks with 4 way restricted functionality. 

I already installed two Turbo Twist 2 spinners from groovygamegear.com into the X-arcade panel, I followed the lead of roger on these boards and put them above the buttons, between the 2nd and 3rd rows of buttons.  The way the X-Arcade is setup by default, all the connectors on the button microswitches face the same way, taking up more space than they have to.  I managed to get the Turbo Twist 2 spinners at least an inch closer to the buttons than I would have been able to without turning some of those buttons around.  The spinners are installed with the energy storage cylinders at the bottom and they still clear the bottom panel of the X-arcade.  I did have to remove one of the buttons from the back like roger did, I don't know which one it is because I've never used either of those buttons.  Another way the I-PAC beats the X-arcade board is the ability to store and recall a button assignment program without having to push a button on the back of the x-arcade every time it turns on, which is why one of those buttons is back there.  After I install the I-PAC that missing button will really be a non-issue.  The other button is a trackball X-axis disabler you can presumably use to cheat at golden tee golf, who needs that?



Drilling into the laminate was nerve racking, but easy. I used a 1 1/8" spade bit with spurred edges on very low speed to remove the laminate, then after I got that out of the way I just switched it up to high speed.  I drilled the center of the hole out first with a tiny drill bit, then a 5/8" drill bit thats diameter matched the width of the middle tip part of the 1 1/8" spade bit I was using, then the 1 1/8" spade bit. this helps keep the spade bit from moving at all while drilling.

To break it down, I already
-Added two Turbo Twist 2 spinners

In the next couple of weeks I will be
-Changing the X-Arcade encoder board out for the I-PAC 2
-Changing the 1st Player joystick out for the OMNI2 swichable joystick
-Adding an easy access hole for the OMNI2 for easy switching between modes

[mytymaus007]

i wouldnt even change the encoder the xarcade works dont need to fix it! Of course i would upgrade it but thats me. Im assuming you have 2 spinners for driving games. If so I would even upgrade to an a-pac not a i-pac from ultimarc only reason since you have a cabinet already you might want to install analog racing pedals! the a-pac supports Analog Awsome!! my only issue with the omni stick is What 4 way games are you concerned with? and what 8 way games are you concerned with? it sounds good 4 to 8 way but is it functional That all depends on what you want to play!! Make a list of what you want to play!

[molton]

I was satisfied with how the x-arcade worked as a controller, but as the front panel of my arcade machine, I need something that will function like an arcade machine, not a super keyboard.  On my X-arcade, on usb 2.0 hardware, If Player 2 holds in six buttons, the player one side doesn't even function!  That just wont do If my nephews are button mashing on some fighting games which is always so much fun.  The I-PAC is a must, plus it has a much simpler circuit layout and there is probably enough wire in the x-arcade to rewire this thing with an I-PAC twice if I needed to, so I'll save a couple bucks there at least.

4-way is for classics, dials have a bunch of uses, like pong for example, the I-PAC is totally or fighting game scenarios.

I just wanted to post this on here because I couldn't find a thread anywhere talking about switching the x-arcade encoder out for an I-PAC, so now there will be one.  hopefully it goes well.

[boardjunkie]

I have one, but I got it as just an empty enclosure with no parts in it. Really cheap....they were blowing them out for like 30$. I put Wico leaf sticks and leaf buttons in it wired into USB gamepad boards. Added extra side buttons for pinball functions, and an inertia switch in the front for forward nudge.

[AGarv]

I was satisfied with how the x-arcade worked as a controller, but as the front panel of my arcade machine, I need something that will function like an arcade machine, not a super keyboard.  On my X-arcade, on usb 2.0 hardware, If Player 2 holds in six buttons, the player one side doesn't even function!  That just wont do If my nephews are button mashing on some fighting games which is always so much fun.  The I-PAC is a must, plus it has a much simpler circuit layout and there is probably enough wire in the x-arcade to rewire this thing with an I-PAC twice if I needed to, so I'll save a couple bucks there at least.

4-way is for classics, dials have a bunch of uses, like pong for example, the I-PAC is totally or fighting game scenarios.

I just wanted to post this on here because I couldn't find a thread anywhere talking about switching the x-arcade encoder out for an I-PAC, so now there will be one.  hopefully it goes well.

Anyone else had this isssue with the x-arcade encoder?  Not being able to support simultaneous button presses of any sort is a big, BIG deal.  Their encoder is actually very good if you plan to run a muli-system cab (e.g. Xbox 360 and dreamcast + PC), but this is a show stopper...

[molton]

I installed the OMNI 2 today, the installation wasn't bad but I had to make the mounting holes on the OMNI2 stick bigger.  I drilled all four corners with a 1/4" bit, followed by a 5/16" bit, that allowed the OMNI2 to fit right onto the X-Arcade's existing bolts.  Removing the nuts with thin needle nose pliers pointing strait down from the old joystick wasn't too bad after removing the microswitches from the 2 white side buttons.  Before removing anything though I got some nice bright pictures on my digital camera so I knew how to put everything back together.  After I installed it I drilled a 1 1/2" hole in the bottom panel of the x-arcade to switch from 8-way to 4 way, although I think I might extend it a little because it's kind of hard to switch it from 8-way to 4-way the way it is right now.

[ABACABB]

I was satisfied with how the x-arcade worked as a controller, but as the front panel of my arcade machine, I need something that will function like an arcade machine, not a super keyboard.  On my X-arcade, on usb 2.0 hardware, If Player 2 holds in six buttons, the player one side doesn't even function!  That just wont do If my nephews are button mashing on some fighting games which is always so much fun.  The I-PAC is a must, plus it has a much simpler circuit layout and there is probably enough wire in the x-arcade to rewire this thing with an I-PAC twice if I needed to, so I'll save a couple bucks there at least.

4-way is for classics, dials have a bunch of uses, like pong for example, the I-PAC is totally or fighting game scenarios.

I just wanted to post this on here because I couldn't find a thread anywhere talking about switching the x-arcade encoder out for an I-PAC, so now there will be one.  hopefully it goes well.

Anyone else had this isssue with the x-arcade encoder?  Not being able to support simultaneous button presses of any sort is a big, BIG deal.  Their encoder is actually very good if you plan to run a muli-system cab (e.g. Xbox 360 and dreamcast + PC), but this is a show stopper...

YES!!  This is a huge problem and at least some people at X-Arcade are not even aware of it.  I sent an email to them asking about this problem, if they had an upgrade available or planned to release an upgrade.  The response I got was that this is a limitation of their controllers when using USB, however if you plug in your controller using the PS/2 ports you will have unlimited simultaneous button presses. But one other time I called in to discuss this on their tech support line and the guy I was talking to had no clue that it as an issue.  He said you should have unlimited button presses through either connection.  This is NOT TRUE...

My PC does not have a PS/2 port but I have a friend using the tankstick that does.  He was originally using the USB connection but when we found this problem, he tried switching to the PS/2 ports.  They didn't initially work.  He kept messing with it and restarting his PC over and over then one day his PC just recognized it and now it actually does work with unlimited simultaneous button presses.  So if you are having this issue, an easier fix might just be to add a card that has PS/2 ports.  They are around $10 on Newegg.com

The current limitations with their USB encoder only allow for 6 simultaneous button presses with the exception of Alt, Ctrl and Shift.  Those 3 buttons do not count towards the max limit of 6.  So in a one player game this really is not a problem but in a 2 player game these 6 buttons get used up rather quickly.  If both players are holding the stick in a diagonal direction, 4 buttons are already being used!!!

I wish X-Arcade would bring all of their staff up to speed on this issue and put a better encoder in their product.  

Personally this rubs me the wrong way because at least someone there knows this is an issue but they really don't talk about it. Also there is no disclaimer that says to have these unlmited button presses simultaneously, you need to have the controller plugged into a PS/2 port.

[molton]

YES!!  This is a huge problem and at least some people at X-Arcade are not even aware of it.  I sent an email to them asking about this problem, if they had an upgrade available or planned to release an upgrade.  The response I got was that this is a limitation of their controllers when using USB, however if you plug in your controller using the PS/2 ports you will have unlimited simultaneous button presses. But one other time I called in to discuss this on their tech support line and the guy I was talking to had no clue that it as an issue.  He said you should have unlimited button presses through either connection.  This is NOT TRUE...

If what you say is true (and with how muddy the X-arcade waters are who knows), then what X-Arcade told me is really wrong and pissing me off

From: Xgaming, Inc
Subject: simultaneous button presses

If you unit looks like the one with the cable connection at the bottom, then you have the new unit.

http://www.xgaming.com/content/assets/2010/10/xback_pcb_identify-2-lg.jpg

You should have full USB support if plugging into a USB 2.0 port.

I have the new unit that they are telling me works properly only on USB 2.0, and that the PS/2 only version doesn't handle many simultaneous presses.  I told them I tried that and it didn't work, but I never tried the ps/2 port.

[molton]

True 4-way is a must for oldschool gaming, I don't think I ever got to the banana stage in ms pacman before, I got there on my first game with a 4-way stick.  I've been playing donkey kong on my x-arcade joystick many times in the past week, I was amazed at the difference a restrictor plate makes.  The OMNI2 is a lot looser than the x-arcade joysticks, I like the feel of it much better for 4-way and 8-way, perhaps I'll need to upgrade player 2 eventually too. The x-arcade joystick has a more solid feel, which is good, but can be a little too solid when you are actually playing games with it.

IGN says the X-arcade is argueably the best arcade control available, I guess you can make that argument if you live in a world where assmbling something yourself is out of the question and you ignore the good folks at groovygamegear.com, ultimarc.com, etc. (although I have yet to test the I-PAC for myself and, I do believe it will work better than the x-arcade board from what I've heard.)

Just another example of how you can't trust online reviews, you have to read between the lines.

I found this website to be pretty interesting on the topic of X-arcade lies / half-truths.

http://zapek.com/?page_id=28

I think it is strange and hilarious that this thread and this website start almost the same way.

So there is the X-Arcade. A "high end" joystick which is supposed to bring arcade quality control to most
computers or consoles. The stick is great, the buttons are fine, the construction is robust and well done, but
the electronic sucks beyond anything imaginable. Here’s the problems one can have with an X-Arcade...

I never read this website before today, there must be something to all this...

[ABACABB]

This is absolutely true and I had found a post on a random website, just a few months ago, where some guy was having this exact same issue a few years ago.  I cannot seem to find this anymore.  Maybe he was asked to remove his negative comments.  I'm glad I'm not the only one that is really pissed over this issue.  Even more disappointing is the fact that not all of there tech support channels acknowledge or are aware of this.  I hope this post gets many, many reads and X-arcade addresses this issue.

UPDATE:  I just found my email from X-Gaming that acknowledges the issue so have a read and see what they say for yourselves:


A response to your recent inquiry Case #19888 is now available. Please use the link below to read the response and reply. DO NOT REPLY TO THIS EMAIL, USE THE LINK BELOW. If you cannot read the entire response in the case, you can still see the full response in this email. Your case will be labeled as closed when we reply, but it will reopen automatically when you respond and update your case.
  
Case Number 19888
Case Subject Limit on simultaneous buttons
Customer xxxxxxx
Contact  
Creation Date 1/27/2012, 12:07 pm (GMT-05:00) Eastern Time (US & Canada)
Case Type  
Case Priority Medium
Case Status Closed
Updated By Jeremy K
Date Updated 1/30/2012, 11:04 am

Click here to reply & update your Case
DO NOT REPLY TO THIS EMAIL - IT WILL NOT BE READ/ANSWERED
 

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Message History


There is a USB limitation of 6 buttons PLUS Shift, Alt, and Ctrl, for a total of 9. Using the PS/2 port instead there is no limitation.


Otherwise you could connect it with our PS3 or 360 adapter to make it act like a gamepad instead, which would have no limitation.



-----Original Message-----
From: xxxxxxxx
Sent: Friday , January 27, 2012 12:07 pm EST (GMT-05:00)
Subject: Limit on simultaneous buttons

It seems that there is a limit of 6 simultaneous button presses to be recognized by a computer on the Tankstick. Is there a way around this or do you offer an upgraded encoder that would allow more simultaneous button presses? When playing 2 player games, if both players are pressing a diagonal direction and holding a turbo button, the Tankstick is maxed out and won't recognize additional inputs.




--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Please feel free to contact us anytime, we are always glad to help. Also keep in mind that most any question can be answered on our Customer Service page here: http://www.x-arcade.com/service    
 
So if they know this is an issue, why not have the option to get the joystick encoder built in for USB use instead of the crappy 6-button limitation model they've sold to a lot of us.  

[ark_ader]

I was satisfied with how the x-arcade worked as a controller, but as the front panel of my arcade machine, I need something that will function like an arcade machine, not a super keyboard.  On my X-arcade, on usb 2.0 hardware, If Player 2 holds in six buttons, the player one side doesn't even function!  That just wont do If my nephews are button mashing on some fighting games which is always so much fun.  The I-PAC is a must, plus it has a much simpler circuit layout and there is probably enough wire in the x-arcade to rewire this thing with an I-PAC twice if I needed to, so I'll save a couple bucks there at least.

4-way is for classics, dials have a bunch of uses, like pong for example, the I-PAC is totally or fighting game scenarios.

I just wanted to post this on here because I couldn't find a thread anywhere talking about switching the x-arcade encoder out for an I-PAC, so now there will be one.  hopefully it goes well.

Anyone else had this isssue with the x-arcade encoder?  Not being able to support simultaneous button presses of any sort is a big, BIG deal.  Their encoder is actually very good if you plan to run a muli-system cab (e.g. Xbox 360 and dreamcast + PC), but this is a show stopper...

No and I play all the emulators and consoles with it (PS3/PS2/Xbox1 x2/Xbox360/DC/GC/Wii/PCx3, and I beta test their latest game interface products with my collection, and I never had any problems that was directly related to the Xarcade, a faulty PSX interface maybe, but that was replaced by Xgaming with their no quibble lifetime guarantee.  I like their 5-1 and 3-1 interface boards.  The dedicated adapters are excellent, but it is nice to have swiss army knife solution than to have single encoders for each console.

The only small niggle would be swapping out the clicky generic micro switches with cherrys.  I have nearly converted all mine, and are nice and quiet(er).

The encoder is fine, and I have a tendency to use more buttons than the joys for Asteroids/Gravitar/Etc.  What the OP is going on about is probably due to a faulty encoder board or a loose wire.  If he sends his X Arcade back I'm sure the guys would take the time to find out the reason.  I have been very lucky with my arcade vendors, Especially RandyT and Craig at Xgaming.  Top class.  

I can play Tempest with two buttons as good as a spinner, but a spinner is a must, and I like the OP's spinner positioning - Nice job!  

On average I play 8 hours a week on my X arcade, and I am thinking of decasing the X Arcade for my next Weecade build with a pass through port for the consoles.

But to swap out the encoder for an I-PAC is a bit OTT.  

If the OP wants to part with his X Arcade Encoder I would be interested.

Better than a Xbox Pad Hack any day.     Sorry HaRuMaN

[ABACABB]

"The encoder is fine, and I have a tendency to use more buttons than the joys for Asteroids/Gravitar/Etc.  What the OP is going on about is probably due to a faulty encoder board or a loose wire."


Apparently you did not read the email they sent me where their own tech acknowledged the problem.  If you would try your "beta testing" with a 2-player simultaneous game, you would easily discover this problem.

[molton]

Whatever the truth maybe, which is apparently well guarded, as a geek, I'm very much looking forward to replacing the X-arcade's clusterfuck of a circuit board out for the I-PAC, the thing is so intuitively built you could probably hook it up with zero documentation except for what they printed on the board.  The look and feel of the top of the X-arcade is top notch and I probably couldn't have found a similarly designed piece of wood that cost much less than $200 anyway.  X-Arcade tankstick + better parts + xtension cabinet for the tankstick = dream come true.

[ark_ader]

"The encoder is fine, and I have a tendency to use more buttons than the joys for Asteroids/Gravitar/Etc.  What the OP is going on about is probably due to a faulty encoder board or a loose wire."


Apparently you did not read the email they sent me where their own tech acknowledged the problem.  If you would try your "beta testing" with a 2-player simultaneous game, you would easily discover this problem.

That is what I am trying to explain to you.  I DO NOT HAVE THAT PROBLEM WITH TWO PLAYERS.  Never did. 

[molton]

Good for you Ark_Ader, I wish I could say the same.

So I have 4 extra inputs I won't be needing on the I-PAC, coin 1, coin 2, 1 B and 2 B, I plan on using the right mouse button of the X-arcade trackball (separate from the X-arcade main circuit board I am removing) as a combined coin 1 and 2 button within mame.  I have systems for everything I want to be able to control within mame mapped to all the buttons without these 4 extra inputs.  I don't think my control panel needs anymore buttons, but I was just wondering if anybody out there had any good ideas about what to do with these extra inputs.  I'll probably just leave them unused.

[BadMouth]

I don't think my control panel needs anymore buttons, but I was just wondering if anybody out there had any good ideas about what to do with these extra inputs.  I'll probably just leave them unused.

I put a red exit button in the upper left corner of mine. (wired it to the middle mouse button on the trackball harness)


I've thought about adding coin buttons to the front.
(rectangular 8-liner buttons with inserts to make them look like coin return buttons)

Not sure about using the right mouse button as coin.  It may cause problems with the front-end and other emulators.

....maybe move the mouse buttons to the back where people can't mess with them and hook all the buttons on the side up to the encoder.

Can't be much room left in there.  

[molton]

Thanks for the suggestions,i really like the coin button idea,i don't have much room in the tankstick, true, but I have tons of room inside the Xtension cabinet for those, especially in the obvious spot.

[mytymaus007]

Burn those Xarcade"s already you'll never be happy with them. make your own or buy something thats premade already!!

[ark_ader]

Burn those Xarcade"s already you'll never be happy with them. make your own or buy something thats premade already!!

Just sell it and make $/£80 towards your parts.

[darthpaul]

 After I installed it I drilled a 1 1/2" hole in the bottom panel of the x-arcade to switch from 8-way to 4 way, although I think I might extend it a little because it's kind of hard to switch it from 8-way to 4-way the way it is right now.

Automate it with Servos and JoyChoose.
I know, I'm starting to sound like a broken record.

[molton]

Servos are a cool idea, but complicated to install, for me anyway, and complicated to use, I like the idea of only having to lift the panel a few inches to make the change, and I put a bigger hole in the bottom panel that makes it very easy to do just that.  



I installed the I-PAC today!





I unplugged everything from the x-arcade board and then cut all the wire harnesses to reuse the wire from the x-arcade for this project.  It worked really well.  There are already a ton of daisy chain linked connectors to use to link the ground connection of the I-PAC circuit.  I removed the trackball attached micro switches from the plastic buttons and removed a lot of the extra wires and connections the tankstick has for the trackball, including that x-axis cancel button before I got started so it was out of the way and to have the those extra wires from the trackball before installing the I-PAC

I combined the pieces of wire mostly by wrapping the stripped end of one wire around a connector of another wire and soldering it there.  If you slip the wire under the little plastic insulator first the insulator will go over everything making it look nicer and insulate the connections.  There was a good amount of wires and connectors left over when I was all done.

I tried the X-arcade before I took the board out with the PS/2 port and it didn't work at all for me, although I didn't spend much time troubleshooting it.

I did test the I-PAC, and it worked great, as many simultaneous button presses as you want without any kind of interruptions.

[molton]

Not being super familiar with arcade hardware, I wired the joysticks in reverse, I didn't put 2 and 2 together that if I press the lever in the down direction it will push the switch on the top of the joystick, not the bottom like how I wired it.  I'm probably going to switch them all around, but a simpler solution was to just simply reprogram the I-PAC to solve the problem, so mame is still set so down is down and up is up, the correction is made in the I-PAC software / hardware, that was convenient.

I'm adding another omni2 joystick to match the look and feel of the player 1 stick, I would have got a non switchable 8-way, but I know the OMNI2 fits nicely in the X-Arcade tankstick with only minor modifications, and it will surely match the look of my other OMNI2 joystick.   I'm also going to be installing some kind of fake coin door, I ordered those lit coin buttons from groovygamegear, I'm thinking about putting them on a thin piece of black board on the front panel to give it a raised look, I might even make fake coin returns out of painted black molding made into little squares, anybody do this before?  I'm sure the coin buttons alone would look pretty nice.  

btw, If you also use a 4-way, 8-way switchable joystick, I made icons for mame to mark games as 4-way, 8-way, dial, trackball, or dial and 8 way joystick, I attatched them if you want to use them, it takes the guesswork out of the game selection menu in mameplus for sure.  They are attached to this post (joystick and trackball art from iconfinder.com)

[BadMouth]

Not being super familiar with arcade hardware, I wired the joysticks in reverse,

Wouldn't it be much easier just to move the connectors around on the switches?

For the fake coin door, I once made one.
The coin return is a square button, disassembled, lens painted black and glued in backwards.  

The plate behind it is some scrap textured ABS plastic that was handy, but metal would have looked better IMO.

[Cynicaster]

I have one, but I got it as just an empty enclosure with no parts in it. Really cheap....they were blowing them out for like 30$. I put Wico leaf sticks and leaf buttons in it wired into USB gamepad boards. Added extra side buttons for pinball functions, and an inertia switch in the front for forward nudge.

Was that a special deal or do they sell empty shells?  For that price, I'd grab one right now. 

 

[boardjunkie]

It was a one off deal. I think they were either seconds or they changed the design and wanted to get rid of the remaining stock. Its prob'ly the design change since I'm redoing a newer one for a buddy of mine and the stick mount holes are different....not the standard bolt pattern that 99% of arcade joysticks use. This was about 5 years back when I got the empty one....

[molton]

Wouldn't it be much easier just to move the connectors around on the switches?

I should have changed the wires going to the I-Pac as they would only need to move by less than an inch, but I'm too lazy to do that now.  

I installed the coin buttons alone without any kind of fake coin door, I wonder if that decal would look good under the fake coin slot buttons.

I also installed a 2nd OMNI2 joystick, one thing I'd like to note about these joysticks, they both worked perfect when I first got them, but when I drilled both of these to make them fit into the tankstick it bent one of the leafs out of place making the joystick not center properly. I widened the holes by putting the shaft of the joystick through a hole in a box and drilling down through the holes in the mounting plate, that would somehow mess up a leaf or 2 on the joystick that had to be bent back into place for proper centering. bending the leaf back can easily be done through the restrictor plate with 2 electricians screwdrivers or something else small and hard.  They got the arcade red ball tops on them, the first OMNI2 I got I received with the economy red ball by accident, they sent me a new one right away.  The color is a little darker on them but the feel is very crappy, I say spring for one of the better ball tops if you get these, I kept the clicky default switches since they match the rest of my x-arcade switches.  

I guess what I'm saying is if you have a workbench to hold these into place if you have to drill these holes wider too, use it.

I used a 1" spade bit to drill the holes for the coin buttons on the front of the door of the cabinet, unfortunately the door on the extension cabinet is too thick to accommodate these buttons just like that, I had to use a bigger spade bit on the back side of the door to make room for the washer that connects the button to the cabinet.  Since spade bits are designed to be used in a small hole the size of the tip to keep it centered, and I already had a 1" hole where I needed to drill, I had a problem.  I used a 1 1/2" spade bit, but I took a 3/4" socket wrench piece which fit perfectly into the existing 1" hole with the side that attaches to bolts facing the spade bit to keep it centered.  I held the socket wrench bit in place with a thick book between it and my hand, it worked surprisingly well but use this method carefully and at your own risk of course. (not recommended for idiots or if what I did was idiotical  )


I think I could have wired those leds for the coin buttons together rather than having 2 sets of wires coming from the pc, that's something I'd do differently if I wasn't so damn lazy, also those leds and the coin button connection could really use some connectors if I ever want to take this apart, right now they are just directly wired to the tankstick and the PC

I decided that I didn't want to be able to shutdown the computer with any button combination on the top of the arcade panel, so I added this hard to reach button to the back since I had it laying around and I had an input for it, I haven't quite figured out the best combination, but basically this button functions as the only ctrl button on the whole arcade panel, I'll probably make player 1 start "alt" and leave player 2 start as "2" and make the keyboard shortcut to my shutdown command ctrl+alt+2.


I'd like to see what warm white leds would look like in those coin buttons rather than the bright red leds in there now.  The color that comes through in these pictures is how I'd like it to look to the human eye, but they look much redder than the camera picks up.  Still look fantastic and white probably won't look any better, I'm thinking it might though.

[mytymaus007]

Now that yo wasted some time and money on your first project it is time to sell it and move on to your second project!

[BadMouth]

I've made the same mistake on not thinking of the thickness of the wood before drilling button holes.
Luckily, I had a cheap drill press and the piece was small enough to fit under it.

I'd have been disappointed if the coin return lights weren't deep red.
To each their own.  Can't please everyone. 

[molton]

bump 

fyi no longer in progress, this project is done 

check out what i did with the x-arcade board

http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php/topic,122770.msg1304122.html#msg1304122

great for first person shooters

[molton]

Long time no see build your own arcade forums.  I was wondering if any of you know if they ever fixed the x-arcade stick or if it still needs an I-pac.

[BadMouth]

Long time no see build your own arcade forums.  I was wondering if any of you know if they ever fixed the x-arcade stick or if it still needs an I-pac.

They posted an announcement here that they are now using a new version of their PCB that no longer has the limited number of button presses if using the USB connection.
(It never was an issue if using the PS2 connector)
It also doesn't require you to press the button on the back to load alternate mappings.

[molton]

Awesome, that is great news for people like me without all the wood working skills and tools to build our own stuff.  Thanks