Ship Themed Cabinet - force feedback positional guns

[ddogstar]

A very long time visitor to the website, but this is my first post.

Thanks so much to the generous folks here that helped me learn so much.  I finally think I have something to contribute to the dialogue.

The back story:
The family and I were down in Di$ney this summer.  The place was so packed, the kids and wife spent more time at the pool and in the hotel arcade, than they did in the park.  My wife and son blew about $80 bucks playing Aliens Extermination.  So, She Who Must Be Obeyed (SWMBO) asked me to build a gun game.  I homebrew beer too...SWMBO is the spouse nickname used on the homebrew beer web boards(thought I'd share that little gem!)  I have a 1976 electro-mechanical pinball I fully restored a few years ago, which is pirate themed...called "Ship Ahoy".

    I built my first cabinet in 2005, which was a full sized Mame cabinet based upon Doc's modular mame.   I loved that thing!  We moved to a smaller house, so I salvaged the parts and I then built a mini version for my kids.  I'm back in a bigger house again.  Since this new cabinet will be living next to the pinball machine, I thought it might be good to have it compliment the pinball machine.

  A few factors I have taken into consideration as I design and build my third cabinet:
- It will have to have positional guns (SWMBO original mandate)
- Force feedback on guns (if possible)
- I want to build a pedestal cabinet with a projector (something I haven't done)
- The projector needs to be short throw
- I want it to be modular in some way (I am addicted to the modular concept)
- I was hoping to use a different/novelty pedestal shape
- It needs to have a nautical theme

[ddogstar]

So, the half of a galleon sailing ship (pictured below) is my inspiration.  Stumbled on this as part of a pirate exhibit at a museum for kids somewhere....can't remember where.  I thought it was pretty cool and I wondered if I could use the shape.

I want to take the shape of the hull and top part of the rudder as the base of the pedestal.  The control panel will be a platform to look like the upper form of the ship.   Will it look like the ship from the museum?...nope.  Probably more like a Deadstorm Pirates looking cabinet.


I'd like to draw attention to some great nautical/pirate theme builds on here!

Pirate Arcade
http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php/topic,130743.msg1338784.html#msg1338784

Ross' 13 week arcade cab project*COMPLETE*(now has a name"hidden treasures")
http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php/topic,130482.msg1348937.html#msg1348937

The Yahrrcade (Pirate Themed Showcase Cabinet)
http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php/topic,101503.msg1073972.html#msg1073972

~NO QUARTER~
http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php/topic,33894.msg294125.html#msg294125

Very clever pirate/nautical themed cabinets and all that art work is FANTASTIC!  I just wanted to shout out that these are all very cool!  However, since I've never built a projector type of cabinet...and that was closer to the shape of cabinet SWOMBO was looking for...I figured this was a good opportunity to try and go in that direction.

The bottom picture (from internet) is what my pinball looks like and why I thought I'd go this direction.

[ddogstar]

As SWMBO asked for a gun cabinet....I actually started out on this project trying to find a set.  I figured that was a good starting point before I actually "built" anything.  I knew they could be pretty big and heavy, so I'd need to get my hands on one.  I have a couple Aimtraks that I put into two different shells (a pistol and pump action shotgun which work great), but she wanted a mounted gun game.  Her aim sucks.  I figured this gun thing was the long pole in the tent, so I had better figure out if this was even doable.

I was able to pick up a set of positional guns off of ebay for $40.  The seller said he couldn't verify they would work and the triggers were "stuck".  I figured that I'd give it a try and see if I could restore/salvage anything.  I had no way of knowing if they had a force feedback mechanism, but I was guessing they did.  I figured I could rig something up if they didn't.  From the pictures they looked like there was some surface corrosion, but they were in decent shape.  As always, you sometimes have to take a chance on these things and since there were two guns exactly the same, I bought them.  I did a little research on the internet and figured out they were originally from a Taito Spacegun cabinet.  My mom actually worked for Taito back in the 1980's (did their books).  As a kid I'd get to visit her at work and test games out every once in awhile.  Never tested Spacegun when she worked there, but I called her to tell her I scored a set of gear from her old company.  She could care less.  Oh well, I thought it was cool!

When they finally arrived in the mail, from somewhere in TN, they looked just like the picture.  One exception is they were completely covered with a gray film/dirt.  It was much worse than the ebay photos below showed.  more on that later!

 Sure enough I tried the triggers and they were indeed "frozen".  One was frozen pulled back and the other frozen in the normal position.  Funny thing was, as I turned my new little treasures over and over to inspect them, I kept hearing a sound as if there was something loose inside.  Kind of a rattling like there were nuts loose inside.  They moved fine in the y rotation, but the x rotation was stiff.  So, I attempted to take them apart to see if I could salvage anything.

As you can see from the photos, there was significant surface rust on the base.  The other photos from ebay didn't clearly show the how it was held together.  I was initially concerned that they would be held together by security screws.  When I had them in hand, I found them held together with hex tops.

[ddogstar]

Trying to open up the guns:
     In the original ebay post (first picture) I could tell there was corrosion on the screws, but it was too hard to see how bad.  When I had the guns in hand, it was very clear that they were in rough shape.  Since the screw heads were hex key, I grabbed my allen wrenches.  Anxious to get started, I picked one of the screws that looked like wouldn't be a problem.  Came out with no problem.  Thought, heck...this is going to be easy!   Not so much.  I got two of the screws out, but the rust was so bad on all the others...I began to strip the the screw head hex key on each.  These screws were frozen like the triggers.  I then began stripping my allen wrenches as I tried to back the screws out.  I had visions of having to drill out each screw and never being able to replace them.  I did a little search online about removing stripped hex screws and learned about a bunch of options:
 
1. Use a new set of allen wrenches with fresh edges. (did it, but the new wrenches stripped too)
2. Use a dremel to cut a notch in the top of the screw head and use a flat head screw driver to back it out (almost all of the screws were recessed in the gun, didn't want to try that and mess up the gun plastics.)
3. Epoxy an allen wrench to the stripped screw head (one time option - I had 8 screws in the metal base and 14 in the gun plastic...I had two guns to do.)
4. Use a hammer and pound in a torx bit to the top of the screw head.  Back out the screw with whatever you need to.  (I used a small socket wrench with a bit adapter to get the torque I needed.  WORKED LIKE A CHARM!)

The second picture is what a "torx" bit looks like, if you didn't know.  Fortunately, I had a couple in my tool set that worked for this purpose.  I just didn't know they were called torx and what I use them for.  Now I know one use!  Once the screws were out of the base and gun plastics on both guns, I was on my way...

[BadMouth]

I just sold a much nicer set of Beast Busters guns on fleabay cheap.  Shame they didn't go to this project.

A few thoughts:

The reason that I didn't end up using them myself is that the range of motion of them was too limited for the distance I had to work with.
The guns could not move far enough left or right to cover the entire screen unless they were farther away from the screen than I wanted.
The original machines used mirrors and had the monitor in the bottom of the cab to get some distance.
You may get greater range of motion by ditching the potentiometers and gears on the guns and installing aim-traks in them.

If you stick with the potentiometers, an A-Pac can handle the inputs or a U-HID can handle both inputs and outputs. (All ultimarc products)

If these use a recoil solenoid, you'll use MAMEHooker to pick up the outputs from MAME.  You'll need Troubleshooter2 for the outputs on Sega Model 2 Emulator, as well as the ability to use both guns, or any potentiometer based guns.

Hopefully The Ocean Hunter will be working in Supermodel soon, as it would go perfect with the theme.

If they use a vibration motor, you can just rig it up to run when the trigger is held.  I have a Wild Pilots gun that is set up this way.

Some pointers for setting up the positional guns which show up as joysticks in MAME:

1.  Calibrate the positional gun in windows by pointing it along the edges of the screen.
2.  In mame.ini set the dead zone to zero.
3.  In mame.ini set the saturation to 1 (100%)
4.  Calibrate the gun in the game's service menu
5.  Adjust the sensetivity under analogue controls in MAME's in-game menu until the crosshairs don't lag behind the gun movement.
    (there is only ONE sensetivity setting, ignore all settings that include the word DIGITAL)

[ddogstar]

    Thanks very much!  Great info!  I did stumble across mamehooker in my research!  A-Pac is a must to make this work.  I'll also go with the LedWiz to pass the force feedback signal and possibly get some lighted buttons going.  Anyway, the three are what I need to make the feedback happen.  I'd been researching the pinball threads that use mamehooker to create the knocker, sensations, sounds, and feeling I get on my old electro-mechanical pinball.  The video pinball cabinets are very very sophisticated in recreating this aspect.  I've actually gotten the guns cleaned up and working, I'll be documenting what I learned in the following replies.  I figured it was one of the worst cases.  Not a busting on the ebay seller...he fully admitted he couldn't get the guns working.  However, I would have appreciated the cool beastbuster guns!

    I thought about putting Aimtracks in, but I know you need a sensor bar near the picture for the sensors to track the gun positions.  I have the Aimtraks in two usb connected guns I use with my kid's mini cabinet.   They rock!

    In this case, my plan was to use a projector.  I figured trying to make the positional function of the gun work would not limit me to needing the sensor bar.  I could use the projector at any size and still use the guns.  Part of this is the fun in trying to restore the guns and what I learn about how they work.  There aren't too many projects that invest in them as controllers as they take up space.  They basically require a dedicated cabinet.  SWMBO isn't worried about the gun feel or range of motion, she just liked using the mounted gun in Alien Extermination.  Same with the kids...they aren't old enough to use the Aimtraks like me.  I understand I won't have the feel or pinpoint accuracy you get with Aimtrak, but I plan to have the ability to use my other Aimtraks as separate option in my modular concept.  I'll get there too, but I'll figure out the sensor bar with projector separately.

  I learn the most from reverse engineering.  Playing with the positional guns and force feedback is kind of an educational project too.  Something I've never messed with.

[ddogstar]

Restoration Part 1- Inside the guns

   As I was inspecting the guns, I noticed the guns were covered in a gray film of dirt.  It wasn't just dust and took a lot of work to get the dirt off the outside of the guns.  You'll notice the paper towel in the the first picture.  It was like cleaning grease off it.  It just wouldn't come off.

  The under base and external metal was the only real corrosion I had to deal with.
 
  I already mentioned the work to get the screws out.  I started the teardown inside the house.  I quickly learned why the guns were sluggish and why they made a rattling sound.  These guys were almost entirely FILLED with the same gray silt, inside the plastic shell, that I was cleaning on the outside...except it was packed with it.  It was like they survived some kind of flooding!  At least it explained the corrosion.  I quickly closed it guns up and moved them outside.   Sorry I didn't take a picture, but imagine you took the gun shells and scooped dirt in them and put the screws back in.  At least I knew why the gun triggers were both frozen.

This silt was a pain to clean.  I had to use a combination of wire brushes and alcohol/q-tips to get that crap out of there.  It was like cleaning concrete in some parts.  the wires were coated that I couldn't tell what colors they were.

[ddogstar]

More Restoration Part 1:

    I validated my decision to move the project outside when I stumbled upon the mud wasp nest inside one of the mount boxes!  Also some thick, sticky spiderwebs in there too. explained why the x range of motion was sluggish.  Fortunately, nothing was alive in there.

    You can see in the other picture the surface corrosion on the interior of the mount box and the base of the mount I discovered too.  The pump trigger handles had corroded metal plates that plastic attached to.  That and the screws were the worst of it.  The gun frames themselves inside the plastic shell were really not too bad. 

    You can also see the remnants of the silt and some of my cleaning.  That silt was like concrete and I had to use little wire brushes to scrape it off the metal and nylon parts.  I even used a jeweler screwdriver to pick the mud out of the nylon gears.  I was concerned about the potentiometers.  They were also caked in the mud.  I thought the contacts might be corroded or worse on the inside of the potentiometers.  I was thinking of options if they were electrically unsound.   Anyway, I used the wire brush, alcohol and q-tips to get most of it off the outside.  I also tried Radioshack "cleaner and lubricant", but the alcohol worked best.  As I mentioned, the wires needed to be cleaned themselves, so I could match them to the molex plug.

[ddogstar]

This is a picture of one of the y rotation gear/potentiometer.  These worked fine.  The rotation moved smoothly on both guns. 

The x rotation on both guns was rough, partly due to the silt and corrosion.  The gears were on the underside of the base.

[ddogstar]

Restoration Part 2 - potentiometers

Okay, so below is a picture of the potentiometers and how I think their wiring works.  All the black wires to the trigger micro switches and potentiometers were connected in common.  Same with the Red wires between both potentiometers (no reds to the switches).

I didn't attach the HD picture, but the the pots are 5k ohms.

I used the multimeter to initially test each of the wires, between the pots and the molex plug, that none of the wires were cut or broken.  Then I tested that both pots were working by measuring the output as the pot was turned.

Saw how to do it from here:


Everything checked out fine.  Re-stringing wires in that bundle would have sucked.

[Monkeyvoodoo]

Just an idea for another option based on your nautical theme:



Although i'll admit that I would like to see a pedestal based on an aftcastle

[ddogstar]

That binnacle is a piece of art!  I'd hate to mess it up.  Maybe you put the guns where the iron balls are.  Very interesting recommendation.

I have my A-Pac and LEDwiz in hand.  I also have a couple relays and a 24 volt power supply.  More coming.

[ddogstar]

With the dirt cleaned out of all the crevasse, springs, etc... I was able to take a good look at the wires and connections.  The screws holding the micro switches in were badly corroded.  Fortunately, I found that the electrical connections were still good and the micro switch throws had not been impacted by all the mud in the guns.  Basically, by multimeter checking each of the wire connections, to the molex plug, I found both of the guns were electrically sound.

I then went about inspecting the force feedback thumpers, the finger triggers, and the forward pump triggers.

[ddogstar]

Restoration Part 3: Force Feedback

In the picture below, you can see the solenoid, spring, thumper, and rubber stopper.  As I was doing research, I saw that there was a need for a diode to keep the field from collapsing and potentially damaging your electronics.  I went to radio shack and picked up a pack of diodes, but as I was cleaning the solenoid, I discovered that there was one originally placed there.

Without a drawing for the Spacegun cabinet, I was debating what voltage I would need to drive the solenoid.  I tested the solenoid initially with 12 volts DC, thinking I could use a PC supply to drive it.  I bought an 8 AA battery connector from radio shack (12 volts) and tested the solenoid.  It worked, but not as strongly as I had hoped, so I picked up a 24 volt DC power supply off ebay.  When I tested it with 24 volts, I knew I had it right!

The spring was badly corroded onto the thumper I originally thought it was permanently attached.  I used the dremel and a wire wheel to clean up the spring.  I did my best to clean the shaft of the thumper.  One of the two guns had corrosion along the shaft.  I have not used any grease or carbon on the shaft.  When I cleaned the dirt out of the solenoid, I found they both slid smoothly...

I'll try to take a video of them in motion.

[ddogstar]

Here is a clip of my 12v battery test.  The internal tube of the solenoid needed to be thoroughly cleaned, as the thumper would stick after a few revolutions.  I did not use any graphite.  I don't think they are designed for it.



(reload if if the video fails).

[ddogstar]

It has been a while since I posted and progress was slow.  I decided I needed to have the ability to breakdown the machine, as my job requires me to move every few years.  That plays into why I needed some degree of modularity for the cabinet.  I have had success with rj-45 connections in the past, so I decided to press forward with that kind of modular connection for passing the electronic signal to and from the guns, vice clipping the original molex plug and wiring it directly.  Attached is my diagram for a 9-pin molex connection from the gun to the rj-45 cable to the Ultimarc A-Pac.  The connection goes from gun, to molex, to rj-45 to A-Pac. 

Also, with my testing I knew I'll need to run 24v to operate the thumper and I didn't want that running through rj-45.  Needed a bigger gage wire so it wasn't like trying to suck a milkshake through a coffee stirrer.  I wired separate power wires via a 3-pin molex plug.
 
Overkill?...yes.  Fun to do?....yes.

[ddogstar]

Restoration part 4: Painting and reassembly

  There was surface corrosion on both the external and internal parts of the gun frame.  As you might be able to tell from a previous picture, I did not want to mess with removing too much of the hardware on the internal side, as the screws that held the microswiches were rusted into place.  I cleaned up what I could by hand.  Just seemed like tearing the whole thing down was more work than was necessary.  The plastic gun shell covers about 80% of the gun frame, so the ultimate goal of re-painting was to stop the rust where your hand touches the metal.  I used a dremel to knock off/clean up the rust on all the internal and external sides of the frame and then Rust-oleum High Performance Enamel to repaint.  I set up a little spray booth out the postage box the guns arrived in.  I can't powder-coat, but I thought the spray cans did a nice job.

When every thing was dry, I reassembled the guns and turned toward cabinet building.  If I couldn't get the guns working the way I wanted, then there was no point in continuing the project.  Fortunately, restoration worked and I was still on track.

[ddogstar]

Cabinet Construction 1 - Framing and skinning the hull.

   I had an overall ship theme design in mind, but I couldn't decide how I was going to do the curved shapes for the ship transom/rudder form, in order to match my inspiration picture (first post).  I looked up some boat building information, but I felt a rib form would be too flimsy/complicated.  The rib design works great on a real ship hull form, but I was trying to replicate only a small portion of one.  I was also concerned doing a traditional ship hull design for the cabinet would be too light and might tip over during gameplay without enough of the cabinet's weight centered, with a low point of gravity.  I decided on a 3/4" MDF "T" shaped base with 1/2" MDF sides in a box type structure (see pic #1).  From that basic box shape, I then cut hand curved 1/2" pine frames to attach the thin 1/4" MDF skins of the hull (pics #2 and #3).

While it looked okay during construction, I realized the photos were not the best perspectives to show what I did.  I put some color lines on the photos to better show how I did the framing to create the curved shapes of the "ship hull" (picture #2).   I trimmed the 1/4" MDF skins to get a better curve then you see in Picture #3.

The cabinet ended up 27" across the widest part of the pedestal base and 37" from floor to bottom of the controller box.  The internal "T" shape-box turned out to be a good design.  You can clearly see it from the bottom of the cabinet (pic #3).  While it has the appearance of a curved bottom, the cabinet is VERY sturdy and does not tip.  The cabinet weight is centered and gravity is low.

[ddogstar]

Cabinet construction 2 - faux wood

  I was considering the cost for quality oak veneer to cover the cabinet. As I looked at my original inspiration, I noticed that the boards that made up the hull form appeared to be faux wood texturing.  Having never tired that before, I did a little research on that kind of painting.  I also found faux wood graining kits at Home Depot for under $20 and decided to give it a go.  I had taken pictures of my painting progress, but they have somehow been lost or erased from my camera.  I found a couple images from the web that basically describe how to do it.

  The process is pretty simple and inexpensive to do. You paint a base color and let it dry.  Mix some darker tint into the base (along with clear faux glaze) and paint that over the orignial base coat (Pic #1).  The clear faux glaze keeps the paint from drying too quickly, so you can then drag the "gaining" brush across this new "wet" darker paint in a rocking motion to create the wood grain.  The slower you rock, the longer the pattern.  If you want a knot hole, you do a quick rock back and fourth (Pic #2).

  I wanted the cabinet to look like the photo in the first post, so I tried to use the same basic color scheme (Pic #3).  The width of the gain brush was proportionally big enough that I thought it looked like decent board widths.  I used a large Sharpie marker to draw in the "board" seams.  My hands are not steady enough to paint them.  The painting was an experiment.  I knew if I didn't like it, I could go back to veneer.  But I thought it turned out fine.

[BadMouth]

looks convincing to me!

[ddogstar]

Thanks!

[ddogstar]

Cabinet construction 3 - Control panel

  Since the original request was for a gun game cabinet, I designed the panel layout so one of the guns would be permanently mounted.  I decided that the other gun would be modular to have the option to swap out one of the positional guns with joystick/buttons.  I intended on using the permanent gun as the controller for the arcade front end program and have an admin panel.   I knew what the footprint for mounting the positional guns would be, so I plotted out a design to accommodate them as the primary controllers.  I figured that I’d back fit the joystick/buttons after I installed the positional guns. 

  My control panel dimensions are 30" wide x 19" deep.  There is a slight difference in the depth of the box from front to back.  It has a slight rise.  In my “Cabinet Construction -1” post above, you can see the control panel box in the second picture.

  Admin panel:  My original drawing had an admin panel (coins, start, pause, exit, etc...) on the back edge of the control panel box.  I had thought I could incorporate some kind of "nautical" wood working and find a way to fold the buttons into it and probably some speakers.  I temporarily mounted a piece of wood on the back edge with a couple buttons, so I could play with it and see if that is what I really wanted (Pic #1).  While an admin area works on a more traditional cabinet, I didn't like the look on this pedestal.  I changed the design so all the buttons and speakers would be flush with the plane of the control panel (Pic #2).

Added features:  While I was able to get the front end to work by just using the positional gun I didn’t like it.  The gun does not return to center, like a game pad controller.  It made the front end continually cycle, unless you held the gun up/centered on the x and y directions.  So, I added a track ball and two mouse buttons.  I also added a hole for a USB mount.  I have two Aimtrak guns (I love) and wanted to be able to use one of them...if I want.  I also added a button to the outside of the gun base.  The "Space Gun" guns only have two switches (and the original space gun cabinet also has a foot pedal), so I added another button.  After laying out the design, I cut it out (Pic #3).  You can see I decided to leave the permanent gun on the left and made the right one my modular panel.   

Pictures # 4, 5 and 6 are where I applied red oak veneer in strips to give the appearance of deck planks.  While I liked the paint job below, I wanted more detail above.  Ultimately, you spend more time looking at the control panel than the base.  I wanted it to look and feel like a weather ship’s deck, so I intentionally staggered the veneer strips and left slightly uneven gaps.

Picture 7 is sanded, stained and clear coated.  The joystick modular panel is planned to have the same deck pattern as the modular gun panel so it will keep the same overall deck appearance.

[ddogstar]

Cabinet construction 4 – Control panel finishing work

  I wanted to add “windows” to the control panel box, to give it the "galleon" stern profile.  My original idea showed larger windows than what I ended up with.  The hardest part was trying to find a pre-made Victorian looking window in the size I needed.  I knew I didn’t have the skill to try and paint it directly on to the box.

   I stumbled on to a silicone cake decoration mold that looked like it would work.  I decided on using “hot glue” to make the window.  It was easy to work with, easy to paint and to attach to the box. (Pic #1)

   I made five windows. (Pic #2)

   I messed around with different configurations of the windows.  I decided I liked the equal distribution of the space across the front of the box. (Pic #3)  At the moment I don't have anything planned on the sides.

  The control box was painted with a black background and metallic gold acrylic paint on the detail wood from Home Depot. (Pic # 4)

   The last picture shows the windows finally installed. (Pic #5)  I have some touch up work left.  I will add veneer to the edges of the control panel.  Want to make it look like planks laying on top of the control box.  I'm going to add a ship name plaque just under the control box, above the coin door.

    I will now be looking at how to decorate around the windows.  Maybe some gold scrolling on the ends or between the windows.  I have some bronze looking plastic pieces I found at Michael's Arts and Crafts store.  I may attach them and see how that looks. 

Any ideas?

[yotsuya]

Crazy! The windows are a nice touch! 

[ddogstar]

Thank you.  I appreciate the feedback!

[ddogstar]

Force Feedback – Update

The guns were reassembled, but I took a quick video clip of one in action before I buttoned it up.  This one is more powerful than the other one.  I have both guns running off the one +24v power supply.  I suspect the other thumper spring and shaft had more corrosion on it and thus, after cleaning it has has less return strength and more friction in the coil sleeve.

I’m also posting a diagram of my wiring.

To make it happen, I use Mamehooker, Ledwiz, a solid state relay and +24v power supply.

[ddogstar]

Cabinet construction 5 – Control panel finishing work

I added some veneer edging.  I'm going for the rough plank look across the control panel.

[ddogstar]

Cabinet construction 6 – Modular Control Panel Construction

  As part of my original design, I knew I wanted some form of modular panel.  While the original request SWMBO made was for a positional gun game cabinet (she likes Aliens Extermination)....I know I'll end up playing with the arcade more than her.  So I have two modular panels:

- a positional gun
- a U360 joystick with 8 buttons

  I decided the right most positional gun position on the control panel would become the "modular" panel.  I never had one before, but I bought a Ultimarc 360 joystick.  In addition to the joystick circuity, it houses the circuity for dedicated buttons inside the joystick housing.  The whole thing connects by usb.  I bought the additional firmer spring and wiring harness.  I think it works just fine.  Pretty easy to change the spring, but it helped watching someone on youtube do it before I did.  Not sure If I'll ever mess with 4-way 8-way restrictor plates.  Motorized switching restrictor plates look cool though!

  I cut and fit both the positional gun and the Joystick modular panels before I put the veneer on the control panel.  As I mentioned in an earlier post, I factored the layout of the "planking" as I did the veneer.  However, with a natural product like wood veneer, I could not perfectly match the gain pattern between the entire control panel versus the two modular panels.  The veneer for the positional gun has the natural veneer gain pattern for the control panel as a whole, as I expect it to be on the control panel 90% of the time.  Just like the veneer on edge of the MDF, I did the best I could to match the veneer on the joystick panel, but honestly...That joystick panel is really only for me anyway!

I found that with the size and shape of the panels (10" wide by 8.5" tall), they fit pretty tight and stay in play well.  By design, they lay on top of two 1x2 pieces of wood at both the top and bottom of the hole in the main control panel.  The distance/spacing around the panels are no more than the width of the blade I used to cut the positional gun modular panel from the main control panel.  The positional gun is heavy enough that the panel does not move when it is in place.  The joystick panel fits tight as well and it is actually your hand by the buttons, that actually helps hold it down while playing.  I've jammed on it playing and it does not budge.  When I built my first cabinet, a version of "Docs modular mame," I had to use a system like he did of wedging the panel under the admin board, alignment pegs, and clips.  This time...I didn't have to do a thing extra to hold it in place.  The panels are hot swap if you need to do it.  Just unplug and you are ready.  I'll show the wiring for the modular panels next.

The pictures below show:

- My planking layout for the joystick panel. I marked the MDF panel in accordance with the planking layout on the control panel.  Both the positional gun panel and control panel have the same planking layout pattern.  Using a thick black sharpie marker on the MDF under the veneer also gives me the visual effect of shadow/break between the planks.

- The veneer for the Joystick panel

- The two panels themselves and you can see the 1x2 wood the panels sits on.

Any feedback so far....?