Super Nincadeo-PICS- (CP DONE....ish 11/02/05)

[Ldsfunaz]

I thought it was time to finally make a post because I actually bought the 3/4 inch MDF today.

[flampoo]

I am still not certain wheather i will angle 3p and 4p sticks, I will have to wait til i mock it up to decide.

Don't wait. Angle them now. And also, there aren't any games that require 6 button configs for players 3 and 4.

[dema]

Maybe it's just me, but the flippers being on the angle seem like they would cause carpo-tunnels syndrome. In my mind your arms would have to twist in an unnatural way to hit the buttons, which would hurt after a while.

[toyfiend2004]

Don't wait. Angle them now. And also, there aren't any games that require 6 button configs for players 3 and 4.

if he is going for a 4 player console cab, then sports games etc. use more than 4 buttons i believe.

[Ldsfunaz]

yeah, the 6 buttons for 3p and 4p are because of some SNES games would require that many buttons.  I have room on an Ipac4 so why not. 

about the flippers, i have seen alot CP's where they are mounted like this, and i have placed my hands like they would be there on my wallboard mock up and it seems ok so far.  you rest your palms on the 45 deg corner and play like you would if it was a 90deg corner..


and about angling the 3p and 4p sticks.... I will have to see.  2p smash TV is rather important to me. but comfort for player 3 and 4 is more important....


thanks guys

mike

[Ghoward]

Do you have the 27" tv yet as I ran into problems when I made my first cab as I couldn't find a TV that would fit, I ended up using a WG9200 and that only just went in.

Gary

[Ldsfunaz]

I am looking at either  Magnavox 27" TV (27MS3404) which is 23.7 inch's wide and 29.5 inches deep, for 199.99


or


 Toshiba 27" Stereo TV with ColorStream DVD Component Video Inputs
 
Model: 27A34
 

which says it is  25 5/8 inches wide and only 19 3/4 inches deep.    i think with LuSiDs plans i have 26 inches to work with. 

although I am starting to lean towards UAII for somereason so i guess we will have to see.  good thing i haven't started to build yet. 

thanks for giving me the idea to check it out.

mike

[NinjaEpisode]

yeah, the 6 buttons for 3p and 4p are because of some SNES games would require that many buttons.

[Ldsfunaz]

just bought the router today, i know its not a big step but i got such a good deal i had to brag

i got this one, brand new in box from home depot for 90 bucks.. 

(click the picture)


I had originally planned on buying the cheapest 50 dollar one.   but then there was this 160 royobi on sale for 129.99,  but then they only had the floor model so that was 99.99.....but thennnnnnn they only had some of the parts, so the store manager came over and said fine we will give you that milwake one for the same price.    thinking it was 129.99.  i was like OK great but the royobi is 99.99 .  and he got kinda flustered.  and went to check the price.  He came back and said ohh ok, ill give you it for that price anyway, and in his fluster, he wrote down $90.00 on the price sheet...
it was awesome.. so i got a brand new 170 dollar milwaukee for 90 bucks when i origionally intended on getting a 50 dollaor POS....AWESOME

I'm off on vacation, then its build build ...play... finishing building

[crashwg]

Lucky bastard with that router!  You got yourself a great deal.

[Ldsfunaz]

ok I bought the slot cutters and some jigsaw blades today.  This doesn't call for an update but i figured this would be a good time to ask a question.

I am planing on using a Slick Stick Tornado spinner and a Happs usb Trackball. 

I originally thought i was going to use an opti-pac,  but would I need on with my set up.  after more research It seems much harder to use an opti-pac than not use one.

thanks guys

[giza]

Just a thought about your router bits, it may be a good idea to buy to router kit they sell at home depot.  You will use at least three of those bits in there.  If you calculate the costs of the bits individually then look at the price of the kit, you may get better value for you money; besides, you will have all those bits to use in other projects in the future.

[Ldsfunaz]

i did buy a 8 piece kit from homedepot when i got the router.  But the kit had no slot cutter.  so i had to get that by itself, thanks for the advise though

[Ldsfunaz]

Well 2 months later.  My basement is finished and i have started construction....

I have traced all the pieces and cut out 1 of the 3 MDF boards...

nothing that intresting so no pictures for now.   I will have more pictures when i get further... wish me luck...

mike

[PedroSilva]

Lucky bastard with that router!

[paigeoliver]

I am still not certain wheather i will angle 3p and 4p sticks, I will have to wait til i mock it up to decide.

Don't wait. Angle them now. And also, there aren't any games that require 6 button configs for players 3 and 4.

Who should he believe about angling the sticks?

 You?

Or every single company that ever produced arcade games?

Every single 4 player game ever made had UP pointing the same way on all 4 sticks. All of them.

Gauntlet.
Quartet.
All 40 of those 4 player Konami games.
All the 4 player Capcom games.
Even those 4 player snake games from the 70s.
Every 4 player game ever made.

It is probably the only single absolute rule in the industry, UP is the same direction on every joystick, no matter how many of them there are.

[Ldsfunaz]

PICS!!! finally, well first off, I suck, I suck so bad its not even funny.

This was the first time i have ever used a router, and it was basically what i expected from it.

[Timoe]

Only thing I can suggest if you haven't made any color choices yet.....   Go BOLD with yer color  Orange and yellow, blue and green.  Don't be scared to make it look like a machine for FUN.

And as for your routing skills.  That is rought but the routering happens so fast.  This probably wont be your last project so, now you know.

But keep in mind that T-molding is meant to cover that ugly wood edge anyway and once you put that on you should be fine.     Congrats on the progress

[Bones]

I also had similar difficulty cutting my t-slot and ended up cutting out the entire area and re-doing it. I don't know if this is an option but it's just a thought if it is really worrying you.

Also, I don't mean to sound patronising, but are you aware that routers only work well when you move them in a clockwise direction? Thought I might mention it as you said you hadn't routed before. Going the wrong direction will definitely end in tears and likely produce problems like you describe.

Don't let it get you down, there ain't nothing that can't be fixed.

[Ldsfunaz]

EDIT: According to my manual it says when cutting the outside of something, you should move counter clockwise.

[Bones]

EDIT: According to my manual it says when cutting the outside of something, you should move counter clockwise.

[Timoe]

Its different CW or CCW depending on what hemisphere you're on.

[Bones]

Yes, the Coriolis effect is well documented with power tools.....

[Ldsfunaz]

how did we start talking about the pisser?

[Ldsfunaz]

anyway, because I'm still a little upset with myself, (even though once the T-molding gets on there, no one will ever know)

i wanted to show you guy the basement where this bad boy is gonna go..

spent the last 2 years working on it almost every weekend. and all summer...(i didn't know how to use an electric drill/screwdriver before this started)


but here's some pictures.

[Ldsfunaz]

here is me "clamping" the studs to the bottom base

i dont see anything wrong here....

[turbopsi]

You can still fix the routing mishap. Pull out any loose bits of mfd and fill the slot with some bondo or equivalent filler. Let it set and route the slot again.

Note: Only fill the areas your are not happy with.

Should come up good.

[wintermute]

On the router topic, rather than try to remember what the instruction book says, just remember that you always want to route AGAINST the direction of the cutter.  Your router should have an arrow on it saying which way it spins (uh, or just look at it when you turn it on).  You *don't* want the router to try to pull itself in the same direction you are cutting, it will be really unstable as you saw.  You want to push the router so that it's spinning agaist the direction you are cutting in.

Also sometimes if you're cutting where half the router or more ends up hanging off the edge of your workpiece, sometimes it's helpful to clamp some scrap of the same thickness around so that the other part of the router has something to rest on.  This will stop it from wanting to fall of the edge of your sheet.

[Ldsfunaz]

Also sometimes if you're cutting where half the router or more ends up hanging off the edge of your workpiece, sometimes it's helpful to clamp some scrap of the same thickness around so that the other part of the router has something to rest on.

[Ldsfunaz]

the sides are getting glued/screwed to the bottom base....

i also put on 2 inch casters today, swivel up front, straight on the back...

here's my progress

[Timoe]

lets see pictures of those casters up in there.  !!

[Ldsfunaz]

OK, you asked for

[AtomSmasher]

I guess I got lucky because I routed half of mine CW and the other half CCW and I had zero problems, came out perfect first try.

[Ldsfunaz]

well, I'm working my way from the bottom up.

here is the 2 front pieces, big coin door(or lack thereof) piece, and then the little angled piece.

i didn't cut any holes for the coin door, because flatly i don't really have the money for 1, and also because i don think that one would be used that much because of the

[Ldsfunaz]

no real update, i put the back panels on, and am working on the keyboard drawer now, should have the base completed by the weekend.  and ill have pictures then.

Its getting time to buy my controls now and i had a question about my dedicated 4 way...

what's the deal with the J-stick.  is that what i am looking for.
I am ordering  basically everything from Andy, and want a good ball top from my 4 way.

I guess I am going to have to rout the bottom of my 3/4 inch CP top to get these to fit good?

thanks guys
mike

[Timoe]

Yeah routing the bottom for your joysticks will take you 5 minutes.  Draw the outline of your joystick bases on the bottom after you have drilled.  Then test the depth of your router on a scrap piece really quick and go to town on the bottom of your CP.

I would get the j-stick also just because it has a decent throw, similar to a Happ Super.  Those short throw joysticks (t-stick) just feel foreign to me.


Congrats on your progress btw.

[dennis808]

Joysticks are really a matter of personal taste I learned after reading some of the joystick discussions here...

Check out this site for a good J-Stick/ Sanwa review:
http://www.hardmvs.com/html/SanwaJoy.htm

[Ldsfunaz]

Sorry Guys, I know its been a while since the last update, but i have been busy,

mainly trying to figure out a damn color scheme so i can order my buttons and whatnot, and I am pretty sure I have..

but first here is where i am at right now



Here is a general look from the front...




Look Mah, No visible screws





here is my CP top just sitting there... its a behemoth, 48x 24
it was going to be 48 by 20 but i felt for Golden tee, i would have some problems...



As you may or may not know, I am pretty sure I have decided on the name Super Nincadeo
here is my first draft of the marquee




I have ordered my red t-moulding, my 3 inch translucent trackball, and i will order my black original head tornado spinner from slikstik later today,




thanks again for stopping by

mike

[Ldsfunaz]

I got my trackball in today,
spinner is due tomarrow
and joys and buttons should be here tomarrow or def by Friday..

now if only i could get those blank DVD-R's i ordered 3 weeks ago, I wonder what the hold up is.....

small update, but alas i have a small audience,
maybe if i posted some pictures of my girlfriend i could get a little more enthusiasm out of you guys

pictures of trackball will be up later

[Franco]

Looking good my friend, awesome games room too!!

If I were you I would be tempted to move your castors futher apart just to make the cab more stable. Im not saying it wont be stable as it is, it may just prevent any stability issues you have later on.

[Havok]

I got my trackball in today,
spinner is due tomarrow
and joys and buttons should be here tomarrow or def by Friday..

now if only i could get those blank DVD-R's i ordered 3 weeks ago, I wonder what the hold up is.....

small update, but alas i have a small audience,
maybe if i posted some pictures of my girlfriend i could get a little more enthusiasm out of you guys

pictures of trackball will be up later

To tie the theme in, have her model the cab...

[Ldsfunaz]

Looking good my friend, awesome games room too!!

If I were you I would be tempted to move your castors futher apart just to make the cab more stable. Im not saying it wont be stable as it is, it may just prevent any stability issues you have later on.

well it actually is a tad wobbly, i was thinking it was just because there is no TV in it yet, but you may be right..

I am not in the mood to just move these casters because then i would have spend all this time making a wood frame to put them into , and then not use it,

so is anyone against putting 4 more casters on this bad boy?

way out towards the corners?

should be stable as a mother (Edited out) ya know?

[Franco]

I can't see a problem with just adding more castors. In your case i think it would probably be an advantage as your wheels are rather small. Do you know what weight they are rated to support? The last thing you want is them failing on you. I managed to get some real heavy duty ones of ebay. They are probably overkill but there is no way that they are going to fail on me.

[Ldsfunaz]

they are 2 inch 150 lb each from Home Depot, I have never build a cab before, but i figured 600 lbs would be plenty,  probably will be 1200 by the end of the weekend

1 question, there should be anyproblems doubling up the swivels in the front? and doubling the fixed ones in the back, actually that's the only way you could get "good" mobility out of it, right?

[Ldsfunaz]

Its here , woohoo, its all here

trackball came yesterday, spinner, buttons and sticks came today, yes yes yes...

this stuff is all so weird, I am still constructing my CP Box, had a rough time with the angles, but in the end, with enough wood filler, i think it may just work out ok...now this hinge problem, is another issue

and i have been working on my CPO, and im having some troble with it but so far, this is a general layout of my vision....
take out that turtle and put in Link, leonardo is just a placeholder..

[lcddream]

i would recommend you stick with one type of style on the cp. meaning the samus is like a 3d rendering and mario and luigi are cartoon style. maybe try and find a cartoony samus?

looks great otherwise though

[Ldsfunaz]

hmm, you are the second person to point that out to me, I never really thought about that too much.

I think because the Link picture isn't there, and theres still a plain Black background, the difference is really evident..

and besides, I'm making a frankenpanel, should it have franken-art?

[DrewKaree]

should be stable as a mother (DrewKaree's prefferably), ya know?

If you could get this to be as stable as my mom, that'd be a miracle.  She tends not to move, but it's probably from the 6 feet of dirt atop her, thank you very much.  She was stable before we put all the dirt on her too, though.  It took 6 guys, 3 on each side, to move her.

Yeah, I'd go with getting it as stable as my mom.

[markrvp]

should be stable as a mother (DrewKaree's prefferably), ya know?

WTF

[Flinkly]

i think drew is just so much of the clown of the byoac, that he gets jabs like this for no reason.  i don't think any disrespect was intended or taken from the comment though.

on the real topic, i again think you should go the way of sprites for your characters, rather than different artists renderings.

[Ldsfunaz]

I definitely didn't mean any disrespect, but not to sound too frigid, but when you throw the jokes around, sometimes they come your way too. 
But alas, i am sorry i made the comment. 

Back to business,
Blued my CP base together today, this week i will be drilling the holes and getting everything ready, i went to Home Depot and couldn't find the wire i was looking for, nor the smaller .187( i think) quick disconnects for my J-stick,

SO i ordered both of those things on eBay, i got 100 ft (20 ft, 5 diff colors) of stranded 22 gauge for 6 bucks hope that's not too much of a rip off.

[Ldsfunaz]

small update today,   no pictures, sorry, its not worth it.  I measured out where all my holes are gonna be for my controls, I really like the way that came out, everyone seems to have a good view and everything is comfortable and symmetric.  I also filled in the 4 visible screws on the outside of my cab (on the small angled section in the back-bottom) and the 6 on the monitor shelf.  I also filed in the cracks on my CP base.  that went pretty well too. 

When it stops raining, I'm gonna take this bad boy outside, and route the T-moulding slot (Oh god please help me), route the overhand to make it 5/8 inches, route where the bottom where the joysticks are gonna be, and drill all the holes.  Then its time to PRIME and paint, oooh this should be fun....


i just need it to please stop raining... although i guess that's a little self centered because of the hurricane situations and stuff. 

oh well, stop raining! haha

[Ldsfunaz]

Well, i figured i would put up some pictures of my progress today. 

But first let me state (like just about everone else on these boards that have used one) that a forstner bit is the greatest thing since sliced bread, I'm not a big bread fan but you get the idea.  I was dreading cutting the holes in my CP, 1, because it was so darn beautiful and i didn't want to deface her, and 2, i was dreading cutting out so many holes.  But then came my dewalt/forstner bit combo to the rescue.  It was such a pleasure, i never got tired of hearing the *phwap* sound when the final 1/100th of an inch got popped off on the back of the cp, before the bit hit the scrap piece under it.  1 after another, after another.  so so fun..
so the joystick and button holes were fun, that's about where this thing stopped being fun, (I'm not even gonna count the cleanup of the "pencil" shavings that come off the thing)

next was figuring out what i need to do for my slikstik tornado spinner.  I didn't get any instructions with it, and for 100 bucks you would expect that! (I did get 2 brosures for their upright cabs so I guess you win some you loose some )

anyway, searched the boards for a bit to figure out what to do, and it seemed I am the only moron who didn't know how to do this, but then i finally found out how after 20 mins of searching.  I just drilled a 3/8 inch hole, (hope its big enough, or is it to big..hmmmm..)

next came my pinball buttons. this is where good planning would have come in handy.  but since I like to do things when i want to do them, and not plan too far ahead, i put my cp box 1X2 supports, right where the flipper buttons needed to go.  But i wasn't worried, I have a forstner bit.  I slightly (1/8") moved up where the flipper buttons were going to be, so i could get a little more clearance.  I then proceded to screw a piece of 2x2 on top of the 1X2 (stay with me people), so when the forstner bit pushed through, i could continue chugging through the 1X2 a little and get some clearance for the button/nut.  Well this worked beautifully, i unscrewed the 2x2 and it looked like it might work, the button went in perfectly, but then there was the nut!  there as no way of getting this to fit, so i had to chisel (screwdriver-sel actually) down a bit to make room for the nut.  This seemed to work beautifully.  Now back to that 1/8 inch move upwards, apparently that makes a difference because now your comfort level is at about a 50% instead of a 75% (because of the overhang and 45% angle) but they work , especially if you use your pointer finger only, and not the 1-2-3 finger combo i like so much.

First picture is of my cp holes(self explanatory i guess),

second picture is of my pinball button screwdriver-sel fest!

[Ldsfunaz]

well , i got a lot of pictures for you, but they are all in my little tuturial i made to mount the speakers i bought,  I think everything worked out pretty well, and don't worry, i used a guide to make the routed space on the real speaker panel  . that came out a lot nicer than the test piece.
 next up, route t-molding spot, overhang underside, and joystick underside on my cp top.  then comes priming everything.
wish me luck

here is a link to my tuturial
http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?topic=44461.0

[Ldsfunaz]

I did my first coat of primer today.  Since I am painting it black I am using a tinted primer, so i don't have to worry about the black having any problems covering stark white primer.  Its a medium-light grey but i think it will work.  I am going to paint with your standard interior semi-gloss black latex...but not before i give it a second coat of primer, and sand again...
wish me luck

mike

[Ldsfunaz]

Well it looks like I have been dooped!!!!!!

well not really but you guys be the judge...you guys are still with me right?..**hears crickets**

anyway, so I am in the hunt for that perfect 27 inch TV for my cab
It needs to be 27 inches wide or less, I wanted it to have component inputs as well as s-video, because i wanted to try to get that dongle thing so i can get component, and hopefully get 2 guncon2's working off of that green cable.
I also wanted to have it have that , auto turn on when the plug is pulled and also remember that video input.  that's not alot to ask right?

And I found it

Walmart.com  Emerson 27" Flatscreen EWF2704 for 198.94 (technically its 27.1 inches, but I was told its closer to 26-3/4" by an employee


YES YES YES..



but its sold out.. NO NO NO

so i check my nearest wal-mart and boom, there it is sitting in front of me
Same brand 27 inch flatscreen for 198.94, same price. Boy am i relieved

i get the bad boy home and to my shock, there is no component, input, check the box, says nothing about component input, and i see the model number is EWF2705

2705!!! what is that about, i check Emerson's website, no mention of making a 2705, i check the back of the TV again, and there is a perfect spot just where the component inputs should be.  So I am a little upset with the whole matter, but i guess technically they did nothing wrong, i just don't see how they would be the exact same price/ TV case, yet 1 has more stuff, both being offered from the same company.

but not having component is probably better because then i would be temped to buy the dongle and purchase a 80$ vid card that supports it , when i have a perfectly good geforce 3 i could use.


next up for today is painting the cab with its first coat, its a big day in super nincadeo-land

[DrewKaree]

Wal-Mart probably had a contract with them to buy that tv for a certain price (my guess as to why the model number is off by one digit) and they may have just made a mistake and left off a step or something.

Take it back to Wal-Mart, tell them what you were looking for, tell them their placard shows the component and all that other stuff you want, and see if they'll hook you up with something else, or (and this may be just because I was friends with the store manager who happened to walk up at that moment) perhaps return your item and have one of those TV's you WANT shipped to you. 

If not, and you really don't like it, take it back.  Dunno about you, but for a 27", I coulda swore they had one for ~$150.  If I'm right, it sounds as if you paid $40+ MORE for a TV than you needed to.  If I'm wrong, the worst that happens is that you're out some time and hassle.

Oh, and head over to your Wal-Mart and grab a tape measure from the tools dept. 

[Ldsfunaz]

Well, actually, I can't vouch for what it says on the item-info-card.  I actually had an assistant manager pick this thing up for me so I am not even sure what they have at the local walmart.   I told him i wanted the 27 " flatview, Emerson TV that was 198.94.  I assumed they were the same But I am guessing this is just some sales tactic they use.  They have a great deal online, have the same thing in their actual stores, but stripped down slightly, with a slightly different item number, but the same price.  Then the make up for the loss of the online item with the inflated shipping.  seems like shady/good business to me. 

and i think standard 27" tv's are about 150, but i sprung for the flat view for the supposed better viewing angles.  I care about my third and fourth player's 


oh and 1 last thing, apparently they were right about that 27.1 inches   This big guy doesn't quite fit... well it fits but with a tad bit of scrapin, which happens to make me want to cry.  but I got out the dremel and sanded a little bit of the inside of my cab, this looks ok, and made it fit like butter, once i sand it better and paint it it will be un noticeable, and once I am certain I am keeping the TV I am going to dremel the sides of the TV a little, just where they hit, that should make everything perfect..

1 question, whats the deal with how far the TV needs to be back in a cab, I am planning on using a 27 inch flatview happs Bezel.  since this is my first cab I am not really sure how one of them works,

thanks again

mike

[TOK]

You have to watch that kind of stuff with places like Wal-Mart and Best Buy.
They're big enough that TV manufacturers will make exclusive versions of TV's for them. Like you found with Wal-Mart, its usually missing higher end features so they sell it for a lowball price.

[Ldsfunaz]

You have to watch that kind of stuff with places like Wal-Mart and Best Buy.
They're big enough that TV manufacturers will make exclusive versions of TV's for them. Like you found with Wal-Mart, its usually missing higher end features so they sell it for a lowball price.

that's my exact point, i would expect that, but the fact it was a exclusive version with stripped down features for the same exact price as they had on their OWN website.

[Ldsfunaz]

OK PICTURE TIME!!!!

heh, its been a while and I have done quite a bit, well not really but, once you get some sort of paint or primer on something this big for the first time.

[DrewKaree]

When you're positive you're keeping it, find extensive directions or help from someone like Paige, and decase that TV.  You won't need to be dicking around with that Dremel at all then.

[the3eyedblindman]

BAH! You should have bought the tv and then built the cabinet width based on the width of the TV!

[Ldsfunaz]

yes, shoulda coulda wooda, but its all working out so far.

I have been a little busy worker bee the lastfew days doing some stuff for this bad boy. 

I don't know what i was thinking, but i was tired of painting and wanted to give wiring a try.  It was my first time and I wanted to see how this was.
I started out wiring up player 1 and player 3, just the signal wires not the grounds.  My main goal was to get those 2 controllers hooked up so i could test out if i wanted to angle my 3p/4p sticks,  But then I realized that I needed to wire the whole thing all at once so i was going to have to cut up some lexan.

I went out and bout my lexan, $50 for a 48x36" piece, they didn't have 48x24 which pissed me off, but I guess its OK because this it'll get me 1/2 of the bread of my marquee sandwich.  I then proceded to freak out because i was so nervous about trimming my lexan.  But Bones helped me through it and all is well.  It went so well that i did in fact actually stick the router and flushtrim bit up my butt and ran it for a while.  and of course, it didn't let me down. 


after i trimmed it i had to do all my button holes.  That went very smoothly too , except for the 2 holes that kicked back at me for some reason.  I am not sure why, i did the same procedure fr all holes, but 2 holes made a bang sound and chewed up some lexan.  I drilled a 3/8 " pilot hole and then used my flushtrim bit.  after that it as time to cut the hole for my trackball.  This was simpler than i had anticipated.  Because I have a High-Lip all i had to do was sit the mounting plate in its place.  put some carboard in between cp and lexan ( so the ball bearing could roll along the mounting plate, and there was enough clearance for the blades to be cutting the lexan.  then i just pretended it as a button, perfect fit. i am very happy with the outcome, ill have pictures later. 

Through this process i got lexan embedded all over my cp-top paint job!! i knew i should have let it cure more than 2 days.  and now i have to paint again.
But i think i would have had to anyway , because I needed to put in my t-nuts for my joysticks, but this required me to figure out if i wanted to angle my 3p, 4p sticks. so we are back at square 1


I had come up with a better idea this time around.  I wired up just the 3p t-stick ( at a 45% angle) and used 2, 1/2  inch screws from the bottom to hold it up.Then i fired me up some wrestlefest.  This was not the best choice, because I didn't wire up any buttons, i basically became Hulk Hogans Punching bag for a little while.  I did get just enough time to figure out that it was comfortable.  I then programed the I-pac so 3p controls were 1p controls, and booted up ms. pacman. and once again i decided angling the sticks is the right decision for me, this makes 2p smash TV a little harder to configure, but i hear that there are some ways around this. 

I then installed my t-nuts.  this process took a little while and i had to go out and get 1/2inch 10-24 screws, i had 3/4" and they were too big.  I am not really going to get in to all of this because its been told a 1000 times, but right now my wood filler is drying and i will sand it tomarrow, and then probably put another coat of filler on it to get the imperfections, then paint it black, i don't think i am going to prime all the little holes, and I should have done this before i painted, but, you live and learn.  This just gives me more motivation to make a CPO so non of this is seen. 

anyway that's where i stand, if you made it this far, you deserve a cookie..

-LDS-

[Ldsfunaz]

Well I promised pictures, and I am coming through this time.

not much to say, except i painted my final coat on my cp top, and my first coat on my cab.

[Ldsfunaz]

here is a quick reply on what the second coat on top of the filler looks like (6th coat overall )

[Ldsfunaz]

there is coat 3 on top of wood filler, coat 7 overall.

[markrvp]

My suggestion is to not put the controls in until you have your actual CPO.  Once you get through screwing all the buttons in and setting the joystick handles you'll find that it was A LOT of work and not something you're likely to take apart and do again.

For at least 2-24 months.   

[Ldsfunaz]

well I didn't listen.

[markrvp]

The incandescent trackball light that comes on the trackball takes 12v, but it's not a very good source of illumination, nor does it create a great effect. 

My suggestion is to take that light off and replace it with a 4-LED cannon.  Use red LEDs for the best glow.  I'll see if I can post a pic and link when I get to work.

[markrvp]

Okay, here is the LED base that I was talking about.

[Timoe]

What if you made a portable panel for say ..... a laptop or something.  How could you light that 12v led cannon?   Would a battery work?  Any battery / combo suggestions to get that 12v?

[markrvp]

What if you made a portable panel for say ..... a laptop or something.

[Ldsfunaz]

i actually saw that cannon and was thinking of using, it.  How did you connect it to the trackball?  also the power wire just connects to an open  connector from my power supply?

thanks
-LDS-

[Timoe]

Yeah, that Led cluster (led cannon) comes with a short set of wires and a molex connector (it will plug right into your computer power supply)

As for mounting, it has holes on the side of the led cannon case that you can rig to the screw holding that little bulb that came with your trackball.

[Ldsfunaz]

Oh, and I guess since this is my project announcement, i should "announce" that (****EDIT:

[markrvp]

Damnit.

[Timoe]

Thats a good drawing tho

[Ldsfunaz]

yeah, i know exactly what i have to do now, great drawing. 

but i have better news!!

well it turns out i may not need a new ipac cable, at least not right away, see i looked at the monstrosity i created
and the round metal piece that actually gets plugged into the ipac separated from its rubber housing.  i hope that make sense.  well 4 or 5 pins stayed with the housing, and 2 pins came off with the metal piece.  and everyone was bent to hell, i mean like 90* angles here.  But i was like, before i go out a try to rig something, might as well try to just push the metal piece back in the rubber housing.   so i there i went.  first i unbent the pins with my fingers as much as i could
then i placed the metal piece into the rubber housing, trying to get the pins through the holes where they belonged, then i took a rubber malled to it while it was on a piece of wood, kinda like hammering a nail, except kinda backwards, anyway, i plugged it in to the ipac, then the usb into the computer and low and behold i hear the little
*dah-dah-ding*
sound that happens when something gets plugged in.  and it seems to be working so far..


also, i have a question about the golden Tee games,

are they all the same or what, and are you not allowed to change clubs i am guessing, because they all look exactly the same, even golden Tee 3d, looks just like 97

anyway, I am about to t-mould the cabinet, wish me luck

-LDS-

[markrvp]

In Golden Tee you change clubs by moving the trackball left or right.  You are limited to the default set of clubs, but you can change them on every shot with the exception of being on the green where you have to use a putter.

[miles2912]

No updates in a while.  How is it going?  Some pics maybe?

Don