My home built metal DDR pad (Part IV)

MarKoPoLo · Basic Member Joined: 18 Oct 2003

hey guys i just decided to post here because it seems nothing of interest has been said in awhile. hah! honestly im just bored and have desided to ask some questions.

1. should i have to worry about the pad surging for any reason? what i mean is should i have to worry about it frying the controller or the console?

2. why do some (if not all) use two layers of acrylic with the graphic inbetween?

3. you guys think it matter if i use contact cement to stick some parts together? ...i know this is a stupid question but like i said im bored and i felt like asking questions....trust me im really bored....really REALLY bored!

4. cant think of a fourth....damn....guess i must also be tired...HaH!

well answer them if you wish....or just answer the the first two...or answer none.....i cant make you.....or can i...

enjoy
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PiccoloNamek · Basic Member Joined: 11 May 2003

God damn it. Ok.

TO THOSE OF YOU WHO MADE A PATSTER-BASED DESIGN: What the hell kind of weather stripping did you use? I mean good GOD I've already tried out 3 different brands, and none of them worked well! They were either too strong, or too weak, or too spongy, or not spongy enough, and it never ends! I can't get the outside of the panel to hit the contacts properly because the center of the arrow panel just bends inward, bringing the outside edges up!

So PLEASE, if anyone has a good suggestion tell me. Make you give me the exact brand and type you used!
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Shadow_Dragonz · Trick Member Joined: 16 Mar 2003 Location: California

PiccoloNamek · Basic Member Joined: 11 May 2003

I don't know what brand it is, but I do know for certain that it's 1/4 inch thick plexiglass.
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http://www.geocities.com/no_bs_piccolonamek/DDrhomepad.html

Nikorasu · Posted: Fri Dec 05, 2003 3:17 pm Post subject:

Never mind...mine's not metal.

SteelFox15 · Basic Member Joined: 02 Dec 2003 Location: NJ

Alright, i just finished soldering the controller for my pad and what a nightmare it was. i really dont want to do it again so i want to prevent it from shorting out at all costs. ive read a lot about pads generating too much static and the need to ground the pad. but could someone please explain exactly how to do that, like where to attatch wires too and such because im not the brightest bulb when it comes to electronics (excuse the pun

)
thanks a lot in advance!

Jace · Posted: Sat Dec 06, 2003 1:25 am Post subject:

Well I'm new to this, so here I go.
I got sick of the arcade's arrows being so darn stubborn (meaning I put all my weight, 120 pounds, on an arrow and it doesnt register) . And since I've always wanted my own pad I've decided I am going to build one tomorrow.

Me, my friend, and my dad are all going to work on it tomorrow and I have a few questions to ask (i would read all 65 pages but I gotta go to bed soon, gotta wake up early =o)

1. How much time will it take 3 low skill people to make the pad?

2. What kind of acrylic plastic should we buy? I hear Lexan is the strongest, but is it worth spending money for something TOO strong?

3. Should I buy a cheap Playstation controller, or the official Sony one? Does it make a difference?

4. I only have $100... is that enough?

Okay that's it for now, but when I need more help I'll come back. Thanks!

Zeotti · Basic Member Joined: 06 Dec 2003

I'm planning on taking apart my DDRHomepad today which I abandoned over a year ago due to frustration, and turning it into a Riptide pad. I have a few questions though.

1) What should I use to scrape off the black stuff on the PS controller PBC? I have experience with soldering controllers so thats all I need to know.

2) Can I use a 33x33 piece of pegboard instead of the 33x33 piece of wood as a base? I have a regular car and last time it was a pain to drive the piece of pegboard home on the top of the roof. I imagine the wood would be even worse. (Edit: I already have a 33x33 piece of pegboard from my last pad making attempt)

3) Would a metal fast cut definitely not melt the duraplex? Last time I used a "special" plexiclass cutting bit which ended up cracking 3 pieces of duraplex, as well as melting the edges.

Thanks alot guys, glad I could finally get my butt up and do some work.

Jace · Posted: Sat Dec 06, 2003 5:11 pm Post subject:

Well I bought (most of) the supplies today. The only thing I could not find was stainless steel, it's like impossible to find!

For the plastic... I had to go for the best; 8 10 3/4 x 10 3/4 peices of .093 lexan. I still need to buy a ps2 controller and get an adapter for it. cant really start production yet because that steel is pretty much the first thing I use...

Oh and i'm building it according to 'ddrhomepad'

Frosty555 · Trick Member Joined: 14 Jun 2003

tolookah · Posted: Sat Dec 06, 2003 9:14 pm Post subject:

Zeotti · Basic Member Joined: 06 Dec 2003

Geez 100-150 hours?

Maybe if you're making 2 sets of doubles pads by yourself. (kidding

).

My DDRHomepad took about 50 hours, but thats without access to a jigsaw until the end of the project. I used a very, very dull hacksaw with my MDF and Pegboard, and believe me thats a pain. My lucite-cutting jigsaw blade which ended up not even working right cracked 3 panels and I was forced to buy new ones and cut it myself with the same, dull hacksaw. That took a good 12 hours, not to mention they fit absolutely horrid. Then again that was last year when I was 14, and I was very impatient at the time. I planned on getting it done in under 4 days. Big mistake.

Anyways I really don't believe that you can't make a riptide pad or whatever in 100-150 hours, because I was talking to riptide in the 3-4 days that he recorded the pad making, and he wasn't rushing it at all. By the way I had a different alias at the time hehe.

I already have the metal panels which I will still be using for my new riptide pad, and I believe that was one of the most time consuming parts of the whole process. That and pre-drilling/screwing 8 MDF rails onto each panel O_O. When I make my riptide pad I'm pretty sure it'll turn out awesome. The only thing I'm really really dreading is the constant trimming of the lucite... Gah I really hate that material =/. Besides that I think everything is quite straightforward... The wiring will be quite time consuming I anticipate, but nothing more than 4 hours. The big hassle is soldering and wrapping the wires around every other wire. But in the end I think I'll probably spend a good week of casual 3-4 hour a day sessions corresponding to his instructional videos. Only have one modified part of his design, and that's using pegboard instead of a large piece of 33x33 wood which would be a huge hassle to drive home in a regular car. Plus it would end up being much lighter and more friendly to the carpet.

I'm excited about building my pad, but I know I definitely can't rush like I did with my last pad, because everything ended up being screwey.

What am I looking forward to?

-Wiring
-Fooling with sensitivity
-Playing on it constantly

But I do have one question...

Does the riptide pad have problems with static at all? Seems like it wouldn't since the wiring wouldn't be touching plastic or anything, but I'm not sure. This would make it much easier on me so I could use a Gamestop controller instead of fooling with a much harder to use Sony Controller.

Jace · Posted: Sun Dec 07, 2003 1:55 am Post subject:

Well so far I've spent over $140 for this project and I still need to get a controller and the metal.

lexan: $44
brackets: $24
wood items: $30
misc screws/tools: $40

I ended up buying Cat-3 wire. There was cat 5 there but it didn't have 5 tiny wires inside, only 4. (4 for arrows 1 for ground?) Will Cat-3 work?

Also, I heard somewhere that 10 3/4 x 10 3/4 was the correct measurements for the acrylic plastics, is that correct? I don't want to have wasted $44!

I need a PS2 to USB adapter... any websites where I can order a cheap one?

More questions to come! (like always)

hooded__paladin · Trick Member Joined: 10 Nov 2003

Little Firefly · Posted: Sun Dec 07, 2003 4:10 pm Post subject:

i have a link here somewhere with instructions on how to build a PC adapter.

http://www.emulatronia.com/reportajes/directpad/psxeng/index.htm

I haven't built it, but my friend luke did. Apparently it works ok.
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Zeotti · Basic Member Joined: 06 Dec 2003

Earlier today I bought a whole bunch of supplies for my pad.

I used a 33x33 piece of pegboard instead of plywood and so far it works quite well and is very lightweight. I got all of the 33" boards I needed at Home Depot for me, and I even got the acrylic panels cut while I was there. Anyways, I used the metal panels I had which I took from my old DDRHomepad and screwed em right onto the base. So far I have a semi-complete base with metal panels, and I am planning on cutting the supports for the arrow panels tomorrow, as well as trimming down the acrylic panels with a Metal Fast Cut blade (specially made for fastest cuts with thin metals - should work great), and lastly making the triangles. The next day I plan to attach the weatherstripping and get all the screws placed in, then proceed to trim the acrylic panels some more until they're perfect. Day after that I plan to do all of the wiring and go out and buy arrow graphics at Kinkos or something. Last day, I'll test the wiring and make some adjustments to the sensitivity, attach the arrow graphics, and start playing on my pad! However, chances are, everything will take longer than expected and I wouldn't be surprised if I finished it in a couple weeks if I don't have enough time after school.

So far so good!

rk_cr · Basic Member Joined: 22 Nov 2003

Hey guys,
My project is nearing completion... however, I have run into a small stumbling block when it comes to soldering.

I decided that I would go with the more dependable PSX controller. However, upon opening up the controller, I find that it is just a little different than all the normal PSX controller diagrams that I see out there. Can anyone give me a hint as to where the solder points are for triangle, X, O, square, and ground?

Here's a link to the pic (sorry about the low quality of the webcam, I tried my best to get the side of the controller in focus): here

Edit: Here is where I *think* that the solder points are. The red circles are the four buttons (plus start, the pic doesn't include select but both are much more obvious than the four buttons), and the blue is the ground. It's really just the blue one I'm worried about. The link is here.

Second edit: If I end up using the arrows intead of the controller points, it's okay to just scrape off the black stuff, drill through there, put my writes through and solder, right? I am thinking it might be better that way because then it would be easier for me to put all the ground wires in (i.e., not trying to stack them all on one contact point).

Spartacus · Basic Member Joined: 28 May 2003 Location: CT

Im gunna build a pad and i was wondering if i really needed to have unused squares be plywood with sheet metal over them? Would it work just fine to put plexiglass or whatever there too as long as its the same thickness?

Little Firefly · Posted: Tue Dec 09, 2003 3:40 pm Post subject:

mine doesn't have any sheetmetal covering the solid panels.

I was wondering if someone could point me to advice on cutting polycarbonate?
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My pants fit fine! What is wrong with you? Don't you have eye contact?-Lucifer, Angel Sanctuary Yugioh Crossover fic
Go Ahead, Read about my Boring Life, You know you want to.

SteelFox15 · Basic Member Joined: 02 Dec 2003 Location: NJ