My home built metal DDR pad (Part IV)

[MoonJihad]

Whee, finally finished my pad. It works well(did MaxX Unlimited standard, So Deep heavy and CSFILSM heavy without any problem).

Pictures :
http://gallery.lns.kicks-buttocks.net/ddr-platform-lan
(hint: the forum seems to mangle the URL. buttocks -> a s s )

The pad itself is made of wood, including the panels. Everything has been covered with aluminum, giving it a shiny look. Aluminum tends to scratch easily though, but it doesn't look all that bad, really.

The total cost was 140$CAD(~95$USD), excluding the controller.
_________________

http://moonjihad.lifesnotsimple.com/

[Weston]

[Paranoia Survivor]

damn.......the nearest one is like 60 miles away...i guess ill have to coop wit the ones at home depot. so what weather stripping should i get from there?

[EDIT] or...should i get springs? (if so, what kind from home depot)[/EDIT]
_________________

[SqFKYo]

After browsing all 87 pages I thought I'd ask you my question directly:

I've built my own pad using riptide's plan as base, and then modded it a little (i.e. replaced _all_ screws with little pieces of metal). After initial trying few buttons I managed to get it working, but after over three months, it got a weird problem.

Each button seems to work by itself and also all jumps work, but when you start playing a bit more, it randomly "resets" itself by stopping responding for about one second. After that it resumes working as if nothing were wrong, only to repeat the same thing after a short while. (it's so constant I have failed 5,6,7,8 because of the bug).

All wires seem to be intact and I've even removed static electricity from the plexiglass, so I'm quite out of ideas what could be wrong.

Any ideas/suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

(I'm using EMS USB2 adapter if that does matter (normal PS1/2 joystics don't "reset" themselves though))

[hooded__paladin]

it sounds like your adapter. Try it on a real playstation.

[SqFKYo]

1. How do you test a mat on a real Playstation if the arrows aren't soldered to arrows + it has only 4 buttons soldered?

2. If normal joystics behave normally with my adapter, then how can it be broken?

Otherwise, thx for suggestion.

[tolookah]

ok, SqFKYo, do you have it set up directly or are you using external electronics? (relays ect. for lighting) also, did you keep the controller in tact that you soldered to? does that work continuously?
_________________

Aim: Tolookah
MSN: Tolookah
XBox: Tolookah
DDRPad Soldering and electrical Help: http://www.tolookah.net/DDR/ As hooded_paladin put it: "Currently, help for Beatpad Pro, official Sony Playstation Controller and ANY controller unless you are extremely stupid or lazy."

[hooded__paladin]

it still might be your adapter. Try running a normal controller for a while in start + select + up mode. See if it has problems then.

[SqFKYo]

[hooded__paladin]

no, I mean, to check whether it is your pad or the special DDR mode that is turned on with start + select + up that messes up the adapter, play with a normal controller in DDR mode.
Conversely, try playing with your DDR pad with the adapter in normal mode (except there's no point in that)

[stony003]

How long should the Cat 5 cable running from my controller to the pad be? i've heard that the controller can fry out if the cable is more than 8 ft long. My wire that i'm testing w. the controller is 6 ft long, will that work? any suggestions would be great...thanks.

[Weston]

The best length to choose from is simple. Stand on your pad and hold the controller to you so that it's comfortable The distance between the pad and the controller doesn't need to be much longer than that because it isn't necessary. Between 4-6 feet sounds good.

[ReHaB]

what are you guys using for these arrow designs? are you printing them out? painting them? how do you do the actuall graphic design part of the arrows

Also if i build the pad exactly like it says in the instructions given in the link on page one, i'll be able to play it with shoes on correct?

edit again

also can i add a bar to that little extra back area you put in there? if so how would i go about doing this? cut 2 holes in the back section and just slide it in? and can anyone tell me the dimensions of the bars used at the arcade and what kind of material i should make mine out of if i should go about doing so. thanks for answering these questions.

*sigh* another edit

since the link to "how to make a pad with lights" is down on your site, can someone link me to, or explain how i can make mine have lighting arrows?

[SqFKYo]

[hooded__paladin]

oops. I forgot. Something made me think that you mentioned the start-select-up trick that makes other adapters go into DDR mode. Heck, I even HAVE an ems usb2...

[SqFKYo]

[hooded__paladin]

oh, now that I think about it, there was some revision of the EMS USB 2 that had voltage problems with many controllers, especially dance pads. Maybe you have that one?

[SqFKYo]

Well, that case would seem to be very unlikely since I purchased my adapter last july/august and it has worked flawlessly until recently.

[hooded__paladin]

that might have been the time that it was messed up. It actually sounds about right.
and, if you've never used a high-power-consuming controller until recently, then you wouldn't have had a problem until recently.

[ReHaB]

any help for me?