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slvrshdw
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Joined: 05 Jan 2005
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3460.  Posted: Tue Jan 25, 2005 4:56 pm Post subject: |
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i got a question about the controll boxes..
does anyone have pics on how exactly to do it?..i only need the pics i think i get it tho...on my pic like the wires from the controller corresponded to the same on the pad wires..
and on my pad now i have the 2 wires for each button and on my friends controller pad hes giving me it has teh ground wire and another wire for each button..
could i just change it so one wire is common like connect all the arrows on the bottom, then making another wire for each other arrow..
sorry i did it on paint..
isnt that right...or are u confused...  |
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grgisme
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Joined: 07 Aug 2004
Location: Melbourne, Florida |
| 3461. Posted: Tue Jan 25, 2005 5:40 pm Post subject: |
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About the ElectroLight thing: Good thought if you've got the money. I spent $5 on LEDs, and that chemical lighting bit costs at least $40. You could make a decently flat pad if you had the money for that... I don't though. It won't run on no 8volts either. Gotta use a wall outlet at least.
Your diagram and question just confused me SlvrShdw, I'll leave this to someone else... |
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Leelee
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Joined: 07 Nov 2002
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| 3462. Posted: Tue Jan 25, 2005 5:51 pm Post subject: |
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ok, made a DDRHomepad pad and it broke down after about 10 months, mostly due to my tinkering. getting back into the game now and wanna redo my pad design. Gonna rip it all out and go with a riptide style arrow switch.
now going from the ddrhomepad style presents a challenge, am I right in assuming I need to completely redo the bottom part of the arrows and adjust the lucite to work with the brackets?
Aside from that I don't have too many questions. However has anyone used the fighting stick that is compatible with all 3 systems as a controller for their pad, and is it worth going through the trouble of openeing it up?
edit: slvrshdw that should work, don't see why it wouldn't, it has been a while since I've done any wiring so you may wanna wait for a second opinion.
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Last edited by Leelee on Tue Jan 25, 2005 6:34 pm, edited 1 time in total |
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Ulala321
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Joined: 28 Sep 2004
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Leelee
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Joined: 07 Nov 2002
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| 3464. Posted: Tue Jan 25, 2005 6:36 pm Post subject: |
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that's how I wired mine, just don't go overboard with the solder and it should be fine.
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It's True, And I'm Living Proof. Some Fat Guys Can Almost Dance.
HeeHee, look at Black Mage He Can Dance Too. |
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HitokiriX
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Joined: 27 Mar 2004
Location: Berwyn, PA |
| 3465. Posted: Tue Jan 25, 2005 6:44 pm Post subject: |
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it shouldn't matter which end you solder the ground and which the x contact wire. all the contacts on the entire pad work by sending electrical signals to corresponding contacts on the control board. they aren't specialized at all for which contact they go on so the pushbuttons should be the same. plus the thing is round so if you turned it around the contacts would be switched. |
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HitokiriX
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Joined: 27 Mar 2004
Location: Berwyn, PA |
| 3466. Posted: Tue Jan 25, 2005 6:50 pm Post subject: |
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| hey can anyone tell me in specifics how they made their border? I have yet to find a good border sized wood for a 1 and 1/2" tall pad. Maybe I'm just not looking in the right places or something. Also I was wondering if it would be possible to add a metal covering on the border to make it look more authentic or something. I don't think a pad with an entire metal outlook would look good at all with a brown wood border that's all. |
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HitokiriX
Trick Member
Joined: 27 Mar 2004
Location: Berwyn, PA |
| 3467. Posted: Tue Jan 25, 2005 6:55 pm Post subject: |
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| grgisme wrote: | About the ElectroLight thing: Good thought if you've got the money. I spent $5 on LEDs, and that chemical lighting bit costs at least $40. You could make a decently flat pad if you had the money for that... I don't though. It won't run on no 8volts either. Gotta use a wall outlet at least.
Your diagram and question just confused me SlvrShdw, I'll leave this to someone else... |
Aww...and I got so excited about that idea of really thin pads with lights too....*sigh* well I guess I'm gonna give up on the thought then. There's no way I'm payin that much for lights. So then the conclusion is that pads cannot have lights if they do not have 2x4's in em. |
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Seven7
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Joined: 29 Dec 2004
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| 3468. Posted: Tue Jan 25, 2005 7:04 pm Post subject: |
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OK, here's my Q,
My future, almost ready to be built pad is ddrhomepads, i think, anyway, if i don't end up ripping apart my softpad, then i'll need to ground the pad against static. OK, everyone says to attatch a ground to the corner brackets, since they should all come in to contact via sheetmetal panels.
My mod, i won't be using sheatmetal, except in the contacts under the arrows.
My pannels will be painted black, or another color.
So, couldin't i just hook a "covert" wire to all the corner brackets, then hook the ground to that?
Just a thought!
(P.S., a HUGE thumbs up to the homepad designers! Awsome!)
-Seven7- |
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ch
Trick Member
Joined: 01 Oct 2004
Location: IN UR FORUM POSTING ON UR THRED |
| 3469. Posted: Tue Jan 25, 2005 7:10 pm Post subject: |
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seven7: you would have to wire all the corner brackets together, because they wouldnt be connected through the metal squares, since there is no metal there now. a wire running under the black squares to hook one corner bracket from each well together would work ok.
hitokirix: do not be gloomy. i have heard a solution in this very thread. route a hole under the middle of the arrow and drop the led in. you may have to have more leds due to the proximity, and you may also have to have wide angle leds to cover better, but that would work. there isnt much electronics that goes into the led, it could fit in a little groove 2001.
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slvrshdw
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Joined: 05 Jan 2005
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| 3470. Posted: Tue Jan 25, 2005 7:40 pm Post subject: |
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| i think i might try to put some leds in mine, but use an alternate power source..but my pad is only about 3/4" thick..so it may be just TOO small for lights..but i might try later anyway.. |
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pandaran
Basic Member
Joined: 22 Jan 2005
Location: California, US |
| 3471. Posted: Tue Jan 25, 2005 10:09 pm Post subject: Thin light pad |
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| Quote: | | So then the conclusion is that pads cannot have lights if they do not have 2x4's in em. |
Mine will!  But they won't have the same look as the arcade pads, so in that you are correct.
Leelee: Yeah, Riptide's contacts are quite different. It might be easier to do a combination of styles. That's what we've been working on. Going through and choosing our favorite aspects from each pad design. I think we've finally setlled on it being pretty darn similar to Thepadmaker's design, though.
HitokiriX: Have you tried checking a lumberyard? A lot of times they'll carry stuff like that. And maybe you could spraypaint them if you can't figure out a good way to stick metal on. Because I agree, they do look kinda funny with plain wood. |
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Leelee
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Joined: 07 Nov 2002
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| 3472. Posted: Wed Jan 26, 2005 5:28 am Post subject: |
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thepadmaker's eh? just did a search on it, looks like a good design, sort of both in one.
What exactly is that screen anyway? and would sheetmetal that I already have do the job just as good.
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It's True, And I'm Living Proof. Some Fat Guys Can Almost Dance.
HeeHee, look at Black Mage He Can Dance Too. |
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james9631
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Joined: 27 Jan 2002
Location: Lexington, KY |
| 3473. Posted: Wed Jan 26, 2005 7:24 am Post subject: |
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| Leelee wrote: | | What exactly is that screen anyway? and would sheetmetal that I already have do the job just as good. |
It is a replacement screen for windows that just came in a large roll and could be used for about 100 pads but only cost $5. But thepadmaker has made a new pad without screens. He is using metal tape which he says is better so I'd have to find out what that is. The link is at the top of his page where it says "version 3.0 is here."
As for the sheet metal, you can still use that but it may warp a little after so much use. Plus, it is more expensive to get all of that extra metal. But you already have it so there ya go. |
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grgisme
Trick Member
Joined: 07 Aug 2004
Location: Melbourne, Florida |
| 3474. Posted: Wed Jan 26, 2005 9:00 am Post subject: |
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| HitokiriX wrote: | | hey can anyone tell me in specifics how they made their border? I have yet to find a good border sized wood for a 1 and 1/2" tall pad. Maybe I'm just not looking in the right places or something. Also I was wondering if it would be possible to add a metal covering on the border to make it look more authentic or something. I don't think a pad with an entire metal outlook would look good at all with a brown wood border that's all. |
No one answered this question! Come on! You're slacking :-). Guess I'll have to pick it up. I'm doing this exact thing Hitokirix, and many people have. Keep in mind the THICKNESS of your border is irrelevant, you just want to have some kind of border (for our asthetic reasons). So I'll be using very light wood, 1/4" plywood -- the same wood I'm using for the base of my pad, and because of the size of sheet it comes in -- 4' x 8' -- I'll have enough to cut out the large squares for the bases of both pads, plus enough to cut out the border. I'll be cutting mine to size obviously, and provided you can do the same, its a very cost efficient way to do it. When you go to buy your sheet metal, you'll have to buy extra, but just buy enough sheet metal to wrap around your border just as you will the arrow panels. The amount you need for your border is the following (ignore it if you can't understand it):
Here's the dimensions of the wood you'd need:
2 pieces of: Some thickness of wood x 1.5" x 33"
and then the other pieces have to be a little longer so its flush (just think about it visually... draw a picture):
2 pieces of: The Same thickness of wood x 1.5" x (33 + the thickness of the wood... to make it flush)
As for the sheet metal, you need enough to cover the outside face of the whole border, the small top edge that will be showing, and on at least 2 of the wood pieces, enough to cover the ends of the wood. Then add a little bit extra that you can fold around and use to nail it in on the side that won't be showing. SO... while it's hard to picture, you would need this much sheet metal:
2 pieces of:
(thickness of the border + 1.5"(the height)+1" (a little extra to fold over on each side) ) x (33")
and 2 of the pieces are slightly longer so you have to get some that are longer accordingly:
2 pieces of:
(thickness of the border + 1.5"(the height) + 1" (a little extra to fold over on each side) ) x (33" + twice the thickness of the border (since the wood is slightly longer) + twice more the thickness of the border (to cover the ends of the wood, because on these pieces it will be visible -- so we're coverign that with sheet metal too) )
I know that was highly confusing, and check my math, but thats the formula I spent a while coming up with (and drew out visually). |
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HitokiriX
Trick Member
Joined: 27 Mar 2004
Location: Berwyn, PA |
| 3475. Posted: Wed Jan 26, 2005 10:13 am Post subject: |
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| that sounds about right grgisme. Thanks a lot for the help. now my problem is adding the network part into the border. I don't really know how padmaker did it because the spot in the border where the network thingy sticks out of the pad is a square shape. And I have no idea how to make square holes in wood! Maybe a chisel or something.... |
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grgisme
Trick Member
Joined: 07 Aug 2004
Location: Melbourne, Florida |
| 3476. Posted: Wed Jan 26, 2005 10:42 am Post subject: |
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Hitokirix: Drill a 1/4" hole or so... just big enough to fit the blade/bit into -- and then use a jigsaw or a dremel or router to essentially route out the square hole. Not sure if you have the tools to do that, but its likely how he did it. A chisel would take FOREVER.
I have a question... what's the purpose of using 2 pieces of plexiglass? I've used 1/4" plexi in the past and its very strong. I have a few pieces in the garage I was messing around with, and it seems strong enough. If I just ahdhesive my arrow graphic onto the back of one piece of plexiglass, and then adhesive the pieces of sheet metal I need onto that (the screws won't mess up the graphic because they won't be touching -- the sheet metal would), then do I still need 2 pieces of plexi? Has anyone experimented with using only one -- and if so, was it sturdy enough? It would knock the price down considerably. The only downfall I see is not being able to easily change your arrow graphic... which not many people do anyhow. |
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ch
Trick Member
Joined: 01 Oct 2004
Location: IN UR FORUM POSTING ON UR THRED |
| 3477. Posted: Wed Jan 26, 2005 11:33 am Post subject: |
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well, two pieces of plexiglass gives you the option of putting lights bbehind your graphics if you wish later. if you do not wish to have lights, then you dont need the extra piece, and can use a piece of plywood behind there to get the proper height for the arrow.
also, plexiglass comes in too large a sheet to use only one piece per well, unless you're building two pads. in which case, you way want to use only one sheet per well then.
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grgisme
Trick Member
Joined: 07 Aug 2004
Location: Melbourne, Florida |
| 3478. Posted: Wed Jan 26, 2005 12:13 pm Post subject: |
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I actually am building 2 pads at once and buying the materials accordingly, so this will work out nicely for me, one reason why I'm asking.
However you misunderstood. I don't mean using plywood instead of the second piece of plexi, I mean using only ONE piece of acrylic per arrow. Period, nothing else, no plywood, nothing. 1/4" acrylic is pretty strong (like I said, I've worked with it in the past... though I wasn't jumping on it), and I'm wondering if anyone has experimented and can advise AGAINST using only ONE piece of acrylic. This would enable me to make my pad 1/4" thinner, and therefore ligherweight... and less expensive. |
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latindude88wpg
Trick Member
Joined: 12 Nov 2004
Location: winnipeg, mb |
| 3479. Posted: Wed Jan 26, 2005 12:30 pm Post subject: |
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| grgisme wrote: | | 1/4" acrylic is pretty strong (like I said, I've worked with it in the past... though I wasn't jumping on it), and I'm wondering if anyone has experimented and can advise AGAINST using only ONE piece of acrylic. |
i remember reading somewhere on the thread that someone actually broke his 1/4" acrylic. then they went on and on about the difference between acrylic and plexiglass... i'll try to do a search on it, because it's very important information. |
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