My home built metal DDR pad (Part IV)

5thDementian · Trick Member Joined: 12 Oct 2004 Location: Kalamazoo, MI

Hey guys/gals... my website was down for a while and I just got it back up. So, for those of you who haven't seen the pictures of my custom pad, please click the link in my signature and check them out (It'll take you directly to the pictures).....

and of course, please tell me what you think.
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I FINALLY got my website back up... look at my ddr custom pad pics!!!

View Click here to see the pictures!

ch · Posted: Wed Jan 26, 2005 12:43 pm Post subject:

if you use only one piece of plexiglass, your arrow may be too low in the well to play properly. mine is about 1/8th of an inch below the edge, ant thats really low.
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CStarFlare wrote:

I approve of the direction this thread is going

http://www.xtranormal.com/watch?e=20090310025322668

HitokiriX · Trick Member Joined: 27 Mar 2004 Location: Berwyn, PA

HitokiriX · Trick Member Joined: 27 Mar 2004 Location: Berwyn, PA

hey everyone, just wondering if static build-up can reach a control board even if it's in a separate control box. Like I'll be making a control box out of the madcatz softpad and attaching it to the pad through a network cable like padmaker did but I don't want to take any chances with static and electrical shortages.

Also, I asked a question about 2 or 3 pages back about screw head numbers. When you go to like home depot or some other hardware store they sell screws of different lengths, but also with different numbers on them like 1/4 inch dry wall screw #4 or 1/4 inch dry wall screw #2. Can anyone tell me what the #'s are for? Oh and along with that the reason why I want to know this is because I'm planning to use flat head sheet metal screws to attach the corner braces onto my pad to hold the arrow panels in like in riptide's pad. But I just realized that some larger headed sheet metal screws might not fit the holes on the corner braces so can anyone tell me the screw head size I would need?

ch · Posted: Wed Jan 26, 2005 2:03 pm Post subject:

it can still reach it, but i havent had any trouble with it. my grounding wire came off of the metal sheet, and i havent really noticed any diff in play.
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CStarFlare wrote:

I approve of the direction this thread is going

http://www.xtranormal.com/watch?e=20090310025322668

HitokiriX · Trick Member Joined: 27 Mar 2004 Location: Berwyn, PA

Leelee · Trick Member Joined: 07 Nov 2002

Just wondering if there is a good cheap xbox controller that could be used as a board. Rather than resigning myself to a converter.
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theinsanitytest · Trick Member Joined: 02 Jan 2005

any xbox controller could work

slvrshdw · Trick Member Joined: 05 Jan 2005

but i had a broken one i used and then it stopped working..
then i got another broken one and i screwed up the connections..

so now ive gotta buy an actual pad or get another one from a friend..which is what im planning to do..

i think it was the static build-up like ppl have mentioned, but i didnt play it except for about an hour, tops..so it coulda been the controller..

grgisme · Posted: Wed Jan 26, 2005 5:39 pm Post subject:

ch · Posted: Wed Jan 26, 2005 5:43 pm Post subject:

hitokirix: static can still get to the control box, no matter where it is.

however, my static grounding cord came off of my pad, and i havent noticed any difference in play. I would only worry about the grounding cord if you're not using a softpad control board, so go without for now.

grgisme: i used a roll of aluminum flashing. it doesnt bend very well, and you have to scrape away the coating for it to conduct. dont get rolls of sheet metal, get a sheet of sheet metal.

if you have some money left over, get diamond plate for the metal squares.
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CStarFlare wrote:

I approve of the direction this thread is going

http://www.xtranormal.com/watch?e=20090310025322668

HitokiriX · Trick Member Joined: 27 Mar 2004 Location: Berwyn, PA

grgisme · Posted: Wed Jan 26, 2005 7:25 pm Post subject:

LoL I was just getting on to ask about this:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=41369&item=8164230619&rd=1

If I get "sheets" of sheet metal that look good, my cheapest solution is around 100- 110 dollars. So that roll would be cheaper. I'm just looking for ways to cut costs. I have the money to go all out and spend the 120 bucks, but I have the time so I might as well shop for it cheaper.

Woah... how about a sticker?:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=20581&item=4353370309

ch · Posted: Wed Jan 26, 2005 7:55 pm Post subject:

the roll of aluminum is very difficult to bend properly. i used it.
it also requires scraping to make a contact from. you could use it, but its difficut to get around the plywood squares.
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CStarFlare wrote:

I approve of the direction this thread is going

http://www.xtranormal.com/watch?e=20090310025322668

naitram · Basic Member Joined: 24 Jan 2005

HitokiriX: The size of the screws for the corner braces, they look to be #8.

pandaran · Basic Member Joined: 22 Jan 2005 Location: California, US

And the number is the size of the screw head. In DDRhomepad's (I think it was him, anyway) instructions, he said that the screws that come with the corner brackets are too short to be strong enough to hold the panels together and suggested getting screws at least an inch long.

Grgisme: Plexi cracks pretty easy, but you could give it a shot if you wanted to. We're only going to use one sheet of 1/4" plexi and a piece of 1/4" plywood. I think we're going to glue a graphic to the plywood (we're each personalizing our pads with our favorite cartoons) and then etch an arrow into the bottom of the plexi to light up.

If Acrylic isn't what is used on the official pads, what is? Is lexan something different than acrylic (thinking that might be what they use)? I just thought it was a higher grade or something.

naitram · Basic Member Joined: 24 Jan 2005

http://linear1.org/gm/archives/00000136.php

a quick google search turned this up. the short of it is that lexan is tougher than acrylics, and plexiglass is a brand name for an acrylic material. i'd swear someone said that on this forum...but i couldn't turn it up.

HitokiriX · Trick Member Joined: 27 Mar 2004 Location: Berwyn, PA

thanks for the info about the screw head sizes. So I take it the higher numbers go the smaller the screw head size right? or was it the other way.....

Lexan is the toughest of all acrylics. It's also about twice as expensive! so I would rather go with a less durable, but still good enough for DDR pads acrylic.

SuRfReAk · Trick Member Joined: 19 Dec 2004

Hey 5thDementian, where did you find your arrow graphics? I've been looking for a different color arrow to use for my 2nd pad, so they both won't look the same, and your red/orange one is spiffy!
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pandaran · Basic Member Joined: 22 Jan 2005 Location: California, US

I'm pretty sure the bigger the number, the bigger the screw head, but you could double check at the hardware store.

Oh, and someone asked about the foil tape earlier. I saw it at Home Depot next to the duct tape. Don't know if that's where it's located at other stores, though. If you use it, be careful when you're smoothing it down, because the edges of it will slice you up big time.