My home built metal DDR pad (Part IV)

[pang]

[SuRfReAk]

[mtwieg]

[SuRfReAk]

I'll play with it a little. I think I can get it to work, because 3-4 inches of wood should be enough to support a bar. How did your base snap? Did the plywood just snap in half, or did the wood underneath split?
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[ch]

maybe something like this is our problem. too much torque on the back or the pad, so a little more support in the back.

only home-made

or, a few 1' 2x4s hanging off the back. but that may look stupid. but it also may work. hey, you could wrap them in sheet metal or something.
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CStarFlare wrote:

I approve of the direction this thread is going

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

[adamthole]

Geometry is your friend.

If you really want it to be tough, make it a triangle. Turn the | into a /_| (I think you know what I mean) It will be a little larger in size, but it will be stiffer than the real ones.

[SuRfReAk]

Not just any triangle, a right triangle (technically an arch would be stronger...but that's not too easy ).I'm guessing the bar is right around 3 feet. You'd probably want about 2 feet in between the upright supports, so that leaves the hypotenuse (slanted side) to be 2* the square root of 3, or ~3.75 feet(a little shorter unless I miss my guess). so you'd need around 9 feet of bar per support, so 18+3 feet across= around 21 feet of tubing per pad. That's going to be quite expensive. also, the pad would look pretty funky with a triangle bar on the back .
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[mtwieg]

[HitokiriX]

[ch]

you mean solid aluminum.
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CStarFlare wrote:

I approve of the direction this thread is going

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

[SuRfReAk]

NOOO! After only about a month of playing, my new pad's left arrow stopped working! I know the controller's not fried, because all the other buttons work. I know that the contacts are seperating, because when I press the control pad left (on the controller), left registers... I'm going to open 'er up tomorrow, and find out whats wrong... maybe oxides built up like mtwieg was talking about. The old one works 100%...
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[nicoga3000]

I'm building the pad advertised on the first page of this topic, well actually, it's complete. All except the back pegboard...

I tested the pad BEFORE screwing the pegboard down, and it's not very sensitive to say the least....After I screw the pegboard, will the change? I have to put a lot of weight onto the lucite before it registers. Any ideas?
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[G Force]

A while back (probably over a year and a half ago) I saw a home built DDR pad that was over 3" thick, and closely resembled an arcade pad. It used regular sized light bulbs for lighting.

I have been looking through the FAQ's, etc, but can't find it again. If someone knows what I am talking about and could help me out, I would be most appreciative.
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[ch]

nicoga: make sure the weatherstripping you're using as a spring is not too stiff. it should be extremely easy to compress, with just two fingers. the stuff everyone usually uses is thin and white, not the thick spongy black weatherstripping. if thats not your problem, then you could try moving the contacts closer together (i.e., put a cardboard shim underneath the bottom contact to make it closer and force less travel)




g force: i believe that was the blue beefman pad (correct me if im wrong, guys) he used basically a riptide design (in the videos) and used relays and a 9v power source to make the arrows light up whenever an arrow was pressed. i dont know if you realise, but relays make clicking sound when activated, and are relatively large. thats why weve been trying to figure out how to use transistors and LEDs for the same purpose. if you like, i can pm you a set of schematics for the relay setup, and my ideas for an LED setup.

as for the pad, however, its a riptide.





EDIT: surfreak, check the wiring on both the contacts, and through the pad (?)
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CStarFlare wrote:

I approve of the direction this thread is going

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

[SuRfReAk]

Nope. Already did all that today. Controller's fried. The left contact point now works as a ground . No solder is connecting it to the ground copper on the controller, which means it's shot. Normally I'd assume that when I soldered it, it got too hot, but not here. It just suddenly stopped working. Maybe the X, O, triangle, and square aren't able to take the strain. My old pad's soldered to the directional buttons, and it works fine. I only used the "object" buttons so edit mode would be a lot better. Oh well. Time to buy male/female wire connectors....almost 6 bucks each at radio shack...
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[nicoga3000]

There's a HUGE delay in my controllers....THis is bad. I'm using an XJoyBox to use a PS controller with my xbox, but the controller I'm using has a very very large delay. I tried two other controllers, and the one without the delay is an official sony one. When I opened it up, it had a small plastic sheet with all the contact points. No soldering options. Does anyone know what I'm talking about and can you help? Thank you!!!
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[ch]

you should probably use a multi-platform softpad to solder to.
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CStarFlare wrote:

I approve of the direction this thread is going

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

[SuRfReAk]

Well, here’s my attempt at an FAQ. Post or pm me with any suggestions/new questions.
NOTE: I did not cover anything already in Shadow_Dragonz FAQ (I did, however use some of the same questions, but only “answered” with things not covered). Copy and paste that. I’ll just make a full one later.


What designs are there for metal pads?
Padmaker’s: http://www.2legacy.com/ddrpad

Can I merge and modify designs?
Go right ahead. No one’s stopping you. Just make sure it works .

How can I make my pad more sensitive?
Move your support material to the edge of the arrow panels, or use lower density support material (e.g. low density weather stripping instead of high). You can also tighten/loosen the screws through you plexiglass, or loosen/tighten the screws used as contacts in padmaker's design. The reason I say loosen OR tighten is that if your screws are too tight, the plexiglass will bow, causing less sensitivity. Your contacts could also be in constant, well, contact, causing the arrow to not register.

Can I add a bar to my pad?
Yes, but at the moment, no one’s figured out a way to build one that looks like the arcade. You can buy or build a bar that has an outreaching support (triangle-shaped), but it doesn’t do the arcade justice. Most people use furniture.

Can I solder to the X, O, Triangle, and Square buttons?
Yes. This also makes the pad work in edit mode (newer DDR games).

HOW DO I FIND A SOLDER POINT ON A CONTROLLER?!?!?
Read my (other) FAQ (coming soon). For now, observe the controller’s circuitry (the lighter green lines). There will be a copper foil circle (a circle of the “golden shiny stuff”) on most controllers for all the “live” contacts. There will also be a section of foil that connects to every larger circle in the “diamond” (the “diamond” being the area where the buttons are on the controller). Usually the circuit connects to the bottom half of the larger circles. What I did was take a short length of a single wire (e.g. cut a length of wire, then pull a small wire out of the outer casing), then strip both of the ends. Then touch one end to what you think could be a ground point, and the other end to what you think is a live point. Keep trying different combinations until you find a single section of foil that activates all of the directions. On all of the controllers I’ve soldered so far, the ground has been near the lower section of the right “corner” of the “diamond” (in other words, on the outside of your controller, where the bottom half of the right button is). BE CAREFUL NOT TO USE TOO MUCH SOLDER!

My pad doesn’t register steps. What do I do?
Check that your wires are making good contact (as opposed to bad contact? ) with your arrow contact material. Make sure that no wires are cut or kinked in any place(s). Make sure that your contacts are making contact. Open up your controller and use a test wire (described above) to make sure that the soldered points still register directions. Make sure no excess solder leaked off of your point and touched another part of foil (there is a ground “piece” of foil near every solder point). Then post.

Blah, Blah, Blah, Whine, Whine, Whine?
Don’t want to hear it. Shut up and get to work. Just kidding .

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[ch]

pad designs
theres also ddrhomepad's http://www.geocities.com/ddrhomepad/
and riptide's http://www.digitaltorque.com/mydancepad/

you can also make your pad more sensitive my decreasing the distance between the two contacts.

and dont forget lights!
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CStarFlare wrote:

I approve of the direction this thread is going

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

[SuRfReAk]