My home built metal DDR pad (Part IV)

geckoinc99 · Trick Member Joined: 11 Feb 2005 Location: Chattanooga, TN

Heffenfeffer,
First of all, if you step on a nonfunctional arrow and it causes a hit, it could be resulting from a couple of things. One, you might have a short in the system. Check and see if there are any places from the square that might be contacting the arrow wires or mending strips. You said that you're using Riptide's example. I know that if you weren't careful, you could cause a short with the corner brackets and screws that hold the plexiglass in place. Make sure that the sheet metal on the bottom of the arrow isn't touching any of the screws or the sides of your non functional pads. The other possibility is if your nonfunctional arrow is loose enough to move down and make the arrow pad contact. The corner brackets would move with the square, which could push down on the arrow. More than likely, though, you have a short.
For the sticky arrow, you need some better responding weatherstripping. I did Riptide's design, and what I used was marine and automotive weather stripping. It's a black sponge rubber that has been very durable. The stuff I got was 3/8 inch wide and 1/2 inch tall. It worked out perfect for my pad height wise and keeps the square only 1/8 inch above the contacts, so there isn't a lot of movement downward. It springs back up very well. I haven't ever missed a step because of a sticky arrow that I'm aware of. Also, you can add more weather stripping to give more bounce back and keep it from sticking. If that fails, try shaving a bit off the sides to give more room to move. Make sure that the holes for the screws are large enough to allow free movement. Other than that, make sure there isn't something catching the arrow.
That's about all I can suggest without seeing the pad itself. Good luck.

David
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slvrshdw · Trick Member Joined: 05 Jan 2005

i finally finished my pad...it basically works fine, but the down arrow

all the other arrows work, but when i press the down arrow, the down AND right arrow respond..i'll have to look and see why

and a TIP FOR NEWBIES...

make the wires go OUTSIDE the pad and connect (External box)
it would be WAY better than having it all inside the pad...raise your hand if youve tried this...*raises hand*
it takes SO much more time, and patience.

i have some more pics, just not uploaded yet..im going to put them on my site probably tonight if i can
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LegendaryR56 · Trick Member Joined: 26 Mar 2005 Location: Littleton, CO

slvrshdw · Trick Member Joined: 05 Jan 2005

geckoinc99 · Trick Member Joined: 11 Feb 2005 Location: Chattanooga, TN

slvrshdw,
Sounds like you also have a short that's causing the power for your right arrow to bridge with the ground on your down arrow. Check the wire routing and look for a wire that's getting smashed when you press on the down arrow. Either that or you got a wire crossed somewhere. Happy hunting!

David
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Life is very different 3000 feet above the earth with only a wing to hold you up....
Can't wait to be there again. Wanna join me? Visit http://www.hanglide.com

slvrshdw · Trick Member Joined: 05 Jan 2005

yup..i think it has to do with the circuit board tho..

anyone who looks at my site, tell me what u think of it

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superfanthony · Posted: Fri Apr 22, 2005 7:46 pm Post subject:

Let me make a contribution. I was tinkering in photoshop and made some very clean, simple black and white arrows. I thought I would post them in case someone was looking to go this route with thier pad. I will probably make more of these (hopefully they will get better) as time goes on. If any of you have requests, post them/PM me and Ill see what I can do.

The arrows are saved at 11x11, and are high quality .jpg images. Feel free to use/abuse/hack/mod them as you see fit.

Click to view full size image.

Click to view full size image.

Enjoy!

slvrshdw · Trick Member Joined: 05 Jan 2005

nice arrows.

i need to replace mine with the right size

i just used the ones that were printed on the soft pad and cut them down about an inch..not it doesnt look perfect

every panel on mine is 10 1/2" by 10 1/2" becuase i screwed up making the panels 11" by 11" when i was cutting them

do u think that you could make the arrow colors like the ones at the arcade? or did some one else do that already?...and if u can could you scale it down a 1/2" for me?

i might just try to use paint to make mine, but id need a base..like ill prolly use ur black and white, if u cant get it for me.

check out my site

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Ravenwing · Trick Member Joined: 22 Jun 2003 Location: Leavenworth, KS

Good work with the arrows, though I seem to remember one time finding a PSP (paintshop pro) template that allowed you to sort of "construct" the arrows...if I can find it again, I'll post it up here.
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slvrshdw · Trick Member Joined: 05 Jan 2005

i wish i had photoshop or something better than paint at least..

ive gotta get it someday..

no one has gone to my site yet?

oh well..

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Klott · Trick Member Joined: 15 Apr 2005

slvrshdw, i went there. Most of ur pics are too blurry and are out of focus. It is difficult to understand anything in those, but the ones that are clear were good.

I was just thinking, when we are designing the arrow steps, we use 2 pieces of plexiglass. But for what purpose? It just comes out to be more expensive. I was thinking about using a very thin plywood instead of the bottom plexi.
This way, you can still place the graphic on your arrow, but you cut your plexiglass costs in half.

Now that I think about it... Well, any feedback?

ddrhomepad · Trick Member Joined: 24 Jan 2002

Klott,
You can replace the bottom lucite piece with the thin plywood as long as it can flex like the lucite. If it's too rigid, then the metal contacts won't make contact.
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slvrshdw · Trick Member Joined: 05 Jan 2005

ya..i replaced the bottom plex with wood and it works fine

ya..i see what u mean about the pics, i just dont have a good digi cam so thats why..

ill try to get a better website, but i dont have alot of html knowledge...

ill try to borrow a better camera and get better pics soon
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mtwieg · Posted: Sun Apr 24, 2005 1:51 pm Post subject:

I'd just like to give a shout out to everyone who helped me build my pads in the past (whether they knew it or not):
Riptide
DDRHomepad
Thepadmaker (chris)
grgisme
pang

Thanks, guys!

I've built eleven pads of my own design so far and sold eight of them, and they have all worked fine and my customers are all happy.

If anyone has a question on homebuilt pads, feel free to pm me or ask here.

Aflac · Trick Member Joined: 28 Mar 2005

I don't think this question got answered. so, lets try again!

how much stronger is lucite than glass? I went to Home Depot and checked out their plexiglass options, but only found Lexan and some other stuff. It said it was 20 times stronger than glass but i question the strength of that on a DDR panel, and the Lexan was much too expensive. anyone have an idea?

Klott · Trick Member Joined: 15 Apr 2005

meh, just dont take the pics w/ the camera so close to the obj. Some of ur pics have the focus iin the background, while the foreground is very blurred up. So aim the camera at the object, and have atleast a foot distance btwn it and the cam.

On another note, anyone have tips on how to cut out plexi? I have a sheet, but dont know what to do with it.

My pad is almost done. Been working on it the whole week, and I just have the arrows and the soldering to do. The hardest part...

I keep meaning to post some pics..

Klott · Trick Member Joined: 15 Apr 2005

If you were to notice, the sheets of plexi are taped with different color covering. Lexan is top grade, is UBER expensive, it will bend but not break. THe only prob is that it can be scratched easily.

Then there is a red colored covering, which I really dont know what it is since my HD was out of it when I visited.

The Blue covering is next in quality. Called Lucite, its not as strong, more flexible, but resists scratching. This is what im going to go with.

Then there is hobby plexi, but like glass, itll easilly snap if u try to bend it. So no go with this one.

So go with the high end Lexan or the lower end Lucite. Remember that this stuff will move a tiny fraction of an inch when you dance, so breaking is highly unlikely

KLott

slvrshdw · Trick Member Joined: 05 Jan 2005

ya..i'll keep that in mind when i take the pics...i had that macro mode on my camera..it must not have worked or something

i think i just used a thin piece of lucite.

Klott · Trick Member Joined: 15 Apr 2005

well ye, i see yer point.

but here is the killer about the hobby plexi. its much thicker than lucite or lexan. we need .093 but its more like 1/4 or even more, dont remember. But still.