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Marvel627
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Joined: 07 Jun 2003
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4180.  Posted: Fri May 13, 2005 5:59 pm Post subject: |
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| Hey guys, I have a question. For anyone who has tried both, which pad design is more like the arcade, the riptide or ddrhomepad? |
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Aflac
Trick Member
Joined: 28 Mar 2005
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| 4181. Posted: Fri May 13, 2005 6:20 pm Post subject: |
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Stoli:
In your pad construction description, you have all the metal bending onto the borders. But do you have the actual border dimensions? I was looking for them and couldn't find them.
Also, on the ground wiring:
how would you connect the many different pad base wires into one ground wire? Does anyone have a site that explains the ground wiring?
EDIT: actually, does anyone have a website/ good ideas on the entire PAD wiring (not the circuit board wiring)? I'm a little confused on what is a good idea and what to do and what not to do.
Last edited by Aflac on Fri May 13, 2005 6:36 pm, edited 2 times in total |
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daitenshi
Trick Member
Joined: 11 May 2004
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| 4182. Posted: Fri May 13, 2005 6:21 pm Post subject: |
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| I like riptide's design much much much more. It's very close to the arcade, and it is very customizable and senstive. And it's really heavy and huge, which are pluses in my opinion, but lots of people don't like those factors. It's pretty much up to you, weigh what you like about each design and see what satisfies your wants the most. |
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mikieson
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Joined: 14 Nov 2003
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| 4183. Posted: Fri May 13, 2005 6:43 pm Post subject: Just dont know.... |
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I have built 4 pads now. I have sold 2 of my early designs and have 2 of my new ones. I have never seen riptides videos untill the other day. Funny, my new pads look almost the same.
I dont see how the riptide pad is very good at contacting. You are jumping up and down on screws??....Seems loud and like they would eventually move from being stomped on. Dont really know but it just seems unstable with the screws. JMHO |
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Marvel627
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Joined: 07 Jun 2003
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| 4184. Posted: Fri May 13, 2005 6:46 pm Post subject: Re: Just dont know.... |
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| mikieson wrote: | I have built 4 pads now. I have sold 2 of my early designs and have 2 of my new ones. I have never seen riptides videos untill the other day. Funny, my new pads look almost the same.
I dont see how the riptide pad is very good at contacting. You are jumping up and down on screws??....Seems loud and like they would eventually move from being stomped on. Dont really know but it just seems unstable with the screws. JMHO |
Well u could always use the paster contact system. |
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slvrshdw
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Joined: 05 Jan 2005
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| 4185. Posted: Fri May 13, 2005 8:15 pm Post subject: |
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well, ive sorta tried both..
in my opinion anyway, riptides pads are easier to build, to an extent.., and the sensitivity is *easy* to adjust.
| Quote: | | And it's really heavy and huge, which are pluses in my opinion, but lots of people don't like those factors. |
um..on ddrhomepad's site i KNOW that somewhere he put the dementions of EVERYTHING, so just look around. 
| Quote: | | And it's really heavy and huge, which are pluses in my opinion, but lots of people don't like those factors. |
um..well..i could try to get a page of help on my *bad* site..
just AIM me or email i guess, (aim is better, leave a message), i can help u out.
and it would be nice to know what type of contact system (screws/sheet metal?)
i'd be glad to help u out..or anyone  
| Quote: | | You are jumping up and down on screws??....Seems loud and like they would eventually move from being stomped on. Dont really know but it just seems unstable with the screws. JMHO |
i thought that at first, but think more detailed..
there are a total of 16 screws in EACH arrow..thats stable
and its a S-C-R-E-W, so it is S-T-R-O-N-G..
| Quote: | | And it's really heavy and huge, which are pluses in my opinion, but lots of people don't like those factors. |
ya, it really doesn help if it is heavy..it sucks to move it around and all, but overall, it basically NEVER moves an INCH 
im getting ready to buy the materials for my bro's pad... 
im going to use riptides design. man that guy is a genius
of course u cant forget the infamous ddrhomepad tho. [/quote]
gotta get up early to get the stuff  oh well
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Klott
Trick Member
Joined: 15 Apr 2005
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| 4186. Posted: Sat May 14, 2005 9:50 am Post subject: |
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slvrshdw, you screwed up ur quotes in that last post.
HyperStepz, I really like those arrows, so I'm gonna use them!
I'm hoping I can finish the pad today, I'm going to homedepot right now to buy weatherstripping and the final lucite pieces.
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slvrshdw
Trick Member
Joined: 05 Jan 2005
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| 4187. Posted: Sat May 14, 2005 2:03 pm Post subject: |
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-_- so i did.. 
dam
all ive got to on my bro's pad is cut the 2nd piece of plex, wire it, and not much raelly...  yay
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Klott
Trick Member
Joined: 15 Apr 2005
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| 4188. Posted: Sun May 15, 2005 5:18 am Post subject: |
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Well, Im done! It took me 4 week's time to finish it, although I only worked on it for 14 days.
Here's a breakdown of my pad:
pieces of carpet glued to the underside of my pad. (I have a hardwood floor)
Pegboard
1by4s for support
Aluminum sheets wrapped around 3/4 plywood for the stationary tiles
(arrows)
1/2" plywood with 30g sheet metal for the underside of the steps
tape, weather stripping, mouse pads (stoli's design)
bottom piece of lucite w/ sheet metal
graphic
top lucite
Its a pain to test it
I had to unscrew and resolder 3 of the arrows because they stopped working within 10 minutes of me dancing. I really underestimated the importance of good soldering.
Ill get pics up really soon. I have them, something is wrong with my usb drive.
Thanks all who helped me out. |
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stoli
Trick Member
Joined: 27 Mar 2005
Location: Southern NH |
| 4189. Posted: Sun May 15, 2005 6:37 am Post subject: |
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| Aflac wrote: | Stoli:
In your pad construction description, you have all the metal bending onto the borders. But do you have the actual border dimensions? I was looking for them and couldn't find them.
Also, on the ground wiring:
how would you connect the many different pad base wires into one ground wire? Does anyone have a site that explains the ground wiring?
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Border dimensions can be found on the first step of the Pad Base section of my site. Sides are 1 3/8", top is 3" and bottom is 3 3/4".
Grounding: I don't think you'll find many details about this since in most cases, it doesn't seem to be necessary. Just so we are clear, what most posters in this thread refer to as "ground", is not actually electical ground (GND). It is really just a common connection that each arrow switch shares. You should be able to find some decent wiring diagrams at some of the other home built sites out there regarding the wiring of the arrow panels. As far as grounding goes, I have suggested it as a way to eliminate the static buildup that seems to be giving certain pads controller issues. In my case, I found that my center stationary panel was isolated from the metal on the rest of the pad and the apparent static buildup on that panel was causing arrow problems. By simply making sure it was connected to the rest of the metal on my pad (there is some details on my site about this), the problem went away. I never did have to go the extra step and tie the borders to ground. I assumed that it was because the metal borders on my design, wrap around to the bottom and contact the room carpeting which gives the static buldup a place to go. JediJesseS was having a similar problem with his design but he didn't have metal borders so I suggested he try tying all his metal panels to ground. Haven't heard back, so I'm not sure how it worked out for him. Most of this is just theory at this point and I was hoping he would report back to confirm whether or not it worked for him. Maybe you could PM him. His post was on page 208 and my reply was on 209.
After all that, if you are still looking for details about grounding the metal on your pad, there is no right or wrong way to do it. You just need to make sure that all the metal (not including the switch contacts) on you pad is connected somehow, either by corner brackets or wires or simply touching each other. In the case of my design, all the metal touches except the center panel. Then, find a place somewhere on one of the metal pieces to connect a wire to and connect the other end to the GND connection on the controller board. In most controllers, this should be well marked. If not, you will need an ohmmeter or continuity tester to figure it out.
-Stoli
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Aflac
Trick Member
Joined: 28 Mar 2005
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| 4190. Posted: Sun May 15, 2005 9:01 am Post subject: |
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| er, sorry, when i said ground, i meant the bottom arrow switches. I'm not totally sure how to connect them all into one wire. And i tried looking for pad wiring explanations but i couldn't find anything at ddrhomepads, ters, or riptides sites. (i did, however, see some stuff in riptide's videos but i couldn't make much sense out of it). if anyone knows of a site that explains the entire pad wiring step by step that'd be appreciated. |
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stoli
Trick Member
Joined: 27 Mar 2005
Location: Southern NH |
| 4191. Posted: Sun May 15, 2005 9:39 am Post subject: |
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Lot's of ways to do it. I don't have any closup shots but I think there is a pic in the Pad Base section that kind of shows it. I run a wire from each of the bottom arrow connections to the very center of the pad base. They are all wrapped together and soldered with a longer wire that eventually gets soldered to the common on the controller.
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Shadow_Dragonz
Trick Member
Joined: 16 Mar 2003
Location: California |
| 4192. Posted: Mon May 16, 2005 11:29 am Post subject: |
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Hi,
I've gotten a few e-mails/PMs from people asking about the X-box, and how to modify the controller to use the dance pad. I actually don't know how, but if anyone does or has a link, please PM/e-mail me  . It'd help out a lot and also I can update the FAQ I created.
Also, if anyone has the time, if they could let me know if the FAQ has any error or needs any updates. I'll be looking for links, pictures, other information, or anything else you (all of you guys/anyone that needs help) can think of that would be benificial. And yes, I'll give credit to those who help out
Oh, sorry that I haven't been able to reply to everyone in a timely matter. I've been extremely busy with college and I have finals this week. though over the summer I should be able to help out and reply back within a few days @ most. Good luck to everyone, and thanks for everyone that's helping contribute
Shadow_Dragonz
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Shadow_Dragonz
Trick Member
Joined: 16 Mar 2003
Location: California |
| 4193. Posted: Mon May 16, 2005 11:34 am Post subject: |
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| Marvel627 wrote: | | Hey guys, I have a question. For anyone who has tried both, which pad design is more like the arcade, the riptide or ddrhomepad? |
Hi,
Riptide's is by far more like the arcades than ddrhomepad's (no offense). If you were to use less weather stripping, you could have the arrows sit lower and feel more like the arcade panels.
I would personally say that Patster's design is the one that has come closest to being a replica to the arcade dance pad. Though sadly I don't think the site is up any more. Anyway, (a bit off topic) I think that the contacts on Riptides are better (did he update the pad for Blue Beefman's contact design  ) than on Patster's (though I haven't tried his yet).
Shadow_Dragonz
P.S. If anyone wanted to know, that's just my opinion. So, that's from my experience/knowledge, and in no way saying that one is better than the other. Any of those beats a soft pad any day
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slvrshdw
Trick Member
Joined: 05 Jan 2005
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| 4194. Posted: Mon May 16, 2005 1:00 pm Post subject: |
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ya..i can help out a bit in a FAQ
um..where is it, and what exactly do u need help on?
just IM me or somthing
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slvrshdw
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Joined: 05 Jan 2005
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| 4195. Posted: Mon May 16, 2005 6:22 pm Post subject: |
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i got back from lowes
i got .25 24" x 48" piece of plexiglass for $35
thats not a *bad* price is it?
i also got more aluminum flashing 14" by 10 feet (i think) for $9
my tab keeps adding up
oh well, i like to build so its all good
now all i gotta do is redo my 5 panels to 11 by 11 instead of 10 1/2 by 10 1/2
and cut the plex, a new base with a border, and ill be about done
im just gonna use the same 2 by 4s and wiring
(btw i put off making my bros pad since i need a working pad by saturday)
anyone want me to take pics along the way, if no one answers i wont bother... 
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ZacJanes
Basic Member
Joined: 13 May 2005
Location: Australia |
| 4196. Posted: Tue May 17, 2005 1:43 am Post subject: New BoardBuilder |
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Hi all,
Here we have one official noob about to undertake the journey of building a dance pad. I am *probably* leaning towards DDRhomepad design at the moment, but with no O and X buttons... are they **REALLY** needed??? And should I consider any other pad instead of DDRhomepad? And anything super important a total Noobie should know? ... Answers to these 3 questions would be muchly appreciated!!!
Also, Stoli & many others, it's great to see how helpful you are on here, I'm sure I'll be asking you a lot of questions along the way
Wish me luck!!!
*Zac |
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Heffenfeffer
Trick Member
Joined: 22 Apr 2002
Location: Las Cruces, NM |
| 4197. Posted: Tue May 17, 2005 7:03 am Post subject: Brannigan, Begin Again |
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| Shadow_Dragonz wrote: | I would personally say that Patster's design is the one that has come closest to being a replica to the arcade dance pad. Though sadly I don't think the site is up any more. Anyway, (a bit off topic) I think that the contacts on Riptides are better (did he update the pad for Blue Beefman's contact design ) than on Patster's (though I haven't tried his yet).
Shadow_Dragonz
P.S. If anyone wanted to know, that's just my opinion. So, that's from my experience/knowledge, and in no way saying that one is better than the other. Any of those beats a soft pad any day |
No idea - I built a Riptide style pad a few months back, and I went with cutting off plexi corners for corner brackets, and using mending brackets for the contact system. (But I still have no idea about how Patster's nor BlueBeefman's contacts work. Do you have their old site addresses backed up somewhere? Perhaps archive.org can help...)
(Edit - I noticed that in the videos, Riptide just used screws, sans brackets. Is this better, worse, or indifferent from the whole mending bracket thing?)
But yeah, the mending brackets are working OK for me, though I still get the occasional flutter-step (which is making clearing Mission mode a touch difficult.) Perhaps a little work with a screwdriver can help things...
Good luck with finals! Perhaps a little work with a screwdriver can help things...
Silvershadow (apparently undergoing a severe vowel ration) - That sounds about right for plexiglass, it's roughly what I paid from Home Despot. About the only way you'll get it cheaper is wholesale, perhaps from a construction company or somesuch. Oh yeah...why the sudden dimension change?
ZacJanes - Well, each pad has its own set of plusses and minuses. Personally (my opinion only), I'd probably lean towards a Riptide or Stoli design. I like my Riptide's contact system since it's pretty easily adjustable, but after almost falling off the edges a couple times, I began to pine for Stoli's borders. (Well, and the chrome. Whoa, that looks nice.) If only my arcade had an Extreme Plus so it would warn me, "Don't fall off!" Seriously, most of the designs are fundementally the same, so you have the luxury of picking and choosing features you like from each one.
(Edit - Changed word whose acronym brings up a 10^100 advert for a certain mass MOG by a frigid weather pattern company to 'Whoa.' Nothing against the game, I just don't like inline ads.)
As for O and X buttons - they are nice to have. It's a matter of personal preference if you want full panels for 6-panel (though the last mix that featured 6-panel came out three years ago), or just little confirm pushbuttons like a lot of padbuilders have. It is quite handy to select everything with your feet and not have to pick up the controller again after each song. However, if you want no visible buttons, period (say you want to hide the controller in the pad) - that's not a good idea. To confirm each song, you'd have to have a controller in the 2P slot and fail on the right side just to play. Since I recommend using a softpad board for your controller (all the regular controllers I've tried using for the pad burned out in a matter of minutes), I'd say you should bite the bullet and put buttons on your pad.
Good luck! Feel free to come back and ask any questions you might have.
(Edit - Oh yeah, a hoity-toity story to tell. The other day I had a chance to play on a friend's Cobalt Flux...and I did not care for it much at all! I'd gotten so used to arcade and home recessed panels that I was stepping off the pad and on the center panel at times. Oh, the humanity! I never thought that I would pick another pad over the 'Flux.)
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"If something should happen to me, all the world's women will grieve!" - Edgar Rene Figaro
"Your charisma exceeds that of mortal men. Many would lay down their lives for you." - Fall-From-Grace |
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slvrshdw
Trick Member
Joined: 05 Jan 2005
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| 4198. Posted: Tue May 17, 2005 2:11 pm Post subject: |
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ya..i did stoli's at first with the sheet metal contacts, but they really didnt work for me
so then i built one like riptide's using the vids..if u dont build stuff or never have, then watch the vids
the only thing i am NOT going to follow on my new and *improved* pad, will be NOT to cut the corners off, and just drill out bigger holes in the plex so it can move freely
i guess i can get pics for zacjanes if u want..i guess i will
now off to continue 
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Aflac
Trick Member
Joined: 28 Mar 2005
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| 4199. Posted: Tue May 17, 2005 2:51 pm Post subject: |
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| does anyone know of the height difference between a Stoli pad and a Riptide pad? I couldn't decide which design i liked better or would work better so eventually i plan on making both designs and putting them side by side for doubles play. |
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