My home built metal DDR pad (Part IV)

wi11 721 · Posted: Thu Jun 23, 2005 7:47 pm Post subject:

thanks for clearing that up for me and heres where you can find a pic of a cicuit bord with the names of the buttons on the contacts for a soft pad.

http://membres.lycos.fr/csclanbef/DDR/topway_PCB_Solder_Point.JPG
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wi11 721 · Posted: Thu Jun 23, 2005 7:49 pm Post subject:

and i havnt found it on the many pages on here so i was wondering an easy way to get rid of static on the pad........ hopefully i can start my pad next week

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Synaesthesia · Posted: Thu Jun 23, 2005 7:58 pm Post subject:

I think static buildup was discussed ~p.210, +/- 3 pages. That might be a good place to start looking.
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HitokiriX · Trick Member Joined: 27 Mar 2004 Location: Berwyn, PA

Hey guys. Can anyone tell me the different uses of the start and select buttons in DDR and ITG? Just want to know so I can use the info to decide on which pushbuttons to add to my pad.

So far I know that:

DDR
start + select: restart
start: sort
select: ???

ITG
start + select: restart
start: ???
select: ???

Thanks!

Tenesu · Basic Member Joined: 05 Feb 2004

Synaesthesia · Posted: Fri Jun 24, 2005 8:10 am Post subject:

All buttons at this point. I took the top contact plates out from under the corner brackets, and laid them next to the bottom contacts such that both metal contacts were facing upward. I had the menu screen active while doing this, and as I laid each successive contact down, I could see a marked increase in the amount of "fluttering" the screen was doing. It did the equivalent of ghost stepping when I first tested the pad, with no weatherstripping between the contacts--just foam core. Then, I added wx-stripping, and the activation got worse (there was now more space between the 2 contacts). Now, with the contacts laying completely apart from each other, the button-firing is bad enough to lag the menu screen until it locks up. The amount of exposed wire remains constant throughout all of this, as I only cut as much wire as was absolutely necessary. The fact that the problem was getting worse in proportion to the amount of contact metal exposed was what led me to believe it was the contact plates causing the problem.
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Heffenfeffer · Trick Member Joined: 22 Apr 2002 Location: Las Cruces, NM

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

Tenesu · Basic Member Joined: 05 Feb 2004

Heffenfeffer · Trick Member Joined: 22 Apr 2002 Location: Las Cruces, NM

Synaesthesia · Posted: Fri Jun 24, 2005 11:49 am Post subject:

OK, I've made some slight progress. I bought a 6'9" breakaway cable, and moved the pad much further from the TV. I then put the contacts back where they would normally sit. Compared to what it was, the button-fluttering is much lower. Playing a Novice song (to see how often the arrows are pressed without having actual arrows cluttering the screen), I find that the Up arrow continues to flutter 2-3x per, well, flutter, and each fluttering occurs about 4 seconds (on average). The Left arrow appears to activate consistently, but slowly, and only one at a time (one activation per second, or something). If left alone, only those 2 buttons will activate. If I hold down the non-arrows (which, after all this lifting, have an even stronger tendency to raise into the air), Right will activate with less frequency than Left, and Down periodically activates, but in double-steps.

I'm trying to see how (if at all) Left and Up are configured differently than Down and Right. Interestingly enough, Right has the greatest amount of slack wire exposed on the sides, but won't ever activate unless I hold the top-right non-arrow portion down. (Which doesn't make much sense, because when I do that, it doesn't move any wires at all.) At least the menu doesn't kill itself anymore, so I appear to be on the right track.

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

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

Heffenfeffer · Trick Member Joined: 22 Apr 2002 Location: Las Cruces, NM

stupidbarber · Trick Member Joined: 28 Feb 2005

Synaesthesia · Posted: Fri Jun 24, 2005 6:04 pm Post subject:

I believe Stoli's design is the same as mine in basic concept. Cover the soldered points with a few layers of duct tape or electrical tape to keep solder joints from making unwanted contact.
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wi11 721 · Posted: Fri Jun 24, 2005 7:08 pm Post subject:

ok, im going to start to build my pad soon, hopefully in a few days, and i was trying to decide wich to build i was origionaly going to build homepad's but then i was looking at stoli's and it was a little thinner(from what i could see) and my room has like little to no space but just enough to fit a pad but will have to be moved when im done but i was wondering on stoli;s if you can really tell where you are on the pad liek if your hitting an arrow or just metal and i was also looking at stoli's because it had a x and o button already on it but i was also wondering if it owuld be too hard to add x and o buttons on homepad's design hope that wasn't confusing not very good at explaining things most of the time

well i apreciate any help i get and thanks in advance
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wi11 721 · Posted: Fri Jun 24, 2005 7:25 pm Post subject:

oops left this out but overall even though it's bigger i would definatley build riptide's pad but i am at a loss on the wireing if anyone could clear that up for me that would be GREAT or any other alternatives that they have found to work better..... and sorry for all the questions but i dont want to spend 14+ hours building something and have it turn out to not be all that i wanted

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Ulala321 · Trick Member Joined: 28 Sep 2004

Okay, so I've started building another set of pads using Stoli's instructions. I'm building two of his pads which, when set next to each other, the spacing between the adjacent sides of the pads is smaller than that of an arcade pad. I saw a graphic he made that solved this problem by building one bad with a larger right border and the second with no left border. I would rather my pads be symmetrical, so I'm wondering if there is a way to equalize the distance on either side of the two pads. Or, if I were to build to his exact specifications, would it be wise to try to build a seperate "bridge" piece to mount between the two pads to get the exact size? If anyone, especially Stoli could help answer this, it'd be fantastic. Thanks!

Maistorm · Trick Member Joined: 14 Jun 2002 Location: B'ham, AL

What's the best method of cutting the lucite? All I have is just basic hacksaws with wood and metal cutting blades, and nothing really made to cut through plastic like this. The best method I can think of is scoring it over and over and then snapping it off, but I have a whole bunch of 11" squares of lucite, which means i only really need to shave off 1/4 to 1/2 of an inch to make it fit, and the score + snap idea doesn't really work with such short distances from the edge of the lucite.

Any tips?