My home built metal DDR pad (Part IV)

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

Question: Has anyone found out where to buy the thin, dense foam material that you find under the manufactured metal pads? It's used to keep the pad from sliding and also to protect wooden floors from the metal underside. I'd like to put that under my homemade pad as well, but so far I've come up short in finding the material anywhere.

Maybe a specific name is what I'm missing? So far I've tried googling stuff like "dense foam" or "thin foam material". Obviously searches as general as that aren't gonna get me far.

jjang1993 · Trick Member Joined: 05 Aug 2005

alright i just tore apart my RO ITG Soft pad cause it broke and i got the control board to make my homemade pad. however i cant find instuctions on how to solder a dance pad control board. does GND mean ground wire? and theres two right and down wires. theres B-down D-down and B-right and D-right. which one should be soldered? when i solder the ground wire do i have to solder any direction arrows to the ground wire?
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My Favorite DDR Song is So Deep.

slvrshdw · Trick Member Joined: 05 Jan 2005

about the lexan--
i got a 2'x4' section of some strong plexiglass..(think it was lucite)
it cost me $35 so not cheap!...but it was 1/4" thick
mine broke in my pad, BUT i only used 1 piece and NO center support

about the foam--
your best bet would be the dense foam for excercise mats (dont know
the exact name)

circuit board--
get some pics for me, ill help

(and/or AIM)
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mindless2 · Trick Member Joined: 24 Oct 2005

Ok, I think i have some cubons for home depot so it wont be as much. I'm planning on building Stoli's pad, so, 2 pieces will be better than 1, correct? I wont be stomping really hard on it, but it will be a little strong. I'm assuming Lucite will be fine, correct?

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

Think it would be possible to cut the bottom from a madcatz soft pad and use that?

slvrshdw · Trick Member Joined: 05 Jan 2005

if your building stoli's (thin) pad, you probably wont have a problem because its so thin
i liked my riptide based model because its more durable and more realistic.
the thing is that it has a big gap in the center, so the plex bends

if you get a thick (like 1/4" plex, lucite probably) you should be fine with 1 piece. you might want to get some stonger stuff if you plan on 1 sheet though

Aflac · Trick Member Joined: 28 Mar 2005

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

stupidbarber · Trick Member Joined: 28 Feb 2005

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

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

I was searching on the web for non-slip rubber mats, and everything seemed really expensive. Then it occured to me: the stuff I want has to be very thin right? What about non-slip tape? I don't know if it'll work, but it's worth a shot....I still need a rubber kind of material, not the kind of black sandpaper surface that I see on concrete ramps in the streets. That would just scratch a wood floor even more. Wonder if that's possible....rubber tape....

Aflac · Trick Member Joined: 28 Mar 2005

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

hey thanks a lot. I should really check that stuff out. Although it doesn't come in black like the manufacturer's stuff is, it still looks promising. The stuff at the bottom of my old pad actually looks like arts and crafts foam, now that I look at it more closely. It's like the lightweight foam that little kids use to cut into shapes'n'stuff. Maybe I'll check out an arts and crafts store for a huge roll of it...

deM' · Trick Member Joined: 10 Apr 2005 Location: Southington CT

I stopped at AC Moore a while back when building my first homepad, It seems that they don't have anything even close to my surprise, same thing goes for HomeDepot and Lowes. I ended up using a thin mousepad cut into quarters, one quarter under each button holds it down very well.

Punkly Daft · Trick Member Joined: 16 May 2005 Location: On a DDR Pad

i have a question concerning the circuitry -

according to ddrhomepad's design, he said to avoid having the screws going trough the plexiglass touch the sheet metal contacts for fear of causing a short.

would the screws going through the pegboard and into the rails cause this problem too? after all, the sheet metal ground lies right on top of them.
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"One more time we're gonna celebrate
Oh yeah, alright, don't stop the dancing"

-Daft Punk "One More Time"

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

HitokiriX,

Here's an idea for your pad. It's not the cheapest solution, but it's not too bad and I think it will fit the bill. Home Depot has a rubber mat that is made to be placed under hardwood flooring to act as a sound absorber. I had bought a roll to sound insulate car doors, but it would work very well for your purpose. You can buy a large roll for $35, or you might be able to buy what you want. It's the premium type and is colored a light green. It's only about 2 mm thick and would be easy t glue to the bottom with some 3M 77 spray. Take a look at that and see if that would help you out.

David
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Life is very different 3000 feet above the earth with only a wing to hold you up....
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HitokiriX · Trick Member Joined: 27 Mar 2004 Location: Berwyn, PA

mindless2 · Trick Member Joined: 24 Oct 2005

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

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

Well my dad helped me figure what it was. It's called art foam, and it's arts and crafts foam for little kids. I can't find a 3' by 3' size though. Biggest was 18' by 36".