My home built metal DDR pad (Part IV)

[ChilliumBromide]

Ah, I understand now.
That's actually a great idea; it sounds like it would hold MUCH better than just a plain soldering. I'll keep it in mind for my DT610's, since the design doesn't feature panels that can be opened up (the panels are so simple, they don't really call for cleaning or anything), so you'd need something that would have a permanent hold.

Speaking of sersors, I thought up a design today that was based on a snare drum. For those who don't know, a snare drum creates its unique sound by having coils on the bottom of the drum that snap to the bottom each time you hit it, effectively instantaneous, which allows for the smacking ring it has, and smoother rolls. I converted this idea to a DDR pad sensor that would react instantaneously upon impact, so that each time you hit the panel, it would remain stationary, and an upper sensor, strung to the bottom of the sensor with elastic bands, would snap quickly down to the lower sensor and right back up. I haven't tested it yet, and if anyone wants to try it out, great, I love to see my ideas work. =)

As far as gloves go with electrical tape, I think the main issue is birth issues with women, but I haven't read the warning on a roll of electrical tape in about 8 years, so I'm not entirely sure.
I just figured I'd mention that it might have some harmful effect, because I didn't want any issues caused on my part, and I do know that the tape does leave a residue unlike other tapes when you handle the nonsticky side.
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I used to be active here lol

[Matrlx]

[traydemark03]

[ChilliumBromide]

[Matrlx]

[Muncher17]

[traydemark03]

[Katalyst]

I'm modifying my second pad now which uses the stoli base, to use matrix's sensors. But yeah, like Muncher17 said, those damn brackets are expensive I only grabbed 8 right now which should be enough to test at least one panel and see how well that sensor works. If it's good, I'll go grab more. But I was thinking about what he also said (to just use a strip of sheetmetal for the bottom piece). I also just happened to check walmart and surprisingly they didn't have a damn thing. Brackets or screws even.

[slvrshdw]

well i see some people have been thinking about sensors

only thing i can say is that usually the overly complicated things always fail, no matter how much effort and time put into making it.

thats why the simple sensors are what im using for now (already did the sheet metal on sheet metal, used the sheet metal and screws, and now im working on a slightly modified version of the MatrIx design)
btw, i always ALWAYS would check out Big Lots (a more expensive dollar store type place) 'cause it has quite a few goodies. that is where i found my mending strips, some were 4 for a $1! check that place outs, its great for random stuff (found some handles im going to use too there)

ill get pics when i get working on it again (and find a camera :-p)


other good news is that i moved my "cabinet" i was working on and im planning on revamping (*cough* finishing *cough*) it when i get the time

i still need to find some speakers, and some cool lights eventually.
the whole reason i plan on doing this is because of how horrible the anime convention was at Oni-Con '06. they didnt even HAVE a real DDR machine!
so i got kinda pissed and so im planning on just using my OWN, lol (set it up for free play, and then have like a tip jar )
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[Katalyst]

Oooh, 4 for a buck. I'm headed to Big Lots tomorrow.

[Matrlx]

Yeah, the mending brackets are kinda pricey. I got them at Home Depot for 45 cents each (Canadian), so it was something like $16 for all the brackets.

Sheet metal on the bottom like people have been suggesting works great, there just needs to be something solid on the bottom you can wrap some tape around to hold the thing together. I used two mending brackets per sensor purely for convenience over price.
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Matrix Arcade Style DDRHomepad: http://members.shaw.ca/lluk/ddrpad/

[Muncher17]

4 mending brackets for a dollar is really good. I definitely wouldn't have bothered with making the sheet metal bottoms if I could have found them that cheap.

I ended up buying them from Aubuchon Hardware, 4 packs for $3.20 each, adds up to around $25 if you go with 32 brackets. That's cheaper than I could find at my local Home Depot, but a lot more expensive than 25 cents each

[Katalyst]

Damn, still better than what I paid today. 2 4-pack's for $4.58 each, $9.16 total. If Big Lots has the 4 for a buck when I check tomorrow, I'm returning these.

[traydemark03]

Maannn... 4/buck. That's awesome. I'm definitely checking it out. Obviously, each big lots is different; where are you from slvrshdw?

Oh, and as for soldering to the brackets, I suggest pinching the ground in between the washer and bottom mending bracket/sheet metal and then just strip about a 1/2" of the other wire and pull it through one of the middle screw holes of the top mending bracket. Then just twist the end to the rest of itself and solder it together so it doesn't come off. You can put some electrical tape to prevent the wire from scratching the plexi/lexan if you want. It's way easier and works just as perfectly. (Of course you can interchange which wire you want to connect to which bracket)

Now that the sensors are perfect, I think the only troublesome thing left is those damn triangles!!! (I hate those so much)

[slvrshdw]

ya, im near houston, TX.

the 4/$1 IS LUCKY THOUGH!
this was only once that i found them, AND they have to be in a package of 4 otherwise they will try to sell them to you for 99 cents each (RIPOFF)

i also remember that i got some of the L brackets as well as some of the usual straight pieces.

i think i might try to combine them and see how it works out


but ya, i haven't really seen a LOT of them around (the brackets) at big lots. its only been about 2 times out of the 10 that ive gone. so you might get lucky, might not
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[firezion]

Hey guys, is there any idea in using this: http://www.play-asia.com/paOS-13-71-1i-77-4-49-en-15-3in1-70-15w7.html as a Control box, when used primarily with pc? I mean, I would get controlbox and adapter at the same time? And wouldn´t have to buy controllers, just to have them use triolinker or some other adapter.

Any faults or tricky parts in this idea?

My project in building the double pads, is really going well. Today, we finished on a first stationary panel, and it looks awsome.

Im also planning to go richbitch (with what money?) and use mymybox:es blueshark sensors on these. Any handy suggestions with them? Has anyone used them before?

You guys rock, for helping us newbies out, every time.

[geckoinc99]

A suggestion for the previous posts. For those wanting to use sheetmetal bottoms for the bracket "sandwich" idea from Matrix, you could glue them down instead of taping them. Just use contact cement. You coat the bottom of the metal piece and the wood where it's suppose to contact (two coats would probably make a big difference) and then when they're dry just stick them together. They won't move after that. Just make sure you can use it in a well ventilated area.

If you use screws to hold your metal in place, you can buy crimp-on ring terminals for attaching wire. There's a crimp sleeve that you crimp the wire into, then you have the ring on the other end to place under the washer and screw down for a very solid connection. Highly recommended. Good luck with the builds.

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

[Katalyst]

Damn, just got back from the Big Lots out here and they didn't have any. Although, I did return the 8 I had already grabbed from Lowe's and grabbed 16 3" ones from HD. The 3" ones were cheaper than the 4" ones and I figure I just grab 16 instead of 32 and put all this sheet metal I got to good use as a bottom bracket replacement. We'll see how this works out.

[Plautus]

OK, here's my pad that I've had finished for a while but am still tweaking, using a riptide design for sensors:



For my next one, I'm going to place the switches across the top (start, etc.) farther apart, as they're a bit of a nuisance that close together. I'm pretty pleased how it turned out, especially the Afterburner/ITG arrows. Originally, I put Lucite-Tuf in for arrows, they cracked within a few minutes of play. I replaced the bottom and left arrows with 1/8" Lexan sandwiching the graphics (to see if I should do the rest or not even bother), so now the top and right are still Lucite-Tuf. There are cracks you can't see in the top arrow (and the marks on the left arrow are sneaker marks, not scuffs). Here is the best illustration for the contrast:



On the left is the Lexan down arrow, the one that takes the most punishment the way I play, and on the right is the Lucite-Tuf right arrow. It has been there a bit longer, but only a bit. I have had no cracking or popping from the Lexan so far, but as I said, the Lucite-Tuf is brittle.

[Weston]

There is also Lucite-ES which seems to work very well.
Good job on your pad!