My home built metal DDR pad (Part IV)

Travelsonic · Trick Member Joined: 08 Oct 2005

Thing with the contact paper on top though, I figured it would be allright if I wrapped it around the plexiglass, if only the slivers that could be picked up by foot sliding without tearing, given how I had thin pieces of tape on top of each panel, labling which panel went where, that have stayed on through much abuse in my pad testing.... a LOT of abuse.

Any ides on what to do if I was to add that DDR pad warning sticker and black/yellow sticker that goes on the bottom-left (right side) or bottom-right (left-side) of the pad on the edges? Found the graphic in another pad thread, somebody (don't remember who) made them and I wanted to add that to my pad for asthetic purposes.

EDIT: Opinion question:

(ALL GFX copied from respective posts in this subforum where I could find them, credit is due to these people especially since it is a pain in the ass to find them. Images shrunk so I didn't get killed for uploading big graphics here. )

I got two sets of plexiglass arrows, so I am chosing between sets of panel graphics. What do you think, what combination of any of these should I use?

Official DDR arrow graphics:

Common DDR Home pad arrow graphics:

Or the Namco Bootleg Machine graphics?

*SHOT AND NUKED, THEN SKINNED*
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I'll believe that when me **** turns purple, and smells like rainbow sherbet.

pooface · Trick Member Joined: 27 Sep 2004

I'd use the Official graphics.

Also, how do these homemade mats stack up to the likes of CF and/or BlueShark? I'm considering building a Riptide mat or buying a TX-4000 or Tx-6000, I know a homebrew pad is better than a TX mat, but I'm not sure about the big 2.
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Trying to build a mat...

Travelsonic · Trick Member Joined: 08 Oct 2005

Another question:

I use corner triangle wedge-shaped pieces of wod to hold up the corner brackets, and they are made of solid pine, glued with strong wood glue to, and nailed through the plywood used for the base of my pad. The brackets come loose and come off though. What should I do?
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I'll believe that when me **** turns purple, and smells like rainbow sherbet.

Ghettobarney · Trick Member Joined: 21 Dec 2006 Location: Failing Pandy

ChilliumBromide · Trick Member Joined: 16 Jun 2006 Location: Beaverton, OR

pooface · Trick Member Joined: 27 Sep 2004

How would you go about building a mat using the Blueshark sensors?
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Trying to build a mat...

slvrshdw · Trick Member Joined: 05 Jan 2005

Travelsonic · Trick Member Joined: 08 Oct 2005

slvrshdw · Trick Member Joined: 05 Jan 2005

@travelsonic
i thought some one at least started on using those sensors...
so, im guessing they work ok then?

if you have used other sensors designs, can you compare them?

i'm just kind of curious, because i like the matrix sensors..they are amazing

...and i'll get pics of the new pad tomm
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ChilliumBromide · Trick Member Joined: 16 Jun 2006 Location: Beaverton, OR

I can't wait until summer kicks off and I have a chance to start working on my StepMania machine.
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I used to be active here lol

Ghettobarney · Trick Member Joined: 21 Dec 2006 Location: Failing Pandy

You're not off school yet? I got out 2 weeks ago! My friend is giving me some money to build him a pad and I'm not sure if I should use Stoli's design or Devout's, as they are both very sexy pads.
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OMG I BEETS MACKS 300!

pooface · Trick Member Joined: 27 Sep 2004

I've finally made the final decision to build my own mat. I'm going to be using Riptide's design. Any advice for a first time builder? I've never done anything like this before.

Also, how much more does Lexan cost than plexiglass? Would it work exactly the same as plexiglass in a mat and not cause any problems?

And, I have an old Redoctane Ignition 3.0 that barley works any more cause they suck, and is there any way to use the control box in one of those for the mat I'm building? It would be cool for it to be compatible withh PS2, Xbox, and PC.

I also doubt I'll use the Blueshark sensors, since they're pretty expensive and I can't shell out like $100-$200 on just sensors.

EDIT: Another quick question, is it possible to make your mat where you plug in the control box into a port on the mat, just in case the cable goes bad so you can easily fix it? A lot of the mats that you can buy have this feature, so I'm guessing that it can be easily be done.
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Trying to build a mat...

meander · Trick Member Joined: 05 Feb 2007 Location: Greenfield, MA

ChilliumBromide · Trick Member Joined: 16 Jun 2006 Location: Beaverton, OR

I drafted myself a schedule for the summer. The rest of June will be almost entirely dedicated to systematically building the DT200 prototype, then July and August will be open for DT200 and DT600 orders while I simultaneously build my StepMania machine.
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I used to be active here lol

slvrshdw · Trick Member Joined: 05 Jan 2005

@pooface
yes, i have the quick disconnect thing (course i changed it, so now its pointless..)
and definately use an old softpad controller for your metal pad!

@tofu
just a few things..:
1) sucks that you arent out of school yet =/
2) hopefully the schedule works out for you, i just made a list of what all has to be done for my cab/pads, and thats worked out pretty nicely
if you have the list, you may run into various problems that may arise..i know i have had that happen to me
3) how much are you putting into the cab? i only spent roughly $100 (i had a spare comp and a $40 TV)

and sorry, but i ran in to a few problems with my second pad, so no pics yet

: (ill try to get some after work tomorrow)
for some reason, when i screwed the arrows down, it HURT the sensitivity of the arrows. anyone have some ideas on what i can do?
im using the matrix sensors, and a 1/4" piece of wood for now

i've noticed that the flex of the wood before i screwed it down made the arrows work very nicely. also, there is no way to just *not* screw them down, so dont even suggest that..

its really sad, cause my setup is so nice, but the second pad is crap now

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pooface · Trick Member Joined: 27 Sep 2004

slvrshdw · Trick Member Joined: 05 Jan 2005

i used CAT5 (internet) cable, but i would actually recommend using the serial connections instead (those are what they use on TX style pads..i know because my friend has 2 of them)

its easy to set up.
just one wire goes to the connector on the female end
then the other wire goes to the same spot on the male end

browse my site, i think i have some pics of the CAT5 if you really wanted to look
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pooface · Trick Member Joined: 27 Sep 2004

Oh, when I actually try and think about it, it's really really simple.

Also, what makes a serial connection better than just using CAT5?
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Trying to build a mat...

ChilliumBromide · Trick Member Joined: 16 Jun 2006 Location: Beaverton, OR

The final design is expected to have the following expenditures:

Display -- $400~$800
System -- unknown (we may be able to get an ITG2 system from Kyle Ward for cheap, 'cause we know him personally.)
Cab frame -- $50~$150
Pads -- $500~$800
Lights -- $180~$220
Glass/Acrylic paneling -- $50
Steel Cab Paneling -- $150~250

However, we already have substitutes for the Display and System, which puts us at a total cost in the neighborhood of $1200, then another few hundred dollars to get a good widescreen TV and dedicated system.

Which brings us to precisely why I need DTG to work out, 'cause there's no way in hell I'm going to come up with $1200 this summer without it, but with, it will only take 15 DT200's to cover the cost.

btw, this has become a group project for the DDR community of Portland, OR; I'm just the one who's in charge of designing it, paying for most of it, and finding a place for it to go.
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I used to be active here lol