Player 2 Control Panel!!

OK, a little more progress has been made. I've successfully completed the last two control panels so I am almost ready to wire everything up and test out my cabinet for real! Below are pictures of the completed player 2 control panel. The player 1 control panel details are coming soon!



The first picture shows the control panel in all its glory. The layout and design is about as simple as possible and should be able to play most vertical games without any problems. The joystick is from Ultimarc (www.ultimarc.com) and it is both a 4-way joystick (can only move up, down, left and right) and an 8-way joystick (can move up, down, left and right as well as on all of the diagonals). It is called a T-Stik Plus on their website (but may have been replaced by the new Mag-Stik Plus). Different games require different controls and this joystick accomodates most of them. The reason an 8-way won't work for game requiring a 4-way input (like Donkey Kong, for example) is because if the joystick is pressed diagonally the character game will not know which direction to move and will actually not move at all. This is extremely frustrating and it makes these games virtually unplayable. The T-Stik Plus is switchable between 4-way and 8-way mode by pulling up on the joystick and twisting it until it locks into place. What actually happens underneath the control panel is that a restrictor plate is rotated preventing (or allowing) the joystick from moving on the diagonals. It's a great design and it means I won't have to install two different joysticks on each control panel to accomodate different games.



The next picture shows the underneath of the contol panel. It is not wired up yet but the connectors are all in place on the microswitches. I bought a pack of 100 from Home Depot for about $6. They make connecting the wires really easy. All you have to do is snap them in place, insert the stripped end of the wire and crimp down on the end of the connector and it will make a very tight connection.



This last shot just shows the control panel in place (but not yet installed). Everything is coming together nicely. I hope to post about the Player 1 control panel soon - it is virtually identical except I installed a spinner in between the buttons and joystick and it was a bit tricky to do.

Progress Pictures:
(For the installation procedure of the third control panel see below)

Player 3/4 control panel installed (Player 2 control panel is loosely in place but not lined up or screwed in):


Front shot of player 3/4 control panel installed (still need to add the t-molding to the side panels):


The player 1 and player 2 control panels are coming soon!!

Another Update - FINALLY!!!

I made some progress over the past few weeks but I was too lazy to take pictures and post them - until now! The main thing that I worked on was finishing the control panels. I got two out of three of them done (minus the admin buttons) and the only reason the third one wasn't finished was because I had to think of a way to mount the spinner from the bottom without anything showing on top (except the knob, of course). I will post that process at a later date when it is actually finished.

First I will detail the construction of the player 3 and player 4 control panel (the long one). I am picking up after installing the trackball plate in the center as detailed in a previous post.

This first picture shows the inside of the control panel after I glued the front piece to the control panel top (where the buttons and joysticks go). I was a little hesitant to just use glue for this joint but after I clamped it up and let the glue dry overnight all of my worries were put to rest - this thing is strong as hell and I doubt it will ever come apart. Actually, modern wood glues are supposed to be stronger than the wood itself but I always find that hard to believe until I see it for myself.

The only thing to worry about during the glue-up is creating a very tight joint and a smooth transition from the top piece to the front piece. The top side is going to be covered in vinyl to make it look nice but an uneven transition will show through to the finished product.

As you can see here, this is what it looks like from the top. Notice that the front piece is rounded over to meet the top piece. The vinyl that will cover everything is thin so this is the part that must be as clean as possible. I used a sanding block to smooth out the imperfections and to remove excess glue that squeezed out during the glue-up. Hopefully you can see this starting to come together.

The next step is to apply the vinyl. This is not as easy as it sounds but isn't that tough either. I ordered the vinyl online from Happ Controls (http://www.happcontrols.com/). It's actually called Black Pica Vinyl and the part number is 49-0474-00. It's pretty cheap but watch out because they screw you on shipping. It comes in a roll and has a peel away back like a giant sticker so you don't need any glue or anything.


The first thing to do is cut an oversized piece of your vinyl roll for the control panel. Just lay the control panel out on the vinyl and eyeball it. You can use a pair of scissors to cut the piece out. Next, carefully remove the backing from the vinyl and lay the control panel on a flat surface with the side receiving the vinyl facing you. Very carefully (with the sticky side facing out) bend the ends of the vinyl towards you and place it on the control panel in the center. Then gently roll the vinyl to either side of the control panel making sure there are no air bubbles trapped between the vinyl and control panel. This method ensures that it goes on smooth.

Once you have smoothed out the vinyl on all of the visible surfaces of the control panel it is time to trim it to proper length and install the buttons and joysticks. For the trimming, use a utility knife with a sharp razor blade for a clean cut. Just use the edges of the control panel as your guide when cutting and it will come out straight. As you can see from the photo, this is what the control panel looks like completely covered in vinyl (with the trackball hole cut out).

The next steps are easy - just cut out the holes for the buttons and joysticks and install them. Also install the trackball to the trackball plate using the screws that come with it. Note that I used black carriage bolts for the joystick installation to give a clean look to the top. I also went with an all black button/joystick color scheme to go with the t-molding and table top. After the buttons and everything are installed the last thing left is attaching it to the cabinet (except the wiring which I will explain at a later date). This is what the piano hinge is for that I installed a few posts down.

Here's what the finished control panel looks like:


The front view of the cabinet with third control panel installed:


Top down view of third control panel installed:


Third control panel on hinge for access:


Underside of third control panel (not wired) with totally sweet foot: