First game cabinet build

[the_poon]

Hello!

 

As winter approaches, the work finally dies off, and I get more usable hours in my day I have finally decided to build a cabinet to house all the games I never get to play because my wife is constantly on my computer! I have been browsing the Happ Controls website for suitable joysticks, pushbuttons etc.

 

My questions are...

 

Has anybody who has built a cabinet got any suggestions for the best joystick/trackball to use?

Are Happ's controls the best or are there other, better suppliers?

How are they being connected to the PC?

 

I looked at the I-Pac 4 (which seems pretty dedicated) but have also seen people use USB gamepads to provide input for players. It needs to be robust and money is not a problem.

 

 

I appreciate that with a little research on my part this information could be gleaned from google. I'm almost more interested in knowing what to avoid buying or if any controls or setups have fallen way short of your expectations?

 

 

Thanks in advance for any help as everyone's time is precious.

[Riffman81]

I'm constantly tweaking things with my cab. Are you looking to throw together some custom controls or looking for something already pre-built like the X-Arcade Tank stick, etc?? I went with the X-Arcade tank stick for my setup, it was simple, easy to configure, and works via USB. I've seen some more fancier setups from folks around here though, with custom control boards and such, but I never got into all of that, lol Too much wiring and what not for my taste. When you start building your cab, be sure to post some pics and don't hesitate to ask questions. Might want to checkout this site as well for more info, idea's, help, etc.

[tthurman]

Happ's still makes quality controllers IMO, the problem seems, at least according to some, is that they pretty much stopped engineering new products ages ago. 

 

I'm hesitant to recommend them, as I have no personal experience with them, but the link Riffman provided will likely lead your search to some Japan made controllers that are newer designs, and in some cases seemingly tailored to individual tastes.  Spring tension, centering etc., and so on. 

 

The number of controls/players will determine which I Pac you want to get, and it will interface with your computer via USB.  You  can hack keyboards to do the same, but the I Pac provides a nice clean install, it's just a keystroke encoder.

 

For the joysticks, you will want to consider a dedicated 4 way for games like pac-man, Donkey Kong etc., and 8 way for games that require more directions.  You can see here that I have a 4 way dedicated on the upper left, and then the two player sticks are 8-way.

 

From the inside you can get an idea of what your going to look like wiring to the I Pac.  Note my spinner is not installed in this pic.

 

As Riffman pointed out, a Tankstick is a good option for many, and for the price, you can't beat them.  Plus, your good to go without investing a bunch of time into building, albeit at the cost of loosing that personal touch.  I purchased mine pre-built from Arcades R Fun off of ebay, but I don't believe they are selling control panels alone anymore.  My setup was around $500.  This one looks to me be a Arcades R Fun controller, (for price comparison only, no affiliation with auction), but their are many options in the pre-built world.

 

The units over at Dream Authentics can be customized about anyway you can imagine.  For me, I decided the best route was to buy the panel, and build the pedestal, and I'm still not done.  Anyway, there's some ideas for you.

[donkeycongamonga]

That looks nice.  Would CAT5 cable work for the wiring?

[tthurman]

I am pleased with the work they did for sure.  I'm not sure what gauge wire that is, but I'll try and remember to look later. 

[Circo]

I usually get all my build parts from Groovy Game Gear or Ultimarc.  There is also a seller over at arcadecontrols.com (name escapes me) that sells Happ parts with much better shipping prices (shocking at happs) and discounts on most everything I believe.  Paradise Arcade is also a great vendor.

 

And Cat 5 works great, used that and a ground loop for my last build.

[the_poon]

Wow! Thanks for the swift responses guys.

 

The Tank Stick looks pretty bang and losing your personal touch might not be such a bad thing for a first build as it takes some of the headache out of it. The only reason for looking at the I-Pac is that it could be re-purposed into a four player beast at some (much) later date.

 

Thanks Riffman, tthurman, and Circo for all the links too. I definitely have a little more research to do before I take some holiday in a fortnight as that's when I'm hoping to start the build.

 

Many photographs will be coming. Good news about using Cat5e if I go down the I-Pac route as I have drums and drums of it in the attic!

[tthurman]

I usually get all my build parts from Groovy Game Gear or Ultimarc.  There is also a seller over at arcadecontrols.com (name escapes me) that sells Happ parts with much better shipping prices (shocking at happs) and discounts on most everything I believe.  Paradise Arcade is also a great vendor.

 

And Cat 5 works great, used that and a ground loop for my last build.

 

Groovy Game Gear completely slipped my mind, I've got one of their spinners.  I was coming back to post about the wire, as when I checked last night it seemed to be a bit smaller gauge than Cat5, but not enough to make any difference.  Good to know it doesn't!

[tthurman]

Wow! Thanks for the swift responses guys.

 

The Tank Stick looks pretty bang and losing your personal touch might not be such a bad thing for a first build as it takes some of the headache out of it. The only reason for looking at the I-Pac is that it could be re-purposed into a four player beast at some (much) later date.

 

Thanks Riffman, tthurman, and Circo for all the links too. I definitely have a little more research to do before I take some holiday in a fortnight as that's when I'm hoping to start the build.

 

Many photographs will be coming. Good news about using Cat5e if I go down the I-Pac route as I have drums and drums of it in the attic!

 

Yep, good value, and no building, but it seems they are a bit more on your side of the pond.  You can always build your own later.

 

I look forward to seeing your build.