I guess I now have something worthwhile to make a "Project: " thread.
Basically it's a desktop arcade joystick and button set controller. Most "arcade controller" sites call it the "control panel". I'm a fighting game fan, I've been there as Street Fighter II: World Warrior made fighting games very competitive, progressed to Samurai Shodown, 3D fighting with Tekken, and so on and so forth. Yes there are fighting games in consoles, but nothing beats the fun of playing (for me at least) with a full joystick on my right hand and big buttons to keep my left hand busy.
You may think, "heh it's been done before". Who cares? "There's plenty out there already built and ready to run". I just want to make me one for myself. There's always that satisfaction of making your own toys. Plus you get to really make it personalized and putting effort makes it cheaper. I've been looking around the web for arcade joysticks like the X-arcade. They average around $99, and some going over, depending on the types of controls it has, like a trackball (missile command) and spinners (arkanoid/breakout). Trackball and spinner assemblies are expensive. Plus, I don't need them since it'll be mainly for fighting games. It's gonna be a 6-button, Street Fighter-style control set, plus an extra one to have 4 buttons on one row, for the SNK-type control set. Here's what I currently have:
8-way joystick and arcade push-buttons
I've opted to use a leaf-switch type joystick. What is a leaf-switch type? See the underside of the joystick. It uses leaf switches instead of microswitches used on newer typical joysticks. Leaf switches are composed of two strips of conductive metal, that when they come in contact of each other, will close the switch. When the shaft of the joystick moves in a direction, it pushes the switch together. Microswitch types (
see Happ controls for samples), use tactile switches like those used in PC mice. They make clickity sounds, and I don't like them clickity sounds. You don't hear clickity sounds in the arcade right? Here's a small pro/con list for each type.
Leaf-switch type
PRO
- not clickity. That's it
CONS
- harder to find, thus making it a bit expensive
- the leaf switches need constant maintenance due to the leaves bending out of position
Microswitch type
PRO
- Lots available and many to choose from (from Happ controls alone)
- The switches last longer, and are replaceable
CONS
- clickity
- it makes clicking sounds
- it emits an audible noise that resembles a "click"
- I'm so biased.
Now for the buttons, there are also leaf-switch types, but I decided to go with microswitch types since I consider buttons to make noise by themselves so clicking doesn't matter. Plus, leaf-switch type push buttons are also hard to find. I got my buttons from an e-bay vendor. I got 14 buttons for the controls (red), one for an "insert coin" button (yellow), and two "player start" buttons (white with "one" and "two" player icons).
The interface: Playstation-to-parallel port circuit
I've been using this circuit for quite a while. It's based on the parallel port circuit included with the DirectPad PRO driver, but with a power supply circuit added to give the right voltage to the controllers to make the rumble functional. I've used my old Playstation's controller ports so that I can use regular playstation controllers without cutting up the cables. Two players work well but the memory card slots are not functional. There's a way to make use of them but I believe it requires certain software, but I ignored it since I don't really plan on saving stuff in a memory card. PS1 and PS2 controllers work fine. You can see how it's all wired in
[here]. As for the software, I've been using
DirectPad PRO. But since it doesn't work for XP, I've switched to
PSXPAD. There's NTPAD, which is the NT version of DirectPad PRO, but I can't seem to make it work. PSXPAD worked so I didn't bother to test the others.
The victims: two pre-pwned PS1 controllers
Thanks to Gamestop, I got two filthy, but still functional controllers to mess with. I don't really care how dirty and disgusting they are since I'll only be needing their souls, hardwiring the joystick and buttons to the PCB. I chose those types since they have longer cables than the original Playstation controllers.
AlternativesBefore I started, I've researched about the projects.
Arcadecontrols.com served as my main reference. They have information on how projects like these are done, pictures, samples and reader sample projects are a plenty. They have links to supply sites, other information, and a lot more. Other than the Playstation controller to parallel port route i took, you can use interface circuits like the
IPAC. It's basically a keyboard interface that maps basic keyboard keys to your controller's commands. It uses buffers to some extent to do away with the multiple keyboard key press problem. You can also use a USB adapter in case you're using another device on your parallel port.
Progress- 08/21/04 - Right now, I'm done collecting the parts needed for the controller. I've also setup some templates for the joystick and button positions. I also found two pieces of plywood that are about half an inch thick, and long enough to fit two players. Sadly, the joystick I got had a shaft that wasn't long enough to be installed from the underside of the plywood. If I did, the ball end would be too low to be held comfortably. Apparently, the joysticks I got were metal mounted. Even the half-inch think plywood doesn't really do good, so I would have to cut a square piece of metal for the joystick to mount on. So other than the 4 screw heads that hold the joystick down on the metal, there'll be 4 more to hold the metal down on the plywood. The screws are another story. I wasn't able to get some carriage bolts (bolts with round, smooth heads, no slots for screwdrivers) thin enough for the job. So I just got the smoothest slotted bolts I can find. I was also looking at some acrylic sheets at Home Depot and maybe I can use a long sheet instead of square metal pieces. That way, there would only be 4 bolts on each joystick. Although I'm not sure if the acrylic would hold the joystick well since the shafts would be moved around ruggedly. So right now, I plan on using the aluminum cut-out from my Lian-Li side panel.
Next stop, cutting the holes on the plywood. I've already bought some wire and spade terminals to work the cabling. I also got a 1" holesaw for the buttons. I believe the buttons would need a 1.3" hole, but hopefully the holesaw cuts the hole big enough for them. if not, I'll be filing them to size. I don't have enough woodworking tools around so this part is gonna take a while. I might try to find a pre-made wooden box so that I can just nail the plywood on it. Till the next update, stay tuned.
