Building a 2 player setup

Tech Talk
1

Hi, I’m Sinfolmatt.

I am currently trying to build a 2 player custom arcade stick to plug into pc so I can emulate old arcade games. Once I have that working, I think I am going to put a Raspberry Pi inside to emulate the games and basically have a portable 2 player arcade cabinet that can plug into any tv.

I read slagcoin multiple times and decided to try to build something like the idiot box on there. Only power tool I have is a drill (not even using a rotary saw) so the process started by buying wood from home depot and asking them to cut it for me there. They are not as precise when cutting so the edges are not all evenly lined up but I am ok with that. Safer than me using a power saw or anything like that.

I forgot to take a picture of everything before I started working, sorry.

Here is the first pic which was right after attaching the top to the sides.

http://s22.postimg.org/c8ixcjfn1/P6050054.jpg

Afterwards I added a 1/4 border to the top so I could add another layer of wood and then plexiglass so it can protect any artwork I want to add.

http://s10.postimg.org/5y3y7lmqt/P6140055.jpg

Home depot would not cut the plexiglass so I had to do that myself. Cutting plastic sucks. First piece got completely messed up. Second attempt was better but still didn’t crack perfectly on one edge.

After layering on the additional wood and plexiglass I began the process of drilling holes for the buttons and joysticks.

http://s16.postimg.org/92t1f9koh/P6140057.jpg

Made a huge freaking mess in the process

http://s27.postimg.org/nx3fm9wsv/P6140063.jpg

And this is where I am currently at. Cracked the right side of plexiglass. Working with plastic really sucks, but I think it will look OK once everything is painted and stuff.

http://s24.postimg.org/zc2t3wiwx/P6140068.jpg

Now I need to make some wider holes in the bottom layer of wood, then sand and paint, and after that add the joysticks and buttons. I ordered the joysticks and buttons today. Will update this with more progress as it happens.

For the bottom layer I am trying to figure out the dimensions of the stick to make sure it will mount properly. I found the following two images which look to be dimensions of the stick and mounting plate on focusattack.com

http://s14.postimg.org/7are5sx6l/sanwa_spec_4_23628_29625_1384109387_1024_768.jpg

http://s28.postimg.org/hhoqrby9l/sanwa_JLFP1_92730_1394135865_1024_768.jpg

Has anyone who has already built a stick before used these? The numbers are for millimeters correct? So if I print to the right size, with everything measuring to the same millimeters I could use this to outline where I need to drill right? I want to get the drilling and painting done before the parts arrive if possible because I just got hired for a job and want this done before I start work.

Thanks,
Sinfolmatt

2

Try a Step bit for Plexy glass

3

Step bit? cool, I will check that out.

4

Nice, a lot like what I’m doing. I would suggest an Nvidia Jetson instead of the Pi since it is so much more powerful, otherwise, looking good.

5

Hah, just looked up the jetson. Looks awesome. Have you used one. It would be awesome to play soul calibur 2 in a portable arcade cabinet, which I figure is beyond the pi’s capabilities. Not really sure what would be needed for that though. Also not sure if I want to spend that much more on this. We will see though. Does look really nice.

6

It has CUDA cores, 192 of them. Nvidia claims that it can play anything the Titan can play. Slower mind you, but can play it. It also comes with LINUX installed, so plug and play. Power via supplied microUSB cable. All in one solution really.

7

I’ve not used it yet, mine is on the way, well post a review once I have it up and running. I am planning on embedding within my two player panel.

8

I look forward to your review. It looks like a super powered pi.

also

I got a few confirmations from people that the diagrams I have should work so I decided to push forward with the project prior to my arcade parts arriving.

Today was mainly focused on cutting out different sections for the sticks in the different levels of the wood. I don’t have a power saw / rotary saw to cut it so I did everything in a ghetto way using my drill.

http://s1.postimg.org/zdyi670pn/P6170001.jpg

and here are a few images of the projects current status:

http://s29.postimg.org/hloy3h7b7/P6170010.jpg

http://s17.postimg.org/72z96woi3/P6170012.jpg

http://s18.postimg.org/he4zo4xb9/P6170013.jpg

Now I plan to sand everything down and then spray paint it. The arcade parts should come tomorrow also!

9

So, I’m going o use plasti dip. It perma bonds to wood, is self leveling and needs no primer. Couldn’t be easier. You can get it at the Home Depot in black and gray. Also they have the rival brand in red at my Home Depot. You could also consider using vinyl.

10

Is that what you are using on the cabinet you are building? The thing looks awesome. Way above my level though. I have some spray paint sitting around the house so I just plan to use that.

If this project goes well, I might consider investing in better tools and stuff one day to build something of a better quality like what you are doing.

11

You know what, for Ghetto methods this is damn good.

Then again some of the best wood work I ever seen was done completely by hand
And I am not referring to antiques which would count, I talking a beautifully done dinning room set all done by hand. Not a single tool used that didn’t exist (or had the equivalent exist) hundreds of years ago.

And apparently the Vikings had hacksaws and screw drivers.
http://www.thirteen.org/programs/the-woodwrights-shop/a-viking-tool-chest/

12

Thanks. I have never done any work with wood before so it is taking me a while, but I am pretty happy with the results so far. It has definitely been an interesting process trying to make this happen without investing in a router or rotary saw or anything.

13

I might have a little more experience in wood working, but it’s really the tools. They make everything easier so I can spend my time working on aesthetics. Yours looks very good as well, especially considering this is your first project of this type.

14

Today was a really productive day. I started this morning with spray painting. On the bottom panel and the second layer of wood on top I only sprayed the outsides because the rest wouldn’t be visible. Worked out well because I went through the entire paint can by the time I was done.

http://s3.postimg.org/ovkoa6pin/P6200002.jpg

After spray painting I realized that I didn’t leave a hole for any cables to run in and out of it like a usb cable or later maybe an hdmi and power cable. So I sanded down a spot in the back middle for cables to run through. I ran out of paint so it’s not black but it isn’t really noticeable since its in the back on the bottom.

Afterwards I installed all of the buttons and joysticks as well as the I-PAC 2 to convert the buttons into keyboard strokes for my computer.

http://s27.postimg.org/3ragdmxpr/P6200006.jpg

http://s27.postimg.org/p8qayqecv/P6200007.jpg

Now all that is left is the internal wiring, which I plan to work on tomorrow. Very happy to have found out that the steam summer sale is happening right now. Plenty of games I can use this with.

15

Nice work. Generally speaking, builds have a pass through nowadays, vice having a hanging cord.

https://www.jasenscustoms.com/Neutrik-USB-Feed-Through-Jack-NAUSBW.html

This takes two USB cords, but the result is much cleaner.

16

Had no idea. I’ll keep that in mind for if I try to build another. Also I plan to try to write up my own guide when I am done. Kind of like an amateurs attempt at recreating slagcoin guide. I’ll make sure to include that in the summary

17

It is complete. Spent a lot of today doing the wiring. Only issue here was that I did not buy enough .011" quick connectors. I had counted all of the buttons, but forgot that each had 2 connections. I didn’t feel like waiting to order more online so I got buy with some connectors from radio shack that were larger. I the crimping part of my wire cutters to tighten up the radio shack connectors before putting them on the buttons and it worked out alright.

http://s28.postimg.org/6cp9g2jh5/P6230001.jpg

Tested the stick on a few games so far and everything seems to be in working order. Very happy.

Now I just need to find a way for it to emulate 2 separate usb controllers to work with a lot of steam games.