I?ve tried searching the forums as well as giving the interweb a good browsing and haven?t had any luck so far, hence I?m finally coming to you all for some help. I brought a Hori T5 stick not to long ago as my first home stick (which I love), however I now want to step up my game and get a second arcade style stick for the crib as well as for when I want to have a stick on the go.
Now, I?ve decided I want to build a stick rather then hunt down a hard to
find premium pre-made one or wait on a MAS (they seem to cost about the same and with a custom I get exactly what I want, plus it sounds like an interesting experience). My questions are as follows:
Where in the world can I find pre-made arcade control panels? I know where to get buttons and sticks but not the panels. I?ve looked around and every place that I?ve found seems to no longer sell them or only sell the two player x-arcade panel. (and http://www.arcadecab.com/Store/Single_Base_Details.htm doesn?t sell them anymore either ) Do i have no choice but to build the panel from scratch? (which i’m a little worried about as i haven’t done anything like that since H.S. shop class years ago haha)
I?m thinking of going with the solder-less (since this is my first stick and I?ve never soddered anything before). I?ve found very little information about the CONS of using this method. Any help in this area would be appreciated.
If worst comes to worst, how hard/bad is it to use the x-arcade control panel (one or two player). I have some friends who are also interested in stick building as well so i might need to make a two player panel down the line anyway.
Its a pain in the ass compared to soldering, if you know how to solder. Just weight your fear of soldering vs. the pain of getting the exact right wire, the exact right pad, and putting it all together.
Gutting an x-arcade and using it as the case is no more harder or easier than using a custom build empty case from anyone else.
Note: If you like the T5 stick, and want to use japanese parts, there are lots of sticks still available that you can gut and use as a base for you new stick with japanese parts, like the HRAP3, Virtua Stick High Grade, and others. The X-arcade and most wooden cases are built for American parts to go into, and getting Japanese parts in can be a serious pain.
Lemme clarify something here. Soldering wires to the pad end and going solderless with quick disconnects at the buttons/stick end is going to make your life a whole hell of a lot easier.
) Do i have no choice but to build the panel from scratch? (which i’m a little worried about as i haven’t done anything like that since H.S. shop class years ago haha)
) Do i have no choice but to build the panel from scratch? (which i’m a little worried about as i haven’t done anything like that since H.S. shop class years ago haha)