My home built metal DDR pad (Part IV)

[syph7]

Ok well the more I thought about it, the more I didnt like my frame... I dont wnat the border and i dont like how heavy and thick it is... so i picked up new wood on the way home from work. This is what I got done in the last 3 hrs.

http://www.pdainitiative.com/ddrmetal/

By the way, a router would have made the job easier.. its not fun dremmeling long channels in wood.. but hey I was determined and sometimes you have to make due...

Well anyway I LOVE how it feels now... smaller and lighter. I'm glad I cut my losses and redid it. I only had one arrow done, and this didnt set me back much. I expect to be finished this sunday and using it. I have friends expeciting to come and try it on monday.. so that's my dealine

Cheers!

[Robopop]

nice syph7!!!

i finished mine yesterday, dont got pics though =[ but it works pretty good, i followed a different method, i used ddrhp up until the frame then the rest i did myself and it came out pretty nicely.. but there is one problem.. sometimes wen i do jumps or dont hit the arrow hard enough it doesnt register.. its not me its just a pad miss all the arrows work, somehow it only seems to register wen stepping in the middle of the arrow or stomping.. maybe i have to wear it in.. or i might go back and make the weatherstripping and foam core thinner.I used quarter inch, maybe i should use 3/16 or 1/8 weatherstripping to get the metal closer to the base metal so its more sensitive.. since no body seemed to have a reply to my first question on the last page, i hope someone knows how to make it more sensitive or what the problem is.

thanks!
robopop
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Robopop

[syph7]

If your compression is good, you need to raise the sensor bottom. Im putting my sensor strip on foam, which puts it higher and dampens noise.

Not at far today as I wanted to be, but I have made progress.

I wasted 3 hours driving around looking for switches. I wanted large size, low profile since you will hit these with your feet. I did find good ones though that just snap in to the panel, it was a sinch to install.

http://www.pdainitiative.com/ddrmetal/

Well I was just breaking for lunch... must venture back to my project...

[bigtoygirl]

I apologize if this question has been answered already, but about how long does it take to build a metal pad? I'm thinking about enlisting the help of a few people and making a metal pad myself, rather than paying $225 and ordering one from that store in Edmonton (I'm such a cheapskate). Also, am I correct in assuming that something like a computer game controller could work just as well as a Playstation controller?

[marcan]

Anything should work, as long as it uses a common ground (most do). If it doesn't, it'll make the circuit slightly more complicated (more wires to run), but it should work too.

[C4U]

I bought Pump It Up: Exceed for the PS2 recently and decided that, although the cloth pad that came with it is pretty nice, i want a hard pad to play this game on. So i have started to build a pad of my own based upon the cobalt flux.
http://img54.imageshack.us/my.php?image=sidecm3.jpg
my design has 11 buttons: start, select, 8 directions, and a center button. the idea is that I'm gonna include a switch that switches the connections between the pad and the PS2 controller to different buttons, one set based on ddr the other on piu.
like this: http://img372.imageshack.us/my.php?image=ddr1eu4.jpg
so far i have drilled the plasic (it was already cut), cut the sheet metal buttons and punched screw holes, cut out the grounds, and bought the particle board stuff. Whats left is to get the velcrow (if youve ever opened up a CF you know what its for), get the corner brackets, print the arrows, cut the particle board to the right size, and then we can move on to the electrical work . ill probably post pics when im done and maybe write up my process.
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Yay DDR!
On Campus at Oregon State
Orange <3

[Anthony of TGA]

I just got mine working, It's using a bit of a thicker frame then most of the pads here. It also uses arcade arrows and sensors. Arrows: Channel Beat. Sensors: Betson.







And just for good measure:





BTW, thats Joel (THE MOLE). he sucks at life.

[The Mole]

IM JOEL

For The Ladies
www.myspace.com/DDRKING

And FYI:
FLOW: Urban Dance Groove

Is The Most Accurate Dance Simulator Game Out
(That is if you like playing 1x, Wood)
Wood=2 Shades Of Brown
LOL AT SUPERB

BTW all games we played were on either mine or antonys ps2
and The Songs Shown Are Birdie (Expert) and Keep On Movin (Heavy)
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Dance To Stay Alive

Yes, I own my own DDR/ITG2 machine.

My scores are mostly upgrade.

Come by sometime and play.

[Muncher17]

This question is more directed towards Matrix, but if anyone else knows the answers they would help me out a lot.

I'm sick of going through soft foam pads, so I've finally decided to make my own metal one. I've looked at all of the major designs on this site, and they all look pretty good. I think I'd like to make a design very similar to the one that Matrix posted awhile ago:

http://www.ddrfreak.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=59254&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=5100

A few questions about this design:

How thick are the sensors? Matrix mentions in a post that the arrow wells are 1 inch deep, which would be 1/4 of an inch deeper than Riptides design. Since I am thinking of using Riptides base, I want to make sure that the Matrix-style sensors will still fit comfortably. Matrix has put pieces of plywood underneath his sensors to raise them up, so that makes me think that they will fit fine, but I'd like to measure it out to be sure before going ahead.

In Matrix's design, it is also unclear to me where all the layers are. From the description in the post I linked, there are 4 layers of 1/2" plywood. However from the picture, I can only clearly define 2 layers. Are the equivalent of Riptide's 2x4 beams just 2 pieces of 1/2" plywood stacked in Matrix's design, and where are the 4 different layers of plywood?

Also, and this is a newbie question I think, but how do you connect the wire to the mending brackets? Do you scratch up an area of the bracket and then solder to it? Or does it involve soldering to screws somewhere on the mending brachet?

Thanks in advance for any help you guys can give.

[Matrlx]

Anthony/Joel:
I'm curious, since I dreamed to make that pad once upon a time but abandoned long since that I found out I was poor - how much did the sensors for your pad cost?

Muncher:
The sensors I made are just about 1/4 of an inch thick, but it could vary slightly depending on the thickness of your weather stripping. The plywood I use to raise the sensors up is 1/4 of an inch think as well to compensate for how deep my arrow well was.

For the layers question, 2 of the layers are actually my stationary panels. I made the frame out of a large sheet of 8x4 1/2" plywood, so my arrow panels have 2 squares of 1/2" plywood inside them. The first layer is a 35"x40" piece for the base, and the second layer is made up of the various pieces that go under the panels. (Which is to basically yes, basically it does what Riptide's 2x4 beams do) Just as a note though, one layer of the arrow panels was only necesary because I used a 1/2" layer of plexiglass for my arrow panels, otherwise there would be 3 layers total with Lexan.

Ah, connecting the wires to the mending brackets, probably the most annoying part.. It's just scratching part of the bracket and soldering to it, you'll probably only need to do this to the top bracket of the sensor, as the bottom one can be held in place by clamping it down underneath the sensor when you install it. Just make sure you get a really good connection. I wasn't very good at soldering (read: total noob) when I made the first round of the sensors and a few of the soldering points kept coming undone while I was playing, which made it pretty annoying to fix.

In the next set of sensors I'm making, I'm just considering taking a length of wire and adhering it to the bracket with ELECTRICAL TAPE to void the soldering(since I suck at it). The sensors themselves move vertically maybe 1-2 mm at the most, so I don't foresee it being a problem more than a convenience. Maybe someone could tell me otherwise.
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Matrix Arcade Style DDRHomepad: http://members.shaw.ca/lluk/ddrpad/

[Muncher17]

Wow, that reply came extremely quick! Thanks, the pictures of your design make a lot more sense to me now.

I think I'm going to do Riptide's base design (using the videos he made), but replacing his sensor mechanism with the mending brackets + mousepad idea from your design.

I'll make sure to take pictures along the way and post them here when I'm done.

[Anthony of TGA]

[tenkyoken]

If it's not any trouble, could you post pics of the inside sensors? I just want to compare them to the ones in the Bluesharks, seeing as they're supposed to be like the arcade's. If they are, you can get a pack of 8 for $100, which seems pretty good if they're arcade replicas.

[Anthony of TGA]

[ChilliumBromide]

Haha, I just make my own sensors for roughly 50 cents each. =)
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I used to be active here lol

[Anthony of TGA]

Already tried making our own, they were loud, and we only got a 98.23% on Birdie. No mtter what anyone says, nothing beats pump sensors when done right :-)

[ChilliumBromide]

Meh, I do stuff like sensors all the time.

They're not that difficult to make well, it's the panel that really counts.
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I used to be active here lol

[Travelsonic]

Say you have plexiglass arrows, how you you get arrow graphics printed on them in a way that makes them durable, while beng translucent enough to allow the lights from a LED light source to shine through, and how much would it cost?
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I'll believe that when me **** turns purple, and smells like rainbow sherbet.

[funandsun]

[Blue Beefman]

Hehe, havent been here in a LONG time. I still get IM's from people asking about my pads. Looks as though my pads are WAY outdated. Sometimes I think I should build a new set just so I can play again. I play Counter-Strike competivley now (1.6...source is #bad) anf have practice with my team 26 hours a week....so im a little out of shape.

But wow all the new pads look beautiful.
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He is the Painkiller