My home built metal DDR pad (Part IV)

[ChilliumBromide]

Decided to make some brackets today just for kicks; I only made two of each of these:




Pretty easy to make, and everything's customisable. I don't really use 'em myself, but if anybody wants me to make them some, feel free to ask. (you'll have to pay for them, but it won't be the exorbitant $2 each you pay at Lowe's or Home Depot)
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I used to be active here lol

[devosbi]

I tested one of the arrows today, and it works great. For my sensors i have a washer in the corner of the base of each arrow and on the arrow itself, overall there is like a 2mm gap between the contacts, so I cant really feel the panel depress when i step on it ^^ Only problem is, I may need to loosen it, cos sometimes the arrows lock down or press when there is no weight so it needs some tweaking, other than that its great. I'll grab some photos next chance I get.

My Sensors: 2 Washers (fairly big ones) separated by 10mm Foam weather stripping.

also, the base of the pad has been lined with a checkered rubber matting, i saw it for like $30 a meter so i grabbed some, its glued to the base, and stapled, looks pretty good, and the pad wont go anywhere =P even on carpet.
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Bag makes my eyes feel like hurting *cries*
MAX 300 Super STFU Mix

[stuffmonger]

[AJAX the Insomniac]

Yay my pad works!!! (I have to tweak the sensors just a little bit, but as of now, its pretty good)

Now I just need to add a bar, and wooden borders around the edges of the pad, and its done!

[ChilliumBromide]

[stuffmonger]

[EnvyX]

[stuffmonger]

[ChilliumBromide]

Stuffmonger, if you can find some of the pictures of the beatgear pads that have been posted, the method he used to hold his tapeswitches was far better than what Konami or MMB does. Basically, the entire switch is held in a little chamber, and a small rubber cylinder triggers the switch in such a fashion that there is never an excessive force on the switch. With this method, the lifespan of the switches increases astronomically. It's like drinking out of a cup instead of drinking out of a water fountain. By increasing control, you decrease waste.
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I used to be active here lol

[devosbi]

Another photo of my progress, ive clipped down an arrow and fitted it with the corner brackets and its working great, i might replace one of the washers with thinner sheet metal to reduce the sensitivity, cos right now its VERY sensitive, and it might cause some ghost steps.


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Bag makes my eyes feel like hurting *cries*
MAX 300 Super STFU Mix

[mikieson]

[stuffmonger]

[ChilliumBromide]

The first two are the same, but the third one is completely different. It uses LASERs to trigger the buttons. It's a pretty good idea, but poorly executed.

The first design is a waste of money. It's all looks and doesn't even use cool lights. It's a good base design, but neither creative nor efficient. The switches they use are good though; check them out some time.
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I used to be active here lol

[kaikanor]

So, after finding out I'm going to have to wait until Christmas to start building my real pad, I decided to make something temporary. I threw this thing together in a few hours and used just stuff I had at home, so it was completely free. It basically uses the devout stealth design, and surprisingly, all of the arrows worked on my first try (thank goodness). The only thing I need to do now is screw the panels down onto the base, which doesn't sound too difficult and all, but there's one problem: the whole pad is about 1/4 in. thick... Waaaaay too thin for any of the screws I have at home. So, I've come up with two ideas: either buy really really tiny screws, or buy a plywood base to screw the whole thing into, so I could use longer screws. The plywood sounds like it would work better, but the screws would be cheaper. How much could I get a 33"x33" piece of plywood for?

Here's a picture of my....pad-like creation:



I made that control box like 2 years ago when I wanted to build a DDR pad. It uses a Gamecube controller which I ripped out of an old crappy Mad Catz pad, but it works great. The sensors on the inside just use aluminum foil (I know, that's a no-no). I've plugged it into my computer and tested the input with Stepmania and it works flawlessly. Now if only I could screw this thing together and use it >.<

[mikieson]

[kaikanor]

Ehh... this one is 2 inches deep. I got it at Radio Shack, it was pretty cheap, and they had a lot of different sizes to choose from.

[mikieson]

I am in the middle of making my 6th ddr pad. Im not a noob, but sometimes I need help on wirreing as Im not the brightest.

I normally drill through the boards and twist my wires and tape them rather than the normal soldering...Never have had a problem

Thing is...I wonder, WHY cant we just SPLICE into the wires on the cord? Im looking at the circuit board im going to use...Its a PS2 board. They are quite different but I have used one before I think..

Im looking at all the different wires coming out of the board...red,black,green, brown, orange, yellow, blue, white, purple...Or so they look those colors to me.

Cant you just come off those wires?

[devout]

[mikieson]

ok...makes scense.

"horrible speller"...

[ChilliumBromide]

I think there is an exception of that, and that's when you are wiring to one of those oldschool 15-pin joystick plugs. Not sure of that though.
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I used to be active here lol