And so it begins!

[engg100]

I replaced the sticks with these:

http://www.paradisearcadeshop.com/en/paradise-arcade-custom-parts/554-iki-il-happ-rgb-shaft-kit.html

And to stop from breaking the wires I used some slip rings:

http://www.paradisearcadeshop.com/en/joysticks-trackball/376-ultimate-arcade-slip-ring.html

[markelhombre]

Did you break a lot? Did they got stuck behind something?

[engg100]

They did not break at all but I did notice that the wires became twisted after a few uses and I had to untwist them. With the slip rings, I should have no problems at all!

[byrneaar]

Sweet thanks!

[byrneaar]

Id be interested in one of your boards once you finalize it. Looks interesting and would save a butt load of cash!

[Ghostman]

Jeez man, I have been reading the forums for a bit but never posted. I would buy the board from you right now as I am currently about to purchase a full setup for a 4 player cab. Your board would save me a ton of cash. You would corner the market if it works great. I don't think that anyone would by any other board but yours. I just started making cabs for a partial living recently and would love to put that in every setup I make.

[trailervert]

That is one sweet project! Love the board idea.

[rjolin01]

looking good....the board has my interest peaked.

[nitussi]

so cool!

[engg100]

A lot of you have been messaging me for plans for this cabinet. Unfortunately I did not make plans, I just threw it together quickly so I could have something to test my controller boards. Here are some pics with measurements that may help.

A few things to note:

1) I am going to be moving the spinner down and to the left so that I don't break any fingers playing golden tee

2) I am going to move the mouse buttons (currently beside spinner) down just above the trackball so I can controller the trackball and buttons with one hand.

A few things regarding the controller board:

1) In the current design you have to solder the wires to the board, I am working on a new design that will have spring terminals for all connections so no soldering will be necessary!

2) Firmware is still in development: I have it working as a joystick and keyboard and you can assign the buttons to any joystick button or any keyboard scan code. The LEDs are controlled via USB Generic HID device (the driver on the windows side is still in development but I am able to control the LEDs through a little program I developed). Each controller is seen as a Composite USB device (Joystick, Keyboard, mouse, and Generic HID to drive LEDs)

3) There is still a bit of firmware and driver work to do to get it 100%. I also will have to sweet talk the LEDblinky guy to get it up and running with LEDBlinky.

4) Give me your pre-orders now so I can get a run of 1000 going!

[engg100]

Stay tuned for a BIG announcement in the next few days!

[emb]

What kind of things are on your BOM? What kind of processor are you using? Will the firmware be open source to make any additions or enhancements to the existing firmware? (I am not asking from a reselling standpoint or anything, I am an embedded software engineer at my "real job" )

This looks sweet! It really has the potential to be a competitor in the hobby MAME market.

It is possibly even kickstarter worthy.

Sent from my Galaxy S4 using Tapatalk HD

[Deadly]

When I built my CP, I modeled it after the "trendy current at the time" quad panel from ..... aww crap I forget what company. Anyway I soon realized the WORST place to EVER put a spinner or joystick is directly north of the trackball.

Trust me when I say after multiple beers and rounds of Golden Tee, your friends will have broken fingers from the spinner. EDIT - I see you got that covered lol

I really like the stand - hope to see some plans.

I think 1000 units pre ordered is probably unrealistic. In this hobby you botta build your reputation. Don't prematurely release anything because if you don;t answer any and all questions within a short amount of time, it'll drive your reputation into the ground and kill this project. I think your idea is outstanding btw. I highly suggest you start off looking at the finish line. Get business rolling, build up your reputation and make your money in volume instead of asking for top dollar on every item sold. Eagerly waiting to see what your release!

[engg100]

Hey everyone, here is my big news:

The Howler Arcade Controller Project is now live on Kickstarter:

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/2034467396/howler-arcade-controller

Let me know what you guys think!

[blacketj]

This looks really cool, and I really hope you get your project funded. I'm just curious about your button layout. With all the buttons on the top and more on the sides, there are obviously more than 26 buttons on your control panel.

Would you mind describing how your CP buttons are configured to the Howler button ports? I'm curious which buttons you decided to map as duplicates.

[engg100]

My test system is using 2 controllers so I can ensure that multiple controllers work properly. The controller will also have a configurable shift button.

[engg100]

Also just looked at earlier posts and emb nailed it when he suggested it would be a kickstarter project.