Home-Built Pad Question

maxx freak · Trick Member Joined: 09 Aug 2005

Since Bluesharks are probably never coming around, I'm tossing up the idea of building my own. I think the main issue would be money, since I'm only a high school sophomore, so I'm want to know what my budget would be for the type of pad I would think of building.

I would plan to have the pad built with:
-Sturdy Wood frame
-Sheet Metal Contacts (CobaltFlux-Style)
-Metal Handlebar (how thick would the pad have to be to support a metal bar?)
-DDR-Style Arrow Decals

Would I be able to build a good-quality metal pad like this for less than the cost of a Blueshark, or even a Cobalt Flux? I think the biggest challenge I would have is wiring, but I'm sure with a tutorial I can do that, I've used a solder gun before. I'm sure my dad can do all the wood cutting and stuff.

Note that I haven't even given this more than a few minutes of thought, so I'm not in a mad rush for answers.

I'll look at other pad designs and see what I would like to do.

slvrshdw · Trick Member Joined: 05 Jan 2005

Yeah, you can probably build 2 for the price of a blueshark, maybe even for the cost of a CF even.

if you are only using sheet metal contacts that cuts costs a bit.
I would go with riptide's design because its easy, sturdy, and relatively cheap.
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maxx freak · Trick Member Joined: 09 Aug 2005

I checked out Riptide's pad design and it looks like something I could possibly do. The one thing would be figuring out how to build a sturdy base for a bar attachment.

slvrshdw · Trick Member Joined: 05 Jan 2005

just instead of making the back even like the top, do it like the middle ones are and add a 2x6 on the back. attach the bar to that
(basically what i did on mine)
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maxx freak · Trick Member Joined: 09 Aug 2005

Would it be possible to take some long screws and screw a 2x6 directly into the wood on the back of the pad? Or would that be too unstable? Would it be better to leave out the 2x4 in the back (that's what you meant, right?) and do something like that?

How heavy is the Riptide pad and how well would it hold up to bar use, since it wasn't originally designed with a bar?

And some wiring questions (I'm almost done):
1) Could I take a wired 360 controller and wire the pad in a similar manner to the Playstation controller?
2) Could I wire the pad to multiple controllers at a time? Like wire the arrows to a PS2, 360, and maybe GC/Wii controller at the same time? I would assume so, since there's plenty of space on the sheet metal to attach stuff to. Would it cause short circuiting and such?
3) Would wiring it to a 360 Wired controller also make it PC-Compatible? I believe the 360 controller is PC compatible.
4) It looks like the Riptide pad uses some switch instead of sheet metal contacts. This design says you need 4 ground wires going from each arrow panel/button. For sheet metal contacts do you need 4 ground wires per panel or just one?

slvrshdw · Trick Member Joined: 05 Jan 2005

for the bar, it should be fine since he used 2x4s for the construction. its really heavy, maybe 50-75lbs? (im horrible at guessing weight

)
i'll look through my pics and see if i can find a good example of what i was meaning. if not i'll make something in paint real quick and post it.

for the wiring, wiring multiple ones should be fine, but i havent done it myself.
the 360 controller should work fine via the computer, but you might need to find some driver, and see if it will cause the axis problem (left+right, up+down dont work)
for the arrows you will need just one ground per arrow since its just being connected to the sheet metal.
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maxx freak · Trick Member Joined: 09 Aug 2005

Thanks a lot for the help! Now I just have to see if I can do it. I mean my dad already has a jigsaw and drill and stuff so...

maxx freak · Trick Member Joined: 09 Aug 2005

I think I've decided on doing Riptide's pad structure with the Stoli sheet metal sensor design, or something similar.

slvrshdw · Trick Member Joined: 05 Jan 2005

just a thing if you are planning on the sheet metal idea.
riptide's frame doesnt have a solid area under the arrow to put the whole sheet of metal. you would have to find a thin piece of wood to first put down so its a uniform area.
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devout · Trick Member Joined: 15 Dec 2006 Location: the atl

slvrshdw · Trick Member Joined: 05 Jan 2005

couldnt find a real pic, but 5 mins in paint and here's what i got.

thats only a rough idea, but i hope its clear enough. just attach flanges to the red base (or to the bottom main base board for extra support)

*note, i also didnt add any borders, and i highly recommend them for safety and strength reasons
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maxx freak · Trick Member Joined: 09 Aug 2005

maxx freak · Trick Member Joined: 09 Aug 2005

Does the wired 360 controller have a common ground? Or would I have to solder to the 4 different grounds on the controller?

Weston · Trick Member Joined: 17 Feb 2003 Location: Minnesota

All controllers should have a common ground, it just might be difficult to find or solder to. I would think the 360 controller would be a pain in the buttocks to work with though.

maxx freak · Trick Member Joined: 09 Aug 2005

Well I found this image of a MadCatz one:
http://www.slagcoin.com/joystick/pcb_diagrams/360_diagram3.jpg
And it looks easy enough to solder to, there just doesn't seem to be a common ground.

http://www.digitaltorque.com/dancepad/connectors.jpg
Are these two-ways (multi

one AND one

multi) or only one way?

Future Master · Trick Member Joined: 10 Jan 2004

What do you mean by common ground? The ground is the same no matter which ground you solder it to.
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Remember this name i will be your master someday...

Weston · Trick Member Joined: 17 Feb 2003 Location: Minnesota

I guess it's just saying that all buttons connect to it, thus being common. The ground in that picture should be noticable. The huge screen-like pattern on the large circuit board, and on the d-pad, one path to the ground is circled in red. Notice how each of the button places have a half that all connects to the same place (left of up arrow, bottom of left arrow, left of down arrow, top of right arrow). That's the ground.

maxx freak · Trick Member Joined: 09 Aug 2005

I see the ground thing.

I'm looking on lowes.com and the acrylic sheets there are 4.5' by 8' for like $340, which is too much acrylic for too much money. Does anyone know where I can get acrylic sheets strong enough for a dance pad for cheap? Riptide says he got a 2' by 4' sheet for $43.05, but where?
EDIT: I see a sheet of quarter inch polycarbonate 2' by 4' for $81 on usplastic.com. Good deal?

Does anyone know where the official DDR arrow decals are?

maxx freak · Trick Member Joined: 09 Aug 2005

I want the pads to be really sensitive, so I don't want to use too thick of a Weather Stripping. Is 3/16" good enough to hold up two quarter inch thick acrylic panels? Should I go thicker? How easy is it to press down the Weather Stripping?

devout · Trick Member Joined: 15 Dec 2006 Location: the atl