Devout Stealth homepad

[slvrshdw]

Well, the center one is ground/common.

The other ones you will have to either trace through the plastic sheet....
OR
Just connect a small wire from the ground and test each spot with it plugged in.
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[MegaBeatManMania]

thanks dude thta help alot, heres a vid of the finished product, any questions??
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DLRzEV6kEJY
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"We DDR players are a dying breed"

[Jersey]

First of all, thanks Devout for his smart design and detail instruction. I have just finished building a "Slim Version" Devout Sheath DDR pad and it is working well at the very first trial.

It is a slim version because I tried to incorporate many new ideas posted here (thanks jmdbcool, methejuggler and all others) so as to simplify the construction and make it as light weight as possible. Total thickness of the pad is about 1-1/8".

Some features of the pad are:

1) Only one piece of 3/4" plywood baseboard is used. Everything are mounted onto this baseboard. Virtually no wood cutting is needed. (Lowes helped to cut it to the 34-3/4" x 39" size I need)

2) Steel Sheet are cut to 11" x 11". No wrapping is done.

3) Steel sheets are recessed with adjacent 11" x 11" Vinyl Floor Tiles (1/8" thickness) and the wooden trim surrounding the pad.

4) Aluminum foil covers only an area of 9-1/2" x 9-1/2". No masking tape is applied over the Aluminum foil to avoid problem in future maintenance. 3M rubber electrical tape (which is of similar thickness as cardboard) used to lift the Steel Sheets.

5) 1/4" bolts and T-nuts used for mounting the Steel Sheets, and for making all electrical connections.

6) Aluminum foil tape applied at the bottom of baseboard used for almost all electrical connection. Wiring and soldering only needed at the Controller box. Only 12 solder points made.

7) Redundancy connection: six points grounding connections for each Steel Sheet, and two points connections for each Aluminum Foil.

8) Softpad controller used to simplify soldering work.

9) Joystick from an old PC-Engine (anyone still remember this?) used as the "Start", "Select" and "X" button. Joystick cable reused for connecting it to the Controller. No Cat 5 cable used throughout the assembly.

10) Pegboard used to cover up the baseboard bottom and protect the Aluminum Tape circuitry.




More photo of the pad is available here:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/37777842@N04

[Doval]

That's pretty hot, Jersey. It's good to see all the improvements that've been suggested actually implemented. I'm planning on getting back into the game, but I'm working on a budget, so the Devout pad is ideal for me, and I'd like to try your variation of it. However, I don't have any prior experience with anything like this, so something kind of bugs me. I notice from the pictures that the T-nuts aren't flush/level with the board. Doesn't that mean there's a small gap between the main board and the peg board because of the T-nuts? Is the pad still stable and flat despite that?

Also, to be sure, the main board was wide enough to place the frame on top of it and around the panels right? That is, the frame is nailed to the board from above, not from the sides, right?

[Jersey]

Doval, I have no experience building anything like this before but it turned out to be an interesting exercise. I spent most of the time on the planning phase. Building the pad was not that difficult if you have the right tools and working environment. I don't have a workshop and I have to build the pad over the coffee table of my living room with carpet around. So, minimizing woodwork became one of the priority.

You are right, the T-nuts are not flush with the board. It has a thickness of about 1/16". If you want the pegboard to look completely flat, I guess you can use some 1/16" thick o-rings in between the main board and the pegboard at the screws connections. I didn't do that because the peg board is flexible enough to take up this gap and it appeared relatively flat overall. I said relatively flat because the pad itself was not completely flat - not really due to the T-nuts but because my main board was not completely flat by itself in the first place. Anyway, I am using the pad on carpet so it doesn't really matter. Recently, I rest the pad over a foam mattress for additional cushion and for protecting the carpet underneath. You can see that in the new photo I just added to
http://www.flickr.com/photos/37777842@N04

And yes, the frame are nailed to the board from above, even though technically you can also nail it from the side. I have added the photo of that too in the above link.

[Doval]

Ah, I see. The thing is that I'm going to be playing on hard floors, so I may get those o-rings just to make sure the pad is flat. Do you have any idea more or less how much the pad weighs? Have you tried it out on hard floors? I'm thinking that foam pad might be enough to keep it from shifting around on tiles.

[Jersey]

The pad weight a total of 38 lbs. The 3/4" plywood board alone is about 18 lbs.
O-ring spacers should give you a flat base. Sorry that I have no hardwood floor at home to try it out. I think it would be OK if you put an area rug (with non-slip rubber bottom) in between the pad and the hardwood floor. The holes of the pegboard help to reduce slipping, even though it won't be perfect and you may still have to adjust the pad position at intervals between the songs.

[Doval]

Thanks for the info. It's not as light as I expected. I forgot that while your design doesn't have the extra wooden panels, you also have a larger base, the peg board, and the trim. 38 lbs should be heavy enough. I doubt it'll move enough for it to bother me.

I'm gonna give it a go this weekend. Let's see if I have the materials for your pad straight:
* One 34-3/4"x39" plywood board for the base, 3/4" thick.
* One 34-3/4"x39" pegboard, 3/16" thick.
* Four 11"x11" squares of 26-gauge steel.
* Five 11"x11" vinyl floor tiles, 1/8" thick.
* L-shaped trim of the appropriate lengths, 7/8"W x 7/8"H
* Several #18 x 5/8" finish nails for the trim.
* Several #8 3/4" Flat Head Philips wood screws for the pegboard. (Optional: 1/16" thick o-rings.)
* At least twenty-nine 1/4" x 1" bolts and 1/4"-20 x 5/16" Tee-nuts, and some washers.
* 1/4" width 3M rubber electrical tape
* Aluminum foil tape.
* Aluminum foil.
* Epoxy.
* Joystick (in my case, 3 buttons).
* Soft pad control box, wires, solder.

In writing that up, I came up with a couple of more questions. I think with these ones cleared up I'll be ready to build the pad.
1) I assume the tiles were glued to the board with the same epoxy that you used for the aluminum foil? The photos only mention that they were attached with adhesive. Also, think I could find the tiles in Home Depot? Not sure what other home improvement/hardware stores there are around here (I live in Puerto Rico.)
2) Are all the bolts the same length? You mention five 1/4"x1" bolts for the control box, and 1/4" bolts for the aluminum connections, but these are deeper into the wood than the other five. And I didn't see anything specified about the bolts that go into the steel panels.
3) What do the measurements ("1/4"-20 x 5/16") for the tee-nuts mean?
4) Finally, I assume the four corner holes for the steel squares, and the two holes in the aluminum squares have the same placement as in Devout's original design?

[Jersey]

Doval, re your questions:

1) I used Armstrong tile adhesive for the Armstrong floor tiles that I brought. I am sure you can get it from the hardware store alongside with the floor tiles. Alternatively, you may try to use vinyl floor tiles with self adhesive back surface. These tiles would be thinner, softer and easier to cut to size. I am just not too sure how strong the self-adhesive are. I am thinking of using this for my second pad.

2) The 1/4" bolts are not of the same length. You will need 16 nos of 3/4"L (4 for each metal sheet), 8 nos of 1/2"L (two for each Al foil), and 5 nos 1"L for the soft pad controller.

3) I am not sure what 20 means for the 1/4" - 20 x 5/16" Tee-nuts. 5/16"should be the total height of the nut.

4) Yes, the positions should be the same. If you use AutoCad, I can share with you my construction drawings with detail dimensions.

Your bill of materials looks right. You may need to verify the board dimensions based on the L-shape trim you used. Mine is based on trim having 7/8" x 7/8" internal dimension and 1/4" thickness. You need also 13 nos 1/4" O-rings and some 1" masking tapes.

[Doval]

Ah, things are starting to make sense now. Good thing I asked, or I would've bought all the bolts of the same length. I used AutoCad about 3 years back for a certain course in college. I could probably figure it out if you want to send it to me. Even if for some reason I fail, just knowing that the holes are at the same positions helps. By the way...

[Jersey]

Doval,

I have emailed you my DDR drawing for your reference.

The L-shape trim has a thickness of 1/4". So, the internal (or inner) dimensions is 7/8" x 7/8", and the outer dimensions is 1-1/8" x 1-1/8" due to the thickness of the wood.

I should have used the proper terminology of washer instead of o-ring. The washer has a 1/4" diameter hole to let the bolt through. The outer diameter of the washer is about 1/2" I think. You should use the washers for the bolts of the Al foils and Softpad connector to ensure a better connection. So, 8 + 5 = 13. You can see the washers in my photos.

I used the masking tape for two purposes. Firstly is to set up the 9-1/2" x 9-1/2" boundary before applying the epoxy, which will subsequently be removed after the Al foil is applied and cut to the size. Secondly is for fixing the 3M rubber tapes in position. You can also see that in my photos.

And, your questions are always welcomed :-)

[Doval]

That's strange, I didn't get your e-mail. I'll send you a private message with my e-mail just to make sure you're sending it to the right one.

Man, I'm pretty embarrassed now. The reason I didn't understand what you meant by internal and outer dimensions was because I hadn't looked up what an L-shaped trim was. I thought it was just a flat border that you nailed over the main board, but I see now that it wraps around the sides too (hence, L-shaped). Now I get it.

[Jersey]

Doval,

I have resent the pad construction drawing to your email provided. Please let me know if you still can't get it.

The edge trims need to have some thickness to keep the steel sheet fully recessed. You can use a flat border instead. I just think that a L-shape frame looks better :-)

The first set of masking tapes was used just for confining the epoxy to the 9.5" x 9.5" square area. They are removed after the Al foil has been applied and cut to the designed 9.5" x 9.5" size with a utility knife. This is needed because it is almost impossible for you to pre-cut the Al foil to 9.5" x 9.5" and apply it precisely to the main board.

The second set of masking tapes was used to keep the 3M rubber tape in place. I had hoped that the 3M rubber tapes can stick to the board on its own without any masking tape. That did not work as the 3M rubber tapes are not sticky enough. Therefore, I have to apply the masking tapes.

[Doval]

I got it this time, thanks. I'll have to download AutoCAD again, but no biggie. I don't think I have any questions left. I'll post here if anything comes up or when I'm done.

[ddrenthusiast]

This design has been out there for a while. Just wondering if anyone is still using it?

If you quit using it, why?

Those still using it, why did you settle on this one?

[Jersey]

Have been using it because of its simple design and robust construction.
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[ddrenthusiast]

I have an idea, and thought I'd run it by you guys:

Plywood is very expensive here, and the sheets are bigger than for one pad. However, I could probably get scraps for cheap. Maybe three pieces of scrap plywood screwed together somehow.

Do you think that would work?

[Doval]

Whew. It took longer than I wanted it to, largely because making this was a team effort between me and my father, and he was the one with all the tools and the money, but I've just gotten mine working. The responsiveness of the arrows is downright flawless. In fact, I find the arrows to be far more sensitive than any arcade I've ever been to, since there's literally nothing between the top and bottom of the arrows except for a thin sheet of air. A million thanks for all the info, Jersey.

Actually, I had problems with the aluminium tape. I'm not sure why, but I couldn't get a solid connection between the circuit board and two of the steps with the tape, so we ended up using cables anyway. But, the T-nuts were still a very welcome improvement over the original design - we simply pinned the wires under the T-nuts and all our problems were solved. I really appreciate having that pegboard nailed to the bottom, too!

EDIT: Oh yeah, I couldn't find the 3M electrical tape that Jersey used around the aluminium sheet squares that make up the bottom half of the arrows, either. I simply used some of that double-sided foam tape (the kind that's got a green and white checkerboard pattern, kinda like a green kilt) and had no issues. Regular old cardboard should work just as well, as it has more or less the same thickness, just gotta cut it in 0.5" strips.

@ddrenthusiast: I honestly have no idea if using 3 separate wood segment would work. This was all new territory for me. To answer your other question, though, I chose Devout's design (well, Jersey's version of it) because it was considerably cheaper and simpler to construct than more arcade-faithful designs. Like it says on Devout's page, it's for those that simply want to play the game. It doesn't look impressive but I have 0 complaints about its performance.

[Jersey]

Hi Doval,

Glad to know that you have completed the project and is having fun with it :-)

The aluminium tape is tricky. Basically the conductance of the aluminium tape is not as good as copper wire. I wonder if different manufacturer's tape would perform differently too. While I apply the tape, I keep using an Ohm meter to measure the conductance across the tape and the joints just to make sure the circuit is working. The difficult part is with the 90 degree bend as we have to maintain the electrical continuity while folding the tape twice. Anyway, your use of wire would be fine too and is probably more secure in terms of electrical conduction.

Enjoy!

[ddrenthusiast]

I just modded a floppy pad by covering it with what might be linoleum (smells like it). It feels fantastic under my feet!

Anyway, I was wondering if maybe pieces of linoleum cut out and fastened to the metal might make the devout stealth and simplified stealth feel better under our feet?

It won't feel like a metal pad, but at least for me, linoleum feels fantastic! What I got hold of is quite thick and has felt backing. It reduces noise too.