Building a Beatmania controller

[SAM]

Also open to reasonable offers. Help me.... I want to build a beatmania controller and I need funds... selling these will probably get me like 3 pushbuttons and microswitches :\

Building Beatmania controller? The one with piano keys? Interesting, what idea do you got?

I have been thinking of building a Taiko controller for quit a while, but till don't figure out how the microswitches be installed in a real Taiko drum.

One drawback of building such a controller is it dinfinately be too loud to play at night... That's the point of playing it at night, right?

[iatneH]

The shooters are now gone, Ridge Racer is still for sale!

Yeah, I have the infamous(ly crappy) Rave Discman which I will cannibalise for parts and build a turntable that actually turns, but I might try to build a mini controller also. It _is_ pretty noisy, but at least it doesn't make everything shake like DDR I am positively horrid at both games though.

I found out that Controllica (or at least their PO box) is a few blocks away from my workplace and I've sent them some e-mails, so I can get some nice lighted pushbuttons locally. The price is basically still the same as on their website but at least I can save on the shipping cost... plus I'll see if I can replace their incandescent bulbs with my own LEDs at a fraction of their upgrade cost. Oh, and their ASCs are simply GORGEOUS (and pricey, but still cheaper than Konami's official ASCs).

Isn't Skyline here a bit bemani freak?

edit:
I haven't experience with the Taiko drums, but I suspect that homemade ones will be similar to homemade DDR hard mats that use the peizoelectric crystals rather than microswitches..

Maybe once Ridge Racer is gone (or once I decide that nobody wants it) we should move this to off-topic? :p

[SAM]

edit:
I haven't experience with the Taiko drums, but I suspect that homemade ones will be similar to homemade DDR hard mats that use the peizoelectric crystals rather than microswitches..

So I should use "peizoelectric crystals"... What is that?
(Currently looking through the web to find more information.)

Maybe once Ridge Racer is gone (or once I decide that nobody wants it) we should move this to off-topic? :p

I think it should be hardware instead.

[iatneH]

I might have spelled it wrong, but I think they're like these crystals that can generate a current when squeezed.

In fact, from looking around, there's another way you can do it.
This involves having a porous and springy non-conductive mesh sandwiched between two bare wire meshes (one live and one ground) so when you step on it (or strike with a stick) it causes the two wire meshes to touch through the holes in the middle layer. Maybe you can buy some flexible metal filter to use for this purpose and stretch it tightly.

[Ghegs]

Maybe once Ridge Racer is gone (or once I decide that nobody wants it) we should move this to off-topic? :p

Better yet, I've split the thread so the relevant part stays in Trading Station. And yes, off-topic is the place for this, since it's not shmup-related hardware.

[SFKhoa]

What's so bad about getting the KOC [Konami Official Controller]?
And Skyline isn't the only one.

[iatneH]

I thought about getting a KOC since I know it's a good product and it's zero-risk and will probably be cheaper than building my own, but I am a sucker for microswitches and ESPECIALLY for things that light up.

The nine pushbuttons alone are going to be around the pre-shipping cost of a KOC, and if I screw anything up, I might have to get another Rave Discman to tide me over until I can just buy a KOC...

[SAM]

The nine pushbuttons alone are going to be around the pre-shipping cost of a KOC, and if I screw anything up, I might have to get another Rave Discman to tide me over until I can just buy a KOC...

I can imgine how microswitches is installed in the keys. But I cannot think of how you wire up the turning part of the disc tray , what idea do you got here?

I have been thinking of building a turning controller for some games in the Taito collection, but I am still figuring out how I could be done...

[iatneH]

I can imgine how microswitches is installed in the keys. But I cannot think of how you wire up the turning part of the disc tray , what idea do you got here?

The KOC and RDM use optical sensors in the turntable. I found a schematic for a homemade one but I might just save myself the trouble and rip one out of the RDM since it already has the delay circuitry (prevents rapid same-direction spinning) and I won't need to tweak the resistors.

If you google for "arcade spinner" you can find some ones that are made using a PC mouse. I thought about trying it but I don't know how to make it interface with a Playstation controller since most of the projects were used for MAME cabinets.

[iatneH]

Haha... Just for the Hell of it, I built the world's crappiest mini controller today. It doesn't even have a turntable, just buttons for up and down :p

The buttons SUCK, they're small so I glued some coins onto them, but they don't register unless they are pressed squarely and hard... and the coins will come off if I slam them the wrong way. I didn't feel like spending money on buttons, those were just what I had lying around... but this thing makes me fail all the songs....

I promise my serious controller will be more impressive..!

[SFKhoa]

... @_@

[iatneH]

Alright, I sure let this project rest for too long.

Anyway, the mini controller was under heavy use for the better part of a month, I don't think those crappy pushbuttons were meant to withstand that much repeated stress, eventually they started becoming extremely unreliable, requiring intense force to register and also registering 2 or 3 presses at a time, leading to a lot of "Poor"s and failed songs :(

So.... here's my intermediate controller, still not a full-on ASC with turntable. I'm using some microswitched pushbuttons left over from my arcade stick for the turntable part, but the key panel is basically arcade-accurate and I can remove it and flip it around for 2P side, but most importantly I can remove it and put it in the final ASC once I'm done the frame.
Lighted buttons OOOOOOOOOHHHHHHH!!!!! And it runs off the power supplied from the controller port, so no external supply is needed.

Testing: WOW, on the first day I used it, I instantly passed a whole bunch of songs that I was failing before, and improved my scores on pretty much every other song. Pressing the keys is so effortless now, my forearms never get sore. Too bad I'm still playing at a Light7 level...

And the cost so far? Less than what it would cost for a KOC plus shipping :p

[SFKhoa]

I want to come over to your place now.

[Skyline]

TUTORIAL PLZ

...


Seriously, though. Awesome work.