Nicely done on the less is more theme.
That joystick is damn cool and your yoke integration is really slick.
Great piece of work sir!
That joystick is damn cool and your yoke integration is really slick.
Great piece of work sir!
Build Thread: VECTORAMA--XY Kit/USB-DVG/Space Duel-based Multivector
- Thread starter alfonzotan
- Start date
Great job! I've been wanting to do something very similar to this. Always on the lookout for a decent priced/condition space duel...
I will definitely revisit your build thread when I get around to moving forward. You put together alot of good ideas. The end result looks great!
Dylan
I will definitely revisit your build thread when I get around to moving forward. You put together alot of good ideas. The end result looks great!
Dylan
LarryFunkster
Active member
This is the perfect build. Right from making your own vector monitor, the USB-DVG, the CPO. Perfectly all brought together!! This is exactly the same vision I have. Although it feels like a pipe dream. Love, love it!!
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I'm impressed! You have your cake and can eat it too! Well done!
Brentradio
Well-known member
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Very nice!
I plan to do something similar with my Tempest.
I plan on making the monitor rotate easily (like in my Multi Multi Jamma cab), I already have 5 extra Tempest control panels and a bunch of controls I plan to use. Swap in the control panel and rotate the monitor in under 5 minutes. Should be sweet.
Someday.
I plan to do something similar with my Tempest.
I plan on making the monitor rotate easily (like in my Multi Multi Jamma cab), I already have 5 extra Tempest control panels and a bunch of controls I plan to use. Swap in the control panel and rotate the monitor in under 5 minutes. Should be sweet.
Someday.
I pondered doing this as well. Instead I put a 25" amp monitor in the Space Duel cab to see if that buys me enough height for Games like tempest.
OP
OP
There are only four vertical vectors: Tempest, Tac/Scan, Cosmic Chasm and Sundance. I have a Tempest, T/S and CC are acceptable to me on a horizontal screen, and I don't do Meth, so I'm good….
(I know as soon as I hit send that somebody is going to point out another vertical that I'm forgetting, but what the hell…)
(I know as soon as I hit send that somebody is going to point out another vertical that I'm forgetting, but what the hell…)
OP
OP
With a 25" you should be cooking with gas. I have a 22" LCD in my raster MAME cab, and that's plenty of real estate for verticals.
Brentradio
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Aren't all Vectrex games vert? I plan to play them on it as well.
OP
OP
Sure, and they have plenty of room on a horizontal 19" screen, as opposed to the 9" original Vectrex monitor (although the MESS implementation in the current builds is on the slow side).
Don't get me wrong, anybody who wants to have a true vertical vector screen, by all means go for it. But outside of Tempest (a big exception!), it's not a big deal to play verticals on a horizontal screen IMO.
I can't wait to have time to get back to these funs projects...
OP
OP
I've finished a drop-in trackball for playing Quantum.
As noted earlier, it's a very old MacAlly trackball (so old that the original Bondi Blue has faded to kind of a sea green) that I bought in the 90's when I first started collecting parts for arcade projects. It's mated with a little velcro to a cut-down version of this trackball stand:
www.thingiverse.com
... that I first reinforced with a couple of braces (also cut from the same model and reprinted) and added two posts to set it in place in the control panel holes. I didn't need to add actual fasteners here as this controller doesn't (or at least shouldn't) get yanked around as much as the flight yoke:
. 
There's some adhesive-backed foam rubber padding on the surfaces that touch the CP to cut down on wear and tear.
Took quite a bit of tinkering with the setup to get this operational; turns out the more USB mouse devices you have connected, the more the Pi and/or AdvMAME get confused. I also found out it's best to have all USB devices connected to the same hub, and then plugging that hub into the Pi. After a lot of thrashing I wound up removing the Opti-Pac and replacing the Atari optical board on the spinner with one of @ArcadeJason's modified units (available here: https://mikesarcade.com/cgi-bin/store.pl?sku=ADOPTO ) and connecting that board to the spinner posts on the I-Pac2. For my mouse click game exit hack (see the USB-DVG User Support Thread for details), I just took apart an old mouse, removed one of the buttons, and wired that up to my Menu volcano button.
And finally, it worked:
Next up: a DIY USB Vectrex controller.
As noted earlier, it's a very old MacAlly trackball (so old that the original Bondi Blue has faded to kind of a sea green) that I bought in the 90's when I first started collecting parts for arcade projects. It's mated with a little velcro to a cut-down version of this trackball stand:
Numpad Cover Platform by glennbarns
You have a full keyboard that you really love but you wish you have a TKL version of it. This platform goes over the numpad section of the keyboard so you can put you trackball or trackpad over it, thereby converting your keyboard to an almost TKL size, relative to where you trackball /...
www.thingiverse.com
... that I first reinforced with a couple of braces (also cut from the same model and reprinted) and added two posts to set it in place in the control panel holes. I didn't need to add actual fasteners here as this controller doesn't (or at least shouldn't) get yanked around as much as the flight yoke:
. There's some adhesive-backed foam rubber padding on the surfaces that touch the CP to cut down on wear and tear.
Took quite a bit of tinkering with the setup to get this operational; turns out the more USB mouse devices you have connected, the more the Pi and/or AdvMAME get confused. I also found out it's best to have all USB devices connected to the same hub, and then plugging that hub into the Pi. After a lot of thrashing I wound up removing the Opti-Pac and replacing the Atari optical board on the spinner with one of @ArcadeJason's modified units (available here: https://mikesarcade.com/cgi-bin/store.pl?sku=ADOPTO ) and connecting that board to the spinner posts on the I-Pac2. For my mouse click game exit hack (see the USB-DVG User Support Thread for details), I just took apart an old mouse, removed one of the buttons, and wired that up to my Menu volcano button.
And finally, it worked:
Next up: a DIY USB Vectrex controller.
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Man that monitor looks good!
OP
OP
Realized I left Quantum off my list of vertical vectors (above): it's #5.
I hate when that happens…
OP
OP
... and here's the Vectrex controller. Very simple project, I used the coolate Vectrex Pro 3D model with 18mm button holes:
www.thingiverse.com
... and this joystick and USB interface:
The Sanwa buttons were from arcadeshock.com. Other than soldering the leads to the joystick pots, it was practically plug-and-play.
If you're going to try and use the same parts, note that the joystick is plugged into the wrong slot on the board in this picture, the correct slot is the one just to the left.
Vectrex Pro Controller by coolate
This is a Pro remix of my original version here: https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:2584312It uses the bigger joystick. It is still analog, but it does not really fit inside the front of the vectrex anymore.Here is the pro stick: https://www.adafruit.com/product/3102The Vectrex arcade machine is...
www.thingiverse.com
... and this joystick and USB interface:
The Sanwa buttons were from arcadeshock.com. Other than soldering the leads to the joystick pots, it was practically plug-and-play.
If you're going to try and use the same parts, note that the joystick is plugged into the wrong slot on the board in this picture, the correct slot is the one just to the left.
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