Wiring the Test CP

Joystick Wiring

IPAC Wiring

Started off by wiring all the Ground connectors to the IPAC. This gave me some good practice in cutting, stripping and connecting the Quik Connects. Next I connected each button to its assigned connection on the IPAC and after this I did the same with the Joystick. I was really eager to test the CP now so I hooked it all up and it worked, well except for the small problem of me wiring the Joystick around the wrong way, I had the Left and Right & Up and Down connected opposite as I forgot the Joystick actually presses the opposite microswitch.

Button Wiring

Constructing the Test CP

Mounted Buttons onto my Test CP, some of which are a little loose due the the holes being a bit larger than they should due to my poor cutting skills. I had to remove the T-Stik Plus rod to mount the joystick correctly. This involved removing the button nut and then each part on the Rod, noting in which order I needed to put them back. The Joystick and Rod mounted correctly with no issues.

MameWah Backgrounds Finished

My Mamewah main, options and message backgrounds have been completed today. I created these in Macromedia Fireworks and exported them to a JPG format. The Images are from Capcom and SNK fighting characters.

I also completed the MameWah layout customisation today and this is available from my downloads sections. The layout currently only supports one emulator and that is Mame. I will add other emulators at another time, so stay tuned for an update...

How to Drill Crap Holes in your Test CP

Created a test Control Panel template today with Microsoft Visio to use as my template for the holes that need to be drilled. I used some 4mm MDF I had in my shed for the Control Panel test and taped the visio template to the MDF. I drilled the holes for the Buttons and the Joystick (T-Stik Plus) using a 1 1/8" Spade Bit.

The holes I drilled ended up being really crap as the MDF moved when I was drilling. The actual holes where a bit out of shape because of this as shown in the photo above. What I have learnt from this is when I come to do my Final CP I am going to put another piece of wood below the CP and clamp it to my bench so there is no movement while I drill the Holes.