ND3G
New member
- Feb 25, 2012
- 298
- 0
TPA Cabinet/Controller Builds
I am interested in building a custom pinball controller for the PC/Console version of TPA. At some point down the road I want to build a dedicated cabinet but that will probably have to wait a few years.
Anyways, at first I was thinking about getting the Nanotech Mot-Ion adapter (nudge, bump) and digital plunger kit. This would be a PC only solution. Note: There is no way to ensure that it will be compatible with TPA at present.
Nanotech
But I have heard that some people are less than thrilled with the results using it for Visual Pinball.
After a bit more searching I came across two solutions that I think might do the trick.
For nudging and bumping people seem to have had a lot of success using TILT plum bobs (the same devices in a real pinball table). I assume the three screws would be wired to the left, right, and up-axis of the left analog thumb stick on a gamepad PCB board and the screws would be threaded in or out to adjust sensitivity.
You can get one from Pinball Life.
For the plunger, I found a few interesting designs but this one seemed the most straight forward and issue free. It uses the right thumb stick of a Microsoft Sidewinder.
For the flipper and magna save buttons, I plan on using:
and Leaf Switches
Leaf Switches are very important for pinball because they have very fast activation/deactivation and they offer much less resistance than regular joystick buttons. The absence of micro switches also means your controller will not click like a typewriter when you are playing.
The buttons and Switches can be found at Virtuapin. Make sure you get the nylon nuts as well to secure them. They also build video pinball cabinets if anyone is interested.
What are your thoughts/suggestions?
I am interested in building a custom pinball controller for the PC/Console version of TPA. At some point down the road I want to build a dedicated cabinet but that will probably have to wait a few years.
Anyways, at first I was thinking about getting the Nanotech Mot-Ion adapter (nudge, bump) and digital plunger kit. This would be a PC only solution. Note: There is no way to ensure that it will be compatible with TPA at present.
Nanotech
But I have heard that some people are less than thrilled with the results using it for Visual Pinball.
After a bit more searching I came across two solutions that I think might do the trick.
For nudging and bumping people seem to have had a lot of success using TILT plum bobs (the same devices in a real pinball table). I assume the three screws would be wired to the left, right, and up-axis of the left analog thumb stick on a gamepad PCB board and the screws would be threaded in or out to adjust sensitivity.
You can get one from Pinball Life.
For the plunger, I found a few interesting designs but this one seemed the most straight forward and issue free. It uses the right thumb stick of a Microsoft Sidewinder.
For the flipper and magna save buttons, I plan on using:
and Leaf Switches
Leaf Switches are very important for pinball because they have very fast activation/deactivation and they offer much less resistance than regular joystick buttons. The absence of micro switches also means your controller will not click like a typewriter when you are playing.
The buttons and Switches can be found at Virtuapin. Make sure you get the nylon nuts as well to secure them. They also build video pinball cabinets if anyone is interested.
What are your thoughts/suggestions?
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