Bacteria's project: "Project Unity"

[bacteria]

Been busy wiring up the system switches, and tidying up the wiring in general, using some cable ties; moved the regulator strip long to give more room. Soon be at testing stage - then will work more on the other buttons, switches and wiring, so can secure the holder for the switches firmly screwed into the system casing. I think, when this is done and before leaving the project for a little while, i'll have to make another video as there have been some major changes since the last system video.

One thing for sure, when this work is done, it will make progress on other systems in this system faster to install!

[bacteria]

Call this "sneak peak" if you like - the white plastic button surround will be painted presently and mounted properly in place, not just put into position. It shows however how the two sections will be positioned. The buttons will be painted too of course, with a printed logo on the front to replace the pieces of temporary electrical tape in the pic.

[CRTGAMER]

Call this "sneak peak" if you like - the white plastic button surround will be painted presently and mounted properly in place, not just put into position. It shows however how the two sections will be positioned. The buttons will be painted too of course, with a printed logo on the front to replace the pieces of temporary electrical tape in the pic.

Oh now I see. I though the switches on the right were going to be in front as a mechanical control for the 8PDT switches. So the 8PDT switches are for cutting in the game controller, audio, video outputs and the the grey switches are power for each system?

[bacteria]

Yes, the buttons on the left (the wood ones) are to select two 8PDT switches at the same time, to activate the video, audio and controller for a specific console system, and the on/off button next to it turns the system on; there will also be a main on/off button which needs to break and resume the power to the whole system or turning on a second system afterwards doesn't make it work.

In essence though, you have the idea!

Update:

Before testing the system for the 4 consoles to check all is fine, i've found a way to secure the button section to the main casing, by using long screws to screw between the wood section and the case frame; it is strong and works well.

[bacteria]

There was a gap between the plastic sheet and the buttons which I couldn't avoid, and as the on/off buttons had to be reduced, they also didn't meet 100% against each other as the edges were originally sloped a bit. As a consequence, had to use some Polyfilla to fill in the gaps, and then take an educated gamble and paint with a roller over the buttons and the plastic sheet, and hope it comes out ok. I'm not going to get a perfect finish however am happy for a ripple effect as it looks nice. Issue will be when the paint dries and I then have to remove the paint from around the on/off buttons themselves, if the paint comes off ok or I get problems; that I won't know for a couple of days as it will take a while for the paint to set hard as it's been applied fairly thickly.

Painted the switch buttons and going to work on the decals for the buttons, and get them done while the paint is drying; after all I can't test the system properly until I can use the switches and buttons!

I'm hoping the painted area looks good when done, towards the end of the week; it certainly looks nicer than it did before the painting, and I may have to settle for very nice and not perfect! lol

[jeffro11]

What the hell did you paint it with? That doesn't look very good at all. Almost looks like you used a textured roller like rednecks do on old Toyota's they paint black.

I'm very curious, what paint do you use, and how do you apply it?

[bacteria]

Mini paint roller, using wall paint, and actually, they give a very nice effect. What you see in the pic however is the paint rolled on thick to fill in the gaps, it will be sanded a tad and then roller applied again. Working with spray paint is fine if your surface is perfectly smooth and without blemishes, if there are gaps or slightly raised bits, paint roller acts like a filler too as you're putting down a lot of paint at the time.

Bear in mind, the section concerned is only a small part of the front panel, so judgement of looks at this stage are premature!

[Jimmy Yakapucci]

I have a question and some commenta and hopefully I can get these out without a lynch mob forming.

Is what you have shown as far as a container for the system boards what you will be using as a final product or just something to hold everything while it is a work in progress? My reason for asking is that when you first started posting about your plans, it sounded very neat. Now as more and more stuff gets added, to me at least, it is becoming less and less neat. The universal controller thing is really neat, but having all the systems housed in a huge box with a battery of switches almost seems to defeat the purpose. Based on the pictures you have shown for your main enclosure, I would actually rather just have the systems sitting on an entertainment center or set of shelves and use whichever one I needed.

In my opinion, I think the biggest problem is trying to put too many systems together. If it were just a few, that would be okay, but with as many as you are trying to do reaches into the realm of overkill.

I admire all the technical skill that it has taken you to do this. I still hope someday to make a setup of my own having 4 or 5 cart based systems housed in a tower computer case.

Flames may be directed to /dev/null

JY

[bacteria]

The point of this project primarily is convenience and compactness.

One controller is a major selling point as a load of consoles means a load of controllers normally, and a big stack of interweaving cables. One power supply for all is a major selling point as each system needs powering, short of removing the mains plug from one system and inserting into another (and removing the consoles in the process) the benefit of one power supply to feed all systems has to be rather beneficial and convenient. The same is true for one video/audio output; permanently in place rather than having to swap between many others is convenient.

Once you appreciate the logic of all the above, you're into the territory of this Alpha Omega project. One controller, one power supply, one video/audio output: for all systems. That's where the project gets painful; most controllers are unable to work with others, all consoles are unable to work with others. The reality is you need to keep the controller wire connections, video, audio and power lines working together but independent from each other: that's why the switches are there. In some cases, you can't even use a common grounding between systems separated!

If building around 17 systems, there's a bucket load of boards and wiring, and there is no option but to have one on/off switch per system (ie 17), two 8PDT switches per system (2 x 17) plus a main on/off button. No choice.

Six disc based console systems will take up around 23 cms thick in total due to the drive units, and motherboards for consoles; I have about 11 cms to accommodate around 11 cart based systems, that will be tight.

This system is being made as small as realistically possible, compact, and will end up quite heavy.

Regards paint colour, it is to match the surroundings it's going into; regards paint ripple effect, well it looks nice - nothing says beauty is flat, texture looks great; as you will see when the project is completed, this system will look very nice indeed. It's early days yet...

[bacteria]

The on/off buttons aren't working so well due to the paint. I'm also not overly happy with the finish, the 8PDT switches work fine but look cheap with the rectangular wood, and i'm not sure on reflection how long it would take before the screws holding the 8PDT switch bank would hold before the wood gives in the main casing and causes problems.

I've therefore decided to ditch the on/off buttons, even though they weren't cheap, and use normal switches. The rectangular wood buttons will be removed too in favour of circular ones, smaller, which also gives a central press making it easier too. I also like the idea of having an LED illuminating to indicate the console is selected.

So, means re-making the section from scratch, however it will be worth doing this sleek looking. Expect to be amazed when done!