Here you'll find a list of arcade controllers I'm currently working on, and what their status is. When I have something to show, I'll post pictures. Of course, just because a project is on this page, doesn't mean it will ever work.

Cheep went a little 80's-happy and got himself a mullet. Sort of a "Flock of Seagulls" thing. I went a little 80's happy and decided to make a control panel complete with spinner, trackball, joysticks, and fire buttons - the Cheep Control Freak. All in a layout that will let me play as many classic arcade games as possible. (And no, that doesn't include fighting games.) Update 11/14/01 - New 3D rendering on the update page. This is based on the cardboard mockup and the revised Hackball case. (The page is a bit graphics-heavy - so get comfy.)

How small can you make an arcade spinner control? The Cheep Mini-Spinner will try to answer that. This one's for people who just can't resist playing Tempest on their PowerBook while on a plane, but can't stand using the trackpad. With any luck, I can get this down to a handy pocket-size. Update 6/26/01 - I have all the parts for this (and have for some time now - I've just been busy). I should be able to throw a prototype together sometime soon. It's gonna be a small little bugger.

Analog trigger-type joysticks are a dime-a-dozen. But not good-ol' 8-way sticks. The Cheep Stick will be an attempt to build an affordable 8-way, trigger-type joystick for use with Tron, Gorf, Mad Planets and similar classics. Update 11/1/01 - So much for that prototype. After awhile, the switches drifted out of alignment with the joystick shaft (pesky double-stick tape) so it stopped working properly. I restored the Thrustmaster back to normal, and now I'm looking at some alternative ideas. The front-runner is to build some sort of "convert-a-stick" that allows me to switch handles from a normal joystick to a trigger stick. In fact, someone has already done this, and has even posted up a tutorial on the project. I may end up using joystick handles from Happ instead though, since the switches will be arcade-quality. It will cost more, however. But durability is an important factor. Update 6/26/01 - I now have a sort-of prototype for this. It's not built using the parts I'll use for the real thing (which will be mostly from Happ), but rather an old Thrustmaster FCS that I've attached some microswitches to, and then tied those into a hacked Gravis MacGamePad. Yep, it's ugly, but it kills compared to using anything else. True 8-way mayhem at last!

The Cheep Spinner Pro is basically a Cheep Spinner, but it uses Happ Controls optical parts, instead of a gutted mouse. Even though this costs more, it's simpler to build and is more flexible for those using Happ interfaces in arcade control panels and cabinets. This should be a really simple project. I'm just waiting for a wiring harness to show up and I can throw it together, and see how well it works. Update 11/1/01 - I've got the wiring harness. Once I get some other projects out of the way, I'll get back to this. Update 6/26/01 - Still waiting on that wiring harness (ahem). I have the part number though, so I'll get it myself when I put in my next Happ order.