Need a little help with a beat mania present

[word]

Originally Posted by ΩOMEGAΩ

I do believe they ship to the UK.

Yup, and shipping only takes a couple of days

[Kσn]

ya, they ship very fast to the U.S. too.

if you can not get that deal on the other controller lazynewt, just get it from playasia, I am not sure how much luck you are going to get now a days finding a beatmania US controller, or a used japanese controller. You can also ask in the marketplace on this site, which is helpful, but there is a possibility no one is selling one right now.

[lazynewt]

wow thanks omega. Ive checked there every day since i started this post. And to be honest wouldnt of checked there again as id given up on play asia. I also checked there last night and no joy. Ive just ordered a controller. I may buy this one off ebay so ive got a backup. The guy thats selling it seems really nice and is being quite helpfull too. Besides heads up sounds like a laff Hopefully they havent "over sold" their controllers yet id die if i didnt get one now lol.

Ronji thanks for googling for me yes it is "porto pi" my bad . Also its a 3 white 2 blue button layout (or maybe the other way round) if i remember correctly so im assuming its one of the originals. i will if i get the chance give them a call and find out. Ive got a couple of friends that speak spanish so that might help.

Im not sure where im going to go from here. Ive got a couple of weeks till her birthday and im pretty handy with wood and electronics (i like hacking/modding). so im still thinking of making a full size arcade console. Im just wondering if its possible to mash the 5 button controller i have with a regular ps2 joypad and make it into a 5 button one. Has anyone ever tried this ?

Like i said ive got the ps2 + discs now controllers on the way. ive got a cheap flat screen monitor i could use. Does the ps2 connect straight into a crt/lcd??

thanks again guys u rox

[ronji]

if the controller on the arcade had 5 buttons, then it was definitely 3 white, 2 black(blue). it was probably regular beatmania, not iidx, but that's great because i believe the iidx controller works with regular beatmania, and the iidx games even have 5 button modes i think. i'm not sure if 5 button mode is only available in certain versions of iidx, but someone could confirm that. i'm not sure you'll want to even use the old beatmania controller when you have a iidx controller. also i'm pretty sure you can play the older versions of regular beatmania on a ps2, so long as it's either modded to play japanese imports, or if the ps2 and the game are the same region, of course.

ps2 by default only has connections for a TV, but converters for crt/lcd monitors exist. my past experiences weren't good with these converters even on regular games, as there is a bit of lag. that is just not acceptable with beatmania. your best bet is connecting it to a TV.

[lazynewt]

yes ronji im pretty sure it was regular beatmania. I agree the 7 button looks far superior. My only thoughts are that since ive got a cheapo 5 button controller i wouldnt mind having a go at making another 5 button custom controller. ive got access to everything id need to make one and i enjoy modding. i was just wondering if i could use an existing ps2 controllers boards and kind of merge an extra 2 buttons with the other 5 button controller. id like to do this for heads up play. im also pretty passionate about making it all into a replica arcade machine, though this may have to be something i do at a later date.

also what confused me about the monitor/screen was

I really don't think the PAL->NTSC Converter is needed at all. It'd be a lot easier if you just buy a cheap CRT that supports NTSC, or if you're using an LCD it'll support it perfectly.

Did jewbeat mean a crt tv????

ive got the ntsc problem covered. Could do with a few more iidx games but cant decide which ones to get her....

[lazynewt]

I just found the dj-dao site..... didnt realise i could of gone there to get a controller. They are pretty cool. Id seen one similar to that on these forums and thought it must of been home made.

[ronji]

Originally Posted by lazynewt

I just found the dj-dao site..... didnt realise i could of gone there to get a controller. They are pretty cool. Id seen one similar to that on these forums and thought it must of been home made.

yeah, i suppose if you've got a lot of money to invest in this birthday present then you could get some awesome controllers there, but i'm not sure about the turnaround time for shipping. i have no personal experience there.

about what jewbeat said, i think he was talking about crt TVs and lcd TVs, but i'm not sure. the word "trinitron" could also be referring to CRT monitors or TVs... i could be wrong here.

edit: you might be able to make a 5 key controller out of a gutted ps2 controller, but i don't know where you'd get the parts, and since you got your original 5 key beatmania controller for dirt cheap, it would probably be cheaper to just buy another 5 key controller.

[villadelfia]

Originally Posted by ronji

yeah, i suppose if you've got a lot of money to invest in this birthday present then you could get some awesome controllers there, but i'm not sure about the turnaround time for shipping. i have no personal experience there.

about what jewbeat said, i think he was talking about crt TVs and lcd TVs, but i'm not sure. the word "trinitron" could also be referring to CRT monitors or TVs... i could be wrong here.

edit: you might be able to make a 5 key controller out of a gutted ps2 controller, but i don't know where you'd get the parts, and since you got your original 5 key beatmania controller for dirt cheap, it would probably be cheaper to just buy another 5 key controller.

At the moment, quite long... he's been very busy since the release of GOLD.

[Kσn]

Originally Posted by lazynewt

I just found the dj-dao site..... didnt realise i could of gone there to get a controller. They are pretty cool. Id seen one similar to that on these forums and thought it must of been home made.

dj dao is a great place, however the controller take a while to make, and they are very busy as GOLD came out I am sure.

That place is great because they make arcade style controllers, however the original controller is a great way to start out into the game, even if you played the original beatmania games.

Also shipping is very expensive, and I believe sometimes the parts are back ordered so it could be a very long time before your controller would have been completed and shipped out.

Maybe get her one of those controllers for Christmas or something, but order in advance.

[zorahk]

dj dao controllers are simply the best.

if you have the money, do not hesitate

[Bromeo and Fooliet]

Originally Posted by ronji

about what jewbeat said, i think he was talking about crt TVs and lcd TVs, but i'm not sure. the word "trinitron" could also be referring to CRT monitors or TVs... i could be wrong here.

Jewbeat was talking about the different frequencies that are used between NTSC and PAL. You can play an NTSC game on a PAL screen but have fun with only seeing the middle 5 inches of the game.

[BemaniAK]

Most PAL TV's support NTSC fully now, don't they?
I did hear someone on another forum say there's a difference in resolution but you'd think the TV would just squash the image to fit...

[lazynewt]

Ahh i c. yes i think i will work with what i have at the moment. Then if she gets hooked like i think she will i will get her a dao. i just recieved the 5 buton controller and i agree its nothing like the arcade its crap. That being said the manual quite clearly shows how the controlls relate to the joypad. what i could really do with is someone with a PS2 flicking through a beatmania "instruction manual" that you get with each game and scanning and posting how the ps2 controlls relate to the 7 button beatmania controller. This way it wont be very hard to mix and match and build a "arcade machine" from the cheap 5 button beatmania controller. This is something that im now quite passionate about. The only bad thing is i think i want to build it for me not her lmao. think im getting addicted to BM without even playing the thing.

Anyway i will take pictures and post a walkthrough when i start. For now though could someone please post the wiring diagram or link me to one.

cheers for the help guys

p.s when the controller and ps2 and ntsc iidx games arrive in the next couple of days ill test the whole ntsc issues.

[ronji]

this might help you out when gutting a psX controller to make an arcade controller:
http://members.home.nl/popnmusic/iidx/iidx_buttons.gif

how to article on gutting a psX controller and creating an arcade controller:
PSX