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Devout Stealth homepad
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devout
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0. PostPosted: Sat Feb 24, 2007 1:44 pm    Post subject: Devout Stealth homepad Reply with quote

Hi all, I finally finished writing a first draft of a tutorial for the pad I just finished. It is available here:

Devout Stealth Pad

The idea was to make an extremely durable, reliable pad as simply as possible. It uses a sensor design that I came up with 5 years ago to add x/o buttons to a ddrhomepad... and after years of them being the most relable buttons on the pad I decided to make a whole pad around them.

What makes this different from every other pad i've seen is that you step directly on the steel that forms the ground half of the circuit, and it just bends down and hits another piece of metal below, completing the circuit. The two are separated by a thin strip of cardboard. The steel provides both the conductive properties, and springiness needed to make this work... there are no foams/mousepads/whatever. The result is a very reliable, very solid feeling step. Also, since the max distance the steel can travel is regulated by the thickness of the cardboard, there is no weight limit of any kind for this pad.

If you need to buy everything, it will cost about $80 for a single pad or $100 for doubles, which is below anything i've ever heard before (from people who have actually kept track of how much they spend). I spent about $40 to make a single pad since I already had some of the materials around. Again, this price is the maximum I would recommend spending for this pad, and does not involve cutting any corners. If you decide to use cheaper materials you can get the price to come down quite a bit.

Construction time is about 6-8 hours for a first timer. You could build one in about 4 hours if you have someone to help you. Again I think this is well below any other pad out there.

So... I hope some people will find this useful. The look inst that of a conventional ddr pad, but I think it makes up for it in reliability and step accuracy. (Im also at that age where having a ddr pad in your living room stops being cool, and something a little more subtle is nice. laugh.gif)

I'll be updating the tutorial with new/clearer info over the next few weeks. It's a bit of a jumbled mess right now, and all the pictures are on one page, so dial-uppers beware.

Enjoy.

ps. If you have suggestions for what I should add/clarify in the tutorial, please post them here. I'll get around to spiffying it up eventually.

(posted here under addendum 1 of cardinal rule #3: I will make exceptions to individuals or groups that have posted outside of the thread if they have made significant innovations, an entirely new design E15.gif )


Last edited by devout on Tue Oct 02, 2007 2:52 pm, edited 1 time in total
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kochinwu
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1. PostPosted: Sat Feb 24, 2007 2:21 pm    Post subject: Re: New pad design / tutorial! Reply with quote

wow, it looks really nice. !!!
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ChilliumBromide
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2. PostPosted: Sat Feb 24, 2007 6:19 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Similar design philosophy to the DT600. =)

Steel Panels, wood base, cheap yet effective sensors. . .

The difference being that you use a different actual design for your sensors and the DT600 has adjustable-height panels. (you use regular sized 8.5"x11" paper for it too!)

Looks good. I didn't read through it all though. xP
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Flound3r
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3. PostPosted: Sat Feb 24, 2007 6:53 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Looks nice, but how's the performance?
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devout
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4. PostPosted: Sat Feb 24, 2007 8:55 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Flound3r wrote:
Looks nice, but how's the performance?


Well, I havent tried it on anything over 8 feet on account of Im not that good.... but so far its as good as you could expect... i mean you step on it, and it registers, every time. What more can you ask?

I should point out that on account of the tape there is a 1" region of no sensitivity around the edges each step, so you have to step at least 1" in from the edge for it to register. I havent found this to be a problem, as your feet are wide enough that even if you step pretty close to the edge, part of your weight is near enough to the center of the arrow to register a hit. (I've never noticed it missing a step in actual use because of this.) But i guess if someone had a reason to want to hit steps very close to the edge this could be a problem for them. I cant imagine it would be a problem for the average player.

DancingTofu wrote:
Similar design philosophy to the DT600. =)

Yeah, when i read your description of the DT600 i thought 'looks similar to the stealth' E15.gif now lets see a prototype already!
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ChilliumBromide
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5. PostPosted: Sat Feb 24, 2007 9:04 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

devout wrote:
Flound3r wrote:
Looks nice, but how's the performance?


Well, I havent tried it on anything over 8 feet on account of Im not that good.... but so far its as good as you could expect... i mean you step on it, and it registers, every time. What more can you ask?

I should point out that on account of the tape there is a 1" region of no sensitivity around the edges each step, so you have to step at least 1" in from the edge for it to register. I havent found this to be a problem, as your feet are wide enough that even if you step pretty close to the edge, part of your weight is near enough to the center of the arrow to register a hit. (I've never noticed it missing a step in actual use because of this.) But i guess if someone had a reason to want to hit steps very close to the edge this could be a problem for them. I cant imagine it would be a problem for the average player.

DancingTofu wrote:
Similar design philosophy to the DT600. =)

Yeah, when i read your description of the DT600 i thought 'looks similar to the stealth' E15.gif now lets see a prototype already!
The original DT600 design had dead edges too, but I tweaked it so now only the corners and 4 tiny parts of the center are dead. You'd have to poke the exact dead spot with the tip of your finger in order to find it though, so that shouldn't be a problem unless someone hits every step on their DDR pad with 1 finger. E15.gif

EDIT: I'm still waiting on getting some money before I can finish the prototype. My grandpa said he'd get $50 into my bank account 10 days ago; I think I might just ask him for it in cash and go to Home Depot. Or maybe I'll get a real job for a while. xP
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Ghettobarney
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6. PostPosted: Sat Feb 24, 2007 9:59 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

thumb.gif This pad gets an honorary thumbs up! The only thing I don't like is raised arrows rather than depressed arrows, though you could just stick 2 pieces of cardboard under the stationary panels. If you've got a video camera, post some vids!

-O.J.A.
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DarkCore
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7. PostPosted: Sat Feb 24, 2007 11:15 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

OrangeJuiceAssassin wrote:
thumb.gif This pad gets an honorary thumbs up! The only thing I don't like is raised arrows rather than depressed arrows, though you could just stick 2 pieces of cardboard under the stationary panels. If you've got a video camera, post some vids!

-O.J.A.


Sad arrows. frown.gif
Haha, you were looking for "repressed".
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ChilliumBromide
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8. PostPosted: Sun Feb 25, 2007 12:12 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I should make pads with Oppressed arrows. That would sell hard. biggrin.gif

Depressed actually is a legit term, but not a commonly used one. A depression can be defined as a geographic plane that is of lesser altitude than it's surroundings. Also, the term is recessed (like a recession) anyway. I believe repress means "to hold back". E15.gif
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Ghettobarney
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9. PostPosted: Sun Feb 25, 2007 12:44 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Okay, how about slightly lowered step panels?

-O.J.A.
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ChilliumBromide
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10. PostPosted: Sun Feb 25, 2007 1:45 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

OrangeJuiceAssassin wrote:
Okay, how about slightly lowered step panels?

-O.J.A.
THIS IS THE INTERNET, IF PEOPLE HERE HAD TIME TO SPELL OUT STUFF LIKE "SLIGHTLY LOWERED STEP PANELS" WILLY-NILLY, WE WOULDN'T HAVE USEFUL THINGS LIKE CHATSPEAK.
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Ghettobarney
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11. PostPosted: Sun Feb 25, 2007 2:39 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Why are you yelling? Anyways, maybe putting a penny at all four corners would fix the dead spot. If that's whats already done, then ignore my stupid post, there's just to much to read.

-OJA
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Discoman
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12. PostPosted: Sun Feb 25, 2007 7:56 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

devout wrote:
(posted here under addendum 1 of cardinal rule #3: I will make exceptions to individuals or groups that have posted outside of the thread if they have made significant innovations, an entirely new design E15.gif )


Objection! Tech/Georgia rivalry nullifies all Cardinal Rules and Addendums. Nullification leaves discretion to the moderator.

Actually, I give not half a damn.

In all seriousness, this looks to be a really good pad on a low-budget for straight practice and no flair. It's definitely something I'd consider making if I were still into it (and if UGADDRPO was still going worth a crap). Much love to my not-really-home but claimed residence and favorite state capital of Atlanta because Japanese folks would not recognize either Athens or Vidalia.

Also, if this thread does drop, I will be more than happy to place a link to your design in an appropriate sticky.
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psisarah
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13. PostPosted: Sun Feb 25, 2007 8:05 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Looks really nice... it must be really sensitive if the whole panel is the sensor, no?
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ChilliumBromide
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14. PostPosted: Sun Feb 25, 2007 1:58 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

OrangeJuiceAssassin wrote:
Why are you yelling? Anyways, maybe putting a penny at all four corners would fix the dead spot. If that's whats already done, then ignore my stupid post, there's just to much to read.

-OJA
It was to extend the joke, pretending I was serious.

I was making fun of the fact that Chatspeak exists, even though nobody goes on the internet if they don't time to kill. E15.gif

EDIT: psisar, your sig earns you 2 points. xD
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Ghettobarney
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15. PostPosted: Fri Apr 06, 2007 12:30 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

BUMP!
I say you sticky this like you said you would.
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Discoman
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16. PostPosted: Sat Apr 07, 2007 6:47 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I said I'd put a link to it in an appropriate sticky (which I will need to make to include some of the more important threads that don't quite deserve sticky compared to the other stuff). Let me compile some threads I think ought to be mentioned for design/etc and I will see what I can do.

EDIT: Also, sup OJA. what's with the name?
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Weston
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17. PostPosted: Sat Apr 07, 2007 8:18 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Nice! That design is really unique. Also looks pretty.
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RespectJSB
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18. PostPosted: Wed Apr 11, 2007 6:23 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Hey, this is a neat little design here.

But what am I missing?

How do the steps "spring" if they are screwed down to the base??
and how does the circuit complete... there tinfoil flat on the bottom and sheet metal wrapped on top but where/how do they contact each other??

I don't think I'm a moron.....I've built two riptide pads and then re-did them with matrix sensors and even added cold cathode lights to one, but I'm confused here...

KO
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ChilliumBromide
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19. PostPosted: Wed Apr 11, 2007 12:20 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

The cardboard provides a <1/16" rebound, which is enough to break the circuit when there is no pressure on the panel.

Because this is an awesome design, I'll probably make one of these and test it up against the DT600.
If the Stealth turns out to be an all-around better pad, devout and I will have to talk.
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