pic: brand new custom built control center, need opinions and suggestions from teams
 

Re: pic: brand new custom built control center
 

Hey guys, i built this control center, its not fully done, but i would like to have some opinions on what i can add to make it better.



thanks - Eugene - head of build team 375

Re: pic: brand new custom built control center
 

Very nice....you made the joysticks yourself!!:ahh: thats crazy sweet. I suggest some crazy paint a few team stickers and an easy button just for looks



w00t 500th post

Re: pic: brand new custom built control center
 

Just to add to what Eugene said, we are going to be adding some switches, potentiometers, and maybe some push buttons and a slide pot, as well as autonomous/disable switches.


Feel free to comment.

Re: pic: brand new custom built control center
 

WOW!!!!! That is beautiful! :D

So clean and clearly very sturdy. Perhaps some kind of rubber caps to cover the corners of the control center and help prevent damage to other surfaces. Of course, you need your team number to tell who's craftsmanship this is.

Re: pic: brand new custom built control center
 

Thank you for the compliments, any suggestions for paint color?

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Now the question is, what do you go with? Paint, cold cathodes, decals, or a combination. :p

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Although I like the white, I would go with your team color(s).

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It's lookin kinda bland right now. Maybe paint it up a bit.

It looks very well-built and very sturdy.

Plus, you better start saving weight now! That looks mighty heavy. Pull out the hole saw and go to town! :D

I don't know about you, but I think lightening holes look good!

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Not having 2 right handed joysticks? ;)

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Exactly, my man, exactly. :cool:

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ye, we wanted ambidextrous joysticks, we go for function and comfort

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Nice work! It's a nice design and looks easy to use. Post a picture of the finished product!

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That would be perfect for this control center! Have them inside and have your team number cut out from the sides to let the light through.

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Like someone suggested earlier, maybe you can do something like this?

... Orange and Blue is our team color. =)

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Look nice! Maybe a logo or some color to spice it up. Maybe some buttons and switchs if you 2nd driver prefers that over using a joystick.

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You could always put a toggle switch on there with a flip-up guard on it. :D

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VERY NICE!!! It has a modern and clean look to it

there's only one thing

it needs some sweet lights inside of it.....seeing as it's made of frosted Lexan and or white nylon, if a few blue LEDs were placed inside it would have an awesome soft blue glow eminating from it

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I would put some green ooze, maybe some biohazard logos. All on a black background with some green LED's. Just use your team's theme (plague) to come up with a good design. :)

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There's only one that's definitely cooler than that. And it had a dashboard display built-in.

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you know, i haven't thought of that, now i will have to annoy my mentor to get an old laptop and make a built in display, thanks for the great idea

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I would suggest modifying the window to be hinged, allowing easy access to the OI underneath.

A 'roll bar' of sorts, extending from the font edge up, that would in the event of the unit falling upside down would prevent the joysticks from hitting the ground. It would also allow you to place the control system down, with the handle facing up.

Looks good. I prefer it to the painted and cathoded look. Try brushing and polishing the aluminum just before a regional. It won't last long, but it does look great.

-Andy A.

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One suggestion (which may be a non-event): Make sure you can switch your channel dipswitches easily. I've been to two off-seasons that've done it this way (Mission Mayhem and Cal Games), and teams who can't access them just hold up the process.

(Same with the team numbers--you'll have to change the MSB to get some channels.)

Re: pic: brand new custom built control center
 

We have that covered. The OI is probably going to be on a hinged screen, that way all ports and switches are easily accessible.

Thanks for all the suggestions, and keep 'em coming.

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I have gotten a 7 inch screen and we will get a laptop, stick the insides into the control board and have a built in dashboard viewer

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that is the screen I'm going to use in the control board to make a built in dashboard viewer

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Does anyone else have any suggestions of what we should put on this control panel?

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There looks like a really nice spot on the right for an easy button. :cool:

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Unfortunately I'm putting so much stuff into this board that i cant fit anything into it

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wow how are u going to use that? A laptop LCD requires a whole bunch of complex LVD control signals.. Unless you put in the laptop with it and link via serial?

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That's a nice looking control panel. Very clean. We always tend to struggle in coming up with new and creative control panels each year. In fact, for the past two years, we have stuck with a very similar design that has been very useful and efficient.

I do have one question, more for my own understanding than anything else. Is this going to be for use in the 2007 season? I was always under the impression that the OI and associated control panels had to be built during the season. Although there are no explicit rules about in the manuals, it always seemed like that was the intentions. In addition, the various Q&As that relate to it all state that it can not be updated except during Fix-It windows (again, implying that it can't be built outside of the alloted timeframe).

Just curious, I guess.

Again, great job on the OI.

-Nate

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this is a lcd display form a portable dvd player, it fits in with the connection on most laptops

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that thing is a tank!!

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Thank you, that is what I was going for

Re: pic: brand new custom built control center
 

how long does it take to build and how hard is it