[English text for BYOAC] There is something which is even better than Doom and Quake combined - it's called MAME, the Multiple Arcade Machine Emulator. Providing you with accurare emulation of the original games using ROM Images there's no better way to enjoy the classic games of the past.
Of course, you can't play Galaga on a PC Keyboard - it simply doesn't feel right.
That's why I decided to build my own arcade controller. The project goals were:
Cost. Ready made devices like the X-Arcade are far too expensive. My controller was made from arcade buttons and a joystick I got from ebay for about 10 EUR, wood scraps for 0 EUR and an unused PC Gamepad which might have cost about 15 EUR.
Size. A ready made device will occupy much more space than my solution.
Button Layout. I think I came up with a quite comfortable button layout which because of its mirrored design allows for playing left- and right handed. Especially useful if your firing finger gets tired ;-) during a session of 1942.
Technical specs: Most of the box is made from 7 millimeter flake board which is more coarse and softer than MDF. When cutting or drilling there will be some "erosion" of small flakes along the cuts and the holes. This makes the edges a bit rough. I just took that stuff because I got it for free, but I think about redoing the top with a better material. On the plus side, the stuff paints up like a champ!
The box parts were cut using an electric jigsaw. I found out during my woodworking that it is important to use the right sawblade to get real straight cuts (Used BOSCH Type 7 "Speed in Wood" Sawblade).
The holes were a real pain to cut because of the fact that I was only able to get a 26 mm drill but the buttons required a 29mm hole. I solved that problem using a router tool which allows for widening holes to up to 30mm.
Here's a view inside the box. Note the gamepad PCB at the lower right corner. The buttons are connected to the gamepad using standard two wire cable for low power installations (1,5mm^2). I crimped female quick connects to the wires at one end and soldered the other ends to the contact pads on the PCB, which went easier than I thought before.