The plan for Project: International Slumber, or P:IS, was to have all the parts shipped to me for assembly and testing then to ship the finished product over to d3v. The spec sheet for this project would be rather full: Sanwa JLF stick, clear Seimitsu buttons, a set of Arc-Eyes for lights, a MC Cthulhu dual modded with a 360 PCB for multi console support, and a RJ45 hookup with compatible USB and Gamecube cables. The one thing he wasn’t sure of initially was which case to get. 2 cases were in the running. Voltech’s VAS-HG cases are beautifully crafted, extremely sturdy works of art. While not exactly cheap, they are worth every penny. I’d know, considering how El Guapo turned out. The other choice had been teased for a few months and were finally ready to start production. Art over at Tek-Innovationshas made plexiglass covers and replacement panels for TEs and HRAPs for a while. His most recent project is much more ambitious: a plexiglass case, complete with options for colors, etchings and button placement. All of the parts fit together with standard screws. If you can put together a Lego kit, you can probably put this together as well.
D3v decided to go with the plexiglass case, which he optioned out to his needs and prepared the artwork, based on Darkstalkers fan favorite Morrigan, to be printed. The rest of the parts I ordered myself. I hit LizardLick up for the JLF and clear 24mm (just released) and 30mm Seimitsu buttons, the MC Cthulhu, and the Neutrick RJ45 pass through jack. I ordered the least expensive MadCatz 360 fightpad from Amazon, since I didn’t care what character I got (all I wanted was the PCB). For the lighting, I had to hit up my Canadian Connection. Purplearms was able to supply me with the Arc-Eyes for the button lights as well as a Masterstrike, which would take care of switching between 3 colors, powering the MC Cthulhu and 360 PCB, and handle USB switching.
Right around the same time 32Teeth, another crazy Canuck, came out with his custom PCB, Sparky Jr. Through the power of multiplexing, this PCB would allow you to assign one of 8 colors to any of your buttons, and would even assign colors depending on how many buttons you pressed (for instance, a color for an EX move, or focus attack). This would be a perfect opportunity to try it out. So, much like the Leo in the Berserker Barrage project, d3v would get a board that I don’t have in one of my personal projects. This means that somewhere down the line I’ll have to make one with a Sparky Jr. myself, but that’s down the road.
With the major parts lined up it was time to sort out the random odds and ends. I hit up Gummowned for a Gamecube /RJ45 cable, since I didn’t want to find one at my local Gamestop. I ordered some 10 color 28 gauge ribbon wire and a 15 foot USB cable from an electronics supply shop online. Since most of my other projects have been wireless (go figure), I had no need for an RJ45 crimping tool. So a trip to the local Home Depot netted one of those, along with a 1 foot CAT5 cable which I would wire to the MC Cthulhu (MCC from here on out, as I can never spell it correctly!). With the parts en route all I could do is wait for everything to come in and see what happens. Turns out, quite a bit…
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