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Possible Bartop
BobA:
I gave away a mame cab a while ago that had no added artwork or nice touches but it did work.
Cab from freecycle 1 of 2 stripped units.
Computer found in alley set out for garbage pickup 1 Ghz Celeron with about 256 memory and 30 GB hard drive
Computer monitor from garage sale $10 now you can get them for free
Buttons and joystick from junk box
Black contact paper for control panel 3.00
Keyboard encoder $40
Wire, crimp on connectors from home stock.
So it cost about $53 and if I had bought the wire and connectors maybe $75
so cheap is possible if you can scrounge alot and do not have to buy any tools.
IG-88:
Encoder was the most for Bob's project. There is even ways (not saying better) to save on that too. I just scrounged up a couple 12 button usb gamepads from the salvation army that I'm going to hack for inputs. Cost me a little over $4 with tax.
BobA:
Yes the encoder was costly but I had one around. I could have reduced it alot now as I found a fairly reliable source of $4 usb game pads that could be hacked. I got a couple from Goodwill and that would have reduced the cost to less than $20.
I'm sure that with enough scrounging you can build one for $0 but you have to start with a free or cheap cab as the raw materials to build one will cost $ no matter how cheap you go.
leapinlew:
Do you guys not value your time at all? ;D
Lets look at all the true costs here:
Free cabinet from freecycle: Did they deliver it?
Home Stock of Wires, crimp, connectors, buttons and joysticks - were those free too?
How much time did you spend saving money? Using junk computers and parts almost always leads to spending more time getting the parts to work. Sure it's a hobby, but at the end of the day you want stuff to work. Using junk parts is almost a sure fire way to add a layer of complexity and time to your project.
I realize that these budget cabs are exactly that, budget minded. But I think it's a disservice to the community to sell off the notion of a sub $50 cabinet as common. Regardless, I don't really care how much you guys spent on your cabinets. I'd rather have a $200 nice cabinet, than a $50 functional one.
IG-88:
No, I don't count my time as money when it comes to my hobby(s). To me that's just ridiculous. And as far as my "junk" that I use... my first bartop has been running damn near everyday for over 2 years with no issues. The other is almost a year old and I got another rocking for a few months. All on used/dumpster parts. In fact the only problem I have had is with a flippen $30 "professional" encoder.
I don't believe I am giving any kind of "disservice" by offering my opinion or showing someone that these don't have to be all that expensive. Maybe some of us don't have your skills or $$ to drop on these things but that doesn't give you the right to sound condescending either.
Perhaps I'm over analyzing your post but that kinda pissed me off.