Which cabinet would be better for a 4 player mame

[severdhed]

hey guys, i got the OK from my wife to start on my 4 player cabinet.  i dont want to build from scratch, simply due to lack of skill and tools and time.  I plan on building a 4 player mame cabinet, running off of a p4 3ghz, and i have a 27" sony flat CRT tv with component video inputs.  i have looked around and i found two empty cabinets locally that i can fit a 27" monitor into.  my initial plan was to go with a cut-corner dynamo cabinet that i picked up a few years ago.  i gave it to a buddy when i moved a few years ago, but he hasn't touched it in over 2 years, and said i can have it back if i want it. I think it is a dynamo HS-5


i would clearly have to decase the TV, but i measured the tube, it will fit.  I would then have to attach a large 4 player panel to it. 

today, i stopped by a local arcade and talked to the manager, he is clearing out his warehouse and offered me a showcase cabinet for free.  he said it currently has a dead 33" monitor in it.  He wants the game board out of it, but if i haul it away, i can have it for free.  i didn't take a pic, but from what i remember it looking like, i'm guessing it is a dynamo HS-15. 


this cabinet would easily fit my 27" tv, possibly without decasing it, which is a plus, and also, the control panel is nice and large, easy to convert to a 4player. (it is currently a gun cabinet of some type)

obviously space is a consideration, i'm still trying to figure out if i have room for the showcase.

assuming i can find room for either, which way should i go?   will the showcase look stupid with a 27" monitor?  will the other cabinet look stupid with a big 4 player panel on it/

the showcase takes up alot of space, but i can't help but think it might be the better choice, what do you guys think?

[Dazz]

For a 4 player cab, this should be a no-brainier between the two options.

[severdhed]

thats what i figured, but i was just a little concerned that it would look weird with only a 27" monitor in it....and the fact that it takes up alot of space.  i am going to try to go measure the showcase cab tomorrow.  I have been looking online for measurements for these things, i've found that they are 48" wide, but i cant seem to find how deep they are when fully assembled, so if anyone knows that, please share.

[eds1275]

Just get some awesome artwork around it and noone will be the wiser. Doesn't have to be fancy, just has to go schmoothly with the theme of it.

[milkit]

For a 4 player cab, this should be a no-brainier between the two options.

i had the same thought

[drventure]

+1 on the showcase. I'd love one but there's just no room.

[Paul Olson]

The showcase is nice, but huge. I would definitely but a larger TV in that one. 32" crt TVs are dirt cheap.

I think the best solution would be a 4 player konami cab. Most of the 4-player games you are going to want to play used those cabs. Should be able to fit a 27" monitor as well.

[CheffoJeffo]

The showcase is nice, but huge. I would definitely but a larger TV in that one. 32" crt TVs are dirt cheap.

I think the best solution would be a 4 player konami cab. Most of the 4-player games you are going to want to play used those cabs. Should be able to fit a 27" monitor as well.

+1 --Paul's nailed the all the salient points.

Those showcases are huge and heavy at 800+ lbs. They do come apart fairly easily and the aircraft-carrier sized CP can easily handle 4 players. I've got one and I will never get another. People can't give them away here.

[Stobe]

Even if the showcase was not an option, I don't think you want 4 people around the Dynamo cut-corner.

[hockeyfreak186]

Go for the showcase!
I think that as long as you have the space, it would be a fun project to work on, not to mention the CP space.  And the artwork and lighting possibilities are endless!  You could also bump up that screen size.

[milkit]

where is local for you btw?

[severdhed]

I think i am going to go with the showcase cabinet, I will try to go talk to the guy today and let him know, (and take some measurements).  from looking around online it appears as if ti is 48" wide and almost 60" deep, which is a very large footprint.

The reason i want to use a 27" tv is because i already have one, it has component video and it it looks nice.  Cost is a factor here...i had a hard enough time talking my wife into it, and since i just spent $200 on controls, i need to keep the costs down.


i think i will probably try to set  it up as a 2 piece unit, that way i can detach the controller pedestal and move it out of the way when i am not using it.  I figure, if it is too big and I just can't make it work in my house, i'll keep the control pedestal and eventually replace the monitor tower piece with a flat panel TV that hangs on the wall.    since the cab is free, i'm not really out anything other than the physical labor to move it.

milkit: I am in PA.

[MikeDeuce]

I just noticed the cat in the first picture. 

[severdhed]

i see a few people voted for the upright, i'd love to hear your thoughts.

i stopped by and told the guy i want the showcase cabinet, and i took some measurements.  The guy had to leave before i got to ask him when i could pick it up, so ill have to check back with him tomorrow.  this thing is going to take up a ton of space, but i can't help but think it will be awesome.  this thing is 48" wide, about 60" deep, and 79" tall.    i'm definitely going to have to make it so that the control panel is separate and can be stored separately when not in use.  we are planning on closing in our front porch and turning it into a toy room for our kids, once that is done, alot of their stuff will be out of the family room, and probably my other cabinet will get moved out there as well, which will free up space in the family room where all this stuff is going to be right now.

i'm not sure which will be the better way to set this cabinet up.  the TV has component video, so not only would i like to use my mame pc, but i also plan on installing a playstation 2 for playing light gun games. the tv only has 1 set of component inputs, so i'd use a switchbox to swap between the pc and the ps2.

  im not sure if i should install the PC and ps2 inside the monitor base, and then just plug the control panel in.  the control panel will consist of a keywiz and two U360s, so i would need to connect two usb cables, and a ps2 cable, plus two more usb cables and two rca cables for the two guncon controllers.   this would keep all of the power connections in the monitor base.

the other option would be to install the pc and ps2 in the control pedestal, then i would have power to run to both pieces, but only a set of component video/audio cables to connect the two pieces together. 

option 2 is a little more practical, because that opens up a few more options..for instance when we do backyard theater in the summer, i could carry the controller out and connect it to the projector to play games on the side of my house.  or i could move it to the middle of my family room and connect it to my other projector and play the games on the 102" screen.  this would also be good if i decide to replace the monitor tower portion of the cabinet with a flat panel TV sometime down the road.  the only thing i dont like is having to run power to both pieces.  i guess i could have a power strip in the monitor base and i could plug the control panel side into that so there wouldn't be a separate cord running across the floor. 

the other issue is, i'm not sure if there is enough room inside the controller half of the cabinet to fit the pc and the ps2.    I think the control panel box is deep enough to install the slim ps2 inside, and then just flip up the top when i need to access it, i could also store the guns inside there i think. i would have to take the pc out of it's case, but that is no big deal.

so...any feedback?

[JODY]

I just noticed the cat in the first picture. 

Showcase all the way....besides, you don't want to fight the cat over the other one.

[eds1275]

i think i will probably try to set  it up as a 2 piece unit, that way i can detach the controller pedestal and move it out of the way when i am not using it.

Why not put the controls on wheels and have it come out on a drawer slide and lock into place with pins or something similar? That way it would come out at the proper angle and be the proper distance away from the screen.

[severdhed]

i'm thinking on casters so i can move it completely away, or at least on some of those plastic carpet slider things.   

and you joke about the cat, but i'm telling you, you don't want to mess with Joey.  he may be neutered and has no front claws, but he sure knows how to use those rear claws, and he isn't afraid to bite.  He is usually nice to me, but my kids might tell you a different story.

here are a few pics i took of the cabinet today..sorry they kinda suck, i took them with my phone.

[Marsupial]

that's some ugly CP.

I'd use the pedestal, but with a standard TV on the wall. Might even use it in your normal living room. This way you'd save some room, and wouldn't have to fiddle with the fitting of your TV in the cab. Just a tought.
However, with that setup, you kind of loose this marquee... but IMHO it looks alien to the cab design.

[severdhed]

well, it is going in my family room, i dont have a regular TV in that room, only a 102" projection screen. if i do set it up with a regular TV on the wall, i'd have to buy a new one.  we have a 42" LCD in the living room, but i'd never get to use it because my wife is constantly watching stupid crap on tv.


as for the marquee, i'm tempted to just remove that box entirely...and you are right, the control panel is UGLY

[Marsupial]

well, a 102" arcade cabinet ain't a bad idea...     
 
the pedestal doesn't need to be in the way of the projector.   

[kagaden]

I've never seen a showcase like that before, but if it's like mine... detatch the pedestal and try to (carefully) roll the main CRT portion. Every model of showcase I've ever seen has wheels installed in the bottom and it's worth checking.

Secondly, the pedestals are not stable enough for play by themselves. You'd need something to anchor it if you wanted to use it independently... or even detatched from the main unit.

Thirdly, the CP's are pretty easy to modify/replace. Unlike the stand-up, you'll only need to replace/mod the top piece of wood for the CP.

Fourth, not sure if you're into LCD replacement monitors but I did that for mine and it looks sweet
http://www.capcom-unity.com/kagaden/blog/2009/01/04/showcase_conversion_street_fighter_iv

I wish I could find another showcase in good shape for free in socal

[severdhed]

yeah, one of my concerns is will either of the two peices be stable enough to sit independently of each other.  My wife is not too keen on the idea of this thing taking up so much space all the time.  our plan was to keep it detachable so that i can move the control panel next to the cabinet when not in use, at least for the next year or so until i can close in our front porch and turn it into a toyroom.  after that, there will be more space avialable.  I know i should just wait till then to do this, but i may not run across another showcase cabinet like this, especially not for this price. I really hope that the main piece of the cabinet will stand freely and not fall over without the controller attached.  Im a little worried since it will be top heavy...i'd hate for it to fall over on one of my kids.   I'm also really hoping i can stabilize the pedestal to use for free standing use, even if i have to modify it slightly.  I'd love to be able to hook this up to the projector, and just place the control panel behind the couch that sits in the middle of the room.  it would just be a matter of having some really long cables to run from the control panel to the front of the room to plug into the receiver...but that is really a separate project.

i'm not opposed to using an LCD tv, but there are two things holding me back.
1: I'd have to buy one.  that is several hundred bucks i dont have to spend right now.
2. More importantly, it would eliminate my ability to play my PS2 light gun games.(i'm really looking forward to playing some time crisis and vampire night on here)

but if i see down the road that this isn't working out, i could probably do that..at which point i'd only use the pedestal and wall mount the tv.

i can't wait to pick this thing up.  My one friend said he would help me get it, but he is out of town until Tuesday, so i can't pick it up until then.  i'm hoping i can get this thing home without having to find someone with a truck.  I know these things come apart, i'm hoping that between our minivan and his jeep commander, we can get all of the pieces inside and moved over.  I am excited to get started on this, my groovygamegear order arrived yesterday, so now i have all of the controls i need to get this thing up and running.

[severdhed]

well, i got some good news and some bad news today.  The place I am getting this cabinet from is a local arcade, but it also has a large indoor play structure for small kids .My wife was there with the kids today to play, she knows the manager pretty well since she goes there often.  Anyway, she got to see the cabinet today and even after seeing how gigantic it is, she hasn't changed her mind on letting me get it.  I have been telling her how big it is, and showed her a few pics online, but i was afraid that once she saw it in real life, she would say no.  So, that is the good news.  (my 3 year old son also saw it and was super excited)

the bad news is, my friend was going to help me pick it up on tuesday when he gets back from vacation, but he found out his Uncle died this morning (cancer) and the funeral is tuesday afteroon.  It is an inconveniece for me, but i really just feel bad that his uncle died.

Also, after looking at the pics, this is clearly not a dynamo hs15.  i've been looking online to figure out what kind of cabinet this actually  is, but i can't find any that match it.  it looks alot like this one from dreamauthentics.com


any ideas?

[severdhed]

well, if all goes well, i should be able to pick up this cabinet later this afternoon.  i am a little concerned about laying out the controls on my new panel.  I'm probably going to use the existing control panel as a template and cut out a new one from 5/8" MDF.  once i looked at the pics though, i'm not sure how to go about measuring for the button locations.  all of the edges and corners are curved, so it seems as if trying to find the center line is going to be more difficult than i had hoped.  perhaps I am missing something here though, so i figured i would post here.   i have only ever worked with rectangular control panels, they are quite easy to measure...this on is a little different.  any ideas?

[Malenko]

can you get me the puzzle fighter marquee? I'll pay for it.

[severdhed]

sorry, the puzzle fighter marquee is already gone. 

on a positive note, i got the cabinet home today, it is awesome.  The main tower portion of the cabinet fit just fine in the back of our minivan, and the other part fit in the back of my friend's jeep commander.  they let me take the dead monitor out so i didnt have to bring that home with me, so that took about 200lbs off of the weight.  it takes up alot of space in my room, but it is going to be awesome.  they took the game board and power supply out of the cabinet, but i didn't want that stuff anyway.  the coin door is intact, and i also got 1 lightgun and the gun holster bracket.  i have no immediate plans for the gun, but i may pick up an aimtrak eventually, so i'll hold on to it until then.  i took some pics, i'll try to post them tomorrow.  i dind't get much done with the cab at this piont, other than cleaning it a little. 

one major snag in my plan is that the TV i have doesn't really fit into it.  the TV is 31" wide, due to some internal supports, the opening for the monitor is only 29" wide.  i'd really rather not decase the TV if i dont have to, i may see if i can cut a portion of the support out to make the TV fit. I think i am going to take the light box off the top and not have a marquee, it just seems to look better that way...plus that keeps me from having to come up with a name for it. 

the control panel has quite a few holes in it, it was apparently set up with 2 joysticks and 3 buttons each, but none of the holes are in the right place.  i will probably trace the outline of this panel and make a new one, I am hoping to have this functional within a week. my 3 year old son really wants it fixed...usually when i get home from work, he comes running and gives me a hug...today he came running over, stopped and said "daddy, fix the arcade cabinet"   i was very proud of him. 

on the back of the cabinet there is a box that covers the back of the monitor, i had this removed...my 19 month old son discovered he can climb up the back and sit in the top part where the monitor goes....i didn't get to see it, but my wife said it was pretty funny.