Main > Project Announcements
Element 5 - A small bartop (FINISHED)
justinjstark:
I finished mounting everything and getting the wires situated. It is not great but I got everything to fit. I used hot glue to mount the speakers and led strip.
My artwork is being printed. I got it done at a local sign shop for <$30 for both the cp and marquee (the marquee on transparent vinyl). It could be a week or two before I can pick up the artwork since I am out of town. :-/
The yellow buttons must go. I'm doing a white accent instead of yellow because I think it looks a lot better. So I am going to get some white buttons shipped in and swap them out when I put the artwork on.
I installed xubuntu on the system and made a quick layout for wahcade to match my cab. It needs some tweaking but I think it looks good.
This week I will probably cut and paint the plexi for the monitor bezel and get that put in. Then I just have to get the artwork in and the cab will be done.
justinjstark:
Finally some progress. I got the white buttons I needed (to replace the ugly yellows) and also picked up my printed artwork.
I installed the marquee but am having an issue. The marquee vinyl is way too thin and transparent so when the led strip is on, it is blinding. I'm thinking of having the marquee art reprinted on standard vinyl as opposed to transparent. It is thin enough that it will still let light through but won't be as obnoxious.
I pulled the buttons out, adhered the cp art, and finished the control panel. It looks very nice. I went with adhesive vinyl this time since on my previous cab I did not stick the vinyl and over time it wrinkled. :-\
I tried making the bezel for the monitor but failed. :laugh2: I accidentally broke the plexi. I bought some more so I will get that figured out one of these days when I have the time.
PS: I know the marquee is a little crooked in that first picture...I have fixed it since then. :-)
dandare:
Looking good my man.
White button much better than yellow. and i'm liking artwork, the white outline around the controls is nice.
Too bad about the plexi. what was the problem?
justinjstark:
--- Quote from: dandare on February 17, 2011, 09:00:21 pm ---Too bad about the plexi. what was the problem?
--- End quote ---
I did a bad job painting it and then I broke a corner off. :angry: Maybe tomorrow I will try it again.
I was having a problem with the marquee. The light was way too bright and the marquee artwork too transparent. I put 3 pieces of paper over the led light strip to help dim it and now it looks much better. Still, the marquee is printed on transparent vinyl which just doesn't look as good as opaque vinyl. So I am going to get it reprinted on the same opaque vinyl I used on the control panel; it is still thin enough that the light will show through but the colors are better.
I did some work on the software today. I am running xubuntu with wahcade over top. I currently only have zsnes going but I'm working on getting mame set up. I have ultrastar deluxe for karaoke and am in the process of getting it so it will launch inside wahcade.
I'm writing a lot of scripts for launching the various applications I want to have (ex: ultrastar deluxe) which aren't directly supported by wahcade. On top of that, each application has its own xmodmap file to reassign keys. For instance, when ultrastar runs, first xmodmap sets the keys so that the start button and button A map to enter; then ultrastar runs; then the keys get set back to normal. It is working out really well.
justinjstark:
:angry: I tried to recut the bezel but all I wound up doing was shattering another piece of plexiglass. :angry:
I was trying to use a jigsaw with a high TPI metal-cutting blade to make a rough-cut and then make the finished cut with the router. Unfortunately, while making the cut with the jigsaw, the blade caught and cracked the heck out of the plexi...
So...I think I am going to go back to using lexan. It is a little more expensive but it is much easier to cut.