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Author Topic: First (and last) build: Alconoid  (Read 12440 times)

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doggyfred

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First (and last) build: Alconoid
« on: December 09, 2010, 07:54:01 pm »
Hi all,

I had been wanting to build a Mame machine for years.  This summer, after spending much time in research (and reading a lot from this board), I came accross the Taitorama design: http://www.koenigs.dk/mame/eng/steptaitorama3.htm

That design, based on the Taito cabinets from the eighties, was exactly what I had been looking for.

I reused the profile from the plans in the Taitorama, however I made my cab deeper because I wanted the monitor to be mounted at a 45 degres angle for optimal viewing.  I spent a lot of time finalizing the plans before getting started.  Thanks to that preparation work, there were no big surprises when it came to putting the pieces together.

The cabinet is entrely built from 3/4" plywood.  My father in law was nice enough to help me with cutting the pieces (I would never have been able to get the round cuts right myself).

The orientation of the monitor can be changed from horizontal to vertical in minutes (by sliding the glass out, unlatching the monitor from the vesa mount, then rotating the mount).

I used a minipac to interface the controls.  The artwork was printed by gameongrafix.  I used a piece of lexan to cover the CPO.

The PC runs SDLMame on Xubuntu Linux, with Wahcade as a frontend.  I used car speakers (the exact same as on the Taitorama) driven by a Small 40W Lepai amp.  I also use the machine as a file server, hence the UPS inside the cab.

I named my machine "Alconoid", a contraction of "Alcon" and "Arkanoid".

The only thing that is missing is a bezel around the monitor. I haven't got a chance to work on that yet.

I hope that my project will inspire others to get started with their cabs, the same way I was inspired by reading this forum.

Mike


The base is glued and screwed together.


View of the back


First time standing up


Painted, bathroom light + mirror for the marquee.
Kitchen cabinets hinges are in place for the front door.


Monitor in place (shown in vertical position).
Front door and coin door installed.


Layered control panel (made of MDF) with mount plates for the magsticks.


Early test, playing a video.


Controls wired to the minipac and ready to install on the cab.


Alconoid is finally up and running!


Still missing a monitor bezel at this time.


Control panel.


One more view.


The entire front panel is a door.
I did not need a keyboard try on my cab. A wireless keyboard and mouse are inside just in case, but I never need them.
The machine is networked: any software maintenance can be done remotely from another PC.


Here is what makes it tick!
Stored inside on the left side are a spare glass and the extra monitor "mask" for vertical orientation.





eds1275

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Re: First (and last) build: Alconoid
« Reply #1 on: December 09, 2010, 10:06:18 pm »
Nice wood! What is it, fine-sanded pine faced plywood? Looks like it turned out excellent - why is it your last build? Or did you mean just the last one you have completed [to date?]  8)

yotsuya

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Re: First (and last) build: Alconoid
« Reply #2 on: December 10, 2010, 12:13:34 am »
That's a great looking cab!
***Build what you dig, bro. Build what you dig.***

Donkbaca

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Re: First (and last) build: Alconoid
« Reply #3 on: December 10, 2010, 12:39:58 am »
How bogus the monitor? Beautiful, I always liked the taito cabs

opt2not

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Re: First (and last) build: Alconoid
« Reply #4 on: December 10, 2010, 03:27:37 am »
How bogus the monitor? Beautiful, I always liked the taito cabs
I too am a fan of Taito cabinets. I'm not sure what came first, taito styled cabinets, or Williams cabaret designs. But clearly they have a similar design scheme that appeals to me!

Nice looking cabinet, and great name. I like that you used plywood, and it looks like a very solid clean construction.  Well done! All it needs is some more artwork (side art, bezel art) and you're set!

 :cheers: :cheers:

doggyfred

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Re: First (and last) build: Alconoid
« Reply #5 on: December 10, 2010, 08:51:56 am »
Thanks for the feedback!!

Quote
How big is the monitor?
The monitor is a standard 4:3 aspect ratio. I'm not sure if it is a 20" or 21". The the actual picture diagonal is a bit over 20".

Quote
What is it, fine-sanded pine faced plywood?
Not sure what it is. My father in law helped me pick that. It has a nice clean surface on both sides, which save me a lot of time in finishing.  I had enough with 2 sheets of 4x8, with a little bit to spare.

Quote
why is it your last build?
Because I ran out of space in the rec-room :P. Plus, that machine is exactly what I wanted. I can't think of anything I'd like to change, or of anything I would have done differently (actually, it would have been nice to have a trackball, but I could not find a way to squeeze it on the relatively small panel.  I don't miss that feature too much).

Cheers,
Mike


leapinlew

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Re: First (and last) build: Alconoid
« Reply #6 on: December 10, 2010, 10:12:44 am »
Very nice/clean build.

BobA

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Re: First (and last) build: Alconoid
« Reply #7 on: December 10, 2010, 10:27:06 am »
Good looking first and last cab.   :applaud: :applaud:

How did you finish the plywood?  Is the coin door for decorative purposes only?


garnerb350

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Re: First (and last) build: Alconoid
« Reply #8 on: December 10, 2010, 10:51:28 am »
Man that is one sweet cab.... :applaud:
“If first you don't succeed, then skydiving definitely isn't for you..." ~ Jack Handy

javeryh

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Re: First (and last) build: Alconoid
« Reply #9 on: December 10, 2010, 02:19:23 pm »
Very nice.  Super clean on the inside too!

Any chance of you sharing the CP art?  I've got a Taito in my garage that is going to be next summer's project...
« Last Edit: December 10, 2010, 02:24:48 pm by javeryh »

jipp

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Re: First (and last) build: Alconoid
« Reply #10 on: December 10, 2010, 02:21:05 pm »
looks great.  i have to wire up my control panel soon.. man all them wires sure is intimidating. heh.. thanks for sharing.. 

chris.

Mr Wilson

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Re: First (and last) build: Alconoid
« Reply #11 on: December 10, 2010, 04:06:44 pm »
thats really nice i like how clean and neat it is  :cheers:

yotsuya

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Re: First (and last) build: Alconoid
« Reply #12 on: December 10, 2010, 05:22:45 pm »
It is nice and clean. Is that a curved piece of plexi you have on the CP?
***Build what you dig, bro. Build what you dig.***

doggyfred

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Re: First (and last) build: Alconoid
« Reply #13 on: December 10, 2010, 06:56:37 pm »
Quote
How did you finish the plywood?  Is the coin door for decorative purposes only?
I painted the cab with two coats of Alkyd primer/sealer, and two coats of "grand piano" semi-gloss black Melamine oil-based paint.  That's supposed to be very strong a resist scratches. The staff at the paint store helped me pick the right stuff.  I applied it with disposable foam rollers and foam brushes. It went really well.

I already have the acceptor for quarters but it is not installed. The door (from happ) is in need of a coin switch (I didn't realize that it wouldn't come with it).

Quote
Any chance of you sharing the CP art?
No problem javeryh, email sent!

Quote
I have to wire up my control panel soon.. man all them wires sure is intimidating.
Here is what I bought: http://www.ultimarc.com/minipac.html
The minipac came with the wiring harness and the USB cable. That saved me a lot of time. As for other part of this build, careful planning helped a lot.

Quote
Is that a curved piece of plexi you have on the CP?
It's a piece of Lexan. Yes, it is bent to the contour of the CP. I bought the flat piece from a glass & acrylics shop, drilled all the holes, and then brought it back so that they would bend it for me (they have a special tool for that).

jipp

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Re: First (and last) build: Alconoid
« Reply #14 on: December 10, 2010, 07:29:16 pm »
yeah the minipac looks like a nice solution.  i went with the ipac2..  not knowing any better as i bought it when i first started my cab.  my 4 way stick came in the mail today ( the last piece i needed, minus the spinner *not decided on which one yet* but that will run off USB so i can start with out it) so looks like this weekend ill give this wire stuff a try..  once again, nice build.

chris.

lokesen

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Re: First (and last) build: Alconoid
« Reply #15 on: December 11, 2010, 02:44:08 pm »
I love your cabinet, it's extremely well build and it's nice to see t-moulding.

I really hope to see more Taitorama based cabinets, I have waited for quite some time to see the first one (yours).

Well, I hope to post my next cabinet soon, as I will start building it this month :) Already got all the items for it :)
Weecade, Nanocade, Verticade, Project MAME and Taitorama

More to come...

emphatic

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Re: First (and last) build: Alconoid
« Reply #16 on: December 12, 2010, 01:13:47 pm »
Nice work!  :cheers:

pomme

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Re: First (and last) build: Alconoid
« Reply #17 on: December 13, 2010, 05:46:56 pm »
Awesome cab, doggyfred! I saw it on the koenigs website. I just did my own build of 2 Taito-rama inpired cabinets. It's really cool to see yours and the different directions you took.

Here's mine, "Time Waster"

(sorry for dark picture)

Full details of the build here: http://www.hyperspin-fe.com/forum/showthread.php?t=9782

doggyfred

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Re: First (and last) build: Alconoid
« Reply #18 on: December 13, 2010, 06:55:36 pm »
Quote
I just did my own build of 2 Taito-rama inpired cabinets. It's really cool to see yours and the different directions you took.
That's fantastic! I'm very happy to see that I'm not the only fan of those old Taito cabs!
Cheers,
Mike

Donkbaca

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Re: First (and last) build: Alconoid
« Reply #19 on: December 13, 2010, 11:10:02 pm »
What did you make your bezel out of?

Garza

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Re: First (and last) build: Alconoid
« Reply #20 on: December 14, 2010, 12:09:08 pm »
Wow Talking about attention to detail Great looking Cab!  :cheers:

Creeper

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Re: First (and last) build: Alconoid
« Reply #21 on: December 14, 2010, 05:59:16 pm »
Excellent work, one of my favorite two player cabs I've seen on here. Good job.

doggyfred

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Re: First (and last) build: Alconoid
« Reply #22 on: December 15, 2010, 06:55:56 am »
Quote
What did you make your bezel out of?

I used a piece of black foam board (bought at Michael's), with a rectangular cut-out the size of the monitor. It was easy to work with, and it's just there to hide the inside of the cab.

It doesn't look too bad behind the glass, and it's a temporary solution. I will work on some graphics for a real bezel, to be applied to the glass as a sticker.

Mike

Erik

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Re: First (and last) build: Alconoid
« Reply #23 on: December 15, 2010, 09:21:12 am »
That is such a clean build.  Great job!

Nephasth

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Re: First (and last) build: Alconoid
« Reply #24 on: July 28, 2013, 12:06:28 pm »
Just stumbled across this one. Very nice build! :applaud:
I hope you're still enjoying it. :cheers:

nanoflower

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Re: First (and last) build: Alconoid
« Reply #25 on: February 09, 2014, 10:01:53 am »
Hi all,

I had been wanting to build a Mame machine for years.  This summer, after spending much time in research (and reading a lot from this board), I came accross the Taitorama design: http://www.koenigs.dk/mame/eng/steptaitorama3.htm

That design, based on the Taito cabinets from the eighties, was exactly what I had been looking for.

I reused the profile from the plans in the Taitorama, however I made my cab deeper (...)

Very nice build !

I've planning a build based on the Taitorama plans as well and I was wondering about the following:

- What size monitor did you fit in this?
- how much deeper did you make this?
- Did you add to the width also?

/Nano