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TIME-OUT... my project
rcub3:
As a kid, like many of you, I spent countless hours at the arcade. Then years later, I stumbled upon MAME back when it was around version 0.30's. Since then I've wanted to build my own cab. Finally this year it seems like the stars just lined up perfectly for me: I had the space, the moolah, the new version of "Project Arcade" had just come out, AND on the weekend I decided to start buying parts, North Coast was offering free shipping.
Now the only thing I'm needing more of is time. With a full time job and family (including a 9mo old daughter), plus too many other hobbies to count (guitar, drums, golf, boardgaming, minitature gaming AND painting, etc.), it is just hard to find time to work on my cab. Having said that, I am at peace with the fact that this will likely take a few months to complete if I want to do it right.
So here are some of the "specs":
Name: "Time-Out" (as in the old Time-Out Tunnel arcade)
I will be making my own marquee, but I'm still undecided on the design. Same for the CP and sideart. I guess I'll just leave that for last. I am going with the overdone dark blue and black color scheme, and likely lean more towards a "serious" retro space theme or something....
The hardware
I going to build 2 cabs, still in the planning stages:
Main control panel:
2 u360's with octagonal restrictor and harder springs (for player 1-2). I'm mainly playing fighters, but versatility is important to me.
2 Jsticks for players 3 and 4).
6 buttons for players 1 and 2, and 4 for players 3 and 4. I'm currently undecided on which I'm going with. Definitively LED's...
Using a PACLED64...
So far I picked up a GGG Electric Ice w an RGB LED, and a Paradise IL translucent with an RGB LED...
Ooooh....shiny....
Still undecided, but likely going with the IL's with the 50gm or 20gm microswitch. The GGG's are definitively better in terms of setting up the LED in the button, and has extra long wires. The RGB PCB fits perfectly, and the plunger's legs can hit the switch button without any interference from the PCB. That PCB once set up, looks like it'll stay there forever w/o any issues. The Paradise RGB LED is also very easy to set up, but doesn't fit as snugly as GGG's. And there seems to be the potential for the pcb wires to be squashed by the plunger legs. Still, w/o power, the translucent looks better. The IL feels smoother when pressing it compared to the GGG, IMO. Also the basic GGG switch seems to have some wiggle to it (part of the reason it doesn't feel as smooth.... nothing that can't be easily fixed though with a bit of glue or something), whereas the IL has a firm grip on that switch. Of note, I'm only comparing a single IL with the 75gm Cherry switch (VERY "clicky") and a single ICE with the standard switch which feels like it is A LOT less than 75 (nice!). Also I have NOT tried them on an actual game.
The second panel
This will be a smaller panel that will have the frankenpanelling stuff:
-Tron Stick (Happ 8 way trigger joystick with GGG's blue handle, and the custom 4 way restrictor made by a BYOAC user...can't recall the name!)
-The GGG up/down spinner
-Ultimarc trackball with RGB LED and likely 3 buttons.
More tonight...
rcub3:
So i picked up an ultimate arcade II because it seemed (and it is) very easy to assemble, and would save me some time... And again, shipping was free!
The cp's i'm building from scratch as above.
Now question for owners of the UAII:
1. Has anyone tried adding some form of cabinet hinges to some of the rear panels?
2. How about making a swappable CP with this model? Seems like CP clamps (Happs) would work well because you could reach them from where the keyboard sits.
rcub3:
Here is the cab almost complete. No creative woodworking, no custom cabbing, nothing out of the ordinary.... just a cookie cutter Ultimate Arcade II from North Coast.
The super expensive, but oh so nice, Happ coin door:
rcub3:
I did modify something actually. I wasn't happy with the speaker openings. Fist of all I prefer speaker grills, and second my old Logitech speakers are bigger than the original openings, so I had to make them bigger.
So I cut them out, and.... well, pictures speak louder than words.
I didn't like that you could see the egg-shaped cut I made to the panel through the speaker grill, so then I added a piece of fabric between the speaker and the grill to hide that (not shown). Now it looks great!
rcub3:
Before I started to work on the cab or even purchased any of the controllers, I scoured the internet looking for a way to use my old Logitech Z680 5.1 PC speakers without the control pod but with the included amplifier. If you know this system, and have ever tried to get a replacement of some sort from the company using the warranty, you would know that they usually ask for the control pod (the preamp) in exchange, which essentially decapitates the system (making it almost useless). Without the control pod/preamp, the subwoofer stops working completely, and you can't use the amplifier for the speakers. You are essentially left with 5 speakers to use with any other sound system, and end up discarding a perfectly good amp and 10" subwoofer.
So eventually I found a way to make the amplifier work to power the subwoofer AND the 2 speakers that I was going to use for the cab. Thanks to Google, I found the answer at http://www.diyaudio.com in an old forum post from 2006. Essentially, you solder an 1/8" coax cable to the subwoofer input and another one to the front speaker inputs DIRECTLY on the PCB. Then simply connect these coax cables to the subwoofer and front speaker out on the PC sound card. I have probably soldered once before in my life, so I was really second-guessing myself. Plus, the instructions on the site were very brief, written for the audio and electronics aficionado, which I certainly am not.
I was floored when after much soldering and resoldering to fix some screw ups, it worked! Saving $ is a great thing...
Here is the subwoofer with the amp detached, which normally is screwed on its back. I was literally freaking out when I took this picture:
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