First cab, lots of questions

[jsb98]

Recently I've been thinking about constructing a Mame cab with my brother, this would be a great idea besides the fact that we're pretty clueless about how to go about it. Fortunately we've already managed to obtain a decent PC for it, so that's one problem already solved. I have been searching through web articles for a while in preparation and planning, and I have some questions about how I should go about making my cabinet:

• Our plan at this time is to use an old CRT TV for the monitor and I wanted to know if you would consider it safe for me to take it out of it's casing. Obviously it would make it much more compact  and easy to work with, but I am sincerely worried about safety. Answered

• Also related to the TV problem, I am curious how I should go about mounting the thing inside the cabinet? If I sit it on a shelf I am worried about it breaking the shelf and falling down the inside of the cab. I guess the only other option would be to mount it to the side of the cab.

• Is it a good idea to paint t-molding? I am quite curious of this because although there are lots of colours available, I am afraid of ordering it only to discover it doesn't match my side art or marquee. If it is, what colour do you think would be optimal for me to buy in order to do this, and should I paint it before or after putting it into place? Answered

• What is a good frontend that will run on XP which will simply give me a neat list of games without having to worry about specific emulators? Also, preferably one which is highly configurable as to the names that come up with the roms and pictures or graphics that come up. Answered

I apologize for the high detail in my posts, but I am very specific about this kind of thing. I hope you can help me and I thank you greatly if you can.

[Gatt]

-Decasing a TV is *very* dangerous,  if you don't know how to do it,  I *really* wouldn't recommend it.  The static charge that can be built up is incredible,  and potentially fatal.  Leave that to professionals IMO.

-Any front end will run on XP.  I would recommend Mala or Hyperspin personally,  both are quite beautiful.  I'm not sure about your question though,  you're going to have to worry about specific emulators no matter what,  all front ends require them.  Hyperspin has a good set of resources for emulators on it's forums though.

http://www.hyperspin-fe.com/forum/showthread.php?t=5598

That information will work with whichever FE you choose.  Both Mala and Hyperspin are highly configurable,  Hyperspin and maybe Mala permit you to even use short gameplay vids in place of static screenshots,  which is honestly a mezmerizing sight.

[jsb98]

Decasing a TV is *very* dangerous.  The static charge that can be built up is incredible,  and potentially fatal.

Yeah, that's pretty much what I thought.

You're going to have to worry about specific emulators no matter what,  all front ends require them.

Sorry, what I meant was not having to choose between them in menus, and just getting a list of all of them, but in catergories or something instead.

[Woodshop Flunky]

...

• Our plan at this time is to use an old CRT TV for the monitor and I wanted to know if you would consider it safe for me to take it out of it's casing. Obviously it would make it much more compact  :angry:and easy to work with, but I am sincerely worried about safety.

...

• Is it a good idea to paint t-molding? I am quite curious of this because although there are lots of colours available, I am afraid of ordering it only to discover it doesn't match my side art or marquee. If it is, what colour do you think would be optimal for me to buy in order to do this, and should I paint it before or after putting it into place?

Despite the stories, decasing a CRT isn't like defusing a bomb.   However, if you are in your teens (under 18)... DO NOT DECASE THE CRT YOURSELF!   Seriously, you can die.  Instead, tell your parents you love them, and ask them to take it to a TV repair shop and have them decase and discharge the thing.  I'm really glad I went with the CRT, it was far better looking than the LCDs I considered.

I would think painting t-molding would be a nightmare and would last about one afternoon.  If you paint it before you put it on, then it's going to crack at the bends, if you paint it on the machine... well take pictures and post, because I can't even imagine how difficult that would be.  You don't have to "match" the molding to the artwork.  All you need to do is find a color that complements.  If you have dark side art with a bunch of blue, you may find that red molding looks better than blue.  Also, t-molding.com will send out free samples.  I got about six colors in the mail to compare against my art.

Good luck!

[Donkbaca]

Or you could always get the t-molding first and alter your art to match

[Woodshop Flunky]

Or you could always get the t-molding first and alter your art to match

Good point.  Especially if you guys are designing your own art.

[Mister Hat]

If you want a basic, straight-forward and nice-looking front-end, go with MameWah or WahCade.

[Vulgar Soul]

Recently I've been thinking about constructing a Mame cab with my brother, this would be a great idea besides the fact that we're pretty clueless about how to go about it. Fortunately we've already managed to obtain a decent PC for it, so that's one problem already solved. I have been searching through web articles for a while in preparation and planning, and I have some questions about how I should go about making my cabinet:

• Our plan at this time is to use an old CRT TV for the monitor and I wanted to know if you would consider it safe for me to take it out of it's casing. Obviously it would make it much more compact  and easy to work with, but I am sincerely worried about safety.

• Also related to the TV problem, I am curious how I should go about mounting the thing inside the cabinet? If I sit it on a shelf I am worried about it breaking the shelf and falling down the inside of the cab. I guess the only other option would be to mount it to the side of the cab.

• Is it a good idea to paint t-molding? I am quite curious of this because although there are lots of colours available, I am afraid of ordering it only to discover it doesn't match my side art or marquee. If it is, what colour do you think would be optimal for me to buy in order to do this, and should I paint it before or after putting it into place?

• What is a good frontend that will run on XP which will simply give me a neat list of games without having to worry about specific emulators? Also, preferably one which is highly configurable as to the names that come up with the roms and pictures or graphics that come up.

In case you were wondering, the plan is to make the cabinet black with light blue t-molding and design (we're going for a Tron theme, although it's not going to be a Tron cab). We want to keep it nice and cheap because my brother and I are both only in our teens.

I apologize for the high detail in my posts, but I am very specific about this kind of thing. I hope you can help me and I thank you greatly if you can.

As said, decasing a CRT can be very dangerous. The buildup of voltage in there can be fatal, even after the television has been turned off. If you're not sure what you're doing, contact your local TV repair spot and let the pros decase and discharge it.

I don't have experience in this, but if there happens to be mounting brackets against the monitor you cant bolt it to a sturdy supported strip of wood, maybe a couple 2x4s. If you support the shelf well enough - reinforcing the bottom of the shelf with some thick dimensional lumber - I think it'll stay put. If there is no mounting hardware on the stripped CRT, you can also reinforce it with some dimensional lumber so it stays in place. Some secured, fastened 2x4s can get it done.

Painting t-molding sounds like a nightmare. I wouldn't even try it. Jus a waste of time and effort when molding comes in every color you would want and cost less then $15 for 40 feet of the stuff. Either take your time in this planning phased and think ahead with your design and color scheme before buying the molding, or buy the molding first if you already have a certain color in mind (t-molding.com gives free samples of all their products, you jus pay for shipping) and base the rest of your work around it. If choosing colors and designs isn't your thing, stick to a plain black molding. You can never go wrong with the black molding.

If you want a front end that's simple, provides just a neat list of your MAME roms without too many frills, and is very configurable, MALA sounds perfect for you.

[jsb98]

Thank you all, you have been very helpful.

I have now changed my plan and the cabinet will be primarily focussed on Mortal Kombat, and will not have any side art in order to save money (plus the fact that one of the sides is going to be against a wall). It will most likely be based on a Mortal Kombat 3 cabinet design, and have a seven button universal layout that also works for MK.