Small Tabletop cabinet "Arcade Classics"....lets call it done.

[Vidiot]

Thanks guys.

@DrCheck Your artwork was the major inspiration for my control panel art. Love your WeeCade.

[Unstupid]

Looks awesome!  You should try and flush mount that Novagem CDR though....   Hey did you steal this design from lokseen... look like his verticade!  J/K!

[AGarv]

This project continues to impress me - the design, construction, and finish are excellent.

[Santoro]

I really love this one,  good job!

[TopJimmyCooks]

Mad props for painting the interior.

[Woodshop Flunky]

Excellent job!  This turned out great! 

[Vidiot]

All these compliments are getting me motivated. Thanks guys!;)

So, I thought I'd post a few more progress pics. I've been spending my time lately trying to finish up the back door and getting all the components mounted inside the cab and made neater. I'm just using velcro to hold the hard drive in. That little wired remote will just tuck inside and out of the way. If I ever need to adjust the monitor brightness or whatever, I can just pull it out and make adjustments. I've been struggling with a latching method for the back door. I've settled on a magnetic latch that I picked up at Lowes. I think it's going to work well once I get everything fitted properly.

Here's an updated view of the inside. Wires made neater:



I've got the power supply mounted to the inside of the back door:



Here's a shot of the magnet mounted in place:



The metal plate for the magnet had to be bent to fit the contour of the rear door:







That's where I'm at right now. I still need to do some fitting on the magnetic catch system to get things right. I also discovered that the door rubs the sides a little when closing so now I've got to trim it down a little.

[AGarv]

Classic BYOAC bartop in the making!

Thanks for documenting your build so well, it will help out those of us emulating your cab quite a bit.

[Vidiot]

Thanks AGarv.

I changed the title of the thread again. I know it's not really a name, as this is still a cabinet without a real name, but I will call it "Arcade Classics" since that's what I put on the marquee.

As with all of these projects we work on they are never really finished so I will just say that I am getting really close to a complete cabinet. I installed the feet and the side art yesterday evening so I thought I'd post some pics. The only thing I'm still struggling with is getting the back door with it's magnetic catch all fitted properly. Funny just how much of a bugger it is turning out to be.












I'm really happy with the side art. I think it really makes a difference. Now I just need to finish up the back door and start setting up Mala and the emulators. I'll post a couple pics of it running as soon as I can.

[Vidiot]

Well, more setbacks. I'm having some issues with my speakers now. Looks like I'm gonna need to re-wire the volume pot. Turns out that CAT5 cable isn't so good for this. I'm hoping to make some progress with it this weekend. Everything powers up fine though. I'm actually really pleased and a little surprised that the little 160w Pico power supply can power everything including the monitor. Also, the marquee lights up nicely with the LEDs. Maybe I can snap a few more pics tomorrow.

[Vidiot]

Small update. I managed to fix the problems I had with the speakers. I had ordered another set off ebay. I'm glad I did because I think there was something wrong with the other set I was using. The new ones are perfect. I also tracked down and fixed a problem with one of the action buttons and the joystick. I also got the ipac programmed. Now I just need to configure MALA and MAME.

Here's a few new pics:















Boot Screen


The marquee isnt really this washed out. Looks much better in person. Cel phone pic


Soda included for scale

[Woodshop Flunky]

I really love the size of this cab.  I can imagine this thing sitting on a desk without taking up nearly so much space as a regular bartop. 

[TopJimmyCooks]

Hey - you did the same sort of instruction card on the Mala layout that I did for Switchcade - awesome - I feel validated. 

[Vidiot]

Hey - you did the same sort of instruction card on the Mala layout that I did for Switchcade - awesome - I feel validated. 

lol. Cool. Yeah, I'm tryin to remember where I got that inspiration from. It's gonna drive me crazy until I remember.  Switchcade is a beast man.  I'd love to build a rotating monitor cab some day.

I really love the size of this cab.  I can imagine this thing sitting on a desk without taking up nearly so much space as a regular bartop. 

Thanks man. I really like the size too. I'm surprised by how heavy it is. I'd say she weighs in around 25-30lbs.

[Vidiot]

I made a video today. I guess it's "finished" for now. I just wanted to share it with you guys. I also wanna say thanks to everyone here for your inspiration, help, advice, criticisms, and your encouragement. You guys are the best.

[GIZMOGAMES]

thats an awsome little bartop you have reminds me of the cougercade design
and very well put together 
keep up the great work 

[AGarv]

Thanks for the vid!  I really like how polished the final cab looks - very professional!

[DaOld Man]

Looks real good!!
 

[BobA]

Nice small design.  Looks great

[Mental]

Really clean build! You should be proud.

[P-chan]

Outstanding.  Very impressive  

I freaking LOVE your back panel, I recently built a pedestal and it makes me want to put in a back panel just like that with additional USB ports/volume knob/power/reset.  Fantastic work.

[Vidiot]

Thanks guys for the kind words. Everyone here keeps raising the bar. I have been continually motivated by all the awesome projects I see on here. You guys do realize that we are living in a new "golden" age of arcades right now? The only difference is that we are building them ourselves and we own them! These are good times! 

[Malenko]

I have no idea how I missed this fantastic little build!

Going back to what PBJ said about a P2 start button, I think he meant for games like PacMan where 2 players take turns, since you can pause the game with an ipac by holding start and moving the joystick down.

Speaking of, that tiny P1 start button is pretty epic.

[ark_ader]

Very nice build.  Well done! 

[gerpus]

Vidiot this is an outstanding piece of work!! Would love to use your artwork in my current project (maybe with some minor variations). Would you be willing to share the artwork? If yes I usually work with PSD files but any other high res format is also fine. Congrats!

[Epyx]

Really  nice build. I love the use of the vacuum tube and the 9" vga ported LCD. I agree it makes for a very nice sized bar top. This is something you could bring over to a buddies house without much trouble and plunk on the kitchen table, island or counter top. 

[Vidiot]

Vidiot this is an outstanding piece of work!! Would love to use your artwork in my current project (maybe with some minor variations). Would you be willing to share the artwork? If yes I usually work with PSD files but any other high res format is also fine. Congrats!

Thanks man. I don't work with PSD files. I use Paint Shop Pro but I can give you what I have. Just PM me your email address and I can email the files to you.

Really  nice build. I love the use of the vacuum tube and the 9" vga ported LCD. I agree it makes for a very nice sized bar top. This is something you could bring over to a buddies house without much trouble and plunk on the kitchen table, island or counter top. 

Thanks Epyx. I'm pretty happy with how it turned out. I always wanted a small bartop.
 

[sabreerbasAlpha]

This Little Bar top is wicked. I mean look at it, How could you not like it. I love the colour and the design im also impressed with the build itself and the components you have used. Excellent. Can I ask one question. Were did you get the Usb panel at the back please.?

[PL1]

Where did you get the Usb panel at the back please?

He talks about it here.

That back panel i really well done - looks sharp!

Can you tell us where the panel and volume knob is from?

Thanks. I used a 5.25" plastic cover from a black computer case for the panel. I had to router out the back panel to fit it in there. The volume knob came from Radio Shack. They sell that model in a 2 pack.

Scott

[Maximus]

I hadn't seen this until now, what a fantastic little build, very sharp and super clean!

[LeedsFan]

Love this build!  Really like the Defender inspired retro artwork. Nice and colourful.

The cat5 idea for the cables is a good one. I used it for my Neo-Geo build. It does take time to get it set up but the ease of connecting after is great.

Your USB ports on the back are very neatly installed. I'm doing something similar on my Robotron bartop. Mine doesn't look as neat as yours though because I did mine as an afterthought.

I also hacked a pair of USB speakers as you did. I found that my speakers had quite a few cables to cut and reconnect and it did make it look a bit amateur when I'd done.
In future I might try something like this:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/ARCADE-MACHINE-SOUND-SPEAKER-AMPLIFIER-MAME-JAMMA-60-IN-1BRAND-NEW-/271045326221?pt=UK_Video_Games_Coin_Operated_MJ&hash=item3f1b8f758d

Saves the need to hack a set of speakers. Just wire up to PC and a separate pair of speakers and job done.

[kz1911]

Okay folks. Time for another progress report. First off I have made a few modifications to the artwork. I removed the lines from the bezel art because they don't look right with the lines on the control panel.





I've received my LCD from Amazon and connected a Molex connector to supply the 12v from the PC's power supply.





I've de-cased the USB speakers I'm using and started preparing them for my cabinet making everything somewhat modular in case I need to take the thing apart:







I got the speaker holes drilled and routered out a smaller inner section where I will have these speaker grills I've cut from a couple small sheets I picked up on eBay:





I've mounted the control panel using screw inserts and some black hex head screws which look pretty nice:







I ordered these awesome little buttons from arcadeshop.de that I'm using for my Start and Pause buttons. Red button in the frame for size comparison...



I printed a player 1 character on clear laser labels and attached him to the white button. Then I used a clear spray paint to hopefully seal the printed little guy to the button:





Here's a shot with a full sized Player 1 button for comparison:



I couldn't help but try to see what the little buttons will look like with the control panel art. I have a printout of my artwork to use to help me visualize things. I'm liking it so far...

very nice job, i am also building a similar small one but am curious if you are using a graphics card with your unit, i know that requires more power but am thinking of squeezing one in there with my mini ITX, also what wattage PSU do you have on yours? im not good with electrical stuff so that'll be the hardest part for me

[emphatic]

Wow, this is friggin' sexy. 

[CoryBee]

This is AWESOME!

[kz1911]

This is AWESOME!

where did you buy those small buttons, ive been looking for similar ones as well

[thatpurplestuff]

This is AWESOME!

where did you buy those small buttons, ive been looking for similar ones as well

"I ordered these awesome little buttons from arcadeshop.de"

[Yvan256]

Awesome mini player-1 button!




Craftsman, an arcade cabinet, Sailor Moon and Godzllla in the same photo. 

[saloonstudios]

This is one of my favorite builds and you did a great job documenting and writing up your progress.
I'm VERY tempted to pick up a Pico PSU now for my bartop build. If yours can handle a cpu, audio amp and monitor, then it should definitely be able to handle an i3 and amp alone.

[kz1911]

This is one of my favorite builds and you did a great job documenting and writing up your progress.
I'm VERY tempted to pick up a Pico PSU now for my bartop build. If yours can handle a cpu, audio amp and monitor, then it should definitely be able to handle an i3 and amp alone.

i have a similar setup, i used a 350w flex atx psu which is plenty for my mini itx mobo, i can even squeeze a small low profile graphics card in there, i used a 10.1 inch monitor

[GSXRMovistar]

This is really cool little build and inspired me to do something of similar size. Two quick questions:-

1) How wide is the CP?
2) Does the CP vinyl artwork just sit on the top piece or do you have one piece that wraps all around the front? (Looks very smooth and I can't see any vinyl edging)

Thanks.