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Sub Mini Laserdisc Themed Arcade Machine
ark_ader:
I found some cool looking MDF says 4mm MDF instead of cardboard and it is easy to trace and cut.
Might be too flimsy for building, but it is sure cheap!
Got my 7inch display from ebay hoping it will work with a smaller cab.
Seems it needs headphone to 3 phono (which I have for my phone and doesn't work) and it might be an unique cable type. Bummer.
Will have some time tomorrow to get something together. ;D
ark_ader:
I recently won a dead 240x thinkpad and cannibalized it for my 240 Thinkpad (Celeron vs P3) and I like it so much I've decided to keep it. Now I have a 14" laptop that is perfect for this project with a P3-800. :o But it needs a typical bartop design like so many others shown on this forum, as it is more of a luggable than a titsy laptop.
At least with the added weight I won't have cabinet wobble, so it is back to the drawing board. I want to keep the existing design for the tablet and have a dock. I disassembled a Zeemote and they are indeed hackable, so I might have the the BT arcade to rival the iCade. Also the recent update to Dragon's Lair allows BT control, and I am sure Space Ace isn't too far away.
So I will now have two projects running! :lol
ark_ader:
I have redesigned the cabinet to take the larger display. The original design was for a 10" and now I have a 14" to play with. The design is nearly the same but I just made it fatter. Height will be 16"x10"x10". Not completely proportionate to the original cabinet but hey its a bartop! Still undecided whether to make it a Space Ace or a Dragon's Lair. I'm thinking Space Ace.... I like the artwork. I'm trying to remember if the original cabinet had momentary switches for the levels. I hope so. ;)
Ordered the volcano casings, not sure how to hook the lights up to the KeyWiz. To get power off the KeyWiz or via USB. The laptop has floppy and CD so I am tempted to make a side mod for access. The laptop is a Thinkpad 390E and just barely fits in. I decased the monitor housing and managed to rewire the display to get the right screen orientation. I did a better job of not frying the inverter this time.
I have it all drawn out on the MDF, just waiting for a not so freezing day.
The other arcade project has got a new BT interface. I bought a smashed up wiimote and started to hack it for the Hannspad. It works OK, and managed to play a few Mame games with it. Dragon's Lair works with it.
I'll post pictures after cutting. ;D
ark_ader:
I have added a design to reflect a Space ace 91 or DL2 cab. I do not have enough space (I want to keep it short) for the marquee area and I am having trouble getting the artwork. The traditional marquee area is proving difficult to implement with the size area, so I will have more room with the 91 design. Thanks to Jakobud for the plans.
I have some scans of SA91 and I will use that. Besides the artwork looks so much nicer than old 83. I fired off an Email to Mr Bluth for the side art of the cab. I cannot find it anywhere, and maybe he will be kind enough to send me a sample. I am looking forward to getting the cutting done and start playing with it.
Started work on drafting the docking mechanism for the Hannspad. I want it to slide in and out smoothly so I am looking at adding rollers into the mounting slide.
I wanted something like the PCMCIA eject buttons on a laptop.
The dock will include the power adapter into the design and maybe the micro USB.
ark_ader:
Had a nice day, finally, to do some proper cutting, and got all my pieces cut. Since I have three projects running, I decided to start with the first idea, and do a Space or Dragons Lair.
I managed to get two more Thinkpad 240 laptops (as I am not very good with the LCD inverters) in case I junk one. I will keep them in plastics, and worry about the thermals from the power brick.
The problem I have is scale.
The last DL project was to be roughly a third of the actual cabinet. Now I am height challenged (6' 3"), and it would be bad on my back to play a cabinet designed for a four year old, thus I scrapped the idea.
Coming back to the bartop idea, I tried to get the same scale, but at 33% the scale itself is a challenge. I want to feed power from the laptop via USB to power the lights.
So I got the laptop out on the workbench and plugged in all the cables sprouting from the side. Which makes the base width larger than the required 7.5".
I do have a 7" monitor but I want a 10" and I do not want it too high, which my max height is 12 inches. The height is scaled properly with is a plus.
So it is going to be a short squat bartop so I can at least add a few more buttons. ;D
I'm adjusting the Jakobud plans now, and I hope to be at construction stage by weekend.
Once I have the prototype finished I can change the thickness of the MDF.
The Android DL cab is still in design, as I am having problems sorting out the eject mechanism.
I want it to remove the tablet without scratching it. I looked at felt but it heats up the screen too much.
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