A project announcement... 7 years late

[AlanS17]

I apologize for the long read, but the best part is near the end, after the spec list (spec justification, magic, and benefits of DOS).  

So it occured to me that I never made a project announcement for the last machine I built. I've got to crack it back open here soon for some adjustments so I figured I would take the opportunity to snap some pics and create a post here. I don't have anything to show yet, but here are the specs:

Hardware:
oak repro Pac cocktail cabinet w/ 11" CP's  (via arcadedepot.com w/ ALL the fixings)
black t-molding
restored 2p coin door
19" VGA arcade monitor
Logitech 2.1 system w/ wired remote mounted inside coin door (the bass offers SERIOUS thump to some classic games)
custom-built power/reset panel inside coin door
4" round speaker grills (black)

Control Panel:
4/8 way Ultimarc T-stiks w/ replacement blue balls (the shiznit)
ambidexterous 2-button layout mirrored on both sides of joystick (ala Bad Dudes)
Ultimarc I-Pac (Always been a huge Ultimarc fan. Top notch products.)

PC:
all-in-one mini-itx MB w/ 1Ghz Via processor (x86 instruction set)
128MB CompactFlash card w/ IDE adapter (Cable-free, and I was solid state before solid state was cool)
512MB RAM
onboard AC'97 audio
250W modular PSU (major overkill, but I wanted modular for cable management, and this was the smallest I could find)

Software:
FreeDOS
MAME DOS (don't remember which version, off-hand)
frontend - I'll have to look it up on my machine. It's dissappeared from the internet. It's FANTASTIC, though.

PC spec justification:
I know it doesn't sounds like much from the specs but (a) it's only for classics vertical games like Pac, Galaga, and Frogger and (b) it was built 7+ years ago. Also know that Via chipsets are superior in terms of heat generation. They can get by for the most part without any real ventilation. Occassionally opening the coin door to add credits is all the ventilation I've ever needed, and I've never once had an overheat situation. I'll also point out the CF card w/ IDE adapter. This allows me to plug the CF card directly into the motherboard. I don't have to worry about mounting a hard drive or cable management because there is no mounting and no cables.

The magic:
Here's where the real magic comes in, though. I'm sure this has been done before, but it may have fallen out of fashion so a few of you may find it really interesting... For those of you not familiar with DOS, you can create RAM drives whereby you can actually create a logical hard drive using just RAM. The benefit is that RAM is much faster than a physical hard drive (even faster than solid state). If you look above, you'll notice that my RAM is actually larger than my hard drive.

So at startup, I load a RAM drive and have the ENTIRE contents of the CF card (aka hard drive) loaded into RAM. This means that EVERYTHING is run directly from RAM - MAME, frontend, ROM's, everything. The only time the CF is used is to save back high scores so I don't lose them at shutdown. This also helps preserve the CF card's life. CompactFlash cards have a limited number of read/write cycles in them, and this method takes the number of cycles from hundreds down to a handful. It's theoretically enough to allow the CF card to last for forever without ever burning out.

Benefits of DOS:
I realize that most new builds require Windows/Linux/Mac in order to manage the vast amount of system resources required for newer ROM's, but DOS works great for the classics, and I would argue that it works even better than Windows in that scenario for several reasons. First and foremost is the super-fast boot times. With no GUI, it takes longer to POST than to load DOS. In fact, the slowest part of the whole process is copying all the files from the CF to the RAM drive. I think it takes abotu 10 seconds. Second is super-fast load times when you use a RAM drive. Once it's ready to go, there's no pausing for anything. Lastly (and I love thisone), there is no shutdown necessary. Just flip the switch and walk away.



... Are you still there? I hope I don't put everybody to sleep!

[AlanS17]

I also should send a shout-out to my brother (who never visits this site). I was renting from him at the time, and he let me build the whole thing in the middle of the living room because the garage was full... of arcade machines. 

FWIW, it was mostly just assembly since the arcadedepot.com kit was so comprehensive. But still, that's a lot of construction/wiring/configuration, and it probably took a week.

[AlanS17]

I guess I'll ruin one of the surprises since I'm writing without posting any pics yet, but the speakers, power/reset panel, and sub-woofer are all mounted with industrial-strength velcro. Yup! Velcro... It's far from cheating, though! I have some very practical reasons for doing it that way. First, a little about how I did it:

Speakers:
The satellite speakers have flat backs which are really convenient for applying velcro. So first, I fashioned some surrounds out of MDF. They look like a "U" that wraps all the way around the back and sides of each speaker. I then applied velcro to the inside of the "U". Then I removed the the stands from the speakers and pasted them into the "U" backets so that they were sort of cradled. I intentionally crafted the "U" brackets so that the ends would extend past the front of the speaker. I then applied velcro to the ends and attached them directly to the interior of the cabinet where I had drilled out some holes for the sound to escape.

Sub-woofer:
This one was easy. I just laid the sub in the front left corner of the cabinet on its side so that the speaker fires directly up, and then affixed it with with Velcro. Since it's already laying in the bottom, the Velcro isn't supporting any weight. it's only preventing lateral movement.

Power/reset control panel:
The power/reset panel was fashioned from an aluminum project box that I installed buttons into and wired into the motherboard's power and reset buttons. I ran the leads to just inside the coin door on the right side. It's very lightweight so mounting it with velcro was a no-brainer.

Now for WHY I did it this way...

Justification:
I know most people would prefer something a little more permanent, but keep in mind that this is INDUSTRIAL STRENGTH velcro. The adhesive backing is stronger and the hook/loop system is better. In addition, I stapled the velcro into place to make sure it stayed.

Even still, why velcro? First, it allows me to work more easily inside the machine. I can pull pieces off at will. Since it's a cocktail cabinet with a sub and a full-size arcade monitor, it's very cramped in there. Being able to move things out of the way has come in handy on more than one occasion. Also, it provides built-in vibration dampening. The speakers and sub never rattle since the velcro provides a cushion. And lastly, if I ever need to work on a velcro'd piece, I can literally just pull it out. I've had to re-work the power/reset panel several times, and getting it in and out is the easieat part.

[kahlid74]

Just a thought, but having that sub in there could cause weird issues across the board with both vibrations and magnetism.  Being so close to the other components could really cause some damage.

I have no issue with the Velcro and I think it's a cool idea (although I would like to see some pictures to see how it all comes together) but I would take the sub woofer out of there immediately.  With the sub in there in those close quarters you're basically half-lifing all of the components around it.

[AlanS17]

@kahlid: Yes I considered that (and I was definitely nervous about that very thing in the beginning), but the proof is in the pudding. It's been going for 7 years without issue. Since I don't have a physical hard drive, the effects of magnetism are lessened in that regard. There's no conflict with the monitor, either (which is where I would have expected the most trouble). And when you think about it, the monitor isn't exactly magnet-free, either. So if a motherboard can survive being within a foot of a 19" monitor inside a cocktail cabinet, what's a 6" sub (if it's even that big) in the opposite corner going to do?

Maybe someday I will pay for it, but not today. And since the contents of the hard drive fit onto a CompactFlash card that's smalled than the flash memory in your cellphone, having a backup is easy.

As for the velcro, I'll be sure to take some pics.

[404]

Alan, can  you post more details about your (free)DOS setup? How did you get it on a cf card? what version of mame are you running?

[Drnick]

I'm gonna stick my neck out here and say he used something very similar to this.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Compact-Desktop-40-pin-Converter-Adapter/dp/B003OSYX3U/ref=pd_cp_computers_1

as for Freedos head over to http://www.freedos.org/freedos/files/

Download the fd11src.iso and you can then burn that to CD. Boot from the CD and install. 

Basically the Converter and CF adapter are seen as a physical HDD so act in exactly the same way as a normal HDD

Hope that helps a little.

[404]

I'm gonna stick my neck out here and say he used something very similar to this.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Compact-Desktop-40-pin-Converter-Adapter/dp/B003OSYX3U/ref=pd_cp_computers_1

as for Freedos head over to http://www.freedos.org/freedos/files/

Download the fd11src.iso and you can then burn that to CD. Boot from the CD and install. 

Basically the Converter and CF adapter are seen as a physical HDD so act in exactly the same way as a normal HDD

Hope that helps a little.

Thanks Drnick, I do know about CF to ide and all that. I probably should have made my last post a bit clearer. I was actually wondering if he was using some sort of pre-made image. I did find an interesting setup called ArcadDOS on a Spanish language forum and thought he may have been using something like that.

[AlanS17]

Thanks Drnick, I do know about CF to ide and all that. I probably should have made my last post a bit clearer. I was actually wondering if he was using some sort of pre-made image. I did find an interesting setup called ArcadDOS on a Spanish language forum and thought he may have been using something like that.

I had a whole post written, and now I can chunk it. 

I'm not using a pre-made image. I built it custom for my own needs.

I use standard MAME DOS, though I don't recall which version number off-hand. I don't use ArcadeOS (which is what I think you're refering to). It's too flashy for a classic cab, IMO. The frontend I use is simple, clean, and lightning fast, but I can't remember what it's called now. I'll look it up and report back.

[Vidiot]

I wanted to do a cab like this years ago but never got around to it. I'm really looking forward to updates on this. I always wondered about getting DOS drivers to work on a newer motherboard.

[EightBySix]

Benefits of DOS:
I realize that most new builds require Windows/Linux/Mac in order to manage the vast amount of system resources required for newer ROM's, but DOS works great for the classics, and I would argue that it works even better than Windows in that scenario for several reasons. First and foremost is the super-fast boot times. With no GUI, it takes longer to POST than to load DOS. In fact, the slowest part of the whole process is copying all the files from the CF to the RAM drive. I think it takes abotu 10 seconds. Second is super-fast load times when you use a RAM drive. Once it's ready to go, there's no pausing for anything. Lastly (and I love thisone), there is no shutdown necessary. Just flip the switch and walk away.



... Are you still there? I hope I don't put everybody to sleep!

Right with you regarding dos. My test rig, before I started the build, with a fast post bios option, gets pacman up in 3 seconds (I get it to load the last played game in autoexec.bat).

With a similar cf hdd setup to yours (without the fancy ram drive  ) and no cooling fans needed, it's absolutely silent. Seems strange nowadays - reminds me of my 8 bit home computer, and somehow more authentic.

Do you intend to compile your own version of mame without nag screens etc? I got stuck with it, but then I was using dosbox.

[AlanS17]

I wanted to do a cab like this years ago but never got around to it. I'm really looking forward to updates on this. I always wondered about getting DOS drivers to work on a newer motherboard.

I've got finals this week, but I'll be clear once the weekend rolls around. Then I should have a little while to break open the machine, snap some pics, and fill in some details.

As for running DOS on newer hardware, I wouldn't try it with your old copy of MS-DOS, but FreeDOS works just fine on any x86-compatible hardware out there. I wouldn't count on it to run anything fancy like RAID controllers, webcams, etc, but for an arcade machine with basic keyboard/mouse input, it does just fine.

[AlanS17]

Right with you regarding dos. My test rig, before I started the build, with a fast post bios option, gets pacman up in 3 seconds (I get it to load the last played game in autoexec.bat).

With a similar cf hdd setup to yours (without the fancy ram drive  ) and no cooling fans needed, it's absolutely silent. Seems strange nowadays - reminds me of my 8 bit home computer, and somehow more authentic.

Do you intend to compile your own version of mame without nag screens etc? I got stuck with it, but then I was using dosbox.

High fives! 

I know what you mean by DOS feeling more "authentic". Windows with it's GUI just makes the whole thing feel like a computer in a wooden box, but DOS doesn't feel much more advanced than the games being emulated.

As for nag screens, I don't have any, but I also didn't have to do a custom compile to get rid of them. Perhaps mandatory nag screens are something that have been introduced more recently than the MAME version I've got. 

[AlanS17]

Well the weekend came and went... and I spent the whole time clearing dead limbs from the trees in my yard. Maybe next weekend? 

[TopJimmyCooks]

The problem usually isn't the velcro, it's the glue that glues the velcro to the substrate.  Esp. when it runs and gets hotter inside.  You may want to pop a few staples or something. 

[AlanS17]

The problem usually isn't the velcro, it's the glue that glues the velcro to the substrate.  Esp. when it runs and gets hotter inside.  You may want to pop a few staples or something. 

I already have. It was part of the original attachment process (well, for some pieces). It's been running strong for over 7 years now.