Author Topic: My 4th try to building a arcade cabinet!! (Read 17209 times)

Brian74 · « **on:** July 15, 2012, 09:52:57 pm »

So, this is my 4th trying to building a suitable arcade cabinet. My first cab was a dynamo that I tried to restore, that didnt turn out. My second cab was a sliver strike/golden tee. That one just didnt go the way I'd hope for. My third was a slim like Taz built. I decided after getting 3/4 of the way done. The screen was to close, felt like it was only inches away. So now Im on number four, and this is how it starts. I found a ad on Craigslist, a guy was selling Video Redemption Systems made by Lazer-Tron. He said he had ten cabinets, all but two had working monitors. They were pc based and might they might be able to run mame. He told me he wanted 250.00 each for the working one and 100.00 for the ones without monitors. So last Sunday I drove a hour and a half to his shop. Needless to say it was full of cabs, there was cabs as far as the eye could see! He showed me the cabs I could choose from. I found one that was in good shape and had very little burn in. On the way down I had talked him into taking 200 cash. As we were getting ready to load it up, he said i will you what. I will give you two for the price of one. So the gears started turning. First I thought what could I do with a second one and what would my girl friend say. So we loaded them up, tied them down and headed for home. This is the heaviest load my ranger has ever hauled! I could only drive 55 or 60 on the way back, I never thought I would make it home. All I could think of as the wind was blowing my truck sided to side was if one falls out I'm not stopping!! So I got them unloaded and started tearing into them. They have a 27" wells gardner monitor that has a vga connector with a max res of 640x480. The pc was only 133ghz with 16mb of ram. It loaded the drivers off a 2.5 floppy and ran the game from the cd-drive. I managed to install xp, it took forever and ran really slow. I will install the pc I have in my sit down in this cab and split the screens.

Brian74 · « **Reply #1 on:** July 15, 2012, 09:55:04 pm »

Here you can see the ranger all loaded up!

Brian74 · « **Reply #2 on:** July 15, 2012, 09:56:56 pm »

Installing Xp

Brian74 · « **Reply #3 on:** July 15, 2012, 10:02:25 pm »

The vinyl on the upper part of the cab had scratches in it. I removed it and sanded it smooth. I am hoping that with 3 or 4 coats and sanding in between, I can make it smooth. I haven't decided what colors I am going with or what kind of paint to use.

Brian74 · « **Reply #4 on:** July 15, 2012, 10:18:57 pm »

Today I worked on the cp and the front of the cabinet. I removed the two extra doors and covered it. I took my router and copied the old cp. I cant find 5/8 mdf, so I used 1/2 mdf 1/8 hard board 1/8 plexi to get my 3/4. I going with 2 player 7 buttons, one four way and a spinner. Four pinball buttons and a real pinball shooter. I have my aim-trak converted namco guns and my translucent buttons and IL-lumination RGB I got from paradise arcade shop. I got the RGB trackball kit and two led-wiz from GGG. So all that left is to decide on a theme, a name and colors. Then start painting and do some wiring.

Fang Doctor · « **Reply #5 on:** July 24, 2012, 01:10:34 pm »

Looking forward to seeing more progress

Rando · « **Reply #6 on:** July 24, 2012, 01:25:06 pm »

1) The look great, good luck!

2) Those machines look soooooo unstable back there, I would have passed you quickly to get you behind me on the highway!!

Brian74 · « **Reply #7 on:** July 24, 2012, 05:32:49 pm »

Quote from: Rando on July 24, 2012, 01:25:06 pm

1) The look great, good luck!

2) Those machines look soooooo unstable back there, I would have passed you quickly to get you behind me on the highway!!

Believe it or not they rode fine all the way home. the ropes were just as tight as when I left!

Brian74 · « **Reply #8 on:** July 26, 2012, 04:42:20 pm »

So I am trying to decide how to paint my cab. I did some photoshop, I have no idea how to use it. So your entertainment, here are a couple pictures. Let me know what you think!

DeLuSioNal29 · « **Reply #9 on:** July 26, 2012, 06:03:52 pm »

Just curious. What area did you buy them from? You got great deals!

D

Brian74 · « **Reply #10 on:** July 26, 2012, 10:08:08 pm »

Quote from: DeLuSioNal29 on July 26, 2012, 06:03:52 pm

Just curious. What area did you buy them from? You got great deals!

D

Hey DeLuSioNal29, hey I am honored to have you checking out my build. I have watched your videos and have learned a lot from you! I bought them from a operator in Bloomington Mn. He had bought a bunch of arcade machines from somewhere in Ohio. His warehouse is just filled with machines. He had 8 more like the 2 I bought. He had some other games he was going to junk so he told me to let him know if I wanted more. If I only had the space!!

mgb · « **Reply #11 on:** July 28, 2012, 12:29:20 am »

Those are really cool cabinets.
as far as paint scheme, I like the blue lower cab with green upper.
good luck with the project. I looking forward to seeing the progress.

I know how you feel with the whole going through multiple cabs thing, I went through 4 different plans including one I was building from the ground up and it flopped. But I'm very pleased with my cab now.

Brian74 · « **Reply #12 on:** July 28, 2012, 01:22:59 am »

Hey mgb, I like the cabs too. There not overly huge and there not that small. I wanted a cab like MK, but I could never find one. These have 25" wg monitors in them. I was thinking when I get done with the first one. I would either do a vertical or console fighting cab.

Brian74 · « **Reply #13 on:** July 28, 2012, 01:35:22 am »

I haven't got much done lately. I redid the control panel to get things to fit. Went to menard to try to match up the paint to my artwork. I also ordered to 2 magstick plus from Andy and 80 feet of tmolding. I will be going with the green on top and blue on the bottom. Right now the area around the speakers is black. I haven't decided if I will leave it black or paint it green. That is the only part that is black, besides the joystick tops and tmolding. So what to do, leave it black and paint around the coin door to match? Here is a picture of what the colors look like. I think I will get the blue one shade darker.

mgb · « **Reply #14 on:** July 29, 2012, 07:10:31 pm »

I think it would look good to leave around the speakers black.

Brian74 · « **Reply #15 on:** July 29, 2012, 11:32:59 pm »

So we got some painting done today. When I say we, I mean my gf and me, well more like she did. I managed to talk her into painting it for me. I wasnt to sure about the colors when I first started. They are starting to grow on me. The only problem is, after I got the paint mixed. I never looked at the blue. After I got it home, it turned out to be about the same blue that was on the cab. I had her still use it as a primer. I will go back tomorrow and ask them to fix it and I will finish painting it. The bottom half that had veneer on it came out good for the most part. There was spots that I had to sand down because there were deep scratches. Same with the top that had vinyl. I had to remove all of it and sand before painting. It was sanded smooth in both places, but the paint is like orange peel. I will take some 600 grit and sandpaper and see if I can fix it. Ugh for some reason I cant post pictures now...

Brian74 · « **Reply #16 on:** August 02, 2012, 10:39:37 pm »

Got most of the painting done!

jmike · « **Reply #17 on:** August 03, 2012, 07:11:32 am »

You know I wasn't sure about the colors but now that I see them on the cab, they look great. You have to put some lightup buttons on that control panel now.

Keep it up.

Brian74 · « **Reply #18 on:** August 03, 2012, 10:53:41 am »

Like this?

Brian74 · « **Reply #19 on:** August 03, 2012, 12:43:36 pm »

Some goodies showed up today.

80ft of black tmolding, 50 black buttons to swap out the centers with my clear ones. I didn't need 50 but for the $ it was the best deal. I also got 2 mag stick plus. All im waiting for is the marquee and cp art to be printed and my rgb strip lights for under the cab. Im going to have to get another controller at some point. I have 22 buttons and a trackball to light up. Anyone have any ideas how I should wire them for now until I get another controller and wire to use?

jmike · « **Reply #20 on:** August 03, 2012, 01:58:06 pm »

Quote from: Brian74 on August 03, 2012, 10:53:41 am

Like this?

No, don't do that. All those color won't look right with your green. I see you already ordered black buttons but just in case you upgrade later on...think about using these.

Brian74 · « **Reply #21 on:** August 03, 2012, 02:18:43 pm »

I already had them from the last cab I was going to build. For xmas last yr my gf got me 26 translucent buttons 2 led wiz and the trackball upgrade. They will be green and blue when not in a game but I already have them so I can't see not using them. Plus like like concave buttons better. Lol is it concave convex? I don't want a flat button lol. Thanks for heads up thou

mgb · « **Reply #22 on:** August 03, 2012, 10:32:51 pm »

cabinet is looking great.
I think the lightup rings will look good

Brian74 · « **Reply #23 on:** August 06, 2012, 10:31:43 pm »

Making some head way. I got my artwork printed and ready to go. Cp art is on plexus cut and mounted. Just wanna thank wol-nz for sharing his game vault artwork! He did me a big favor by making the marquee and cp to the size I needed. I have my buttons installed and all the less wired up. here is a video.

Brian74 · « **Reply #24 on:** August 06, 2012, 10:59:13 pm »

My marquee and control panel.

Nestafari · « **Reply #25 on:** August 19, 2012, 01:38:12 pm »

Nice job..Continue !

Brian74 · « **Reply #26 on:** August 21, 2012, 09:24:42 pm »

Since my last post, I got a lot done. I got the light and marquee installed. All my button leds and switches mounted and wired, including my joysticks. I took two short usb extension cables and two button shells to make external usb plugs. I mounted them underneath my cp to plug in misc controllers including game pads and lightguns. I plan on adding karaoke so I can use them for the mics too. The wiring didnt come out as nice as I had hoped it would, It will do for now. I got my leds mounted under the cab. They look great, now I just need to decide if I wanna put some on the back. Here are some pics of the underside of my cp and the leds under the cab.

Brian74 · « **Reply #27 on:** August 21, 2012, 09:28:21 pm »

base leds

Brian74 · « **Reply #28 on:** August 21, 2012, 09:34:34 pm »

Here is the cab more or less finished, minus the pinball shooter. Here is a video

mgb · « **Reply #29 on:** August 22, 2012, 12:52:30 am »

Looks great

Brian74 · « **Reply #30 on:** September 20, 2012, 09:17:56 pm »

Well, I figured since I had built a new cab I might as well build a new computer for it. For the CPU I went with Intel Core i5-3570K BX806237i53570K Processor - Quad Core, 6MB L3 Cache, 3.40GHz (3.80GHz Max Turbo), Socket H2 (LGA1155), 95W, Fan, Unlocked, Retail. For the motherboard I went with MSI Z77A-G45 Intel 7 Series Motherboard - ATX, Socket H2 (LGA1155), Intel Z77 Express, 2667MHz DDR3 (O.C.), SATA III (6Gb/s), RAID, 8-CH Audio, Gigabit LAN, USB 3.0, PCIe 3.0, SLI/CrossFireX Ready. The ram I got was Kingston HyperX Blu KHX1600C10D3B1/8G 8GB Desktop Memory Module - DDR3, 1600MHz, CL10, DIMM, 240 Pin. The video card is a EVGA GeForce GTX 560 Superclocked 1024 MB GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 2DVI/Mini-HDMI SLI Ready Graphics Card, 01G-P3-1463-KR. The power supply is a Corsair CMPSU-700G Gaming Series GS700 700W Power Supply - 700W, ATX, 140mm Fan, Tri-color LEDs. Last but not least, I got a Barracuda 2TB Internal Serial ATA Hard Drive. First thing I did was try running all the NFL Blitz games. To my disbelief,it ran all three with no problems at all! Next up, Gauntlet Legacy and Gauntlet Dark Legacy. Again, no problem! I have yet to do any over clocking, I dont think I will have too. Im pretty happy with this build. I can always and 24 more gigs or the i7. Im only running one video but I can run three.

Hammerfist · « **Reply #31 on:** September 25, 2012, 04:35:14 am »

Good stuff and nice to hear you finally got around to getting one finished the way you wanted (minus the pinball shooter

)

Dawgz Rule · « **Reply #32 on:** September 25, 2012, 05:11:14 am »

Nice!

PL1 · « **Reply #33 on:** September 25, 2012, 04:35:38 pm »

Looks great.

Are you planning on using a microswitch or a mouse plunger?

Scott

Brian74 · « **Reply #34 on:** September 28, 2012, 07:02:53 pm »

Quote from: PL1 on September 25, 2012, 04:35:38 pm

Looks great.

Are you planning on using a microswitch or a mouse plunger?

Scott

I took a optical mouse and mounted the wheel underneath the shaft. I had to shorten the spring to make it work. I may try your idea later. For the most part it works, still trying to get it setup right in Future Pinball.

Brian74 · « **Reply #35 on:** September 28, 2012, 07:05:13 pm »

Quote from: Hammerfist on September 25, 2012, 04:35:14 am

Good stuff and nice to hear you finally got around to getting one finished the way you wanted (minus the pinball shooter )

Here it sits with the shooter mounted. Only thing left is software.

PL1 · « **Reply #36 on:** September 28, 2012, 09:01:27 pm »

Quote from: Brian74 on September 28, 2012, 07:02:53 pm

For the most part it works, still trying to get it setup right in Future Pinball.

To enable mouse shooter in FP:
1. Launch FP.
2. Menu Preferences – Game Keys and Controls
3. Mouse/Joypad Controllers “Enable” checked
4. “Mouse” selected in pulldown
5. Deadzone = +.1
6. Analog Plunger, Nudge, and Test Roller – Plunger = “Wheel” and gain = +1
7. Click on “OK”

Not sure of the gain value in step 6 for your setup, but the rest should have it up and running for you, assuming that you don't have any trouble with the the wheel moving too quickly for the mouse to read it properly or the wheel being "clicky" and skipping.

Some mice like the Logitech G-500 can disengage the scroll-wheel clicker and let it spin freely.

Scott

Brian74 · « **Reply #37 on:** September 28, 2012, 09:06:05 pm »

I had it setup like that. I was messing with the settings to get the shooter to hit harder. I have it all the way negative I think.

PL1 · « **Reply #38 on:** September 28, 2012, 09:40:39 pm »

Two questions for you then:

1. Can you make it work right by a slow controlled pull then push? (Wheel turning too fast to register.)
-- Look for plunger motion on screen. Caliber is a great table for seeing this.

2. Does the wheel turn freely as you pull and release? (Shaft skipping over wheel.)

Scott

Nephasth · « **Reply #39 on:** February 15, 2013, 07:54:24 pm »

Totally missed this one! Nice clean conversion, I like it. And I'm a sucker for LEDs.

Brian74 · « **Reply #40 on:** February 15, 2013, 09:30:00 pm »

Thanks Nephasth! I have to admit, I got the idea for the LEDs from you! Instead of using heat shrink to stop the light from bleeding. I used the extra fasteners. Im still having troubles with getting ledblinky setup right.

ark_ader · « **Reply #41 on:** February 16, 2013, 08:06:58 am »

I like it, and I think you did a great job.

Fourth time a charm!

Mr Wilson · « **Reply #42 on:** February 16, 2013, 09:07:27 am »

looking real good,wish you could pick up cabs that cheap here in UK

lcmgadgets · « **Reply #43 on:** February 16, 2013, 09:52:18 am »

4th attempt! Good for u, man, don't give up! You're a testimony to perserverance! I've gone thru several concept/partial plans myself. I finally decided on a 'Ghost in the Machine Mark II' semi-clone--which'll I'll probably never build now, for good reasons I won't bore u with.

Those cabs look great! Good for u!

Brian74 · « **Reply #44 on:** February 17, 2013, 12:37:14 am »

Thanks a lot guys, really means a lot!!

I am doing some updates, I will post some pics soon!!

Brian74 · « **Reply #45 on:** April 17, 2013, 07:21:24 pm »

So I managed to finally start upgrading my cabinet. I replaced the old Arcade crt with a Samsung 27" LCD. So I made a new Bezel for it. I also made my control panel wider. Went from 28.5" to 36". I love the shoulder room I have now.

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mgb · « **Reply #46 on:** April 17, 2013, 11:12:15 pm »

I like where you're going with this. The wider control panel is looking great.

Seith · « **Reply #47 on:** April 18, 2013, 12:38:01 pm »

Nice! That's gonna look really sweet once you splash some greens and blues on there!

lcmgadgets · « **Reply #48 on:** April 19, 2013, 12:25:19 am »

That looks really great. Go man, go!

DeLuSioNal29 · « **Reply #49 on:** April 19, 2013, 10:48:03 am »

Would love to see "before" and "after" pics side by side once you're done! Nice!

D

segaleeroy · « **Reply #50 on:** April 19, 2013, 03:18:16 pm »

forsome reason i no that style of machine i just cant quite put my finger where i have seen them great build thou looking great

Brian74 · « **Reply #51 on:** April 19, 2013, 09:37:19 pm »

Thank you guys for the comments!

Weather has not been very good here in Mn. Its suppose to be spring, but we keep getting snow

Brian74 · « **Reply #52 on:** April 20, 2013, 08:01:58 pm »

I went to my storage garage to get a few things. I have the twin cab to the one that is getting the face lift stored there. I sat there and stared at for a few mins. Then I saw the 29" crt monitor sitting next to it. Then it hit me!! Swap out the the lcd for the crt and make it a vertical cabinet!!!

Brian74 · « **Reply #53 on:** April 20, 2013, 08:03:13 pm »

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Brian74 · « **Reply #54 on:** April 20, 2013, 08:09:04 pm »

Here is the other cabinet. All stripped of hardware. The bottom half is laminate, the top has some kind of vinyl. There are a few deep scratches in both. Anyone have any ideas how to repair or remove the vinyl? Fix or remove the laminate?

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Brian74 · « **Reply #55 on:** April 20, 2013, 08:10:17 pm »

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harveybirdman · « **Reply #56 on:** April 21, 2013, 12:01:15 am »

upgrade is 1000% better now that you are went back to CRT.

Brian74 · « **Reply #57 on:** April 21, 2013, 07:00:15 am »

The crt will be in the vertical cabinet. My LCD will be going in the new cabinet.

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mgb · « **Reply #58 on:** April 27, 2013, 12:52:35 am »

Wait I'm confused,
so you're redoing the cab with a 27" vertical crt and building a new horizontal with an lcd?
because your first pics on page 2 showed the cab with the wider panel and horiz bezel but then later pics show the same cab with a vert crt and no panel.

I gotta say, I have a 27" vertical CRT and still I drool when I see that pic of your vert crt in there

TGov · « **Reply #59 on:** April 28, 2013, 12:32:58 am »

Did you only have one CRT? I must have missed that. I will take a working CRT anyday over a LCD for arcade gaming.

Great job on the build btw. A very cool cab that makes a great MAME machine.

Brian74 · « **Reply #60 on:** April 28, 2013, 09:14:48 am »

Quote from: mgb on April 27, 2013, 12:52:35 am

Wait I'm confused,
so you're redoing the cab with a 27" vertical crt and building a new horizontal with an lcd?
because your first pics on page 2 showed the cab with the wider panel and horiz bezel but then later pics show the same cab with a vert crt and no panel.

I gotta say, I have a 27" vertical CRT and still I drool when I see that pic of your vert crt in there

Yep thats what I'm doing. Mine I believe is a 29"

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Brian74 · « **Reply #61 on:** April 28, 2013, 09:16:32 am »

Quote from: TGov on April 28, 2013, 12:32:58 am

Did you only have one CRT? I must have missed that. I will take a working CRT anyday over a LCD for arcade gaming.

Great job on the build btw. A very cool cab that makes a great MAME machine.

Each one had a crt. One is washed out and has lines running over the screen.

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mgb · « **Reply #62 on:** April 28, 2013, 02:27:36 pm »

Quote from: Brian74 on April 28, 2013, 09:14:48 am

Quote from: mgb on April 27, 2013, 12:52:35 am
Wait I'm confused,
so you're redoing the cab with a 27" vertical crt and building a new horizontal with an lcd?
because your first pics on page 2 showed the cab with the wider panel and horiz bezel but then later pics show the same cab with a vert crt and no panel.

I gotta say, I have a 27" vertical CRT and still I drool when I see that pic of your vert crt in there

Yep thats what I'm doing. Mine I believe is a 29"

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Ok cool
It may say 29" but it's most likely 27" viewable

Brian74 · « **Reply #63 on:** May 02, 2013, 11:09:32 pm »

So here is a update. I managed to redesign my cp for what is now a vertical cab. I think I will name it "Vertical Supremacy" see as it has a 27" crt. It sports 2 happ rotarys, il translucent centers with a black outer ring. Zippy 4 way, x-arcade trackball with a GGG trackball and rgb upgrade. Last but not least, a GGG TT2 spinner. Still have to wire it all up and make a bezel. Looking for some ideas for a new marquee. Thoughts, comments good or bad. Pics to follow.

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Brian74 · « **Reply #64 on:** May 02, 2013, 11:12:53 pm »

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Drnick · « **Reply #65 on:** May 03, 2013, 08:00:58 am »

Did the template help you out in the end?

Brian74 · « **Reply #66 on:** May 05, 2013, 11:44:49 pm »

Quote from: Drnick on May 03, 2013, 08:00:58 am

Did the template help you out in the end?

I tried to figure out how to use gimp to adjust the measurements. But I couldn't.

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Brian74 · « **Reply #67 on:** May 05, 2013, 11:48:52 pm »

I got my computer install today. Then I plugged in my hyperspin backup drive to test it out. I have to say, it looks awesome!! Here are some screen shots.

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kahlid74 · « **Reply #68 on:** May 06, 2013, 09:54:07 am »

I'm not a super huge fan of those bright colors but it's clean and works well, good job!

Brian74 · « **Reply #69 on:** May 06, 2013, 09:55:44 am »

Quote from: kahlid74 on May 06, 2013, 09:54:07 am

I'm not a super huge fan of those bright colors but it's clean and works well, good job!

Thanks, I am reconsidering the colors myself.

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