Mission Control Project: 5 years on, what to do with the leftovers?

[arcadefever]

 

just one word:  Beautiful 

Thanks for the update...always a pleasure to read your work in progress...

[javeryh]

Good god.    

I can't believe how awesome this is.

[Pixelhugger]

[will ferrell]I can't believe how awesome that response is.[/will ferrell] 

[DrewKaree]

It took longer to paint that inner trim piece than the exterior of my house.

Tell us all that you're at least done with THAT project!

[Pixelhugger]

Painting exterior.... yes.
House... never.

[Zakk]

You suck.

[Kaytrim]

That is one sweet bezel PH.  No wonder your project is taking so long.

[javeryh]

What type of buttons are you using for your nav panel?  I'm specifically interested in the smaller ones that make up the curved buttons in the middle...  Thanks!

[Pixelhugger]

Those are Happ Medium size Round Illuminated pushbuttons.

The ones you see in the thread were just bought by McCoy178. (Enjoy!) I've decided to use the flush mount kind since they go better with my inlaid plexi. The downside to the flush mount kind is that the small size (the only ones that would fit in my navpanel arch) are MUCH smaller than what I had, so the emulator names are gonna be a bit on the tiny side. 

[markrvp]

I've decided to use the flush mount kind since they go better with my inlaid plexi. The downside to the flush mount kind is that the small size (the only ones that would fit in my navpanel arch) are MUCH smaller than what I had, so the emulator names are gonna be a bit on the tiny side. 

I can almost picture it.  What I need is... PICTURES!!!   

[javeryh]

Those are Happ Medium size Round Illuminated pushbuttons.

The ones you see in the thread were just bought by McCoy178. (Enjoy!) I've decided to use the flush mount kind since they go better with my inlaid plexi. The downside to the flush mount kind is that the small size (the only ones that would fit in my navpanel arch) are MUCH smaller than what I had, so the emulator names are gonna be a bit on the tiny side. 

$7.15 each!  Grrr... my next project is getting VERY expensive...

[Pixelhugger]

Yeah, at $7 each x 13 it was really hard to justify them in the first place. I had to duck when I told my wife recently that after buying them all that time ago, I was going to do it all over again to replace them before even using them.

[markrvp]

Yeah, at $7 each x 13 it was really hard to justify them in the first place. I had to duck when I told my wife recently that after buying them all that time ago, I was going to do it all over again to replace them before even using them.

I hope - just for grins and giggles - that somewhere you have scribbled on a scrap piece of paper all the expenses you've incurred for this project.  I promise never to tell your wife, but after 3 years of following this thread I'm too curious not to ask.

[DrewKaree]

The number "eleventy" comes to mind.

Make sure to include your game storage facility with the polished concrete floor

[leapinlew]

Looking good. It's a shame that me nor my children will get to see this cab completed in our lifetime. 

[HaRuMaN]

Looking good. It's a shame that me nor my children will get to see this cab completed in our lifetime. 

 

[markrvp]

The Great Pyramid of Giza didn't take this long to build.  And they didn't even have CAD or Photoshop.

[nostrebor]

You suck.

Yup.

[(+_+)]

You suck.

Yup.

And one more time for the hat trick.

Seriously though. Great stuff 

[Pixelhugger]

Prepping for this weekend's update on the drive mount. The mount has been done for a while, but I've really wanted to finish the artwork and staining for the rest of the (rebuilt) navpanel in order to show how it all comes together.

This was another one of those parts of construction that had me intimidated for a long time. I spent hours searching online for an off the shelf mounting bracket for these slimline drives, but the best I could find were entire PC cases. I finally resigned myself to making the part and after thinking through the concept came up with the following approach. After putting the idea on paper it seemed pretty staightforward but the thing really had me stumped for a loong time. Of course within minutes of posting this someone is gonna post a link to a $2 bracket I could have used.

[DrewKaree]

Dude, why'd you go that route?  You shoulda went to Lowes, and in their plumbing department, there's this $2 bracket that you coulda.....



















     

[Pixelhugger]

Here is the finished drive mount. The bracket on the right side had to be shorter than the left to allow for the funky drive overhang.

No local retailers carried the super tiny machine screws (1-72?) to attach the angle bracket to the existing threaded holes in the drive case. So I cracked open (literally) my old dead Powerbook and found a handful were used for both it's slot load drive and LCD frame. There is a place called MicroMark online that carries these super small screws, but I wasn't sure of the exact size and didn't want to pay and wait.





To mount the drive to it's plastic sled, I put a piece of paper along the side of the drive, poked a pen through into the mounting holes and used that paper to mark the hole locations in the angle bar. Then I drilled the bar and screwed it on to the left side of the drive. I repeated the procedure for the right side of the drive. Because the holes on the right side were considerably higher I first placed the angle bar along the side with the drive sitting level supported by the left bracket, as it would be once mounted and marked a line where the holes should go on the bracket. Then I aligned the paper template with that line and drilled. I was pretty surprised that everything lined up correctly. Then I attached a bracket to the front edge of the plastic.

I built a small mounting block that could remain permanently screwed into the back of the NavPanel with the machine bolts mounted inside it. It was very important to me the the drive be easily removable for service/upgrades/removal of accidental token insertion etc.) I mounted the drive to this block with wing nuts to allow it to be easily detached without a direct line of sight.





From the front, the drive aligns with the slot in the nav panel plexi.... no fasteners visible. The artwork is all temporary-- printouts from my inkjet. The final art will be printed at mamemarquees.

[Pixelhugger]

More finished navpanel shots.

[superbigjay]

Wow PH,
really nice nav panel!!!!

Can you tell me what kind of cd drive is that?  I scrolled through your previous posts and didn't find it... 

Jay 

[Pixelhugger]

Panasonic CW8123B

But I think the 8124 is the currently available model.

http://www.logicsupply.com/categories/cd_dvd_drives?referrer=googleAd&kw=cw-8123&nw=search&cr=788196865&pl=&gclid=COiozOuDpo4CFQc-YAodukabRw

[spacies]

Now that is NICE 

[mcfreak]

Panasonic CW8123B

But I think the 8124 is the currently available model.

http://www.logicsupply.com/categories/cd_dvd_drives?referrer=googleAd&kw=cw-8123&nw=search&cr=788196865&pl=&gclid=COiozOuDpo4CFQc-YAodukabRw

Can get a good deal on a slot loading dvd from mp3car.  They do CarPC stuff. 
Just thought you guys might want to know:
http://store.mp3car.com/Panasonic_Slot_Load_DVD_ROM_CD_RW_CW_8124_p/opt-002.htm

[theCoder]

I had to duck when I told my wife recently that after buying them all that time ago,

"when I told my wife"... Now there's your problem. 

Thanks for the writeup on the bezel.

[markrvp]

Looks good.  You kept the artwork which is what I always thought was the most impressive part about the buttons.  I agree with you that the recessed buttons look even more classy.  Nicely done.

What's next to build before assembling the cabinet?

Also, you said you are using a MAC as the computer inside?  Are you still going to use a Mac?  If so, do you have a way to make the VGA card output at CGA frequency/resolution?  If not, please get a PC and an ArcadeVGA card.  With so much detail to the cabinet, you really need the authentic look of the CGA resolution of games on the Betson monitor.

[Pixelhugger]

Yeah, they definitely go better with the flush inlaid plexi. Although the raised buttons have a cool atari cone like feel to them. This particular application was better suited for the flush mount however.

The computer will be a PC. Partly so I can run 3Darcade as the FE and partly because I am determined to maintain the authentic picture from the AVGA.

Next steps are pretty easy, until it comes to dadoing the sides at an angle. I have to finish all the horizontal structures that get glued into the final assembly. So I've got to extend the bottom panel of the marquee box, and build "drawer rings" for the bottom, middle and top sections as well as a face frame like structure for the front and a rear panel for the back to keep everything solid and hold the massive weight of the canted sides. All those are easy, and will likely just be plywood rectangles since they will be completely hidden in the final cabinet. I think I posted a pic of the dado plan back a ways. 

I've also decided to trim the edges of the sides with a furniture trim bit to give them a wide smooth radius/arc. And I gotta install the side art. So, yeah.. theres plenty left before glueup I guess.

Insert "yikes it's gonna be another decade before this is done" comment here.  Hopefully these more straightforward processes won't trip me up for months at a time like the unorthodox stuff has.

[theCoder]

It's good to see more consistent progress.   

Is the blue plastic on your bezel translucent?  That would look cool side lit.  Is it too late to add another layer of clear plastic, side lit with blue LED's?

[HaRuMaN]

It's good to see more consistent progress.   

Is the blue plastic on your bezel translucent?  That would look cool side lit.  Is it too late to add another layer of clear plastic, side lit with blue LED's?

Hey!  Don't slow him down with new ideas, he'll never get this done! 

[Pixelhugger]

Here are some pics of the bezel against the monitor glass... how it'll look when mounted.

[Pixelhugger]

Coder- Yeah it is fairly translucent. Unfortunately the lighter blue is translucent enough to allow shadows from the shims to interfere in the lighting. I actually had to put a piece of cardboard above the bezel in these photos to keep the ambient light from illuminating that. It's really too bad, because lighting the panels would look amazing.

[theCoder]

Man, that looks amazing.  Great job.

... lighting the panels would look amazing.

  Stay tuned...

[Santoro]

Coder- Yeah it is fairly translucent. Unfortunately the lighter blue is translucent enough to allow shadows from the shims to interfere in the lighting. I actually had to put a piece of cardboard above the bezel in these photos to keep the ambient light from illuminating that. It's really too bad, because lighting the panels would look amazing.

Could you put some sort of opaque treatment on the back of the 'bottom'  layer and light it from the sides like Coder said?  It probably wouldn't be bright, but I think you could swing a 'cool glow."

[Knievel]

Nice work Pixel! Getting a real retro vibe from that monitor bezel.

Love the admin panel too. I know some people don't care for them but I think they add a lot to a cabinet.

[Donkey_Kong]

I can tell you have a great camera, but it is the subject that makes or breaks a shot.

Unbelievable dude. 

[arcadefever]

 

That panel is gorgeous 

[mr.Curmudgeon]

    

The thing I like most about this project is that not matter how insane I might feel some times, I will NEVER be this insane. The craftsmanship is beyond that of most of us mere mortals. Seriously! I'm glad you've been able to dedicate yourself to building this cab. I can only imagine the chaos that would be unleashed upon the world, were you to not have this hobby.