Turtle Box - Severdhed inspired pedestal cabinet

[pbj]

Credit to severdhed for inspiration found here:

http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php/topic,134038.0.html

And more specifically the measurements he provided:



I do not have the patience, talent, tools, or helpers that he does but I'm going to attempt a somewhat respectable clone.  I'm far too weak to sling around 3/4" MDF on my own, so I'm adapting it to 5/8".

Anyway, purchased a plethora of controls off another user here and I've been kicking around the idea of a pedestal cabinet with DDR pads for months now.

Materials loaded into my new truck.  I should have taken his advice and built this thing entirely out of pre-cut 24x48 panels but more on that later.



Traced out a side panel:



My first time ever using a copy bit on my router, and clamps!  Ordinarily I'd jigsaw out both panels, screw them together, and blend the differences with a belt sander!  Ooooooh yeah! 



View from the front:



So, yes, that old wonky board I thought was 24" wide in my garage was actually 23.25" at one end and 24" at the other.  My punishment for not thoroughly measuring it was putting it together, being puzzled as to nothing was lining up, and losing 90 minutes while I took it all apart, trimmed the middle panels down to 23" and reassembled.

View from the back:



That's my conure that anyone stupid enough to take off my hands can have for free.  I call him "SCREECHY".  No cabinet is complete without birdshit rubbed into the wood.

Anyway, not totally sold on the L-brackets.  I may remove them and brace it with more wood, but I'm happy to report everything is pretty straight and thus far rock solid.  Haters will inevitably hate but so far so good.

 


4/27/14 - Pretty much done for now:



12/30/2014 - Upgraded to a much larger TV:

[yotsuya]

Anyway, not totally sold on the L-brackets.  I may remove them and brace it with more wood, but I'm happy to report everything is pretty straight and thus far rock solid.  Haters will inevitably hate but so far so good.

 

Looks good so far. Where are you putting the glory hole? 

[severdhed]

looks like you are off to a good start.  as long as you glue everything, the metal brackets should be fine...otherwise i'd use some wooden braces.  keep those pics coming.

[BAMBOO]

Looking sweet! 

[404]

pbj doing a project!?!

[pbj]

A friend of mine showed up with about 20 minutes warning, and I was determined to make progress beforehand.



I simplified the measurements at the corners a bit.  Guess how wide my square is?   

After he confirmed I wasn't building a spoiler for my ricer, I was told, "dude, you could SELL this!"  My wife took one look at it, "Is this like Ninja Turtles or something?  God you're obsessed with that machine."  I am considering those up votes.

One end is 1/16th of an inch wider than the other side.  After I ran him off at the conclusion of an orgy including shots, visitation of one of the oddest malls in America, lengua tacos, lunch at two restaurants, and more booze, I went out there and polished the longer side down with the power sander.  It's close enough that I'm ready to attempt the flush router bit after 2-3 days of starvation and sobriety.

Pic of mall bling:



This does not even scratch the surface of what they had available.

 
 

[severdhed]

looks great....and i must say i'm flattered that you are using my design.   are you still planning on a tmnt theme?

[Malenko]

That Shreklace imbedded into the CP would really put it over the top.

[pbj]

Out of my head, Malenko.  Unfortunately I've been unable to find a bling Ninja Turtle with the exception of this one that's slightly out of my budget:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/10K-WHITE-GOLD-MENS-DIAMOND-NINJA-TURTLE-3-25CT-NEW-/250863336986?pt=US_Fine_Necklaces_Pendants&hash=item3a689ebe1a

I do intend to keep it TMNT themed.  My notorious cost cutting will be in full effect with this one.  Control Panel Overlay is likely to be a trimmed and laminated poster.

 

[severdhed]

a poster was my original intention as well...but i had a hard time finding a poster large enough to cover the 18"x46" panel

[yotsuya]

Obligatory PBJ-inspired "Like you're ever going to have four people over to play that thing!" comment. 

[TopJimmyCooks]

4 players.  Never happens no matter how long you leave the garage door open, jim.

[pbj]

Well, actually, I do indeed have three friends that come over occasionally for parties (plus their unimportant spouses and kids).  I made all of them play DDR during the Super Bowl.  They've all been informed that we will be simultaneously playing through TMNT from beginning to end without interruption.  We are all enormous and I'm expecting, nay giddily anticipating, a lot of Kaneda-style dick to ass action.

 

[yotsuya]

We are all enormous and I'm expecting, nay giddily anticipating, a lot of Kaneda-style dick to ass action.

 

Imaginary rep for you!

[Malenko]

We are all enormous and I'm expecting, nay giddily anticipating, a lot of Kaneda-style dick to ass action.

 

That's a lot to live up to. Good luck finding THAT carpet, look forward to the walk through videos! 

[yotsuya]

We are all enormous and I'm expecting, nay giddily anticipating, a lot of Kaneda-style dick to ass action.

 

That's a lot to live up to. Good luck finding THAT carpet, look forward to the walk through videos! 

Make sure you post one once a week, just in case.

[wp34]

A friend of mine showed up with about 20 minutes warning, and I was determined to make progress beforehand.



I simplified the measurements at the corners a bit.  Guess how wide my square is?   

After he confirmed I wasn't building a spoiler for my ricer, I was told, "dude, you could SELL this!"  My wife took one look at it, "Is this like Ninja Turtles or something?  God you're obsessed with that machine."  I am considering those up votes.

One end is 1/16th of an inch wider than the other side.  After I ran him off at the conclusion of an orgy including shots, visitation of one of the oddest malls in America, lengua tacos, lunch at two restaurants, and more booze, I went out there and polished the longer side down with the power sander.  It's close enough that I'm ready to attempt the flush router bit after 2-3 days of starvation and sobriety.

Pic of mall bling:



This does not even scratch the surface of what they had available.

 

So much wrong here.

[pbj]

Oh, it gets worse.  Popping olestra, eating one bite of ice cream, and throwing the rest away in front of horrified kids worse. 

Anyway, cloned the control panel:



T-molding slot cut:



I think I'm going to buy a board roughly 5" wide and cut that up for the middle section.

 

[TopJimmyCooks]

what's with the storebought plastic sawhorses?  already got enough holes in your scrote? 

seriously, I'm getting ready to pull your cheap card.  your pickup truck comes with  a free workbench attached to the back of the bed.

[pbj]

I bought those ~12 years ago when my wife repainted a Suspense pinball cabinet.  Still have that game, too.

My truck is long gone.  Leaked everything and the fluids were all starting to resemble each other.  When it devolved to the point where I had to disconnect the battery every time I parked it, I waited until a very cold day, let it idle for an hour, and hauled it to CarMax.  Got $2,000 after a thorough 7 minute inspection for my "excellent condition despite the age and mileage" truck.   

Just a friendly reminder, always push the router away from you.  Thankfully no wood or beanbags were damaged.

 

[jdbailey1206]

Just a friendly reminder, always push the router away from you.  Thankfully no wood or beanbags were damaged.

 

What if you have balls of steel?   

[kahlid74]

I bought those ~12 years ago when my wife repainted a Suspense pinball cabinet.  Still have that game, too.

My truck is long gone.  Leaked everything and the fluids were all starting to resemble each other.  When it devolved to the point where I had to disconnect the battery every time I parked it, I waited until a very cold day, let it idle for an hour, and hauled it to CarMax.  Got $2,000 after a thorough 7 minute inspection for my "excellent condition despite the age and mileage" truck.   

Just a friendly reminder, always push the router away from you.  Thankfully no wood or beanbags were damaged.

 

We've got a bunch of good threads in the WoodWorker area and yes, work with the direction of the head (typically away) and don't forget to always have both hands on it . . .

[pbj]

When did piano hinge get so damned expense?  Yeesh.

Lowe's didn't have any boards I thought would be good candidates for the middle pieces of the control panel, so I decided to try my hand at making a sawboard. Only after 30 minutes of walking up and down every aisle trying to find what I'd call a "saw guide", which is a flat aluminum slat you can clamp down.  Nobody knows what I'm talking about and they apparently don't exist on the internet. 

 

Anyway... Good ol Lowe's. 

Also turned out that wood glue I had is just about to solidify.  I thinned it a little with water, spread it out on some scrap, and am crossing my fingers I get a decent bond. 



Here's to hoping.

 

Dragged home a couple of more 2x4 panels and hopefully this saw board will help me make a couple of cuts straight enough to make the 4.5" middle pieces.

 

[jdbailey1206]

I hear ya PBJ.  Lowes has a nice one online that can be found here.  A little too expensive for my tastes.  I found one at Home Depot for almost half the price.  Not as intricate as the one from Lowes but has really gone above and beyond it's first intended use.

[severdhed]

good luck with those straight cuts. i ended up using 1x5 pine boards so i didn't have to worry about it.

[jbenesh]

I use 50" version of this. 

http://www.rockler.com/all-in-one-low-profile-contractor-clamps-new-improved-clamps/?sid=RTDRX&utm_source=dirxion&utm_medium=digflyer&utm_campaign=RTG68

There are better systems out there but this one is well built and wont break the bank.  If you find yourself cutting down full 4x8 sheets often it is well worth the 30 bucks.

[pbj]

Controls arrived today:



 

[pbj]

Much respect to those of you that can do things like this easily.  I just cut each piece, lined it up, and ran screws through the bottom panel into the sides.  Once it was all assembled except for the front plate, I added 2x2 blocks and removed all those screws that would have ripped out the side if someone sneezed on it.  I will lean on my wife to produce a helper because this really needed another set of hands.

The front plate either needs to be ground down, or that right hand front plate needs built up.  Or I just use wider t-molding and conceal that 1/16" gap.  Given that I made these boards, I'm satisfied.  Everything is screwed, nailed, wood puttied, and spackled on outside edges.  I'll let this sit a couple of days and polish everything down.

Considering this is the first time I've ever mitered... anything - I'm quite pleased with how this turned out.  Keep it simple - 45 degree cuts.

 

I got those L-brackets out of there.  My Konkey Dong could be completely disassembled.  I want this one solid.

 

[severdhed]

looking good

[pbj]

Lots of progress this weekend.  When it started raining at 4am, I decided this thing needed some feet.   

Anyway, went to Harbor Freight, acquired belt sander.  Corners on the control panel were rounded off and I polished out as much wonk as I could.

Flipped cabinet over, drilled narrow holes into pine frame, and twisted pinball feet onto the bottom.  It's stable!  Hooray.

Downloaded some control panel templates.  I left room for a trackball but I'm currently mulling over adding that.  Bottom routed out for the joysticks, blah blah blah.

Here it is all spackled up and diluted wood glue rubbed into the cut edges on the control panel.  This will cure for a couple of days and then I'll sand it all flat again.



Used a piece of scrap and a $15 ( ) piano hinge to make a back door.  There's about a 3" gap there that I'll cover eventually.  Probably a scrap of pegboard for ventilation.



Now to flop on the couch and recover from the cabinet marathon.

 

[Audiowizard]

Reading you talk about "straight edge guides" I thought I would throw this easy shop made plan out there. I made one a few years ago and have it set for circular saw on one side and jig saw on the other.



http://www.popularmechanics.com/home/reviews/4283497

[pbj]

That is precisely how I SHOULD have made mine.  Clamping them is a pain in the ass, and I'll probably router out some clamp notches if I ever use this for another project.

[severdhed]

awesome.   just out of curiosity, where are you getting such expensive piano hinges?  i'm pretty sure the hinge i used on my control panel was only about $8....i got it at home depot.

[Locke141]

4 player sweetness.

Even if you only get to use all 4 players once or twice a year, it will still be amazing fun. I liked Severdhed's build, it looks like your version is coming along well.

I started my 4 player build while Severdhed was doing his. I had to take a forced brake when it took 3 months for the paint to arrive. Living in Tanzania, shipping can be difficult. Hopefully the artist will have it painted before I leave for Kenya next week for the birth of my first child.       

[pbj]

awesome.   just out of curiosity, where are you getting such expensive piano hinges?  i'm pretty sure the hinge i used on my control panel was only about $8....i got it at home depot.

Lowe's     I decided I didn't want to hinge the control panel and this thing was just sitting there purchased without a plan in mind.  I'm out of 2x2 to make blocks, so I just stuck this on there.  I'm tired of spending money, so it's whatever works at this point. 

 

[pbj]

Net swiped a couple of TMNT posters and "tested the new printer heads".



The idea being that one of these can be trimmed down and look decent on the control panel.  Means I'll have to get plexi, though.   

 

[Malenko]

nice plotter!

[Slippyblade]

Sexy printer.  Much jealousy!

[pbj]

Yeah, the prints look amazing.  Hopefully I can get enough imagery on the control panels to make them not look overly cropped.  The current lack of a trackball is actually helping out there.

 

[BAMBOO]

[Locke141]

Nice poster.

[pbj]

I stole the images from this guy:

http://capmoreno.deviantart.com/art/TMNT-DONATELLO-HD-WALLPAPER-83349946

Actually, I found them on E-bay, some dude in Russia was selling posters.  So, I did a TinEye search and found the source images.  I blew them up, cropped them to about 46x20 and I'll try to center the image and trim it out. 

The important thing to remember about Donatello is that he does machines and is my favorite turtle.

 

[BAMBOO]

My favorite turtle →  →  →

[pbj]

Was having trouble lining up the control panel box that has to be removed to get this through a doorway.  So I made some "alignment pegs."

Pilot holes slightly larger than the nails.  Hammered them into the support 2x2 below.



Snick snick with the angle grinder.



Problem solved.

[Slippyblade]

MacGuyver would be proud!

[pbj]

Decided it was time to do the artwork and control panel acrylic.

First, I practiced with some scrap and a control panel that's needed this done for YEARS.  Clamped down, flush trim around the edges, small pilot holes, then a large pilot hole, and then the flush trim around the inside of the button holes.



Well, shoot, that came out virtually perfect.  Time to go after that $30 piece for the pedestal.



One joystick hole got a little wobbly, but it'll be hidden with a dust washer anyway (and answers the "dust washers?" question).  Swept the ground really well and laid down the poster. 



And here's what it looks like after my high tech cutting system consisting of standing on the plexiglass and running a razor blade around the edges.

 

[severdhed]

Looks great. Good job with the plexiglass. I do have a question though...Are you not going to have any start/coin/pause/exit buttons on the control panel?

[pbj]

The original intent had been to have Player start buttons along the top edge, and then Insert Coin buttons along the front of the control panel box.  As a rule, I don't like or use dedicated admin buttons.  Nobody needs in those settings except me, and they can be done with simultaneous button presses (Player 1 Down + Start = Pause).

As I chewed on it, I realized in a 4 player setting I wasn't crazy about the idea of players reaching over each other to hit start.

So, in all honesty, it was an oversight that 1-4 start didn't get drilled out along the top edge but I'm very pleased with my current results and really don't want to risk messing with this further.  I've had extraordinarily bad luck with plexiglass in the past.  Like nearly getting into fist fights with Lowes employees that can't measure and super glued shut lacerations that should have been stitched after that "score and snap" thing didn't go so well.   

Current plan is 1-4 start buttons will be on the front of the control box.  I will put dedicated Insert Coin buttons along the front of the pedestal and will also map credits to Player Start plus Button 1.  That will simulate a coin door and still leave the control box modular if I ever trash the base.


 

[severdhed]

excellent.  i like to keep the panel as clean as possible too.  the front edge of the control panel box is a great space for coin or start buttons.   on my first cabinet, i had no coin buttons.  i made it so you had to use the coin slots (modified to use washers as tokens) or press the coin reject buttons on the coin door.  i did eventually add coin buttons, because is was difficult for my small children to reach down to the coin door while sitting on a stool.

i still like  a pause/exit button, since those functions are used very heavily.  now that we are talking about it, i wonder what the implications would be of not having start buttons at all?  could you just remap mame to use b1 as start without any negative side effects? 

[pbj]

I've done B1 = Start / B1 before and it goofs up games that let you add health when you buy in.  Gauntlet springs to mind.  Seemed like a lot of NeoGeo games would flash some message in the corner every time you hit start. 

On the other hand, I've owned oddball boards like Guardians of the Hood and physically soldered Button 4 to Start and it had no ill effects. 

I'll make this work.  Or I'll break down and drill start buttons.   

[pbj]

Yeah, okay, after tossing and turning all night over this, I decided to tempt fate.



 

[pbj]

Old poker buttons arrived today that I'm re-purposing to credit buttons.  We've all got to make a living but what our forum sponsor charges for these....   

Anyway, here's how to make these things for a lot less.

Start with this:



Take it apart, crack it open, and print some artwork on a transparency:



Assemble and shove 555 style LED in it:



Turn off lights and admire:



 

[yotsuya]

Looks good, Jimbo. 

[404]

Old poker buttons arrived today that I'm re-purposing to credit buttons.  We've all got to make a living but what our forum sponsor charges for these....   

Anyway, here's how to make these things for a lot less.

Start with this:



Take it apart, crack it open, and print some artwork on a transparency:



Assemble and shove 555 style LED in it:



Turn off lights and admire:



 

Really want to do the same for this little crappy bartop im making but so far I've run out of money to finish this turd

the buttons look great though

[pbj]

I paid $14 shipped for 10 assorted color buttons and switches off Ebay.  The inserts were a bit of a crapshoot - a couple of the reds had blue inserts in them, and I had to grind DISCARD off of one of them, but between them all I managed 4 red buttons with red inserts.  One of the remaining ones will be used as the Pause/Exit button.

Some guy's got a lot of 30 used ones on there right now.  Go get you some.  These things are (virtually?) identical to what Groovy Game Gear is selling for $8.95/each.

 

[PL1]

Divemaster127 carries some similar buttons here.

 


If you prefer the HAPP low-profile buttons that you can leave the bezel on for regular height, he has them here.

 


Scott

[wp34]

Nice work on the coin button.   

[404]

I paid $14 shipped for 10 assorted color buttons and switches off Ebay.  The inserts were a bit of a crapshoot - a couple of the reds had blue inserts in them, and I had to grind DISCARD off of one of them, but between them all I managed 4 red buttons with red inserts.  One of the remaining ones will be used as the Pause/Exit button.

Some guy's got a lot of 30 used ones on there right now.  Go get you some.  These things are (virtually?) identical to what Groovy Game Gear is selling for $8.95/each.

unfortunately i just had to fork over a few hundred dollars in medical bills and undergo multiple pointless tests just so that the doctor can tell me i have chronic dry eye so I will have to hold off on finishing this bartop. TheNasty also has some in his FS thread that i have been eye-balling (lol). I like the idea of finishing the little bartop i made with just second hand junk laying around.

I also saw someone add them to a blank coin door panel and they look pretty good like that too.

[pbj]

Tossed a coat of primer on it this morning. 

 

[pbj]

Stone textured the base and then threw the first of what will be several cans of green paint on it.

 

[404]

I've owned oddball boards like Guardians of the Hood

Guardians of the Hood

how did i miss this before? You have now lost any credibility you had!

[pbj]

I've done many things to be ashamed of.  Buying a then unemulated game for $20, beating it, and dumping it on E-bay for $50+ is not one of them.

 



Admin button.  Used Chlorinar font found here:

http://www.fontspace.com/category/teenage%20mutant%20ninja%20turtles

The forward slash is Impact.

 

[Malenko]

I've owned oddball boards like Guardians of the Hood

Guardians of the Hood

how did i miss this before? You have now lost any credibility you had!

Just popped over to KLOV and saw this:



seriously.

[severdhed]

i love the green paint.  i was so tempted to do that on mine, but my wife shot that idea down pretty quickly.  The walls in our family room are a teal color and she said it would look horrible.  She already hates this thing enough, i didn't need to give her any more amunition.

i can't wait to see how this turns out.

[pbj]

I just happened to have a new spray can of green laying around.  I think I had been planning on putting a green chair next to my red and yellow ones outside.  Anyway, it's Luscious Green by Valspar (Lowe's house brand, IIRC).  I was horsing around with different paints when I found this one on my shelf.  Supposedly you don't need to use primer with it but that ship has sailed. 

 

[jongunz]

Just my 2 Cents, but seems like you could have put the 1 and 2 player controls closer together allowing the 3 and 4 players to not have to stand sideways to the screen when playing.

[pbj]

Good point.  Here's my thinking on it.

Some day, I may add a trackball.  So I wanted the center open.

99% of the time, if not more, this will be played by me alone.

1% of the time, it'll be two players.  I want as much space as possible between them.

For the 20 minutes it'll take my friends and I to beat TMNT the exactly one time this thing will be played 4 players, Leonardo and Raphael can tough it out.

If I decide I can't live with it, a control panel is very easily redone. 

 

[Malenko]

both TMNTs = 40 min.

No Xmen?  Welcome to Die!

[pbj]

Letters shouldn't touch.  Looking at that larger than life picture made me realize the Pause / Exit button needed reworking.  Here's my compromise between no touching vs looking too gap toothed:



High tech paint shop with rastamon chairs in the background:



Final product closer in sight...



 

[severdhed]

looking good

[jongunz]

With that artwork if you add a trackball to the lower middle Donatello will look like he has only one testicle.

[pbj]

 

[pbj]

Credit buttons added.



 

[severdhed]

looks great...i love that green paint job

[pbj]

Picked up a few things this weekend.



This is supposed to be the best gloss black spray paint on the market.  Decided I'd give it a test run.



Not too bad.  That rusty old cleaver might last another 75 years.

What do I need this for, you ask?



What can I say... the price was right.....

 

[wp34]

Looking good.  I wasn't sure what to think of your paint color but it looks great with the artwork.

Did you see these dust covers?

http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php/topic,134038.msg1430663.html#msg1430663

[pbj]

Yes.  I supplied the artwork.   

http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php/topic,106086.msg1430216.html#msg1430216

(okay, I netswiped it.  still counts)

[404]

its coming along very very nicely! Have to admit, the coin door really sets it off. Gives it that more serious 4P cab look. 

[pbj]

I'm not thrilled about the redundant coin up buttons plus a coin door, but at $0 for a functional 4 player coin door you don't complain or ask questions.  Tonight I'll shoot it with a coat of fresh black paint and get it installed.

 

[404]

I'm not thrilled about the redundant coin up buttons plus a coin door, but at $0 for a functional 4 player coin door you don't complain or ask questions.  Tonight I'll shoot it with a coat of fresh black paint and get it installed.

 

didn't you use texture paint? If so, sand the area down and then just glue in some plugs in there. After that, sand flush and respray with texture paint. nobody will ever know.

[yotsuya]

Either that, or all four of you dudes can all have your own glory holes. 

[pbj]

Uhm.. or I just leave the redundant buttons that NOBODY will EVER notice or comment about except for BYOAC members.

 

[severdhed]

looking good

[wp34]

Uhm.. or I just leave the redundant buttons that NOBODY will EVER notice or comment about except for BYOAC members.

 

So true.

[Malenko]

meh, buy a dowel rod, cut of 4 piece, plug the holes , bondo or spackle, quick sanding, quick once over with the paint. Not a significant amount of work

[pbj]

 

[pbj]

Also found out you can hook up a USB keyboard to an Xbox and it works fine with XBMC, CoinOps, and (more importantly) MAME.  I may end up hacking a USB keyboard for players 3 & 4 in an effort to keep costs down.  Even the usual chore of mapping out the key matrix is moot - all I need is 10 inputs per player and it doesn't matter what they do.

T-molding has been sitting in the UPS warehouse for three days, but we've finally come to their schedule delivery date.  Should be looking good tonight.


 

[yotsuya]

Also found out you can hook up a USB keyboard to an Xbox and it works fine with XBMC, CoinOps, and (more importantly) MAME.  I may end up hacking a USB keyboard for players 3 & 4 in an effort to keep costs down.  Even the usual chore of mapping out the key matrix is moot - all I need is 10 inputs per player and it doesn't matter what they do.

If you need one hacked and mapped, let me know - it's become a specialty of mine **glares at Ark**

[404]

 

looks really good with the coin door

[pbj]

100 feet of t-molding arrived yesterday.  Just as an FYI - 100 feet is $45 shipped via Amazon from t-molding.com.

[kahlid74]

I do not like that paint color but to each their own.  Keep on trucking.

Also, I'm not a fan of how far player 3/4 are positioned.  Almost a 90 degree.  That would be true north would be their left.  That could be very disorienting when playing.  Also having to crank your head 90 degrees left or right to play would be tiring after a while.  Did you try it/experiment with it before you positioned them/drilled the holes?

[pbj]

That 0.01% of the time 4 players are on this thing, two people will just have to deal with it.   

Anyway, finally decided I'm going to chunk an Xbox in this.  Found these USB adapters to be particularly cheap:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/300938217632?ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1439.l2649

 

[severdhed]

i think it looks great.  that color is awesome, and the coin door looks nice...i plan to add one to mine if i ever find a good deal on one. 

as for the position of players 3 and 4, they appear to be in very similar position to mine, and i can say they are quite comfortable to use.  when playing 4 player TMNT, i prefer Donatello which is player 3, so i frequently use those controls, the angle looks rough, but i is quite comfortable.  you also have to remember that you will be about 3 feet from the screen, so it isn't like you are right beside it.  you stand with your body at about a 45 degree angle to the screen, your arms sit both at very comfortable angles, just at player 3, your joystick hand is a few inches farther away from your body than your button hand, and the opposite for player 4.  I have had quite a few 3 and 4 player game sessions and never once had anyone complain about it. 

[pbj]

The color is non-negotiable.  I'd make love to it if I could.  I haven't played anything on this, but I did pretend to be player 3 and 4 when I had it sketched out on the wood and it seemed fine. 

Going the Xbox route means I've got a Lono encoder and harnesses from Paradise Arcade going unused but... meh. 

Minimus 16k is $6.99 via Amazon.  I bought five of them and added a six cent hose washer for free shipping.  Figuring $45 all said and done for the control interface and it's not too horrible.  Cheaper than any other option I could work out for the Xbox, they can be used on the PC, and I'll have an extra one in the junk drawer.

 

[pbj]

Stole some pegboard from the grocery store and put a couple of shelves in the base:



Added blue t-molding to the base as well:



 

[matt4949]

Lookin good Jim.

[Malenko]

last pic gave me an idea.

replace the coin buttons with beer/cup holders.

[pbj]

You clearly have not seen the size of my friends.  Cup holders will keep our little T-Rex arms from reaching the joysticks.

[Malenko]

You clearly have not seen the size of my friends.  Cup holders will keep our little T-Rex arms from reaching the joysticks.

worth posting what I did to see that picture,lol. 

[severdhed]

that looks great. what kind of display are you planning on using?

[wp34]

Looks great.  Too bad those turtle dust washers didn't work out. 

[pbj]

Ugh.  Word of advice... just pay for the damned Kade PCBs.



 

Anyway.  Six (!) hours later the control panel is wired.  My Lono encoder and associated wiring harnesses sit snugly (smugly?) idle in their box.  I am far too embarrassed of the rat's nest of wires and zip ties to share a picture of the horror.  But it's done.  One Minimus is hard wired to the controls, and I think, "hm... this may be a bad idea" so the other three had male headers added that run into some of my surplus box stock of 1,000 female Molex connectors.

Was also pleased to discover there are a couple of official DDR Xbox games, so this project can be merged with the DDR pads that currently lay on their sides in my garage.

[pbj]

It's..... alive.....



Currently running on the garage TV where I throw empty beer cans at Tony Romo.

Anyway, still need my USB -> Xbox cables for players 2-4, and need to figure out the LEDs but damned if you can't play some Ninja Turtles on it.

 

[severdhed]

awesome, congratulations.....although now that it is working,if you are anything like me,  there isn't much of a chance of it getting finished.

[Locke141]

Nice work.

Love all of it. Nice to see some one finish there 4 player pedestal. I have been stuck on painting for months with mine. 

I had MAME on my xbox back in the day. How do you like it? Does it still hold up? 

Congratulations.

[yotsuya]

Currently running on the garage TV where I throw empty beer cans at Tony Romo.

Figure out how to turn that into a game or cab and I got cash-in-hand for you!

[pbj]

The Xbox emulator experience is frustratingly close to being perfect.  One aspect I dislike is when you select a game, the screen goes completely dead a good 10 seconds before the ROM starts loading.  Maybe it's not that long, but it feels like it.

Visionary 3 is a neat looking menu system but the categorizations are terrible.  It's very difficult to find specific games.

So I'm currently leaning towards booting into XBMC and then running CoinOps 4. 

If I had an extra PC laying around capable of HDMI output, I would have used a PC.

 

[pbj]

Currently running on the garage TV where I throw empty beer cans at Tony Romo.

Figure out how to turn that into a game or cab and I got cash-in-hand for you!

[Locke141]

The Xbox emulator experience is frustratingly close to being perfect.  One aspect I dislike is when you select a game, the screen goes completely dead a good 10 seconds before the ROM starts loading.  Maybe it's not that long, but it feels like it.

Visionary 3 is a neat looking menu system but the categorizations are terrible.  It's very difficult to find specific games.

So I'm currently leaning towards booting into XBMC and then running CoinOps 4. 

If I had an extra PC laying around capable of HDMI output, I would have used a PC.

 

Good to know.
Thanks

[Generic Eric]

Currently running on the garage TV where I throw empty beer cans at Tony Romo.

Figure out how to turn that into a game or cab and I got cash-in-hand for you!

That would be easier to figure out if he was receiver.

Find large cardboard standie, but it in the garbage. 
Behind it, use plexi or something for a back board. 
Adhere *in a creative manner* circles as if they were floating at a similar angle to skeeball. 
Make sure liner is in garbage can to hold cans. 
Leave cardboard standie of bad player in garbage.

[pbj]

Hm... The Tony Romo Challenge.

Two trash cans.  One done up to resemble the opposing team, and one for a Cowboys receiver.  Points deducted for every beer can that lands in the Cowboys bin, one million dollars added to your contract and a sincere promise from Jerry Jones to wash his pecker before he makes you kiss it again for every crucial can that lands in the opponent can on the other side of the garage.

 

[yotsuya]

Hm... The Tony Romo Challenge.

Two trash cans.  One done up to resemble the opposing team, and one for a Cowboys receiver.  Points deducted for every beer can that lands in the Cowboys bin, one million dollars added to your contract and a sincere promise from Jerry Jones to wash his pecker before he makes you kiss it again for every crucial can that lands in the opponent can on the other side of the garage.

 

Can you work in a Jessica Simpson bonus level somehow?

[pbj]

Ugh.  Yoko Romo.  I'll give him respect for tagging that moron before she got fat and keeps getting paid by Weight Watchers despite not actually losing any weight.



Just a shame it cost us the playoffs.

[yotsuya]

Ugh.  Yoko Romo.  I'll give him respect for tagging that moron before she got fat and keeps getting paid by Weight Watchers despite not actually losing any weight.



Just a shame it cost us the playoffs.

I woulda tagged her while she was fat, too. Give Tony his Dooshbag points for breaking up with her the night before her birthday. 

[pbj]

Another freaking four hours sunk into this thing...



But... it works.  100%.  The 5V line off the Xbox wasn't enough to power 8 lights, and the 12V line was running them far too hot.  I'll either get some 12V bulbs or use a wall wart to power my mashup of LEDs and 555s.

 

[pbj]

Bust out another $20....   

12V bayonet base LEDs:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/221403500901

RCA couplers:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/331164615319

25 foot component cable:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/290886165532

Complete overkill, but the pricing is all over the place on these things and I was afraid 12' would be too short.


 

[Locke141]

I always check www.monoprice.com for cables. Its hard to beat there prices.

$7.35 for a 25 foot cable.

http://www.monoprice.com/Product?c_id=102&cp_id=10235&cs_id=1023508&p_id=962&seq=1&format=2

[pbj]

Excellent advice, but I believe it came out 25 cents or so cheaper to get it off the guy from E-bay.  Pricing is all over the place on component cables... I could have done 40 feet for less money, but that was going to be a lot of coiled up cable. 

[matt4949]

I alway check www.monoprice.com for cables. Its hard to beat there prices.

$7.35 for a 25 foot cable.

http://www.monoprice.com/Product?c_id=102&cp_id=10235&cs_id=1023508&p_id=962&seq=1&format=2

BookMarked.

[pbj]

So, I bought a bunch of battery powered xmas lights for my dust collecting DDR pads.  The battery packs were cut off and saved, the LEDs were wired up to a wall wart.  A toggle switch was poached off a battery pack.  Here's what happened to it:



The Kades were customized so that when that switch is flipped, everything is the same except the joystick now emulates the L-stick instead of the d-pad.  (and the "Exit" button is remapped to Back-White so that the MAME option menu pops up instead)

And why would one do this? 

One reason:



After all these years, I finally have Gauntlet Legends playable on an arcade panel.  Brought a tear to my eye.  Unfortunately, it's Dark Legacy but we can't have everything.


This is such an obvious tweak to the Kade Xbox mapping that I'm going to suggest they make it standard.

 

[pbj]

First things first.  I woke up this morning to work on my gift of blindness for everyone's Christmas present.



Later, I get a phone call.  "I need a bigger TV for my new apartment, can we haul it in your car?"     "Sure."   

So we shove a new 55" into my Scion and haul it to his place.  "I don't want this old TV... do you want it?"  "How much?"  "$100"  "Sold"  "Wait, really?"  "Yes, here's $100"

It's smaller than I had envisioned for this cabinet, but I can't argue with the price, and maybe I'll upgrade it some day.  I believe it's 37" and, frankly, looks great from the current distance.  At least I can stop being butthurt about my $200 42" taking a dump on me and go throw that in the attic to rot.



The 5 SMD LEDs are brighter than the sun and run great off the Xbox 12VDC line.  I put an IDE splitter off the power supply and routed a plug out the back of the system.



And here's Gauntlet looking much better:



So, time to wrap this one up.  Looks like it took me just under 3 months.  Off to go hit things.



 

[Malenko]

do you have the factory stand for that TV? I'll trade you a Pole Position marquee for it

[pbj]

Yes I do and LOL no.

 

[TopJimmyCooks]

i have one of those vizio 37" looks to be the same model.  backlight flaked out.  I was going to toss it but I do have the stand and the box if anyone wants it. 

[Locke141]

Looks Good. The new TV makes a big difference 

Have you played any Dungeons & Dragons: Shadow over Mystara?

[pbj]

I drove 200+ miles and beat on a post office door, "I know you're in there, it's not a holiday" to get my import copy for Sega Saturn.  Rest assured that title will be played on this cabinet. 

[Nephasth]

I drove 200+ miles and beat on a post office door, "I know you're in there, it's not a holiday" to get my import copy for Sega Saturn.  Rest assured that title will be played on this cabinet.

I take it D&D is the only reason why you have 4 buttons for players 3 and 4?

[pbj]

Sure, we'll go with that and not, "everyone else was doing it and I didn't put much thought to it."

My dust washers finally arrived from Paradise Arcade.  It only took them a month!



They were a silly thing to waste money on, but there you go.  Will not be doing business with that company again.

 

[ChanceKJ]

That looks really good! It's the little things right? 

They were a silly thing to waste money on, but there you go.  Will not be doing business with that company again.

....and cue the controversy in 3..2..1.....

[severdhed]

That looks awesome. I was going to buy a 37"tv for mine, but I accidentally tripped a breaker in the house doing some electrical work and managed to kill all of the hdmi ports on the 42" tv my wife watches...so I replaced hers and took the old one for the arcade since I could still use the vga.

It looks like you are in for a treat with that cabinet, congratulations on a great build.

[pbj]

Straight from the 90s, Sir Dim the chaotic-evil cleric emerges to spam zombies with his turn undead chant of "POWERGLOVE!"

Seriously, why does he yell POWERGLOVE?

It looks like you are in for a treat with that cabinet, congratulations on a great build.

Thanks for the kind words.  There's a lot of things I'd do better/different but it was a great learning experience and I'm satisfied with the final product.

 

[severdhed]

there are always things you would do differently the next time..that's when you sell the one you have to fund the next one!

when i did mine, it was my first complete cabinet build, but my 7th or 8th control panel build...each one i learned from the previous and made huge improvements.  I think i'm finally pretty happy with what i've ended up with, but i'm sure the next time ill do something a little different.

[pbj]

So, just a quick couple of notes here:

Go to advanced and enable pc testing for firmwares, you will see test show up next to xbox, make your changes and the upload firmware to the minimus.

Do that, and your Xbox programmed Minimus will work with a PC as an emulated Xbox controller. 

100% plug and play with my Windows 8 laptop running:



Jamestown



SF4

 

[pbj]

Got two friends over last night.  Happy to report the Xbox performed without a hitch and we blasted through TMNT in about 20 minutes.

 

[pbj]

Ignore that this is a stitched together print propped up with a Venetian blind.

Thoughts on this marque idea welcome:



Good thing about choosing a popular theme is there's lots of fan art of them glowering.

[pbj]

Better pic...



Hmm.. this is probably happening.

[Malenko]

I like it.  You keeping it that size or going to make it as wide as the TV?

[yotsuya]

How's the rotgut coming?

[pbj]

Well, I'm quite chuffed you asked.

The mead was moved into glass bottles with very little air:



It's starting to clarify and I'm pondering how I'm going to get that out of the bottles without disturbing the yeast.  Probably some high tech system involving coffee filters and empty 2 liter coke bottles.

The strawberry/grape stuff is starting to freak me out, as it's still actively fermenting as of last night.


On the cabinet front, I bought this silly thing on E-bay:



Figured it was cheaper than anything I'd concoct, it's got a built in light fixture, and it's pretty modular.

Also discovered that if you have weird file names, imgur occasionally gives you something random.

No idea what the hell this is but I can dig it:



This one just confuses me more than arouses, but....

 

[yotsuya]

I like that marquee idea. They say you can't polish a turd, but PBJ has found a way! 

[Malenko]

No idea what the hell this is but I can dig it:

This one just confuses me more than arouses, but....

Top one is one of the Inkigayo Girls. The lower one....... no clue, but I have the strangest boner right now.

[pbj]

Tin eye says it's Emily Ratajkowski and she was in Sports Illustrated.

 

[Malenko]

Tin eye says it's Emily Ratajkowski and she was in Sports Illustrated.

 

 Emily Ratajkowski was the chick in the "Blurred Lines" video, thats all I know about her.

[pbj]

Marquee box showed up last night.  Cut off the cord connector and spliced a PC power cord to it for now.  Tossed a piece of scrap behind the TV and mounted it to a 2x4 with an L-bracket.

It was almost disappointing how easy that was.

It photographs horribly, but here it is with the Golden Tee marquee in it.





Just need to swap that out for some turtle art..... who's printing marquees cheap these days?   

[yotsuya]

I'm not a big pedestal fan myself, but honestly James, you've really does a nice job with the overall look to this. Not too gaudy, just the right amount of controls, a nice looking marquee concept... That homemade swill must have fixed your head. 

[HaRuMaN]

Needs more weecade

[yotsuya]

[pbj]

My wife said that the original background didn't mesh with Donatello at all, so it had to go.

I took my net-swiped Shredder on a throne image, shopped out enough Donatello to get some background imagery, and slapped Shredder on top of the blue background.



Just ran the smudge tool around the edges to smear around some of the pixels.  I decided that any text was going to take away from the imagery. 

I printed it out on non-gloss paper and I'll line it up with the plexi later and see how it looks.

[Malenko]

no Krang? fer shame

[pbj]

Meh, ---fudgesicle--- Krang.  I didn't like him until his comeback in Squidbillies.

[Malenko]

Meh, ---fudgesicle--- Krang.  I didn't like him until his comeback in Squidbillies.

Well I'm torn, Krang sucked, but his robot was awesome.

[Slippyblade]

Meh, ---fudgesicle--- Krang.  I didn't like him until his comeback in Squidbillies.

That is EXACTLY what I thought first time I saw Squidbillies.

[pbj]

It honestly never occurred to me until I played through TMNT again with my friends.  The resemblance is eerie, though.

Anyway, printed out my marquee and shoved it in the box:



It's not perfect lit up, but does look better than this photograph:



At the price of $0 I doubt I'm replacing it.

And not 5 moments after I wrap this on up, the UPS man shows up with my super cheap PS4.



Ahh.. but that is a story for another thread.

 

[Gatsu]

Friggin sweet setup man. Love the artwork and colors. After I get my MK cab done, I'm debating on whether or not to do a pedestal setup, but I'd have to try for a sit-down style pedestal if it's possible. Overall are pretty happy with how it plays?

Also, I've gotta ask. I've seen a lot of the fellas here on the forums go on about how the player 3 & 4 joysticks are oriented. They essentially need to be oriented the same way that players 1 and 2 are, only the buttons are angled differently? Is that right?

[PL1]

Also, I've gotta ask. I've seen a lot of the fellas here on the forums go on about how the player 3 & 4 joysticks are oriented. They essentially need to be oriented the same way that players 1 and 2 are, only the buttons are angled differently? Is that right?

From the Wiki -- green = good, red = bad.




Scott

[Gatsu]

Also, I've gotta ask. I've seen a lot of the fellas here on the forums go on about how the player 3 & 4 joysticks are oriented. They essentially need to be oriented the same way that players 1 and 2 are, only the buttons are angled differently? Is that right?

From the Wiki -- green = good, red = bad.




Scott

Cool. That's what I thought. Thanks for the clarification. It's appreciated. 

[pbj]

While the PS4 downloads moar gamez.........


The player 3 and 4 joysticks have been previously addressed by PL1.  Orient them properly and you can even use the damn things to play Smash TV acceptably.

As far as how the pedestal plays, here are a few notes.

The toggle switch under the control panel has been a godsend for idiot proof admin functions.  When I flip it over to the mode that allows analog stick emulation, the EXIT button converts into the CoinOps config menu button.  So, you flip the switch, thump EXIT, make whatever changes you need, flip the switch back and turn the cabinet back over to the people playing it and you can ignore the cabinet.  I am a firm believer in not having any admin functions readily available.

Arcade games are meant to be played standing up.  If you're sitting down, you may as well be laying down.  If you're laying down, you may as well be holding a controller, and if you're holding a controller, you may as well be playing on a JTAG/RGH Xbox 360 that allows you to easily turn it off and on and flip over to vintage Cindy Crawford workout videos from the comfort of laying on your back. 

If you want to sit and play these games properly, buy a stool.  This control panel is actually fairly high so I don't have to hunch over it.

Would I do anything different?

1 - I'd top mount the joysticks in a recessed hole that have them flush with the wood.  Undermounting them when you don't want visible carriage bolts is a mistake.  I think at the time I was skeptical I'd be able to scrounge free artwork.

2 - I'd move joysticks for players 1 & 2 and associated buttons about an inch higher up the control panel.  I'm a big guy, and I'm used to the middle of my palms digging into the edge of the control panel.  The answer to why I went with the "this is what feels like I remember" barometer when I was in control of everything continues to elude me.



I still flip flop on the location of the credit buttons.  They're aligned relative to each individual players buttons rather than symmetrically laid out relative to the dimensions of the control panel.  So it's very easy to slam on them during a multiplayer game but they look a little off when nobody's playing it. 



And if you do build one of these things, brace yourself for spending some money.  I squeezed this as cheap as a person can and we're still in the $600-800 range.  This is NOT a $50 beater JAMMA cabinet with a JPAC and dumpster computer thrown in it.   

[Gatsu]

Thanks for the info. Definitely a lot to consider.

What is the benefit of using a modded original xbox instead of using a dedicated pc? I mean other than cost. Is it ridiculously easy to mod and setup?

As for the admin programming - that's pretty bad-ass. Can anything similar be done with an ipac?

Again though, very cool build. And thanks again for all the info. It's appreciated. 

[pbj]

The 39" TV always bugged me.  It was an excellent size but didn't impress people like I wanted.  Instead of trolling the Internet so hard, I spent a lot of 2014 idle time grinding "free" money.  I decided to wrap up the year with an upgrade.

And here we go:



The TV is basically the same width as the control panel.  My mother in law is in town and throughly disapproves of the excess - so I know it's mission accomplished.

Spend the extra $200.

[Rockhart]

Fantastic! Now you just need a bigger marquee 

[Louis Tully]

.

[Malenko]

so, is the TV mount rotatable for some mega huge Galaga action?

[severdhed]

looks good....42"?

your build makes me wish i would have installed a 4 player coin door

[pbj]

48".  It came down to juggling finances, functionality, pricing, and getting it in time for a New Year's party.  It was about $340 shipped.

In 4:3 mode, it's the equivalent of a 29" vertical CRT or 39" horizontal.  No need to rotate this thing. 

Main irritation is that non-HDMI inputs are a thing of the past on 2014 TVs.  I bought a combo Component & VGA -> HDMI converter that solves that issue nicely (thankfully it defaults to the component input when plugged in).  It does have composite but it looks terrible at that size.

Showed it to a guy in his 40s, first words out of his mouth were "does it play Galaga?"

 

[yomer]

The 39" TV always bugged me.  It was an excellent size but didn't impress people like I wanted.  Instead of trolling the Internet so hard, I spent a lot of 2014 idle time grinding "free" money.  I decided to wrap up the year with an upgrade.

And here we go:



The TV is basically the same width as the control panel.  My mother in law is in town and throughly disapproves of the excess - so I know it's mission accomplished.

Spend the extra $200.

The picture is a bit dark to really appreciate your work. Do you have a thread or more pictures to share? I'm currently deliberating on building either a 2 or 4 player arcade CP. I'm looking for an optimal 6/7/8 button layout for P1 and P2 to be able to handle all possible control schemes. What has worked for you?

[pbj]

Here’s a brighter pic for you. I’ve moved and this is no longer in a junky garage.

 The TV has been mounted to a rolling stand and I bolted a sound bar to the bottom of it.  It’s a Roku TV so there are plenty of apps for it and it’s used regularly as a jukebox or movie player.  I still using an Xbox but I bought an Xbox -> HDMI cable so there’s none of that weird converter box crap.

If I was able to change anything, I would move all the controls about one inch up from where they currently are.  When it’s custom, there’s no need to dig your palms into the edge of a control panel.  I was trying to make this comfortable for four obese men to play simultaneously and succeeded, though.

I don’t play anything new on it, so have no complaints about six buttons for players one and two and four buttons for players three and four.

 

[Malenko]

Mars Matrix?