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PwnFx:

Hello ladies and gents of arcadecontrols. I've had the idea of building a so-called "mame" cabinet for my step-son for his birthday. I have the computer, I've tinkered with various emulator setups, I have a 23" lcd monitor, I've used google sketchup to draw a rough outline of how I'd like the cabinet to look.
The few issues I've faced here is doing it on a budget, it will be used by him and all of his friends so it will take some abuse, they're rough kids, and I could build a virtually indestructible machine, or I could build one on the cheap. I prefer the cheap route, as I'm not the wealthiest man alive. I've briefly read through guides and tutorials, did a lot of google work, and watched a bunch of hour long multi-series youtube videos of people building and designing their cabs.
My two obstacles right now are: Controls, and sound.
Before I get into the questions, first I'll give a little bit of information on my forecast for the project as a whole.
Linked are pictures of my sketchup model and what I'm hoping to achieve with it.
http://oi58.tinypic.com/2wfsmja.jpg
http://oi59.tinypic.com/2w7h7hk.jpg
http://oi57.tinypic.com/qxwap0.jpg
As you can see from the pictures, I am seeking two players, mounted speakers, a sliding keyboard tray, an opening for the computer, or possibly an opening door. Since it will be for the kids to play, I'm not going to bother with coin slots or anything extra like that.

Do any experienced builders see any potential problems with the basic design of the thing? I build a lot of my own things from wood, my uncle does woodworking for a living so we will be building it properly, I'm just curious if there's any obvious flaws in my plan.

Now onto the controls part: I've been in contact with a seller on ebay (ebay is easy to work with, and easy to contact the sellers, so I started there) about a set of controls. I don't know much, better yet, anything about arcade controls, all I know is that I want the cheapest "all-in-one" solution out there, but not so cheap that it'll be broken before I even assemble it. This is the product page for what I was recommended by the seller: http://www.ebay.com/itm/221281135290 (I hope this is allowed to post ebay links)

My other major (probably minor) issue I've encountered is what do I do for sound? I know I need speakers (would prefer cheap, partially because I'm doing this on a budget, partially because it'll give a nice crappy arcade-like sound), I know I need an amplifier for the speakers, and I know I need a power source, I've looked and asked around, but overall, I've just hit brick walls when it comes to the sound aspect of the whole thing. I'd like to keep this as cheap as possible, but still have mountable speakers that are visible.
The only thing I have come up with is using this powered amp: http://www.amazon.com/Upgraded-LP-2020A-Lepai-Amplifier-Shipping/dp/B00C2P61FO/ref=sr11?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1393382566&sr=1-1&keywords=audio+mini+amplifier+with+power+supply
With a set of car speakers rated for low RMS watts within the guidelines of the above listed amp, only problem with that is, I can't find a set of car speakers that are that low for a set of two.

[edit] You will also see that I have no cutout for a marquee, that's simply because I don't know enough about the type of glass to be used, and the cost of it. I know that plexiglass is pricy, other than that, I more or less disregarded the idea of a marquee because of the potential cost.

I've been trying to decide also what type of wood to use, whether I use mdf, melamine, or plywood, people have said melamine for it's durability, but if I get a nice plywood, it seems they're in the same area as far as cost vs. durability.

I've been over thinking and under utilizing my brainpower, so hopefully I can get some things cleared up that are most likely just beginner mistakes and issues.

Thank you in advance!

Generic Eric:

My advice would be to add some bracing to support the two vertical sides.  Cross beams.  Make sure it is supported well in the base.  *shrug*
It looks like it might be prone to flexing.

Best wishes

Unstupid:

Your design looks good, just a little out of proportion.  The controls look awfully high.  As far as speakers go, check out partsexpress.com.  look for "full range" speakers that can run on the low wattage, high ohm output of that amp.   I'd also ditch the keyboard tray.  It's not worth the extra headache.

JDFan:

The controls you linked should work fine The happ buttons and competition joysticks are a good balance between performance and price for all around performance and hold up well (I purchased a similar set of buttons from the same seller and they shipped promptly and everything arrived in good working shape and the colors for the buttons were what was ordered (just be sure to list the colors you want on the order invoice or send them an E-mail with the colors ( I forgot to put it in when placing the order but sent an e-mail and they did package it correctly)

One thing to note is the Xin-mo encoder shows up as a 2 gamepads in windows rather than a keyboard encoder so does take a small amount of setting things up for MAME but it only takes a few extra minutes but there may be a few PC games that do not offer gamepad support so might require other software (ie. joy2key) to get working properly depending on what you plan on installing other than MAME. (not really an issue but can take some setup time and testing so figured I'd mention it)

For the sound the amp you linked is what many people use along with a set of car speakers (Like these for $13 each - http://www.amazon.com/Power-Acoustik-XPS-104-Midbass-Midrange/dp/B000AQ8OFC/ref=sr_1_63?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1393444004&sr=1-63&keywords=car+speakers ) but another option since you are using a PC would be using the sound system of the computer along with a set of PC speakers as they can usually be found at a local thrift store cheaply and include all of the power and amplifier parts in the package. (can usually either leave them as is or remove them from the cases and mount the parts as needed.)

PwnFx:


--- Quote from: Generic Eric on February 26, 2014, 02:36:47 pm ---My advice would be to add some bracing to support the two vertical sides.  Cross beams.  Make sure it is supported well in the base.  *shrug*
It looks like it might be prone to flexing.

Best wishes

--- End quote ---
Well, I'm glad I posted in the proper place, at least I did one thing right!
Yes, yes, braces are intended, I just didn't feel it were necessary to include them in my first rough sketch.  :D


--- Quote from: Unstupid on February 26, 2014, 02:38:09 pm ---Your design looks good, just a little out of proportion.  The controls look awfully high.  As far as speakers go, check out partsexpress.com.  look for "full range" speakers that can run on the low wattage, high ohm output of that amp.   I'd also ditch the keyboard tray.  It's not worth the extra headache.

--- End quote ---
I have it set so high because it will be used mostly while sitting on a stool or a higher chair, but also can be played by an adult while standing. The top of the control panel in the sketch at the lowest part of the angle near the front sits roughly 41" high, what seems to be the standard height for control panels?
Why do you think the keyboard tray will be such a headache? I only intend to include a keyboard tray because the computer will also be used for other games like minecraft and whatever else him and his friends play, it was only included so he doesn't require an additional table or area to have the keyboard and mouse setting. I will admit it is slightly out of proportion, but that is mostly due to the fact that it was a rough sketch of the overall design.
Do you think that amplifier will be an acceptable solution, so long as I can find speakers appropriate for it?
Thank you guys for your input!


--- Quote from: JDFan on February 26, 2014, 03:04:19 pm ---The controls you linked should work fine The happ buttons and competition joysticks are a good balance between performance and price for all around performance and hold up well (I purchased a similar set of buttons from the same seller and they shipped promptly and everything arrived in good working shape and the colors for the buttons were what was ordered (just be sure to list the colors you want on the order invoice or send them an E-mail with the colors ( I forgot to put it in when placing the order but sent an e-mail and they did package it correctly)

One thing to note is the Xin-mo encoder shows up as a 2 gamepads in windows rather than a keyboard encoder so does take a small amount of setting things up for MAME but it only takes a few extra minutes but there may be a few PC games that do not offer gamepad support so might require other software (ie. joy2key) to get working properly depending on what you plan on installing other than MAME. (not really an issue but can take some setup time and testing so figured I'd mention it)

For the sound the amp you linked is what many people use along with a set of car speakers (Like these for $13 each - http://www.amazon.com/Power-Acoustik-XPS-104-Midbass-Midrange/dp/B000AQ8OFC/ref=sr_1_63?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1393444004&sr=1-63&keywords=car+speakers ) but another option since you are using a PC would be using the sound system of the computer along with a set of PC speakers as they can usually be found at a local thrift store cheaply and include all of the power and amplifier parts in the package. (can usually either leave them as is or remove them from the cases and mount the parts as needed.)

--- End quote ---
Other than mame, I was thinking about using (hyperspin?), I have no problem configuring the controls through joy2key or similar, but is there another solution available that makes it easier, while staying within a close price range of those controls listed?

As far as the speakers go, I'd rather not use PC speakers, mostly because of the size of them, unless I buy a larger set of speakers. I just feel as if it will be a bit of a hassle to disassemble and jury-rig it to the cabinet.
Thank you for your help! You guys have shed light on things already, that I've spent hours searching and getting no results.

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