Kit Cocktail Cab (Complete Update Oct 20)

[BobA]

Kit from Rick at Gameroom Designs.  Great guy to deal with.

http://gameroomdesigns.ca/

Start of a thread for a Cocktail Cab.  Built from a kit with Kade encoders and LCD display.

Kit arrived in 2 boxes.

Boxes are HEAVY.

Completed cab for those who do not want to see the whole thread.

[BobA]

Lots of clamping and glueing to get the kit started.

[BobA]

More clamping and gluing.  Found that the weldbond did not glue well to the melamine on the cab so did some grinding to expose the particle board underneath to make for a better bond.  Also switched to Gorilla Glue for that extra stickiness.

[BobA]

More Pics.   Note: the black on the edges of the particle board are painted to make sure that it sides do not show thru when the t mold is added.

[BobA]

Got the Kades in but do not have the PCBs that allows easier connection in yet.   Kades came in 4 days from the USA and waiting for the mounting boards. Lots more to do, still to come.  Why buy 2 when you can get more. 

[Rick]

Kit from Rick at Gameroom Designs.  Great guy to deal with.

Thank you, BobA! As you are one of the longer-term Members on here, I was very proud when you ordered one of my kits. I'm excited to see your progress - everything looks like it's coming together nicely!

[jmike]

Looking good so far BobA, can't wait to see more. Will keep an eye on this one for sure.

@Rick      Those looks great!


 

[jugger18]

What size monitor are you putting in?

[VoltaTom]

Got the Kades in but do not have the PCBs that allows easier connection in yet.   Kades came in 4 days from the USA and waiting for the mounting boards. Lots more to do, still to come.  Why buy 2 when you can get more. 

Whoa, 8?! I thought I went "all-out" picking up 4. Hard to turn down a good deal!

Looking good so far. Following.

[BobA]

Going to put in an old style 4:3 19 inch LCD monitor.   Gives a nice full display when placed on the vertical for older games.

[Slippyblade]

I have to say, it's an awful nice touch that the routed edges are pre-painted like that.  Shows a nice level of professionalism and class.

[Rick]

I have to say, it's an awful nice touch that the routed edges are pre-painted like that.  Shows a nice level of professionalism and class.

For those who think that I had anything to do with this, unfortunately, I did not. BobA can take all the credit for this idea. (Which I will be promptly stealing for my future builds!)



Seriously though, it is a great idea. I may actually institute this on future builds, once I have the new workshop built.

[HaRuMaN]

Here's a serious question.  Why 6 buttons on a vertical cocktail?

[BobA]

Just to leave options open for other emulators.  Even though the screen is vertical I can play other emulators horizontally as well as horizontal games in Mame shown in dual screen format to allow players to play head to head on the cocktail.

[Slippyblade]

I have to say, it's an awful nice touch that the routed edges are pre-painted like that.  Shows a nice level of professionalism and class.

For those who think that I had anything to do with this, unfortunately, I did not. BobA can take all the credit for this idea. (Which I will be promptly stealing for my future builds!)



Seriously though, it is a great idea. I may actually institute this on future builds, once I have the new workshop built.

Doh!  The way he said it made it seem like it came from the factory that way.  A cursory glance at the packing show that's a wrong assumption.  Oops!

[Unstupid]

Shoulda put the t-molding on before gluing everything together...   

[BobA]

Control panels wired and ready for encoders.

[BobA]

Have to agree it is a bit tight trying to fit t molding on the control panel sides so doing the t molding first would have been easier.

Kades came in so here is a little bit about what I felt about their assembly.

You can buy the minimus AVR USB 32K without the Mini Arcade board for about 14.50 or cheaper but I found that soldering my wiring directly to the AVR did not give me the flexibility that I prefer.  So I purchased the Mini Arcade board as a DIY kit to mount my AVR on.

If you do not like fine soldering do not buy the DIY kit. Soldering the Mini Arcade board should be done with a temp controlled 30 W or so soldering iron.  The pins for the AVR are the most delicate.  The pins for the terminal strips are larger and fairly easy to solder. Purchase the assembled Mini Arcade board to mount the AVR on if you are not adept at soldering.

The Kade store for North America can be found at http://northamerica.emukade.com/

Update: When checked 2 inputs, one on each Kade did not function.   Resoldered the corresponding connection to the AVR and all worked just fine.  Just goes to show how fine the soldering points on the AVR are.   Points had solder but it had not entered the hole so reheating the pins fixed the non working inputs.

[BobA]

Kade 1 was programmed for 1 Player Multimode (P1)
Kade 2 was programmed for 1 Player Multimode (P2)

The dedicated HWB steps the 1 Player kade thru modes for p1, p2, p3 and p4 when it is pressed.    The Kade keeps the setting in it's memory when power is turned off so it will always come back to the mode it was set for.  Without reprogramming the Kade comes up with the standard Mame default keys.

[BobA]

T molding 5/8 inch finally installed on cab.

[Unstupid]

I'd put some vent covers over the vents so that you don't have to see the cut particle board!

[BobA]

Don't like more covers screwed onto the cab.  Probably take a small brush to the slot to make them blend in.

[Rick]

I'm still watching the thread to see all of this come together. One question, BobA. Is the gap between the rear door and the top portion too large? I'll modify it for future orders, if so. (I'll happily send you a replacement rear door, when I cut them, if so!)

[BobA]

Gap is OK, just seems to be more exagerated because of the flash and the way it caught the top edge of the door.  Thanks

[Unstupid]

I don't see a hole for a coin door.....   

[BobA]

No coin door.   Prefer buttons to heavy metal panels.  I have one in the garage but it is not my cup of tea.

[BobA]

19 inch 4:3 LCD monitor mounted to bottom of cocktail cabinet top.    The kit came with a mounting board already cut for VESA mount but I mounted to the top as It meant less fiddling to get the mounting board in the exact position.  Since it was an LCD weight was not a consideration.

[blashyrk]

Looks really nice

[BobA]

Looks really nice

Thanks for the comment

[BobA]

Trial fit of CPs and Top.   Still need some contol buttons P1, P2 and Coin and speaker cloth for the speaker openings.  Will then finish wiring the encoders, motherboard, power supply, and amplifier.   Note: ventilation slots have been painted.   Thanks to Unstupid for pointing that out.     Still a bit of black touchup needed on the odd piece.

[BobA]

Got the P1, P2 and Coin butons in forgot I also need some pinball buttons.  Player vinyl needed on the p1 and p2 buttons and something for the lit coin button.

[sharpfork]

Cool project, it is really coming together!

Just goes to show how fine the soldering points on the AVR are.   Points had solder but it had not entered the hole so reheating the pins fixed the non working inputs.

I'm glad you got them going, I love seeing folks use the DIY kits.  I've solder thousands of those AVR points so I can pretty much do it in my sleep.

[Rick]

I'm glad you got them going, I love seeing folks use the DIY kits.  I've solder thousands of those AVR points so I can pretty much do it in my sleep.

You guys are more patient, and have a steadier hand than I do. Heck, I forgot to solder some points on my marquee LED strip, and was doing that when a I used too much solder, and a bit dripped on my finger. It was a good fifteen seconds before I managed to safely put away the iron, and then peel the hot solder (and skin) off.

TL;DR: I am not a smart man.

Your work is looking good, BobA!

[BobA]

Thanks for the comments Rick and Sharpfork.

[BobA]

The amplifier arrived in the mail from HK and I purchased a couple of speakers with covers locally to complete the audio installation.  Speakers are JVC 4 inch 2 way and the amp is your common 30 W Motorcycle unit from DX in HK. Speaker cloth no longer required as the speakers came with covers to match.

[BobA]

Speakers mounted.

[Rick]

Speakers mounted.

While that is certainly not what I expected when I placed the 120mm fan ports on the rear, I must say GOOD JOB! That's definitely a unique way of doing it!

[BobA]

I am going to use a low power motherboard with integrated CPU so heating should not be a problem.  Speakers fit perfectly.   Might use the opening at the bottom of the cab to bring in cool air and let the vents on the ends take care of exhausting the heat.  Should soon know how that is going to work out as it is time to mount everthing in the cab.

[Unstupid]

What size t-molding did you use?  It looks a little narrow like 5/8"  If that's 3/4" particle board you can get 7/8" t-molding and then trim the excess.  Also what's with the 1" strip of t-molding on the CP sides? 

Oh yea, I see you already put in the monitor, but when your monitor dies go and buy this one... it is awesome: http://www.lg.com/us/commercial/lcd-computer-monitors/lg-19MB35D-B

[BobA]

The t molding is 3/4 cut down to 5/8 to fit the particle board which is 5/8 inch.   There is no 1 inch t molding on the cab.   The strip down the sides is 5/8.   Will look at the LG if I need a replacement but do not think it would fit in my $40 price range that my current monitor cost.