Wylie's Wars - Finished and Delivered!

[dkersten]

OK, first I want to say I appreciate the help I got in the main forum with ideas, Even though some of the ideas didn't make it into this project, the general brainstorming helped me to form the ideas that led to everything that follows.  Plus I now have some great ideas for future projects.

So this will be my third cabinet build from scratch, and I am hoping to build on what I have learned from the first two.  This is for a friend of mine who actually sold me many of my core woodworking tools about 12 years ago, and even taught me a couple things about woodworking.  I had offered to help him make his own, but he is buried in too many other projects but really wants a unique arcade for his two sons, and of course for bragging rights.

So his sons are really into Star Wars, so that ended up being the focus of the theme.  His last name is Wylie and he wanted it incorporated into the theme as well.  It isn't very unique or special, either in the name or in the theme, but it is what he wants and to him it will be one of the most unique things he has ever seen, and that is what really matters here. 

He wants a ton of versatility but to work without flaws or issues, so I will set up a list about 200 games that I have refined to the point where you don't really have to worry about things not working.  It will have 2 player controls with a trackball and a spinner.  RGB lighting, either servostiks or u360's (still deciding), I plan to recess the spinner so when you aren't using it you can remove the knob and it is completely out of the way.  Still deciding on admin buttons - typically I go with 4 (select, exit, settings, and pause) but am thinking the settings should come out, but then I need a shift button and I don't want it to be any main control button.  I suppose maybe the credit button would work for that, I just really hate shift buttons.  I have yet to run into anything that really needs 7 buttons per player, so I don't see a reason to add a 7th for this one.  I am sure there are some games that need it but none I have in my current list. 

I plan to incorporate some ambient lighting, which should be fun, but I am not sure how I want to control it yet.  The lighting strips I have in mind would be RGB but they are 12 volt, and all the controllers I have seen so far are 5 volt.  Gonna have to do some research there.  I could just do a simple on and off, but doing some animation with lighting would be pretty cool too. 

I am sticking to the profile I used for Nostalgia.  However, we are going 2 inches taller at the CP, and another inch up top, and then making it 3 inches wider to accommodate a 32" tv.  This also adds a little breathing room for the 2 player controls since they are enclosed in the sides and don't hang over the edges.  Side art is close to done, marquee is mocked up, and hopefully I can get the control panel art done Monday.  I am thinking about front art as well for this one, even though it might interrupt the lighting. 

I will keep this first post updated as I go, and until 100% done, nothing here is final.  As always I love getting feedback, even if it is negative.  Negative feedback allows me to look at things from a different light, and sometimes that allows me to solidify what I am already doing and sometimes it pushes me to make an adjustment.  I learned when writing a book that after a while you lose your ability to see your own mistakes and need others to criticize and point them out. 

So here is a (modified) preview of the art.  (My next post below contains the first draft of the art that the following posts refer to, just in case you are reading this for the first time and want to follow what is being commented on)

Here is a pic of the finished cab:

Screenshot of the layout in action:

[yotsuya]

I will keep this first post updated as I go, and until 100% done, nothing here is final.  As always I love getting feedback, even if it is negative.  Negative feedback allows me to look at things from a different light, and sometimes that allows me to solidify what I am already doing and sometimes it pushes me to make an adjustment.  I learned when writing a book that after a while you lose your ability to see your own mistakes and need others to criticize and point them out. 

 

Totally agree. Honest feedback is what allows us to grow as a group/site/hobby.

[yamatetsu]

As the bad pun is inevitable, it might as well be me who does it. You need to incorporate a coyote 

[Le Chuck]

The outer glow screams amateur hour and the background gradient is so slight that I'd do solid color with stencil for the sides. The design isn't dynamic enough but is too detailed to be spartan so either block out detail or add more elements.

It's a good start but I think it just "ok" as is.

[yotsuya]

I'd like to see a more dynanic gradient, myself. A real clear shift from dark to light.

[johnrt]

Any particular reason why you didn't make the top of the cab a circular shape? To see what I mean, see the picture. I think it looks better when it's perfect halfcircle-shaped.

[dkersten]

Thanks for the feedback guys!  Here are my thoughts:

lol, it's funny you call the glow "amateur" le chuck, I added it because someone suggested it in my "brainstorming" thread, and my first thought was that it would be cheesy and, exactly as you said "amateur hour".  But I posted it with the glow and the feedback was good and I think it looks OK too.  But I am still 50/50 on it.  It's funny how opinions here are so far apart.  

You are also the second person to mention the gradient not being strong enough, and when I look back at the silhouettes without the glow, if I get a little more contrast in there it will really look like a scene at twilight.  So I will revisit it.  The top color is already quite a bit darker than the bottom color, and I don't want a brighter red or blue than what is at the bottom.  The problem is if I go too dark at the top when it is printed it might switch to black, and past experience with transitions to black with this vinyl were NOT good, the black came across lighter than the dark color and looked gray against it, particularly when backlit.  I am going to match the marquee with the top color from each side, and I don't want it to turn gray and wash out like my personal cab does.  I used a similar gradient (at least in red) as what I have now on the Nostalgia cab and in gloss laminate in person it looks fantastic.  Plus the top will be more visible when the cab is in place than the bottom, and I don't want the top to be so dark it just looks black in the room.  I will play around with it more though, the more I think about it the more I think the contrast will be good, especially if I ditch the glow.

I already have a lot of time into vectorizing the silhouettes, and I need a few more hours to get the rest of it done (part of this mockup is just using the cleaned up high res rasters, only Luke is fully vector, not that you can really tell in the jpeg shrunk by a factor of 12 that I posted, lol)  The emblems also look washed out and blurry in the samples I posted, but at scale in full resolution there is some brushed metal texture that looks good.  I rotated the emblems per a suggestion, but I am going to rotate them back, they don't look right to me.  And the empire emblem was the only thing with some glow to it because it is black on a nearly black background and I wanted it to have a different style than the rebel emblem.  The emblems are supposed to be a focal point, so I want them to stand off the artwork and have the gradient and silhouettes be the "scene".  I thought about adding stars to the upper part of the art, but so far when you are looking at 25x72", they just look like dust on the screen or detract from the flat feel of the rest of the scene.  Perhaps I will experiment with it.

I am shooting to be delivering this in 3 weeks, and it takes a week to get the artwork shipped out here, and with bowling season starting up next week and school starting for my kids, I might have 20 hours of total time per week (shop time + software time + art time) to put into this at most, so I don't have much time to mull over the artwork and perfect it as much as I would like.  After the last project getting hung up for 4 extra days waiting for the USPS to take 6 working days to deliver a 2 day priority package, I am trying to get art out to the printer by Tuesday at the latest.  I had no concept on Thursday, and here it is Sunday and I have over half the art and half the structure already done.  Moving fast on this, so not much time for development.

Regarding the curve, I didn't want to end up with a taitorama profile, and again the Nostalgia cab it is modeled after ended up with a really nice flow that worked well with the control panel angle.  I would have to flatten out the CP angle to curve the bottom part of the side the same as the top if I didn't want the lines actually start to go the wrong way.. And I just spent a few hours getting the sides cut out, so even if I wanted to change it (which I don't) it is a little late, lol.   

lol, yeah, everyone (including myself) thinks of the road runner first when hearing his last name.  If there was a major character or ship in Star Wars that had to do with a coyote it would be a slam dunk, but since there isn't it wouldn't make much sense to mix the two.  One of the first ideas was to do the whole cab like a ship, which I liked but there was no way I was going to be able to get the art the way I wanted without commissioning someone to do it, and I didn't want to go that route.  If I had stuck with it, I considered either naming the ship "Starship Coyote" or give it a model number like the "TK-Coyote MK421".  But it would have probably been lost on the 7 year old boy who this is for, lol..

As generic as most of this is for you guys, for the family who will get it, it will be incredibly unique.. 

***For reference, the above comments were regarding this "first draft" which I have since replaced in my main post***

[johnrt]

Regarding the curve, I didn't want to end up with a taitorama profile, and again the Nostalgia cab it is modeled after ended up with a really nice flow that worked well with the control panel angle.  I would have to flatten out the CP angle to curve the bottom part of the side the same as the top if I didn't want the lines actually start to go the wrong way.. And I just spent a few hours getting the sides cut out, so even if I wanted to change it (which I don't) it is a little late, lol. 

Fair enough. I totally understand. I figured it had to be well thought about.

[Le Chuck]

I don't want to come across anti-glow.  I just think that it didn't really fit this application very well and was put on just to be put on.  A steeper gradient might do a lot but I'd also play with possibly adding some kind of horizon or starfield perhaps (even if it's just a sprinkling of stars).  Lot you can do here while still keeping the same concept.  Look fwd to updates.

[Malenko]

instead of outerglow try stroke.


red and blue fight each other and become purple, I'd go with a neutral background to the marquee. Forgive my mock up, I dont have a star wars font on my work machine, so I had to fake it with the pencil tool

[dkersten]

@Le Chuck - I hear what you are saying.. And I appreciate your feedback on this, you have done enough star wars themed cabs to make you a qualified expert, lol. 

I will tweak some stuff today and post it up.

Like I mentioned last night, I did get started already on construction, but I don't really need to post another pic of a side cut out, lol.  Aside from it being 3 inches taller than Nostalgia, it is pretty much identical. 

I am going to cut a bunch of 3/4 oak strips from a ton of cutoffs I have had lying around for about 10 years, and use it as battens this time.  Not so much to add any rigidity as to make it easier to get both sides lined up perfectly.  Because the curves on the sides don't line up with anything, there is no reference point to line things up to, so this time I will use a template to lay both sides out, attach battens, and that way when I get to the point where I am sandwiching it all together it will save about 2 hours of prep work before gluing it up all at once..

As for today, aside from playing with some art, I am ordering all the products.  Time to heat up the credit card again, lol..

[dkersten]

OK, I took another look at the art and made some changes.  Mostly I reverted back to what I started with, with refinements, but I did also enhance the gradient (the dark is nearly black and I really don't want to go darker, so I lightened the light side of the blue and red to compensate, and I like the result).  I also revisited the emblems, and with the inner and outter glows and all that I wasn't getting what I wanted.  Part of it was because I didn't realize that the brushed metal effect I added also was blurring the layer effects, lol.  oops.  So I went back to square one on them, colored the empire emblem with a blue, even though it looks like it is usually black with blue glow, and just did a stroke with a slightly brighter shade of each color.  I am MUCH happier with it, what do you all think?  Oh, I also got the marquee to the right width, I had forgotten to add the 3 inches I added on the cab.  So I updated that with the new emblems, matched the gradient on the marquee to the color it will be next to on the cab, and redid the box in the middle. 

[Malenko]

I just dont like the 60% of the marquee that is purple, but that's going to happen when you gradient 2 primary colors.  The stroke looks much better, but the TIE fighter still needs a little clean up

[yotsuya]

One small suggestion - to stay parallel with "Star Wars", I'd change the name to "Wylie Wars" and drop the 's. It still makes sense (the Wars on the cabinet the Wylie family will be having) and still follows the name of the inspiration for the cab.

[dkersten]

Yeah the tie needs some cleanup still, I will vectorize it and blow it up to scale before I send it off.  Might tilt it the other way too..

[dkersten]

grr.. amazon was out of the casters I needed.. I guess I should have ordered them a week ago.  Had to get an alternative without Prime, so they might be here Wednesday, or might be here in 2 weeks.. no way to tell and no guarantees..

Looking into controlling the ambient lighting.  Ordered a 3 channel PWM controller so I can dial in one color at the intensity I want, but I really want to control it with the computer and get a cross fade going.  There are some USB solutions, but not sure if they would work for me.  I suppose if I have command line control I could use the FE to trigger it and just have the output preprogrammed.. I have no desire to get into programming a controller...  I think some of the cheap controllers will revert to your last programmed mode on power up, and those would work, but I hate to order one only to find out it won't do that..

[Malenko]

While lights and stuff like that is neat and can really put a cab over the top, I'd focus more on getting all the basics done right first.

[yotsuya]

Dave, I'm curious, are they paying for you for this cab, or is it a gift?

[dkersten]

@Malenko, I agree, but if I have any chance of getting this done in the timeline I set for myself, I need to get all the parts in asap.  The last thing I want is to be ready to move on to the next step and be stuck waiting a week or two for the part I need to put in before I can move forward. 

@Yotsuya - He is paying for it.  He is a good friend but not THAT good, lol.  All in the parts will end up right around the $1700 mark.  He is going to pay me for my time but it is nothing really profitable for me.  I won't charge my friends what my time is worth to ME commercially, even though many of them would pay it.  In this case I offered to just show him how to build his own and to help him with the software side and even provide a computer for super cheap, but even though he is perfectly capable of doing it himself, he insisted on paying me to do it.  Call me silly but he set aside $3k for this and I just couldn't justify that much profit for the ~80 hours I will have into this, so I am charging him quite a bit less.  I could make more at McDonalds, lol.

Thing is, I get a lot out of it, so it is worth it to me.  I get to create something that I know is appreciated, and that is big to me.  I get the experience I can use for the next project.  And I do something for a friend who can do things for me that I can't do for myself.  What money I make for my time I put back into the hobby for myself.  So it is worth doing for a lot of reasons, otherwise I wouldn't do it.

This particular friend is pushing me to do this as a business.  He already knows quite a few people who would pay $5k+ for a cab like this.  At that price it is worth the time to do, but then I have the hassle of worrying about if something is going to fail, making sure they maintain things right, and of course the liability of selling a product that is used to play games that are not owned by the person.  But I already have a full time job, and while I enjoy doing this now, that will eventually change.  I spent 10 years doing what I loved for a living and in the last 15 years I have almost never done it since just because I got burned out on it.  Never again. 

So I stick to doing this for friends and family.  And when I need a new bed, concrete work done, body or paint work done on a car, or any of a few dozen other things I either can't (or won't) do or buy at a discount for myself, I have these friends to call on. 

[yotsuya]

Cool. Yeah, you don't want to do this as a business - the tech support alone would drive you nuts. 

[dkersten]

One of the best things about getting out of my last "career" was that all the "problem customers" who were constantly a thorn in my side got to become someone else's problem.  The last thing I want is to end up back in that boat..  It is tough enough dealing with people who can't figure out how to turn on their computer or smartphone.  I installed some 60 games on my brother's cabinet, and 40 on Nostalgia.  I might hit 150 or maybe even 200 on this one, but they are all games that I know I can set the controls up to work, and then I will lock it down and hide the "all games" lists.  I will set the computer to boot to the FE, and to shut down when the FE is exited. 

And since these are friends and family, I know that if I DO have to go do some maintenance on it, there will come a time when I need my back scratched too, so I don't have any problem with that.

Reminds me of kind of a funny story:  The first day after I sold my x-tension cab and tankstick to my brother, he called to tell me it was no longer working.  Even on reboot there was no video.  It hadn't even been 24 hours and something was already wrong, and I had assured him that this thing would be rock solid and zero maintenance..  So I went over and found that the monitor was turned off.  See, his son is autistic and he had taught him to turn off the monitor after using the computer, so despite the bezel covering the switch, he had found it and turned it off.  We laughed about it, and that is the only maintenance I have had to do since.. 

[dkersten]

Update:
Parts are ordered.  Per my friend's request, I didn't spare anything.  I think I got all parts covered, and the parts and materials bill alone is over the $2k mark once art and all that is figured in.. ouch..

2 U360 sticks w/longer shafts, octagonal restrictors, and a red and blue 35mm ball top.
6 RGB buttons per player
2 ultralux chrome trimmed RGB buttons for P1 and P2 start
Black buttons for credits and admin (not 100% on this one yet, but I already have the buttons on hand)
U-Trak trackball with pearl ball and RGB lighting
Spintrak with knob and wheel.
  - Also going to try to recess this and use an extension so it can be removed and totally out of the way, ordered parts to make extension.

IPac Ultimate I/O to handle inputs and RGB outputs for buttons.

SMD-5050 based RGB LED strips for ambient lighting
LED-Wiz for controlling lighting
White LED strips and PWM dimmer for marquee

Tilt casters to roll the cab, and adjustable levelers for front feet.

Black t-molding with chrome stripe (same as I used for Nostalgia, I needed something other than black that worked for the red and blue theme).  2 player coin door (no mech) with lights.

Logitech 2.1 speakers (same as I have used on other builds)
Geforce 730 for video (allows me to run Demul or other 3d emulators if I want, but not over the top)

PC will be a used one I pull from my pile of computers, probably a Core2Duo with a couple gigs of ram.  With windows 7 installed, a decent dx11 graphics card, and a good sized hard drive, this will be more than enough.  Plus it saves about $600 from having to build a cutting edge computer.

Will pick up the 32" LCD 1080p screen in the next day or two.  Going with a super thin bezel, probably LG but I haven't decided for sure.

Ordered some nice vandal switches to control monitor, PC, and marquee (and coin door) lighting.

That's it for now.  Hope to do some more construction in the next couple days while I wait for parts.  Sides and top assembly is cut out and ready to go together.  Waiting on casters to finish the base before I start putting the whole thing together though.

[dkersten]

CP art v1.0
Bottom 3.3 inches is where it rolls to the front.  Might put something there still.  The colors are from the sides so it blends, I didn't want to use the lighter color from the bottom of the sides and have it not flow from side to front.

[yotsuya]

Luke looks a tad too big proportionally. Like if they booth stood up, he'd be taller than Vader.

[PL1]

Luke is also in an offensive stance compared to Vader's defensive stance.

He's not setting a very good example for the Wylie Padawans.   
[/nitpicking]


Scott

[dkersten]

Good call on the perspective, in this frame from Empire, Luke is closer to the camera, so he looks bigger.  I could add more height to Vader I guess, pick up the bottom part that is obscured by the ground since I don't have ground here.  Or I could just shrink Luke a little to make him look a little short for a stormtrooper..

I wanted a scene where Luke was in an aggressive stance, most screens I see he is kind of just standing there. 
And Vader never really looked like was taking the offensive in the movies, and the few scenes he actually looked like he was working for it, the cloak is in the way and a silhouette would hide it anyway, lol.
 
It will have to wait until Tuesday anyway, my art files are all at work and it is the holiday weekend.  I will be focusing mostly on build this weekend, and once I had the CP layout ready, I decided to throw together some art.  plus I need to get it off to the printer next week, so I needed to get something going...  I wasn't able to do much this week in the shop and while I had some time at work, I mostly procrastinated because the woodwork is so far behind.  Now I am running behind on everything, but no big deal, I am setting my own deadlines.

[jugger18]

Also I would try and center the sword clash over the TB hole.  My OCD side was drawn to that first

[dkersten]

That was my original intent, but the only way to do that is to make them about 4 inches tall.. The bottom part below the feet is all the front of the cab, not the control panel, and I just didn't want these tiny little characters that are only a few inches tall on a 29.5" wide, 12" deep surface with vast amounts of open space.  So I centered the clash over the top of the TB.  Honestly with the polycarbonate laminate over the artwork on the CP, it won't pop much or stand out, so it is going to be subtle detail that you will only notice secondary to the rest of the cabinet, so I am not hugely concerned with it being a focus.  Just flavor.  I mean, I still want it to look good, but this time around I am not going to center everything on the trackball. 

[jugger18]

Sorry, my comment was not very specific.  I mean left to right centering over the top of the tb hole.  Where the sabers meet is off center now

[dkersten]

Oh, I eyed it but it might be off still. I'll pay closer attention to that when I tweak the size of the characters.  Thanks for pointing it out.    this is why I love the feedback!

Well, I was out late with some buddies last night and didn't get to bed til 4 am, but I got woken up by a text after only 6 hours of sleep, and my mind isn't letting me go back to sleep.. ithching too much to get out in the shop. Time to get some breakfast and make some sawdust...

[dkersten]

Made some sawdust today.. 
Started out slow, actually spent the first hour cleaning sawdust up and cleaning the filters on the dust filter and dust collector.  Then I cut battens out of the scraps of oak I had dug out of my pile of scraps.  I bet most of it has been there for 10 years, lol.

I spent some time drawing the layout on the sides for all the internal pieces, then getting battens put on, checking and rechecking the fit.  The first speaker grill I made was slightly out of square (factory edges these days are so unreliable).  Then I dropped it and dinged it up bad enough that I had no choice but to remake it.  No problem though, when I did it the first time I decided to make a pattern that I could use with a guide bushing in the router.  And I still had the bushing and spiral upcut bit set up with the plunge base, so it was a matter of minutes before the piece was redone.  Much better.


I spent another hour finishing the layout of the sides, measuring and making a cut list since I had to cut up my last sheet of MDF.  I used the whole sheet, and had already used a sheet and a half.  Going a little taller and wider literally meant using another entire 4'x8' of MDF over one that was merely 3" shorter and 3" narrower.  Crazy how that works out..  I broke for pizza and a nap, then hit it again.

I got the top assembly done, the CP tray, and the base with the tilt casters and levelers.  Then I glued and nailed the last battens in place.

Here is all the parts just about ready to go together.. One more batten left.


I assembled the two sides of the front piece, got them drilled and assembled.  The front of this part of the cab will get some threaded inserts tomorrow and a couple battens to keep it aligned perfectly.  This way I can paint even the parts that won't be easily accessible, then install lighting and then get that front cover on.  I still have to cut the hole for the coin door too. 

So with those pieces in place, I knocked out the main glue up.  The battens made it way easier to get the second side lined up perfectly.  Here it is all glued up and ready for the next step.


I will pick up the tv tomorrow and get the bezel and mount knocked out, and then get a coat of primer on the whole thing after a quick sanding.  Then while that dries I will get started on the CP and keyboard tray.  I guess I need to knock out the t-molding slot too, which I will do once I have it down off the sawhorses.  If things go well tomorrow, I will have everything constructed by Monday night, with a coat or two of primer already applied.  Based on the last cab, I will give it 2 days to dry completely before sanding and applying the second coat of primer, then another day, light sanding, and then 2 coats of finish color.  Will take all week to get the paint on, and with the holiday I doubt I will have art before the end of the week, but I will try anyway.  If I can get it, I will easily be able to finish before the end of next weekend.  But I won't hold my breath.  My luck with shipping has not been great the last few weeks.

[Louis Tully]

.

[dkersten]

Didn't get as much done today as I wanted. Too many things going on. Got the monitor, which was way cheaper than expected. $219 for a decent 32" 1080p brand new.

Tested it to find the power retains state so I didn't need a power switch, but it was a super easy hack and will allow him to power it up easily if something goofy happens. I'll post pics later. Spent a couple hours on the bezel and mount. Went a little different route than normal and so far looking good. Need some more threaded inserts to finish though.

Was drilling inserts in the lower front piece and my guide tape slipped and I ended up punching a hole all the way through. Filled it and called it a night. Tomorrow I will get more inserts and finish up detail work, then get started on primer. Post pics tomorrow, on my phone now.

[jugger18]

What model TV was it?

[dkersten]

JVC.. the bezel is super thin, 3/8" all around except bottom.  At the bottom there was a piece of trim that didn't allow the tv to sit flush with the bezel, so I routed a channel on the back of the bezel so it could sit flush.

Today I got a lot done, but still not quite where I wanted to be.  Except for one brace I want to put on the back (which will house the vandal switches for the ambient lighting, monitor, and computer power, as well as the power socket), the two back covers, and cutting the hole in the lower front panel for the coin door, all pieces are pretty much made.  Except for the control panel.  I have to put a brace piece on that still, round the edge, and then cut all my holes for the buttons and stuff.  Cab is in primer.

I will post pics later tonight..

[dkersten]

OK, so here are some pics:

First, the TV.  I took the back off it and thankfully the power switch just had a pair of wires running over to the main board.  Spliced a pair into it and drilled a hole and ran it out the back.  Easy Peasy.



Unlike my first 2 cabs, this time I went with a single 3/4" layer for the bezel and just glued and nailed in some battens to keep it centered.  Then I took some pieces of 3/4 x 3/4" oak and drilled out for some inserts, nailed them to the sides of the cab, and screwed a board to them that lines up with the Vesa mount holes.  Holds the monitor in place and looks good.  I take my time on this and use the router table to get the inside edges perfect (or nearly so).  Trim it off with a 45 degree bevel and glue the bezel into place, and done.



Next I tackled the marquee.  Gonna have to get more plexi, the width is 29" and my plexi is only 28".  But I don't need to cut it until I have the art, so no rush.  Used the same method as the last 2, poplar cut to 1/2" square and use the thin kerf tablesaw blade to cut a slot 1/4" deep, then just frame it in.  Top piece fits with friction, rest is glued and tacked in with my 23ga pin nailer.  Love that little pin nailer.


Then the CP.  First I installed a metal sleeve with a 6" bolt held in with a drill collar.  This allows me to reach underneath from inside the keyboard tray area and push the CP up enough to get a finger in and pull it up.  I improved it from how I did it on Nostalgia by angling it slightly so it is perpendicular to the CP top, and used a bolt that was only threaded at the very top.  Slides very well and works perfectly.


Got the CP together and installed the hinges and got it dialed in for fit.  Even with using battens on the construction, a few things are off by a 16th of an inch here and there, and it is tricky to get moving parts to line up perfectly.  Thankfully the euro hinges are 3 way adjustable.  I also installed 2 Blumotion dampers to make it a very smooth soft close.  I can literally drop the CP from full open and it gently closes.  Used 2 because with the weight of the joysticks and trackball and stuff it needed the extra damping.

as you can see here, without the plunger to push it up from underneath, there is no way to get a hold of it and open it.  Good thing it works really well.


And here it is with a coat of primer, all broken down.  I didn't take pics of the keyboard tray, but it came out really well even though I had to do some major readjusting of the hinges.  Once it is together it will look great.  Oh, and I also went ahead and got all the slots cut for t-molding. 


One more note:  I used a charcoal filter mask when painting this time.. what a difference.  No more holding my breath when having to get in close and the fumes cloud up around me, and no more gray boogers for a week.  I tried to use a regular mask whenever doing anything dust intensive, but it is too uncomfortable to use all day long, and my dust collection and filtration setup works pretty well.  So I still inhaled a little of the dreaded MDF dust, but nothing like I usually do, and I am not nearly as stuffed up from it.  I have a cyclone separator before the dust collection unit but this stuff is so fine and light it just gets sucked right to the main unit, and I have to go out and spin the flappers on the pleated filter about once an hour and allow about 2 lbs of dust to settle to the bag below, and the separator is practically empty still.  I also had to clean the filter in the dust filtration unit mounted to the ceiling in my shop, and I am gonna have to order some more filters because they clog up so much from this stuff.  It really sucks to work in a closed shop without collection and filtration when using MDF..

So this week I will mostly be painting.  Tomorrow night I will sand the primer and hit it with one more coat (two or 3 more on the edges since they suck it up so much.)  I will also get started on the CP, drilling holes and prepping it.  Gotta get that art done too.. I will easily be able to finish next weekend if I can get art, but that is looking grim.  Hopefully my orders from last week will arrive too and I can start playing with LED programming.  Oh yeah, reminds me that I need to do the computer too... While I can start with my typical setup, I still have to do the art for the FE.  So if I am lucky, I probably have 9 days left, maybe 10.  A little past my goal, but not bad considering I just started a little over a week ago. 

[dkersten]

Well, I can't seem to catch a break.  One of my orders from last Monday hasn't shipped yet, and one showed up in a box that looks like it spend 5 years on a deserted island with Tom Hanks, and was missing the spinner..   So I am betting that even if my own schedule works out, I will be stuck waiting for packages to arrive. 

[dkersten]

here is a comp of the art to date.  Got the lower front done, the FE layout, and tweaked the CP and marquee a bit.  Just about ready for print.

[jugger18]

Looks very sharp!

[yotsuya]

Still think you should call it "Wylie Wars" so structurally the words are parallel to "Star Wars" (no apostrophe), but other than that, I think the kids will love it. Good job on the art.

[dkersten]

Thanks.  I am about 50/50 on the 'S.. At this point the swaying factor is time, lol.  But the way it is looking, art is going to take forever anyway.. Local shop I checked out was going to be about 10 days turnaround if I give him print ready art.  Hoping Brad can do better..

I will post up higher res versions of the layout and lower front when I have a moment.

[dkersten]

Well Brad is going to come through for me.. again.. I highly recommend him for your art printing. 

Just uploaded about 350 megs of tiff files for him to download, and he will ship the CP artwork tomorrow and I should have it Saturday...

Did a little sanding tonight and shot a 4th coat of primer on the bezel to seal up the edges.  Primer is still just not quite cured completely so sanding the sides was still gumming up a little.  Same as last time, took 48 hours and sanded way better.  So I will try to hit it tomorrow and get it prepped for the paint, and maybe even get a coat of paint on it.. I think the coin door will show tomorrow so I can get that cut in and get that piece primed.  Still have to make the back brace, which I might run out and work on tonight.. simple enough except I don't have a piece the right size so I have to dig up a bigger piece and cut it down.  Then cut in for 3 switches and the power socket.. Or I might just call it an easy night and fire up a game, lol.

Oh, I did get something done today.. I got the parts I ordered to make an extension for the spinner and got 2 of them made, one for mine and one for this one.  It works pretty well, although there is a little more play than I was hoping for, mostly due to using a "D" shaft instead of straight round.  Once I get the spinner mounted I will post some pics of how I did it.  it will be nice to be able to completely remove the spinner knob (or wheel) and not have the shaft in the way of anything.  On this cab I can use a 3/8" hole, so it will practically disappear when not installed. 

[dkersten]

All art got done and shipped in one day, should have it Saturday unless USPS fails me again..

Got the coin door yesterday, but because of bowling season, I didn't have much time to work on the cab.

I did manage to cut the hole for the coin door, which I misjudged and ended up cutting too small of a radius on the corners, so I had to patch it up and fill it a little.  While the glue dried I sanded the cab down and got the first coat of black paint on.  Despite trying to be conservative, the inside corner where the speaker plate meets the bezel still managed to run a little.  This paint goes on fast and is so thin!  I am going to have to wait until it is fully cured (should be good tonight) and get it sanded down in a few spots before getting the next coat on.  It is tough because I need to cover 3 sides in a small area and the difference between holding the nozzle for .2 seconds and .3 seconds is all it takes to get a run..  Frustrating.

I got the lower front panel primed and sanded and primed again, and one full coat of black on the main cab and a few of the other parts.  Tonight I will sand the runs, shoot another coat, get the back brace done and the switches mocked up, and make some progress on the control panel.  However far I get on the control panel I will at least get one coat of primer on it.  I picked up a different brand of primer and it dried super fast and was sandable in a matter of less than an hour, but I still want a solid coat of primer fully cured on the CP and then get at least one coat of enamel on it before the art goes on.  On Nostalgia I only primed to seal the wood and the edges were weak and the vinyl was coming up too easily.  I want to make sure my wood is sealed well and stronger on the corners so that won't happen again. 

I didn't take any pics since there wasn't much to see, but today I will get the layout working for the FE, and take a shot of that. 

If things go well, I will have a complete cab by Sunday night.  It is a little optimistic, but doable..

[dkersten]

Quick screenshot of the layout in action.. This is in Mala..


I didn't resize, sorry if it is too big (1920x1080)

More to come..

[dkersten]

Got the CP done last night (well, primered anyway, almost ready for art).  Spent most of that time building a recessed spinner mount, which I detailed in this thread.

So I detailed out how I like to cut the hole for the trackball in the woodworking forum, but just before getting started on this I had to move the side to a computer case out of the way, and I saw the fan duct sitting there bolted to the side of the computer.  On a whim I grabbed the trim ring for the U-trak and lined it up with this shroud, and it was a PERFECT match in diameter!  So I unscrewed it from the case, lined it up with where I wanted the hole in the CP, screwed it into place, and used it as a guide for the flush trim bit.  Took all of about 45 seconds to cut a perfect hole for the trackball.  I still had to chamfer the hole with a file to account for the taper of the trackball sleeve, but in the end it fit perfectly.



So after drilling the rest of the holes out, getting all the threaded inserts in place for the trackball, joysticks, and recessed spinner, I was able to get a good coat of primer on it before calling it a night.


The temp is already dropping here, so I jacked up the heat in the shop to 70 so all the paint would cure faster. 

I had sanded the drips on the bezel and applied a second coat of black paint, but the paint was still a little too soft for that due to the colder weather, and it didn't work out real well.  Then to make matters worse, when wiping it down I left a little dust in the corner and now it looks like pure crap.  So I need to sand it down after it is fully cured, then apply 2-3 more light coats of paint.  Unfortunately this is going to be difficult if I am going to be getting artwork on this weekend.  So I might just have to delay the artwork install until after I have this sorted out.  I think I will sand it down well, then lay the cab on it's back and shoot the paint that way so that if it gets a little thick there it will settle out instead of run.. Plus it will fill the sanding scratches better.. This paint goes on nice and dries fast but it is so thin that it runs super easy and doesn't fill the scratches left by sandpaper at all.. I might have to sand to 320 just to get it smooth.  This is the only place it really matters a lot and of course it is the spot that got the worst.. Go figure..

[rablack97]

i guess i dont get why you go through all that trouble, happs trackballs are a simple 3" hole saw, and they come with the adaptor to adjust for acrylic.

Or is it you just dont want to use a mounting plate?

[yotsuya]

i guess i dont get why you go through all that trouble, happs trackballs are a simple 3" hole saw, and they come with the adaptor to adjust for acrylic.

Or is it you just dont want to use a mounting plate?

I think Dave wholeheartedly subscribes to the theory down below:

It's supposed to be hard. If it wasn't hard, everyone would do it. The hard... is what makes it great.

[dkersten]

Took me 5 mins to make the hole from start to finish (used to take about 15 mins when I had to make the guide from the trim ring).  Another 3 to file out the back to accommodate the taper of the trackball, another 5 to drill and set the threaded inserts.  Not hard at all, and in the end I have a hole that you can't get with any holesaw, even if they made an 80mm holesaw, which they don't. 

I also don't have a top plate, any exposed screws, no need for plexi, and no trim ring sticking up.  The U-Trak works very well, and the RGB lighting on it is fantastic.

I could also route the back out about 3/16" to raise the trackball, then just use a standard 82mm (3.25") holesaw and stick the trim ring on it and call it a day.  But then every time I went to make a shot in Golden Tee or Shuffleshot, and my hand ran across that trim ring, I would know that I spent just as much time to make something inferior, and that just doesn't make any sense to me. 

I have very little experience with other trackballs, but if there is another that can undermount and end up flush with the CP surface with no exposed hardware and no need to use plexi to cover up a top plate, then I might try it in the future.

[dkersten]

I think Dave wholeheartedly subscribes to the theory down below:

It's supposed to be hard. If it wasn't hard, everyone would do it. The hard... is what makes it great.

lol, not exactly, but read my tagline
<-------

[Havok]

I have very little experience with other trackballs, but if there is another that can undermount and end up flush with the CP surface with no exposed hardware and no need to use plexi to cover up a top plate, then I might try it in the future.

Check out the U-trak:

http://www.ultimarc.com/trackball.html

[dkersten]

that's what I use, the u-trak.. I just don't know of another one that offers the same benefits.

[Havok]

Whoops - I glossed over that, I see it now in your earlier post. Yes, that's the only one I know of with that mounting capability.

[dkersten]

Well, the USPS failed me again... My "2 day priority" package didn't arrive after 3 days, so I took the time to work on electronics this weekend.  I didn't spend much time Saturday because some new furniture arrived and I was busy with all that, but I did get a few hours to play around, and today I will work on it some more. 

Friday I ended up sanding out some bad paint spots, and then re-priming the entire bezel.  Saturday morning I sanded it smooth and was fortunate to have some great sunshine, so I rolled the cab out into the sun and shot 2 moderate coats of the finish paint.  The results are 100 times better than before.  Well worth the extra time.  I will get pics when the monitor is back in, it is hard to get shots of black paint against a light background and show any detail at all. 

If I had art, I would be able to complete construction of the cab today and spend the rest of the day working on the CP.  But with no art yet, I will work on other details.  The marquee lighting will go in this afternoon, as will speakers.  I will prep for wiring the lighting, and possibly finish cutting the back covers.  The back support with all the buttons and socket is ready to go in.  I will have to snap a pic of that once it is in, but first I need to solder up the vandal switches. 

Turns out the switch for the monitor was key.  Being a TV, when the computer sleeps, the TV will shut off, so even though it will remember it's power state when unplugged, if it doesn't have signal, it will still turn off.  So just around the back will be 1 USB jack, 1 latching switch for the marquee and coin lighting, 2 momentary switches for monitor and computer, and the power socket for the power cord, with a master switch.  The great thing about an LCD cab is that you can put switches back there and they are easy to access from the front, no big reach to get to them.

I got the 12v strip lighting hooked up to the LED-Wiz and played with the control in LED-Blinky.  Some cool things you can do there, but I will likely end up with just a simple cross fade animation that runs when in Mala or a game.  I played with the music settings and it was cool and all, but you can't do both cabinet animations and music animations in LEDblinky, so I will probably not bother with the music thing.  I ran 29 inches of LED off one set of channels on one bank, and even at max intensity (which should have been around 600ma) the LEDWiz never even got warm.  I had the heat sinks installed anyway, but I am not concerned in the least about overdriving it.  I will run about 30-40 inches of lighting per bank, 4 banks.  I *might* throw the coin door illumination on it so I can animate that as well.  Haven't decided.

The coin door reject buttons are yellow, but after adding a lot of lighting to them, I was able to hit a respectable color selection. Here are examples or Blue, Red, Green, and White.  Hybrid colors were tricky with the yellow tint, but should work out pretty well despite the yellow.


I will have more pics tonight or tomorrow morning.  And hopefully the art will arrive OK on Monday and I can finish this up before the end of the week.

[dkersten]

Spent a few more hours in the shop Sunday, got a lot of the interior wiring done and started getting some details finalized (at least what I could do without the art, which will hopefully be here tonight).

So I got the marquee lighting in.  2 strips of "warm white" 12v led, about 24" long each, controlled off a 12v PWM dimmer.  I found that the LED strips are too bright and need to be toned down.  The entire 5 meter roll of LED strip was about $9, the dimmer is about $4, and the connectors I used are about $5 for a pack of 10.  I have enough left over to do quite a few more and the only cost will be the dimmer.  Definitely the way to go if you are going to build more than one.  Could be used anywhere really, like to light the interior of a CP when you open it, etc.   Camera takes horrible pics of lighting.. I found that even at 2" back, you can't see the individual LED's through a marquee.  No need for diffusion, but if I needed it, some parchment paper would work great.

Here is the dimmer installed.  You can also see the back side of the 3 vandal switches and the drawer pull I use to manage wires coming from the CP and keyboard tray to keep them out of the way of the keyboard tray.


I got the 3 switches for monitor, PC, and marquee lighting installed (and lit them up because why not).  I also got the socket for the 110v power wired up to a power strip and installed.  Then I made a distribution block for 12v stuff.  The power supply is a 6 amp 12v regulated, perfect for the ambient lighting, marquee lighting, button lighting, and coin door lighting.


I got the monitor mounted in, and hooked up the switch for the 12v and for the monitor power.  Here are pics of the front and back as it sits now:



Aside from the control panel wiring and some programming for it, all I have left on the cab is the front and rear ambient lighting, the back pieces, a few holes for ventilation and wiring, and artwork and t-molding installation. 

[dkersten]

So art arrived last night at around 7 pm.  The mailman missed my house the first time around and returned at the end of his shift to deliver my package.  The print quality is perfect, the gradients are flawless and even the effects around the lightsabers came out fantastic.  Well worth the time to upload a quarter of a gigabyte of tiff files..

But by the time it got there I wasn't feeling well so I didn't get much done.  And it didn't help that I once again had an issue with the control panel art.  This time around I was super careful with the left to right spacing of the illustrator template vs the photoshop art.  And I measured the total length of the control panel with the 3/4" radius curve and both the horizontal and vertical sides of the unit, so the length plus a quarter inch bleed should have been perfect.  Yet some how I still managed to have my art shifted nearly a half inch too low, so the art came up 1/4" short on the bottom edge.  Not sure if I just measured wrong and didn't leave enough length or if I somehow shifted the margins in photoshop again, because if I had drilled my holes a quarter of an inch lower I would have had enough, but just barely, so I think it is a combination of both.  Next time I am just going to leave a 1" bleed and pay for the extra square footage.  Not worth this kind of hassle.  I am also thinking I might attempt to drill holes AFTER the art is down next time, so that I can get perfectly centered holes without worrying about stretching, shrinking, etc that causes things to line up improperly.  This time around I didn't do many lines that could be referenced to the edges or holes to show if it is off a little here or there, so it wasn't a big deal, but it is nearly impossible to get your art centered perfectly and not have any stretching by the time you get to the edges.

Anyway, the solution in to this problem might be simple and actually preferable, if it works out.  I had to call it quits last night before I reached that point though.  I normally just flush cut the edges of the vinyl since they are usually not exposed when the CP is in place in the cabinet.  When the CP is open they are at risk, but that isn't a common thing, so having the art just end right at the edge of the wood with nothing to protect it should be fine, and on Nostalgia this was reasonably OK, although I mishandled it a little and caused a little lifting in a couple spots (and once a little dirt or oil from skin is under that edge, it won't sit back down again).  But the bottom edge is exposed all the time.  The nature of the hinges doesn't allow me to put t-molding on that edge without cutting it shorter, so I left it on Nostalgia.  But this one will have kids playing it regularly, so having something to protect that edge will be worthwhile.  Since the art is short, I decided to cut a slot and use some t-molding on the face of the bottom of the edge.  This will hide the fact that I was 1/4" short, and protect that bottom edge.  It should look decent too as that part was plain anyway and it will break it up a little.  So it turned out to be a blessing.

Maybe.  See, I have yet to pound the t-molding into place.  And this is MDF, so the stress on the wood will be in the same direction as the "grain", and it is only 3/8" from the edge.  It could very easily split and just break off that whole corner.  So I have to be super careful.  I cut the slot already, but I am going to go back and open it just slightly by adjusting the router another 1/64" down and making another pass.  This will open up the slot to allow for just a little more room for the t-molding without compromising the tight fit.  Worst case I will dab some hot glue in there to ensure it never slips out.  I am a bit nervous about it because if it fails at this point I not only have to remake the CP, but get the art printed again..

So I got the marquee put together, and it looks fantastic.


I also got the art on the CP and cut most of the button holes out.  I had a severe migraine by this point and had to call it a night, but it was a good start.


I am really excited to get side art and front art on and see it all come together..

[dkersten]

Well, I figured out what happened with my CP art..

I sent the wrong version to the printer!   

I am NOT happy about this at all..

I was just spending some time moving all my pics so they are no longer on my server, and I came across my first and second versions of the CP and sure enough, the differences are there.  So now not only is it short, but the Luke is too big, the sabers cross off center, and the font on the button labels is not the one I wanted.  Wow I am unhappy at the moment..

At this point, replacing it would be minimum of 5 days..

[yotsuya]

Well, I figured out what happened with my CP art..

I sent the wrong version to the printer!   

I am NOT happy about this at all..

I was just spending some time moving all my pics so they are no longer on my server, and I came across my first and second versions of the CP and sure enough, the differences are there.  So now not only is it short, but the Luke is too big, the sabers cross off center, and the font on the button labels is not the one I wanted.  Wow I am unhappy at the moment..

At this point, replacing it would be minimum of 5 days..

Yeah, I thought Luke still looked too big.

Show your buddy. If he doesn't care, don't worry. No stresses.

[dkersten]

I see what happened.. I made the changes, saved a .jpg and then closed the file later without saving the .psd.  The changes are subtle so I didn't even notice it when I prepared the art to send out.  I am sure my buddy won't care, but I do, and it is frustrating to me.  So far I haven't compromised on anything here, and while I know there are imperfections, things are as good as I can get with my level of skill (and not having the time or patience to redo things a dozen times to get it perfect).  The last thing I wanted was to have to compromise on something at the very end. 

Brad is reprinting it and getting it out today.  Thankfully my buddy isn't in a hurry, although it would have been nice to have done today as it is his son's birthday (was originally planned as a Christmas gift).  I should still be able to have it done this weekend.  I really want this done and off my plate so I can take a few days off from working in the shop.  Next week I plan to take some vacation time from work and while I might start another project, I want to first take some time to clean up my shop, get organized, and restock all my little hardware bits that I have been burning through.  Plus I need to take a hard look at my budget and make sure I am not coming out upside down on these.. lol.

[dkersten]

setback after setback.. but still grinding forward.

Applied the art to the lower front, found out that the t-molding I got needs a .080 slot, not a 1/16" slot, so I had to re-route the front piece and the drawer front to accommodate the thicker t-molding.  I used the same t-molding as on Nostalgia, and this would explain why it was so difficult to install, lol. 

Went to put the front on, and discovered that despite checking it 3 times before cutting the coin door, I somehow managed to cut the coin door on the wrong end of the front panel.  How I managed to do that I have no idea.  So I removed the brass inserts, redrilled the holes, and put the inserts back in.  One of them broke halfway in though, so I had to cut it off since I couldn't get it back out again.. There is enough thread to work no problem, but frustrating nevertheless.

So I got that all done and got it mounted, but now it needs some minor adjustment.  Problem is, the keyboard drawer is already adjusted to the max, so I will end up drilling out the holes a little more to allow for more adjustment in the front panel.  It is a little off right now but it will come out nice in the end.  With all the setbacks I was just fed up and called it a night before plugging in the lighting and taking a pic with it lit.  Lighting is installed and ready to plug into the LEDWiz.


I should get further tonight, and then it is just waiting for the CP art to show.  My "fix" on the CP of adding some t-molding will get filled in tonight too, the new art will cover the spot and I am just too concerned that the corner will break off, especially with this t-molding being a little tight.  I might get it all fired up with the lighting installed so I can work on the animation programming..

[rablack97]

setback after setback.. but still grinding forward.

Applied the art to the lower front, found out that the t-molding I got needs a .080 slot, not a 1/16" slot, so I had to re-route the front piece and the drawer front to accommodate the thicker t-molding.  I used the same t-molding as on Nostalgia, and this would explain why it was so difficult to install, lol. 

Went to put the front on, and discovered that despite checking it 3 times before cutting the coin door, I somehow managed to cut the coin door on the wrong end of the front panel.  How I managed to do that I have no idea.  So I removed the brass inserts, redrilled the holes, and put the inserts back in.  One of them broke halfway in though, so I had to cut it off since I couldn't get it back out again.. There is enough thread to work no problem, but frustrating nevertheless.

So I got that all done and got it mounted, but now it needs some minor adjustment.  Problem is, the keyboard drawer is already adjusted to the max, so I will end up drilling out the holes a little more to allow for more adjustment in the front panel.  It is a little off right now but it will come out nice in the end.  With all the setbacks I was just fed up and called it a night before plugging in the lighting and taking a pic with it lit.  Lighting is installed and ready to plug into the LEDWiz.


I should get further tonight, and then it is just waiting for the CP art to show.  My "fix" on the CP of adding some t-molding will get filled in tonight too, the new art will cover the spot and I am just too concerned that the corner will break off, especially with this t-molding being a little tight.  I might get it all fired up with the lighting installed so I can work on the animation programming..

Looks good, Y not get you some coin door blue and red inserts?

[dkersten]

I am lighting them with RGB and running them off LEDBlinky.  I will probably do some kind of transition from red to blue and back again.. haven't decided yet. 

[dkersten]

OK, got the front aligned properly, then I mocked up the lighting (just plugged it into 12v, not through the controller yet), set the old CP on, and fired up the computer to take a couple shots.

Then I got the side art and t-molding on, and wow I am really happy with how it is coming together.  I had to open the t-molding slot a little by setting the router up with the 1/16" slot cutter, get it centered perfectly, then adjust 1/128" up and run it, and then down the same and run it.. doesn't seem like much, but that extra 1/64" makes a huge difference.  It was far easier on my router table to do this for the front cover as my lift has .002" increments.  I probably could have just loaded up the 3/32" cutter and run it, but I didn't want it to be loose, and the fit was nice and tight but not so much that I was splitting the MDF putting it in.

So I have a few things left to do yet:  Vent holes in the back, and the two back covers.  A hole for the wires to pass from the CP to the inner cab.  Securing the subwoofer and maybe even the PC, and cleaning up the wiring.  Routing the wire for the coin door lighting so you can still open the door and not have it in the way.  Wiring up the PC so I can use the remote momentary switch to turn it on and off.  Drilling a hole in the PC case to run the wires for 5v and power out to the cabinet.  Mounting and wiring up the LED-Wiz.  Installing the rear cab lighting.  And of course the entire Control Panel.  All those details are one good solid evening in the shop, the CP is a couple evenings or a full day at my kitchen table hunched over while running wiring all over the place.. Then it is just about programming the lighting and maybe adding a few more games before locking everything down and delivering it.  Even after the ~80 hours of work I have into it, I still have a solid 10+ hours left..
edit:  These pics don't come close to doing it justice, the compression from the jpeg's makes my super clean gradients and sharp silhouettes look like crap.  But you get a good idea anyway..

Here is the front view with everything on.  It is hard to get a pic that shows the unlit art and the backlit marquee, cab lighting, and monitor since they are all so different to the camera, but I think I captured it well.


And here is a shot with lights off.  The yellow stripes just don't show up well on cameral, but the yellow text and lines really pop on the otherwise blue, red, and purple background, and the black cab is a nice contrast to the colors, especially those touches of yellow.  The t-molding with the chrome stripe was definitely the right choice here, anything else just wouldn't have done it justice.  I am anxious to get a shot like this with the buttons all lit up too.


And finally, here are two shots of the sides.  It flows REALLY well and I couldn't be happier with the results.

[dkersten]

Got the vent hole cut and the grill on, cut the hole for the CP wiring, got the LEDWiz mounted and wired to the front lighting (sides and coin door), then spent some time tying wires up and cleaning things up there.  I decided to mount the computer down, and after some consideration decided to remove the side of the case, screw it down (with felt pads for vibration), then just slide the computer onto it and put the screws in.  Simple and easy solution.  With the power button external and an external USB port, there is simply no need to access the computer unless it needs to be serviced.  I also applied some felt pads to the side of the subwoofer, then used 2 L brackets to mount it securely in place.  All wiring is secured except for the keyboard and mouse wires, which need to be able to come out during transport.  I also added battens for the back covers.

All I have left is the back covers, lighting on the back, which is simply a matter of hooking it up and taping it down (haven't decided for sure if I even want lighting on the back), and the control panel.  The art made it to town yesterday, but despite landing here at 6 am, they didn't bother to deliver it, because 2 days for priority 2 day mail would be too fast, it has to take 3 days or longer I guess..
Here are some pics of the guts.. The purple looking lighting is because the cab lighting is on



Then I spent some time playing with the lighting in LEDBlinky.  I set up some cross fade animations and set them to be run while the FE is active.  Here is a video of the animation in action.  The left goes from red to blue and back, pausing on the red and blue, the right does the opposite at the same time, and the coin door buttons go from purple to blue, then to red, then back to purple.  Unfortunately my phone's camera doesn't do a good job of distinguishing between blue and purple, so it doesn't translate well to video.  If you look at the reflection on the concrete, you can see the actual colors better.  I am going to lengthen the blues and reds and shorten the transition time, although I want to keep the transition smooth so I will keep the increments small and just decrease the frame time.  I am trying to minimize the "purple time" but not have a harsh transition.  Maybe I will try fading to black, then up to the new color.. hmm.. I would love to throw some green in there but everything else is blue and red and purple, so it wouldn't really fit.  I tried zooming into the coin reject buttons at the end of the video but they pretty much come across as purple in the video, even though there is a distinct cross fade going on.  I didn't wire the left and right on separate channels, so I just wanted something in the middle to compliment the left and right colors..


So I have 3 issues I want to work out.  First, the computer won't go to sleep while the animation is running.  I think this is something with the LED-Wiz as I have not had this problem with the Ipac UIO.  I can get around this by setting the power button on the computer to be a sleep button, making it easy to put the cab to sleep when not in use, but preventing the long load times when they want to use it.  With the latest version of the ipac UIO firmware, I can set a wake key, so you can just walk up, press the button, and be playing in just a few seconds (about 10-15 to wake Mala up and reload the animations).

Second, and this is going to be a big problem, when I DO force the computer to sleep with the sleep button, the animation just freezes, and the LED's stay on.  This is a problem.  I need a way to sleep the computer and have the whole thing turn off.  Again, the ipac UIO doesn't have this issue as when the computer sleeps, the LED's turn off.  I was trying to find a setting to turn off the USB ports when in sleep mode, but nothing I tried made any difference.  If I can't find a solution here, I am not sure what I can do.

Third, if I dedicate the LED-Wiz to cabinet lighting in LEDblinky, I can't use it for sound animation.  I would love to have it run a FE animation, and then when the game starts, to blink to the game sounds using the same animation sequence or maybe something a little more exciting.  This isn't a deal breaker like the first two, but I was hoping to come up with a way to do this.  Perhaps there is something in the setup I haven't found yet..

[yamatetsu]

Nice !

My probably totally unreasonable idea for the lighting would be to add a horizontal bar of LEDs (maybe at the bottom), that would allow the light to 'travel' between the two pillars (sorta like the thing on the Knight Rider car). The animation wouid start with the left pillar being lit up, the right one dark. The light on the horizontal bar begins traveling from left to right, thus 'draining' the left pillar, causing it to fade to dark. Upon reaching the right pillar, the light begins to pour into it, thus lighting it up. When the right pillar is lit and the left is dark, a little pause, then the animation is reversed.

[dkersten]

Hmm, that's a cool idea.. I could light the bottom, but once on carpet it will be covered up   The gap is only about an inch, and all I could do would be to raise the front legs up which will tilt the cab back toward the wall.. At this point I am not taking that panel off and cutting it either, lol.  I will have to think about that more.. There might be something I can do there..

And I think I know the solution to turning off the lights when the PC sleeps:  I can wire a 12v relay to the PC's 12v, and turn off my separate power source when it goes off.  That way the PC has to be awake for the lighting to be powered.  The upside is I could have the marquee turn on and off with it too since it is using the same 12 volts.  Very easy to do and I think I have a few old 12v relays lying around. 

Still waiting to hear back from RandyT about the sleep issue though, I would prefer if the computer would go to sleep after XX minutes by itself and not require a manual press of a button. 

[dkersten]

Well, it is done and delivered..

I got the CP art Friday evening, and didn't waste any time getting started.  Took about 30 minutes to get the art applied and the holes cut out.  Then I started getting stuff installed in it.  Overall it went smooth.  I worked on it for about 2 hours Friday night, got half the wiring done, then Saturday morning I had to get up somewhat early to haul kids around, and afterward I sat down for about 2 more hours and finished up the rest of the wiring.  It came out really good, although there was one big hiccup..

When designing the CP layout, I was trying to keep in mind that the last 2 CP's I did, I put the admin buttons above the trackball, and all too often I would be playing a game and end up hitting the exit button by mistake.  So I moved them to the right corner this time.  But somehow I simply spaced the fact that I have a plunger in that corner that allows me to open the control panel from underneath.  This was landing squarely on the Pause button.  It didn't take long to move the plunger to the other side, and I even had to trim out some of the support for the CP to allow for that pause button.  So no big deal in the end, just an oversight.


With the CP done, and the rest of the detail work finished, I got started on the lighting animation.  I ended up adding another strip below the sides, then set the animation to "chase" the next strip in a clockwise motion.  The first strip transitions from solid red to dark red while the next one is going from dark red to black and the next from black to dark blue, etc.  Then the first goes from dark red to black while the next is going from black to dark blue and the next from dark blue to solid blue... The effect was nice, and I used the coin button lights as the "top" of the circle.  Here is a video of the animation running just on the cab lights.


When both controllers were running animations, the performance was definitely slower.  Not much I could do without simplifying the animations, and I didn't want that, so I left it.  It was OK, just not quite as fast and as smooth as I would have liked.

So after some finishing touches, getting NES and SNES emulators set up and working, making sure everything is running right, and making my back cover panels, I called it a "done" project and delivered it.

The best part was when his kids, who had no idea they were getting this, came into the room and saw it for the first time.  We started with the lights off in the room and all the lights on the cabinet on and going, and they were in shock.  Then we turned the lights on and after a minute or two they realized it was all "star wars" themed and they went nuts.  The funny part was a game was selected that didn't have a cabinet picture, so the default picture of their cabinet was in place, and one of the two boys points to the picture and says "I want to play THAT game!".  They were so surprised at all this, they didn't have a chance to take in all the details.  When they noticed it was star wars themed, they kept saying "It's star wars?  It's star wars!" and I pointed to the Marquee and said "It's better than star wars, what does that say?" and the youngest looks at it and says "Willy's Wars?" and we all got a good laugh as in his excitement he forgot his own last name.  When he realized it was "Wylie's" he couldn't even speak he was so happy.  I showed them how to work the front end and watched them play a few games before leaving them alone to play.  They weren't raised with video games around much, so this is all very new and very cool to them.  And their dad was chomping at the bit to kick them off it and play himself. 

Here are the final pics I took:

[yamatetsu]

Very nice ! Congrats on another job very well done.

[dkersten]

Thank you, Yam!  This might be the last one for a while, I am burned out, lol.  3 cabs in about 4 months.. ugh, I have 2 more I am supposed to do, plus I want to build a sit down racer for myself, but I think I am going to take a break from it.  About midway through this one I started to get bored with it, and until I started playing with the ambient lighting (something new), I just wasn't having as much fun as before. 

[EMDB]

You're fast...   Again a nice clean build. I don't like the artwork very much but that's personal. As long as the new owner likes it it's fine.

[rablack97]

Thank you, Yam!  This might be the last one for a while, I am burned out, lol.  3 cabs in about 4 months.. ugh, I have 2 more I am supposed to do, plus I want to build a sit down racer for myself, but I think I am going to take a break from it.  About midway through this one I started to get bored with it, and until I started playing with the ambient lighting (something new), I just wasn't having as much fun as before.

Yeah i feel you on this one, i have one more to build and it will probably be the last one as well.  It's one thing to build one for yourself, but when you start building for others the pressure of perfection and deadlines takes all the fun out of it.  Hopefully all will go well, but the more you build and hand out the more calls your gonna get for maint.

Very nice build though.....great job.