Mini Qbert - [FINISHED]

[vwalbridge]

Everybody loves Qbert, right?!

Qbert is such an iconic arcade machine for me. It's one of those games that can really stand on it's own because it is truly "like no other". From the synthesized voice chip, joystick only controls and the integrated pinball knocker, Gottleib's Qbert is a unique one-of-a-kind arcade.  I've always loved Qbert but never had a proper method for playing it. Qbert was released on just about every platform known to man but the only real way to play it is on an arcade with a joystick tilted 45 degrees. I've built a couple other arcades with Qbert loaded on them but now is the time to have a dedicated cabinet. And since I apparently don't know how to build a full size cabinet, I'll be making a mini Qbert too. I guess you could put it in the bartop category, but I'm not chopping the bottom half off. Rather scaling the entire cab down by 50%.

I wish that I could say I'm bringing something completely new and fresh to the arcade building community with this build...but I'm not. I'll just be building the best mini Qbert I can.

So if like Qbert ...then here we go!

I have about 90% of the wood cutting done. I'll be using 1 inch, 1/2 inch and 1/4 inch MDF for this build.
Qbert was a somewhat short cabinet to begin with at about 64 inches, so mine will be half that at 32 inches tall. Here are the sides next to my workbench which is 36 inches tall.


Just roughly setting up some of the pieces to see how it well all fits. I think that wood glue and some very small brad nails will hold it all together. Lot's of angled cuts on this cab. I had to adjust the angle of my table saw to the max 45 degrees for some of these cuts.


Here are the sides next to a spray paint can to give some size comparison.

[reptileink]

I love the smell of a fresh build in the morn......er, ANYTIME!

Looking forward to this as I work in miniature scale in another hobby of mine....

[Vidiot]

Oh boy this is gonna be cool. Subbed.

[Pauly]

Can't wait.

[TheDude]

Looking forward to watching the build ! 

[vwalbridge]

Hey thanks reptileink, Vidiot, Pauly and TheDude! I feel like the pressure is on now! 

I'd like to use the Suzo System 500 Joystick in this cab. It's also known as the Euro-Stick. Found at ultimarc.com



It's the closest stick I can find that matches the look of the original Qbert. It also has a REALLY short throw and that could be nice for Qbert. And it's only $16. Does anyone object to this stick?

I'd use an original Qbert stick but those are pretty dang expensive....if you can even find one. Plus they are very oddly shaped and wouldn't conform well to anything but a metal panel. 

[Vidiot]

I don't have any experience with that stick but I always thought it looked like the Q*Bert stick. For that price you cant go wrong. Even if you don't like it you're not out much. I say go for it!

[SpaceHedgehog]

Very cool. Just out of interest, how are you cutting your small panels?

[vwalbridge]

Very cool. Just out of interest, how are you cutting your small panels?

Oh dear...  I'm scared to admit this... but since you asked: 

I sketched the outline of the sides with a pencil and then use a jigsaw to rough-cut it all out. I get the jigsaw within about a quarter of an inch to the line. (If your jigsaw is like mine, then it cannot be trusted worth a dang) Then I come back and clamp a straight edge of a board to the bottom and use a flush-cut router bit to make a perfectly straight line. Like seen in this picture:


I then use an orbit sander to fine tune the corners. After I get one panel perfect, I sandwich the 2 sides together and use the flush-cut router bit again to get them identical to each other.

It's a pretty bush-league way of doing it but it gets the job done with minimal tools. For all the internal cuts, I use a table saw because that gets me the exact angels I need.

By the way, I'm stunned by your builds. Absolutely amazing structures and engineering. I have a special respect for what it takes to build something that fits together while making sure it even looks good at the same time. Superb work.

[Vidiot]

Oh dear...  I'm scared to admit this... but since you asked: 

I sketched the outline of the sides with a pencil and then use a jigsaw to rough-cut it all out. I get the jigsaw within about a quarter of an inch to the line. (If your jigsaw is like mine, then it cannot be trusted worth a dang) Then I come back and clamp a straight edge of a board to the bottom and use a flush-cut router bit to make a perfectly straight line. Like seen in this picture:


I then use an orbital sander to fine tune the corners. After I get one panel perfect, I sandwich the 2 sides together and use the flush-cut router bit again to get them identical to each other.

It's a pretty bush-league way of doing it but it gets the job done with minimal tools. For all the internal cuts, I use a table saw because that gets me the exact angels I need.

That's exactly how I did mine too. 

[SpaceHedgehog]

That makes three of us then 

Thanks for the comments btw - appreciated 

Edit: I even use those old school G Clamps you have showing in the picture. A right pain they are but very stable.

[vwalbridge]

That's exactly how I did mine too. 

That makes three of us then 

Thanks for the comments btw - appreciated 

Edit: I even use those old school G Clamps you have showing in the picture. A right pain they are but very stable.

Phew! I feel much better now knowing some of the best builders on here use the same methods. 

...and yes, one can never have enough clamps of all types. 

[vwalbridge]

I don't have any experience with that stick but I always thought it looked like the Q*Bert stick. For that price you cant go wrong. Even if you don't like it you're not out much. I say go for it!

Done and done then. Decision made and stick ordered. Thanks for the nudge forward Vidiot. 

[dmckean]

The original Q*Bert joystick was actually made by Suzo and used microswitches.

[emphatic]

The SUZO 500 is excellent, but has some centering issues. The shaft is centered by a plastic piece that's 1 mm too small and the microswitches have some room to shift when you reassemble it (as you have to take it apart when mounting it). The throw/engage is extremely short, but me, I really love these sticks.

[vwalbridge]

The original Q*Bert joystick was actually made by Suzo and used microswitches.

I did not know that. Thanks for that info! The original Qbert joystick is like trying to find bigfoot online. 

[vwalbridge]

The SUZO 500 is excellent, but has some centering issues. The shaft is centered by a plastic piece that's 1 mm too small and the microswitches have some room to shift when you reassemble it (as you have to take it apart when mounting it). The throw/engage is extremely short, but me, I really love these sticks.

Thanks a ton for that feedback! Good to know because I've heard similar things as well. I have heard that you need to disassemble the joystick just to mount it. (Unless you want a massive hole to allow the balltop to pass through)

Looks like I made a good choice. This stick should work! Might look a little jumbo sized in this cab but oh well.

[vwalbridge]

Received some parts in the mail yesterday. I'll mention a few of them.


Jam bluetooth speaker. I've used this speaker before. Plenty loud and sounds great. Also has convenient "line-in" and powers over USB.


Griffin Powermate for volume control. I've also used this before. Very easy method for controlling volume. I'll just hide it inside the cab


Coin button. I think I'll try to integrate this into the coin mech somehow


Red metal Player 1 and 2 buttons. Really wanted to use translucent red buttons but I simply couldn't find any small enough


12v solenoid for the knocker. It's the perfect size. This thing has PLENTY of punch to it. In fact, I think it "thwacks" loud enough against itself so I might not have the pin hit the side of the cab


I also bought this 5.4v knocker just in case. Cutest little thing but far too small for my cab. Also, it's the "pull" type action so it wouldn't work anyway. Just thought it was cool to show how small solenoids get


I also bought a 1.8v led power button seen in the first pic. It's black with a yellow ring. Thought the yellow would compliment Qbert. But I'm a bit confused how I'm going to power it off USB or 12v computer power supply.

[reptileink]

Pardon my "noobness", but what does the knocker do?

[HaRuMaN]

Pardon my "noobness", but what does the knocker do?

Q-bert has a knocker that fires when you jump off the platform. 

[reptileink]

and does what exactly? 

[vwalbridge]

and does what exactly? 

When the developers were first working on Qbert, they were trying to figure out a way to make Qbert unique and different from other arcades. And since Gottleib was a pinball machine manufacturer, they had pinball knockers lying around. They thought it would be cool to make the knocker "thwack" on the inside of the cabinet near the bottom. Making it sound like Qbert actually falls inside the cab. Pretty cool right?

Also, another neat bit of history:

The sound is generated by an internal coil that hits the interior of a cabinet wall. Foam padding was added to the area of contact on the cabinet; the developers felt the softer sound better matched a fall rather than a loud knocking sound. The cost of installing foam, however, was too expensive and the padding was omitted.

[Vidiot]

Received some parts in the mail yesterday. I'll mention a few of them.

Coin button. I think I'll try to integrate this into the coin mech somehow


Red metal Player 1 and 2 buttons. Really wanted to use translucent red buttons but I simply couldn't find any small enough

Those buttons look pretty sweet. Are they from eBay or?

[vwalbridge]

Those buttons look pretty sweet. Are they from eBay or?

Purchased them both from Amazon:

Red button: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00L23UR3Y?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o03_s01

Stainless steel button: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00JR3U90C?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o02_s00

Say Vidiot, I know you used LED buttons for your Dream Machine. What voltage were they and how did you power them?

[Vidiot]

Those buttons look pretty sweet. Are they from eBay or?

Purchased them both from Amazon:

Red button: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00L23UR3Y?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o03_s01

Stainless steel button: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00JR3U90C?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o02_s00

Say Vidiot, I know you used LED buttons for your Dream Machine. What voltage were they and how did you power them?

Thanks. I wanna check those out sometime!

Yeah I used these Angel Eye buttons from eBay. They say they are 12v but I am powering mine just fine with 5v.

[reptileink]

and does what exactly? 

When the developers were first working on Qbert, they were trying to figure out a way to make Qbert unique and different from other arcades. And since Gottleib was a pinball machine manufacturer, they had pinball knockers lying around. They thought it would be cool to make the knocker "thwack" on the inside of the cabinet near the bottom. Making it sound like Qbert actually falls inside the cab. Pretty cool right?

Also, another neat bit of history:

The sound is generated by an internal coil that hits the interior of a cabinet wall. Foam padding was added to the area of contact on the cabinet; the developers felt the softer sound better matched a fall rather than a loud knocking sound. The cost of installing foam, however, was too expensive and the padding was omitted.

Wow, I never knew that....lol. I also played Q-bert in arcades and never realized this. Of course, I was proably 10 at the time...lol.

Thanks for the info! 

[vwalbridge]

I received my shipment from ultimarc.com. Still can't believe how fast Andy gets his stuff out from the UK. Thanks Andy!

However, the Suzo system 500 stick I was hoping to use is just far too big. There just isn't any way I can make this fit on my tiny control panel. And even if I did, it would probably get in front of the screen and look really disproportional to the rest of the cab. Too bad, it's a pretty rad stick. Oh well, maybe I'll build a full size Qbert someday. 


Purchased a used roll down coin mech on ebay for only $9. The original Qbert had a larger black coin mech but there was no way that would fit/look right on this mini cab. The jury is still out on painting this one black.


However, it was really dull and scratched from being used so I threw it on my buffing wheel and it came out with a pretty nice mirror finish. Didn't get out every scratch but its much better.


I really like the look of a coin mech on a cab so I had to put one on but there was no way a coin door would look right so I just traced this one for the cut out.


Used my forstner bit to cut out the corners. Then I used my crappy jigsaw to hollow it out.


I followed up with my straight router bit and free-handed the rest.


Here it is mounted to the front panel of the cab. I'll replace the 4 screws holding it in with some small carriage bolts later


Drilled a basic pattern of holes for the speaker above the monitor.


Also drilled a similar patern of holes on the bottom inside of the cab for cold air intake. I used a center-punch. Really great tool and I use it almost all the time.


Anyone that has used MDF out there knows what this board is for. 


Used my router and rounded off the front edge of the control panel.


Here is power and exhaust fan on the back-bottom. I would normally put the exhaust fan on the rear-top because heat rises but I think this will be OK in this small cab. The air will pull across the computer just fine.


I'm using a mini atx for this build. I would have preferred using an Intel NUC. But this motherboard was free. (I don't ever complain about free) And I need 12v to power my knocker anyway so the external power supply is helpful.


I was able to start fastening things together. I'm just gluing the front, bottom and back together here.


I used clamps to hold it tight while the wood glue dries. I just clamped 2 squares to each other to keep the whole thing square. I have a feeling that wood glue might be all I need for this mini cab but I can fall back on some small nails later if need be.

[firedance]

Looking good so far

[AzureKnight]

I love mini cabs....this looks very nice so far.

[nhenry1647]

Looking good!  Just curious about something.  Having the knock when qbert falls is an awesome idea.  I remember playing QBert for the first time in our local convenience store way back when it first came out and being thrilled by the knock!  Um, how do you intend to activate the knocker when qbert falls in your build? 

[vwalbridge]

Looking good so far

Thanks!

I love mini cabs....this looks very nice so far.

I love mini cabs too but one of these days I need to build a full size.  But I need a mini pinball first. 

Looking good!  Just curious about something.  Having the knock when qbert falls is an awesome idea.  I remember playing QBert for the first time in our local convenience store way back when it first came out and being thrilled by the knock!  Um, how do you intend to activate the knocker when qbert falls in your build?

Hey nhenry1647!  I'll be using Mamehooker by The Dragon King to capture Mame's output of Qbert or coily falling. Then I will use the output controller PAC-DRIVE from ultimarc to fire the knocker through a relay. I've never done this before but there is a pretty decent tutorial on this forum. It's also good practice for building a virtual pinball machine someday. 

[vwalbridge]

So I have glued the front, bottom, and rear to the right side of the cab. However, I'm at a very precarious stage because I can't seem to figure out how I'm going to glue all the rest of the thin pieces to the side while I sandwich on the left side at the same time. It was easy to do the pieces I have done so far because they are all square to each other. But these angled pieces have really slowed me down.

And I can't really nail into 1/4 MDF from the outside without blowouts. I don't want to stop and install batons on the inside either so I'll have to think of something.

[Vidiot]

Really starting to take shape!

Could you use little angle brackets from the hardware store? I know they make them all kinds of sizes. Something like this?

http://www.homedepot.com/p/Everbilt-3-4-in-Zinc-Plated-Corner-Braces-4-Pack-13542/202950157

[Vigo]

Really starting to take shape!

Could you use little angle brackets from the hardware store? I know they make them all kinds of sizes. Something like this?

http://www.homedepot.com/p/Everbilt-3-4-in-Zinc-Plated-Corner-Braces-4-Pack-13542/202950157

  These work great, but I usually go for ones with at least two screw holes on each side to prevent spinning.

[vwalbridge]

Really starting to take shape!

Could you use little angle brackets from the hardware store? I know they make them all kinds of sizes. Something like this?

http://www.homedepot.com/p/Everbilt-3-4-in-Zinc-Plated-Corner-Braces-4-Pack-13542/202950157

  These work great, but I usually go for ones with at least two screw holes on each side to prevent spinning.

Thanks Vidio and Vigo. The small L bracket is an excellent suggestion. I've got one more "homemade" method I can try then L brackets it is!

[vwalbridge]

Well I guess my "homemade" method worked. But this certainly wouldn't cut it on a bigger cab. I just ended up using 2 squares like book ends to keep the pieces in place while the glue dried. I could only do one piece at a time, but the good news is that Gorilla Glue dries really fast. Not fancy... but sometimes you just got to be creative. 


I used this technique until I had all the horizontal pieces in place.


Then I used some glue and small brad nails to adhere the left side of the cab.


The cab is now upright. Just need to fine tune the control panel width and drill a power button hole on the top.

[vwalbridge]

I've been working on my Qbert knocker the last couple of days. Set up a rough arrangement of the solenoid, relay, Mame Hooker and Ultimarc PacDrive. It was a little confusing at first, but I got it working just right. The solenoid fires just right when Qbert falls off the board. I've never made anything like this before, so it was pretty satisfying when it first worked.



However, I was thrown for a loop at first because I later realized I bought a PacDrive that turns ON all the outputs when it first receives power. Therefor, the solenoid would fire and stay open as soon as the computer turned on. After about 2 minutes, I could fry an egg on that solenoid!

But Andy over at Ultimarc.com has some fantastic customer service and he is gonna swap that PacDrive for a Special "Outputs OFF at power on" version. That will fix that issue.

Now I'm curious why anyone would want the version that powers all the outputs on during initial power up?

[rablack97]

 

 

[vwalbridge]

 

Thanks rablack97 but I have to give credit to those that paved the road for me. This thread details how to do it:

http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?topic=109029.0

[vwalbridge]

Decided to go with the U360 joystick so I took it apart and installed the 4 way restrictor plate and stiffer spring. I ordered the longer shaft but decided to leave on the shorter stock shaft. I decided not to fuss with any other stick. I've already used the U360 so I know it will fit. Plus I get the added benifit of not needing an I-PAC.


Caulked in all the seems and edges in preparation for paint.






Built a small shallow coin box and epoxied 4 really strong magnets to the back of it. Little messy with the glue but during my first attempt, the magnets started attracting each other.  I'll be painting this box anyway.


Then epoxied 4 magnets just below my coin mech.


The 4 magnets will auto-align and hold the coin box in place.


Here it is attached. I thought about using a  french cleat, but this was easy and is plenty strong.

[HaRuMaN]

Why caulk?

[vwalbridge]

Why caulk?

yea...guess I didn't have to caulk the seams.    There was one spot near the front-lower edge of the control panel that didn't quite fit tight. Wood filler or bondo would have been overkill. So since I started, I decided to just do every seam. It's paint-able and gives and nice "one continuous" piece look. Then it really got out of hand when I caulked the inside as well. 

[leapinlew]

I like to use caulk too sometimes. It does give a pretty clean look, and easy to install.

[vwalbridge]

Using cupboard magnets to hold on the rear door. I thought about keeping true to the original and use hinges. Have the door open like a book. However, hinges were going to interfere with the deep slot cut for the T-molding.

Screwed strike plates to the back of the door.


Screwed the magnets to the inside of the cab.


With the door attached.


A view from the inside.

[vwalbridge]

I don't have much artwork to create for this cab because I'm just using the stock art and shrinking it down. However, I did have a couple pieces that needed adjustment.

The control panel.


Serial Tag


Keychain Front


Keychain Back


Printed out the control panel draft artwork and stuck it to my control panel. This is always a crucial step. I can already tell adjustments need to be made.


My U360 plate is going to barley fit. On a related note, does anyone know if there is a 25mm ball top that fits on a U360? The stock ball top is 35mm. I'd like to go smaller if I could.

[vwalbridge]

I've started painting. I'm using Kilz to prime everything. As we all know, MDF with latex paint will swell without a good oil-based primer.


I was trying to figure out how to mount my marqee light clips. So I decided to epoxy them. But I needed the top edge of the cabit level so this is the angle I had while the epoxy cured.


The white clips are nice because I'll need to remove the light from time to time to access the speaker behind it. That light is only 10 inches wide.


I cut the plexi for my marquee and held it up there. The light has a "high" and "low" setting. Both adequately back light the area.


I also received my artwork from BYOAC member stpcore. He does awesome prints. Here is my translite marquee I ordered. I wish the "blacks" were darker but this is the nature of translite. I might be able to do another "shadow" print behind this one that blocks out more light but only in the black areas.


I does look really fantastic up close.

[Vidiot]

Very cool. Some nice progress. Did those clips come with your light fixture? I got my 18" fixture from Walmart and they didn't have anything like that.

Look'n good bud. 

[vwalbridge]

Very cool. Some nice progress. Did those clips come with your light fixture? I got my 18" fixture from Walmart and they didn't have anything like that.

Look'n good bud. 

Thanks Vidiot! Yes, the clips came with the light. I got it at Home Depot. I was surprised too. The bigger lights that cost more didn't even have clips or high and low settings. The bigger ones only have brackets that have to be screwed in. I definitely couldn't use screws as my cabinet is too thin.

[kiel0909]

this is awesome.  i love your magnet use.

[vwalbridge]

this is awesome.  i love your magnet use.

Thanks kiel! I've got even more magnets on deck for this build. 

[mike boss]

Super cool project.
Looking forward to watching this one.

[vwalbridge]

Super cool project.
Looking forward to watching this one.

Thanks mike boss. Appreciate it!

Screwed in the magnets that will hold down the rear of the control panel


Then screwed in the matching strike plates to the bottom of the control panel. I also glued a small strip of wood that will act as a cleat to keep the front edge of the control panel secure.


A view of the front bottom edge of the control panel. That cleat will slide behind the front edge.


The marquee light in it's final position


The cab is now completely primed and sanded smooth. 2 coats of kilz primer and hit it with some 220 grit sandpaper on my orbit sander. Silky smooth now. Kilz primer sands very smooth.




Installing the inset screws for my joystick. Had to remove a small portion of the front edge cleat to center it.


The MDF has a tendency to pucker around the edges of the inset screws so I sanded them smooth again


Joystick screwed into place


I wanted to mount the dust washer below the panel so I used 2 washers to raise it up just enough. The dust washer will slide between the joystick plate and the bottom of the control panel.


A view from the underside of the control panel. This joystick barley fits.


Starting to look like an arcade a little.


Center punched the drill spots for my P1 and P2 buttons.


I got lazy and used some crappy spade bits I had lying around to drill the button holes. I learned my lesson on that. Spade bits should be banned. They never drill precisely. I'm all Forstner bits now. Luckily they were not too bad and they fit ok.

[vwalbridge]

Applied the artwork to my control panel.


I still feel like a 25mm ball top would be more appropriate for this size cab.

[vwalbridge]

Masked off both sides of the cab in preparation for paint.




I'll be using Rust-oleum Satin Black.


First coat:


2nd and final coat




Back door and coin box


Kinda surprised, it took nearly 2 cans of paint to get it all covered. Sides are now ready for Qbert Yellow.

[Slippyblade]

Kinda surprised, it took nearly 2 cans of paint to get it all covered. Sides are now ready for Qbert Yellow.

I'm not surprised in the slightest.  Manufacturers are cutting portion sizes regularly and charging more and more.  Lot of times there isn't even notice.  Gatorage did that, last year maybe.  Their bottles were 32oz, now they are 28oz, yet almost all the marketing in the stores still says 32...

[DaOld Man]

This build is looking good.
Dang good.

[vwalbridge]

Kinda surprised, it took nearly 2 cans of paint to get it all covered. Sides are now ready for Qbert Yellow.

I'm not surprised in the slightest.  Manufacturers are cutting portion sizes regularly and charging more and more.  Lot of times there isn't even notice.  Gatorage did that, last year maybe.  Their bottles were 32oz, now they are 28oz, yet almost all the marketing in the stores still says 32...

You know...that's really good point. Lately, my toothpaste tubes have been coming with giant pockets of air in them. I seriously loose 1/2 the tube squeezing the air out.

[vwalbridge]

This build is looking good.
Dang good.

Thanks DaOld Man!  I've been keeping any eye on your RPi NES project. Always wanted to do one of those as well.

[vwalbridge]

Taped off the inside edges in preparation for the yellow sides.


I used Glidden "Slicker" semi-gloss for this Qbert yellow.


I also used a high-density foam roller and mixed the paint with Floetrol.


Here is the color of the paint in the can.


Here is the color of the paint mixed will some Floetrol. The Floetrol will lighten it a bit but it will still dry the original color.


Here is the first coat on both sides. Since this is such a light color, I'll probably need 3 coats to keep the white primer from bleeding through.

[Vidiot]

Looking great man. Keep up the good work! 

[dmckean]

Looks awesome!

[vwalbridge]

Looking great man. Keep up the good work! 

Looks awesome!

Thanks Vidiot and dmckean!

So a learning tip from me:

Floetrol only works when you use it at room temperature or colder. I wasn't really thinking about it at the time but I painted in my hot garage and the paint dried too fast. It wasn't given enough time to smooth out. The texture is a little more bumpy than I would have liked but I think I'll live with it. It's not horrible just not like the results I've seen before. It's more eggshell. I have a sneaky feeling I'll just make it worse trying to fix it.

[blockhead321]

Looks great ur quite the craftsman

Sent from my LG-E450f using Tapatalk

[vwalbridge]

Looks great ur quite the craftsman

Sent from my LG-E450f using Tapatalk

Thanks!

[vwalbridge]

Decided to 86 the coin mech and real quarters. So instead, I removed the coin mech from the face plate. Then put a chrome button where the coin return button would normally go. Here is the back:


Here is the front:


I then needed a way to block the coin and coin return openings. So I cut 2 pieces of kydex:


Marked the holes and center punched them for the screw posts.


Then used the existing screw posts to secure them.


I also wired up the switch.


Coin mech from the front.


Mounted to the arcade.


And epoxied magnet strike plates to the back of the bezel for mounting.


I also finished the 1/2 inch t-molding around the edges.

[johnrt]

That was a genious coin button solution! 

I'm REALLY enjoying this build! Great job! 

[blockhead321]

Just a thought for those looking for a coin mechanism solution not that yours isn't cool you could put a sensor in the coin slot so when you wave your hand infront of it u get a credit I haven't done it my self but I'm sure it would be easy I got the idea from my sensor gumball machine

Sent from my LG-E450f using Tapatalk

[CoryBee]

So freaking awesome!


I love it!!

[yotsuya]

So freaking awesome!


I love it!!

Speaking of crappers... :-)

[Slippyblade]

Loving this build.  I do have a question though and I may have just missed the answer.  What is the overall height on this guy and what screen is going into it?

Found the height in the first post, never mind...

[vwalbridge]

So freaking awesome!


I love it!!

Thanks! Appreciate it!

Loving this build.  I do have a question though and I may have just missed the answer.  What is the overall height on this guy and what screen is going into it?

Found the height in the first post, never mind...

Thanks Slippyblade. Here is a link to the exact screen I'm using. Tontec 10.1 LCD TFT

It's a pretty sweet display. It's 1280x800 so it looks very crisp up close.

[vwalbridge]

Wired up my control panel. Doesn't get much easier than this with the simplicity of the U360 Joystick. I just used breadboard jumpers everywhere. (I didn't bother with strict color coding)


I had to glue my P1 and P2 buttons in place because the threads were too shallow to reach across 3/4 MDF.


The 2 breadboard jumpers just hanging out there connect down to my coin button. It's convenient because I can disconnect the CP from the coin button when I need to remove the CP.


Here it is all wired up on the inside.

[harveybirdman]

So freaking awesome!


I love it!!

I was just lamenting how much I missed your ass....

Oh and this build is Cool vwalbridge!

[Vigo]

So freaking awesome!


I love it!!

Who is this CoryBee guy?

[harveybirdman]

Who is this CoryBee guy?

He's the Lizard King...

[vwalbridge]

So freaking awesome!


I love it!!

Who is this CoryBee guy?

I don't know...but he likes my build, so he seems like an alright guy!   ....sometimes left.

[CoryBee]

So freaking awesome!


I love it!!

Speaking of crappers... :-)

Hey now.

Thanks for the old love guys.

Really like the size of this build.

[vwalbridge]

Really like the size of this build.

Thanks CoryBee. The size of the cab is almost by accident. I liked the LCD size and resolution so much that I built the cab around it. (That would normally be a huge mistake) But I got lucky and it happens to be exactly 50% of the original cab. So when the cab is standing on a normal 32in table, the control panel and monitor sit at a tolerable playing height.

[vwalbridge]

My speaker is a wireless Jam speaker but it conveniently has a "line-in" and a Micro USB port for power.


However, this speaker obviously has a battery in it so that it can normally operate wirelessly. But this doesn't work for me because I need it to have constant power without the battery dying when the cab is powered off. You would think that as soon as the cab has power, the USB would just start charging. It does, but the audio cuts in and out when the battery is initially charging. So I simply opened up the speaker assembly and exposed the battery solder points:


...used a soldering iron to remove the battery




Now the speaker will only power on when the cab is on. Here it is mounted in the cab. Just glued it in place


I also picked up some small L brackets to mount my power supply:


Here is how they will hold the PS in place:


Got all my tiny hardware screwed into the side of some cardboard and ready for paint. Fan screws, fan grill, marquee screws.


I'm using my "go to" paint for small metal parts. Rustoleum Black Satin Enamel. ...and Yotsuya approved!


I love this paint. Does such a fantastic job on metal parts:


Marquee light in it's final spot. With the speaker sitting right behind it:


I've had my artwork for a while now and I let my paint dry for about a week so I put it on:

[GSXRMovistar]

Looking great, fantastic workmanship.

[CoryBee]

Friggin nice!

[8BitMonk]

Great job, love how this turned out!

[kiel0909]

did you print out a template and center punch your speaker hole drilling pattern? or did you draw it out yourself?

[Malenko]

Really great build and a really great in depth thread.  This is so much better than an aircraft carrier.

[vwalbridge]

Thanks a lot guys! Really appreciate the compliments. You have all done some really top notch work here so I'm just trying to keep up.

did you print out a template and center punch your speaker hole drilling pattern? or did you draw it out yourself?

I thought about using a template but just realized it was easier to draw it on with a straight edge and compass. I used a center punch to keep the drilling accurate.

[vwalbridge]

Put some heavy duty rubber feet on the bottom of the cab. They lift the cab up far enough to allow air intake on those vent holes on the right.


A few of the usual suspects used to wire up the inside of my cab.


I need to power my computer, monitor and marquee. So I started with one of the multi plugs. The monitor and computer will plug into this.


Cut one end off and wired up the insulated spade terminals.


Then plugged them into the back of my power socket.


Here is the back side. Those 2 white wires on the left are for the separate switch to power my marquee. (Sometimes I don't want the marquee light on while gaming. )


I'm using these little screw anchors with zip strips to keep all the wires organized.



Cannibalized the power switch wire from a computer and wired it up to my power button



Fed it thought the power hole and screwed it in. The other end plugs into the power switch pin-out on the motherboard.


On the inside of the cab I re-used the computer brass pcb feet and screwed them in the sides.


Here is one last look at my knocker assembly before it gets mounted inside.


Here it the knocker assembly all mounted inside on pcb feet.



Here is the rest of everything wired up.



Here is my usb volume knob


Here is a video of my knocker working with Qbert. (Just wanted to make sure it works one last time before mounting it up)

[Vidiot]

  Nice! Looking beautiful.

[Slippyblade]

I swear, I gotta be doing something wrong.  Every pic I see of the insides of other folks projects looks cleaner than mine.  Even the ones that claim to be "messy" look cleaner than mine.  The guts of my project tend to look like a wire factory exploded.

Oh yeah - this is an awesome build. 

[Peabo]

Great work!

[harveybirdman]

[BorgDog]

Awesome project, love the knocker.  I may have missed it somewhere, but what solenoid is that?

[vwalbridge]

I swear, I gotta be doing something wrong.  Every pic I see of the insides of other folks projects looks cleaner than mine.  Even the ones that claim to be "messy" look cleaner than mine.  The guts of my project tend to look like a wire factory exploded.

Oh yeah - this is an awesome build. 

Thanks Slippyblade! I work in IT so cable management comes with the territory.

[vwalbridge]

 

Harveybirdman get's first place prize for the first "knocker" joke of this thread! 

I was getting a little worried about you guys! I thought you were all slipping around here with the jokes! 

[vwalbridge]

Awesome project, love the knocker.  I may have missed it somewhere, but what solenoid is that?

Thanks BorgDog! Here is the exact 12V Solenoid I am using. For only 12v, this thing packs a punch.

So much punch, that I only have it hitting itself and it's loud enough.

[vwalbridge]

Here is the rear of my screen/bezel assembly. I simply used electrical tape to adhere the screen to the back of the bezel plexi. This screen was far to delicate to handle any other mounting technique


Here is the front of the assembly. The pcb on the right is the LCD control board running on HDMI.


This is a side-view of it all. Less than about 1/2 inch thick.


Mounted the control board inside the cab with some PCB feet.


Here is the entire assembly mounted inside the cab

[Malenko]

You are easily my favorite new member.

[Vigo]

+1   Love this project, appreciate your style.  I hope your work sets a precedent for future builds, because we need to see more of this kinda work around.

[vwalbridge]

You are easily my favorite new member.

+1   Love this project, appreciate your style.  I hope your work sets a precedent for future builds, because we need to see more of this kinda work around.

Thanks guys! Really means a lot coming from experienced collectors/builders such as yourselves. I haven't been doing this hobby for very long but I'm having a blast doing it. Wish I'd started it years ago.

Quite frankly, the real fun comes when I get to post updates and see what people think. It's just so much fun to BS with you guys and give each other crap every once and a while. 

[harveybirdman]

When are you building me the full-size version?

[vwalbridge]

When are you building me the full-size version?

You are totally right. I've had a lot of fun doing these mini-builds and they are challenging but I wish that I would have just built them full sized. I didn't really save any money. It takes just as much time. It certainly wasn't easier. And I have no idea why I was worried about them taking up space. Hell, I'd fill my garage with arcades right now if I could.

I can't stop thinking about new builds. Hell...I'm constantly thinking 2 builds ahead and I have not even finished the current build.

[wp34]

I'm in the middle of restoring a Qbert and love your build.  Your is smaller and nicer than mine.   

Your CP turned out fantastic.  Those red buttons in particular are a great touch.

Applied the artwork to my control panel.

[vwalbridge]

I'm in the middle of restoring a Qbert and love your build.  Your is smaller and nicer than mine.   

Thanks wp34! Appreciate it!

Man, you are very lucky to have an original Qbert. They have become VERY popular as of late and it's like a feeding frenzy whenever one pops up for sale. Even the fugly ones.

Speaking of which...why did people beat up Qberts so bad? Man, every time I seen an un-restored Qbert, it's always beat to hell.

Not sure if you have started a "restore thread" here or not but I'd love to follow your progress.

[wp34]

I have a thread but have not updated it in 4 years.   

http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?topic=103771.0#lastPost

The cabinet is waiting for yellow paint at this point.  For the black I used the same spray paint as you.  Several of your build pictures remind me of my project which is really cool.  In a few days I'll be posting updated pics.

[CoryBee]

You are easily my favorite new member.

I miss when you use to say that to me...

[Malenko]

You are easily my favorite new member.

I miss when you use to say that to me...

You aint new no more bro, I still love you though :* <3

[vwalbridge]

For my marquee retainers, I scored and snapped off a 1" piece of kydex.




Then I took that 1" piece of kydex and scored 1/4" edge.


Then bent over that 1/4" edge.


Took a center punch and marked the holes for the screws.


Drilled the holes in the kydex then center punched through the holes into the top of the cab to mark the holes


Removed the kydex and drilled the pilot holes for the screws.


Marquee is now fully mounted with screws I previously painted satin black. No need to paint the kydex. It already has a nice finsh.




I'm getting close to the finish line on this build. Just need to work on software/FE setup now.

[Vidiot]

Beautiful solution for the marquee retainers. Looks great!
Do you buy the kydex material online? eBay perhaps? I might want to get some of that for future projects.

[vwalbridge]

Beautiful solution for the marquee retainers. Looks great!
Do you buy the kydex material online? eBay perhaps? I might want to get some of that for future projects.

Thanks Vidiot! Man, I was really racking my brain trying to figure out a solution to these retainers and I sort of came up with this by accident. I just realized that I could carefully score one side and bend it over with out it breaking. It works if you don't bend it on the same side you score it on.

I've purchased all my Kydex Sheets from Amazon.com but you can also get an alternative product called ABS Sheets

Both available on Amazon.com and both come in multiple sheet thickness. Usually penny-thick or half-penny-thickness variants.

Both also are heat bendable with a heat gun. (This can be very tricky though)

[yotsuya]

That Kydex will say bent like that?

[vwalbridge]

That Kydex will stay bent like that?

That's the first thing I was worried about. When I came out in the garage this morning, I was expecting it to have sprung right back out but it definitely holds it's shape. I was entertaining the idea of having some metal bent for me but this solution is 100% cheaper.

I certainly wouldn't do this on a full-size cab because it just wouldn't be rigid enough for a longer distance.  But for something this small, it works.

[Slippyblade]

That plastic bends beautifully with a little heat.  As thin as that is, a hair dryer would do the trick.  I use similar stuff, much thicker though, when building armor for stick fighting.

[harveybirdman]

That plastic bends beautifully with a little heat.  As thin as that is, a hair dryer would do the trick.  I use similar stuff, much thicker though, when building armor for stick fighting.

Nerd alert....

  

[vwalbridge]

That plastic bends beautifully with a little heat.  As thin as that is, a hair dryer would do the trick.  I use similar stuff, much thicker though, when building armor for stick fighting.

Nerd alert....

  

We need a LARP-ing thread.

In fact, just the other day I was at a public park and there were about 25 LARPers doing their thing. Full gear, acting, the whole bit. It was everything I've been told...and more.

[Vigo]

I've purchased all my Kydex Sheets from Amazon.com but you can also get an alternative product called ABS Sheets

Both available on Amazon.com and both come in multiple sheet thickness. Usually penny-thick or half-penny-thickness variants.

Both also are heat bendable with a heat gun. (This can be very tricky though)

Thanks for the tip, man! I got a couple sheets of black ABS from my work that I now know what to do with.

[Slippyblade]

Yeah - we've covered this before.  Not a LARP.

[vwalbridge]

Yeah - we've covered this before.  Not a LARP.

Wow, those guys are not fooling around. 

Makes the group I saw at the park look like kids acting out an episode of Dora the explorer.

[Slippyblade]

We aren't even the most hard-core, though we are the largest.  If you want to see some serious ---steaming pile of meadow muffin--- - look up "Historical Medievel Battles".  Live steel, full contact, grappling, shield punching, the works.  That one is gaining traction internationally.  They require EMT personnel onsite at all times cause armor penetration isn't uncommon.

Sorry for the thread de-rail.

[vwalbridge]

I took a break from Qbert for a while but recently picked it back up and took it to the finish line. Mini Qbert is 100% finished. I have it running the following games in Hyperspin:

- Qbert


- FHMC Qbert (Faster Harder More Challenging)


-Qbert's Qubes


I've had some time to play on it and I'm pleasantly surprised how well it controls. The U360 performs very well for Qbert's unique joystick controls.

A big THANK YOU to everyone that followed my build. I'd also like to send a special "thanks" the following BYOAC members:

sellsellsell2000 for vectoring my Qbert Serial Tag

and

stpcore for the vinyl artwork and translite marquee prints.

[vwalbridge]

Here is a flood of final build pictures:

[harveybirdman]

Just might be non trad build of year.

 

[johnrt]

A beautiful build! 

Do you plan to release a video showing the knocker in action?

[yamatetsu]

     Niiice !!!

[johnrt]

Hmm..

Is it 6!#?9! or @!#?@!

Hell, I'm guessing this is the password some of you guys are using on the internet.

 

[vwalbridge]

Thanks guys! Really appreciate the compliments!

There have been some really stunning builds on here lately. I'm just trying to keep up!

I'm already thinking about my next 2 builds. 

Really enjoying this community. Have a lot of fun coming here every day.

I'll release a short video of mini Qbert in action soon.

[johnrt]

I'm already thinking about my next 2 builds. 

I know the feeling! 

It's like an obsession.

[emphatic]

  Excellent! 

[vwalbridge]

Excellent! 

Thanks! emphatic. Appreciate you following my build.


I also almost forgot to thank BYOAC user Howard_Casto for creating the awesome app MAME Hooker. Without it, mini Qbert's knocker would not have been possible. 

[wp34]

That turned out great.  So many cool touches from the coin door to the power button and the serial number.   And the paint on that thing literally pops off my screen.  Nicely done. 

[vwalbridge]

That turned out great.  So many cool touches from the coin door to the power button and the serial number.   And the paint on that thing literally pops off my screen.  Nicely done. 

Thanks! I really love the bright yellow sides of a Qbert as well.

I'm looking forward to seeing your real Qbert restore. Can't wait to see it finished. 

[cnsf]

Great project!  I may have missed this, but how did you get the knocker working?  Did you use MAMEHooker or something else?

[vwalbridge]

Great project!  I may have missed this, but how did you get the knocker working?  Did you use MAMEHooker or something else?

Thanks!

Yes, I used Howard's awesome MameHooker program to grab Q*bert's outputs. Once you have done that, then you can instruct the PAC-DRIVE to trigger and fire a relay that opens the solenoid (knocker)

Here is a image of the entire assembly:


And here is a video of it in action:


If you decide to do this, it's actually pretty easy and I can share the code I used to fire the knocker. I borrowed the code from another post somewhere and tweaked it to work a little better.

[leapinlew]

That's a nice arcade. If I had that, my friends and family would have already offered me 10's of dollars to build them one!

[dmckean]

I would check on the electrical tape holding the monitor every so often. Eventually it will lose it's stickiness.

[zinger]

That looks really great! I love Q-Bert! Is there anything you would have done differently?

[vwalbridge]

That's a nice arcade. If I had that, my friends and family would have already offered me 10's of dollars to build them one!

LOL. Aint that the truth. Matter of fact, I just had a buddy of mine ask me the same thing.

I would check on the electrical tape holding the monitor every so often. Eventually it will lose it's stickiness.

Funny you should say that because you were exactly right. It eventually peeled off on one edge. The screen is very delicate so I ended up using hot glue and that has seemed to hold for now.

That looks really great! I love Q-Bert! Is there anything you would have done differently?

I wish that I would have just built it full-sized.

It would have matched my other machines and it took just as much work anyway so I should have just done it.

It's a neat machine and still makes people smile, but a full-sized one would have been better.

[Malenko]

Totes off topic, thanks for the patron!

[Laythe]

Beautiful build.  Excellent work.  It is all so very clean.

I've been thinking about what you said, regarding the scale of it.  While it is true that a full sized machine wouldn't have been any more work, there is also something pretty cool about this being the only one of its kind.  I like to think that these projects are the sorts of things that are going to puzzle the heck out of the collectors a hundred years from now. 

[dmckean]

Beautiful build.  Excellent work.  It is all so very clean.

I've been thinking about what you said, regarding the scale of it.  While it is true that a full sized machine wouldn't have been any more work, there is also something pretty cool about this being the only one of its kind.  I like to think that these projects are the sorts of things that are going to puzzle the heck out of the collectors a hundred years from now. 

Yeah, I like the miniature size of it too. It's a sweet build, probably my favorite of last year.

[kiel0909]

did you purchase the sideart?  or did you have the art and have it printed somewhere?  im looking to do a 2/3 scale Q bert cab.

[vwalbridge]

did you purchase the sideart?  or did you have the art and have it printed somewhere?  im looking to do a 2/3 scale Q bert cab.

I had my artwork printed by Ken. He is a user here on BYOAC but I forgot his username.

However, he takes request via email anyway:

byoacrequests@gmail.com

His prints are really top-notch. And he is super easy to work with.

[HaRuMaN]

stpcore

[vwalbridge]

stpcore

Yes! Thanks HaRuMaN.