Converting Space Invaders Cocktail To Vertical Multigame

[DaredevilDave]

As seen in my other project thread (Motorcycle Cabinet) I recently found an old Space Invaders (Deluxe I believe) cocktail for $50 on Craig's List. Figured it was time to give it a thread of its own.

The photos:








I should take one more photo from the top. The wooden table top part is also included.

The guy I got it from spray painted it black, so that will need to be sanded down. I wish he hadn't. He also drilled out the original control panels and did a poor job hiding the old holes with a vinyl cover. Can't see that in these photos but there are indentations where the old holes were

What I am planning on doing is making it a vertical multi-game cabinet. I'm not sure about much else though, like whether or not to make it look like the original S.I. game cabinet, or go for something different. Probably the latter but not sure.

I decided to post this new thread today because I found a CRT monitor and wanted to ask the experts here what they thought of it:

Apple Multiple Scan 20 - CRT monitor - 20"
There are a few different models and I'm not sure which this is yet, but the are essentially the same.

Connection types:
1 x VGA - 15 pin HD D-Sub (HD-15)
1 x - 15 pin D-Sub (DB-15)

CRT (not a flat screen one).

19 inch viewable. The bezel that came with my cabinet is 19 inch, and I believe the original Space Invaders monitor was as well.

I think 640 x 480 is the lowest supported res.

I pulled this information from here
https://www.cnet.com/products/apple-multiple-scan-20-crt-monitor-20-series/specs/

It's not every day I find a 19" curved CRT. The post says that "color needs to be adjusted". To me, this could mean it's old, washed out and the color etc is fading permanently. It's local so I can go see for myself.

I am curious about the connection types mainly. I'm not sure that they are adequate for a cabinet. I could go MAME or JAMMA board, whichever works easiest/best.

I'm still working on my first cabinet, but I'm always searching for monitors and this came up today. I am planning on keeping the cabinet for myself when completed.

Any help is appreciated!

[DaredevilDave]

I have a question regarding mounting a CRT in a cocktail cabinet.

Are the four donut-looking mounts in the corners of the tube enough to support the monitor on their own? I see no additional safe way to support it, and they seem really strong, but I'd like some advice

I finally found an acceptable monitor on CraigsList, for free 18" viewable "Envision" brand. Never heard of them - the tube says LG on it. It works fine, but I can replace it later if need be.

There are people trying to get over $100 for these on CL. I see the same ones month after month. I expected to pay a little, but a free one turned up. The guy was so happy to get rid of it!

Anyways, I took the case off, discharged it (nothing happened that I could tell), although I'm not touching it anywhere that I don't need to, just in case. I'm a rookie at this. I watched literally a dozen Youtube vids on discharging, read a few articles, and consulted my electrical contractor friend. 

CRT computer monitor vs LCD

This is only my second project. I have not even looked at a CRT in many years.

After doing a side by side comparison I really like the CRT over the LCD. Oh HELL ya! Even this crappy thing.

The first thing I noticed were the blacks, then the glow around the player ship in Galaga. I may have a shader on though, can't remember. It isn't noticeable on the LCD to my eyes. And the screen...it's...curved!

Now I'm looking at my stand-up cabinet - which has a really nice LCD in it - and thinking "damn too bad my cabinet will shatter if I put a big CRT in there!"

I can't imagine a cocktail cab with an LCD. If I didn't need an actual table in my house I wouldn't have picked up the cocktail at all, but this is a fun project and it will get used. It will look awesome (to me) with the CRT.

So...mounts on monitor tube...good enough to hold it in place?

Thanks!

ETA: Follow up question:

Does anyone make a metal bracket for these types of CRTs? I'm guessing that a bracket for a "real" arcade monitor wouldn't work. Or would it? I have a plan to mount this but it could be better.

[Peabo]

The mounts on the monitor tube... that's what they're there for.  Most are mount to a piece of plywood that is then mounted to the cabinet.  For classic arcade games, you can't beat a CRT.

You can see the original mount style in this photo:

[DaredevilDave]

Cool photo, thank you! I like the way that cabinet opens up.

It seems that I could attach the monitor to the lid but I'm thinking of mounting it into the cabinet instead so the top can be lifted off without it. And I don't trust the top piece to hold it. It would be a lot easier to line everything up if it were mounted on the top. I think.

I'm not sure how it was originally, and I'm having a hard time finding photos like yours. I don't have a frame for it.

The cabinet isn't much wider than the monitor, so I'm planning on mounting a long vertical 1.5 x 1.5 inch support up each corner wall. The cabinet corners are 45 degrees, so the supports would be too.

Then attach a metal brace to the top or side of each support/wood, then basically hang the monitor from its four corners. Then a thin piece of plywood to mount the pcb to.

This is a little tricky for me - trying to mount something that is too awkward and heavy to hold in place and measure. So gonna have to trust the tape measure and my math - yikes!

I'm probably heading to the cabinet shop today.

[DaredevilDave]

Still feeling sick so no cabinet shop today. Bummer.

Another question came to mind -

On a vertical cabinet, do most people set MAME to run vertically (rotated), or do you rotate the "entire OS" as I can do in nVidia settings? I'm guessing the former.

Seems like rotating the entire OS with nVidia control panel would make any maintenance or computer use easier.

Is there a problem running MAME on a cocktail cabinet in this manner?

I've designed my own front end for 16:9 and am converting it to work in 3:4 vertical. If I have to use the mouse to edit the FE and it's sideways - well I'm trying to figure out which will cause me the least amount of headache. I'm thinking rotating Windows 7 would be easiest.

[yotsuya]

Rotate the OS.

[DaredevilDave]

Thank you! One very solid agreement was all I needed, and I definitely got one.

I'm doing the FE in 3D so for a vertical screen I'm just moving the pertinent objects toward the center, getting rid of others. So now I have a custom FE that works in both orientations, at least with a flipped OS.

It (the 3D front end) looked good on the CRT last I checked.

These guys selling these monitors on CraigslList for $100 say "but this is a nice sharp monitor!" and I reply, "I know, that's the problem!"

Anyways, the CRT is a step up from the LCD I'm used to.

[DaredevilDave]

Howdy! Been awhile since I posted. I've been working more on my standup, but I needed to get this heavy CRT off my floor, so I decided to install it.

Sorry, my old images are gone. I cancelled my website acct and forgot I had images like these linked.



I was going to mount it in the cabinet body, but I ended up attaching it to the top instead. It's an 18" (actual size) CRT I got off CraigsList for free. The guys I mentioned earlier who wanted $100 for theirs still have them listed nearly a year later. The guy I got mine from couldn't wait to get rid of it. He was wondering about me probably though, "Why the hell are you so happy?"

Not sure about these mounts. I think they may be original, but what they were for I don't know. They are pretty close to perfect size for my monitor. The previous owner used them with some other brackets to hang a LCD in there I think. They are strong. I lifted the wooden lid with monitor attached and carried it around sideways before setting it into the cabinet and it's firmly in place.

4 brackets, one at each corner. I forgot to wire in the ground, but I need to shim it anyways. You can criticize me if you want about the mounting job haha. Brackets are thick and strong. I could maybe use better bolts. Think it will hold or should I improve it?


By the way, I learned about the hazards of CRTs and how to discharge them before doing this. I was actually freaked out when I first removed all the plastic. I want to turn it on again now that it's installed, but I don't wanna fuss with discharging it again haha. It didn't seem to need it last time. Didn't hear a "pop" anyways. I read that some monitors don't need manual discharging but I ain't risking that.

I think the bezel is one inch too big. I can see beyond the edges of the usable screen. Can I order a bezel that will fit a computer CRT? Maybe they're the same curvature as an arcade monitor I dunno. Or maybe it will be fine once the glass is in place.

I just moved to a new town and could use a small table to eat on, so I wanna get this done! And I'm excited about the CRT. It looks so much cooler than the LCD. Smooth, not perfect, and curved!!!