Restarting my half-finished MAME cabinet from a few years back. A bit lost now.

[DaddyLongLegs]

Hello!!

So a few years ago (I would estimate this was 2007) I purchased a Street Fighter Alpha 3 arcade cabinet for only $300. I remember at the time that this was a standard price for a machine that wasn't an original (the machine itself is completely black so I cannot even tell what it was originally).

I bought everything I needed for it. I made sure it was the proper refresh rate (I seem to recall something about making sure not to buy NFL Blitz that the guy was selling because the CRTs those used didn't have the proper refresh rate or something. My memory is trying to piece this all together now that I am starting this project up again).

Anyway I had my machine working great for MAME and I kind of never really put the control panel together because it had translucent buttons and I never got around to wiring them up so they lit up depending on the game. So it sat in my garage for a long time.

I finally dug it out and I accidentally broke the monitor by snapping off the glass tube that sticks out the back. I'm an idiot and it's my fault for trying to move all of this by myself. Luckily I actually had a spare monitor because I am a very paranoid person and expected the monitor (a 25" Wells Gardner) to break on its own one day because I heard horror stories. So for like 75 bucks the guy also sold me a spare 25" arcade monitor. Thank God I bought it because these things are a fortune now! No one sells new ones for less than $500 and I can't even find used ones on Craigslist any longer! Keep in mind that back in 2008 I would find at least one new monitor or cabinet listing a day just in my area. Now...literally nothing! What happened?? 2008 was not that long ago!! I am one of these people who cannot stand the look of LCDs no matter how good they are. I need the low resolution and zero motion blur that only an arcade CRT can provide. Should I be buying one of the few remaining new CRTs I see on ebay? The price is really high, but I am guessing it could get higher the longer I wait? Or maybe even impossible to get? I have no idea if the brand is even any good, if it looks authentic, or whatever. I just do not want this thing to be a huge waste of space if and when the monitor I am now using dies in 10 years or whenever.

Anyway I hooked up the replacement monitor (which was a huge pain because they used completely different chasisses for my machine) and now I am lost. I have the device that converts Jamma to USB and also has a VGA hookup. I bought this a long time ago so I completely forgot how the monitor hooks up to it? I am assuming the arcade monitor has video outputs but it's not obvious. I really really do not want to screw this monitor up, especially since it looks like it's impossible to replace.

Secondly, I donated the computer I was using in this cabinet because I felt bad that it was sitting in there doing nothing for so long. Except I stupidly forgot it had a special video card in it so I could use it properly on this monitor. It is called the ArcadeVGA and it looks like they are almost $100

Is the ArcadeVGA still necessary? Searching online it seems as though many people say no it is not. However, others say you risk damage to the monitor and that the ArcadeVGA gives the best image. Is this still true? Just trying to save myself some money where possible.

If someone could let me know of the answers to these questions I would be eternally grateful. I apologize for the long post but I am very excited to get back into something I've had on hold for so long. Especially since I already bought all the needed parts and accessories years ago. I just am at a loss for how rare these cabinets and monitors became in such a short time. And I can't believe I can't figure out how the monitor hooks up to the JPAC thing I bought. I also want to make sure it's hooked up properly to an iso transformer and grounded and all that. And if anyone has any way that I can try to determine if this machine was ever a previous game and not just something someone built with plywood, let me know how to check and I will. I'm incredibly curious!

One last thing is that I plan on putting this in a outside den. Keep in mind it is completely sealed off and no rain gets inside or anything like that and the walls are fully insulated. However, there is no heat in there, so it gets very cold in the winter. Not as cold as a garage or anything, but it gets cold. Is there any risk to the machine because of this?

Thank you so much for reading and even more if you can reply to even some of my inquiries.

[aldub516]

The only thing I can say since I don't know much about monitors is... 2008 was actually kind of a long time ago... A decade is a pretty long time for something to function before it's considered a "waste of space" due to a monitor.. And as for the cold, it's one of those generic answers. Will cold directly flat out destroy all of your stuff? No.. But would anyone directly suggest leaving your mother board in a freezer? No. Cold will of course decrease the life of your system or could actually flat out crush it. Again, I've had machines in a cold garage. If you can't avoid it, you can't. But as long as it doesn't dip to polar levels and there is no moisture it should be ok for a while. Ok sure monitors don't like being frozen though. I can imagine a monitor firing up with a frozen body not going over well.

[yotsuya]

Good on you for sticking with the CRT.

Drop some photos so we can see what you have devicewise.

[keilmillerjr]

Check out groovymame and crt emu drivers. You can get a cheap video card off ebay for $20 or under and it will be better than the arcade vga. However, you already have the arcade vga. Depending on what you want to emulate, it might work just fine.

You will get more help and info at this part of forum (see link). I'm not a pro since I never actually used mame with crt.

http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php/board,52.0.html

[DaddyLongLegs]

Thank you so much for the replies. I finally had some time to mess with things, so here are some pictures:

Here is the control panel:

Feel free to make fun of it I made it with the following in mind: I wanted 4 players and I wanted a trackball for Marble Madness, Capcom Bowling, etc. I also wanted a spinner for Arkanoid. So it will accommodate all of that. Why I gave the 3rd and 4th players 6 buttons, I have no idea. I know I had a specific reason in my head when I first started this 7 years ago, but it was such a long time ago I forgot why. I am hoping my posts jar my memory.

The one major issue I am having is figuring out how I am supposed to cut plexiglass so it matches perfectly with the control panel I built? I am assuming that is what most people do, right? Cut the wood and holes, lay down some artwork, and then put plexiglass on top to seal it shut? I have no clue how to cut plexiglass without it getting destroyed. Especially the spot for the trackball.

Anyway, I got everything up and running as my ArcadeVGA came in this week. And here is where I am further confused.
Well first off, everything works OK:

I doubt you can tell from the picture, but the picture does not seem to be as bright as I think it should be. I did mess around with every single pot on the back of the monitor, including the two that are off by themselves (labeled “focus” and “picture”), and I messed with the brightness on the back of the monitor and the little control board that attaches to the screen as well. I got it the best I possibly could but the picture still looks a bit darker than I expected and not as razor sharp as I had expected as well. I made sure to tell MaLa to run at 320x240 so I am not sure I am doing anything wrong. If anyone knows what could be up, please let me know. I am really, really paranoid about this monitor ever dying since replacements are literally impossible to find.

Anyway, there’s a few more things I am confused about. One is this thing. I made this for my MAME cabinet and I don’t remember why:

Don’t mind the mess of VHS tapes in the background. I have a bit of a hoarding problem.

Anyway, what possible use could I have had for this wiring thing I made? It looks like my plan was to power something in my MAME cabinet by using the PC’s molex connector. But I cannot for the life of me remember what. I know how silly this post is; asking people to help me remember why I did certain things. But with such a gap of when I was finally able to restart this, my memory is hazy.

Also, I have an LED-WIZ and a J-PAC. What is the 3rd thing I need so I can actually hook all these buttons up? I am assuming with these two (LED-WIZ and a J-PAC) it’s not enough, right?

Thanks so much for taking the time to read my dumb questions. I feel like I have amnesia and I am trying to remember everything I did and why. 

[Token]

Here is the control panel:

Feel free to make fun of it I made it with the following in mind: I wanted 4 players and I wanted a trackball for Marble Madness, Capcom Bowling, etc. I also wanted a spinner for Arkanoid. So it will accommodate all of that. Why I gave the 3rd and 4th players 6 buttons, I have no idea. I know I had a specific reason in my head when I first started this 7 years ago, but it was such a long time ago I forgot why. I am hoping my posts jar my memory.

Yikes. Seven years is a long time to remember project plans.

The good news is the hobby has come a long way in seven years, so your project should only be better for the wait.

I'm no expert but a few things stand out to me on the control panel.

- I see you marked the front corners for a radius cut. Good idea to avoid the jab in the bits for players 3 and 4. I would probably cut a larger radius though, to give them even more room.
- It isn't too late to use wood filler on the fifth and sixth button holes for players 3 and 4. 
- Sticks 3-4 are angled towards the screen. Most builders of 4 player cabs find that makes for confusing controls. If the joy3up input sends the spaceship toward the top of the screen, it feels more intuitive to have a joystick's up motion point toward the top of the screen. It may look odd on paper to have squared up joysticks for players 3 and 4, but pretty much everyone who tries angled joysticks regrets it.

The one major issue I am having is figuring out how I am supposed to cut plexiglass so it matches perfectly with the control panel I built? I am assuming that is what most people do, right? Cut the wood and holes, lay down some artwork, and then put plexiglass on top to seal it shut? I have no clue how to cut plexiglass without it getting destroyed. Especially the spot for the trackball.

Have you considered forgoing plexi and printing the CPO on polycarbonate laminated vinyl?

[pbj]

Use a flush trim bit with a router for getting your plexi to match the control panel.  It's nerve wracking but I managed to do it without incident, so you can, too.

[DaddyLongLegs]

Use a flush trim bit with a router for getting your plexi to match the control panel.  It's nerve wracking but I managed to do it without incident, so you can, too.

And then you did what exactly? Just screwed it into control panel I assume? Thank you for replying by the way!

Yikes. Seven years is a long time to remember project plans.

The good news is the hobby has come a long way in seven years, so your project should only be better for the wait.

It’s so funny you say that, for two reasons. One is because after I discovered how absolutely difficult it was to find a 25” CRT arcade monitor (when compared to how easily I found them in 2008) I figured the hobby dried up or something. Most likely because arcade CRTs were a dime a dozen back in ’08 and now you can’t get one for less than several hundred. I actually paid $50 for my arcade CRT in ’08. A 25” Wells Gardner.
Anyway now knowing that the hobby still has lots of enthusiasts, I find it funny that while 7 years sounds like an eternity; all of the stuff I bought for this is still 100% relevant and its latest iteration! For example, my LED WIZ is version 2.0 and that’s still the one for sale. J-PAC is completely unchanged. The only difference I found was Arcade2VGA was updated. That’s it. And I am very happy to see that of course, since it means I do not need to re-buy anything  So in all honesty, I am not sure where the improvements have been made in 7 years, unless you were simply referring to the software. Or maybe you’re like me and you can’t believe the J-PAC and LED WIZ, etc. have been around that long. 

- I see you marked the front corners for a radius cut. Good idea to avoid the jab in the bits for players 3 and 4. I would probably cut a larger radius though, to give them even more room.
- It isn't too late to use wood filler on the fifth and sixth button holes for players 3 and 4. 
- Sticks 3-4 are angled towards the screen. Most builders of 4 player cabs find that makes for confusing controls. If the joy3up input sends the spaceship toward the top of the screen, it feels more intuitive to have a joystick's up motion point toward the top of the screen. It may look odd on paper to have squared up joysticks for players 3 and 4, but pretty much everyone who tries angled joysticks regrets it.

OK, thank you so much for the constructive criticism. At this point, should I throw this control panel out and start over new? Making a 4-player control panel where all are head-on? The only reason I did it this way was I thought it would look too huge (width-wise) and I did not want it to look dumb… . Also, I remember a lot of the 4 player games had 3 and 4 on an angle, so I thought I was being smart or something I guess. It would not be the end of the world if I had to completely re-do it, though I would be a bit disappointed because I’m not that good at this stuff and it was a major accomplishment for me to get the panel the way I did (I’m really terrible at measuring and lining things up correctly; I somehow got it perfect on this one). But if you think I should just re-do it, that’s cool too.

Have you considered forgoing plexi and printing the CPO on polycarbonate laminated vinyl?

Actually my original plan was just to buy contact paper (it’s a plastic-y type of rolled-up paper kind of like wallpaper, that people put on shelves). I bought black contact paper and was just going to roll it over the top and then easily make the holes since it’s easy to cut. I have absolutely no idea how it would look. Then I was just going to cut out designs for each controller (maybe just a rectangle around the buttons or something). I would definitely consider the laminated vinyl thing. How does it hold up? If there is a slight nick in the wood, does it show up with the laminated vinyl?
Thank you again so much for replying by the way.

[pbj]

Use a flush trim bit with a router for getting your plexi to match the control panel.  It's nerve wracking but I managed to do it without incident, so you can, too.

And then you did what exactly? Just screwed it into control panel I assume? Thank you for replying by the way!

Okay, to give little more detail.  I had already cut and drilled the wood panel, including the button and joystick holes.  I squared up one edge of the plexi to the wood panel and held it down with clamps.  I then very slowly drilled pilot holes for three or four buttons.  Then I used the flush trim bit on the inside of these button holes to match up the plexi to the wood.  Then I dropped in the pushbuttons and put the button nuts on them to hold them in place.  Essentially, I used a few push buttons as clamps to hold everything in place.  Then I went around the edge of the wood panel with the flush trim bit.  Then I went back and did the rest of the button holes.

It took awhile and I went very slowly because that piece of plexi was like $40.  :-P

Good luck, kid.

[Tithis]

If you are looking for a good arcade monitor you are basically stuck with rebuilding one these days. I have 3 working monitors and all of them have CRT's from old televisions. You can easily find some on craigslist, if you are willing to pay 20$ for someones crap TV, or you can occasionally find them by dumpsters or the sides of the road.