I just joined this group...and saw this post. I built the "Frankencade" a hundred years ago.
I had a few woodworking tools and just kind of went for it. What I didn't have was any clue how to
do the controls. I thought the logic of using the prefab controller seemed like the way to go and allowed me
to focus on the rest of the thing.
I sent some pictures of it (taken in my dirty garage) to some friends and didn't think much about it.
I hadn't planned at that point to stick it out "in the world".
They shared the pictures with some friends...who did the same...and pretty soon it was showing up
quite a bit. I learned 2 things.
1. With no information, the collective "internet" can be both kind and harsh. I was beat up for using the xarcade. I was beat up for not cleaning my garage. Wow. I had been happy that it worked and I could play Donkey Kong in my house.
2. The fact that I was a "noob" building my first cabinet didn't seem to count for much. I suppose the compliment was/is that I'd done a pretty decent job on the rest of it...so why not take the controls the rest of the way. Good point. I'm working on that now. I did a minor overhaul on the cabinet after all these years and the xarcade replacement is a placeholder for the home-brew controls that will go inside. This site is helping me a great deal as I begin work on some new cabinets and pick the bug back up.