My "Taking my sweet time to build it" Multi-cade side art arcade cabinet build!

[80sarcadegames]

I came across the idea of a Build Your Own Arcade Cabinet idea while visiting the AVSForum.com when one guy that built a theater,
shared his MAME arcade cabinet build project.  I guess the profile of a Home Theater enthusiast has the same interests as a 'build
your own arcade' cabinet enthusiast because both I and John St. Clair (http://www.projectarcade.com/ both have a Home Theater
that we built ourselves. Lol!

I am in no rush to finish this build!  I am going to enjoy the process of this build (the slow cooking method).  It will take time to build this cabinet because I have a lot of other projects that I need to work on in between the steps of this build, such as building storage shelves in my garage, building storage shelves for junk in the basement, designing a wall unit for my entertainment center in the basement, tearing up the carpet in the basement and installing wood flooring, painting the basement, covering and framing the lolly columns in the basement, but I would image that the cabinet build will be complete waaaaaaaaaayyyyyyy before these other things are complete. To be honest all of the above projects listed above may take a decade or more but I would guess that the arcade cabinet will be complete by summer of 2017.

I already have most of the tools I need because I purchased them about 1.5 years ago when I started my Home Theater build in my basement.
(table saw, jig saw, circular saw, router, miter saw, pneumatic air compressor and a bunch of pneumatic tools such as a framer, nailer etc).

I found a great deal on Craigslist (after searching the word "arcade" or "Hyperspin") where a guy was selling an authentic John St. Clair projectarcade.com build that a friend of his had started and finished but had not been given any love for years. Based on documentation that was left with the cabinet, the cabinet was built circa April 2007!!!  The guy that was selling this didn't build it, but his friend did and he left it when he moved to Florida. He listed it on Craigslist for only $150.00 and I knew it would be gone in days so I immediately setup to see it.  The seller took my offer of $75.00.  I had to borrow my sisters mini-van to get it and my neighbor Mike, who since has moved away, helped me put it in my garage.  I knew that this cabinet on Craigslist would be sold instantly so I grabbed it and I got it for half the price of the original offer! Even if the seller was not negotiable, I still would have been happy with the original $175 asking price!

Here is the list of the breakdown of what was included in the cost:

1. Completed control panel (some loose wires underneath - powered by an Ultrimarc I-Pac) detable and secure via velcro. The control
panel as a plexi-glass over lay and I plan on designing a overlay and have it printed in vinyl and attaching it/gluing it underneath
the plexi-glass

2. Cabinet: Overall in great shape except for a few dents on some edges that can be taken care of with the wood filler and some
paint or spray paint. I have 4 casters for this cabinet that came with it but only 3 are attached right now (but they are all cheap and in sa
d shape ie they are all banged up and not smooth, like someone dragged the cabinet along a dry river rock bed for 10 miles).
The cabinet also had a hinged door for the front that swings out but the hinges need to be adjusted and tightened a little.
The cabinet needs to fixed up  by adding a back panel for the marquee and maybe a shelf for the computer. It also need to cut a hole out
with a hole saw for the cooling fan that came with the cabinet as well.

3.  The cabinet came with a bunch of games on an old PC with Windows XP (with some kind of emulator but I forget what kind it is). I played with it for a few minutes but it was so slow and the control panel disconnected wires make it intolerable to play/use so I just disconnected it. The PC is definitely going in the garbage some day or I may sell it for a few bucks.

4. The deal also came with speakers and a subwoofer (4 speakers that are RCA wired) but the subwoofer was missing the main "volume control wire" and I tested out the subwoofer and it didn't work, so I threw it out, but I kept the 4 speakers and put them in storage. I have to buy a new 2.1 system on Craigslist.

5. The deal also included (see photos below) a ProjectArcade.com printed book (CD was not anywhere unfortunately) T molding for one side
of the cabinet, 1 cooling fan, extra door hinges, a metal cabinet door lock, the original plans that the owner use to build the cabinet (LuSiD's arcade cabinet designs).  I already read the Projectarcade.com book once but I plan on reading it a few more times.

A few months ago, I started reading dedicated arcade cabinet project anouncement builds and archiving and categorizing information from each build and I will continue to do this until the project is complete. I have learned so much information from other peoples step by step builds here at arcadecontrols.com. There is no way this cabinet would happen without the power of the internet, sharing and openness of information, and arcadecontrols.com.  Thanks John St. Claire for your hard work and enthusiasm for this subject!!!!!!

Here is the plan:
1. LED lit marquee
2. Vinyl Side Art (a personal design I am going to build in Adobe Illustrator that will be a "collage" of 80s arcade game icons/characters, plus the big game developers names on the cabinet sides such as Bally, Capcom, Midway etc.
3. Touch of up the corners and dents with wood filler and paint.
4.  I brought a 27" 16:9 Samsung LED display 1080p and it fits perfectly (I tested it). I brought it on Craigslist for $118 from a guy local to me in New Jersey.  SAMSUNG SE360 Series HDMI LED-Lit Computer Monitor
Model: S27E360H
5.  So far I have spent money on the cabinet and the the LED display for a total of $193.
6.  In order to help identify which wires are loose and where they need to be connected, I wrote up a layout wiring diagram of what is going on underneath the control panel. The original builder of this cabinet used some sort of "screw terminal" board to connect the wires together.
I have no idea why he did this but I have no choice but to work with it.

List of things to do:
1.  Measure the entire dimensions of the cabinet and create a google Sketchup layout drawing of the cabinet (for reasons such as when I design the side art and control panel art, it will be easier to get the side art designed and printed).
2.  Build the Marquee "backing board". I already have plenty of aluminum "tape" to "spread out" and diffuse the LED lights behind the Marquee.
3.  Build the display "holder/cabinet" to hold the display.
4.  Purchase a Plexi-glass cover for the display and tape off the areas where the screen display is, and spray painting those uncovered areas black. Therefore the entire display will be covered with Plexi-glass.
5.  Take off the display "chassis/framing" cover. I may leave it on but if I do, I need to spray paint it black.  I may have to spray paint the entire front end of the display frame/cover the color black. The display frame/cover is colored white right now.
6.  I need to replace the caster with new better ones.
7.  Need to use Adobe Illustrator and design side art and control panel overlay art.  I read Frostillicus's Vector Tutorial on how to use Adobe Illustrator, while at work, but I never read it while I had Adobe Illustrator in front of me on the screen to play with it while I read the tutorial. I have yet to purchase Adobe Illustrator and do this which is another reason that this build is going to take a while.
8.  I may add a shelf inside the cabinet to divide the space up.
9.  I spent a few hours trying to follow simplyaustin's Hyperspin tutorials plus a few others tutorials on the subject but the problem is that these tutorials are outdated since Hyperspin is constantly being updated with new changes. I found it beyond my capabilities to conquer the
Hyperspin behemoth, so I am going to use a local guys services to install it on a PC that I got for free from my sister-in-law. Here
are the specs for it (note: the Hyperspin installer is going to be purchasing a new hard drive and loading Hyperspin on it and include 30k of games on it as well)

http://support.hp.com/ca-en/document/c02479651

The guy  going to be adding a new 2TB hard drive and adding this video card to it for a total of $345.00. 

This is the video card he installs. He charges you only $70 for the video card which is what the retail price is.

https://www.amazon.com/EVGA-GeForce-Profile-Graphics-02G-P3-3733-KR/dp/B00L5GZG5C

I know the Hyperspin world preaches that the number one rule is to never ever buy a Hyperspin service because of the high expectancy of it
breaking and the work of updating it, I thought long and hard about it, even after thinking of using a different type of front end program and getting my own ROMSc etc, I decided that considering a 2TB hard drive (https://www.amazon.com/Seagate-BarraCuda-3-5-Inch-Internal-ST2000DM006/dp/B01IEKG402/ref=sr_1_1?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1480175000&sr=1-1&keywords=2tb+internal+hard+drive) which is $70 and the cost of the video card ($70), he is only charging
me $205 dollars.

I asked him if he would help me if anything "broke" with the Hyperspin software after I received it and he confirmed that he would fix it.
For the $345, he will also program the the control panel buttons into the Windows/Hyperspin if I bring my control panel to him.

I know, I know it is against the culture of the community and considered the most lazy approach, but this is my decision at this point. I have
not purchase his services yet, so maybe I will try a different front end FIRST, and see how far I can go myself before I give up again...

10. T Molding: I also have to install the T molding onto the one side. The one side that does not have T molding will be using the T molding that came with the package/purchase from Craigslist. To be honest with you, I hate black T molding. I always dreamed of having red or yellow, or orange T molding to make the cabinet more flashy but alas, this is a budget build.

11. I want to enclose the rear of the cabinet.
12. I may install a keyboard/mouse drawer slide that can be accessed when you open up the front door.

I think that's it for now.

If anyone could help me by point out which wires go where in the control panel wiring diagram below, please share, but otherwise I eventually will figure it out by myself. You can see the red arrows in the one diagram below which indicates which connects are "loose" and don't have a "home".  I know that all of the grounds just have to be sure they are connected together??? Is that right?

Also, there is a close up photo of the "disconnect" connections to the buttons. I show this because I need to know what type of "crimping" tool will crimp these wires. Some of the wires are "loose" inside the Disconnects and I need to re-attach them. If you pull them lightly some come out!
























Here is another example of some edges where the wood chipped (ie need to be filled will wood filler and painted)




Here is that "connector board" that (there are two of them) underneath the control panel.  I did not include these two devices in the wiring diagram for simplification purposes. ie I bypassed it in the wiring diagram because there was just not enough room on the diagram.


Ultrimarc I-pac!!


The white wires are coming out on some of them and need to be "crimped" into the disconnects. Is there a crimping tool for this?


Joystick:






The PC that will be the brain of Hyperspin. The hard drive will be replaced with a 2TB (*current hard drive is dead, I got this PC for free)


Here is the wiring layout underneath the control panel.  I did this the best that I could and tried to use different thickness lines and colors
in order to make it more understandable. As a reminder, I did not include the two "connect boards" for simplicity.


Here is the same wiring layout with the red arrows showing which connects have wires that are loose (ie they don't have a home and I need to figure out where they should go). Any ideas of where they should go?

[rablack97]

Might wanna take down that link to the rom service man and any reference to roms Plus urls, that's a no no on the forums.   

The male pins at the top of each switch need to be connected in a loop to ground, the NO pin goes to the designated terminal on the IPAC.

Delusional has a great tutorial on this subject and will answer your questions.

[80sarcadegames]

Oh Snap!!!!

Links removed!

Thanks rablack97 for the rules info and the youtube video!

Here is a photo I forgot to add. This is the mess of wires the guy left for me:

[Richie_jones]

You need this to crimp

http://www.screwfix.com/p/ratchet-crimping-tool-1-0-10mm-/96561?kpid=KINASEKPID&cm_mmc=GoogleLocal-_-Datafeed-_-Electrical%20and%20Lighting&cm_mmc=Google-_-Product%20Listing%20Ads-_-Sales%20Tracking-_-sales%20tracking%20url&gclid=Cj0KEQiAguXBBRCE_pbQ5reuq8MBEiQANji2LTkhm2htafG-ExBg17I0_GufEAoC1NVyKpmwzmzaYZ0aAmx78P8HAQ

You can use pliers but I wouldn't advise it..

Sent from my SM-G935F using Tapatalk

[PL1]

+1 on ratchet crimpers.

Harbor Freight has some, but check them carefully before you leave the store. (I almost bought a bad one)

PI Manufacturing has a great selection, reasonable prices, and higher quality -- more info here.


Scott

[sealcouch]

+1 on ratchet crimpers.

Harbor Freight has some, but check them carefully before you leave the store. (I almost bought a bad one)

PI Manufacturing has a great selection, reasonable prices, and higher quality -- more info here.


Scott

And hey, even if you did. They have that lifetime warranty. 

[80sarcadegames]

I'm slowly making progress on my cabinet build. 
I've been reading over and over again Frostillicus's "Vector Tutorial" on how to use Adobe Illustrator to build your art work.   

Last night I measured the cabinet (finally!    ) and I designed the cabinet into Google Sketchup, then I exported the design to a PDF
then opened up the design in Illustrator.

Below is the Sketchup layout of it.

Last night was the first night that I started working on the computer that will run MaLa.
I installed Firefox Mozilla and MS Office  on it, and I just now have to get my ROMs and then follow the instructions on how to install MaLa.
( I am using the MaLa install instructions here - http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?topic=83570.0

I also purchase the ebook "Adobe Illustrator CS4 for Dummies"!!   
and I have a video tutorial on how to run Illustrator.

I'm still on the fence about hiring a art service to DESIGN the art for the side and marquee and the CP.
There is something "energizing" about juggling between the decision to hire out the art design or to do it myself.
That "juggling" between the two choices some how empowers me to learn and do it myself. I can't explain it. 

Here is the Sketchup Layout of my cabinet:

[Malenko]

throw away all the wiring you have up there, buy a cheap $10 JAMMA loom on eBay and cut off the JAMMA connector. then just run a wire from each IPAC terminal you need to each switch, then add the ground loop.

No crimping, no tools, no ---fudgesicle--- ups. 

[80sarcadegames]

throw away all the wiring you have up there, buy a cheap $10 JAMMA loom on eBay and cut off the JAMMA connector. then just run a wire from each IPAC terminal you need to each switch, then add the ground loop.

No crimping, no tools, no ---fudgesicle--- ups. 

Thanks! I am 100% going to throw away all of the wires.
. The problem is that I will have to CUT OFF the disconnects on this harness/loom because the previous owner of this CP decided to, what looks like "permanently crimp" on some sort of quick connect which will require that I cut off each quick connect end on the loom/harness because only a stripped wire will be able to be "pushed in" and "crimped" to each connection on the buttons and joysticks.   
Modify message

[80sarcadegames]

Just a quick update.
I am moving along steadily but surely..   
Yesterday, thanks to you guys who responded to my thread here:
http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php/topic,153072.0.html
I went ahead and decided to rip out all of the wiring under the CP and have some fun installing my own wiring!!   
Thanks to the guys who responded to the thread above, I went ahead and purchase this wiring harness on ebay.
They are local to the NY/NJ tri state area up in NY state so I should get it quickly.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/121753778577?_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

The problem is that as you can see with the current wiring of the CP, the previous owner of the cabinet decided to "hard crimp" some sort
of "quick connects" to the buttons and joystick connections, which will require that I cut off the ends/quick connects on the new harness
that I am going to get..
Here are the metal connections that he "crimped" onto each button/joystick connection:
http://www.mscdirect.com/browse/tnpla/54062815?cid=ppc-google-New+-+Lighting+%26+Electrical+-+PLA_slODOMd5x&cid=PLA-Google-PLA+-+Test___164124449198_c_S&mkwid=slODOMd5x&cid=PLA-Google-PLA+-+Test|dc&pcrid=164124449198&gclid=Cj0KEQiAtqHEBRCNrdC6rYq9_oYBEiQAejvRl6Uz5-2t7-XD6jcB0qsTjSxWG-juU_oAYZg_tBhgDKsaAvpR8P8HAQ

Are they removable???


In the mean time I am dealing with the slow start of learning Adobe Illustrator to see if I can do my own side art and CP Art/Marquee art

[DeLuSioNal29]

I get my JAMMA harnesses from the same guy.  He's semi-local.  Where are you located?

As far as removing the quick disconnects:  They may be on there, but there ARE removable.  So no need to cut off the ones that are on the JAMMA harness ends.  Just the other end with the huge plastic connector.  Essentially you are re-creating this right here with with the black end cut off on the right, so that the wires can screw into the encoder (iPac2).


DeL

[80sarcadegames]

I get my JAMMA harnesses from the same guy.  He's semi-local.  Where are you located?

As far as removing the quick disconnects:  They may be on there, but there ARE removable.  So no need to cut off the ones that are on the JAMMA harness ends.  Just the other end with the huge plastic connector.  Essentially you are re-creating this right here with with the black end cut off on the right, so that the wires can screw into the encoder (iPac2).


DeL

I'm located in Northern New Jersey.

My interest in completing this cabinet and other cabinets after it is still strong.

The project has gotten derailed for a little bit because of my a photo scanning project for about 5000 family photos that I started.  I already have about 600-700 photos scanned
since I started the project about a month ago.

In the mean time, here are photo of the current state of the project.  My JAMMA harness that I cut up is sitting on my A/V Cabinet.


The Control Panel is sitting on my Home Theater portable riser:


Here is a photo of the "photo scanning project area" as of right now:


Right now I stay mentally engaged within the arcade cabinet building culture by studying every day different project threads under the "Project Announcement" section. I choose
the threads with the most number of replies because those threads are usually the best to study from. Then I copy and paste each post that has valuable information into different categories that I create and each category has its own MS Word document. So far I have done this for 22 different project builds on arcadecontrols.com.
Every day I learn more and more.  I learned this habit after doing the same thing on the AVSForum dedicated home theater build threads. I created over 11000 MS Word document "categories" from the AVSForum and it empowered me to build my home theater which I just finished last year. It gave me  the confidence and know-how to build my HT that I otherwise would never have been able to do without the discipline I had to study day after day and hour after hour.

The reason why I stopped the arcade cabinet building project for now was because I made the mistake of working too hard and too intensely on my Home theater build which took me about 1 year and 3 months.  I feel guilt that I didn't spend more time with my father who was sick the last 6 months of my home theater build. Although I did visit him and take tons of video and photo of him the last 5 years of his life, I wish I would have spent a little bit more time. I just didn't want to be a "slave" again to a project like I did for my home theater which is why I named my arcade controls project "the taking my sweet time to build it" thread.

I plan on adding a post every day to this build thread and list what I learned each day in the hope that others may learn from what I learned after reading whatever particular Project I am reading at the time. I also hope to do this because it will help internalize the details of what I learn each day. I hope the moderators are ok with this and that it will help others.

[NIVO]

aha the cardinal sin of finishing the control panel before the rest of the arcade is done. LOL, im guilty of that and end up playing for hours then think "oh no i gotta get back to work" But honestly, its all worth it!

[80sarcadegames]

aha the cardinal sin of finishing the control panel before the rest of the arcade is done. LOL, im guilty of that and end up playing for hours then think "oh no i gotta get back to work" But honestly, its all worth it!

Yes it is a sin, but I brought the control panel and the cabinet for $75 off of craiglist to jumpstart the arcade build.   

[80sarcadegames]

Today I studying and educated myself for about 7 hours. I submitted a candidate to my manager from yesterday so I had
lots of free time to move forward and learn more about arcade cabinet building. This post is a special post
because it is the first of many of my "arcade cabinet school" updates!! LMAO!!

1. I finished archiving and copying and pasting all 7 pages of jdbaileys1206's Fix It Felix Build.

http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php/topic,135095.0.html]
[url]http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php/topic,135095.0.html[/url]

2.  Overall this was a great read. I particularly don't like dedicated builds that are for one particular game but
I believe that this build has inspired me to some day build a few arcade cabinets that are authentic and only for one type of game.  The problem is that if I build it and then want to sell it, I don't think people are interested in dedicated one game cabinets. Oh well, we'll see. I found it interesting that jbailey1206 let his father have his cabinet.  I know of another guy
on the Facebook group for MAME Cabinet builds who has build about 6 cabinets for free for friends or family and the friends/family just paid the cost of materials.  I can see the reason and reward for doing such things and I may do it myself.

3.  I started my new build thread to study!!! Its always an exciting day to start a new build thread to study. This one is #23!!!  Superbigjay seemed like it was 7 pages full of fun to study and learn from!  When I briefly reviewed a few of his pages,
he's got illuminated track balls and MDF. Looks like he is Canadian based but I can live with the MM size measurement differences. Here we go!!  He started this back in 2007. Way back in 2007 I just started dating my wife and I didn't even
know such arcade building cultures even existed!!

http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php/topic,64434.0.html]
[url]http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php/topic,64434.0.html
[/url]
Just reviewing some of his posts. On second thought, I see a lot of links to photos that are not there even though
there are still alot. I'm going to pass on following this thread for now.

4. Now onto rablack97's MK cabinet here:
Looks good !!! 
http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php/topic,147663.0.html

5. I learned a lot from his thread.  I learned how you have to calculate a "recess" in your Speaker Board (the board that holds
your speakers) to factor in the L Brackets that hold the bottom of your marquee in (Marquee bracket). Good to know!

6. Nice interesting what I would call "Batton grooves" that he had his CNC Machine cut into the sides of his cabinets.

7. Rablack97 also shared how he utilized a "Maker Space" education/workshop service that has locations nationwide where he took classes for CNC and they let you use their CNC machines anytime. I have one about 45 minutes from my house which is a bit far
for me but I may check it out. Its at Rutgers University and they might have one in Bergen County NJ.

8. Rablack97 is doing something I have not seen before. He is buying a spotlight and he is cutting out the shape of the MK art
and placing plexi behind it and shining it up with a spotlight like this! Cool!


That's it for today. It's time to go home. Thanks for your support.

[Mike A]

You have a lot of free time on your hands. Go volunteer at a food pantry or something.

[80sarcadegames]

You have a lot of free time on your hands. Go volunteer at a food pantry or something.

Thanks for the advice Mike A.  How would I prepare for arcade cabinet building then? LMAO.
Working in a pantry is not challenging enough for me.

[80sarcadegames]

I forgot to add the list of files that I added to (the categories) and the list of files that created yesterday (new categories).  Enjoy! 

List of MS Word files that I added new information to:

04/12/2017  11:54 AM           848,987 Cabinet - Authentic Cabinet - Fix It Felix - Completed Photos.docx
04/12/2017  02:35 PM         1,490,327 Cabinet - Authentic Cabinet - From Scratch - Mortal Kombat - Computer For It - Purchase - Factor - It Requires A Beefy PC To Run.docx
04/12/2017  01:27 PM            93,885 Cabinet - Authentic Cabinet - From Scratch - Mortal Kombat - Control Panel - Number Of Buttons.docx
04/12/2017  01:12 PM         3,157,895 Cabinet - Authentic Cabinet - From Scratch - Mortal Kombat.docx
04/12/2017  04:13 PM        12,663,909 Cabinet - Base - Construction.docx
04/12/2017  01:09 PM        74,452,595 Cabinet - Construction.docx
04/12/2017  11:54 AM           954,272 Cabinet - Moving It Around - Talk.docx
04/12/2017  03:08 PM         1,499,350 Cabinet - Pocket Grooves - To Hold Battons - Construction.docx
04/12/2017  09:11 AM           185,679 Control Panel - Buttons - Drilling Holes For Them - Work - Print A Cheap Copy Of Your Control Panel Art At Staples - Tape It To Control Panel - Drill Holes.docx
04/12/2017  04:37 PM         1,638,053 Cost Cutting - Spot Light at A Halloween Store - Waiting Until After Halloween To Buy A Spot Light They have To Get 50 Percent Off.docx
04/12/2017  02:29 PM            53,216 Display - Purchase - Factor - WTWOF - When You Install A Widescreen LCD You Have A Lot Of Space Above And Below The TV - You Need To Figure Out What Height You Want And What To Do With That Space.docx
04/12/2017  02:52 PM         1,120,358 Education - CNC - Makers Space - They Have It At Rutgers in Piscataway - CNC Training - 4 Classes For 50 Dollars.docx
04/12/2017  02:55 PM         1,054,571 Layout Drawings  - Battons.docx
04/12/2017  03:00 PM         1,125,005 Layout Drawings  - Pocket Grooves Where Battons Will Go.docx
04/12/2017  04:30 PM        15,391,237 Layout Drawings.docx
04/12/2017  02:52 PM         1,157,477 Makers Space - Allows You To Use Their Machinery - CNC - Work.docx
04/12/2017  03:52 PM         1,116,665 Marquee - L Bracket - Installation - Troubleshooting - It Sticks Out Because The Speaker Board Is Not Recessed.docx
04/12/2017  01:07 PM        21,517,751 Members - Introduction.docx
04/12/2017  02:42 PM         1,112,863 Members - Members Who Build Cabinets And Sell Them.docx
04/12/2017  04:31 PM         1,279,889 Renderings - Cabinets - Of Completed Cabinets.docx
04/12/2017  04:02 PM         1,066,463 Speakers - Board That Holds Up Speakers Flush - Installation - Factor - Remember To Factor In To Recess The Board For The Marquee L Bracket.docx

LIST OF FILES THAT I CREATED YESTERDAY:
04/12/2017  11:54 AM           848,987 Cabinet - Authentic Cabinet - Fix It Felix - Completed Photos.docx
04/12/2017  02:35 PM         1,490,327 Cabinet - Authentic Cabinet - From Scratch - Mortal Kombat - Computer For It - Purchase - Factor - It Requires A Beefy PC To Run.docx
04/12/2017  01:27 PM            93,885 Cabinet - Authentic Cabinet - From Scratch - Mortal Kombat - Control Panel - Number Of Buttons.docx
04/12/2017  01:12 PM         3,157,895 Cabinet - Authentic Cabinet - From Scratch - Mortal Kombat.docx
04/12/2017  03:08 PM         1,499,350 Cabinet - Pocket Grooves - To Hold Battons - Construction.docx
04/12/2017  09:11 AM           185,679 Control Panel - Buttons - Drilling Holes For Them - Work - Print A Cheap Copy Of Your Control Panel Art At Staples - Tape It To Control Panel - Drill Holes.docx
04/12/2017  04:37 PM         1,638,053 Cost Cutting - Spot Light at A Halloween Store - Waiting Until After Halloween To Buy A Spot Light They have To Get 50 Percent Off.docx
04/12/2017  02:29 PM            53,216 Display - Purchase - Factor - WTWOF - When You Install A Widescreen LCD You Have A Lot Of Space Above And Below The TV - You Need To Figure Out What Height You Want And What To Do With That Space.docx
04/12/2017  02:52 PM         1,120,358 Education - CNC - Makers Space - They Have It At Rutgers in Piscataway - CNC Training - 4 Classes For 50 Dollars.docx
04/12/2017  02:55 PM         1,054,571 Layout Drawings  - Battons.docx
04/12/2017  03:00 PM         1,125,005 Layout Drawings  - Pocket Grooves Where Battons Will Go.docx
04/12/2017  02:52 PM         1,157,477 Makers Space - Allows You To Use Their Machinery - CNC - Work.docx
04/12/2017  03:52 PM         1,116,665 Marquee - L Bracket - Installation - Troubleshooting - It Sticks Out Because The Speaker Board Is Not Recessed.docx
04/12/2017  02:42 PM         1,112,863 Members - Members Who Build Cabinets And Sell Them.docx
04/12/2017  04:31 PM         1,279,889 Renderings - Cabinets - Of Completed Cabinets.docx
04/12/2017  04:02 PM         1,066,463 Speakers - Board That Holds Up Speakers Flush - Installation - Factor - Remember To Factor In To Recess The Board For The Marquee L Bracket.docx

[Mike A]

That is about the most self absorbed excuse I have ever heard for not helping out your fellow man.

[yotsuya]

"Members Who Build Cabinets And Then Sell Them.docx". My list of disappointments.

[sealcouch]

"Members Who Build Cabinets And Then Sell Them.docx". My list of disappointments.

Say what you will, but every time I make a sale I get to do this to my cat.

[Mike A]

That's prostitution.

[yotsuya]

I'm cool with people who build them TO sell or on commission. I get unchuffed with people who build them and then sell them off because money talks. It's betrayal.

[80sarcadegames]

That is about the most self absorbed excuse I have ever heard for not helping out your fellow man.

Mike A,  I build furniture and help the elderly by visiting their homes via a Senior Citizen effort and help them with fixing plumbing, electrical,
and general maintenance. In New Jersey I work for a non-profit that does this. We just fixed a toilet the other day for an elderly lady. There were 4
of us guys who drove in 3 different vehicles. Talk about "overload of help" for one problem. LMAO!!

[Mike A]

I am glad that I interpolated your behavior incorrectly. I stand corrected.

[NIVO]

turd must've been jammed in there sideways

[80sarcadegames]

I am glad that I interpolated your behavior incorrectly. I stand corrected.

Glad you approve!    

[80sarcadegames]

turd must've been jammed in there sideways

Nah.  The we usually just replace the fill valve and flapper without spending too much time trying to figure out the exact issue, so no poo poo was stuck. The flapper and fill valve
died.
I hate it when there is poo poo stuck.  There were a few times when "elderly poo" was stuck and I had no choice but to stick my hand and arm as far as it can go
and grab it with my hand to unclog it. 

[80sarcadegames]

I was able to get a lot of work done yesterday with learning more about arcade building.

Here is a list of new categories/MS Word documents I created yesterday.  Lots of new subject matter!

04/13/2017  04:00 PM         1,250,595 ArcadeControls.com - Members - My Cabinet Was On TV.docx
04/13/2017  03:24 PM         1,066,119 ArcadeControls.com - Photos - Adding Photos To Posts.docx
04/13/2017  03:32 PM         7,627,031 Art - Services - Purchase - Pauly.docx
04/13/2017  12:17 PM         3,641,745 Cabinet - Art Work Printed And Covered With Plexi Glass AKA Acrylic - Then Lit Up By A Spot Light Inside The Cabinet.docx
04/13/2017  03:33 PM         7,680,699 Cabinet - Authentic Cabinet - From Scratch - Mortal Kombat - Control Panel - Art Work - Completed Photos.docx
04/13/2017  01:45 PM         3,188,326 Cabinet - Authentic Cabinet - From Scratch - Mortal Kombat - Control Panel - Button Layout.docx
04/13/2017  10:28 AM         3,060,446 Cabinet - Lighting Behind Art Work Cut Out Of The Cabinet Side - Plexiglass AKA Acrylic - Purchase.docx
04/13/2017  08:49 AM           708,955 Cabinet - Lighting Behind Art Work Cut Out Of The Cabinet Side - Using A Spot Light - Purchase.docx
04/13/2017  10:18 AM         1,115,848 Computer - Entire List Of  Components - Cost.docx
04/13/2017  10:29 AM         3,063,535 Computer - No Case - Separatest - Installation Into The Cabinet - Mockup - Work.docx
04/13/2017  10:17 AM         1,115,217 Craigslist - Purchase - 5.1 Speaker System.docx
04/13/2017  12:40 PM            56,579 Display - Bezel - Plexi Glass  AKA Acrylic- Attaching It To the Cabinet - Brackets To Hold It - Purchase - Dimensions - Height.docx
04/13/2017  02:41 PM         2,568,239 Display - Bezel - Plexi Glass  AKA Acrylic- Attaching It To the Cabinet - Brackets To Hold It.docx
04/13/2017  12:29 PM            60,832 Display - Bezel - Plexi Glass AKA Acrylic- Work - Factor - Leave Extra Room At The Top Of The Bezel So The Glass Can Be Slid Up High Enought To Remove It When Moving The Cabinet Or When It Breaks Etc.docx
04/13/2017  12:15 PM         1,305,458 Layout Drawings - Speaker Locations - 5.1 System.docx
04/13/2017  12:44 PM         1,166,592 Speakers - 5.1 System - Installation - Location.docx
04/13/2017  10:17 AM         1,115,212 Speakers - Purchase  - 5.1 System - Where To Buy It.docx
04/13/2017  04:11 PM         1,540,722 Speakers - Purchase  - 5.1 System.docx
04/13/2017  11:53 AM            29,908 Tools - CNC - Purchase - Maslow CNC Kickstarter.docx

1. Rablack97's arcade cabinet was on TV!  A local TV station was reporting on the local "Makers Space" school/tool service and they noticed his cabinet and they asked to report on it.  He even shared on his project thread images of him and his cabinet on TV.

2.  Makers space:  A new school that is nationwide in many states. I never heard of them before. They have two local to me. They teach you how to use CNC machines
and then you can use the CNC machines whenever you want for free.

3.  5.1 speaker system in an arcade cabinet? Yes, he did it.  He brought it off craiglist and I forget as I type this where he installed the rear speakers, but I believe he put on the rears on the control panel.  There is always someone pushing the envelope, right?

4.  There was tons of going back and forth over the correct number of buttons to put in a MK cabinet. It went on what seemed forever.. LMAO.  I think he ended up with 8 buttons...

5.  I added rablack97s cabinet photos the "completed photos" MS Word document. 

6. The Maslow CNC Kickstart project: On one of the Facebook MAME groups, someone posted about this.  I looked into it. Great product but it was not meant to cut the shape/outside edges to make a side for cabinets using a 4 x 8 ft piece of wood. I emailed the makers of it specifically via FB and they confirmed that it is not designed for cutting the outside edges to make a cabinet side.

7.  I learned a trick for adding the display bezel:  Have the bottom of it be flush with the L bracket bottom but let there be 1/4" of space at the top to make it easier to remove when you move the cabinet. 

8.  Rablack97 did a neat little mockup of his control panel buttons and also a mockup of his "separated" computer to test everything out before doing the real deal. Cool.

9. There was some discussion of issues some guys were having with posting photos. I personally am happy with photobucket and using links to it to add photos...

Happy Friday (Good Friday is today for us Christians).  Enjoy your weekend guys.

[yamatetsu]

9. There was some discussion of issues some guys were having with posting photos. I personally am happy with photobucket and using links to it to add photos...

You won't be so happy if photobucket kicks the bucket. Dead picture hosts are the reason for some great older threads having no pictures any more. If you use BYOAC as your host, the pics will always be there.

[80sarcadegames]

Got some work done today.  I did have some real work for my job but I had plenty of time to have some fun on the forum.

Here are the highlights!!!

I created about 11 new categories/MS Word documents!

I finished rablack97's six pages of arcade bliss!!   
His arcade cabinet won best arcade cabinet at the Texas Pinball Festival!!   

I started ANOTHER build thread by Martijn!!  While I have reviewed many Home theater dedicated build threads (100s) on the AVSForum, I never came across
phenomena where I reviewed multiple build threads by the same person. But that is what is great about BYOAC forum/arcadecontrols.com, you get the same
kickass builders back again and again!!

Here is the new thread/cabinet build that I am following by Martijn.  I love the game Marvel vs Capcom, so this is going to be a great read!!!

http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php/topic,112721.0.html

Here is the list of files I created today (lots of new stuff to learn today!!)

04/14/2017  11:16 AM         1,080,042 ArcadeControls.com - Members - Selling Arcade Stuff To Other Members - Gaming Computer.docx
04/14/2017  11:19 AM         2,521,435 Art - Art Work - Entire Cabinet - Completed Photos.docx
04/14/2017  11:57 AM         2,513,524 Art - Services - Print Out - Purchase - Hollywood Marquees.docx
04/14/2017  11:26 AM         2,510,740 Art - Services - Print Out - Purchase - Stpcore.docx
04/14/2017  03:25 PM           664,856 Control Panel - External Control Button And Joystick like X-Arcade - PCB For It - Connectivity.docx
04/14/2017  03:25 PM           664,692 Control Panel - External Control Button And Joystick like X-Arcade - PCB For It - Purchase.docx
04/14/2017  03:24 PM           664,372 Control Panel - External Control Button And Joystick like X-Arcade - Purchase.docx
04/14/2017  11:45 AM            47,211 Marquee - Art Work - Kodak Material Double Sided Print - Really Deep Blacks and No Color Washout.docx
04/14/2017  12:11 PM            66,967 Members - Winning An Award For Best Arcade Cabinet At An Arcade Show - Texas Pinball Festival.docx
04/14/2017  12:11 PM         3,116,935 Members - Winning An Award For Best Arcade Cabinet At An Arcade Show.docx
04/14/2017  04:07 PM           625,329 Tools - Soldering - Work - PCB Board For the X Arcade Type Of Control Panel.docx


I only modified two existing MS Word docs/categories!!  What does that mean?? LMAO!!
04/14/2017  11:19 AM         2,521,435 Art - Art Work - Entire Cabinet - Completed Photos.docx
04/14/2017  11:45 AM            47,211 Marquee - Art Work - Kodak Material Double Sided Print - Really Deep Blacks and No Color Washout.docx

Today, I learned a lot.   

Martijn has some cool "X-arcade" type of control panel he is using right now to test out to see if it works with the ps2 and ps.
I'm not sure at this point if he plans on using this thing in his cabinet or what, but he has some kind of PCB board that has attached and is soldering. My soldering skills are non-existant (I don't own one) ,but I have watched my brother do it many times, but he never trained me.  I hope to do this some day. That is as far as I got for Martijn's Marvel vs. Capcom slim cabinet that he is building.  At this point (I'm on his 2nd post) I can't tell if he is going to have this Marvel vs Capcom cabinet run via dedicated consoles or MAME or what..   

I added rablack97's entire cabinet to a new category called "Artwork Entire cabinet - Completed photos".  He used some cool method of printing his marquee artwork DOUBLE SIDED on Kodak material!!! Bad ass!!!   

Thanks for your support guys.  Have a great weekend and thanks for tuning in.   

[rablack97]

What exactly are you documenting?  Or are you trying to re-write Saint's book?

[80sarcadegames]

What exactly are you documenting?  Or are you trying to re-write Saint's book?

Nah, no book author here.
I did finish your build thread rablack97!! Congrats on winning the Texas Pinball Festival! 
No, I don't share within anyone outside of this forum what people post on arcadecontrols.com

[80sarcadegames]

Just another day at work. I got some work done and I had about 6 hours to study and I added about 10 more new categories/MS Word documents.

Here is the list for new documents and subjects I added:

04/17/2017  09:09 AM           532,875 Cabinet - Power - Starting And Shutting Down Everything With One Button - My LCD TV And My HDMI Cable Power On When I Turn On The Power To The Cabinet.docx
04/17/2017  04:20 PM           718,682 Coin Box - To Hold The Coins At The Exit Of The Coin Mechs - Purchase.docx
04/17/2017  12:26 PM           563,225 Display - LCD - Installation - Test Fitting.docx
04/17/2017  09:07 AM           767,757 Display - LCD - Purchase.docx
04/17/2017  03:13 PM           789,842 Fan - Installation.docx
04/17/2017  04:19 PM           718,160 Speakers - Bezel - For Them - Construction.docx
04/17/2017  04:20 PM           719,004 Speakers - Painting Them - Work.docx
04/17/2017  09:30 AM           349,396 Speakers - Purchase  - 5.1 System - Cost.docx
04/17/2017  12:26 PM           590,756 Vent - Rear - Wood Construction.docx
04/17/2017  09:03 AM           563,285 Wood - Purchase - MDF.docx


I'm on page two of Martijn's 2nd build which is Marvel vs Capcom cabinet.
Nice cabinet.  I've been playing Marvel vs Capcom on my computer and xbox 360 controller this past weekend and I can see why this awesome game deserves a dedicated cabinet.
At this point he is going to be using a console (PS3).

He is another member that went with that Z3300 2.1 speaker system that comes with a remote. I looked into buying one of these but there are better ones out there that have
a remote in my opinion. 

Today I read how he installed his casters, attached his speakers after painting them, constructed a speaker bezel (never seen that done before), installed his LCD screen,
used a cooking pan as his coin holder box, installed his coin door, and he installed an intake and outtake fan on the back/top of the cabinet.  He also laminated both the inside
and outside of the cabinet.

http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php/topic,112721.40.html

[Ian]

So... is someone building an arcade machine here? 

[yotsuya]

I love the recap and play-by-play of threads we've already read.  Let me know when you get to the ZapCon '16 hijinx!

[rablack97]

What exactly are you documenting?  Or are you trying to re-write Saint's book?

Nah, no book author here.
I did finish your build thread rablack97!! Congrats on winning the Texas Pinball Festival! 
No, I don't share within anyone outside of this forum what people post on arcadecontrols.com

Thank You Sir but that was a year ago, do you plan on sharing this summarized book with the community?

Also, what are you posting, is that the file size? And why are you doing this?

[80sarcadegames]

I am doing nothing with "this" if you are referring to my archiving of information I gather from this forum.
I am not writing any book(s).
I am not publishing any of the information I find on these forums (I am just keeping the information for my own use).
I am just giving you a 'play by play' of what I read and enjoy on this forum up until I complete my arcade cabinet(s)
and sharing with you what parts of the forum I read and enjoy and learn from every day.

[80sarcadegames]

So... is someone building an arcade here? 

Your reaction is appropriate as I have yet to post any updates about my build.
I am in the middle of some other project at home that stops me from being able to work
on this cabinet, so in the mean time, I appreciate your patience while I share my
"arcade cabinet building study" time until I start building it.

[Ian]

So... is someone building an arcade here? 

Your reaction is appropriate as I have yet to post any updates about my build.
I am in the middle of some other project at home that stops me from being able to work
on this cabinet, so in the mean time, I appreciate your patience while I share my
"arcade cabinet building study" time until I start building it.

Just wondering my friend.... I was honestly a little confused.