A Cocktail Cabinet Worthy Of The Name

[PacAwayDots]

I just thought I’d post up my cocktail cabinet build 10 years in the making! Well, that’s 8 years of sitting around, and 2 years actually working on it. I built the wood cabinet kit in 06’ and it never really got off the ground until just a couple years ago. Better late than never.

The bulk of the work is done now but there are details I need to figure out before I can call it “done”. Some things just take way too long to troubleshoot or to research every detail before making a purchase. I’m lovin’ the fruits of my labor and want to keep going to MAME nervana!

MY GOAL
I designed this table to run MAME with the most authentic look. I think I did a decent job of that with the old school CRT and Arcade VGA card. I don’t want to change any of that but I would like to add a few more emulators in Hyperspin like Turbo Grafx, and some early Nintendo. Not too much beyond that unless I could get away with playing N64 Wave Race.

NEED HELP WITH THESE PLEASE
1. BEST JOYSTICKS FOR THIRD SIDE
For the third player side (Landscape). I want to easily be able to switch the 2 joysticks from 4-way to 8-way. I have two Mag-Stik Plus’s already but the mounting holes don’t line up with my cutout. I could recut, but I’d have to buy another piece of plexi and have it recut as well (Ugh). I also have an Ultrastik 360 with hard spring and a restrictor plate but I can’t find the USB connector (or it didnt come with one) so I’ve never tried it out. Are there any other easily switchable joysticks out there I should consider?

2. BUTTONS FOR ESC/ENTER
Do I need to add some buttons on my cabinet for these two commands? I want to finally get rid of the keyboard and mouse completely and I’ve heard I will need these buttons since none of the regularly used buttons are mapped to Enter or Escape. Is there another way to do this?

3. BOOT WINDOWS 7 WITHOUT LOGO
Word on the street says use Windows 7 Boot Updater. Which is fine except I get the error “The winload path in the BCD references an EFI file which is currently not supported”. The support page says if I’m set to boot using EFI instead of the class BIOS / PCAT, then I can’t use the tool. Is there a workaround or a different tool?

4. WILL THIS 8-BALL WORK WITH MY TRACKBALL
I would like to replace the stock trackball with this clear 8-ball from this Playboy set. It would light up from underneath and become the focal point of the whole table, sweet! Only thing is I’d have to buy the whole set for the one ball and it’s way too pricey. Would this ball even work for what I’m trying to do?

5. ADD VOLUME CONTROL ON OUTSIDE OF CABINET
I need to add volume on the outside. Can I do it using my existing amp and without cutting holes and sticking the amp dial through the cabinet?















COMPUTER

• msi A68HI AC
• Dual Core 3.8 GZH
• 8GB RAM (4X2)
• WD 1TB HDD
• Arcade VGA 5000
• Windows 7 (64)

FRONTEND

• Hyperspin

CABINET KIT

• From Scott at Arcadedepot back in the day. Great kit!

MONITOR

• I was now finally ready to work with the CRT after 10 years...but I can’t buy a new CRT in 2015, doh..  I had to search around for a used one (authentic monitor, not a converted tv) but I found Daves Arcade in Georgia. Dave has a ton of CRTs in all kinds of conditions. I asked him for one of the best ones and to do a cap kit. It’s a Wells Gardner “style” or Pro-sonic/vision...something like that. It takes a little time  to get super bright, but I love the authentic picture quality. It was a bit pricey though at $450. I should have bought a new one in 06 for the same price!

AUDIO

• Two 4” shielded speakers powered by Lepai LP-2020A Amp

JOYSTICKS

• Head-to-head : Ball-top joysticks from Twistedquarter. One 4-way and one 8-way and on each side.
  
• Third Side: Two 8-way WICOs I bought used on ebay in 06’. I’m just using these temporarily while I figure out the best joysticks for this side..
  

TRACKBALL

• Happ Controls 2-1/4" Trackball with USB & PS/2 interface

 

POWER ADAPTER

• 7 Outlet Smart Strip (Bits Limited). I had bought a 10 outlet version back in 06’ that sat in a box for 10 years. It didn’t work when I finally pulled it out, but I called the company and Scott sent me a brand new 7 outlet version for free. Didn’t even charge me for shipping. That made my day.

ARTWORK

• My own design leveraging some familiar symbols. My dad was manager of the Chicago Playboy Club in the early 1960s and I just always thought that was the coolest! I have the Playboy icon designed into a few other projects and artwork too.

GLASS TOP

• Pre-made cocktail cabinet top from Holland Computers

LED LIGHTING

• LED strips on ebay for like $12. Just plugged it in and wrapped the strip around the monitor casing. The cabinet kit had balsa wood inserts on the head to head side so I just replaced those inserts with frosted plexiglass from TAP Plastics so the light would show through. Instant techno party!

COIN DOOR

• Williams Pinball style. It wasn’t a perfect fit but it was simple enough to work around. The lighted coin slots are not very bright. Barely visible even in dark. I know blue is not as bright as red but I feel like they should be brighter. Uses 5v bulb like any other.

CONTROLLER

• I-PAC 2 Interface.

[Ian]

I dig the look of this thing! Well done! 

[equlizer]

Use "shift" keys for ESC, TAB, ENTER and maybe PAUSE.  You can set them to whatever you like.  You can even setup macros for a shift key.

[TriggerFinger]

Damn dude that's awesome.  Bet the crt looks sweet in person, and the naked chicks are a nice touch 

[05SRT4]

That 8ball would be sick in there, please share if you try it out.

[mahuti]

TL;DR but that is a great looking cab. I'll swing back around later and check the details. All I know is that once I finish up the FOUR unfinished cabs I have sitting around this is next on my list.

[PacAwayDots]

Thanks everyone! Appreciate the comments, especially given all the mind blowing builds I've see here now.  Come such a long way since I used to come here in 06'. I'm definitely going to have to build one of those pinball cabs with the widescreen. Sick!!

Use "shift" keys for ESC, TAB, ENTER and maybe PAUSE.  You can set them to whatever you like.  You can even setup macros for a shift key.

What's a shift key?

That 8ball would be sick in there, please share if you try it out.

Ok, you inspired me to figure this out. Turns out the cost of these balls went waaaay up because of some kind of branding hoopla.  I did talk to a nice guy who owns a billiards shop in Canada and told him my story. He immediately said he would try and get me a single ball! I'll find it one way or the other. I just wouldn't be able to ever call my cab complete until that eight ball is shinning its glory!

TL;DR but that is a great looking cab. I'll swing back around later and check the details. All I know is that once I finish up the FOUR unfinished cabs I have sitting around this is next on my list.

There's nothing like having a couple cocktails on the glass top and playing head-to-head on one of these things!

[05SRT4]

Since your using the IPAC encoder it comes with the ability to designate a button as a shift key.
So if you have a player 1 button, you can give it the option were if you are holding that button down, it will then modify any other button.

Example on my bartop, when I press and hold the player one button, if I then press up on the joystick that will raise the volume. When I let go of player one button it all goes back to normal.
You can change any button to any input like ESC, TAB, ENTER.

You can change these options in the Ultimarc software.