need some advice

[deanofcool]

hi, i'm new here and i don't really know what i'm doing. i'm finding many resources on how to build a mame cab, but what i want to know is, is it possible to not connect to a fixed monitor? space is a premium in my house and i don't have room for a cab, looking for something small and portable that i can plug into my tv or take to a mates and plug into his, i'm picturing a compact black box, like a games console, but is that even possible? if so what do i need to make it component wise? also the least amount of software fiddling about the better, so if i take it around a friends house how do i make sure it'll run on his tv? in terms of aspect ratio and screen size and things like that. thanks for any help, it is appreciated.

[dgrams2000]

The only limit is your imagination.
https://goo.gl/images/1TSlWo

Hello, Mr. New to all this.
I remember those days.  So many ideas..

What you are looking at sounds like you want a control panel to be portable, with a small computer inside to run Mame, with an HDMI cable out to hook up to a TV.
Dont have any specific plans for you, but you sound like you need to just spend time looking through the Projects Announcements, look at what other people are doing and get ideas from there.

[JDFan]

Check the pedestal or barstick builds as those are similar to what you ar looking to do (though the pedestals are not really portable they hook up to external monitors so would be setup similar to what you want and will give you build info)

for example this is one of the barstick builds using an xbox ( there are others based on using a rpi3 etc.) - http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php/topic,133965.msg1380687.html#msg1380687

[Titchgamer]

Depending what you want to play a PI sounds like the platform for you.

[deanofcool]

thanks for the advice. i should have stated that i would like to have ports at the front to plug external controllers into, i already have two usb joypads i like using. i have had a look at the bar design, and its still way too big, i'm thinking smaller than a pc tower, say ps3 size. so im not sure what i need to keep out my old pc. also no idea what pi is. anymore info is helpful.

[ark_ader]

One of the most interesting part of this hobby is learning from other's mistakes.  There is a search button on the top left of the forum.  Search arcade building to give a wealth of information.  Also check out the stickies in the forum, which gives clues on how to use the Wiki.

Lots of information here to be checked out.

[Titchgamer]

A Pi is a micro computer in essence.
Its the size of a credit card but obviously slightly thicker!

They can be set up to do pretty much anything but would suit your needs perfectly.

Do a search and you will find a wealth of info

[JDFan]

also no idea what pi is. anymore info is helpful.

Here's a video showing a pi build in a nes repro case

! No longer available

[deanofcool]

that thing in the video looks perfect for what i want, just the software that i would struggle with, can't you get preloaded memory cards? also what aren't pc's smaller and cheaper in general if they can be made this small and cheap for the specs it has?

[pbj]

can't you get preloaded memory cards?

And there it is.

 

Yes, you can download Pi images loaded up with games.  We're not supposed to link them here because the moderators hate fun. 

I bet if you searched Google you'd uncover some.  All you have to do is load the image onto an SD card and plug and play with the Pi.

[JDFan]

that thing in the video looks perfect for what i want, just the software that i would struggle with, can't you get preloaded memory cards? also what aren't pc's smaller and cheaper in general if they can be made this small and cheap for the specs it has?

Software is not that difficult -- Only slightly difficult part is fining the rom files the first time (and google makes that part relatively easy.) The rest of the software is easy to find (as the actual emulator without the roms is perfectly legal so you just go to the retropie website and download it and tutorials are available all over youtube showing how to install (Including the video already linked -- only thing is most do not say where to find the roms) 

[barrymossel]

What about something like this: https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/retroengine-sigma-mini-video-game-console-cool#/

You can build it yourself fairly easy. Get yourself a Orange Pi PC, SD card, 5V power supply and case. Complete set in official store: https://nl.aliexpress.com/store/product/Orange-Pi-PC-SET13-Orange-Pi-PC-Transparent-ABS-Case-Power-Supply-16GB-Class-10Micro-SD/1553371_32804150556.html
Write the RetrOrangePi image (http://www.retrorangepi.org/) with Windiskimager (https://sourceforge.net/projects/win32diskimager/) to your SD card, put it in your Orange Pi, connect HDMI and USB controllers and turn it on. Tadaa!

[Mike A]

A comment from their Facebook page.

"has anyone recieved theres yet?? i been waiting they said april its now june"

This is typical crowd funding garbage. Big talk no ship.

[DeLuSioNal29]

Yes, you can download Pi images loaded up with games.  We're not supposed to link them here because the moderators hate fun. 

I bet if you searched Google you'd uncover some.  All you have to do is load the image onto an SD card and plug and play with the Pi.

Not even.  There are PLENTY of sources for pre-made images that are "rom free".  Then you simply add your own games.

Here's a great guide on how to get started:
! No longer available

DeL

[pbj]

Meh, nobody wants a rom free image.

[barrymossel]

A comment from their Facebook page.

"has anyone recieved theres yet?? i been waiting they said april its now june"

This is typical crowd funding garbage. Big talk no ship.

Ah, didn't see that. Just wanted to point out how easy it is to make something like that by yourself. All that "console" is a OrangePi PC with RetrOrangePi. If the TS just want to do some retro gaming on site, using usb controllers, I would recommend the OrangePi or RPi3 road. Easy, fun and cheap.
And of course you can build such a board into anything, ranging from a old SNES housing to a Arcade Controller.

[deanofcool]

made the jump, got a pi. love it so far.