I had a build thread for this but its been so long and it basically died AND I made the mistake of hosting my photos on photobucket.com
which, since my initial build thread and all of the links are gone since photobucket now requires $$$ to host images....-steaming pile of muffin-- photobucket!!
Like a phoenix rising out of the ashes, it is reborn.
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 2018.
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.
I have no idea what theme this cabinet will be so I don't know what art work will be on it but I know it will have a sunburst type of background like in the images below.
I already started a thread regarding my CP wiring project here because of an issue with the Quick disconnects. Thanks to all that helped me by replying to that thread.
http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php/topic,156414.0.htmlI will post more photos of the cabinet within 24 hours.