OK I will use this space for build preparation. I have an idea that will allow me to store my consoles, and have a Retropie build to play vintage arcade games. As I am not cooling my old PC mainboard (it died) I am going to use a PI3 inside one of these:
The one I have has a small LED on the top but it is perfect size for the PI. I have some gravel, and a LED strip to light the PI up. There are plenty of examples on youtube but require a great amount of use with a dremel, and I do not want the fish tank to get contaminated. There are issues with the cables going into the tank that siphon the mineral oil out of the tank over time, so I will have to look at some alternatives. Ideally I am thinking one cable will be enough (HDMI) with a 5v, but the amperage is too small, so I will hot glue a power line to the hdmi cable.
I will use one sided glass to shield the fish from the excess light. I am looking for a tank that is about the same size as a 20 inch 4:3 monitor that will be raised and lowered via a linear actuator. The Viewsonic 20 inch monitors are heavy so I might need two to balance the weight.
The cabinet needs to be able to support the fish tank, monitor and the consoles. I would like each console to have its own pull out shelf for ventilation, and reduce the cable hell. The control panel will be similar to a Xarcade solo as I will be needing an encoder that will work with all consoles, so no cable swaps. All video (component) will use a converter to VGA and I will use a DVI to HDMI adapter and HDMI hub.
Other than the monitor weight, console weight and control panel stabilisation, the control panel bucket will swivel inside the cabinet looking flush when not in use and then lowered/pushed out with another linear actuator when the power switch is flipped. More on that later. One of our fish is called nemo, so the artwork will be disney'ish, unless someone has a better idea. The design has to fit a small space, and that's all I have to play around with.
Design and cardboard mocks to follow.