javeryh's Small-ish Bartop ["Jack Attack!"]

[javeryh]

C'mon now - it's only been about a year!   

Slow and steady wins the race!  If all goes well, by this weekend I should be all done building with the only thing left to do is tweaking the game lists and a few other odds and ends (mainly the dust washer and getting the ServoStick working).  My son wants some SNES/NES and other stuff so I need to look into "Top 50" console lists for arcade builds... if such a thing even exists.

Anyway, I snapped a few pics while I was working...  Here's the monitor mounting magic:

I used 3M double sided mounting tape.  It has a bit of a thickness to it (1mm maybe) but forutnately the tape is black so you don't see it.



Here's the monitor stuck in place:



Here is the result:



In the pic above, I obviously put this into the cabinet upside down.  One issue I'm having is what to do with the PCB - it just sort of flops around inside.  I've got it temporarily taped to the monitor panel with painter's tape but this won't work long term:

 

I'm thinking of adding some plastic PCB feet and then using either more of the double sided tape or some epoxy to stick it to the back of the monitor panel.  The only concern I have is heat eventually melting the glue causing it to fall... but I don't think it will ever get that hot inside.  I'm going to give it a shot tonight along with mounting the Raspberry pi and iPAC to the back door...   

[Arroyo]

It's funny how vested I become in other peoples projects, almost like I'm in the workshop with them.

Home Stretch.  I'm looking forward to seeing it done!

[Jimbo]

Looking good!

I used extra strong velcro to mount everything in the back of my bartop.  Nothing budges

But I know what you mean... you get a lot of cables in there... fitting them all in neatly is a struggle!

[javeryh]

It's funny how vested I become in other peoples projects, almost like I'm in the workshop with them.

Home Stretch.  I'm looking forward to seeing it done!

Me too!  I'm the same way - there are a bunch of projects around here I can't wait to see finished (yours included).   

Looking good!

I used extra strong velcro to mount everything in the back of my bartop.  Nothing budges

But I know what you mean... you get a lot of cables in there... fitting them all in neatly is a struggle!

I thought about using velcro but I had the double sided tape on hand so I just went with it.  I got the PCB for the monitor mounted last night.  It was easy enough - I added some PCB feet to the board and then used double sided tape on the bottom to attach it.  I checked this morning and everything seems to be holding up well.



This is a shot kind of looking straight down into the back of the cab - you can see the PCB with the white plastic feet stuck to the back of the monitor.  I mounted it low to give me some extra room up top because the ipac and the raspberry pi are going to stick out from the back door and into the cabinet by at least an inch.



Unfortunately, the holes in the Raspberry Pi are too small for the PCB feet I ordered - I did some checking and it looks like the holes are 2.5mm in diameter but I think 3mm will do the trick so I'm going to drill them out a little bit by hand and see if I can get the feet attached.  It just makes life easier.



How old is this ipac?  Look at the connector!



Finally here is a random shot from the front looking inside under the monitor.  In all of these pictures you can see the wire bunches I have to deal with.  I may try and cut them shorter and splice the connectors back on.  I'm a little nervous because I don't know what is inside of a USB cable - if it is just a couple of wires then no big deal but if it is like the inside of some CAT6 wiring I don't want to mess with it.



It is a really tight fit inside.  I'm not sure how the CP controls will work yet either.  I need space for the joystick and button wires plus the 2 wires for the servo and the servo PCB.  I hope it all fits and isn't too tight that airflow becomes an issue.  I'm glad I cut out those 3 big holes on the back so that air can get in and out at least. 

So tonight the plan is to:
- drill out the holes in the Raspberry Pi
- mount the Raspberry Pi and the ipac to the the back door
- finish all wiring (other than the CP) if that means cutting and splicing them to fit
- start wiring the CP

[Mike A]

You would have a lot more room if you got rid of that wall wart, the plug bar, and all of that bundled up wiring.

[javeryh]

You would have a lot more room if you got rid of that wall wart, the plug bar, and all of that bundled up wiring.

I don't really know how to get rid of the power brick or the plug bar.  Those aren't too bad - it's the bundled wiring driving me crazy.  I can probably do something with it if it is just a matter of cutting them shorter and reattaching the USB dongle or whatever is on the end with some solder and wrapping it in electrical tape.  I'll know more tonight when I try to fit everything inside permanently.

[Mike A]

Do you have a list of what is being powered in your cab, and what power those devices need? You really don't need all of that bulk in there. If you can work around it that is fine, but we can come up with a better plan if you need more space.

[javeryh]

Things that need power:

- Raspberry Pi: Micro-USB powered (5.1V @ 2.5A)
- Amazon Basics PC Speakers: USB powered (5V)
- USB LED Strip Light: USB powered (5V)
- Monitor: Brick powered (DC12V @ 1.0A)
- Servo motor (for ServoStik): Micro-USB powered (5V)
- ipac: USB powered (5V? not sure)

I think that's it.  The pi needs to be powered enough to run the ipac as a "controller", the servo motor and the LED strip light (so that when the pi comes on the marquee lights up). 

The pi, monitor and speakers are currently plugged into the power strip with everything else running off of the pi.  The speakers can just stay on all the time (or if I'm not being lazy, I can use the knob on the back of the cabinet to turn them off) and the monitor is "hot" but only comes on when it is receiving a signal.  It all seems to work (other than the servo which I haven't figured out yet) but cramming everything in is going to be tight.  I already ordered a 18" HDMI cable and a 12" USB cable to try and save space.

[Arroyo]

Do you have a list of what is being powered in your cab, and what power those devices need? You really don't need all of that bulk in there. If you can work around it that is fine, but we can come up with a better plan if you need more space.

To Mike's point, you can use these for example: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01MQGMOKI/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1



You just need a 24V power supply with enough amperage to power everything.  Then you take the above and step down to 5V, 9V, 12V whatever you need.  I used them in my control panel.  It would save you a ton of space.

[Mike A]

Or just a small 5V power supply for almost all of your stuff, and a small 12v supply for the monitor.

https://www.alliedelec.com/product/mean-well-usa/rs-15-5/70069559/?gclid=Cj0KCQjwjMfoBRDDARIsAMUjNZqMoGHjJyekWjjebk8Lh6wBOENHSKa1R3iwWAGMX5stkccmU-CoY9EaArB-EALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds

There are supplies that provide more current if it is needed.

There are also dual output power supplies 12V and 5V, but I am not sure how small they are.

[javeryh]

Thanks guys... this may be a bit over my head without seriously delaying completion.  It makes sense but I'm not sure it is worth the effort unless there is no way to fit everything otherwise.

I mounted the ipac and raspberry pi on the back door and plugged everything in (except for the button wires that go to the ipac and the servo wires) and I think it's all going to fit without any major headaches.  The door closes and I think there is at least some breathing room inside. 

I'll post some pics later... gotta go watch Stranger Things with the fam (everyone has seen it except my son so we are bringing him up to speed before Season 3 comes out on the 4th).

[javeryh]

Alright here are some more pics from the inside.

I mounted the monitor control strip to the back of the monitor with a small piece of double sided tape.  It is easily accessible although I doubt I'll ever need to adjust anything.



The next pic shows how I ended up mounting the ipac and the raspberry pi.  I tried placing them in locations where the door would still be able to close and there would be room for cable management.  The raspberry pi was a little bit of a pain to mount but ultimately not that big of a deal.  I had to use a drill bit to make the mounting holes larger so that screws to the PCB feet I bought would fit.  I did this carefully by hand with the drill bit to make sure I wouldn't break anything.  I only needed to widen the hole by 1mm or less. 

I am also trying to run cables underneath the PCBs so they are out of the way.  The braided wire is the power button.  I also found a much shorted micro-USB cable to save on space (the blue wire).  The 18" HDMI cable I ordered should arrive today (way better than the 6' cable I had laying around).



The next 2 shots show the back of the cabinet with the door closed.  On the bottom left I installed the volume knob by securing some ABS plastic to the inside with some superglue and drilling a hole for the knob.  The volume can be completely turned off but I'll probably leave it "hot" even when the cabinet is not being used.  Overall I'm really happy with how clean the back of the cabinet came out.  The hinges aren't too ugly and there is adequate ventilation along with the volume knob and power receptacle. 





Next up is wiring the CP.  I'm trying to figure out a solution so that I can unplug everything easily - there are 14 inputs (10 buttons + the joystick) plus the 2 wires for the servo motor.  Everything will need to be bundled tightly into one wire with some shrink tubing or zip ties otherwise it will be an unholy mess.  I'm sure there is some sort of connector out there I can wire everything into that can be easily separated if I need to do maintenance.   

Probably not going to get a chance to do anything else until the weekend.  We've got baseball games every night the rest of the week (double header tonight).   

[Arroyo]

Looking good Lewis!

[Richie_jones]

I've just had very similar issues to yourself trying to cram everything inside. I'd highly recommend using a step down voltage board and only having  a 12v supply into your cab.
There really cheap to. Mine was 5 quid off Amazon.
Unfortunately for me I couldn't get rid of speaker interference, and the only way to stop it was having two separate supplys. So I ended up putting 240volts into the cab and having to cram 2 power bricks inside one for the step down voltage board and a separate one to power the amplifier...

[Richie_jones]

For wiring the cp you could use an atx extension cable. Cut it in half and wire one side to the ipac and the other to your cp.
Then you have easy disconnect to remove cp when needed.

[javeryh]

For wiring the cp you could use an atx extension cable. Cut it in half and wire one side to the ipac and the other to your cp.
Then you have easy disconnect to remove cp when needed.

This is exactly what I needed to see.  I probably have a couple of these laying around somewhere too.  Just hope I have one with 14-16 wires.  This seems perfect - I need an easy way to separate the CP from the cabinet in case I need to do some maintenance.

[Richie_jones]

Yes there 20pin. I also carry the 12v supply to the button lights down the same connector so the whole cp can just plug in and out..

[javeryh]

Yes there 20pin. I also carry the 12v supply to the button lights down the same connector so the whole cp can just plug in and out..

Great idea.  My 18" HDMI cable just arrived so I'm going to try and finish the wiring today or tomorrow.  Should be fairly easy... famous last words.

[Arroyo]

Come on Javery, the suspense is killing me!!

[javeryh]

Come on Javery, the suspense is killing me!!

I still have a ways to go.  The bookcase is almost finished but I still need to do all the trim in the room (crown and baseboard), add some lapboard backing between the bookcase where the bed will go and cut and add tops for the cabinets that go to the wall and give the entire thing a little more weight as well as complete the "built-in" look.  I'm going to cope the crown and I have no idea how to do that yet.  Oh yeah, I also have to pain this mofo - not looking forward to that.  This was a big project for me and really out of my skill set but whatever - nail guns are fun so why not.   

The plan is to finish up the bartop in September once the kids are back in school and this bedroom renovation is complete.

[Arroyo]

For some reason I didn't see the word Arcade or video game anywhere in your response   Get your priorities straight my man! 

I've got one fence down, two leaky toilets, a set of blinds that no longer work, and a broken sprinkler.  When the wife looks at me I just shrug and tell her I'll be in the shop.

P.S. - That's some sweet cabinetry.

[javeryh]

Small update: everything is wired as of yesterday.  I didn't get a chance to test it because I was playing with the old IPAC I'm using (PS/2 version) and I am unable to get WiniPAC to reprogram it... so I guess I'll be using the default settings and mapping controls inside of RetroPie and MAME and whatever else I end up running...

I also finally secured that one admin button that I had to hack to the cabinet.  I ended up using 2 part epoxy to hold it in place and it seems to be super solid.

This is what I'm talking about: 







In the pics above, the epoxy (not shown) is holding the black part of the button that holds the microswitch to the white button casing.  The trick was getting the glue to dry so that the depth of the microswitch was just right so the button looks exactly like the other 3 on the front of the CP.  It worked.



So next up - tomorrow - is trying to get all of the controls and software configured properly.  My goal is just MAME with a concise gamelist but I'm using RetroPie (which I think I hate) so there is a learning curve for me.

The last thing I'll do is try and get the ServoStik working properly - seems like that is going to take some work.  The motor connects to 2 free pins on the raspberry pi and there is a guide HERE on how to get it working but I'm pretty dumb so...

We are hosting Thanksgiving this year so ideally I'd like to have this all working by then and I also want to build another cabinet but can't start on that until I finish this one!   

[Mike A]

Damn. If you finish this thing I can't make ---smurfy--- comments Everytime you post somewhere.

[javeryh]

Damn. If you finish this thing I can't make ---smurfy--- comments Everytime you post somewhere.

You are the only one motivating me to finish.

[Arroyo]

You are the only one motivating me to finish.

Ahem......


Glad to see you back at Javery.  Looking forward to seeing you button this one up.  Nice mod on the button by the way, that would have had me scratching my head for awhile.

[Laythe]

Great job on digging yourself out of that occluded button problem!   

[javeryh]

Ahem......

Glad to see you back at Javery.  Looking forward to seeing you button this one up.  Nice mod on the button by the way, that would have had me scratching my head for awhile.

Heh... yeah I definitely get motivated every time I check in on your build.  I can't let you finish before me!

Great job on digging yourself out of that occluded button problem!   

Thanks - that button gave me a lot of headaches so now I have to get the ServoStik working properly.  That's one of the last things I have left other than configuring the software.  I am just about out of room and I need to find a place for the little PCB that came with it.

Today I got a little bit further... I'm really having a hard time with the pi just because I don't know anything.  I had it all working but I wasn't getting a picture on my screen.  I discovered through some googling that I needed to edit the /boot/config.txt file to force HDMI... so after about an hour of googling how to SSH into the pi remotely I got it to work.  On first boot I had to configure the "gamepad" and retropie thought I was using a keyboard, which makes sense.  The joystick was easy but I'm not sure what to do with everything else.



I made a diagram - the colors refer to the wires I had on hand so I could keep track of everything.  Since RetroPie seems like it wants a PSX/Xbox controller I'm not sure what the best way to configure everything is with the IPAC.  The admin buttons aren't configured properly and I'm not really sure what I need to do.  I'll make another post when I make some progress there.



What a mess.  A lot of my space issues are because the cables I'm using have to be bunched up and I'm not confident enough to remove a section and splice them back together.

So the cabinet boots up and I installed a "safe" shutdown switch by following an online guide (ETA Prime on YouTube).  The image I'm using has too much crap on it.  There is an "Arcade" section (with like 5000 games) but also NES, GBA, SNES, etc.  Tons of stuff that will not get used... although the Atari 2600 stuff is intriguing.  So next up is to SSH to the Pi and delete all of the games except the ones I want.  I can't decide if I should make it Arcade only or maybe include 10-20 games from other systems that would work well in this cabinet.

Punchlist:

• Figure out gamelist
• Change boot up intro (there is a Ninja Gaiden video that plays when the cab boots - I want to change this to a splash screen with the Marquee logo)
• Change "theme" - I just want a simple 4:3 Gamelauncher-looking skin or something.  The cab currently displays way too much info about each game plus a movie which I don't think I care about.
• Finish dustwasher.  I have the smart phone protector but I still need to print the art at the proper size.
• Install t-molding.
• Wire the ServoStik
• Configure ServoStik in Retropie

Whew.  So close yet so far away...

[Jimbo]

Looking good mate, you'll get there.  These last finishing touches always take the longest time. 

[javeryh]

Looking good mate, you'll get there.  These last finishing touches always take the longest time. 

Definitely for me.  I'm more of a woodshop person than a computer/wiring person so all these finishing details are tough for me because I have to teach myself everything from scratch.

The "Now Loading..." screen when you boot up your bartop is so cool.  Was that easy to make?  I was envisioning something similar for my cabinet using the existing artwork.  The robot or the marquee or some combination of the two with "Now Loading..." font in the bottom right (the animated ellipses would be a nice bonus).  Nothing too fancy though.

If anyone wants to give this a shot for me I wouldn't say no... I can provide the photoshop art files with everything so it can be sized to 4:3 or whatever.   

[Jimbo]

I just got the artist (that you also used) to do the pixellated drawing from an idea I had, and I put it as a start up screen in retropie's options I think (it's been a while now, can't remember which settings or anything right now).  It was messing around with the splash screen I think, you can set it as a video etc.   I might even have linked to a retropie startup how-to on my Videotron thread.

A friend at work did the animated videotron logo/vector lines and made it look like a VHS tape loading while my music played. 

Get an idea for a loading screen graphic using the cool robot art and ask the same artist to do one for you is my suggestion.  Same artist will keep the theme the same, they could even pixellate it

Good luck!

[javeryh]

I just got the artist (that you also used) to do the pixellated drawing from an idea I had, and I put it as a start up screen in retropie's options I think (it's been a while now, can't remember which settings or anything right now).  It was messing around with the splash screen I think, you can set it as a video etc.   I might even have linked to a retropie startup how-to on my Videotron thread.

A friend at work did the animated videotron logo/vector lines and made it look like a VHS tape loading while my music played. 

Get an idea for a loading screen graphic using the cool robot art and ask the same artist to do one for you is my suggestion.  Same artist will keep the theme the same, they could even pixellate it

Good luck!

I started messing around with a "boot logo" or whatever it's called - just some image that will be shown as Retropie is booting up in the background.  The stock image shows lines of code and the pi logo (made out of font) and kills the "custom" experience.  I know nothing about photoshop so I'm using Paint... yeah.  Anyway, I think I just want this centered on the screen to start (black background):



It's pixelated enough and gives off an 8/16-bit feeling but you can still tell what it is.  Ideally, I'll figure out how to turn this into an animation where the words "Now Loading..." appear at the bottom maybe blinking or something along with some audio of my son saying "Jack Attack" modified to sound robotic as soon as the cabinet is turned on.  I think my kids have some iPhone apps where making a movie is kind of easy - I need to look into that.

I'm not 100% sure this is the direction I'm going to go but right now I just want to hide Retropie as best as I can.  Separating the marquee logo from the background is beyond my skill set so I don't think I'll be using that image here even though it might look cool as well.  Of course, I might scrap this tomorrow if I think of something else.

I've also been messing around with the software over the last few days - trying to teach myself how Retropie works and how to set stuff up over SSH.  So far so good... I think.  Last night I "set up" the Atari game list... which just meant deleting hundreds of games that were already there.  The list is down to 73 now but after playing for about an hour I realized that probably 63 of them are crap and can be removed... I still like Adventure for some reason and I'm sure there are 9 more games I would play from time to time to justify the inclusion of the Atari 2600.  All of this is up in the air right now though.



I picked the "tft" theme to start with - seems like the most bare bones theme out there and I got rid of all the videos, game info, etc.  The only thing I want to add back in are screenshots but I want them to appear behind the game list exactly like the old Gamelauncher front end used to do it.  I'm going for simple.  I also might see if I can change the color palette of the theme to match my cabinet art... I have a lot of learning to do.

 

[wp34]

That boot logo looks great.  That would be a nice finishing touch.

[javeryh]

That boot logo looks great.  That would be a nice finishing touch.

Thanks - baby steps.  There is quite a bit left for me to do but I'm chipping away at it.  All of the game lists are pretty much pared down now - I attached my Excel file of the games I have on this thing).  I'm a little afraid to make some cuts for some strange reason.  Like, I highly highly doubt anyone will ever play Castlevania or even Mega Man all the way through on this thing but the options are there.... cluttering up my lists!

I still also have to figure out how to map certain controls for the different emulators, replace the boot screen, add t-molding, rewire some stuff inside (including the ServoStik) and tweak the Retropie theme.  I should have some time this weekend to work on it.

[javeryh]

I got the boot logo working!  It's pretty sweet (and looks better in person).



It comes on as soon as the cabinet powers on... not that flashy.  Next up is turning this into a 10 second movie because I want to add some sound.  Not sure what that's going to be like yet...

EDIT: It works!!  I managed to find some online tools to help make a movie so now when you power on the cabinet it shows the boot screen and a robotic voice says "Jack Attack. Now loading." three times and then it jumps straight into the game menu.  No Emulation Station logos to be found anywhere - feels totally custom.  I ended up using my voice for the robot voice instead of my son's because it's a gift from me to him and also he's out playing football somewhere with his friends haha.

Now that I've sorted that out, I am going to finish paring down the game lists (the "Arcade" list is 1679 games long and is ridiculous) and once that is done I'll configure the controls properly and install the t-molding so it looks "finished".   

[Jimbo]

Well done!  Where's the video though? 

[Arroyo]

Awesome.

[javeryh]

Well done!  Where's the video though? 

Awesome.

Thanks guys... here's the video.  Takes about 45 seconds total to boot.  I don't care much about that but I wish the video would start playing sooner than it does.  The 20 seconds of blank screen is kind of annoying but I don't think there is anything I can do about it...

[Mike A]

I know some of you guys put a bunch of effort into hiding the OS and creating boot screens...

I flip the switch on my cab. I go get a beer. By the time I get back with my beer I am looking at the menu screen.

If I wanted to sit and look at the snazzy boot up sequence I created it would probably be cool the first couple of times I looked at it. After that, see the above comment.

I just don't see the point I guess. That doesn't mean it isn't cool. I like 80's robot voices. Its just not for me.

[javeryh]

See my problem is that I already have the beer in my hand when I start up the cab.  I like it because it helps with the illusion that everything was designed/built with one theme in mind and also I'm a nerd.

[Mike A]

I get it. You spent time and money on a fantastic art package. You want to complete the concept.
I just never got into all of that. Maybe I am just too lazy.