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Author Topic: VIDEOTRON (2 player Bartop for the kids) - video tour uploaded  (Read 48073 times)

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rave0035

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Re: B.A.R.T. (2 player Bartop for the kids) - painting the Ond way...
« Reply #40 on: October 07, 2018, 12:44:52 pm »
Does it make sense to shoot a coat of primer on that CP prior to assembly?
You can't truly know how something works until you've ruined it by taking it apart.

Jimbo

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Re: B.A.R.T. (2 player Bartop for the kids) - painting the Ond way...
« Reply #41 on: October 07, 2018, 01:29:21 pm »
Metal CP FTW! Looks nice! :cheers:

Yep - thanks :)  Always a metal CP from now on, if I have the option!

Does it make sense to shoot a coat of primer on that CP prior to assembly?

Yes definitely, primed and artwork, then controls.  I'll be mounting it into brass inserts tapped into the plywood mounting blocks, with hex bolts securing them in the 4 corners.  This means I should be able to take the CP off easily for any maintenance.

leapinlew

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Re: B.A.R.T. (2 player Bartop for the kids) - painting the Ond way...
« Reply #42 on: October 07, 2018, 03:57:05 pm »
leapinlew... I think I get what you mean... but would that make it difficult to get the monitor out if you wanted to replace it?  I'm using an old Dell 2nd hand monitor... might go kaput after a while and I want to be able to easily replace it if needed.

I used L-brackets or another piece of wood secured at a 90 degree angle to secure it to the side panels. Replacing the monitor meant creating another monitor mount with the new monitor. It's really not a big deal.

Jimbo

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Re: B.A.R.T. (2 player Bartop for the kids) - painting the Ond way...
« Reply #43 on: October 08, 2018, 05:06:33 am »
leapinlew... I think I get what you mean... but would that make it difficult to get the monitor out if you wanted to replace it?  I'm using an old Dell 2nd hand monitor... might go kaput after a while and I want to be able to easily replace it if needed.

I used L-brackets or another piece of wood secured at a 90 degree angle to secure it to the side panels. Replacing the monitor meant creating another monitor mount with the new monitor. It's really not a big deal.

Ah ok I get you. I'll be removing the monitor base soon so I'll see what mounting options there are.  :cheers:

Jimbo

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Re: B.A.R.T. (2 player Bartop for the kids) - painting the Ond way...
« Reply #44 on: October 17, 2018, 03:40:26 pm »
So I took a rare day off work today and got lots done! :)

I'd previously cut the 6mm plywood monitor bezel and affixed some battens so that I could rout the hole for the monitor with a flush trim bit.  It came out nice with some rounded corners.  Today I glued the two battens on the top and bottom of the monitor bezel, to a) affix it to the side panels and b) allow me to affix some small detachable monitor retainer blocks. I also glued two battens onto the bottom of the two side panels for the base to attach to...


^ Oh yeah, also 2 small blocks on either side of the monitor to hold it in place laterally.

The detachable monitor retaining blocks are basically just 40x40x12mm plywood blocks affixed to the battens using small hex bolts screwing into brass inserts...



Here you can see the bottom batten with the 2 retainer blocks affixed.  For these ones I had to glue some 2mm balsa wood strips to the blocks to pad/reach the monitor and keep it from moving when the bolts are tightened...



For the top batten, no balsa padding was needed, but I still need to shave a bit off the outside edge of the blocks so they're flush with the batten, as this will butt up to the underside of the marquee panel...



Here's the back view. Monitor fixes nice and snug and secure and is dead easy to remove if I ever need to replace it.



Aaannnddd... the front view - looking good :)



I'll be putting artwork on the front of this monitor bezel, so will be filling/sanding/priming for that at some point soon.  I also have to add the bottom monitor glass retainer.  I've ordered the 4mm toughened safety glass (grey tinted) which will sit on top of the 6mm ply bezel, over the artwork.  The glass should be here in a couple of weeks.

I also decided to raise the cab off the ground a little - I don't want the t-molded sides touching the surface it's sitting on, so I have glued 3.5mm ply sheet to the base, a little smaller than the actual base panel, and will be gluing a 3mm rubber matting to this.  This'll put the cab 2-3mm off the floor/table but provide a nice solid anti-slip base...



I also did some more painting prep for some of the remaining panels.  Filling, sanding, and some high-build primer was the order of business...



From left to right: -
  • Speaker/Storage-box panel.  Front of which has a slot for the marquee, back of which is the base of the storage box behind the marquee.
  • Front panel of the storage box behind the marquee.
  • Storage box lid (underside)
  • Cabinet base - with the panel added for the rubber matting.
  • Top marquee panel.
  • Finally at the bottom there are 2 primed butt hinges that I'm going to paint black, for the storage box lid.
The plan is for all of these bits to be smooth matt black.  The only parts of the cab that will be mirror finish gloss are the inside of the side panels, and the top (maybe).

Lastly... Some bits I ordered for the back panel have arrived! :)  4 USB panel mount connectors, an IEC power socket and 2 long-shaft 1K potentiometers (I'll use one for the volume knob on the back panel, and the other to limit the max volume of the speakers to something sensible)...



I haven't sketchup'd this yet, but my idea for the back panel is as follows...



So that's (from left to right): -
  • 2 USB sockets for Players 1 and 2 (for controllers when using console games on Retropie)
  • Power IEC socket and momentary power push button for the Pi (wired to GPIO pins)
  • 80mm quiet USB fan to give some airflow to the pi (it has a small fan on it as it is overclocked already)
  • Volume knob
  • Pause Button
  • 2 USB sockets for Players 3 and 4 (for controllers when using console games on Retropie)
If you can think of anything I've missed, or can offer suggestions to improve it, please let me know. :cheers:

Jimbo

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So aside from some tiny touch ups, I've finished the base now :)

I first spray painted the edge of the base matt black, then I added the rubber matting.

Adding the 3mm rubber matting was a bit tricky because I wanted a perfect fit on the raised (smaller) bit of 3.5mm plywood.

Firstly I cut a "too big" square of the matting with a stanley knife, so it was overhanging the entire base by about 5cm around each side.

Then I glued (with contact adhesive) about a 1ft square section in the centre so this secured the matting to the ply base, but only in the centre, leaving flappy edges of rubber that I could then trim down.  I did it this way because I didn't fancy gluing the entire thing in one go - it's pretty big and gluing up to the edges of the matting is a lot harder when you don't have the edges already cut.  I didn't cut the edges before gluing because I didn't fancy me aligning them perfectly.

Once the glue had fully set, I carefully trimmed the sides of the rubber to the exact size using a metal ruler and a stanley knife.  Then I glued each of the four corners in turn.  With the impact adhesive I coated both sides (up to the edges) and waited 5 minutes until touch dry, then rolled down the matting to secure it in place.



All done :)  This should give the bartop a nice solid non-slip base and keep the t-molded sides just above the surface so they don't get damaged.



javeryh

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Looks good but why didn't you just use rubber feet or something?  You can get them cheap and it's only 4 screws and you are done (I got mine from Home Depot for about $2).  Solves both the no slip and raising the side panel issues in one shot.  This is what I did:





Note that I added a spacer made out of PVC pipe and spray painted black to get a little extra height.

Jimbo

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Thanks - heh I don't know why... I guess I just fancied it over rubber feet.  It feels nice so I'm happy :)

Jimbo

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Today I worked on the back panel.  Lots of practice with the router!

Here's what I'm trying to make: -



So that's:
 - Handles for lifting
 - Hole with recess for door
 - Holes for 4 USB sockets
 - Holes for Power and Pause buttons
 - 80mm USB fan for cooling
 - Hole for volume pot

I used 3D printed templates for the handles.  I screwed them in and used a flush trim bit to rout them.  I think I went overboard with the amount of screws I used...



Then I routed the recessed hole for the door.  This back panel is 15mm thick, and the recess is 9mm, so that'll be the thickness of the door.  The width of the recess is 5mm all the way round.

I also cut the holes for all the buttons/fan/power/volume and routed away the back of the fan so it would sit a little more flush to the back panel.

Here's the front after all the routing.  Yes I'm sure you're thinking "what's that mess on the routed handles?"  Lets just say I'm an idiot and learned how NOT to do something today. I am ashamed... LOL... well, some filler needed there then!



Here's the back where you can see where I routed out for the fan to sit snug...



And here's the front with the stuff in it.  I'm planning on some LED lit buttons with decals for power on/off and pause, so they will be illuminated when the RPi is on.  These are just temp buttons to see how it looked.  The volume pot will have a nice volume knob on it too, which is "in the post", apparently.



Here's how the lower panel looks from behind...



I guess next up I'll do the back panel door with the hinges and lock. Also need to rout out for the small magnetic latch on the top, that will keep the storage area box closed (behind the marquee). I think this panel is then ready to prep for painting :)

javeryh

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Re: B.A.R.T. (2 player Bartop for the kids) - making the back panel...
« Reply #49 on: October 25, 2018, 02:26:13 pm »
Really nice job on that panel.  It's a lot of router work so getting everything just right can be tough!

If you don't feel like patching, maybe you could use something like THIS for your handles...


Jimbo

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Re: B.A.R.T. (2 player Bartop for the kids) - making the back panel...
« Reply #50 on: October 25, 2018, 03:07:39 pm »
Heh - I wish I'd thought of that before I cut those handle holes!  :banghead:

I've just now looked about but all the ones I can see are a little too small for the area I've cut.   I think it'll be fine with some filler though. Once sanded and painted I'm confident the muck ups won't be noticed :)  Also these handles are just how I remember the handles on an old Electrocoin cab I had years ago... so some nostalgic reason to keep them as they are - haha I'm clearly trying to make myself feel better about it...

Speaking of painting, I finished painting the vertical panel that is the back of (inside) the storage box, and the floor of the storage box, both in matt black.  I also painted the front edges of the marquee panels that will be visible between the marquee and the t-molded edges...

It's starting to feel like there's light at the end of the tunnel. :)

barrymossel

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Re: B.A.R.T. (2 player Bartop for the kids) - making the back panel...
« Reply #51 on: October 26, 2018, 03:16:22 am »
Speaking of painting, I finished painting the vertical panel that is the back of (inside) the storage box, and the floor of the storage box, both in matt black.  I also painted the front edges of the marquee panels that will be visible between the marquee and the t-molded edges...
Are you spray painting or are you using a roller? Looks really smooth!

Jimbo

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Re: B.A.R.T. (2 player Bartop for the kids) - making the back panel...
« Reply #52 on: October 26, 2018, 04:13:02 am »
Speaking of painting, I finished painting the vertical panel that is the back of (inside) the storage box, and the floor of the storage box, both in matt black.  I also painted the front edges of the marquee panels that will be visible between the marquee and the t-molded edges...
Are you spray painting or are you using a roller? Looks really smooth!

Thanks - I'm spray painting them matt black... I followed Ond's guide.  It works like a charm. :)  I'm a complete novice at painting but watching his video helped loads.  Just takes a lot of patience!

Jimbo

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Re: B.A.R.T. (2 player Bartop for the kids) - making the back panel...
« Reply #53 on: October 27, 2018, 12:43:46 pm »
I got the volume control sorted for the cab today.

I wanted to add a second potentiometer to be able to set a limit on the maximum volume.  This to to get the optimum range for the volume knob and allow me to quieten it (if/when needed) so the kids can't play it too loudly!

Here's how I planned to wire them up: -



I used an L-bracket, and with some rubber spacer washers I mounted it to the 15mm plywood back panel.  This made the pot shaft poke out just enough for the volume knob to fit perfectly :)  Then I soldered the connections...





All works great... EXCEPT... I appear to have the volume in reverse... turning the knob up / clockwise turns the volume down, and vice versa! :(  I've clearly got a connection wrong, I'm guessing I can just swap the pin connections on the amp end and it'll resolve it, but I'll worry about that later.  Right now just happy I didn't blow the amp or speakers up :D

rave0035

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Re: B.A.R.T. (2 player Bartop for the kids) - wiring up the volume pots...
« Reply #54 on: October 27, 2018, 02:02:42 pm »
You're using the pots as part of a dedicated V-control circuit and not as a 'speaker pad', right?
You can't truly know how something works until you've ruined it by taking it apart.

Jimbo

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Re: B.A.R.T. (2 player Bartop for the kids) - wiring up the volume pots...
« Reply #55 on: October 27, 2018, 02:09:43 pm »
You're using the pots as part of a dedicated V-control circuit and not as a 'speaker pad', right?

Hi - I'm connecting them up to the "Pot. Vol" pins on this mini amp: -
https://learn.adafruit.com/adafruit-20w-stereo-audio-amplifier-class-d-max9744/analog-control
...so I've taken it that it's working as a voltage divider.

Cheers

Richie_jones

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Re: B.A.R.T. (2 player Bartop for the kids) - wiring up the volume pots...
« Reply #56 on: October 27, 2018, 03:50:26 pm »
This is a great build..Nice job

PL1

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Re: B.A.R.T. (2 player Bartop for the kids) - making the back panel...
« Reply #57 on: October 27, 2018, 09:17:02 pm »
All works great... EXCEPT... I appear to have the volume in reverse... turning the knob up / clockwise turns the volume down, and vice versa! :(  I've clearly got a connection wrong, I'm guessing I can just swap the pin connections on the amp end and it'll resolve it, but I'll worry about that later.
Audio (log) pots have a log-curve response vs. linear pots. that have a straight-line response.
- Flipping a linear pot = similar straight-line response.
- Flipping an audio pot = very different response curve.  A yellow "log" curve turns into a teal "reverse log" curve.



The correct way to fix your wiring is at the pot tabs.

Your diagram is drawn from a behind-the-panel point of view.
- From this perspective, when you turn the knob counter-clockwise, the wiper (tab 2) is closer to Vcc.

You wired it from a front-of-panel point of view, so the tabs ended up in reverse order from the diagram i.e. 1 2 3 vs. 3 2 1.

Simple fix:  On both pots, swap the wires from tab 1 to tab 3.
- When you turn the knob clockwise from a front-of-panel point of view, the wiper (tab 2) will be closer to Vcc.   ;D


Scott

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Re: B.A.R.T. (2 player Bartop for the kids) - wiring up the volume pots...
« Reply #58 on: October 28, 2018, 11:02:55 am »
Scott is awesome.   :applaud:

Jimbo

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Re: B.A.R.T. (2 player Bartop for the kids) - wiring up the volume pots...
« Reply #59 on: October 28, 2018, 11:25:05 am »
Hey Scott.... you did all my thinking for me! :)    :applaud:

Thanks for your help.  I had a feeling just swapping tabs on the amp might not be the solution, but you've made it easy to understand and I can see where I went wrong.

I'll de/re-solder later on and test it again.   Today I've been routing out for hinges and latches.  I'll post an update later.

 :cheers:

Jimbo

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Re: B.A.R.T. (2 player Bartop for the kids) - wiring up the volume pots...
« Reply #60 on: October 28, 2018, 03:15:57 pm »
I got some more routing done today.  First off I routed for the magnetic latch at the top of the back panel, which will secure the lid of the storage box in place...



Next, I routed the underside of the storage top lid with the magnetic latch counterpart...



They fit together nice and snug...



Next, I needed to sort out the set of hinges that attach the storage lid onto the top of the cab.  First up I clamped and marked out both hinges...



I had to make a jig of sorts out of some lumber offcuts, so that the router could sit on it securely while I routed the recesses for the hinges.  Here's the result...



I recessed slightly more than the depth of the hinge leaf, so that the gap between the two panel edges was tiny.  The hinges fit nicely :)



Here's the top of the cab...



And here's the view from an "open" storage box, showing the hinges and the magnetic latch.



Only a few more woodworking tweaks now and I can get all these panels prepped for painting :)

PL1

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Re: B.A.R.T. (2 player Bartop for the kids) - wiring up the volume pots...
« Reply #61 on: October 28, 2018, 07:40:10 pm »
Scott is awesome.   :applaud:
I had a feeling just swapping tabs on the amp might not be the solution, but you've made it easy to understand and I can see where I went wrong.
Thanks, guys.  Glad to assist.   ;D


Scott

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Re: B.A.R.T. (2 player Bartop for the kids) - hinges and latches...
« Reply #62 on: October 31, 2018, 01:02:37 pm »
Today I routed the rounded corners of the back door, then routed for the hinges to mount it to the back panel.  I also fitted the cam lock!

Those tiny hinges are a PAIN to fit - so fiddly! I'll be happy if I never have to do those things again....  thankfully it all lined up nicely so very happy!


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Re: B.A.R.T. (2 player Bartop for the kids) - hinges and latches...
« Reply #63 on: October 31, 2018, 01:30:21 pm »
That back has a nice clean look to it.  Well done.   :cheers:

Jimbo

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Re: B.A.R.T. (2 player Bartop for the kids) - hinges and latches...
« Reply #64 on: October 31, 2018, 02:26:10 pm »
Thanks - Sheesh I've really done a lot of routing in the last couple of weeks... I can't think how anyone can build an arcade machine without a router!  I think I need to build a router table soon.

Quick update on the handles on the back panel.  I was originally going to fix a few panels to the inside completely boxing each handle in so you can't see the innards of the cab.  I then thought I have no vents to let any hot air that rises out of the cab.  I can't put vents in the top as the storage box is there.  I could put them on the back door, but I didn't want to do that as it would be ugly and too low down.  The problem with using the handles is unless I build a box inside then you'll be able to see all the innards of the cab through them.

The solution I've come up with is to build a containing box inside each handle as originally planned (leaving enough room for fingers in the handles) but to make the floor of this box into a steel mesh, painted black (see pic).  This should significantly obscure the cab innards but also allow airflow to the handles for the heated air to escape.

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Re: B.A.R.T. (2 player Bartop for the kids) - more routing - back door done!
« Reply #65 on: October 31, 2018, 06:11:36 pm »
Looking good Jimbo, your vent/handle solution is a good idea.

Jimbo

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Re: B.A.R.T. (2 player Bartop for the kids) - more routing - back door done!
« Reply #66 on: November 06, 2018, 05:52:10 am »
So the artist has come up with a draft sketch for the side panels.  Theme is retro-80s sci-fi, a little wireframe/vectory...  I wanted to personalise if for my 2 eldest children so I've thought to put a picture of each of them on each side panel.  Here is the draft.

My personal thoughts atm are that the top right looks best without the wireframe and with the blue lines instead of white.  It just stands out more.  I'm blown away with what the artist has done with the photo I sent.  Can't wait to see what my boy looks like on the other panel!

Other ideas I've had:  Put some kind of small lone tempest-like ship on the blue contour lines on the background...  maybe a planet in the top section above the head...

It does make me feel like B.A.R.T. (bartop arcade retro terminal) is not such a suitable name for this theme... but it *could* work depending on the font/styling.  I'm struggling to think of another name... really don't want something with "cade" in it.

Suggestions and feedback welcome.  :cheers:

Jimbo

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Today I Assembled the top section.  Starting by gluing the upright front panel of the storage box to the base section...



I then drilled out and fit two brass inserts into the top of the upright panel so I could fix the very top panel (which retains the marquee from above) then screwed them in using M6 hex bolts.  You can see here how the marquee is retained in the two routed channels in the top panel and speaker panel.  This top will be able to come off easily for if/when I need to fix speakers or LED strip marquee lights...



Next it was time to fit dowels so that it's easy to put together.  For these I 3D printed some dowel guides.  There are 3 needed as I have 3 different plywood thicknesses in my project... 12mm, 15mm and 18mm.  For all these I will be using 5mm diameter wooden dowels, 25mm in length.  These guides fit over the edge of the panels at the exact thickness so that the holes are dead in the centre of the panel edge.  Each dowel guide has 4 x 5mm drill guide holes for the dowels, and a bunch of countersunk screw holes for fixing to the panels.  The drill guide base is 12mm thick to help keep the drill vertical and prevent drill side-fumbling :)



First I carefully measured up on the side panels where the dowel holes would need to go.  I used the screwholes to affix the guides to ensure there was no movement and everything was accurate...



Then for the edges of the top section (the speaker/bottom-of-storage-box panel) I just used clamps as they fit conveniently and were strong enough not to move while I drilled the holes...



I drilled 4 dowel holes each side, and inserted the dowels...





Then I did a test fit putting the metal control panel in and testing the dowels lined up on the top section.  They were spot on! :)



Here's the back where you can see the storage box without its lid.  The lid will attach via hinges on the mortices you can see...



Next up will be to drill the dowel holes for the back panel and base panel... oh, and the monitor frame.  Here's the back panel in-situ. I'm pleased how it all looks...



More on the theme/artwork coming soon.  Name is changing again to match the theme better!

Once I have the rest of the dowel holes drilled and I've done a full test fit, I'll be able to finish prepping and painting the rest of the panels.  Getting there! :)
« Last Edit: November 07, 2018, 04:12:46 pm by Jimbo »

DaOld Man

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Looking good Jimbo!
I am digging that metal CP.

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I'm mad at you for cheating on your rotating cab with this! :badmood:

JK. Looking good!

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Haha, thanks guys... Christmas is coming so there's a deadline on this one!  In the new year I'll be back on the big one.   :cheers:

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This evening it was time to use the 15mm dowel guide for the back panel.  I think I'm an expert at using these now!  I moved along very quickly using a spare 5mm drill bit to align the guide as I went from one end of the back panel to the other.  A total of 7 dowel holes per side/edge...



With the side panel, I needed to screw a batten in as a guide for the dowel guide to sit flush to.  Same technique with a spare drill bit except screwing the dowel guide in each time as clamping wasn't an option...



After doing this both sides I finally had all the dowels/holes in place ready for a test fit...



Fits like a glove! :)  It was really nice putting all this together, the dowels are snug for the top section and back panel and it all aligns perfectly - which surprised me - I was expecting something to be a few mm off and to end up frustrated, but very happy it all lines up just right!





I still have to dowel up the floor panel, and the monitor frame.  That's the last of the big assembly stuff.

The race is on to get this baby finished by Christmas!

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So I finally have a theme!  The old B.A.R.T. theme will have to come back another day on another build!

I wanted something personalised for my kids so decided to have their pictures on the side panels.  The theme is retro-sci-fi, I wanted something where it looked like they are in a video game. The fictional game they are in is called "VIDEOTRON".  The artist has done some great sketches and I'll be thinking about it and giving feedback before things are finalised and properly illustrated.

Here are the options for the marquee: -



CPO: -



Speaker Panel



Left Side panel: -



Right Side Panel: -



I've tried a few of these combinations in sketchup, just basic texture mapping to the panel faces to see what works...















Really it's a case of which marquee image, and what t-molding colour.  There are other t-molding colours of course but here are just a few.

I have my own thoughts but thought it would be nice to get some outside opinion from you lot :)

If you also have any other ideas or suggestions to improve the theme, please let me know.

Thanks

yo1dog

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Few things more satisfying than when a joint fits perfectly. Well done. I also like dowel joints. With the right jig they are easy, quick, and strong.

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I'd go with the fourth marquee and maybe make the background a little more yellow so that it matches the sides.
If possible I would align the horizontal grid lines so that it seems that they wrap aound the sides and the front.
                  

javeryh

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I like #4.  I don't think you need art on the speaker panel - no one will ever really see it. 

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Thanks guys... Yes I'm prefering marquee 4 too...  I tried a version with black t-molding and I think it looks best.  A few more tweaks to the design to come, but it's heading the right way I think.  I may try my kids dressed in Tron garb, and maybe a little more holographic looking.

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Re: VIDEOTRON (2 player Bartop for the kids) - theme feedback please!
« Reply #77 on: November 12, 2018, 04:09:23 am »
In other news...

I have done the retainer for the monitor glass.  This will sit hidden under the control panel.  If I need to get the glass out for any reason, I can unscrew the two hex bolts and the retainer comes off.  The top of the monitor glass sits in a small routed recess in the speaker panel, preventing it from moving/falling.





Now I've done this I can get the monitor frame dowelled up in exactly the right place.

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Re: VIDEOTRON (2 player Bartop for the kids) - theme feedback please!
« Reply #78 on: November 12, 2018, 08:11:05 am »
Looking good Jimbo!!
Very clean and professional.
I like the way you are using those dowels to hold everything together. I did that on A Little Rage and my photobooth, but I think I was more sloppy than the work you are doing.
Those dowels seem to me to hold better than screws, and the self aligning makes them very smart, and eases a lot of pain with the pieces sliding out of alignment before the glue sets..
I looked at a few tools (or jigs), you can buy that align your drill to make the dowel holes. (Search amazon and youtube), But I wound up making my own out of plywood (I dont have a 3d printer), and on the photobooth I glued the pieces together, then glued blocks in the corners and drilled holes through the blocks to insert the dowels. Probably a waste of work and time, but I feel better knowing there is something going into the wood to help hold it together.
This will be a special Christmas and your family will remember it for a long time.

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Re: VIDEOTRON (2 player Bartop for the kids) - theme feedback please!
« Reply #79 on: November 12, 2018, 09:01:47 am »
Looking good Jimbo!!
Very clean and professional.
I like the way you are using those dowels to hold everything together. I did that on A Little Rage and my photobooth, but I think I was more sloppy than the work you are doing.
Those dowels seem to me to hold better than screws, and the self aligning makes them very smart, and eases a lot of pain with the pieces sliding out of alignment before the glue sets..
I looked at a few tools (or jigs), you can buy that align your drill to make the dowel holes. (Search amazon and youtube), But I wound up making my own out of plywood (I dont have a 3d printer), and on the photobooth I glued the pieces together, then glued blocks in the corners and drilled holes through the blocks to insert the dowels. Probably a waste of work and time, but I feel better knowing there is something going into the wood to help hold it together.
This will be a special Christmas and your family will remember it for a long time.

Thanks!  Yeah first time I'd done it, but pleased how it worked out.  I was dreading gluing this thing together with pre-painted panels... sliding around and trying to align everything at the same time with clamps etc, without scratching the paintwork.  Dowels seemed the obvious answer.  I still have the floor to do, and that's only 12mm thick, so I'm hoping the 5mm dowels will be ok.  Fingers crossed.  I will have to make a jig of sorts for the monitor frame, to put a dowel in each end (top and bottom) on both sides, but that will hopefully allow me to align it perfectly to the side panels.  I expect I'll be doing that on Wednesday, then start prepping the panels for painting and artwork.  :cheers:

I also have had an idea of using an arduino or something to flicker the led strip behind the marquee on powerup with a "bzzzt" electronic buzz sound, for a couple of seconds, then when the light finally comes fully on, a robot voice says "Welcome to Videotron".  The kids will think that's really cool .:)
« Last Edit: November 12, 2018, 09:04:14 am by Jimbo »