javeryh's Woodgrain Cabaret Copy

[vertexguy]

I bet it will be fine.  Worst case you just need to go into the bios and disable or remove the missing items. 

[firedance]

for the cpu fan you could use some metal band, like  i use on my builds, i did cut out and re-use the motherboard tray to secure the psu, perhaps you could use the same metal bands to fully secure it too?

am sure they do something very similar in your part of the world - https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Fixing-Band-10m-All-Purpose-Securing-Strapping-Galvanised-Steel-Reel-Industrial-/352434238181

http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=156230.0;attach=364485;image


you'll be fine with just the basic cables plugged into the motherboard, when you start using newer boards from the likes of Dell/HP they throw a hissy fit when somethings not plugged in and its sometimes not possible to bypass.

[javeryh]

Of course.  I hate this.



I press Ctrl+P and it just hangs.  Maybe because this is shelled to boot directly to Hyperspin?  I don’t even know what the rear chassis fan is - I reconnected the only fan that blows across the processor.  More troubleshooting I guess.

[vertexguy]

IHmm...'m not sure what MEBX is.  Googling says its something specific for intel chipset setups.  If that's not working try hitting F10 repeatedly right at power on.  That's the standard key for HP bios access.

[javeryh]

IHmm...'m not sure what MEBX is.  Googling says its something specific for intel chipset setups.  If that's not working try hitting F10 repeatedly right at power on.  That's the standard key for HP bios access.

I can get to BIOS by hitting F10 but disabling the internal audio and the front USB devices doesn’t help.  The computer still expects these things at boot.  So I’ve reattached them and they are just sort of hanging there.  It’s fine because no one will see it but the less junk I have to put inside the cabinet the better.

I also got an error a few times saying it expected a rear fan - there was never a rear fan so not sure why it would think that.  I’ve rebooted a few times now and the error hasn’t popped up again so I’m going to assume it’s OK now. 

I really wish I could get rid of the HP splash logo but I don’t see a setting in the BIOS for that.

[Zebidee]

Looks like a HP SFF desktop beast, in fact it looks just like the computer I have in my vertical cab (core2duo E7500 or E8500 iirc).

Shame you had to decase that PC as I rather like the cases. The lid is very easy to remove with a single action.

[javeryh]

Looks like a HP SFF desktop beast, in fact it looks just like the computer I have in my vertical cab (core2duo E7500 or E8500 iirc).

Shame you had to decase that PC as I rather like the cases. The lid is very easy to remove with a single action.

I think it was a Compaq?  It's an 8500.  The case is big but yeah the door pops right off.  There's a latch on the side and you just pull and it opens up.

There was an audio issue (no sound) but I figured it out for now.  Tomorrow this thing goes into the cabinet so help me.

[Zebidee]

HP & Compaq merged many years ago, and technically it is a HP-Compaq beast.

I may have a solution for your splash screen issue. I just booted up one of these HP-Compaq beasts that I use for general testing purposes. If you go into the BIOS and choose "Advanced"/"Power-on Options"/"Post Messages" and choose "Enable".

That might not make intuitive sense, but when I pressed F1 help it says "Allows for selection between splash screen and text-mode startup". When I enabled this the splash screen went away and booting was much faster.

EDIT: There are also some options in there under "Security" for disabling front panel USB

[javeryh]

HP & Compaq merged many years ago, and technically it is a HP-Compaq beast.

I may have a solution for your splash screen issue. I just booted up one of these HP-Compaq beasts that I use for general testing purposes. If you go into the BIOS and choose "Advanced"/"Power-on Options"/"Post Messages" and choose "Enable".

That might not make intuitive sense, but when I pressed F1 help it says "Allows for selection between splash screen and text-mode startup". When I enabled this the splash screen went away and booting was much faster.

EDIT: There are also some options in there under "Security" for disabling front panel USB

Wow thanks - I’m watching a movie with the fam right now but can’t wait to try this and see if it works.  I remember the setting for Post Messages but it made no sense to me so I didn’t change anything there.  I’ll be so psyched if this finally works... I need to get on to the next project for 2021!

[Zebidee]

An example of a drawer for your PC:

This is from an LAI cab I got as an empty shell and restored/customed nearly 15 years ago. I didn't actually build the drawer, it was there already. I adapted it to a PC.

I did everything else you see, including that sub-control panel with USB ports, volume control and DVD drive. I built that frame to support it from scrap wood and an used an old place mat for the front piece. The sub-control panel fits in where the coin mech used to live.

Note how I adapted a case side panel to form a basic roof over the top of PC to minimise dust. You can also see how I fashioned some brackets, from pop-outs for expansion cards, to support the video card and hold the PSU in place.

 



I uploaded a few more pics http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php/topic,159740.msg1731788.html#msg1731788

[Jimbo]

I found a 3d printed bracket for mounting my ATX PSU onto a wood panel on eBay.

[Arroyo]

Nice work around Javery.  Looks like this thing is about to cross the finish line!

[javeryh]

An example of a drawer for your PC:

Thanks for these pics.  If I had the forethought I could have done something like this but I can’t make a shelf low enough based on the back door of my cabinet.  It would interfere with the monitor.  The bottom area with the power receptacle is about 8” tall so any drawer would need to sit above that.

I did manage to make that change in the BIOS you suggested and now my boot looks like this:



There is still a flash of text but I think I can live with it.  What’s weird is that this was introduced when I decased the computer - this is the screen that was giving me the error messages.  It still comes up now but with no errors so it keeps going.  It wasn’t there previously.  Weird.

Anyway, here’s the “final” setup:



The junk circled in yellow is the front USB panel and the internal speaker, both of which the computer expects on boot (even after disabling the front USB panel and internal audio in BIOS).

No one will ever see it.  Time to put this bad boy inside the cabinet...

[Zebidee]

The junk circled in yellow is the front USB panel and the internal speaker, both of which the computer expects on boot (even after disabling the front USB panel and internal audio in BIOS).

Given that the option to disable USB ports is under "Security", and the PC was designed for corporate/organisational use, I think their main focus was to stop "spies" (or employees) from downloading data via USB, rather than anything else

[javeryh]

Given that the option to disable USB ports is under "Security", and the PC was designed for corporate/organisational use, I think their main focus was to stop "spies" (or employees) from downloading data via USB, rather than anything else

Makes sense.

OK... I might have to take a break from this for a few days.  It has gone from incredibly fun to incredibly frustrating the last few days.  I got everything into the cab this afternoon.  Then when I tried sliding the monitor back in I realized I had to make some notches on the monitor mount so it would clear the clips I installed for the control panel.  90 minutes with the dremel and the monitor slid into place.  Great. I plugged in both monitors and the computer and connected the servostik, iPac2 and speakers via USB.  I wired up the power button.  Then... nothing.  I pressed power, the computer came on and the main monitor was just making a clicking noise with no picture.  Second monitor was on and HyperSpin booted as expected.  Joystick seemed to be working.  Only one speaker was working - not sure what the problem is there but hopefully that's an easy fix.

So I disconnected the CRT, which is plugged into the PC via THIS HDMI to VGA dongle.  No changes.  Then I disconnected the dongle and the monitor kind of came alive - I got the "no signal" box in the middle of the screen.  If I plug the dongle back in, the picture goes blank.  Any ideas what might be causing this?  The only thing I could think of is that the computer is expecting a different resolution out of that monitor because my test monitors were widescreen LCDs.  Could that be it? 

If that's the case, I can connect the LCD, go into Windows and make some resolution settings changes (I guess I need to be in 1024x768 resolution) but it will be kind of a pain.  I can't do it tonight because of NFL playoffs but it will give me something to do tomorrow.  Short of that I'm out of ideas.

 

[Zebidee]

Your issue may come down to the sync.

I suspect that HDMI-VGA dongle will only give you horizontal sync over VGA pin 13, no vertical sync via pin 14?. This could explain your monitor's behaviour - it detects a connection but the sync is not right.

If this is the reason, you can get composite sync via VGA pin 13 if you enable composite sync in VMMaker and regenerate/reinstall video modes.

[javeryh]

Your issue may come down to the sync.

I suspect that HDMI-VGA dongle will only give you horizontal sync over VGA pin 13, no vertical sync via pin 14?. This could explain your monitor's behaviour - it detects a connection but the sync is not right.

If this is the reason, you can get composite sync via VGA pin 13 if you enable composite sync in VMMaker and regenerate/reinstall video modes.

Thanks.  I’m not really sure what this means... is it an easy fix? 

I had the monitor previously hooked up using a DVI to VGA adapter previously but the stupid adapter is almost 2” long and that plus the VGA connection is the reason the computer didn’t fit inside the cabinet in the first place.  It worked though - picture was fine.  So I just ordered THIS one instead.  This will fit.  It arrives tomorrow so I hope it works.

I don’t think I’ll be decasing a monitor again anytime soon. An LCD with some HLSL scan lines is good enough for my basement.

[Arroyo]

I don’t believe javery is using GroovyMame.  Or maybe I missed that. 

I would try the native resolution of the CRT and reconnect it after setting up on your LCD. 

[Zebidee]

I don’t believe javery is using GroovyMame.  Or maybe I missed that. 

I would try the native resolution of the CRT and reconnect it after setting up on your LCD. 

You mean the CRT_emulator driver? Good point. Even so, it could be a potential solution.

There are other ways of enabling composite sync for different video cards too.

[javeryh]

I don’t believe javery is using GroovyMame.  Or maybe I missed that. 

I would try the native resolution of the CRT and reconnect it after setting up on your LCD.

I’m not.  Just MAME and Hyperspin.  I’ll try changing the resolution on the LCD and reconnect.  If that doesn’t work, maybe the new DVI-VGA adapter will.  It was working via DVI previously.

I’m just getting sick of this project at this point - spent dozens of hours on software and hiding windows and other junk I don’t find particularly fun.

[Zebidee]

... It was working via DVI previously.

I’m just getting sick of this project at this point - spent dozens of hours on software and hiding windows and other junk I don’t find particularly fun.

Yeah man I know that feeling too well     You wanna take a break but want to finish it off too.

Maybe if you can just slide the PC out a bit and test it with the DVI-VGA dongle you already have, make sure there isn't some other issue. Then take a breather and wait for the new dongle to come in.

[wp34]

I’m just getting sick of this project at this point - spent dozens of hours on software and hiding windows and other junk I don’t find particularly fun.

Been there done that.  The software portion of this hobby is the worst for me.  Not that I can't do it but I don't find it enjoyable.

Hang in there.  The cabinet is amazing looking and I'm looking forward to seeing you be done.   

[javeryh]

Yeah man I know that feeling too well     You wanna take a break but want to finish it off too.

Maybe if you can just slide the PC out a bit and test it with the DVI-VGA dongle you already have, make sure there isn't some other issue. Then take a breather and wait for the new dongle to come in.

Been there done that.  The software portion of this hobby is the worst for me.  Not that I can't do it but I don't find it enjoyable.

Hang in there.  The cabinet is amazing looking and I'm looking forward to seeing you be done.   

Thanks guys.  I keep thinking I'm going to get better at the computer side of things if I dive in but it doesn't seem to be happening!  Feels like I can breeze through the actual construction of a cabinet and then it crawls along once I have to start filling it with electronics.  The new dongle should arrive today (yay Amazon) so hopefully this is just a minor speed bump. 

The only thing I can see really screwing me over is not being able to adjust the picture on the monitor once I get it running since the monitor's control panel isn't working.  If that's the case and I really need to adjust the picture I'm just going to buy another monitor and NOT decase it.  I already have a shelf inside at the perfect height to just place the monitor inside and secure it in place somehow.  I've even toyed with the idea of buying a 17" 4:3 LCD arcade monitor and adding scan lines, curving the corners, etc. to mimic a CRT.  99% of people who play on it won't care and I'm not sure I do either at this point.

While I wait for the dongle to be delivered, I'm going to work on wiring the coin door.  There is no coin button on the CP or anywhere else so the coin door is going to be the only way to add credits.  I will wire up the two switches for P1 and P2 coin but I'm also going to add a switch directly behind both coin returns so you can add credits without coins.  I have a molex connector I'm going to cut in half so that I will be able to disconnect these wires easily (otherwise if you need to take the CP off for whatever reason the wires for the coin buttons will still be connected).

The one other thing I need to figure out is how to actually catch the quarters as they drop.  Right now, they are all going to hit the computer... not good.  I can't just add a box though because I stupidly put the volume knob between the mechs on the inside of the door and I also have nothing to rest the box on.  I think some cardboard will do the trick I just need to think through it. 

I didn't plan the insides as well as I should have - lesson learned.  I just assumed there would be a ton of space so I could do whatever I wanted but it's actually quite tight in there.  OK, back to work.   

[vertexguy]

The one other thing I need to figure out is how to actually catch the quarters as they drop.  Right now, they are all going to hit the computer... not good.  I can't just add a box though because I stupidly put the volume knob between the mechs on the inside of the door and I also have nothing to rest the box on.  I think some cardboard will do the trick I just need to think through it. 

Maybe consider a coin door mod so the quarter ejects to the return but still counts the credit addition?  I've seen that somewhere on this board before.  Then you don't need a box.

[Zebidee]

Maybe I was overthinking your HDMI-VGA issue before with blank monitor - just wondering if you changed display settings for which video head you were outputting to? Though I guess the whole issue is a bit moot now with your DVI-VGA adapter coming in.

[javeryh]

Maybe consider a coin door mod so the quarter ejects to the return but still counts the credit addition?  I've seen that somewhere on this board before.  Then you don't need a box.

I've never seen that before.  I'll have to look into it.  I think what I'm going to do is just make a weird shaped coin box out of cardboard and tape and just fit it in.  I'll hav to hover over the computer but I'm sure I'll figure something out.

Maybe I was overthinking your HDMI-VGA issue before with blank monitor - just wondering if you changed display settings for which video head you were outputting to? Though I guess the whole issue is a bit moot now with your DVI-VGA adapter coming in.

I am assuming it will work once I get the adapter but I'm not sure because this whole thing has been a mess.  But originally it was connected via DVI out to VGA.  That wouldn't fit so I had to order a new adapter... but the video card also supported HDMI out so I got an HDMI out to VGA adapter.  This worked perfectly with the LCD monitors I was using to set everything up.  However, it did not work when I hooked up the main CRT monitor, which I wasn't expecting.  I think it is a handshake issue - the signal the monitor is expecting is different than what it is actually getting so nothing is displaying.  My guess is using the DVI out to VGA adapter will work (because it worked previously when I tested the CRT monitor after it arrived at my house).  I should have never bought the HDMI out to VGA adapter.  I'm not even sure why I did.

[javeryh]

Been wiring the coin door while I wait for the DVI adapter to arrive.




I glued 2 extra switches behind the coin returns so pressing them will add a credit.  You can see the Molex connector with the 4 wires sticking out - I have to solder these ends to the green wires to the far right.  The connector is so that I can remove the CP if need be.  Kind of a pain but I think it’s worth it in the long run.  Only issue is that I am one wire short (ground) so not quite sure how I’m going to handle that yet.

[SuperMagoAlex]

I’m not.  Just MAME and Hyperspin.  I’ll try changing the resolution on the LCD and reconnect.  If that doesn’t work, maybe the new DVI-VGA adapter will.  It was working via DVI previously.

I dont think it will work, or maybe it will work but only with an interlaced resolution like 640x480i.

You need an ATI graphic card (like Radeon R5 230...), Calamity drivers, and Groovymame to play MAME games in pixel perfect (resolution and refresh) with your crt monitor.

[Zebidee]

I dont think it will work, or maybe it will work but only with an interlaced resolution like 640x480i.

You need an ATI graphic card (like Radeon R5 230...), Calamity drivers, and Groovymame to play MAME games in pixel perfect (resolution and refresh) with your crt monitor.

It has a VGA CRT monitor in there so is OK.

While one could get a lot more out of it with CRT_emudriver and Groovymame, it can happen later. More important to wrap up the cab building side of the project for now.

[SuperMagoAlex]

It has a VGA CRT monitor in there so is OK.

While one could get a lot more out of it with CRT_emudriver and Groovymame, it can happen later. More important to wrap up the cab building side of the project for now.

I thought he had a 15khz arcade monitor.

With vga monitor (640x480p), he can't use groovymame.

[Zebidee]

With vga monitor (640x480p), he can't use groovymame.

He sure can use Groovymame

[javeryh]

The monitor is a Dell e771p CRT.  Native Resolution is 1024 x 768 at 85 Hz.  Not sure if that helps.  I am going to have to run scanlines in Hyperspin to make it look more authentic but other than that it was working via DVI to VGA.

[Zebidee]

People understandably often confuse the CRT_emulator *driver* (which you can use for generating video modes and getting your GPU to output at different frequencies, including 15khz) with Groovymame, which essentially a cooler version of mame that runs games so that they look & sound as good as possible and run at original frame rates.

Groovymame is designed to take advantage of the driver, but doesn't actually *need* it. Especially if you want to run with a monitor at a fixed resolution and refresh rate. However all that scaling and refresh rate matching may come with a CPU performance hit. You can run Groovymame alongside normal mame in same folder, doesn't hurt anything to test and it won't muck up your video modes. 

[SuperMagoAlex]

People understandably often confuse the CRT_emulator *driver* (which you can use for generating video modes and getting your GPU to output at different frequencies, including 15khz) with Groovymame, which essentially a cooler version of mame that runs games so that they look & sound as good as possible and run at original frame rates.

Groovymame is designed to take advantage of the driver, but doesn't actually *need* it. Especially if you want to run with a monitor at a fixed resolution and refresh rate. However all that scaling and refresh rate matching may come with a CPU performance hit. You can run Groovymame alongside normal mame in same folder, doesn't hurt anything to test and it won't muck up your video modes.

I know... I mean he can't use Groovymame + switchres and play in pixel perfect, its monitor is like an LCD.

[javeryh]

The dongle works so I have a picture on both screens.  This is as close as I've been to a working cabinet.  The marquee window needs to be adjusted to fit the viewable screen but that's easy enough to correct.  I still have to finish wiring the coin door and figure out the coin box and order the monitor glass but that's about it for construction.

Couple of issues:

• I'm still having an issue with the first game selected - I press "P1 Start" to launch the game and there is at least a 5-10 second delay before it launches.  If I back out and launch another game there is still a delay but it is much slower (2-3 seconds).  I wouldn't care except during this time, you can still move up and down the gamelist which makes the marquee change and then when the game you selected finally launches it will not be displaying the correct marquee.  What could be causing this?
  
• The monitor board is either dead or just not responding to inputs so my picture is really off center and compressed.  This one is going to really annoy me.  I'm not really sire what I could even do to fix this one short of eventually replacing the monitor... any ideas?

At least it's playable!

[javeryh]

Holy effing ---steaming pile of meadow muffin--- just shoot me.  When I first booted the cabinet, the main display was on the marque monitor and the marque was displayed on the main monitor (monitors were reversed).  Weird.  So I just switched the cables and the pictures swapped fine.  But then I rebooted it and the monitors flipped again.  WTF is this?  It seems like the computer prioritized the LCD monitor (connected directly via VGA) over the CRT monitor (connected via the DVI out to VGA adapter) and makes the LCD monitor the "main" one no matter what. 

So I went into settings and set the CRT as the "main" monitor.  Now when Hyperspin launches, the main game selection screen is on the CRT and the marquee shows up on the marquee screen.  BUT WHEN I LAUNCH A GAME IT PLAYS ON THE MARQUEE.  I cannot take any more of this.

EDIT: OK, I worked this out in the mame.ini file.  Had to set screen to \\.\DISPLAY2 under ## OSD PER-WINDOW VIDEO OPTIONS.  Makes no sense but it seems to be working.  I need a break.  I'm losing it.

[markc74]

EDIT: OK, I worked this out in the mame.ini file.  Had to set screen to \\.\DISPLAY2 under ## OSD PER-WINDOW VIDEO OPTIONS.  Makes no sense but it seems to be working.  I need a break.  I'm losing it.

Ah - that takes me back. I remember having exactly the same problem on Blip and that solution fixed it. Then had it again on Cube and as I'd forgotten how I did it the first time 

I feel like I could write a book on the nuances of getting a marquee working properly (if I hadn't forgotten most of it again anyway!)

[javeryh]

EDIT: OK, I worked this out in the mame.ini file.  Had to set screen to \\.\DISPLAY2 under ## OSD PER-WINDOW VIDEO OPTIONS.  Makes no sense but it seems to be working.  I need a break.  I'm losing it.

Ah - that takes me back. I remember having exactly the same problem on Blip and that solution fixed it. Then had it again on Cube and as I'd forgotten how I did it the first time 

I feel like I could write a book on the nuances of getting a marquee working properly (if I hadn't forgotten most of it again anyway!)

Haha - if you had only warned me you could have talked me out of this entire project! 

The marquee aspect has been giving me fits. I have set it to the correct size like 50 times but it never seems to remember.  Windows switched the resolution of the monitor so it throws off the alignment so I fix the marquee and then fix the resolution and it messes up the alignment again.  For every change/fix I make another 3 pop up.  But I'm getting there.  The cabinet is off right now and I'm hopeful the next time I boot it up, it will behave as expected.  I need to finish wiring the coin door while it's off.

[markc74]

Yeah it's a deep dark hole once you get into it.

I love the build part but the software side can drive you nuts... (I've been recently started setting up my vpin software and that's even worse!)

[javeryh]

Yeah it's a deep dark hole once you get into it.

I love the build part but the software side can drive you nuts... (I've been recently started setting up my vpin software and that's even worse!)

I'm the same exact way - I love the physical build but the software makes me crazy.  Just a lack of understanding on my part so I research what I want to do and when I finally figure it out I immediately forget.

I've heard vpin is a nightmare... I think I'm going to hold off on that for now.  Been thinking about the next build and might just do a standard 2P slim upright.  i actually have no 2-player cabinets in my house and it's probably time.  But of course I'd want to mount a giant TV vertically, which I'm sure will come with a ton of issues.