New Rasperry Pi Arcade

[DrUnKeN_TiGeR]

Today i bought an old Taito cabinet. I didnt get pictures but i cant seem to find the correct artwork on google to show you a picture... anyway im super excited. i have the raspberry pi, i know about retro pi.. i have a 24in monitor i was going to use in the cabinet but it seems like it wont be a good fit as its only 10in tall.. so what monitor do you guys suggest? also i think audio will be an issue, i know the pi has audio out but what speakers and amp do you guys suggest? And finally i bought these sticks... https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07QRRLCKD/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 anyone have any reviews of these? Thanks for helping a noob, i hope to be an active member of this forum.. cheers

[mahuti]

If the cabinet has an existing monitor & speakers in it, I say use em. I have 4 cabs I saved from the dumpster over the years, all running either the original arcade CRTs or old TVs (which aren't that great, but hey they were free... still looking for original CRTs locally to replace them). All 4 cabs use the original speakers and power supplies.

Since you're planning to use a Raspberry Pi, I suggest buying a Pimoroni X-Hat for it: https://shop.pimoroni.com/products/picade-x-hat-usb-c

1. It has a built-in amp with stereo out. Not powerful, but plenty of juice for powering arcade speakers. Unless using HDMI or the GPIO, the audio out of a pi can be messy, but the audio is routed through the x-hat, so it's nice and clean
2. It has a built-in power switch and inputs for graceful power-downs
3. It has inputs for coins and other admin functions

FYI, there is a dedicated board here for raspberry pi: http://newforum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php/board,57.0.html
and one for linux: http://newforum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php/board,39.0.html
The content in those 2 boards often cross over.

As for the Joysticks and buttons: I've never used any of those kits, though I've seen others here with knowledge of them. I mostly buy my parts, including joysticks, buttons and encoders from
Ultimarc: https://www.ultimarc.com/
GroovyGameGear https://groovygamegear.com/webstore/
T-molding.com https://www.t-molding.com/
Paradise Arcade Shop https://paradisearcadeshop.com/

Welcome to the board and to the hobby.

Also, you may find this doc I maintain for my own reference useful: https://github.com/mahuti/arcadepi  Lots of obscure solutions to weird pi-related problems.

[Phreakwars]

Taito cab... sweet.. Raspberry Pi.. boo..

If it were myself and wanted to add more games, I would not waste a Taito cab on a Raspberry Pi. It would get a full blown PC all the way. Save that Pi junk for those cheapo Arcade 1Up's. The Taito cab is more worthy then that. Also more worthy then those garbage Amazon buttons and sticks. The Taito is a classic, it should get a little more dignified respect and upgrading IMHO.

[mahuti]

It would get a full blown PC all the way.

Long-term, I'd agree. Short-term... it's what he has already. Won't kill 'em to try.

Windows is certainly easier, and a dedicated PC is more powerful, but I switched from a PC down to the Pi, and I don't miss anything. RetroPie can be a colossal pain in the ass for a cabinet though. Button mapping in RetroPie was intended for console gamepads. Often cabinet stuff doesn't jive with it. I have fun tinkering, but for the novice, I don't really recommend it over Windows.

Also more worthy then those garbage Amazon buttons and sticks.

I have piles of sticks I've tried over the years. Sometimes the best education is trying something out and learning what you don't like about it before moving on. He's got those already, no harm in giving them a shot.

[dmckean]

The 24" monitor might work out alright if you mount it vertically. Should be able to add 'display_rotate=1' to your boot config.txt to rotate retropie.

[DrUnKeN_TiGeR]

The 24" monitor might work out alright if you mount it vertically. Should be able to add 'display_rotate=1' to your boot config.txt to rotate retropie.

unfortunately it didn't come with a monitor. i think im going to have to buy a new one.. this one doesn't seem l ike a good fit... what do you suggest? what have you used successfully?
i was hoping to use the bezel project to make a digital bezel for each game..

[mahuti]

The 24" monitor might work out alright if you mount it vertically. Should be able to add 'display_rotate=1' to your boot config.txt to rotate retropie

On raspberry pi 3, this slows the system noticeably. You can instead rotate MAME To not lose any speed.
On raspberry pi 4. This setting by default doesn't work and causes a full or partial black screen. You'd have to comment out the "dtoverlay=vc4-kms-v3d" in /boot/config.txt, but that again disables hardware acceleration and slows the system. 

Use "tate" mode in Retroarch, or change the orientation in RA or change it in a system by system basis to get good results. Still I think the monitor you mentioned is far too narrow at 10 inches.

[mahuti]

i was hoping to use the bezel project to make a digital bezel for each game..
 

Not a good option in a cabinet. Not enough screen real estate as-is. Looks fine on a console system using a wide-screen TV though.

In a cabinet, you should play to its strengths... screen size isn't one of them.

If you are going to rotate an LCD you'll need to make sure it looks good rotated. Some don't. I prefer a CRT, harder to find though.

[javeryh]

Welcome!

I think your best bet to start is to get a 19" 4:3 Dell LCD for the monitor if you aren't going to get a CRT (which I totally would).  Widescreens don't look great in an arcade cabinet - especially such a classic like a Taito.  You can use some tricks to curve the image and add scanlines so that it looks more like a CRT.

Man, I wish I had room for a Taito - I got rid of mine a couple of years ago.  I will just never have room for it.

[dmckean]

Welcome!

I think your best bet to start is to get a 19" 4:3 Dell LCD for the monitor if you aren't going to get a CRT (which I totally would).  Widescreens don't look great in an arcade cabinet - especially such a classic like a Taito.  You can use some tricks to curve the image and add scanlines so that it looks more like a CRT.

Man, I wish I had room for a Taito - I got rid of mine a couple of years ago.  I will just never have room for it.

Older LCDs aren't that great anymore. Widescreen isn't really a huge issue, just use 4:3 resolutions and mask off the unused part of the screen with a bezel. Modern LCDs have better colors, much better response times, very little ghosting, variable sync so that games have use accurate timings without tearing and more.

I'd personally try to find a CRT for it though.

[Osirus23]

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[DrUnKeN_TiGeR]

Thank you everyone for your great responses!! I didnt realize a Taito machine was in that much demand i guess i stumbled into it! i look forward to continuing this conversation and more!

[Vocalitus]

The 24" monitor might work out alright if you mount it vertically. Should be able to add 'display_rotate=1' to your boot config.txt to rotate retropie

On raspberry pi 3, this slows the system noticeably. You can instead rotate MAME To not lose any speed.
On raspberry pi 4. This setting by default doesn't work and causes a full or partial black screen. You'd have to comment out the "dtoverlay=vc4-kms-v3d" in /boot/config.txt, but that again disables hardware acceleration and slows the system. 

Use "tate" mode in Retroarch, or change the orientation in RA or change it in a system by system basis to get good results. Still I think the monitor you mentioned is far too narrow at 10 inches.

Actually to go portrait its display_rotate=2.

Reducing your resolution to 640x480 or 800x600 speed up games on the Pi3.

I wouldn't bother with Retroarch "tate" configuration.

Pi3 is plenty for basic needs and you can go Recall Box for that extra ease of use.

Congrats to the OP for the find, and I would like to know more on your progress.  Welcome.   

[mahuti]

I wouldn't bother with Retroarch "tate" configuration.   

Its not my favorite. But the alternative is just rotating MAME which then leaves RA in the wrong orientation.