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Author Topic: 1985 Rewind  (Read 14633 times)

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bobbyb13

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1985 Rewind
« on: January 16, 2022, 01:55:07 am »
One of the entertaining things about being my age is that in middle school and half of high school my primary job was still working as the neighborhood paperboy.
So in that fateful year of 1985 it seemed like the arcade gods had seen fit to create a ridiculous game meant only to immortalize what was presently my most humble vocation.

Oh, the joys of delivering The Evening Sentinel no matter what the weather, to people I would often have to chase for a few dollars every other week so that they could enjoy yesterday's news that evening.
The rain, the snow, the wipeouts when my paper sling got caught in something and flung me, the bruised shins, crushed gonads, blood and scabs.
Ahhhh....

All for $ to pump into arcade machines and buy burgers and pizza.
And bike parts.

The nostalgia of it all!

And so this is my justification (that and a few double Mai Tais) for yet another leap over the edge here, that and the fact that after 4 years now of trying, I have succeeded in gathering all the parts to make one of these!



I've really wanted to have a Paperboy machine (once I discovered that this could be possible- thank you lords of MAME!) but it was obvious that the biggest hurdle to a proper playing machine was that elusive controller.
So now I have no excuse!

If you were fortunate enough to play that cabinet in the wild, you would probably agree there really is no proper substitute.
The Star Wars yoke works for it of course, but that only rekindled that dream of a proper set of bars and reliving the joy and pain (but this time without the actual pain!) of my teen years.

Big props to markrl on klov for fortuitously posting the last axle and spring housings that I needed to make a functional Paperboy handlebar yoke- and giving me a great deal on them too!
Better still, he has made so many of these Atari 2 cabs that he also had artwork available.

I figured having that to begin with would help immensely in ensuring I got proper proprtions for what would inevtiably be a scratch build yet again.
And so it begins...



I spent the standard hour plus with straight edges and tape measure and profile tracings to calculate what was as authentic as possible for a cabinet body.
I had entertained the idea of checking in with a local cabinet business that I know has a few CNC tables and seeing how those files from classicarcadecabinets would go, and then thought... screw it!

CNC my eye... Give me a few clamps and a SkilSaw!



Use the jigsaw to finish the circular saw cuts without overcutting, clean up the edges with a random orbital, run the router with a slot cutter, and voila!



I'm going to make the cab an inch wider than original in case for some reason it winds up with a larger screen in it at some point.
Just thinking ahead.

I got a bit of the blocking on both sides after that pic and also build the base compete with casters so the next hour I have to spend on this it will be a standing box already.

Ironic that the BitKit and Multi-Williams are only waiting for artwork to be done (which I still haven't made a final call on yet) and this one I am beginning with it.

Go figure.
 :dunno
Relax, all right? My old man is a television repairman, he's got this ultimate set of tools! I can fix it.

Zebidee

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Re: 1985 Rewind
« Reply #1 on: January 16, 2022, 02:57:35 am »
CNC my eye... Give me a few clamps and a SkilSaw!

I like your attitude!

Dunno where you find the time!

Is this going in next to your SF Rush double?
Check out my completed projects!


Mike A

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Re: 1985 Rewind
« Reply #2 on: January 16, 2022, 06:16:32 am »
Yeah. CNC is not necessary.
You can still use the DXF files from that website.
It will give you all of the measurements you need.

javeryh

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Re: 1985 Rewind
« Reply #3 on: January 16, 2022, 07:29:48 am »
Oh man this is going to be good.  I never quite figured out how to play Paperboy when I was a kid - it used to take my quarters in about 20 seconds - but I liked the game for some reason.  Probably because I used to deliver newspapers on my bike as well.  I was really terrible and I haven’t played in decades because of the unique controls.

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Re: 1985 Rewind
« Reply #4 on: January 16, 2022, 11:28:57 am »
in highschool we were at the arcade watching a buddy just do terrible at paperboy.
until a few cute girls came up to watch and he somehow completed the level with perfection.
he was sweating and his knuckles were white afterword. lol.

we were playing street hockey and someone said "hey we need a goal, someone call their sister to come watch so paperboy can score"
lol.

leapinlew

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Re: 1985 Rewind
« Reply #5 on: January 16, 2022, 11:49:52 am »
Huge fan of paperboy. I play it on a Star Wars yoke today and it plays great. It wasn't until Mame that I was able to beat Easy Street.

bobbyb13

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Re: 1985 Rewind
« Reply #6 on: January 16, 2022, 01:40:13 pm »
Yeah. CNC is not necessary.
You can still use the DXF files from that website.
It will give you all of the measurements you need.

Thanks for the tip Mike.
I'll have to see about getting that file open/viewable.

The original System 2 cabinet is actually pretty elaborate.
Making one form factor that could cover the assortment of games (I think there were 6 different ones Atari put in them?) leads to a lot of small panels, to accomodate pedals, coin door, and still reach steering or joystick comfortably.

I do want it to look and play right though.
Not to mention that I also have a Road Blasters yoke and loved that game too  ;)
This build may very well get fully templated/catalogued so I can make another one (or more!) easily.

At this point I need to decide if I will give it white formica on the sides or try for paint.
Haven't researched what is the best substrate for Scotchcal adhesive yet.

I believe this is the kind of stuff you float into place and squeegee down but want to make sure before I cause myself any headaches.

Huge fan of paperboy. I play it on a Star Wars yoke today and it plays great. It wasn't until Mame that I was able to beat Easy Street.

What type of system and mame version are you running in that cabinet sir?
Still haven't decided what I will do for that portion if the machine yet.

Thanks for the replies gentlemen!
This will be a fun one.
Relax, all right? My old man is a television repairman, he's got this ultimate set of tools! I can fix it.

bobbyb13

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Re: 1985 Rewind
« Reply #7 on: January 18, 2022, 05:43:41 am »
CNC my eye... Give me a few clamps and a SkilSaw!

I like your attitude!

Dunno where you find the time!

Is this going in next to your SF Rush double?

Covid chaos work-wise has given me time recently.
Everyone around us seems to be sick and our household keeps coming out clean.

I haven't actually paid attention to the height of this cabinet versus the other cabs up there so I don't know if it will be upstairs or live down in the workshop really!
Hope it fits up in the loft without wrecking the feng shui of the joint but if it lives down below I can live with that.

I had (made!) a few hours to work on it after dinner today so made some progress again.

Having a good table saw and a bevel square makes a remarkable difference in construction speed.

I'm still trying to figure out if I will be covering the sides with white vinyl or formica before the artwork gets put on but I couldn't wait any more to keep building.

Stitched the sides to the base and added the top-most panel so that I could get it standing.



Another consequence of designing as I go is that I will need to trim the base sheet by 3/4" on the front edge to accomodate the toe kick-panel.
Maybe next cabinet I can get the base right the first time?!  :banghead:

I decided that I will build the coin door/pedal box into the cabinet rather than cut the back portion of the kick panel around it.
Seemed like it would be more stable that way (although the sides of it wind up this kind of quadralateral/ trapezoidal kinda thing that will be interesting to get cut properly.)
There are so many little panels for this cabinet that it is nuts.

Since this thing is never going to live in an arcade where I need to worry about people thrashing it I can leave out some of the detail of the original really.

The dimensions are such that if for some reason I wind up with a proper Paperboy boardset I could install it all, but I won't be holding my breath for that.

The other thing is that I can't see the metal control panel of the original really being necessary either.

I beefed up where the CP will sit enough that it shouldn't be moving at all and I will add a strongback along the rear edge once I see how the controller and monitor fill the space.
If for some reason I need to rout out a spot and drop a metal plate in I can do it.

I have glued and braced the front part of the control panel to the top also so that I can round off the edge like the authentic metal panel and have an assembly that won't move around during play.

It will be screwed into the blocking so that I can remove it also, in case it needs to be worked on (or even redesigned because I missed something) and the screws should keep it in place easily.



It is getting two 4" speakers that will not be behind one of the original style grills that are as wide as the cabinet.
Again, no need to sweat the abuse that thing was built to stand.

After building a decent number of these things now I can see how you really don't need much to make them solid and functional.



Still haven't decided what system will be running the game.
I believe I have another PC that I could use but this is only going to play Paperboy at this point (maybe also Road Blasters in the future with a panel swap?) so maybe a RPi build would be in order.

Still haven't built one of those up yet so no clue how the Paperboy emulation is there and how integrating the potentiometers would work.

Any wisdom on the details of an R-Pi build vs, PC for this case would be appreciated!


Relax, all right? My old man is a television repairman, he's got this ultimate set of tools! I can fix it.

lomoverde

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Re: 1985 Rewind
« Reply #8 on: January 18, 2022, 08:16:02 am »
This looks great,I love the shape of this cab.Its like its leaning into the player (if that makes sense  ;D ) .

Jimbo

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Re: 1985 Rewind
« Reply #9 on: January 18, 2022, 10:02:48 am »
Great stuff!

I have an original paperboy cab so if you need any dimensions/photos/info, let me know!

Mike A

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Re: 1985 Rewind
« Reply #10 on: January 18, 2022, 11:00:34 am »
Look at you. Getting ---steaming pile of meadow muffin--- done.

pbj

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Re: 1985 Rewind
« Reply #11 on: January 18, 2022, 12:53:50 pm »
Huge fan of paperboy. I play it on a Star Wars yoke today and it plays great. It wasn't until Mame that I was able to beat Easy Street.

Same here.  It was a very intimidating game when I was a kid.  Guaranteed to kill your quarter in about 45 seconds.  With the magic of unlimited freeplay in emulation, I recently decided to conquer my hang up and this game isn't so bad once you get the hang of it.  I feel like all the Atari games from this era had some non-intuitive factor to the controls. 

Don't know how you do it, Bobby, but great work so far.

 :cheers:

bobbyb13

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Re: 1985 Rewind
« Reply #12 on: January 18, 2022, 11:44:35 pm »
Huge fan of paperboy. I play it on a Star Wars yoke today and it plays great. It wasn't until Mame that I was able to beat Easy Street.

Same here.  It was a very intimidating game when I was a kid.  Guaranteed to kill your quarter in about 45 seconds.  With the magic of unlimited freeplay in emulation, I recently decided to conquer my hang up and this game isn't so bad once you get the hang of it.  I feel like all the Atari games from this era had some non-intuitive factor to the controls. 

Don't know how you do it, Bobby, but great work so far.

 :cheers:

Flattered Jim, thank you.

And apart from trying to utilize numerous techniques and materials I have seen/learned here I believe it is all Mai Tais, insomnia, and unbridled childish obsession.
 :lol

This is a great (albeit occassionally frustrating) hobby.
Relax, all right? My old man is a television repairman, he's got this ultimate set of tools! I can fix it.

bobbyb13

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Re: 1985 Rewind
« Reply #13 on: January 19, 2022, 01:15:03 am »
Great stuff!

I have an original paperboy cab so if you need any dimensions/photos/info, let me know!

Thanks Jimbo!

And so my first question!

What does the base on your cab involve, i.e. casters, leg levelers, nylon feet...?
And what is height from the floor to the lowermost panel of it?

I think I may have mine set too high for being able to use with a gas pedal and yoke for Road Blasters if I made a second panel.

Not sure if Atari altered the heights of these cabs based on this (since the box is obviously identical.)
Relax, all right? My old man is a television repairman, he's got this ultimate set of tools! I can fix it.

bobbyb13

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Re: 1985 Rewind
« Reply #14 on: January 20, 2022, 01:16:01 am »
And...
I was wrong about the Road Blasters cabinet anyway.
I thought since it was released after Paperboy that it was a System 2 game, but nooooo!

Maybe I'll need to make a System 1 cabinet for Road Blasters  >:D

Anyway,
I forced some more time to work on this again today (too hot to cut the ocean of grass, too humid for my drywall mud to fully kick.)
 :)

I was dreading dealing with the coin box because it was going to be so weird, but I was just being a sissy.
It DID however require some fun with ridiculous angles.

For all those making this ---steaming pile of meadow muffin--- up as they go along (like me!) you NEED to own these things.



Bevel square and sharp pencil a necessity of course, but this True Angle thing is awesome in case you actually want to know what angles you are actually playing with.
The side of the coin box (because of how I built it) has 3 weird angles so I checked those against my side length measurements a few times before I made a cut.
I still nearly messed it up.

I figured I should anticipate having a legit coin door and cash box stack in this, so I used the one I have in the Rush cab to measure for a porthole.
Then I figured if I was REALLY good then I could use the cut out as a door panel while I wait to spend the $$ on a real door.
So, careful plunge cuts first



Then finishing out the corner radii with a jig saw.
I have found that this really narrow blade works well for even tight curves and while you're cutting you are literally only rotating the saw (instead of actually pushing it around the corner.)
As you twist the saw around, the teeth actually pull it around for you and you can get a really nice curve if you go slowly.



A little sanding to clean up and think this will still work well as a temporary door.



I clamped those three panels together to see how I did and it is actually coming out as I planned it.



If I hadn't shown it before, here is the magic potion for filler that mixes and sands so easily.



I use a digital scale because if you don't get the mixture spot on you can have drama.
This aluzine is getting kind of old too, so it is more intolerant of ratio screw ups.
Mix in a little of that brown microballoon stuff until it is marshamllow consistency and spackle it on!



This stuff should have kicked by now actually (took a dinner break) so I bet I can go start prep for primer coat tomorrow before work.

I bought a new (cheap) sprayer so hopefully it won't choke on some thinned out enamel.
Find out tomorrow!
Relax, all right? My old man is a television repairman, he's got this ultimate set of tools! I can fix it.

Jimbo

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Re: 1985 Rewind
« Reply #15 on: January 20, 2022, 04:45:06 am »
Looking good!  I'll try and get a look at the base of my cab for you asap.

James

javeryh

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Re: 1985 Rewind
« Reply #16 on: January 20, 2022, 11:09:32 am »
Wow bobby - this is looking really nice and you are really moving fast.  I'm a little jealous of your weather - it's snowing where I am right now and I won't be able to get into the shop for several months...   :cheers:

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Re: 1985 Rewind
« Reply #17 on: January 20, 2022, 09:52:08 pm »
This is looking great so far Bobby.  I forgot what a cool looking cab Paperboy is!  I'll be watching with great interest because one day I wanna make my own detachable controller for this.

bobbyb13

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Re: 1985 Rewind
« Reply #18 on: January 21, 2022, 01:03:33 am »
Thank you all!

Wow bobby - this is looking really nice and you are really moving fast.  I'm a little jealous of your weather - it's snowing where I am right now and I won't be able to get into the shop for several months...   :cheers:

I do still love playing in the snow, but tolerating it otherwise I think I can only do in small doses.
Sucks to get put off your work for weather!
Only humidity gets me here at this point, as long as the workshop stays upright of course-
When I finally get the damn guest house done you should probably get back on that Hawaii trip idea.  8)

This really is proving to be a fun build and better still, I'm mostly satisfied with the simplicity of the panel layout and their fit here (finally now that I'm on my 6th!)

Doesn't keep me from blowing it in places though.

I have taken to liking the ability to remove the speaker panel without having to destroy anything (screws rather than glue and brads) but remembering that at an appropriate time in the build still escapes me apparently.
Thankfully, I... got this ultimate set of tools!  I can fix it.



Someday I will happen upon a more elegant speaker solution that I am patient enough to implement.
Maybe I just need to make them out of MDF...?

... I'll be watching with great interest because one day I wanna make my own detachable controller for this.

It was my ability to finally put together a proper controller (without having to buy ANYthing from that Ram Controls jackass on ebay, Etsy or elsewhere!)  that was the impetus for building this.
The damn parts are so expensive and so hard to find that it was a non-starter for 4 years.

Atari used the same or similar parts for a number of their more exotic controllers, but a Paperboy yoke has more parts that are specific to it only than any other control I have encountered.

I was trying in earnest to assemble one from various guts of orginal Star Wars yokes that I would find but before I had finished I happened upon an almost complete original controller from someone else who had been trying longer than I apparently.

Don't think I know more than anyone else but I'll help you if I can!

Utilizing that controller with a 3/4" wood panel while retaining as much wood as possible has required a strange orifice though.



It looks like a square should suffice at first blush, but when you accomodate the X axis gear that partially sits outside the housing, one of the protruding spring tails, and the rather large stops for side to side motion of the controller it gets pretty interesting.

I'm guessing with an original metal panel they just made the hole a regular square to the largest dimension of what I cut.

Hopefully tonight I can go hang the bracket to carry the CRT and then she will actually be ready for the pain of painting.






Relax, all right? My old man is a television repairman, he's got this ultimate set of tools! I can fix it.

Ond

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Re: 1985 Rewind
« Reply #19 on: January 21, 2022, 01:28:29 am »
Great work bobby, nice clean woodwork, Paperboy is kind of a unique cabinet, game-play aside, just the look of the cabinet is really nice. Your filler 'potion" interests me, I've been thinking about my own recipe for a a mix of Bondo (styrene base) with wood particles or similar. The main reason is for expansion differences in materials due to heat/cold when used as a filler.

bobbyb13

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Re: 1985 Rewind
« Reply #20 on: January 21, 2022, 02:22:00 am »
Thanks Ond.
I'm stoked on this one!

If you will be applying a paint finish to the item in question then that 2 part aluzine and microballoons concoction is where it's at for filler as far as I have found.

I have used it for surfboards made of polyester or epoxy, auto body repair, wood of various kinds...
You can play with the amount of filler added to the resin and achieve different results in terms of weight, adhesion, ability to stick on a vertical surface, and difficulty of sanding.

It is remarkable in that it cures as hard as it does and still sands so easily.
And it also feathers into all of the above substrates so nicely that you can get any hint of an edge to disappear.

It does have a slight surface porosity to it when sanded out but if you need it to be smoother then you can always add a regular glazing compound over it (auto finish stuff yet again) and you can make it as smooth as you can stand to sand to.
The grit you need to sand it to to get it to disappear beneath paint depends on how much filler you add.  More filler, more porous of course.

I know that the brown variant of microballoons is a phenolic compound (hollow spheres even apparently!) and there are silicate types of filler also if you need a white or clear result, but none of the other ones (Aerosil, Cabosil, Sipernat, etc.) mix and sand as easily as the brown phenolic in my experience.
Relax, all right? My old man is a television repairman, he's got this ultimate set of tools! I can fix it.

bobbyb13

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Re: 1985 Rewind
« Reply #21 on: January 22, 2022, 01:29:54 am »
Reminded myself today while painting...

IF you have used the aforementioned filler, as you are laying down youe primer, give a first little wash across those filled areas so that they have adequate coverage when you are done.

I had committed an entire day for a trouble call on the other side of the island for a previous customer and the operation took me 15 minutes (if you don't include the hour drive there and hour drive back...)

So I had more time for this again!
The arcade gods want this cab done apparently.

I went to school on Ond's direction to focus on prep and actually sanded the entire cab down to 240 before I even put on any primer.

I got one of the rather cheap guns from Home Cheapo and I have to tell you, with a series of proper moisture traps and some attention to thinning with mineral spirits, this thing actually puts material down pretty nicely.
40 psi max, get your paint down to the consistency of heavy cream and off you go.



It does say that it is NOT for spraying latex paint.
I will say that after suffering through it, I will NEVER use latex paint for a cabinet ever again anyway.

If you are going to apply any artwork afterward, I don't think any of the adhesives that people use will ever stick to latex properly and the fact that even cheap oil based enamels can be run through a sprayer and dry faster make it the only choice.

After that dried (in a few hours just sitting in the sun even!) it was so easy to give a quick rub with a 200 grit foam sanding block and get a nice surface that I was mad at myself for not having taken this route earlier in my cab building sagas.
Live and learn.

After I got to that point, I thought what the hell, this should just be like fixing a board or dent repair on a car.

Tape and mask your zone and get going with your next coat.



I shot black satin enamel (oil base of course) onto it while it was still daylight out but had to run down to the house and finish the turkey dinner I had committed to making for the missus so I'm going to head back up now and see what it looks like.

I know it will have some holidays (since AFTER I started shooting I remembered what I forgot- to run some solvent through the gun before I loaded the cup with paint.
 :banghead:

Needs at least more coat of black on the front and visible interior bits anyway so no big deal really.

Look forward to getting the white done tomorrow and being able to actually put the side art on Sunday maybe...?
Relax, all right? My old man is a television repairman, he's got this ultimate set of tools! I can fix it.

bobbyb13

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Re: 1985 Rewind
« Reply #22 on: January 22, 2022, 04:51:50 am »
So for anyone (like me) who was hesitant to start spraying cabinets instead of the roll and tip method, here is everything you need to pull it off it appears.



Home Cheapo gun, oil based primer and color coat, mineral spirits for thinning those to proper viscosity, turpentine for cleaning gun afterwards, and tape and masking plastic.

Oh, foam sanding block for in between coats and air gun (compressor too of course) for blowing off dust.

I have a moisture trap right on the compressor (65% humidity common here) but put another one on the tail of the gun so there aren't any hurt feelings.

Current result.



The black should harden up enough by tomorrow morning that I should be able to shoot the second coat of that before lunchtime and get to some top coat white on the sides before the day is out.

It sounds like the surf got pretty big though, so there could be a break in cabinet action first thing!

https://www.pacioos.hawaii.edu/waves/buoy-waimea/#forecast




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Re: 1985 Rewind
« Reply #23 on: January 22, 2022, 05:36:10 am »
Hey Bobby...

So I took a couple of photos of the base, (see below).  I can't really move this very easily as the cab is in position in the gameroom, up against a wall one side, and another cab on the other side, plus its one of the heaviest upright cabs I own.  So I bent down and had a lookie.  ;)

The base of the cab (bottom of the lowest panel) is pretty much 2cm from the floor.

Looks like there are 4 what look like metal leg-levellers, one in each corner of the base, very close to the edge, I'd say no more than 2 or 3cm in, max.  They are each screwed into a small square metal plate that's maybe 6 or 7cm square.

 :cheers:

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Re: 1985 Rewind
« Reply #24 on: January 22, 2022, 08:24:09 am »
I have so much to learn about materials and painting, especially spray painting, from you (and Ond too)...

Locals could learn too. If you ever came here we could organise a workshop day with some local tradies, do some spray painting together. Then probably some rice whiskey shots afterwards   :o

We also have high humidity to deal with.

Love the peacock feathers <3
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Re: 1985 Rewind
« Reply #25 on: January 22, 2022, 12:20:01 pm »
Hey Bobby...

So I took a couple of photos of the base, (see below).  I can't really move this very easily as the cab is in position in the gameroom, up against a wall one side, and another cab on the other side, plus its one of the heaviest upright cabs I own.  So I bent down and had a lookie.  ;)

The base of the cab (bottom of the lowest panel) is pretty much 2cm from the floor.

Looks like there are 4 what look like metal leg-levellers, one in each corner of the base, very close to the edge, I'd say no more than 2 or 3cm in, max.  They are each screwed into a small square metal plate that's maybe 6 or 7cm square.

 :cheers:

Thanks Jimbo!
That is exactly what I hoped to learn.
Mine is set a little higher than your original but it doesn't seem like enough to go through the drama of re-engineering the caster setup.
I think it will play fine but we'll see once I have it running!

A visit and various clinics would be good fun Andrew.
I still have a lot to learn!
Ond is far beyind me in coatings.
My work with enamel is quite crude compared to the urethanes he is working with now.
Mine will look ok, but the quality of finish and durability that Ond is achieving can't be bested.

The guns look intimidating at first but are very simple units really.
Just a bit of practice using it to get good with.

The hardest part really is keeping the things clean enough to continue working well.

The peacocks are prolific feather producers and the boys always drop those elaborate tails of theirs in July/August.
Last summer I decided I would throw some seed out every day those months to keep them around the back of the lot and was rewarded with a pretty big pile of feathers over a few weeks!

I need to go check on my paint!

Surf is in the only in the 10 meter range so not big enough for the contest I thought could be a go for today.
Relax, all right? My old man is a television repairman, he's got this ultimate set of tools! I can fix it.

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Re: 1985 Rewind
« Reply #26 on: January 22, 2022, 02:44:08 pm »
Mask peeled and drying.

Next up is two coats of white.



Only things I'm not satisfied with are the result of using plywood really.

More support for the argument to use MDF in the proper places.
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Re: 1985 Rewind
« Reply #27 on: January 22, 2022, 07:41:42 pm »
Looks really great.  You banged this one out quick.

Ca you see the grain of the plywood through your top coat?  Is that the issue?

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Re: 1985 Rewind
« Reply #28 on: January 23, 2022, 03:59:28 am »
After a coat of primer and two coats of color you would think it was melamine or formica really.
Granted, this is decent raw cabinet grade plywood, but even here it was only $65/sheet.

The difference between sanding raw ply to 240 grit and then spraying enamels compared to anything else I have tried is enormous.

Only less than desirable bit is on the edges of the ply where the last ply has 1/4" long pulled splintered spots on the bottom edge.
As I never touched that side, it came from the factory like that.
If I really cared I could have skimmed it with filler first but only I (or anyone who has read this!) could possibly notice.

It won't effect gameplay at all and could have wound up worse after the first time I moved the cab really!

White got sprayed and dried so I am ready to set a tube in this thing.
Relax, all right? My old man is a television repairman, he's got this ultimate set of tools! I can fix it.

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Re: 1985 Rewind
« Reply #29 on: January 25, 2022, 05:32:41 pm »
I intentionally made this cabinet wide enough to accept a 27" CRT (just in case) but in the interest of making sure I pick the right tube to begin with (starting with a 24" component input Trinitron here?) I figured I should have a go at configuation.

And so, a little MAME PC wrestling.



Since this is going to be a dedicated Paperboy probably for the remainder of its (my anyway!) life I would really prefer a more elegant solution that just boots right to the game at startup.
I have now read SO many different ways that people have gone about this that I am at a loss.

If ANYone reading here has some wisdom to offer on what they have found to be the best method for a single game boot solution for MAME I would love to hear it!

I just stumbled into yet TWO more projects that will be very cool (and take a ---steaming pile of meadow muffin----ton of work) so getting this done so that I can just play it (and not futz with it) will be awesome.
Relax, all right? My old man is a television repairman, he's got this ultimate set of tools! I can fix it.

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Re: 1985 Rewind
« Reply #30 on: January 25, 2022, 06:36:00 pm »
That PC looks like you've taken to it with a chainsaw, to cut away the unnecessary parts.

So many ways to boot directly into the game, don't know what advice to give you that you don't already know. Simplest way is to put a shortcut to groovymame into your startup folder (if using Doze). Lot of other things you can do to minimise the PC-feeling of boot-time.
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Re: 1985 Rewind
« Reply #31 on: January 25, 2022, 07:18:30 pm »
That PC looks like you've taken to it with a chainsaw, to cut away the unnecessary parts.

So many ways to boot directly into the game, don't know what advice to give you that you don't already know. Simplest way is to put a shortcut to groovymame into your startup folder (if using Doze). Lot of other things you can do to minimise the PC-feeling of boot-time.

Aviation snips!
It was meant for a different cab where real estate was a huge issue so needed to lose some volume yet maintain support for graphic card and fans.
Still an (un)work in progress.

Maybe the startup folder route is the way.
Don't mind seeing windows crap during boot or waiting a bit either, but having to drag out a keyboard/mouse to navigate through folders or icons for this is anathema.

The BEST part of the video situation will be the joy of a GreenAntz board here.
Any experience using an ArcadeVGA with one yet (or will I be the primary beta tester?)

I know the original Paperboy was medium res so not sure what will be playing out here to get proper function throughout the signal path.

Not that I knew much to begin with, but haven't had my video brain in place for a while now.
 :lol
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Re: 1985 Rewind
« Reply #32 on: January 25, 2022, 08:22:59 pm »
The BEST part of the video situation will be the joy of a GreenAntz board here.
Any experience using an ArcadeVGA with one yet (or will I be the primary beta tester?)

Is just another video card, should work just fine :D

Quote
I know the original Paperboy was medium res so not sure what will be playing out here to get proper function throughout the signal path.

You'll need to use a 15khz mode with a standard CRT TV. GM will do the mode choosing/tweaking and speed matching thing, as best as it can. Keep your eyes open for a med res monitor! Worth it for a dedicated machine. CRTEMU/GM works with 25khz too.
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Re: 1985 Rewind
« Reply #33 on: January 25, 2022, 08:55:29 pm »
That was what I was hoping for (a medium res chassis for a 25" tube that I have on hand) but we'll see how long before a functional one materializes.
That chassis would be worthless for the Trinitron I was going to hang in the cabinet to begin with so we'll see if I can find a compatible chassis in the next week.
The layout of how the screen will be mounted was meant to be modular so we'll see.

Until then it is make-do emulation-wise it appears!

Should still be good fun.
Relax, all right? My old man is a television repairman, he's got this ultimate set of tools! I can fix it.

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Re: 1985 Rewind
« Reply #34 on: January 27, 2022, 03:44:44 pm »
Every time I wind up interacting this intimately with the software that people have written and the hardware designed to make this hobby happen I am still amazed.

I'm at it again with CRTEmudriver (thank you Calamity!!) for Paperboy here and since I don't do this all the time it took a few shots to get a stable image of course.
I have it down to the point where the only frustraions I have with it are either windoze based or me being inept.



Using a GreenAntz to the composite on the Sonys makes part of this easy but I'm still trying to figure out how the resolution situation works with what I am trying (having) to do.

I worked on making sure the controller actually fits properly and getting my temporary coin door fake into place also.
I guess I'll just drill a hole in that for a coin button?



I'm looking forward to getting artwork on it but I am behaving myself and being patient.
 ;D

After wrestling with never getting groovymame to launch (a flash of a window and then nothing) I tried just using a regular mame build and then tweaking the resolution with the OSD in CRTEmu and got it happening finally.



Now that I have confirmed I can use this screen I can make the bits to mount it and move everything into the cabinet finally.

At some point I'll get smarter and actually sort out how to use all this stuff properly and get proper resolution/timing going on.

I may need to make a flow chart of the progression of signal from item to item to actually get my head around it and learn why I screw it up at first every time!
Relax, all right? My old man is a television repairman, he's got this ultimate set of tools! I can fix it.

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Re: 1985 Rewind
« Reply #35 on: January 27, 2022, 05:46:38 pm »
If you're running Paperboy and only Paperboy and nothing but Paperboy I'd consider Win 98 set to boot into DOS and then fire up Paperboy via command line.

But I'm ancient.

 :dunno

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Re: 1985 Rewind
« Reply #36 on: January 27, 2022, 07:49:29 pm »
If you're running Paperboy and only Paperboy and nothing but Paperboy I'd consider Win 98 set to boot into DOS and then fire up Paperboy via command line.

But I'm ancient.

 :dunno

That is the goal precisely.

I was trying to do something similar with what appeared to be an all in one solution called 'groovytime' but I can't get this stupid box to boot after I (believe I have) loaded the image.
An issue of bios and uefi conflict I think but I'm too ignorant to know how to deal with it and not sure I am using rufus and macrium properly to begin with really anyway.

If I can find a win98 image I may try that.
The HD 5450 card I'm using may still work and maybe I can find all the crap I need to pull that off?

The whole ala cart thing with configuring all of this makes me nuts because I only know enough to cause headaches and then sometimes after I have suffered for a few sleepless nights I accidentally stumble into something functional.
 :banghead:
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Re: 1985 Rewind
« Reply #37 on: January 28, 2022, 04:39:43 am »
I will start to get antsy to get this playable soon at this point.



Got the Trinitron pulled apart and the screen hung.

My favorite way to hang a tube now.

Minimal
Modular
Adjustable (if a tube swap needs to happen)



A template saved from when I got a shape that is pretty universal makes this really quick now.
Only need to center that curve on the appropriate width panels and cut them out with the jigsaw.

The other element is putting a set of 4"x4" ply pieces on the sides of the cab which have a 3/4" notch in them to accept the lower cross pieces and everything sits quite nicely.
Nearly all the weight sits on the bottom pieces of course so a smaller cross piece for the top is plenty.

I don't notch that one as it is easy to rest the tube on the bottom one (already screwed in place) and then slide the top piece behind the mouting ears and just screw it down when it is in the right spot.

Since the bottom is leaning back into the notch by virtue of the angle and its own weight it doesn't move around before you can get it squared up with the cab and the ears screwed down.

I do spend a bunch of effort making sure the screen winds up where I want it in terms of vertical placement and angle of the face but not a big deal any longer.



Using 1/4" machine screws and t-nuts makes it easy to adjust and secure.

It's been fun to really pare the process down to the minimum required components and effort to make a solid cabinet.

Only took me a half dozen of them to start getting a clue.
 :lol

I already put the power inlet, line filter, and a small distribution block in place so it's coming along quickly now.

Maybe tomorrow I can get time to set a shelf for the chassis, GreenAntz and audio amp and work on connecting things and firing it up in place.

I'm waiting on artwork anyway so I have time before I start getting nutty over the rest not being done.

Still need to sort out something for a bezel now I think of it.
At least the original was just black posterboard so it is a pretty low bar!
« Last Edit: January 28, 2022, 04:45:26 am by bobbyb13 »
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Re: 1985 Rewind
« Reply #38 on: January 28, 2022, 05:42:48 am »
Look at this guy. :cheers:

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Re: 1985 Rewind
« Reply #39 on: January 28, 2022, 10:27:01 am »
Looks great. Is this a bigger screen than was being used in the dedicated Paper Boy cabinets?  :cheers:

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Re: 1985 Rewind
« Reply #40 on: January 28, 2022, 12:57:33 pm »
Original tubes for these cabs are 19" with a medium res chassis from what I've seen.

19s are really hard to come by for me and my eyesight is beginning to suck as it is.

The original cabinet was nearly wide enough to accomodate a 27" actually, so I made mine 1.5" wider than original to accomodate any size tube- just in case.
I currently have six 27" TVs here and just one 19" left unused.

This is a 24" and although not adequate for a real purist it will look and play great for me.

Thanks everybody.
The builds get more fun all the time for different reasons.
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Re: 1985 Rewind
« Reply #41 on: January 28, 2022, 03:57:13 pm »
I do spend a bunch of effort making sure the screen winds up where I want it in terms of vertical placement and angle of the face but not a big deal any longer.

You amaze me Bobby, you are very productive and your work always looks good.

So I have a couple of suggestions for you.

First, if you make a longer 45 degree angle part for the CRT mounting brackets, you will be able to accommodate a larger range of tubes with similar sizes. Just slide the brackets up and down until they comfortably dock with the CRT's corner peg mounts. You might want to swap CRTs later but the peg mounts are rarely identical, even if the are rated with the same number of inches, especially if you are using old TVs.

This is easier to cut too as your measurements don't need to be very precise and there is plenty of room at top/bottom for the CRT shape bulging out a little, for the degaussing coil and such. If you make the angled part even longer, it is possible to cut brackets that accommodate both horizontal and vertical tube alignment! Maybe not needed for this cab, but fun stuff.

Secondly, you can save yourself a lot of monitor angle alignment problems by using a single piece, each side, to support the CRT brackets. Just make sure they are straight cuts, best done with a table saw or a very even hand. Don't need to be terribly wide, 2-3 inches plenty.

Butchered versions of your pics attached for reference :D




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Re: 1985 Rewind
« Reply #42 on: January 28, 2022, 08:52:46 pm »
Appreciate the confidence Andrew- thank you! :cheers:
My work is getting better, but not having a level floor in the shop really sucks for these activities.

And both points you bring up are great and will be integrated for the future.

I'll add 1" to the ears on my bracket design next go-round (which probably isn't far off since I got my hands on a real 49 way for the Sinistar build  >:D )

I was going to do the one piece side mount bit you show in pic 2 actually but didn't want to dice up another piece of wood when I had these pieces around already.

The last chunk I have big enough (without tapping another full sheet) is for the chassis shelf that I should make tonight.

Hopefully I have the time (energy?!) after I have put a few hours in on the guest house.

Looking forward to having that done finally.
Another week or so I think and then we're ready for visitors!
Relax, all right? My old man is a television repairman, he's got this ultimate set of tools! I can fix it.

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Re: 1985 Rewind
« Reply #43 on: January 29, 2022, 07:02:58 am »
Made some time again tonight (and of course it is 2am now...)

I figured why muddy things up with extra power crap when all I need to do is hijack 5V for my GreenAntz and 12V for the audio amp.
ATX has plenty of spare wire on those circuits.



I got the shelf for the chassis cut and in place and then played around a bit with shuffling components around until I got something that worked without more wire splicing or drama.



And so the question would be, will it work again the way it did yesterday...?



Well, why the hell would it of course?

All I did was move it from the bench to the cabinet and the scan as shown on the screen is all ---fouled up beyond all recognition--- up now.

Not only does the image not fit it is even a little cock-eyed (rotated CCW a few degrees.)

RRRrrrr....

I toyed with the OSD settings in CRTEmu for at least a half hour and didn't get anywhere and it is too late to continue with this masochism.

Wouldn't mind so much if I actually knew what the hell I was doing and could adjust it to display properly.

Oh, this emulation stuff pisses me off sometimes-
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Re: 1985 Rewind
« Reply #44 on: January 29, 2022, 07:55:01 am »
Maybe you bumped the yoke slightly? Seems unlikely, they are usually secured pretty firmly,  but it is the only reason I can think of for the CCW rotation. Some TVs allow some service menu adjustment of rotation, most don't.

Maybe it has always been like that and you haven't noticed before. TV factory adjustment can be pretty crap, esp later model 2000's TVs when the QC evaporated.

In any case, rotating the yoke is not terribly hard to do. Just mark original positions, then loosen the rubber wedges and any glue, clamps holding the yoke in place and rotate it slightly. Then replace/retighten wedges/clamps. Setup a mirror to make life easier for yourself. Might be easier to do with monitor/TV out of cab.
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Re: 1985 Rewind
« Reply #45 on: January 29, 2022, 09:01:31 am »
Quote
Oh, this emulation stuff pisses me off sometimes-

Yup.

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Re: 1985 Rewind
« Reply #46 on: January 29, 2022, 10:23:01 am »
I know you are focused on the monitor but I noticed the question earlier about how to interface the yoke with the PC.  I used the Ultimarc A-Pac with my Starwars yoke and it works perfectly.  Great project!

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Re: 1985 Rewind
« Reply #47 on: January 29, 2022, 07:48:50 pm »
Maybe you bumped the yoke slightly? Seems unlikely, they are usually secured pretty firmly,  but it is the only reason I can think of for the CCW rotation. Some TVs allow some service menu adjustment of rotation, most don't.

Maybe it has always been like that and you haven't noticed before. TV factory adjustment can be pretty crap, esp later model 2000's TVs when the QC evaporated.

In any case, rotating the yoke is not terribly hard to do. Just mark original positions, then loosen the rubber wedges and any glue, clamps holding the yoke in place and rotate it slightly. Then replace/retighten wedges/clamps. Setup a mirror to make life easier for yourself. Might be easier to do with monitor/TV out of cab.

Like you say, I figured I knocked the yoke.
That's no big deal to give a little twist if so (just irritating at 2 am!)

The fact that I battled with the PC to get the image to fit really nicely two nights ago and then the next boot it is back to being wrong is just stupid.
Windows sucks.
Since it was a fresh install I was updating some stuff and I bet that Windows took the liberty of screwing with my display/graphics adapter without alerting me.

The other two MAME boxes are air-gapped to avoid this kind of crap.
This one will be also shortly.
Now that I had a few hours sleep I can have at it without being at maximum irritation level.

I know you are focused on the monitor but I noticed the question earlier about how to interface the yoke with the PC.  I used the Ultimarc A-Pac with my Starwars yoke and it works perfectly.  Great project!

I have one of those arriving tomorrow I believe!
Andy's stuff works great.  The debate was whether I take the time to build what I needed with one of the two arduino boards I alreadg have or not.
Ease won out this time.

There are at least two more cabinets I want to build so I will get a chance to dive into that though.
Scott has written so much good stuff on it that I need to give it a shot.

Quote
Oh, this emulation stuff pisses me off sometimes-

Yup.

And...
Yeah. WTF
I wish that the original guts for all the things I want to build weren't all insanely expensive.

Why doesn't somebody fpga some EDOT already?!
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Re: 1985 Rewind
« Reply #48 on: January 30, 2022, 05:31:19 am »
I like the layout you have in your cab with the CRT Motherboard, PC etc, nice and accessible, well thought out. I have a bit less room to play with for similar components in my cab. I'm putting a big-ass fan in the base plate to keep the lot cool.  ;D  Keep up the good work bobby!

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Re: 1985 Rewind
« Reply #49 on: February 02, 2022, 10:42:49 am »
This is a really impressive project Bobby.  I've been kicking around doing something similar with a Star Wars theme.

Since you are going with a larger monitor this won't work but I thought I would pass it along in case you haven't seen this custom bezel.

https://www.phoenixarcade.com/products/paperboy/paperboy-bezel


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Re: 1985 Rewind
« Reply #50 on: February 02, 2022, 01:10:45 pm »
I like the layout you have in your cab with the CRT Motherboard, PC etc, nice and accessible, well thought out. I have a bit less room to play with for similar components in my cab. I'm putting a big-ass fan in the base plate to keep the lot cool.  ;D  Keep up the good work bobby!

Thanks Ond!
There is a lot of room in there so placement is easy.
You, however are going to need a magic shoehorn  :cheers:

This is a really impressive project Bobby.  I've been kicking around doing something similar with a Star Wars theme.

Since you are going with a larger monitor this won't work but I thought I would pass it along in case you haven't seen this custom bezel.

https://www.phoenixarcade.com/products/paperboy/paperboy-bezel


Thank you sir.
And gotta love a Star Wars cab- but times a wastin' so git on it!

I thought that bezel was cool too.
At this point I will have spent about $250 on artwork already (don't tell the missus) so it probably is going to get some foamcore board painted black!
 :lol

My A-pac and T-molding appear to have arrived so maybe if I can get the damn guest house finished I can finally get this cabinet functional !
Relax, all right? My old man is a television repairman, he's got this ultimate set of tools! I can fix it.

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Re: 1985 Rewind
« Reply #51 on: February 05, 2022, 10:50:21 am »

...so it probably is going to get some foamcore board painted black!


Hi Bobby.Really interesting project as seems usual for you  :applaud:

Could I just ask you about the ¨foamcore board¨ you mentioned.Ive tracked some down on Amazon which is already black,before I buy some tho,am I right thinking youd be cutting it up like the 2dollar bezel method ? http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php/topic,17175.0.html


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Re: 1985 Rewind
« Reply #52 on: February 05, 2022, 01:54:10 pm »

...so it probably is going to get some foamcore board painted black!


Hi Bobby.Really interesting project as seems usual for you  :applaud:

Could I just ask you about the ¨foamcore board¨ you mentioned.Ive tracked some down on Amazon which is already black,before I buy some tho,am I right thinking youd be cutting it up like the 2dollar bezel method ? http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php/topic,17175.0.html

Appreciate your confidence!  Thank you.

That is the bezel plan exactly.
We'll see how I do pulling that off.

And foamcore that is already black should be awesome so I'll look forward to seeing how yours comes along also.
 :cheers:
Relax, all right? My old man is a television repairman, he's got this ultimate set of tools! I can fix it.

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Re: 1985 Rewind
« Reply #53 on: February 06, 2022, 04:06:07 am »
Now up to three rather bad nights of sleep fighting with the PC to put out what I want.
Made even more fun since I am almost finished building out the guest house but that means all the crap that was in there is now in my shop until I can get a garden shed built.
 :banghead:

Only good part is that it forced me to completely rearrange the workshop again and it will be a better flow for working on stuff in the end and I have room to build a router table cabinet.

Of course I still can't get groovymame to load.
Verbose gives me something about ADL initialization error that I can't find a fix for anywhere and that box is airgapped and I can't figure out how to get a stupid sticky note copied onto anything to ask Calamity for help yet even.
yeesh.

I read in one thread that maybe it was the old version of CRTEmu that wasn't happy with Win10 so I tried the next up- which didn't recognize this card (the HD 5450 that now I tried it, I recall gave me headaches years ago when I first got it.)

So I resinstalled windows and the older CRTEmu again (third time's a charm...?) and at least I can get output to the Trinitron again.

Between the service menu on the Sony and Arcade OSD I have succeeded in getting a picture that fits on the screen at least.



I can get the regular build of mame to run anyway and once I told windows that the TV was my only screen it finally actually would display on the Sony instead of always showing up on the monitor no matter what I did.

At least wiring up the A-Pac was straightforward for me (which I got wrong the first go round even still!) and once I unearthed the way to get at the game controller configuration in windows it was easy to clean up.



I tried playing a few times but it was 2:30 am again and I was over trying to get things configured to feel anything close to proper controls.

If anyone knows the best analog settings for a real paperboy controller (with 5k pots) then I would love to see them!

Maybe tomorrow I'll have time to give it a shot.
Seems like it needs a really small deadzone and maybe a different digital speed too.


Relax, all right? My old man is a television repairman, he's got this ultimate set of tools! I can fix it.

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Re: 1985 Rewind
« Reply #54 on: February 06, 2022, 04:16:48 am »
After days of screwing around with software, and maybe a few Mai Tais or whatever your poison is lately, you will need a sleep or break before diving into it again.
Check out my completed projects!


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Re: 1985 Rewind
« Reply #55 on: February 06, 2022, 01:12:24 pm »
The default deadzone in MAME is huge (30%IIRC).  Also set saturation to 1 (100%).  See the MAME section of the stickied driving cab info thread in the driving/racing subforum for a more detailed explanation.

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Re: 1985 Rewind
« Reply #56 on: February 06, 2022, 06:22:59 pm »
After days of screwing around with software, and maybe a few Mai Tais or whatever your poison is lately, you will need a sleep or break before diving into it again.

I am software stupid.
Hardware stuff I can kind of handle (sometimes) but code frightens me and how things actually function bewilders me.

Bahama Mama is the current liquid entertainment.
Trying to sort out as many rum drinks as possible to accomodate any palette.  ;D

It appears what I needed was a good nights rest and thorough ass-beating surf session at Himalayas.
I feel better now!

The default deadzone in MAME is huge (30%IIRC).  Also set saturation to 1 (100%).  See the MAME section of the stickied driving cab info thread in the driving/racing subforum for a more detailed explanation.

Thanks for the tip Badmouth  :cheers:
Hadn't occurred to me to look in the driving thread but that will be where I'm headed this evening I hope!
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Re: 1985 Rewind
« Reply #57 on: February 07, 2022, 01:02:31 pm »
Have you thought about trying substring's collab. version of GroovyArcade?  Might be easier to set up than CRTEmu?

I use it on both my CRT mame cabs with no issues.

 :cheers:

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Re: 1985 Rewind
« Reply #58 on: February 07, 2022, 01:25:33 pm »
Have you thought about trying substring's collab. version of GroovyArcade?  Might be easier to set up than CRTEmu?

I use it on both my CRT mame cabs with no issues.

 :cheers:

I'll have to try that too Jimbo.
I've been thinking I need to replace this video card as maybe it is the source of the issue but I'll see if I can understand substring's efforts first!
Thanks for the tip.
 :cheers:
Relax, all right? My old man is a television repairman, he's got this ultimate set of tools! I can fix it.

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Re: 1985 Rewind
« Reply #59 on: February 08, 2022, 05:13:20 am »
Since I got this thing working reasonably well now (thanks again for the driving thread tip BadMouth!) I figured it would be time finally to give it this dose of awesome sideart I have been antsy to put on.

Conveniently, when I lived in RHode Island I had a friend who decided he would get into (what was then the new business of) large format vinyl prints.
He was doing window dressings a lot and I went on a few installs with him and learned a few handy tips that maybe others don't know.

If you are already good at side art application then you can ignore the rest of this post!

So the Scotchcal film my art was stuck to is one (as I imagine nearly all are these days) with adhesive that is meant to be 'floated' into position so that you can get alignment proper and get rid of bubbles, creases and the like.
The proper arsenal for this chore would be:



I found that a lighter grit foam sanding block (like my drywaller buddies use- 220) to get rid of dust bumps in my paint was a good choice.
REALLY light rub, just enough to take out the grains that would telegraph through the vinyl.

Next is a quick wipe with denatured alcohol with a lint free towel.
This stuff leaves no residue that will mess with the glue and won't start attacking the paint either.

A really watered down soap mixture (probably like 50:1 water to soap) using some mild hand soap is perfect.
Companies sell stuff referred to as "application fluid" but it is only lightly soapy water  ;)

A cheap thin plastic squeegee.  Doesn't take a lot to work bubbles out and you don't want to press too hard anyway.
Even really well soaked, rubber ones can tend to grab and stick so plastic all the way.

Next, get yourself a nice flat table (or clean floor) to carry all of your art.
If you don't have a big enough table you may crease your sticker when you are peeling it and the world will end.



Next, crease a top corner of your art- right to the edge of where the cut line is- again so you don't crease your artwork trying to peel it up.



I did this myself, but if you are trying to apply a 5 ft tall sticker and you haven't done it before you may want an assistant!

Next- soak the panel.  I did this vertically (and I suggest you do too) since if you start at the top with applying the art then gravity is your friend with soapy water and it is WAY easier to peel things up from the bottom and adjust if you need to.
If done lying flat you either need to be working with a small art piece or you will need help to hold it off the cab while you get the macro situation with alignment in hand.



Once you have the panel good and wet then slowly, gently, carefully peel your art off the backing and see about getting it lined up.
If you have used enough soapy water you really can peel it up a good number of times and it won't hurt anything but it will still cling to the panel so you can see where you are with alignment.
Once you think you have it pretty good and BEFORE you touch it with the squeegee, soak the outside with soapy water too!
It will lube stuff up so that your squeegee can slide nicely and won't scratch up your artwork.



The key is getting it set so that you can get a good swipe down the middle with the squeegee and then work your way out toward the edges to squeeze out bubbles and lay down creases.

You WILL have bubbles and creases when you first lay the art on- but if you have used enough soapy water underneath do not fear because you can work them all out.
If you think you don't have enough water underneath to move the art around without creasing it then peel it up and spray some more underneath and keep going.

It is REALLY hard to use too much soapy water in doing this if you spend less than 10 minutes on one side and if you think about it, as you squeegee things flat all that water is coming out anyway.

You will have much greater success if you work in quandrants or at least halves in working from the middle to the edges and use the spray liberally to make sure your squeegee flows nicely.



With a little practice you can get things really nice and flat.  It takes a few hours at least for the glue to really take set after all this so don't mess with it after you get it all sexy.
Sit back and admire how cool it looks and thank whoever printed this stuff for you.



I was feeling spunky so I did the other side tonight too.



I'm really liking this cab!
Going to have to find a place for it that you can see one side at least.
Can't wait for the marquee and CP stuff now.


Relax, all right? My old man is a television repairman, he's got this ultimate set of tools! I can fix it.

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Re: 1985 Rewind
« Reply #60 on: February 08, 2022, 06:16:54 am »
Ah man nice work! I wish I could watch a video of you doing the whole squeegee action.
Check out my completed projects!


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Re: 1985 Rewind
« Reply #61 on: February 08, 2022, 06:19:31 am »
Cab looks good.

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Re: 1985 Rewind
« Reply #62 on: February 08, 2022, 07:54:46 am »
that looks sharp.  8)

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Re: 1985 Rewind
« Reply #63 on: February 08, 2022, 10:26:51 am »
Beautiful!  :cheers:

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Re: 1985 Rewind
« Reply #64 on: February 08, 2022, 03:39:42 pm »
This is really looking great!
-z-

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Re: 1985 Rewind
« Reply #65 on: February 08, 2022, 06:45:17 pm »
Thank you everybody  :cheers:

Ah man nice work! I wish I could watch a video of you doing the whole squeegee action.

I would have to hire Ond for videos I think- but I know I couldn't afford him!

For a few years I would set up cameras to shoot GoPro footage of all the mayhem I was into but I would just hand raw stuff to somebody who would make it all viewable.

I DID somehow wind up with an imdb entry out of it though.
 :laugh2:
More in the ridiculous ---steaming pile of meadow muffin--- I don't have to make up category.

Next thing I do I'll try my hand at setting up a camera to give eveybody some more to laugh at.
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Re: 1985 Rewind
« Reply #66 on: February 08, 2022, 07:28:45 pm »
Thank you everybody  :cheers:

Ah man nice work! I wish I could watch a video of you doing the whole squeegee action.


I would have to hire Ond for videos I think- but I know I couldn't afford him!

For a few years I would set up cameras to shoot GoPro footage of all the mayhem I was into but I would just hand raw stuff to somebody who would make it all viewable.

I DID somehow wind up with an imdb entry out of it though.
 :laugh2:
More in the ridiculous ---steaming pile of meadow muffin--- I don't have to make up category.

Next thing I do I'll try my hand at setting up a camera to give eveybody some more to laugh at.

It's true, you can't afford me but I'll help you with a video - gratis. Well, almost gratis, when the time comes I'll get your advice on getting art printed and applying it.  Your results are excellent!  Serious, you can provide the raw footage and I'll turn out the video, just let me know. Upload/download via Dropbox or file share of your choice. I can produce up to 4k although 1080P is easier to manage.  Great work Bobby.

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Re: 1985 Rewind
« Reply #67 on: February 09, 2022, 01:49:19 am »
Thank you everybody  :cheers:

Ah man nice work! I wish I could watch a video of you doing the whole squeegee action.


I would have to hire Ond for videos I think- but I know I couldn't afford him!

For a few years I would set up cameras to shoot GoPro footage of all the mayhem I was into but I would just hand raw stuff to somebody who would make it all viewable.

I DID somehow wind up with an imdb entry out of it though.
 :laugh2:
More in the ridiculous ---steaming pile of meadow muffin--- I don't have to make up category.

Next thing I do I'll try my hand at setting up a camera to give eveybody some more to laugh at.

It's true, you can't afford me but I'll help you with a video - gratis. Well, almost gratis, when the time comes I'll get your advice on getting art printed and applying it.  Your results are excellent!  Serious, you can provide the raw footage and I'll turn out the video, just let me know. Upload/download via Dropbox or file share of your choice. I can produce up to 4k although 1080P is easier to manage.  Great work Bobby.

Thanks Ond!

Although, ---steaming pile of meadow muffin----

Now I actually have to try to do this.
 :lol
Even worse, I'll need to really clean up the workshop as it is a travesty currently.
All the crap that was in the ohana (guest house) and carport is now in the shop- which is being rearranged again as it is.
Yeesh

Now I need to go make sure that art stuck well so I don't need to add a disclaimer or edit my post!
Relax, all right? My old man is a television repairman, he's got this ultimate set of tools! I can fix it.

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Re: 1985 Rewind
« Reply #68 on: February 09, 2022, 07:39:17 am »
Since I got this thing working reasonably well now (thanks again for the driving thread tip BadMouth!)

You're welcome.  I also should have mentioned that some games have adjustments in the game's original service menu.  (Usually F2 to enter, but is under DIP switch settings for Paperboy).
I looked and Paperboy doesn't have any such adjustments there, but it does let you adjust the difficulty and number of lives if that is something you'd want to tweak.

The cabinet looks gorgeous.  I had to go back to the start of the thread to remind myself that you did in fact build it from scratch.

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Re: 1985 Rewind
« Reply #69 on: February 09, 2022, 10:45:25 am »
This is looking amazing.  I must say I'm envious of that controller.  Any plans to cover the top of the buttons with something?

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Re: 1985 Rewind
« Reply #70 on: February 09, 2022, 02:26:42 pm »
Since I got this thing working reasonably well now (thanks again for the driving thread tip BadMouth!)

You're welcome.  I also should have mentioned that some games have adjustments in the game's original service menu.  (Usually F2 to enter, but is under DIP switch settings for Paperboy).
I looked and Paperboy doesn't have any such adjustments there, but it does let you adjust the difficulty and number of lives if that is something you'd want to tweak.

The cabinet looks gorgeous.  I had to go back to the start of the thread to remind myself that you did in fact build it from scratch.

Thanks again  :cheers:
I was shooting for as close to looking original as I could manage and I'm happy with the result thus far.

Been digging through every possible setting as you suggest!
I'm taking a methodical approach to see how analog adjustments impact the behavior of the original controller as it interacts with Windows and MAME.
The fact that the devs thought to build in all this fine tuning to address the wide variety of controller possibilities is still amazing to me.
Very cool stuff.

I BELIEVE I have it very close to responding as it does in an original cabinet.
It has been so long since I played it that it is impossible to say for sure of course, but I do remember having pretty granular control of things BITD and this is feeling really close.

This is looking amazing.  I must say I'm envious of that controller.  Any plans to cover the top of the buttons with something?

The controller was the whole thing really!
I spent years collecting these parts and as you can see it still isn't complete yet.
If you are really obsessive about it, you can find bits infrequently as they come up for sale on fleabay and elsewhere, but I'm expecting to have to make those button housing covers myself.

In a cursory search you will only find the Ram Controls guy regularly selling any of these parts on Etsy and ebay through a few shifty channels (like normal) and I refuse to buy anything from that dirtbag, even though it took forever to build what he claims to have for sale.
Too bad since it looks like decent stuff but...

-An indiscernable portio of what he is selling is stuff he took money from other people for and never shipped to them (effectively stolen in my eyes.)
-You might pay that sleeze and become a victim of that same behavior yourself.

This thing has been years worth of effort really and cost more than I should have spent on any one cabinet but it is as fun to play (and still suck at!) as I remember.

So then worth it.
 >:D
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Re: 1985 Rewind
« Reply #71 on: February 09, 2022, 03:32:17 pm »
That cab looks stunning.  Very nice Bobby.

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Re: 1985 Rewind
« Reply #72 on: February 15, 2022, 07:09:10 am »
Man this is cool. In all my years of checking out arcades where ever I've been, I've never seen an actual Paperboy arcade cab before. Can't wait to see it in action. Could you maybe post a video showing the controls being used once you've finished please.

Great work Bobby.

Cheers  :cheers:

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Re: 1985 Rewind
« Reply #73 on: February 15, 2022, 11:51:34 pm »
Thank you!
It has been fun to build (apart from fighting with Windoze.)

Now I think of it, I don't recall seeing very many of them when they were first produced either really.
Off the top of my head I can't recall exactly where I was playing it most (although I'm sure it was at Milford Rec. - later Smiles back in old CT.)

I'll have to look it up but Atari probably didn't make as many of these as they had other ones, between the expense of the controller and the dwindling power of the arcade by the time Paperboy existed.

At this point, most extant are probably well hoarded in privacy I bet.

I need to find some time to work on it some more.
The rest of my artwork showed up last week and I haven't had a moment to even play it, never mind finish it up.
 :lol
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Re: 1985 Rewind
« Reply #74 on: February 16, 2022, 10:00:45 am »
Wow Bobby - this looks really great.  Art is so important and you nailed it here.  It really looks like an original.

Are you planning to add CP art?   :cheers:

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Re: 1985 Rewind
« Reply #75 on: February 17, 2022, 06:03:48 am »
Thank you sir!  :cheers:
I was hoping to at least be able to fool myself into thinking it was a real one.
I'm stoked on how it is coming along.

And I got this last Friday...



And so, yes, I do!



I need to sort out lighting that marquee and thankfully even the original bezel was just a bit of black posterboard so I don't have to feel any guilt about recreating that same chintzy bit for this.

So close now...
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Re: 1985 Rewind
« Reply #76 on: February 17, 2022, 06:46:21 am »
Looks amazing Bobby.

I love that last photo. Little accidental and unstaged things like the newspaper on the bench in the foreground (with a local story) linking to the game, the picture of waves and the "LIVE ALOHA" plate giving further context, with your workstation and tools telling an origin story for the 90% complete Paperboy cab. Very good :D
Check out my completed projects!


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Re: 1985 Rewind
« Reply #77 on: February 17, 2022, 01:09:05 pm »
Thanks Andrew!

Accidental composition I suppose, constructed by the fact that the workshop is such a mess.
And among other things, I need to read that newspaper article.

There are even two cats in that picture now that I look at it.
Relax, all right? My old man is a television repairman, he's got this ultimate set of tools! I can fix it.

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Re: 1985 Rewind
« Reply #78 on: February 17, 2022, 03:03:01 pm »
There are even two cats in that picture now that I look at it.

How did I miss that!!?  :laugh2:
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Re: 1985 Rewind
« Reply #79 on: February 17, 2022, 09:04:56 pm »
Might not notice without direction!

Jinx is the indistinguishable blob of unconcious black fur in the box on one stool and you can only see Dwinney's butt on the stool next to him.

Easily missed unless they are attacking something (like each other or more likely, me.)

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Re: 1985 Rewind
« Reply #80 on: February 18, 2022, 06:02:53 am »
This is a beautifully constructed project Bobby!  I love the Atari system2 cabs. They're so retro looking :).  I've recently bought a champ sprint to go along with my paperboy cab. Can't wait for it to turn up, they'll make a great pair. 

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Re: 1985 Rewind
« Reply #81 on: February 18, 2022, 07:29:49 am »
I love my Championship Sprint, but I will sell it in a heartbeat once I get my hands on a Super Sprint.

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Re: 1985 Rewind
« Reply #82 on: February 18, 2022, 03:00:44 pm »
I love my Championship Sprint, but I will sell it in a heartbeat once I get my hands on a Super Sprint.

I would really like to have either of those Sprint machines (Super being the pinnacle of course.)

My Sis and I used to play those regularly.
Fun on their own as it is, but as a head-to-head game they are just awesome.

It's how I learned to slide-ass in a vehicle properly.

This is a beautifully constructed project Bobby!  I love the Atari system2 cabs. They're so retro looking :).  I've recently bought a champ sprint to go along with my paperboy cab. Can't wait for it to turn up, they'll make a great pair. 

Thanks Jimbo!
I always liked the look of this and the System 1 cabinets too (maybe I have a Road Blasters in my future?!)  >:D
Different/weird enough to be cool.

Atari definitely spent more on their cabinets than most companies.
More wood, more work, less modularity.
Fitting I suppose.

Striking when you compare to how many games Nintendo stuck in that Radar Scope cabinet, yeah?

This one was surprisingly easy to build once I got going really.  Fun to sort through the funky angles and get it to all actually fit together.
Only problem is that now a standard cabinet build will just seem boring in comparison!

Sinistar is up next- and I should fly through that one.
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Re: 1985 Rewind
« Reply #83 on: February 21, 2022, 06:28:35 am »
Quote
Sinistar is up next- and I should fly through that one.

Build the cockpit.

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Re: 1985 Rewind
« Reply #84 on: February 21, 2022, 12:50:26 pm »
Quote
Sinistar is up next- and I should fly through that one.

Build the cockpit.

I'm bummed to not have the space or that would have been a possibility.

As things are getting tight Sinistar is going to wind up more of a cabaret with a screen that isn't broken neck angle.
Not to mention it will add nicely to the variety of cabinets in the Loft.
Still working on ergonomically happy layout for that.

I DID actually get the marquee in Paperboy lit up nicely.
It was going to get some bezel yesterday but I haven't been able to find any foamcore or card stock big enough to use.

Been looking locally for a month too.
Relax, all right? My old man is a television repairman, he's got this ultimate set of tools! I can fix it.

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Re: 1985 Rewind
« Reply #85 on: March 23, 2022, 06:37:32 pm »
Finally found a piece of foam core big enough.

Bonus...
It was already flat black.



Sure it ain't original (and the screen is a 24"- and flat Trinitron too) but it will do.

When I get the plexi cut then the last bit is getting the back door cut.

And then sort out GM so it actually runs.

Some pretty nutty screen tearing sometimes running regular mame build for this.
Relax, all right? My old man is a television repairman, he's got this ultimate set of tools! I can fix it.

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Re: 1985 Rewind
« Reply #86 on: March 23, 2022, 07:07:14 pm »
Awesome work Bobby.

Re:screen tearing, try Groovymame
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Re: 1985 Rewind
« Reply #87 on: March 23, 2022, 08:39:39 pm »
Awesome work Bobby.

Re:screen tearing, try Groovymame

It's loaded on the box actually, but it won't start.

Double click the icon, get a flash of a CMD window, then- nothing.

I tried to log what was up and I just remember that what I saw I couldn't find a solution to after searching for a half an hour.
I'll have to try again when I can get an hour to frustrate myself with it.

It was a huge PITA just to get the image to MOSTLY fit properly (still a bit of overscan) never mind that the resolution is not what it needs to be anyway.

Currently the workshop is consumed with glassing a board for somebody and I'm maxed out with work anyway so it may be a while!
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Re: 1985 Rewind
« Reply #88 on: March 24, 2022, 12:25:29 am »
Awesome work Bobby.

Re:screen tearing, try Groovymame

It's loaded on the box actually, but it won't start.

Double click the icon, get a flash of a CMD window, then- nothing.

I tried to log what was up and I just remember that what I saw I couldn't find a solution to after searching for a half an hour.
I'll have to try again when I can get an hour to frustrate myself with it.

It was a huge PITA just to get the image to MOSTLY fit properly (still a bit of overscan) never mind that the resolution is not what it needs to be anyway.

Currently the workshop is consumed with glassing a board for somebody and I'm maxed out with work anyway so it may be a while!

It can be difficult, moving between different modes of operation - like from carpentry building cabs to artwork design, then to installing operating systems and debugging software, then to electronics design and repair, it can sometimes leave me spinning when I have to change "modes" too much.

It should not be difficult to at least run Groovymame - you don't even need the CRT_emulator drivers installed, though you will get an error message about switchres not running.

One minor complication with Paperboy is that it is a medium res game. It should still work fine, but I expect Groovymame will squeeze it into 640x480i or whatever for your Sony Trinitron TV.

Best thing to do is start a thread on the Groovymame forum branch. Include as much relevant detail as possible, pics if appropriate, attach a log file. Then everyone will be falling over each other to help you.

What software are you running to get video output to TV?
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Re: 1985 Rewind
« Reply #89 on: March 24, 2022, 01:23:22 am »
I have CRTEmu working- but I never got GroovyMame to run.
Need to try again or find the log file I generated before and copy to a stick so I can post it here somewhere (that box is air-gapped.)

When I couldn't get GM to run I loaded a regular mame build which runs fine.
At first I only had the Paperboy roms in there, but the resulting modelines were not giving me anything that I could get to fit the screen based on whatever I had (I'm sure incorrectly) done.

When I finally loaded up BadMouth's No Filler set with the addition of the Paperboy roms then I had res settings I could work with to make the picture fit the visible area.

I need to read some more and get a better understanding of what is happening as regards the interaction of mame (or better yet, GroovyMame) CRTEmudriver, Arcade OSD and my Trinitron.

I'm sure it can be made better than I have it (which is tolerable) once I really know what the hell is going on with this pathway.
 :dizzy:
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Re: 1985 Rewind
« Reply #90 on: March 24, 2022, 08:05:43 am »
I need to read some more and get a better understanding of what is happening as regards the interaction of mame (or better yet, GroovyMame) CRTEmudriver, Arcade OSD and my Trinitron.

I'm sure it can be made better than I have it (which is tolerable) once I really know what the hell is going on with this pathway.
 :dizzy:

Remind me about this at Zapcon, I think I can help.

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Re: 1985 Rewind
« Reply #91 on: March 24, 2022, 01:01:41 pm »
I need to read some more and get a better understanding of what is happening as regards the interaction of mame (or better yet, GroovyMame) CRTEmudriver, Arcade OSD and my Trinitron.

I'm sure it can be made better than I have it (which is tolerable) once I really know what the hell is going on with this pathway.
 :dizzy:

Remind me about this at Zapcon, I think I can help.

Absolutely!
Thank you.
I can't imagine I'll have it sorted out by then.
Heheh
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Re: 1985 Rewind
« Reply #92 on: March 26, 2022, 06:43:05 pm »
Not a real fix like matching the refresh rate of the monitor, but enabling V-sync might fix the tearing.

Enabling triple buffering will definitely fix it, but at the expense of adding lag.
Whether that lag affects gameplay depends on the game.
I think I eventually managed to match the refresh rate of the emulator to the monitor or vice versa, but it's been too long to remember the details.

EDIT: Had a look.  Enabling "waitvsync" fixed the tearing on my desktop. 
If the speed of the game is thrown off, enable "refreshspeed" under performance options.  From what I understand it will adjust the emulation speed to correct for the different refresh rate.

I am nowhere near as knowledgeable about this monitor stuff as the GroovyMAME fans, but this will get you by until you figure out the proper refresh rate stuff.

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Re: 1985 Rewind
« Reply #93 on: March 26, 2022, 08:41:23 pm »
Not a real fix like matching the refresh rate of the monitor, but enabling V-sync might fix the tearing.

Enabling triple buffering will definitely fix it, but at the expense of adding lag.
Whether that lag affects gameplay depends on the game.
I think I eventually managed to match the refresh rate of the emulator to the monitor or vice versa, but it's been too long to remember the details.

EDIT: Had a look.  Enabling "waitvsync" fixed the tearing on my desktop. 
If the speed of the game is thrown off, enable "refreshspeed" under performance options.  From what I understand it will adjust the emulation speed to correct for the different refresh rate.

I am nowhere near as knowledgeable about this monitor stuff as the GroovyMAME fans, but this will get you by until you figure out the proper refresh rate stuff.
Thank you for the assitance!
It is still mind numbing to me that there is so much built into mame to accomodate so many varied builds.

Certainly for the short term I will try what you suggest and see what I get.
Hopefully tonight?!
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Re: 1985 Rewind
« Reply #94 on: March 26, 2022, 09:40:02 pm »
Once you have Groovymame setup properly, you won't have to worry about these settings. It will manage it all for you.

One of the big adjustments for me, going to GM, was not needing all those game-by-game [romname].ini files. With GM those custom .ini files are very rarely needed. Back when I used old vanilla MAME I wasted ridiculous amounts of time checking each game and tweaking settings. Now, with GM, I get to spend that time playing games (or something else).
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Re: 1985 Rewind
« Reply #95 on: March 27, 2022, 02:58:13 am »
We'll see how patient I can be!
Been so damn distracted with work and building surfboards I promised to people long ago that I have precious little time for cabinet work recently.
Not to mention that the workshop is almost unusable as a result of the above.
The regular workspace that isn't consumed with fiberglassing crap has a rather anal expulsive deposit of tools, drywall and paint material puked around.
 :banghead:

I need to get somebody to help me carry this beast upstairs since the major carpentry work is done!
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Re: 1985 Rewind
« Reply #96 on: March 27, 2022, 03:38:23 am »
The regular workspace that isn't consumed with fiberglassing crap has a rather anal expulsive deposit of tools, drywall and paint material puked around.
 :banghead:

Sounds a lot like my workspace! Minus the fibreglass.

Quote
I need to get somebody to help me carry this beast upstairs since the major carpentry work is done!

Unfortunately I'm not carrying anything heavy until my left arm sorts itself out.
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Re: 1985 Rewind
« Reply #97 on: March 27, 2022, 05:33:59 am »
From your description of it, I may have the same affliction- in both arms/elbows.  It sucks.
Need to check this out.

Hopefully my buddy comes by tomorrow to pick up this thing I made him and I'll get HIM to help me carry ---steaming pile of meadow muffin--- upstairs!



He used to be a crossfit aficianado so hopefully he is still stronger than necessary.

Maybe he can help me with the Sinistar too...
 :D
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Re: 1985 Rewind
« Reply #98 on: March 27, 2022, 06:55:11 am »
From your description of it, I may have the same affliction- in both arms/elbows.  It sucks.
Need to check this out.

Cubital tunnel syndrome, Ulnar nerve inflamation/restriction. Had it for long time but mostly ignored it. Notice it when, for example, doing curls at the gym. Of course that never stopped me doing bigger weights or more curls etc. and my left was always a bit stronger than the right. But this is a new level. I can barely do an air curl.
 
It is very much like someone with a little hammer constantly tapping away on on your funny bone, causing zaps to run down over your hand, more focused on the little fingers, where you'll have "pins and needles". Similar to carpal tunnel syndrome, except less common, different place, different nerve, and seems to hurt a lot more (I've had carpal too). I kinda had to help move a couple of beds just now, one quite heavy, so is all flaring up again.

Improvement requires rest and avoiding injury, including "repetitive" injury. Avoid wife who will insist you carry heavy cumbersome stuff. Massage helps. Sleep with your arms mostly straight and avoid sleeping on your hands. There is a surgical option, but no need to rush into that.

Nice looking board there buddy!

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Re: 1985 Rewind
« Reply #99 on: April 15, 2022, 02:21:02 pm »





This part when you first see it with the artwork on is just magic, moreoso when you first see the first cut panels standing on their own. Beautiful cabinet, great work!

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Re: 1985 Rewind
« Reply #100 on: April 15, 2022, 08:13:36 pm »
Thank you sir  :cheers:
I forgot how much I love playing this silly game- and I STILL suck at it!

The side art really makes the look of the cabinet.
I was stoked to get a print so accurate to original.

Now if I can just get time to finish the damn bezel and front plexi treatment I will be satisfied!
Relax, all right? My old man is a television repairman, he's got this ultimate set of tools! I can fix it.