Project: My first cabinet - Mid 90s and before! [Complete]

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Zebidee:

--- Quote from: minorhero on November 13, 2023, 07:27:23 am ---I love the idea of locking clamps/hold downs. I think that could definitely be the answer here! I searched on amazon and found these for 7 dollars:

I will need to change the underside of the control panel a bit to attach them, but that's pretty easy. I am glad I didn't get to paint the cabinet over the weekend as it would make installation harder.

--- End quote ---

Those are very similar to the clamps on my lowboy.

The only issue I had with them, and frankly most/ clamps available, is that the standard latch/hook piece always seems designed to sit the same plane as the main end. I needed mine to sit directly under the control panel, meaning the plane is off by about 90 degrees. After considering many ideas, I decided to fashion a new hooking piece by bending some scrap metal into the right shape (like a C). Then I took it down to the metal shop and got them to weld it on.

Anyway, easy enough to make/modify something if you need to.

http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php/topic,166352.msg1753836.html#msg1753836

An extra piece of scrap wood across the cab, just under the control panel, gives the clamps something to be screwed into. Also makes it all sturdier. Top end of this plywood is slightly angled at a single plane, such that the panel sits snugly against it when firmly clamped down.

Just clamping at the sides can work too.

minorhero:

--- Quote from: Zebidee on November 13, 2023, 05:00:28 pm ---The only issue I had with them, and frankly most/ clamps available, is that the standard latch/hook piece always seems designed to sit the same plane as the main end. I needed mine to sit directly under the control panel, meaning the plane is off by about 90 degrees.

--- End quote ---

Yeah, I noticed this as well. I added small block of wood to the inside of my cabinet below the control panel and I will add another piece of wood to the underside of the control panel itself which I will attach the hook end of the latch to. In that way I should be able to install the latches without needing to make a new hook or modify the existing one.

They do sell 90 degree latches, but they were not as good as the ones I got. Mainly because the ones I got can be tensioned after installation which is just too convenient a feature as far as I am concerned.

With that said, a small update and a question.

Yesterday I cut and tested out my bezel. This bezel will remain removable even after the cabinet is done and will thus be my access point for the monitor area.

In order to know how big to cut the bezel I first needed to get my screen to display at a 4:3 ratio. The easiest way to do this is to choose a 4:3 resolution in Windows. My monitor's full screen native resolution is 2560x1440. The highest 4:3 resolution in windows though is 1600x1200. The problem with this resolution is that it's not a native resolution. So everything will be a bit blurry, that kinda sucks. Doing some maths, the ideal resolution for my monitor is 1920x1440. This was not an option in windows though. I tried to make my AMD software do it (since I have an AMD graphics card) but it just wouldn't make it happen in Windows 10. I looked online for a while and eventually found s little application called the Custom Resolution Utility. What this does is allow you to put in your own resolution and then it adds that resolution as an option in Windows. That way windows does it's normal thing without needing another piece of software to load up every time windows starts. Once that was done I finally had a native resolution 4:3 screen display.

From there I measured how big the displayed area really was. About 17 5/8" x 13.5". I put my monitor in place and then marked where the monitor made contact on wood of my bezel with a pencil. Then cut out a hole slightly smaller then the size of the display area where the monitor was positioned. All of this took a bit with lots of checking and double checking etc. But the end result was pretty good. I roughed out the hole with the jig saw and then finished it up with the router and a pattern bit and some wood clamped around the hole to act as my pattern.

And here i the finished result:

Next up, priming and painting.

Now, my question. How do people deal with power to their cabinets? I will have a pc inside, speakers, monitor, and light for the marquee. I figured I would plug everything into a power strip. But that just gets me power. I would then need a separate external button for the pc at a minimum.

Ideally what I would like is to have the cabinet plugged in all the time but powered down, then use a single button to power everything on at the same time. I don't know how to do that though. What I do know how to do is just have a switch that turns on the power strip and a separate button for the pc. Everyone must go through this same process though, so I wanted to check if there is something more clever then my 2 button/switch solution.

RavenDarkwood:
Hi, minorhero, a little suggestion for the power setup.
In my cabinet I connected everything to the same power strip: when switched on, even the PC gets its power.
The trick is to change a little the configuration of your PC: somewhere, in the power-up options, there's something like "start the PC when power is detected".
Hope this can be useful :)

Zebidee:
Use a "master/slave power strip'. These have a "master" outlet, to which you plug in the PC, and several "slave" outlets, which are only enabled when the master draws power (more than a few milliamps, so standby power alone does not activate the slaves). These cost ~$20 to $80, but cost alone isn't a reliable indicator of quality. Years ago I used to be able to find good search hits with "smart power strip", but nowadays that search just pulls up wifi-enabled power strips. Such is life!

In addition to adjusting power options in Windows, you will probably need to look for power-on behaviour options in the BIOS.

For an actual power button, run a couple of wires from the pair of POWER_SW and GND pins, on the front panel header on the PC's mainboard. Attach a button to the wires. Check the user manual and/or just trace the wires back from the existing power button. You will probably need to solder up some connectors. With some creativity it is possible to run the wires to both the normal PC power button and your new cab power button.

Instead of choosing a 4:3 video mode, you may be better off running the monitor in its natural resolution and just make sure to preserve the aspect ratio in mame options. You can then enable artwork options to fill up the blank space.

PL1:

--- Quote from: minorhero on November 14, 2023, 08:23:03 am ---Now, my question. How do people deal with power to their cabinets? I will have a pc inside, speakers, monitor, and light for the marquee. I figured I would plug everything into a power strip. But that just gets me power. I would then need a separate external button for the pc at a minimum.

Ideally what I would like is to have the cabinet plugged in all the time but powered down, then use a single button to power everything on at the same time. I don't know how to do that though. What I do know how to do is just have a switch that turns on the power strip and a separate button for the pc. Everyone must go through this same process though, so I wanted to check if there is something more clever then my 2 button/switch solution.

--- End quote ---
As RavenDarkwood and Zebidee suggested, a "smart strip" is probably what you're looking for -- a quick forum search will pull up numerous examples and more details including a thread on how to make your own.

Plug the PC into the blue "control" outlet on the smart strip and connect a momentary pushbutton to the PC motherboard power switch pins.
- Power is always available on the "control" outlet and on the unswitched red outlets.
- When you press the momentary pushbutton, the PC boots up.
- When the PC boots up, the increased current draw exceeds the threshold for triggering the smart strip so it applies power to the green "switched" outlets on the strip.
-- Some smart strips allow you to adjust the threshold which can prevent unwanted on/off toggling of the "switched" outlets.
- When you push the momentary pushbutton again, the PC performs an orderly shut down. When the current draw drops below the threshold, the smart strip removes power from the "switched" outlets.

You may also want to use an IEC fused power inlet with a lighted switch.
http://wiki.arcadecontrols.com/index.php/Wiring#IEC_Fused_Power_Inlet_with_a_Lighted_Switch

Scott

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