Scared to begin

[rpfinley]

My roommate and I just found out about this fabulous world and have been doing a lot of research.  He is an engineer and we are both very bright guys but a few things worry me (mostly setting up the buttons) since the only thing I have really ever made is a napkin holder in 8th grade.

We want a four player, 6 button, trackball set-up.  We already have an extra computer and monitor laying around.  My first question is, is it worth buying a cabinet or should we make it ourself?

Second, anyone know of the same set-up thats someones compelted.  If there was a detail instruction I would feel very confident in building it.

[AlanS17]

If you're not broke and uncomfortable with building a cab you can get a kit from the mameroom. They are $100 off until 6pm today. Regular price is $399 but they're $299 today. That really is a deal. Of course, you still don't have coin door, etc, but you're off to a great head start.

Otherwise, modding an existing cabinet is great for a beginner project. Most of the work then comes into restoring the old machine than in building one from scratch. These come with coin doors, marquee retainers, and usually even transformers so they take alot of setup out of the project.

The buttons themselves are a snap. Most encoders just screw into labeled terminals on the board. If you find yourself a used JAMMA-compatible cabinet it's even easier. Plug one end into the controls and the other end into the PC with a J-Pac from Ultimarc. Either way, building a starter machine isn't hard. I highly recommend it.

[Stingray]

I bought an empty cab complete with a coin door for $50. Seems like the way to go to me.

Plus my carpentry skills aren't really up to building a cab from scratch.

-S

[hulkster]

My roommate and I just found out about this fabulous world and have been doing a lot of research.  He is an engineer and we are both very bright guys but a few things worry me (mostly setting up the buttons) since the only thing I have really ever made is a napkin holder in 8th grade.

We want a four player, 6 button, trackball set-up.  We already have an extra computer and monitor laying around.  My first question is, is it worth buying a cabinet or should we make it ourself?

Second, anyone know of the same set-up thats someones compelted.  If there was a detail instruction I would feel very confident in building it.

i felt the same way a year ago man.  but you had me one up on the napkin holder....ive never held a jigsaw in my hand or knew what a wire stripper/crimper was, so dont feel bad.  just plan on spending about 2-3 weeks just reading and learning how to do all this stuff and you wont be sorry.  check out the examples on the main page (off the side...link) and read and look at all of those.  i made my first cab after doing research, and then i started on my second one cuz there were a lot of things that i learned after finishing that could have made my cab 20 times better.  dont rush, and youll have an awesome cab. i would recommend buying a cheap shell or something at an arcade auction or from somebody here if you arent real comfortable building one yourself....and then just building on to it according to your specs.  everybodys first cab is not the best, so be prepared for that. good luck!

[sjgrover]

I also wasn't sure if how deep I wanted to jump in right up front.  I started with a desktop control panel and I currently have a mini-cab underway.  As soon as the basement remodel is complete I've already staked out a place for a full size cabinet.  Granted my work isn't anywhere as polished as some of the examples I've seen here, but it works, and it's fun so what more could you want?

I'll readily admit to being electonically clueless, so if I can pull it off, so can you.  There's more than enough information on this site to get you where you want to go.

[mahuti]

Just start. Gotta start somewhere. It's a process that will take money over time, but it's rewarding.

[rpfinley]

Thats another question, how much is it going to cost, roughly.  I have the computer and monitor but thats about it.  I think I want to make my own cabinet I have access to a person who has all the tools and I would like some small things like drink holders.  Of course I am keeping my eye open in case a cheap cabinet shows up.  

[SirPeale]

Thats another question, how much is it going to cost, roughly.

Again, it depends on what you want to do.  You could get an empty JAMMA cabinet for $100, toss in a J-PAC, set up the computer, and off you go for roughly $200 total.  If you scratch build and have a ton of controls, you could find yourself in the +$1,000 range.  It's all relative to what you do with what you have, and what you want to have.

[Lilwolf]

If you want to save money... make sure not to add a hotswappable control panels..

or you find yourself searching ebay for tons of old crap...

but it depends on how nice you want... and what you already have.

I'll assuming you start with a kit.  You will save about 100 bucks if you build it yourself... but I can't do work that nice.  Its a good deal as long as shipping isn't outrageous.

You COULD use an existing monitor... but I think they look like crap compared to a true arcade monitor.... assuming you have an extra monitor that upgrade will cost you $200 for a 19" monitor + 80 for the arcadeVGA + $15 I think for a vidamplifier.

Or you could go SVid TV.  This will cost the amount of the monitor and probably a 30-40 ati video card (make sure its "built by ATI" not "powered by ATI").  

Next... your controls

1) www.therealbobroberts.com will save some over happs... you can figure this cost out
2) you might consider getting a tstick ultra (8/4 way swappable from top panel).  This is a really good thing... but costs an extra 15 or so per joystick.

Controller?

1) cheapest... hack some usb gamepads... lots of extra work... cabling much uglier...  about 12bucks

2) Get an IPac or Keywiz.  30-40 base... goes up if you want 4 player cabinet capible.


Then you have..

actlabs gun?  (40) are you going to hack it in a real arcade gun case (20 ebay)

trackball?  
  2 1/4" ($26 + 10 (mounting kit) + $10 hacked mouse)
  3" (60ish + mounting + hacked)

Speakers?  

  use pc speakers - 15ish
  hack to real arcade speakers - add another 20

What am I missing here?

time?