My plans for a cheap cab

[cbmeeks]

Ok, someone out there that has built a cab please correct me if I am wrong but these are my plans for a cheap cab.  I have a small space and an even smaller budget but I DO have some resources.  I want to go for authenticity but I can sacrifice some of that if it saves money.  I also want to build a two-player upright.

Here is what I have already:


AMD 1Ghz CPU/Mobo
15g HD
PSU
17" monitor

Friend that is a carpenter (well, he's good enough to build decks) that has all the tools I need.

Here is what I want to get:

20" TV - $99
Plans for an upright - $20 - $40  (anyone used the book??)

Two 8-way sticks  - $40 or so
One  4-way stick -  $20 or so
Spinner - $90
Trackball - $120

About 20 buttons or so - $40 or so

Video card with TV out - $40 or so

Two sheets of 4x8 MDF $20 each  (I assume two is what I would need??)

Does this budget look ok?

I have looked everywhere and NO ONE in chattanooga has an existing cab to modify.

Thanks!

cb

[GadgetGeek]

You can cut down costs a little by getting a 4/8 switchable joystick (ultimarc's is really nice).
Unless you are going to hack your keyboard, you need an encoder (IPac from Ultimarc if you are getting the 4/8 switchable joy or keywiz from groovygamegear).  Trackball s/b much less than that if you watch ebay or if you can handle a smaller trackball, ultimarc carry's a 2 1/4" and at that point, you can change from an ipac to a mini-pac and get the nice interface that should handle the trackball and spinner)
Paint or laminate and t-molding (if you are going to use any) are also needed.

[cbmeeks]

Yeah, forgot about the little things and the IPac.  lol

One thing I DON'T want is a noisy, clicking joystick.

Any suggestions?  Clicking sounds irritate me...lol

cb

[DaveMMR]

Yeah, forgot about the little things and the IPac.  lol

One thing I DON'T want is a noisy, clicking joystick.

Any suggestions?  Clicking sounds irritate me...lol

cb

The Perfect 360s at Happs are on sale.  No clicking.

You could also save a few bucks by not buying plans (sorry if I'm taking money out of someone's hand there) as there is a wealth of information in the examples page.   But the other school of thought is if you buy the plans, you cut down on expensive mistakes.  But you have a carpenter to help so that shouldn't be too much of a problem.

You may need three sheets of MDF depending on what you're making (though if you're careful and you're cab is smaller than the standard Lucid design you may be able to get away with two 4 by 8 or at least two 4 by 8s and a 2' by 4' MDF.)

And yeah, you can get the trackball and spinner for cheaper (unless you absolutely need the 3" Happs Trackball and the Push/Pull spinner).

I didn't budget my project - I just buy things when I have the money.  Some nice sales pop-up along the way.

OHHH - almost forgot - http://www.therealbobroberts.com has joysticks and buttons for cheaper than Happs (as long as you don't mind paying by check or MO).  He doesn't carry the P-360s though.

Overall you can do it for less than you budgeted (of course, not a guarantee).

[paigeoliver]

Wow, that isn't cheap, that is probably more expensive than any machine I have ever done, and I have done like 15 of them.

A few suggestions.

Drop the 19" tv. Either get a 19-21" used VGA display for the same money, or get a trash 19-25" TV out of the paper/thrift store for $10, and then get the 8liners harness to make it an arcade monitor and then use arcadeVGA.

Now, your actual "cabinet" budget is way low. MDF is the smallest part of that budget. The REAL money is in the extras, glass, t-molding, cabinet feet, etc, etc, etc.

[GadgetGeek]

I'll add to what I said earlier by recommending Saint's book if you are not familiar with building your own cab.  It includes plans, but more importantly, he explains all the steps involved and things to think about.  It would pay for itself rather quickly in avoided mistakes.

[big_garryb]

i also planned to make a cheap cab......... didnt work - been chuckin money about at stuff...... was going to borrow powertools.....bought them, loads of wee extras like paigeoliver said!

the trick is - hide the receipts from the wife!!!

[REBIRTH]

the trick is - hide the receipts from the wife!!!

Ha haaaaaaaa!!!!  I hid many myself!!!

I agree with most of the posts.  If you are handy and can think of how to make stuff, I would not spend money on the plans (if you are looking to save money which you are).  Plans are great if you have the money, but if you are cutting corners - there are plenty of examples out there for free which you can copy.  When I made mine I just went to an aracde, did some measuring of a real machine, then modified it a bit for my needs, and just sort of figured out how to build the innards to make everything work out... no plans.  I keep meaning to put up plans of my cab for people to download if they want, if I can every get the time to do that  

3 sheets of MDF are more like it, Ebay is your friend for saving money, and as someone mentioned I'd also get a used PC monitor instead of a TV - not TV interface's, and you can get a nice used and bigger monitor for cheaper - a 19" one you can probably get for like $40-$50 at a local mom & pop PC store or garage sale.  You'll need an IPac AND an Opti-Pac (for trackball/spinner).  2 awesome products, I have them, but there may be cheaper alternatives like keyboard/mouse hacks (can't speak for that, you could search this board).   Also your PC hard drive isn't big enough for all the Mame games, but should be big enough for a ton of the ones you want.  You don't list the RAM of your PC, may have the same issue - not enough for a lot of the Mame games, but enough for a ton of older "classic" games if you only have like 128 or so.

You also aren't accounting for a bunch of the "little" things that add up, like (with guessed approx: costs):

Strips of "skeletal" wood to screw the MDF together - $30
Screws - $10
Wire - $15
.187 connectors - $10
paint - $10
Glass/Lexan/Plexi marquee and bezel cover - $20-$40
T-molding (gotta have!) - $35
Marquee light - $5
Power strip - $5
Any marquee/bezel/sideart printing (can cut out to save costs) - $20-$100
A bunch of stuff I am forgetting as well - $50

Having a working arcade with 1000's of games - Priceless  

[big_garryb]

if you get a new happ trackball - it plugs straight into usb - so no need for the optipac.!

i agree with everything else i think.

garry

[Lilwolf]

I would vote AGAINST the 20" TV...

look for the smallest / cheapest SVID tv.  The composite TVs really have crappy output.

you can also look on ebay for true arcade monitor (19" are great) and the trident card that works with windows.  Many people get great results.  And you might get both for less then 100.

[GameDork]

I have looked everywhere and NO ONE in chattanooga has an existing cab to modify.

Thanks!

cb

Have you checked with American Amusement in East Ridge? They have about 600 arcades in the warehouse, and plenty of them don't work.

www.americanamusement.com

[RayB]

EBAY is sometimes good for bargain parts.

Occasionally there a sellers who have acquired large lots and they part everything out and sell it for whatever. If you can find such listings you can find some deals.

For example, I found a listing for a complete control panel from an old conversion (GunForce). It had 2 Happ joysticks (the kind popular for fighting games), and 6 buttons, and the wiring with molex plug. Nobody was bidding on it, so I got it for $1.99 plus shipping.

Same seller, I bought a Sprint 2 control panel also for about $2. It was stripped except for 3 lighted "cone" style atari buttons.

Same seller had joysticks and buttons taken out of some Wrestelfest conversion, with wiring and molex plug. It too about $2 cuz no one was bidding.

I combined all of these into one shipment to save on shipping.

Now for at least prototyping and initial building, I have a good variety of sticks and buttons. Used buttons aren't the greatest, but the joysticks are still quite acceptable, especially when first building my cab. I can always replace part by part with new later on if it really bothers me.

And you can't beat Atari lit cone buttons at the price I paid.