Couple of questions for ya'll

[skid_68]

Hi guys. very nice forums you got here. Decided to sign up, because Im finally going to build my first mame cab. I wanted to for years, but Im going to go for it this time.

My first question.

1 - What thickness of particle board should I use? 5/8 or 3/4. I noticed Lusids plans are for 5/8, but it seems a little thin. Also, it looks like 3 sheets is the norm right?
2 - Does everyone have a trackball because it replaces the mouse? If so, how do I go about hooking it up the my ipac2 key encoder, and how many buttons should it have? Also, where can I find a good cheap one. Happs are waaay to much.
3 - I still havent found very detailed plans anywhere yet. Like where to put the little strips on the inside to hold the monitor height, and such. Can anybody point me to some that show that?
4 - What size wire do I need to wire all my switches to my encoder?
5 - Where the heck do you guys get those cool marquees and sideart? Ive seen some sites, but they are all mostly mame this, and mame that. I want custom stuff. Do you print them out at home? On multiple pages? Or do you take your photoshop file to kinkos or something like that?
6 - I know I have more, just cant think of them right now.

Well as soon as I find out about the wood, Im off to the store. Shoot, what other things do I need. How many, and what size wood screws? Do you guys putty over the screws to hide them on the outside of the box? Thanks for any help guys.

[sirwoogie]

Thank Saint, the other moderators, and all the helpful forum members for this. It's what has made this hobby extremely fun.

Skid, the best advice I can give you is to read the FAQ (located at the sticky in this forum) and start reading all of this forum. All of the questions you have asked have been asked (and answered) many times before. You're going to have a LOT more questions, and you can find answers to most of them just by reading. It took me a few weeks of reading, researching, and designing; even before I did my first part.

[walls83]

1.  I dont think it really matters I used 3/4 because they didnt have 5/8.  

2.  Not everybody has a trackball but most do.  Alot of very good games use trackballs. I would highly recommend getting one.  to hook a trackball up you need to hack a mouse or use an Optipac(which is what I used).

3.It really depends on what Kind of cabinet your building.  Since it was my first cab I just went with the UAII plans from mameroom.com.  You can purchase the templets or plans from them and it explains everything.

4. Cant answer sorry.  Its small wire I dont know the exact gauge.

5. 99.9% of the artwork is created by members of this board.  Even the old school art(galaga side art) has been re-vectored by someone on this board.  Just find a theme and ask or pay someone to do it.  TALENT IS OVERFLOWING ON THIS BOARD.

6.  Ask away.

Putting wood putty over the screws is really up to where you are putting the cab.  Will it fit to where it needs to go with out it being taken apart.  I didnt fill my screw holes because it needed to be broke down to get it in my basement.

[DrewKaree]

Hi guys. very nice forums you got here. Decided to sign up, because Im finally going to build my first mame cab. I wanted to for years, but Im going to go for it this time.

congratulations on the decision to build, welcome, and make sure you take lots more pictures than you EVER think you'll need, because we all want to see them.

1 - What thickness of particle board should I use? 5/8 or 3/4. I noticed Lusids plans are for 5/8, but it seems a little thin. Also, it looks like 3 sheets is the norm right?

Think about what you're saying.  ⁶/₈" IS ³/₄", so you're only using something that's ¹/₈" less than that.  That's not a big difference, it's just your eyes playing tricks on you.  ¹/₂" wouldn't even be that big a deal if it was built with good woodworking techniques.  I don't recommend it, but it COULD be done.  About the 3 sheets is the norm, if you are going to build LuSid's cabinet, then use what he suggests.  A fourth sheet could prove useful for mock-ups, but again, it's up to YOU!

2 - Does everyone have a trackball because it replaces the mouse? If so, how do I go about hooking it up the my ipac2 key encoder, and how many buttons should it have? Also, where can I find a good cheap one. Happs are waaay to much.

People almost universally use a trackball because they want to play trackball games.  The mousing ability is an added benefit, but using one just to replace the mouse MAY be a waste of money if you don't plan to play any of those games.  How to hook it up to your encoder?  Can't help you there.  Where to find a cheap one?  Firstly, define cheap for us.  Second, E-bay.

3 - I still havent found very detailed plans anywhere yet. Like where to put the little strips on the inside to hold the monitor height, and such. Can anybody point me to some that show that?

it'll be a bit of personal preference there, and it'll also depend on your monitor used.  Does it have a frame?  Is it exactly the same as LuSid's?  See how little things will make EXACT placement difficult to recommend?  Once you have your monitor, see how you are going to connect it, then play around with where to place it.  The bezel will mask any other alignment issues.

4 - What size wire do I need to wire all my switches to my encoder?

18-22ga.  Either one, there are merits to both.  Search around here, but those will be the sizes recommended.

5 - Where the heck do you guys get those cool marquees and sideart? Ive seen some sites, but they are all mostly mame this, and mame that. I want custom stuff. Do you print them out at home? On multiple pages? Or do you take your photoshop file to kinkos or something like that?

Mahuti's site is dynamite..hey that rhymes!  Photoshop/Illustrator or someone proficient (Pixelhugger, Chris, Frosty) with them will become your friend.  Take the file to a printer, send them to someone online (read around here, I think mamemarquees.com is a well-liked place), or (many will say DON'T...depends on your experience or desire) Kinko's will work.

6 - I know I have more, just cant think of them right now.

that's the wonderful thing about this message board.  You can't post ENOUGH questions!  Make sure you do a search, though.  It may have already been asked, answered, and argued over already.  Don't waste the space to start the discussion again if it was already done.  If doesn't hurt to resurrect an old thread if it suits your purposes.

How many, and what size wood screws? Do you guys putty over the screws to hide them on the outside of the box? Thanks for any help guys.

Start off with a 2 lb box of screws - make sure you use a type (fine thread, coarse thread, straight shank, tapered shank, etc) compatible with your material (MDF, Plywood, solid wood, etc).  The putty will depend on you.  Do you want a smooth surface?  Fill 'em with something.  Does it not matter to you?  Don't fill 'em.  It'll look more "finished" if you fill them, but it's not necessary.

Good luck

Did I forget to mention take pictures to show us?  

[NoOne=NBA=]

3 - I still havent found very detailed plans anywhere yet. Like where to put the little strips on the inside to hold the monitor height, and such. Can anybody point me to some that show that?

EXACT dimensions will depend on EXACT hardware.
It's more of a final fitting thing, than anything.
If you don't use EXACTLY the same hardware as the person you are copying, you will probably need to tweak something (monitor shelf height, cabinet depth, etc...).

4 - What size wire do I need to wire all my switches to my encoder?

I used 28 gauge CAT-5 wire on all my controls.
You need to be really careful about getting good connections to the encoder, but it comes out alot cleaner using pre-bundled wires (that are all color-coded), than having 50 ft of loose wiring (that is all the same color) inside the CP area.

Do you guys putty over the screws to hide them on the outside of the box?

You can screw everything together from the inside if you plan properly, and use ledger blocks.
That keeps the outside of the boards unaltered, and allows you to disassemble the cabinet down the road, if you find it necessary.

[Kremmit]

Trackball doesn't hook to the I-pac2.. but you could buy a MiniPac instead:
http://www.ultimarc.com/minipac.html

Or, you could buy a PS/2 trackball:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=13718&item=6113131806&rd=1&ssPageName=WDVW

Or a USB trackball:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=13718&item=6112287274&rd=1&ssPageName=WDVW

[skid_68]

Thanks for the info guys. Ive started on my cab. Ive posted it in the project announcements. Head on over and take a look.

http://www.arcadecontrols.org/yabbse/index.php?board=10;action=display;threadid=23302