Mini Cabs, VGA Box, Dreamcast, ?

[SteveJ34]

After reading some recent posts and seeing pics of some rather nice minicabs/bartops, I've gotten the itch to start a new project(s).

I'll probably begin with a Galaga bartop. My questions don't really relate to the cab construction, rather what to "stock the inside with".

I acquired one of those jakks game sticks to see how the game play was. My thought was this would be an easy approach, hack the stick, add a small tv, away you go however its just not authentic enough for me.

So, I turn to consider just putting together a small form factor PC....have plenty of 15'' monitors collecting dust around here, that would take care of the video....would have to source some lowend PC systems......

I then ran across messages about hacking a VGA box and hooking Dreamcast to arcade monitors.....this intrigued me. Depending on the price these convertors can be found for, might make utilizing some of the 15" viable.

Dreamcast systems are cheap, I believe there is a mame port for DC or in the alternative there is a namco classics that is pretty close to original if I remember correctly.  Would require hacking a controller to the joy/buttons but don't think that would be too much trouble.

I wouldn't need to hack the VGA box as I want VGA output....I don't know alot about these other than what I have found with a quick google and search on Ebay. What's a good price to pay for one of these?

I welcome opinions on the above concepts for how best to power such a minicab with primarily a dedicated galaga machine but perhaps add other classics that fit the same controls, Pacman, Ms Pacman, etc.

I look forward to any and all replies.

Steve

[Raven..]

Somebody built a Glaga bartop with a Jakks inside and sold it on eBay for quite a bit.  They were getting ripped aprt on RGVAC for it.  As long as it is just for you, why not though?

Dreamcast using VGA is very nice!  You can pick up the converters pretty cheap usually and then build your own controls 8-)

You cna find low-end PC boards on eBay, but you have to be careful.

[SteveJ34]

.....
Dreamcast using VGA is very nice!  You can pick up the converters pretty cheap usually and then build your own controls 8-)

You cna find low-end PC boards on eBay, but you have to be careful.
.....

What's a reasonable price for one of these VGA convertors? I see prices ranging from $25 - $75 upon first glance.

Did MameD (Mame  for Dreamcast) cease development at .37b5?

As to low end PCs, sure, I have pieces and parts stored in the garage but toying with the dreamcast approach seems like something worth considering....would simplify the hardware quite a bit for something that is close to a dedicated cab.

Thanks for the input......keep it coming.

[Minwah]

Somebody built a Glaga bartop with a Jakks inside and sold it on eBay for quite a bit.  They were getting ripped aprt on RGVAC for it.  As long as it is just for you, why not though?

Why were they getting ripped apart?  As long as he wasn't falsely advertising it as 'real' arcade hardware I don't see much wrong with that.

[ries]

I got one from ebay for 10 euro, you can also order them from liksang.com for about 9 dollar. I got this one for my cabinet and it works great. Also got an audio out (mini jack on the box) so you can connect your pc amp+speakers.

DC VGA box on lik-sang

What's a reasonable price for one of these VGA convertors? I see prices ranging from $25 - $75 upon first glance.

Did MameD (Mame  for Dreamcast) cease development at .37b5?

As to low end PCs, sure, I have pieces and parts stored in the garage but toying with the dreamcast approach seems like something worth considering....would simplify the hardware quite a bit for something that is close to a dedicated cab.

Thanks for the input......keep it coming.

[Lilwolf]

If you are going to get a VGA box... Look for the one that can be hacked to an arcade monitor.

You might end up using it.

Sorry, don't remember the brand.. But I found a bunch on ebay... and it was only a few bucks more then the others.

And DC on an arcade monitor looks GREAT!

[Agent Davis]

FYI - Sega built VGA output into the DC, so the VGA boxes aren't converters.  They are simply connectors.  In fact, you can get just vga cable for the Dreamcast.  As mentioned above, best place to look is probably Lik-Sang.  They have lots of stuff and you can read about stuff in the product FAQ, or you can ask yourself.

[SteveJ34]

FYI - Sega built VGA output into the DC, so the VGA boxes aren't converters.  They are simply connectors.  In fact, you can get just vga cable for the Dreamcast.  As mentioned above, best place to look is probably Lik-Sang.  They have lots of stuff and you can read about stuff in the product FAQ, or you can ask yourself.

Yes, this became clear the more I read and searched. Looks like a DC2VGA connector can be had for about $10 USD.

Thanks for all the input thus far......whether I go this route or not as far as base system for a "classics bartop" I'm sure I'll pick up an adapter just to check out the display results for DC to VGA.