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Planning on starting my first arcade project
Jae200:
Hi. I've been thinking of doing this for quite a few years and either never had the space, was moving around and didn't want to take the machine with me or whatever..
Now I'm ready and have a couple of questions. I think I can handle cutting and building my own cabinet but I'm really not sure if I'm eletrically/electronically inclined enough to deal with hacking keyboards/wiring controls, etc. Has anyone built their own cabinet for use with commerically available arcade style controllers like Hanaho's Hotrod Joystick? Can anyone recommend a good arcade size controller that I could drop into my machine?
Also I'm thinking of going with a Wells Gardner SVGA monitor instead of a computer monitor. From what I've read they connect to a computer just like a computer monitor but are a little more authentic looking. Can anyone tell me what size I should go with for a real arcade feel? What size monitor do Neo Geo arcades use for instance? Are these monitors easily obtainable from any local sources or would I have to go through a specialty dealer like Happ Controls to find them?
Thanks for the help.
Jason
pointdablame:
Hi, Welcome
There are a few people that have used Xarcade/HotRod joysticks on their machine. I (and many others here it seems) think that it looks terrible slapping a joystick on a machine, but it WILL work just fine if thats what you'd like.
The electronics side of things really isn't that difficult at all. If you can build the cabinet, you can wire it. Don't hack a keyboard, get an encoder. That way, its just screw terminals and quick disconnects. If you can follow wires, use a screwdriver, and push disconnects onto metal tabs, you're 90% there. It really isn't hard and you can make the control panel EXACTLY like you want.
The monitors like the D9200 will hook directly up to your PC. If you wanted to use a regular arcade monitor you could use an arcadeVGA card as well. Again, it's pretty simple to hook up once you understand what each part is doing.
As for monitor size, most classics used a 19" monitor, either vertiacl or horizontal. A lot of fighters and newer games use 25"/27" monitors. Then there are the showcase and projection cabs with the monster monitors. There are a ton of NeoGeo cab styles, and I think there have been Neos with 19/25/27 and probably more sizes of monitors.
You might be able to find a monitor locally, but perhaps not a new one. If you're getting a new SVGA one, you'll prolly have to go through a dealer.
Buddabing:
--- Quote from: Jae200 on December 26, 2004, 02:10:12 pm ---Hi. I've been thinking of doing this for quite a few years and either never had the space, was moving around and didn't want to take the machine with me or whatever..
Now I'm ready and have a couple of questions. I think I can handle cutting and building my own cabinet but I'm really not sure if I'm eletrically/electronically inclined enough to deal with hacking keyboards/wiring controls, etc. Has anyone built their own cabinet for use with commerically available arcade style controllers like Hanaho's Hotrod Joystick? Can anyone recommend a good arcade size controller that I could drop into my machine?
Also I'm thinking of going with a Wells Gardner SVGA monitor instead of a computer monitor. From what I've read they connect to a computer just like a computer monitor but are a little more authentic looking. Can anyone tell me what size I should go with for a real arcade feel? What size monitor do Neo Geo arcades use for instance? Are these monitors easily obtainable from any local sources or would I have to go through a specialty dealer like Happ Controls to find them?
Thanks for the help.
Jason
--- End quote ---
Well, you could try a Devastator from Treyonics, or one of the slikstik products. Retroblast has a summary of most of the currently available controllers.
I mentioned Treyonics because their controller is a bit cheaper ($50-$80 or so) cheaper than the SlikStik, and it's not mentioned in the Retroblast review.
clanggedin:
I built an arcade cabinet and didn't hack anything. All of your fears about building can be quickly calmed, by reading the book "Project Arcade"
It helps out a ton and simplies the whole arcade building process.
thrash242:
I'd recomend making your own control panel. It's really not hard at all. Just buy an encoder and pretty much all you need to do is plug things in. It might be kind of tedious, but it's not hard. IMO, there's no need to hack anything now that quality encoders designed for arcade cabinets are available for cheap.