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Newbie - Building 1st MAME Machine

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j123vt_99:


--- Quote from: Mameotron on January 25, 2005, 08:24:50 pm ---First of all, welcome!! ;D

Really, you should buy the book & read through it before building.  I was so excited to build my 1st cab, but I ended up with something I really didn't like in the end.  My opinions of what I wanted and how I wanted it to work have changed SOOOO much.  I'm now building my 3rd cab, and I think this one will finally be the one I want.

Having said that, I think that $300 is a bit steep for the cab pictured, unless you KNOW that everything is in 100% working condition, and that includes the monitor.  For that price I would also expect the wood to be in excellent shape, and with a new paint job.  Unless you know what to look for (or this guy selling the cab is VERY trustworthy) I would wait a while on that.

Adding buttons is simple.  No soldering required.  You simply drill a hole where you want the button, insert the button, screw on the nut, and attach the wires.  Use spade connectors (middle of attached picture) on your wires.  They slide right on the tabs on the bottom of the button (left side of pic).  Use crimpers to attach the spade connectors to the wires (right side of pic).

Edit:  I just noticed the lock is gone from the coin door, and I can't tell if the coin mechanisms work or not.  Personally, I would pass on this one because I don't know the status of the coin mechs or whether the monitor even works.

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thank you.. i bought the book and read through the relevant chapters... obviously, i will be reading it alot more carefully, but i got a feel.. between that and this board, i feel like i've learned a ton in one day... the owner  of the cab pictured is a member here so i would trust his opinion... i do have a little more time than i thought  to wait to purchase a cab as i will not be moving into my new house as soon as i thought..  i will post in buy.sell forum here to see if anyone can hook me up

RetroJames:


--- Quote from: j123vt_99 on January 25, 2005, 06:40:10 pm ---

2) it sounds like it is easy to connect the jpac to the jamma board. i assume that gets all the existing buttons working.. how hard is it to add a couple of new buttons? are they easy to connect or is soldering involved?

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Yes the jpac to jamma connection in literally tab A into slot B.

RayB:

Hard to tell what that cab was... Looks like it may have been an Atari cab. See age matters here because monitors don't last forever. You need to find out how old it is. (10 years? 20 years?)

You need to check for burn-in on the monitor. Check how crisp the monitor image is. Color, brightness. Is the picture squished? (don't assume tweaking a knob will fix that. Sometimes it's due to bad capacitors).

Also look for water damage in the wood (swelling, flaking).

After that kind of inspection, you'll have more ammo to lower the price more in the $150-200 range. You could even let the guy keep the Kageki game, marquee and bezel. It's a crappy game.

~Ray B.


RetroJames:

To give you an idea about related costs etc.  I got this cabinet as the "Vigilante" seen in the first pics for $50.00

http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php/topic,20395.0.html

To reconvert it back to a Moon Patrol (multigame) cost a grand total of $400.  I put a 333Mhz (or was it a 400Mhz?)PC inside with a  jpac.

Cabinet $50
Bezel $80 (original glass moon patrol)
Jpac $60 ish
PC $30
Marquee $25 (original moon patrol)
CP overlay $40 (repro from arcadeshop.com)
Misc for the rest...buttons, paint, stripper, wires, etc.

There may have been some other costs for smaller items I used that I had laying around like barrel locks etc as well which I really didn't figure into the mix.







Rip:

Hey...I recognize that machine....that's mine !!!

The reason I went as high as $300 is that it has a brand new 19" monitor (Makvision), which cost me $225 that I had intended for another MAME project.  The controls are brand new ($35), and the cab is an excellent Phoenix cab (still has the Phoenix serial) with no water damage or busted corners and orginal walnut finish (but it will require the Centuri offset T-Moulding to be 100%).  I was also going to throw in another Centuri CP for use as an extra.  The coin door is wired but is missing the mechs, one coin reject, and the coin retrun flaps which could all be had for $20 on ebay.

I was going to restore it to it's original Phoenix glory, but have run out of room.  I think it is a fair deal, as most of the value is in the monitor.

I'd like to see the cab restored to Phoenix as it is in great shape, but then again, I'd also like to see my garage floor again too  :)

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