Arcade Bones (Marquee & Dashboard graphics finalised)

[Bones]

Saturday night update

[Bones]

Saturday night update continued

[Bones]

Saturday night update continued

[Bones]

Saturday night update continued

[Bones]

Saturday night update continued

[Bones]

OK, it's late. I have been going full-on for over 4 hours.

I am about 1/2 way through the wiring and I can't believe the amount of wires going to the encoder. Sure I knew most of the available outputs would be taken, but this is getting messier than I expected!

Sure hope it works. I hate the thought of trying to sort through this spaghetti when/if I have any faults!

[Redseven80]

That's the nicest panel Ive seen with multiple joysticks & track balls, I usually think they look tacky with too much stuff, but that looks nice and clean dude! very nice.

[Bones]

It has been awhile since my last update as I have been busy wiring my CP with nothing else of interest to report. I suppose now is a good time for a raving long story of where I am at and where I am going

[Bones]

Couple of pics of my not so tidy wiring job.

[NinjaEpisode]

Bones, you're doing a great job.  Remember, the only person that comes over to play that's going to see under that CP is another BYOAC junkie.  If it works, all the better, and if there is some organization that at least you can understand, then no worries mate.  Keep up the good work!

[DrewKaree]

Bones, you're doing a great job.  Remember, the only person that comes over to play that's going to see under that CP is another BYOAC junkie.

Yeah, but when I get there after that long friggen plane ride, I'm gonna HAVE TO rag on him for his sloppy wiring job, and take Mrs. Bones back to the States with me as punishment for unseemly housekeeping under-side the innards....or something

Don't worry, I'm bringing duct tape to keep the noise level down....I suppose kicking and screaming isn't the way to take a crazed Aussie woman on an international flight.

[Dire Radiant]

You can always drop her off at my house! (Bring some of his new power tools too)

[Bones]

Drew, Radiant.......

You couldn't keep up with her if you tried. 

[Bones]

Friday night update

[Bones]

Friday night update continued

[KenToad]

Gotta say, your CP is looking great, nice clean wiring, and a well-though out layout.

*Edit* I would love to see a spinner in there, maybe right between Player 1 and Player 2.  Actually, with all that space, you could probably fit two spinners on the panel for some Pong action.  In my experience, everybody loves spinning the spinner. 

Cheers,
KenToad

[KenToad]

Gotta say, your CP is looking great, nice clean wiring, and a well-though out layout.

*Edit* I would love to see a spinner in there, maybe right between Player 1 and Player 2. Actually, with all that space, you could probably fit two spinners on the panel for some Pong action. In my experience, everybody loves spinning the spinner.

Cheers,
KenToad

Okay, I see that your wiring is actually pretty tight fitting and you've got a wiring block there between Player 1 and Player 2, so scratch that.

Cheers,
KenToad

[Bones]

*Edit* I would love to see a spinner in there, maybe right between Player 1 and Player 2.

Thanks for the kind comment. My plan was to have a spinner on my CP and to be honest I think it a little silly to build something this size and not have a simple spinner.

However, the fact is I struggled to find one I could buy in Australia and I didn't want to place overseas orders. I had a goal to build from locally available parts which to date I have been able to achieve.

If I really feel I am missing out it should be easy enough to add one later and I might even try at hacking my own just for the fun of it.

For now I suppose I will just play spinner games with the trackball.

[danny_galaga]

looking very smart. um, have you got anything to bolt it onto? besides your dead kombi 

[DrewKaree]

Drew, Radiant.......

You couldn't keep up with her if you tried. 

That's ok.  I don't mind seeing a good looking woman walking away from me.  Sometimes, they look better walking away, but who knew there were so many Mrs. Butterface's out there?

looking very smart. um, have you got anything to bolt it onto? besides your dead kombi 

Danny's hit upon the ULTIMATE cab!  Think of your CP strapped onto your dashboard.....The Bones Combi-Cade!  Man, if I keep giving you these sweet ideas....

I didn't wait for all the pix to appear, why'd you decide to go with a terminal block for ground instead of daisy-chaining them?  Electrical is the only thing I hate worse than hard math, and if you've got a good reason and find that way works out pretty well, I may follow your lead there.

[Bones]

I didn't wait for all the pix to appear, why'd you decide to go with a terminal block for ground instead of daisy-chaining them?

[DrewKaree]

Did nothing today. Drank beer in the sun with friends all day. Intended on finishing my CP but crap happens sometimes.

Sometimes, when those beers start casting aspersions on your manhood, you just gotta stand up for yourself, suck a few down (more than a few, if your point isn't getting across), and show 'em who's boss.

I'm not the one to pooh-pooh your choice Bones!  Nay, instead, I stand to salute you and say "Good for you Bones!  Good for you!" (insert golf-clap here) 

Now that I see this happens more often than I'd thought, looking back, I think those beers in my fridge were laffin' at me the other day.  I'm gonna take your lead, my friend, and tonight (I like to do my work under cover of darkness, like a secret agent....007) the assassin shall strike!  BRAVO BONES!

I think I've had too much sun

[Bones]

Sunday update.

Today I planned on finishing the remaining wiring for my CP which I knocked off in a couple of hours. I had been testing all my connections with a multimeter and feeling confident all would be

[Bones]

Sunday update continued

[tivogre]

You've broken a cardinal rule and hooked up the completed control panel before finishing the cabinet.

This will put you WEEKS behind schedule!

Disconnect it NOW before it's too late!

Nice progress BTW!

 

[Bones]

Final thoughts

[Bones]

Been a bit slow on the project in the last week.

Received my trackball back and re-installed it. Took it for a test run and was a little disappointed. Not as smooth as I imagined. Might just have to get used to it a bit and also calibrate the mouse for best results. Maybe this is as good as a small trackball gets, really dunno.

Been playing on my CP a substantial amount and it really beats playing with the hand controller I have been using in the past. A working CP and a full collection of ROMs received just this week have strangely taken much of my time. 

Messed around a little with my cab design. Struggling to find best monitor angle to enable a good view from all 4 positions. I will sacrifice P3 & P4 view somewhat in favour of P1 & P2 as these positions will be used more often, but finding the balance without a monitor to stand in front of is creating more guesswork than I feel comfortable with.

Still very much in the early stages but leaning towards something that resembles this.

[Bones]

I have now officially put together my working cabinet plans and will most likely begin construction within the next week although I will proof read the plans again before starting. The full size drawings were created using Illustrator.

I tested my working CP at different heights and found that I was comfortable in a broad range. Also found out that my wrists could tolerate playing at an angle so I have decided to slope the CP for sake of appearances.


Some key dimensions are;

Cab height: 1950mm (76.77

[markrvp]

Bones:

Does the cabinet need to be that deep to accomodate the monitor?  It seems awfully big from front to back.

[Bones]

Bones:

Does the cabinet need to be that deep to accomodate the monitor? It seems awfully big from front to back.

Yeah it did come out a little large.

The area that supports the CP is 350mm (18

[markrvp]

It looks neat.  I just wanted to make sure you had room for it. 

I really like the lines.

[Stobe]

Bones,

I only recently started reading the forums here after a long departure from building, but this thread has been a great inspiration.  You have done a great job at documenting your project thusfar and I hope you continue such dedication.  Who knows?  You may end up with your own book

Its refreshing to see someone with equivalent woodworking skills end up with such quality output.  I look forward to everything you learn from building the main cab.  Your lessons have given me many things to consider that I may not have.

Keep up the great work!

-Stobe

[Bones]

Thanks for the kind words Stobe. I am glad my ravings are helpful and you are getting something from this thread. Good luck with your bar-top plans.


What a nice young man.....

[stellarola]

Saturday night update continued

[Bones]

Saturday night update continued

[Stobe]

What a nice young man.....

Just wondering what leads you to believe that I am either 'nice' or 'young' 

Side note:  I need to call my Australian brother-in-law every now and then to have him translate some of your terms, lol.  There are still a few words that I haven't learned from watching the Wiggles with my daughters

-Stobe

[DrewKaree]

What a nice young man.....

What, are you gonna make a pass at him or something.....skip down the street holding his hand and singing showtunes?

Wait'll I send this thread and your comments to Mrs. Bones.  You are DONE, sir! 

[Bones]

What a nice young man.....

What, are you gonna make a pass at him or something.....skip down the street holding his hand and singing showtunes?

Actually Drew,

I am flying to the States next week and I was hoping to meet up with you for some fun uninhibited times. Make sure you bring your gimp costume.

[DrewKaree]

Actually Drew,

I am flying to the States next week and I was hoping to meet up with you for some fun uninhibited times. Make sure you bring your gimp costume.

It's at the cleaners.  Let me know when you're stopping by....I may have to purchase a backup for your visit.

[Bones]

Today I traced out where my cabinet would live in my garage to get a better idea of the space it would consume. It fits, but goodness...it really is freaken huge. If I build it to my design I won't be able to wheel it outside for sanding as it doesn't even clear my roller door height.

Little frustrating actually. I was very pleased with my design and the angles and proportions but it's obvious I have to go back to the drawing board and redesign to a lower height and perhaps reduce the overall depth.

At this moment I see some potential to lower the control panel maybe a few inches which will solve my height problem but the rest is going to be challenging to reduce in size and have it look aesthetically pleasing.