Author Topic: Desktop Mini Cab -- Updated 4/23/06 (Read 40116 times)

MameMaster! · « **Reply #80 on:** December 18, 2005, 09:22:06 pm »

more pics

MameMaster! · « **Reply #81 on:** December 18, 2005, 09:22:33 pm »

MameMaster! · « **Reply #82 on:** December 18, 2005, 09:23:48 pm »

last pics.

I put the guts into a radio shack project box (one for each plug/play gadget) to keep the wires safe.

axefreak · « **Reply #83 on:** December 18, 2005, 09:37:26 pm »

I really like your project. Your cabinet is looking great.

Question about using plug and play devices (Jakks). What are the differences between Ms Pacman on there vs. MAME. I know you don't have the coin option with JAKKS but how close is it to the original?

Thanks,

Rick

RetroJames · « **Reply #84 on:** December 18, 2005, 10:52:41 pm »

Awesome stuff and great news about the routing. In the pics, can we assume that is the kitchen table? Excellent.

markrvp · « **Reply #85 on:** December 19, 2005, 12:38:50 am »

Looks great. Isn't it a real kick in the arse when you first fire up that Jakks PCB and use it with your own controls? I got a real thrill out of that.

MameMaster! · « **Reply #86 on:** December 19, 2005, 09:19:28 am »

Quote from: axefreak on December 18, 2005, 09:37:26 pm

I really like your project. Your cabinet is looking great.

Question about using plug and play devices (Jakks). What are the differences between Ms Pacman on there vs. MAME. I know you don't have the coin option with JAKKS but how close is it to the original?

Thanks,

Rick

....one thing that bothers me is the Inky is the wrong color. On the real Ms. Pac....he's kinda' Teal...on the Jakk's he's more a green.

Other than that it plays pretty close and for the purposes of a 1/3 sized Ms. Pac it's perfect!

MameMaster! · « **Reply #87 on:** December 19, 2005, 09:23:21 am »

Quote from: markrvp on December 19, 2005, 12:38:50 am

Looks great. Isn't it a real kick in the arse when you first fire up that Jakks PCB and use it with your own controls? I got a real thrill out of that.

Absolutely!....especially when I nailed the wiring down on almost the first shot....that was the best part.

By the way....I wanted to thank you and bishmasterb for your "behind the scenes" help in both the cab design and wiring.

Your projects were helpful in me making some of my design and wiring decisions.

By the way....going back to the Jakk's .....I love the ability to swap out the games w/my stationary panel via the molex connectors.....and it was very satisifying to get it all up and running!

MameMaster! · « **Reply #88 on:** December 19, 2005, 09:24:20 am »

Quote from: 1hookedspacecadet on December 18, 2005, 10:52:41 pm

Awesome stuff and great news about the routing. In the pics, can we assume that is the kitchen table? Excellent.

....yeah that's my diningroom table. My wife said it looked like I was a mad scientist with the soldering gun, wiring and switches etc. strewn around the table.

MameMaster! · « **Reply #89 on:** December 21, 2005, 02:35:06 pm »

OK....so I tried routing for the first time in my life today....note to self "hold router better next time".

Sigh...the router slipped during my molding cut and I ripped a part of the MDF.

I just patched it with wood filler and am waiting for it to dry....but man was I bummed. I can't believe I got so far only to have the router slip.

Thankfully.....it will be fully covered by trim and art....but what a bummer.

I will definitely post pics in a few hours later today for those interested.

MameMaster! · « **Reply #90 on:** December 21, 2005, 05:01:23 pm »

Ok.....I'm still bummed that I messed up my routing...but I think it will be OK once I've finished decorating the cab. You can see where I slipped and then later used wood filler to fix the error.

For now Tmolding.com only had 3/4 " T molding in "ms. pac" blue...so he suggested that I just install it and trim it......you know what?.....it was really easy.

The molding cuts really easily with a sharp knife. Now if only I didn't mess up my routing........oh well. Again, once I have it all together I think it will be OK even if I have to use a bit of glue to hold the trim in place in a couple of spots.

For now here are the photos of the empty apt. that my super let me use to do the routing....holy cow....you guys were right on when you said it would be VERY VERY MESSY. Thank goodness I didn't do this in my apt!

At this point I have a few details to finish.....and now I'm waiting for my art to arrive for final assembly.

MameMaster! · « **Reply #91 on:** December 21, 2005, 05:01:47 pm »

more pics

MameMaster! · « **Reply #92 on:** December 21, 2005, 05:02:38 pm »

MameMaster! · « **Reply #93 on:** December 21, 2005, 05:03:43 pm »

last ones for today!

markrvp · « **Reply #94 on:** December 21, 2005, 09:11:49 pm »

Lookin Good!

RetroJames · « **Reply #95 on:** December 21, 2005, 09:49:13 pm »

Looking at that router mishap why am I envisioning the scene from "The Jerk" when Steve Martin tries to use a buffer on a car ?

MameMaster! · « **Reply #96 on:** December 22, 2005, 08:45:24 am »

Quote from: 1hookedspacecadet on December 21, 2005, 09:49:13 pm

Looking at that router mishap why am I envisioning the scene from "The Jerk" when Steve Martin tries to use a buffer on a car ?

...unfortunately for me that's fairly accurate.

Fig · « **Reply #97 on:** December 22, 2005, 09:28:04 am »

Man that routing jod looks 100% better then my first one. I truned it on and I didnt think it would have that big of a kick back messed up the side completely.
I browed that router off a friend (old craftsmen) I went out and got me a nice porter cable w/ a soft start

Cabs looking good too

markrvp · « **Reply #98 on:** December 22, 2005, 12:38:25 pm »

Quote from: 1hookedspacecadet on December 21, 2005, 09:49:13 pm

Looking at that router mishap why am I envisioning the scene from "The Jerk" when Steve Martin tries to use a buffer on a car ?

ROTFL

MameMaster! · « **Reply #99 on:** December 22, 2005, 06:36:39 pm »

OK....I took the day off from work (NY Transit strike saved the day!).....and modded another plug/play for use in my mini cab. I used the Konami Frogger multi game and this was the easiest actually of the 3 that I've modded so far.

You can see in the photos that the circuit board is the simplest of the 3 I've done (Ms. Pac by Jakks was the most complex one with a LOT of wires!).....and it's almost as if they set it up to be modded as there were tiny "disks" of exposed circuitry that made perfect soldering points for the wires.

Any hoo....this one like the Space Invaders is pretty disappointing Emulator wise....but the more games for my mini machine the better!....despite the music Frogger plays really well and that's the main game I wanted anyway.

I may do one more.....the Pac Man Jakks version....but aside from Dig Dug and obviously Pac Man....there isn't much on that one that I'm interested in. But...we all know how this hobby is....so it's likely I'll get around to it.

Any hoo....enjoy the pics!

MameMaster! · « **Reply #100 on:** December 22, 2005, 06:37:32 pm »

MameMaster! · « **Reply #101 on:** December 22, 2005, 06:38:08 pm »

here are my modded plug/play gadgets all nestled in their little project boxes.....

versapak · « **Reply #102 on:** December 22, 2005, 06:50:37 pm »

Seems like it would have been easier (not that there appears to have been any actual difficulty) and tidier, if you would have just soldered the connections to the solder pads that are already there all lined up.

Aside from that though...

I like the whole plug & play setup you have going.

IG-88 · « **Reply #103 on:** December 22, 2005, 07:28:16 pm »

Just out of curiosity what was it you paid for these mods after it's all said and done?

chopps · « **Reply #104 on:** December 22, 2005, 08:36:37 pm »

what games are on the frogger unit???

project looks great BTW

markrvp · « **Reply #105 on:** December 22, 2005, 09:21:23 pm »

Quote from: versapak on December 22, 2005, 06:50:37 pm

Seems like it would have been easier (not that there appears to have been any actual difficulty) and tidier, if you would have just soldered the connections to the solder pads that are already there all lined up.

Where he soldered to is incredibly easy.

MameMaster! · « **Reply #106 on:** December 23, 2005, 09:05:33 am »

Quote from: markrvp on December 22, 2005, 09:21:23 pm

Quote from: versapak on December 22, 2005, 06:50:37 pm
Seems like it would have been easier (not that there appears to have been any actual difficulty) and tidier, if you would have just soldered the connections to the solder pads that are already there all lined up.

Where he soldered to is incredibly easy. It's an actual contact point in-line from the pad to the processor. To use the pads, he would have first had to score a separation line down the middle of the pad to keep from grounding it out. He did it the surest way that required the least chance of screwing up the PCB.
'

Re- the soldering points....that's exactly what I did. As you guessed....it was really easy since the whole circuit board was already a continuous circuit (where it needed to be).

Mamemaster:

You better quit, you're making me want to build stuff again.

....re building more stuff....I'm in the zone. Last night I modded my brand new Naki wireless joystick (see consoles for that thread).......my wife looked at me and say where does this stop?....I looked her square in the eye and told her "I'm modding you next".

MameMaster! · « **Reply #107 on:** December 23, 2005, 09:11:26 am »

Quote from: IG-88 on December 22, 2005, 07:28:16 pm

Just out of curiosity what was it you paid for these mods after it's all said and done?

the plug/plays themselves are only running approx. $35.00 each when you factor in cost for gadget, project box, molex connectors, wire etc....perhaps a bit less.

The problem for me is....I didn't own a soldering gun...solder.....etc etc....so that really jacked up the cost for me in the short term.

Overall....I'm embarrassed to say how much this little project is costing me as I had to buy a lot of tools I don't own....but figured I would use them again in the future.

Let us just say that by now....I probably could have built a full sized Ms. Pac Cab with a 19" color PC monitor.

MameMaster! · « **Reply #108 on:** December 23, 2005, 09:15:25 am »

Quote from: chopps on December 22, 2005, 08:36:37 pm

what games are on the frogger unit???

project looks great BTW

From Amazon.com..... It's now $9.99.

Features:

* Play 6 classic arcade games in one: Time Pilot, Frogger, Vie Ar Kung-FU, Gyruss, Rush'n Attack and Scramble
* Test your reflexes and hand-eye coordination
* Relive some great arcade moments

None of these are real emulations. They're all obviously re-written. The music on Frogger is way off...but gameplay is good and is very colorful....Rush n attack is definitely the NES version and I think the same may apply to the others. But they all play decently.

markrvp · « **Reply #109 on:** December 23, 2005, 09:47:49 am »

Quote from: IG-88 on December 22, 2005, 07:28:16 pm

Just out of curiosity what was it you paid for these mods after it's all said and done?

Shhhhh! We never speak of this.

versapak · « **Reply #110 on:** December 23, 2005, 10:01:45 am »

Quote from: markrvp on December 22, 2005, 09:21:23 pm

Quote from: versapak on December 22, 2005, 06:50:37 pm
Seems like it would have been easier (not that there appears to have been any actual difficulty) and tidier, if you would have just soldered the connections to the solder pads that are already there all lined up.

Where he soldered to is incredibly easy.

MameMaster! · « **Reply #111 on:** December 23, 2005, 10:06:00 am »

oh yeah....i got ya...... but they're actually pretty tight together.

If you look closely at the circuitboard itself you'll see small round silver spots near each "button" connection on the board where I soldered my wires.

It was way easier than messing with those tiny soldering pads.

While your suggestion is a good one for neatness...my skills in soldering are weak....so this was easier.

I hope that clears that up

versapak · « **Reply #112 on:** December 23, 2005, 10:09:27 am »

[quote author=MameMaster

MameMaster! · « **Reply #113 on:** December 23, 2005, 10:13:30 am »

Quote from: versapak on December 23, 2005, 10:09:27 am

[quote author=MameMaster

Fig · « **Reply #114 on:** December 23, 2005, 02:12:05 pm »

Cant wait to see it done.

markrvp · « **Reply #115 on:** December 23, 2005, 03:06:24 pm »

Quote from: versapak on December 23, 2005, 10:01:45 am

I said solder pads.

There would be no scoring required, and it would be MUCH tidier.

arcadefever · « **Reply #116 on:** December 25, 2005, 07:45:44 pm »

good job !!!
next year the capcom plug and play is coming with 1942 ghost`n goblins ....
i hope you will show us how to hack it

MinerAl · « **Reply #117 on:** December 27, 2005, 06:07:59 am »

Have you considered making a switch box (a la markvp) so you can change over without plugging/unplugging? What's another $15?

MameMaster! · « **Reply #118 on:** December 29, 2005, 02:46:57 pm »

Quote from: MinerAl on December 27, 2005, 06:07:59 am

Have you considered making a switch box (a la markvp) so you can change over without plugging/unplugging? What's another $15?

...you know, in retrospect...that would have been a good idea....and I just looked over Markrvp's thread again.

The problem is I "planned" this project in April of this year and only started it a few weeks ago....I totally forgot about that idea.

I can still do it.....but I'm not sure if that would be a "future" upgrade......but it's definitely a good suggestion.

MameMaster! · « **Reply #119 on:** January 03, 2006, 02:04:57 pm »

...just a minor "nothing" update.

I'm still waiting for the art. Apparently the printer at Classicarcadegraphix has been on vacation.

I hope to have the art soon!


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