Ryan's Minipacman 15 in 1 Cabinet *New Photo With Ryan*

[markrvp]

P.S. you wouldn't be interested in printing up a second set of prints for me (for a fee of course

[Knievel]

Wow Mark that's looking really great, I'm in the process of planning one of these for my 3 year-old. Sure appreciate you sharing all the work you did in hacking those controllers.

My little guy is a Spongebob NUT, do you think the games on that one would be simple enough for him to play?

[Timstuff]

Lookin' cool. Seems like it's a very economical approach to BYOACing, and definately looks like a good alternative for someone who wants to build an arcade cabinet but doesn't want to deal with the complications and expenses of having a computer inside.

[markrvp]

Wow Mark that's looking really great, I'm in the process of planning one of these for my 3 year-old. Sure appreciate you sharing all the work you did in hacking those controllers.

My little guy is a Spongebob NUT, do you think the games on that one would be simple enough for him to play?

I'm building this for Ryan who is 3 about to turn 4.  He seems to play these games pretty well.  The Spongebob handheld is pretty neat.  I especially like the game where Spongebob has to pop bubbles by bouncing a ball off his head similar to Arkanoid ( or Breakout ).

[KenToad]

Nice work Markrvp.  I love the way you take pictures with the pure white background, very professional looking.  I second the nomination for Dad of the year.  You're definitely very skilled with the jigsaw to get those curves cut just so. 

I want your printer.

Cheers,
KenToad

[Wade]

Those pocket screws are a different way of attaching panels, but neat nonetheless.  Do you have a tool which cuts the pockets, similar to an electric biscuit cutting tool?

Wade

[markrvp]

Yes, it is a Krieg Pocket Hole Jig.  I'll make a picture later and post it.  This is a great to make wood joints without having to drill through the outside of the cabinet.

[markrvp]

Nice work Markrvp.

[markrvp]

One thing that frustrates me is the amount of detail work that you have to put into the cabinet before getting to the fun stuff (like putting in the controls and playing the D^%N games).  I hate painting, but I knew it would look a lot better to go ahead and cover up anything that the vinyl might not.  That means the entire insides and the back.

I was lucky enought to find a yellow paint at Home Depot that matches very well.  It is:

BEHR 350B-7 CHICKADEE   and I chose Interior Latex Semi-Gloss Enamel.

1 quart was enough to cover the inside, back, and the inside door and shelf (not pictured).

[markrvp]

Tonight has been very successful.

[CheffoJeffo]

Wow ... that  looks fabulous ... very nice !!

Cheers

[NinjaEpisode]

There ain't nothin Average about that Cade.  Looks fantastic!

[AlanS17]

That thing is looking great. Is that snazzy printer from your shop?

You're very smart to do the art first and then worry about getting it all put together. I got my first MAME machine functional and never finished the marquee or sideart. 

[walls83]

man you got all the cool tools.

Looks fantastic...

[MinerAl]

Is the little hole off to the right by itself where the knob to switch games will be?

[markrvp]

The little hole to the right is for the 1/4" shaft that goes to the Pole Position Potentiometer.  I'm using a full size arcade button for switching games (menu button).  It is the first button-hole to the right of the joystick.  It sticks up higher than the other two buttons.

[Timstuff]

Lookin' great!

[markrvp]

Thanks for the positive comments everyone.  I'm really excited about this project.  I may stay up all night to try and finish it.

Alan, the printer is from my photography studio.  It has been REALLY useful for my arcade projects.

[Knievel]

Wow Mark that's looking really great, I'm in the process of planning one of these for my 3 year-old. Sure appreciate you sharing all the work you did in hacking those controllers.

My little guy is a Spongebob NUT, do you think the games on that one would be simple enough for him to play?

I'm building this for Ryan who is 3 about to turn 4.

[AlanS17]

Thanks for the positive comments everyone.

[markrvp]

I would definitely consider it.  It all depends on what it is.

Would you ever consider doing some contracted work? Or is that too much of a hassle?

[markrvp]

I just ran into my first major snag.  In order to keep the perspective of this cabinet reasonable, I made the opening for the 20" TV as tight as possible.  It appears I made it 1/8" too tight.  I went to slide the TV in and it hung up at the top outer edges of the case.

So . . . here is today's cabinet building tip:

A BELT SANDER IS A GREAT TOOL FOR REMOVING PLASTIC FROM THE BOTTOM OF YOUR TV CASING.

It still fits real tight, but now I don't have to make additional braces to hold the monitor in;  friction is doing all the work for me.

BTW, the orange T-molding really gives a polish to the overall appearance.  I'm really glad I didn't skip that.

[AlanS17]

I'm always impressed how all of your pictures have a perfect white background. It's almost as if you were taking them in a studio! 

Yup! that's a tight fit. Looks good, though. Are you gonna cover the TV with something to make it look less TV-ish?

[markrvp]

I'm thinking smoked glass with no bezel.  How will that affect the regular TV picture for when Ryan's watching TV?

[markrvp]

I got the marquee mounted.  There is an "under the kitchen cabinet" type fluorescent fixture lighting the marquee.  The artwork is printed on Epson Premium Lustre paper and sandwiched between two pieces of 1/8" plexiglass.  The marquee is held to the cabinet with HAPP marquee retainer on the top and bottom.  The cab looks really nice now except for no glass or bezel.

[markrvp]

It is time to start mounting controls and electronics in the cab.

[Dire Radiant]

Looks fabulous Mark. Maybe you could find a ball race bearing to fit the shaft of that stick? You could glue the bearing into a hole in the panel and run the stick through that. Heck, even a nylon bushing would work. The stick wouldn't move at all then and the turning wouldn't be restricted. If you can't find something like that at Home Depot, try a hobby store that sells RC car parts.

[AlanS17]

I'm thinking smoked glass with no bezel.

[markrvp]

Looks fabulous Mark. Maybe you could find a ball race bearing to fit the shaft of that stick? You could glue the bearing into a hole in the panel and run the stick through that. Heck, even a nylon bushing would work. The stick wouldn't move at all then and the turning wouldn't be restricted. If you can't find something like that at Home Depot, try a hobby store that sells RC car parts.

GREAT IDEA!  There is a place here in town that has bearings.  I'll go check it out this afternoon.

[nostrebor]

Your cabinet looks fantastic! Finishing the artwork and painting is a must for cabinet construction. Here's my daughters short Pac-Man, 8 months after getting it playable...


I should probably paint it at some point

[markrvp]

That looks great!  Are those Wico joysticks?

I had to really discipline myself to work on this cab in the steps needed to finish it.  I'm so close it hurts.  It will definitely be done this weekend.

[AlanS17]

The trick is to get everything in position, but DON'T HOOK IT UP! Otherwise it'll never get finished. 

I never made a marquee or proper sideart for my first machine. I also never installed the t-molding around the front of the CP.

[nostrebor]

That looks great!  Are those Wico joysticks?

I had to really discipline myself to work on this cab in the steps needed to finish it.  I'm so close it hurts.  It will definitely be done this weekend.

All NOS leaf Wicos She refused to play it at first (she does not accept anything less than perfect...and did not like losing) But now she is hooked on Pac-Man and variables. The problem now is that I want to pull it apart and finish it, but she want's to keep it in working order. (She's going to lose the battle in about 3 weeks or so )

I will not wire my next MAME cabinet until it is cosmetically complete. I've learned my lesson.

[markrvp]

Tonight is a great night!

First I mounted the original Ms Pacman joystick shaft and cage to the right side of the control panel.  By suggestion fom DIRE RADIANT, I used two nylon inserts to stabilize the 1/4" shaft.  I used hot glue to hold the cage to the bottom of the control panel long enough for me to put 4 drywall screws into it to hold it secure.  I'll get pictures of this tomorrow and post them tomorrow night (or Sunday at the latest).  Then I mounted the Ms Pacman PCB and wiring harness to the bottom of the monitor shelf.

Second I wired in all the controls.  I have two yellow pushbuttons on order, but they haven't arrived.  I couldn't wait any longer, so I swiped a pair off of my 4 player panel on my MAME cab.  So, on the control panel I have an Ultimarc J-Stick (Sanwa joystick), 2 game buttons (yellow), 1 menu button (black) and an Oscar Controls Black Anodized Spinner Knob on top of the original Ms Pac joystick which connects to a potentiometer for steering in Pole Position.

Before mounting the other games I went ahead and hooked both the PCB and the control panel into the VGA switchbox.  I hooked everything up to the TV, and, VOILA, instant PACMAN!!!

Here it is ready to play:

[SaiNRuB]

Now Ryan's going to get to play some pac-man in style!

He is going to be so happy, kudos to you markvp. 

[CheffoJeffo]

That is a thing of beauty, MarkRVP.

Ryan's a lucky boy!

Cheers.

[Thenasty]

Ryan's a lucky boy!

I think all the Boys/Girls that have DAD's from the 80's are all lucky. My kids get to injoy a FULL SIZE Arcade, wish my DAD buid me of this then....

Anyway, nice looking mini-cab there....

[Timstuff]

Great cab, looks great! I'll bet you're his hero right about now.

One thing I suggest is that you might consider devising some sort of bezel similar to the one on the Qausicade, with a hinged section at the bottom over where the controls and such go. Just something to consider...

[markrvp]

Great cab, looks great! I'll bet you're his hero right about now.

One thing I suggest is that you might consider devising some sort of bezel similar to the one on the Qausicade, with a hinged section at the bottom over where the controls and such go. Just something to consider...

Do you have a link for that?

[markrvp]

I wanted to share the wiring and mounting inside the cabinet.