Centicade - A Scratch Built Centipede Replica (UPDATE: 99% finished..)

[HoopstarsGarage]

This project has been a LONG time coming - over 18 months to be honest..!!  Unfortunately, we have been doing some fairly major renovations/modifications to our house which has sapped ALL my time.  Fortunately though, things in that area are coming to an end and our house is becoming sane.. and Mrs. (to be) Hoopstar is happy once again  

Travel back about 5 or 6 years ago when I first stumbled across MAME, I was going to build a 4 player "Lusid" cab just like everyone else seemed to be doing with every button, spinner, trackball and joystick known to man, painted black of course and with poxy MAME side art - a hideous "franken-cab" if you will.  

Another project was taking up time back then and so fortunately the delays in starting to build my own cab allowed me to take a step back and rethink the project.  I figured that since the majority of games I play are the 80's classics like Galaga and  Defender I decided to build and replicate a cabinet that was from that era..  It came down to one of two cabinets - either a Galaga or a Centipede - two games which I remember playing and two games that (IMO) have some of the coolest side art and marquees around in 1982..  

Back about 2 years ago I stumbled across Carlos' Centipede extended  and my destiny was set.  I started slowly collecting the parts needed to build my own Centipede until now, where I had pretty much everything to kick off my own version of this great cabinet - Enjoy..!!

To start off with, I based my plans on those from Jakobud's fantastic website and then set about modifying them to suit the larger (deeper) control panel that I wanted to use in the same fashion as Carlos did - unfortunately, I could not get enough information at the time regarding the exact dimensional changes he made - this was very important so I could design my CPO.  So I drew out the cabinet on a 3mm sheet of MDF and played around with things until I felt it looked about right.  Then I transferred my design to 16mm MDF..




At this stage, one thing became quite clear - these cabinets were designed for 13 year old kids, not grown boys
Being that I am about 6 foot, my eyes would be looking straight into the bright marquee - not ideal to be warping to Earth in Gyruss.!!  I needed to raise up the cabinet around 80mm (approx 3") so I needed to modify the bottom of the cabinet..  If you look in the picture above, you'll notice I cut the back corner off at 45 degree because I was intending hiding the castors under the cab..  
This made things a little more difficult to do neatly, so I cut the back corners at 90 degrees and made up a couple of pieces to fit exactly to shape - the picture below doesn't really do it justice (most of the line is a pencil mark) but the fit is so tight, I could not get a sheet of paper in between the two pieces.  



For increased lateral support, I have added additional internal side bulk heads which run almost the full depth of the cabinet and are attached to the cabs original inner side wall and inside the new lower sections, these are further strengthened with cross braces that also tie into the floor of the cab - the whole thing was glued with "Liquid Nails" and is extremely strong and stable.  I will fill the tiny seam latter with Bondo..
 
Wheels were intially going to be hidden, but some of my other ideas changed how close to the wall the cab could be allowed to go (you'll see more of this later) - a simple solution to both problems is the castors were bolted to a bulk head (80mm x 40mm) that is tied into the cabinet sides and floor, again Liquid Nails builders adhesive was used along with 80mm screws - again, it's strong




The top and lower back panels where cut to sized and fitted - both panels were screwed and glued in place and act as part of the major support for the cab.



The upper back panel allows access to the monitor and is hinged with a double bearing lock  (this cab is ONLY to be used in the home enviroment and therefore no "real" locks are needed)




The next step involved making the light box and integral speaker enclosures..


Step 1. involved making sure the cuts were as close and as accurate as possible.

The next process involved routing the speaker panel so that the splits would flush mount.  


And here are the speakers themselves...



I am using twin 4" Peerless mid-woofer speakers - these are magnetically shielded speakers designed for a sealed enclosure.  The tweeters are (magnetically shielded) Peerless 1" dome tweeters - their outside mounting OD is 74mm.  The total box volume for the mid-woofer is .8 of a litre - this required a LOT of calculation to get right..!!

The "support blocks" around the back of the mid-drivers is because I was forced to use 10mm MDF for the speaker panel to fit the boarder of the marquee in.  I had thought about using 16mm MDF and using the router to trim it down, but this proved to be a much neater option.  The centre divider panel was a total pain to construct - there is some very funky angles which required a LOT of measuring.. again, the fit is very very tight...!!

The next step just shows the speaker box sealed off using a semi-flexible sealer..


..And the the front panel (light box panel) was fitted to the speaker box section.  Note the clips to hold the 18 watt fluro tube and the power cord..



*EDIT: UPDATED LINK TO PICTURE*

[dmsuchy]

Lookin awesome, really good idea and job on those speaker boxes.

[Timstuff]

Cool, good luck with that! It always excites me to see people re-producing classic arcade machines. Seeing as how many poor original machines end up at a dump or getting converted into something else, it's always refreshing to see someone actually bringing a new classic machine into existance.

[SWCP]

Nice! That's built better than the original. I know I have one.
It would be nice if some one made overlays of the original CP.It would be soo much better on it than the ones most places sell now.

[SWCP]

Its a little rough but its original.

I guess its not original. I found out this was made by Willis in 1981 as an alternative overlay.
 Hey its still 24 years old and I like it better than the new ones.

[rchadd]

Its a little rough but its original.

what a CPO

[forbiddenlyrics]

CPO stands for Control Panel Overlay. Basically the graphics on the control panel.

[HoopstarsGarage]

Small update on the speaker box/backlight construction..  

Because of the size of the speaker enclosures, the "backlight panel" (that would normally have a simple fluro batten mounted to it) was quite a bit closer to the marquee than would be optimum for even light distribution.  The solution was to pull the guts from a fluro batten and then mount each of the components to the top panel.  This enabled the electronics side of things to be effectively hidden (far more than from the angle of the picture would indicate) and not cause any shadowing on the marquee and the tube to be mounted as close to the rear panel as possible.  I used some spring clips to mount the tube itself and the power correction capacitor.  To hook up the tube, I used 6mm electrical terminal connectors - the connection is very sturdy and quite safe.

To finish off with, I gave it lightbox a quick coat of white paint to help reflect the light as evenly as possible (after I removed everything so as not to get covered in paint) and tucked the wires out of sight.   From my previous post, you will notice that I passed the power cord through both the "front" and "back" of the speaker enclosures and sealed both sides with the semi-flexible caulking sealant.  I again used some 6mm terminal blocks to connect everything up.



For both the top and bottom marquee retainer, I went to the local hardware store and bought some 25mm PVC plastic angle -  about $5 (AUD) for 2.5 metres (8' for our US friends).  When the cabinet is finished I will use vinyl dye to colour the plastic black - Vinyl dye doesn't actually "paint" the plastic but rather stains it in a nice low sheen finish.. it looks very professional when completed and because it is stained, it quite scratch resistant.

As for the marquee, originally I purchased a repro marquee from ClassicArcadeGraphix.com but was VERY disappointed with the quality of how it looked.  To be fair it looked quite nice when the light was off, I mean you could see a little dithering but it is a inkjet repro after all - but turn on the light and things got ugly..!!

The colours were all washed out and it looked bloody awful..




This is closeup shows how all the colours, especially the blacks and purples look washed out and dull..   Hell, the black should not be showing ANY light through it..!



There was no way I could put that on my machine - so I looked around on EBay for a while for an original.. After seeing a couple that were fetching stupid money for scratched up and flaking POS, I began to get a little disheartened.. until I stumbled across a NOS (New Old Stock) Original Atari marquee...!!  The excitement was short lived though when I read "Will ship to US only"

A quick email confirmed that the seller would in fact ship to Australia.  I nervously waited for the auction to close..  I wasn't sure how much it would go for or even how much I was willing to pay, but I would have probably gone to $150 US - thats how much I wanted it..

When the auction ended, I pressed refresh and waited for what seemed like forever.. until I read "You have won the auction".  My fiancee reckons I squealed and came running in to see what the problem was - for the record, I didn't squeal.. honest  

The best part was I was the ONLY bidder and won it for only $20US.. When you consider that the classicarcadegrafix.com marquee cost me $30, and this was NOS then maybe I could of been excused for squealing.. although we all know I didn't right..!?!?!

Being that the Original marquee is silk screened onto glass, I gave it about a 30% chance of making it here in one piece.  A nervous 9 weeks later my marquee arrived in perfect condition without a scratch on it.  


..And the result



A sweet, bright looking original Atari Centipede glass Marquee and in as near mint condition as you're likely to find - compare this to the CAG repro..!!


More later..

Hoopstar

[mmmPeanutButter]

Cab looks really good.  I know all about the Centipede by now.

The one question I have is this...

it looks like from your pics that the "front panel (light box panel) was fitted to the speaker box section" perminately? 

What happens if there is a problem with the speakers down the road... they may want to be accessable.  Just a thought.

[rchadd]

the way you have mounted the tube is exactly how it is done in the real thing. except on mine the starter bits are hidden behind the board that the tube is attached.

In the original machine it is a removable tray assembly that could be removed to access the speaker.

your right about the original glass marquees they look fantastic. the one in mine looks pretty new as well.

[clonestar]

I reckon that first repro marque would have been vastly improved by painting silver on the back of the black sections.

[HoopstarsGarage]

Cab looks really good.  I know all about the Centipede by now.

I have been following your cabinet build for sometime - great work indeed (check out my CPO in that post)

The one question I have is this...

it looks like from your pics that the "front panel (light box panel) was fitted to the speaker box section" perminately? 

What happens if there is a problem with the speakers down the road... they may want to be accessable.  Just a thought.

You are quite correct with regards to the front panel being permanently attached to the enclosure, however the speakers are "loaded" from the front - there are 3 allen head screws on the tweeters, 4 on the mid-bass that will quickly allow the speakers to be dropped out should there ever be a problem.
The square blocks inside the speaker enclosures are there purely to add a little more support due to all the routing of the (10mm) speaker panel - it was down to only 5mm which was too thin for a good bite for the screws.

I have had plenty of time to think out just about every scenario and come up with a solution - well, hopefully anyway 

I reckon that first repro marque would have been vastly improved by painting silver on the back of the black sections.

Probably, but what about the crappy colours for the rest of the marquee..??

Trust me, it looks like pooh and would let down the entire build.


Hoopstar

[richms]

Very very very nice job, and speakers better then most people have in there house to match

[HoopstarsGarage]

Pretty much from the start I planned on doing something a little different with the sound system for my cab.. to this end, I stumbled across a Sony sound processor/Bi-Amp at work that was going to be thrown away because the CD didn't work in the other half of the system.  The unit has a built in user programmable equaliser along with a bunch of "effects" stages like game, rock, movie etc - it also has a simulated surround sound processor built in which should be interesting to play around with in some of the old classics


The Bi-Amp setup works perfectly with the splits allowing a dedicated amp for each tweeter and each mid bass and the appropriate signal being sent to each speaker WITHOUT the use or need of a passive cross over network..  It also has a pre-out for feeding into a separate sub woofer amplifier which I intend to take full advantage of..


Because the system originally used a multi-connector (note the "System Control 1 and 2" connectors) for joining the separate CD/Tuner, there weren't any axillary inputs to feed any audio in.  I managed to get a hold of the circuit diagram and traced the signal paths through to tap into the audio selector section of the circuit.  I then drilled a couple of holes and mounted a pair of RCA connectors, and wired it all up with some shield cable - these will be my input from the computer sound card.  Although the amp is quite small, it is extremely powerful (note the cooling fan)..  I temporarily connected the amp up to the cab and speakers to do a little test - the sound quality, even without a sub was amazing..

Next step in the build up was to incorporate a sub box into the design of the cab.  I am using a 12" Sony Xplod sub that I had lying around and after running the specs through the "True Audio" speaker design software, it told me I would need a 1 cubic foot enclosure..


First step involved carefully measuring and cutting out the speaker hole.  I then built the top and side panels, gluing and screwing into the side and floor of the cabinet.  This was then sealed off with the semi-flexible sealer.


Just a reverse shot of that from above - you'll notice I left out the rear panel at this stage so I could get easy access to the inside edge nearest the sub itself for sealing it.


The rear panel was then inserted and of course glued and screwed together...


I could then sealed the rear panel through the speaker cutout..


Hopefully a little more work tomorrow - if the other half lets me play


Hoopstar

[HoopstarsGarage]

Had an RDO today, so I managed to get another full day on the cab..

Part of my initial plan called for swappable control panels - this will allow me to swap from a 2 player setup to trackball to a steering wheel/shifter and means I wont miss out on any of the great classic games.  So job number 1 today was to get stuck into the shelf that the control panels will rest and slide on..



The angled panel under the CP shelf is normally part of the control panel on a real Centipede, but I decided that since I am having swapable control panels, it would work better having it fixed.  It also means the CP isnt so big and cumbersome - the horizontal piece that sits above the coin door also isn't part of the original design, but it helped give some support through the "hips" of the cab..  All these pieces are glued and screwed in place and to each other.
NOTE: The auto-resizing of the image makes the horizontal piece look like it is not cut straight, trust me.. it is..!


Just a test fit of the rear of the control panel shelf.. this will mount the interface connector making panel swapping a 30 second affair.


Now onto the control panel itself - this is going to take a couple of days to complete, so bare with me..  This is going to be probably also the hardest part of the cabinet but also the most rewarding..

For the first control panel, I wanted to use a 2 player, 6 button configuration - this gives the cabinet the flexibility to play 2 player classics like "1942" and  also more modern games like "Alien Vs Predator"..

I played around with the design in Photoshop and came up with something that I thought kept with the theme of the original game, but would still fit in the 2 player/6 button configuration - this is what I came up with..




Many thanks to JoyMonkey for the vector art version, I then got ClassicArcadeGraphix to print it out - it looks awesome in person - hopefully I can snap some better pictures when I apply it to the CP..:rolleyes:




I made up the control panel box out of 16mm MDF and is designed to slip into the CP shelf and then lock in place.  It also has the rounded edges like the original.. :thumbup:




The next step involved accurately marking out the location of the buttons and joysticks.  To do this, I taped the CPO to the CP making sure it was centred and that the top and bottom rounded edges allowed the CPO to fully wrap around - needless to say, it was back and forth a couple of times to get it 100%..




I then used a sharpened nail as a very fine centre punch to mark out the centres of each button..


The result.. (not overly exciting I know but..)


Because the Atari Volcano Buttons haven't got enough thread depth to accommodate the 16mm MDF panel, I needed to fabricated some 3mm aluminium plates to mount the switches.  I then routed the control panel so that these plates would sit flush with the surface of the panel..




The plates were then glued in place with Liquid Nails construction adhesive, once this had dried for 48 hours I then filled the gap around the edges with Plasti-Bond (not shown here)..




The joystick locations were marked out as well - the larger rectangle is for the mounting plate and the inner line shows the mechanism diameter.  The mechanism shape was then cutout, the mounting holes drilled and then the mounting plate area was routed..



I then welded some bolts onto the back of the joystick mounting plates - this allowed me to surface mount them because I feel that the Ultimarc T-Stick plus joystick shafts are too short when mounted underneath - it also gives a very strong support..




The mounting plates were then fitted into place - again these will be filled Plasti-Bond filler..



Hoops

[markrvp]

WOW!!   

[mmmPeanutButter]

About the joystick supports...

I see that there is a countersunk part for the bolts for the joystick.  Are these holes threaded??

This is my concern (and I ran into the same issue with my metal cp):

Those bolts need to be secure without the joysticks in place.  With the bolts secure, you can use filler on the top prior to applying the cpo.  Then attach the joysticks.

If the bolts are not secure (and you rely on the joystick to hold it in place) then if you ever have to take off the joystick, you will damage the cpo where the filler comes loose.

Tell me this made some sort of sense to somebody.  Please.

[AmericanDemon]

It appears that they will go through the CP.  On the underside one would assume he would use a washer and a nut to secure into place.  Then the joys would be mounted to the actual plate.

[HoopstarsGarage]

It appears that they will go through the CP.  On the underside one would assume he would use a washer and a nut to secure into place.  Then the joys would be mounted to the actual plate.

BINGO..!!

The only part that I can't get to on these joysticks (Ultimarc T-Stick+) is the upper spring.  I spoke with Andy regarding my plans and expressed my concerns that if the spring ever fails, I will need to indeed remove at least some of the CPO..

His response to me was of the thousands of joysticks he has sold, he has never seen or heard of any failure of this spring.  He has also done extensive "cyclic" testing and not run into problems in his own workshop..  Also that the spring has VERY little movement and is quite thick gauge.

Everything else however is 100% accessible including removal of the microswitches and 4/8 way mechanism.  Also, the fact that it is only to be used in a home environment - I think I am pretty safe here.

Worse comes to worse, I will get another CPO printed..

[HoopstarsGarage]

Ok.. a couple of minor updates after which I hope to bring a couple of major ones..  


Firstly, just picking up where I left off yesterday - here is a shot of the under side of the control panel.  Again, nothing overly exciting but I am showing these in case it helps out others that may be building or wanting to build their own.
You can see the studs protruding through the MDF top panel and the Nylok nuts bolting them down - I have also used 2mm thick washers to help spread the load giving the joysticks an even more solid feel..




Also managed to get the front door cut and the piano hinge installed - it runs the full length of the door giving quite a neat finish.  The door is "locked" with the same "double bearing" locks as the rear monitor door, but this time I used two, one at the top and on at the bottom.  I also made up a door jam because I am paranoid about the sub vibrating everything - it closes very firmly.  Also I cut out the hole for the coin door that I won on ebay for only $10 - it needs a good clean and probably a coat of paint, but the coin slot panel (removed here) is in really good condition.  I will be making up my own electronic coin mech - this will basically detect any coin or token so I can use my cabinet as a huge money box too




Fitted the sub today as well and did the speaker wiring.  This simply involved drilling a 5mm hole in the back of the speaker box and elongating it a bit so the "extra Heavy Duty" (their name not mine) figure-8 cable could squeeze through - of course this was then sealed up using the semi-flexible sealant.  




And the sub needs a sub amp - it's a Sony 2 channel Xplod that I will be running in bridge mode.  I am using an old AT power supply that is rated at 12V@15A so should be more than enough (peak current for amp on my bench supply was only about 8-10amps on big bass notes).  If you look carefully you can see the speaker wire for the sub poking out just in the right place for connecting up to the amp.  Obviously everything will come out when I paint the cab and the speaker wires for the main speakers are just hanging there - they will be neatened up too




Well, that's about it for now.. hopefully another update tonight.. :Paranoid:


Hoops

[rchadd]

space invaders is going to sound awesome with that sound system in it

[HoopstarsGarage]

More Control Panel work

Started filling the control panel with 2-Pak filler to smooth and level everything off.  This picture actually shows the second round of filling to catch the tiny spots and imperfections that I missed the first time..  In fact, the red that you see on the CP is actually hi-gloss red paint (because that's what I had lying around) that I used for checking the curvature of the top and bottom "bends".  What I did was spray it on and then by using one of the fluro's lights above my bench in the shed, I could see if the curve was "linear" across the width of the panel throughout it's range.  I had to fill a little on either end as I got a little carried away sanding - it's only about .25 mm thick but I am a fussy bugger :p

 

Once I was happy with the smoothness of the filler, I shot a couple of coats of High Fill primer over everything.  This is a "high build" primer that helps fill up the VERY small imperfections between the filler and MDF and blend everything together.  At this point I could see in the wetness of the primer that my hard work was starting to pay off..



This is just another angle of the High Fill showing the (relative) complexity of the CP - with a bit of imagination you can kinda see how it mates to the cabinet shelf..:confused:



I used heat lamps to speed up the drying time while I got on with the front door,amp mounting and a couple of other things.  A couple of hours later, I rubbed it back with some 600 grit and a tiny bit of water.  Here's a tip: Put a drop of dishwashing detergent in your rubbing down water for lubrication - it really helps give a better finish.




Next step is to prime the entire CP but before I do this, I need to make the interface port..

The interface board for the CP is the awesome Mini-Pac from Ultimarc which allows the joysticks and buttons to connect to the computer via PS2 or USB.  
At lot of people who go down the route of multiple CP's choose to buy only one interface board and mount that inside their cab.  They then use a multi-pin connector (like a DB25) to connect their CP to the cab.  Most of these connectors are quite difficult to mate together and personally I think balancing my CP while trying to plug in a cable would be a pain in the ass.  I want the CP to slide into place and plug in one motion - no cables, no mess, no fuss..
So I figured why not buy one interface board per CP and then just use a panel mounted USB connector - after all the USB connector is by virtue, designed to be repeatably plugged in and out without the critical alignment problems.  The downside is it is a little more expensive, but I am willing to wear this over messy cables and connectors..

Problem: After a lot of searching and emailing, I found out that nobody (to my knowledge) makes a panel mount Type A male USB connector
Solution: Make my own.

The first step in this plan required me to measure and cut out a window for the male USB connector..




I then grabbed an off cut of MDF (trust me, I have a couple of them) and after marking the centre of the interface port "window", drilled and filed a hole to fit the USB plug.



The fit had to be very very tight to stop the cable being pulled through when the CP is removed.  I also intended using a little Liquid Nails to glue it into place, but it is so tight I doubt I would need it - might try and get some in there.



The USB panel was then slipped into place in the control panel window.  If it hasn't become apparent yet why I went for the recessed panel, it is simply to protect the USB plug when it's not plugged in.


The flying lead will be hard wired onto the Mini-Pac

[Wade]

Am I the only person who can never see the images in this thread?

Wade

[mmmPeanutButter]

Am I the only person who can never see the images in this thread?

Wade

yes.   

[HoopstarsGarage]

A small update today..

Thanks to a couple of photos supplied by rchadd in his thread about his Centipede Restoration, I was able to replicate the exhaust "chimney" that is found on the original Centipede..



Just from another angle - there is actually a slot the length of the cover and about 25mm wide to let the heat out of the cabinet..  The screw holding it onto the cab is a temporary measure and once the cabinet is covered in vinyl, then the vent will be glue in place..



As you can see I have been pretty busy with filling all the screw holes and any slight surface imperfections..




The area between the control panel shelf and angled section was also filled and smoothed off - it only required a skim of filler but will make for a more moulded look.


I also filled all the screws holes in the sub and cabinet floor - you won't normally see them, but I think it makes it look a little more finished off.


I have also started making the slides for the control panel, the interface port for the cabinet and mounts for the computer etc - so more updates to come soon..


Hoops

[spriggy]

Well done, keep up the good work.  Good to see another Aussie replicating... (that sounds a bit suss actually!?)

[Carsten Carlos]

Wow, really good (and lot of) work! Never seen a bigger soundsystem in a classic cab... 

I like the changed cpo - firstly I also tried to fit more buttons in the Centipede-design, but then dediced to give each swappable panel a different theme.

Really curious when you'll be done with all of this! 

[HoopstarsGarage]

Finally another update..


Well the control panel interface and it's associated components has certainly taken a lot longer to fabricate than even I imagined it would..!!  

The first step involved making the control panel guides or runners - these are essentially MDF blocks that act to guide the control panel in straight so it can dock with the USB interface port whilst also locking it down to prevent movement, both sideways and up and down.

Because of the locking aspect, I needed to ensure that all clearances were as tight as possible (less than .5mm), otherwise the whole reason for having it would be pointless.  This also made it even more important to ensure everything was totally square - if any one of the runners (or channels) were out more than .5mm, the CP would bind and not fully seat.  ..And just to add a little pressure, I only had one shot at routing the control panel because my joystick plates were bolted in place with filler covering that - it would make for an expensive mistake.  

It was a matter of measuring every cut 50 times to make sure that everything was correct and that all the angles were accurate - to say it was hard would be understating it just a touch.  

So here you can see the four slides and the interface port at the back of the CP shelf area.  The interface port has a female USB connector recessed inside the rectangular block which docks with the USB connector bay at the rear of control panel - it works so smoothly it's almost sexual  


And this is a close up of the slides that makes it all work together.  The slides on the "shelf" area runs all the way to the edge of the control panel area, where as the side runners only runs about 75% of the way - this allows you, when installing a CP, to "drop" the control panel onto the shelf area and get the panel square and level, and then as you push it further rear-wards, it catches the side runners and locks the CP from being lifted out.


I then shot the whole thing with high build primer which will all but be rubbed out - it is bacically there to fill around the filled screw holes, the CP shelf to angled front panel transition and to help blend the whole area to make it look almost molded..  This will then be shot with a couple of coats of satin black.


The result is the control panel has ZERO movement in both the X and Y axis - it is very very solid.  Also due to the design, the control panel needs to be pulled out very squarely to remove it which means that because of the angle of the control panel (and therefore the joysticks), the CP remains locked in place regardless of force on the joysticks - in practise it works brillantly if I do say so myself

Here is a close up shot of the USB interface - obviously it has been shot with a couple of coats of high build (and the cheap masking tape didn't want to come off  ).  It will rub out nicely though and will again, look molded into the rear panel..


This picture gives you a good idea how extensively the control panel has been routed - it also illustrates how difficult the sides were to route because of the lack of space.  I made up a jig which screwed inside the CP (after the base was removed) - this effectively made a small table or deck to which I could clamp the fence to - this way I could ensure the routing straight and true.


..And here is one of the channels on the side of the CP - not overly interesting but again, it gives you an idea how things go together.  The "bottom" of this channel is only 3mm thick but there isn't any load on this point and it is firmly screwed and glued on ever other edge..


These two picture show how the slides locate in the control panel.  In the first picture, the bottom "shelf" slide has located and the second shot, both slides have located - it is suprisingly easy at this point the slide the CP all the way in to the point where it docks with the USB connector..


And here is the semi-finished control panel docked in place..


I have also shot some high fill over the screw holes that have been filled - these will be rubbed down after the slot for the T-molding is routed and then will be undercoated..


More to come..


Hoops

[HoopstarsGarage]

Wow, really good (and lot of) work! Never seen a bigger soundsystem in a classic cab... 

I like the changed cpo - firstly I also tried to fit more buttons in the Centipede-design, but then dediced to give each swappable panel a different theme.

Really curious when you'll be done with all of this! 

WOW - considering that it was YOUR cab that was the inspiration to this project, I am honoured..!!

[Bones]

How did I miss this thread?? Looks great! Go you bloody Aussie.

Good work Son.

[HoopstarsGarage]

How did I miss this thread?? Looks great! Go you bloody Aussie.

Good work Son.

I say "Go you Power" 

..and yes, how did you miss it - I've been following yours

[dmsuchy]

Update, update! please!

[HoopstarsGarage]

Update, update! please!

Sorry for those that have been following this waiting patiently for an update..

Unfortunately I have run into a "small" problem with the painting of the control panel.  Everything was fully preped and then, because of the small size of the job, decided to use a couple of spray cans.  The brand I used was a new one and I can only think that it is a bad batch..!!
The result is, although it looked good, was not fully curing and remained tacky to the touch even 4 days after the final coat..


So unfortunately I have been forced to strip the entire thing of all the paint - a very long, slow and messy job.  I now have it back to the high filled areas and have had to re-do a lot of this as well - all in all, it has been a BIG waste of time, money and materials..

More updates are on their way..

Hoops

[Bones]

Man, stuff like that is a pain in the ass and just breaks the heart.

[brained]

Nice JOB!!!!!!! sorry about the paint!!, damn I've got over three months that I don't touch my cab!! too darn busy 

[patrickl]

Cool, I was thinking about a swappable CP with rails to slide it in and out too. I thought it would be really difficult to line it up, but when I see the pictures of it now it doesn't look so difficult. I guess creating the slots in the CP is the hard part. That's some high precision routing! Actually the whole cab looks very nicely finished. Impressive.

I was stumped on an easy locking mechanism too. I was thinking about a locking system used for a removable hard drive. Basically a lever type lock. I can't seem to get the design for that right though and I'm afraid it will be too fragile. Do you think you will eventually add a locking mechanism (you say it is pretty steady, but still) or is it fine as is?

I will be using Sub-D 36 pin connectors so they will probably hold pretty strong too. Maybe I'll even run into trouble when pulling the CP out.

I guess I just should just start building and stop designing over and over ...

[HoopstarsGarage]

Cool, I was thinking about a swappable CP with rails to slide it in and out too. I thought it would be really difficult to line it up, but when I see the pictures of it now it doesn't look so difficult.

Heehee...  I think you'll enjoy the challenge

Do you think you will eventually add a locking mechanism (you say it is pretty steady, but still) or is it fine as is?

I honestly don't think I'll need too..  it fits that well..!!  Just putting my fingers in the button holes with the CP mounted and I can almost pull the cabinet over without the CP pulling out - this is because of the angle I am pulling it at (the same as the joysticks).  If I pull on it from the front of the control panel SQUARELY, it comes out without much force at all.  It actually works better than I imagined it would..

I had planned on using a pretty cool locking system that I did design that would of been very nice but in the end it is simply not needed..

Hoops

[HoopstarsGarage]

Well, finally some good news.. I got the control panel re-painted yesterday and it has come out quite nicely..  I went back to my old, trusty brand of spray paint and it produced quite a nice shine straight out of the can.  I also managed to get a colour that was much closer to the CPO colour of Centipede.. in honesty, it probably looks a little darker in this picture than in real life, but hey..



I am going to give it a couple of days to cure as it is pretty cold at the moment here in Australia being only 15 degrees during the day and even colder at night..  I have conviced the other half to let me bring it inside and stick in front of the gas heater during the nights to really help it cure to a rock hard finish.  
The plan is on Sunday to block back the top and front with 1500, then 2000 to knock off any orange peal - this should give the CPO a nice flat surface to stick to.  I will then give it another night in front of the heater to let the remaining solvents to evaporate.

It is going to take all my patience to not touch it until after Sunday..

Until then..

Hoops

[Bones]

That came up nicely. Worth the extra work by the sounds of it.

BTW - I am very disappointed that you are using the American date system in your topic but I will forgive you because you did spell colour the correct way.

[HoopstarsGarage]

That came up nicely. Worth the extra work by the sounds of it.

BTW - I am very disappointed that you are using the American date system in your topic but I will forgive you because you did spell colour the correct way.

Heehee.. appeal to the masses Bones.

If it makes you feel better, I am reporting this build up in parallel over at OCAU using the CORRECT date..

Looks like I am going to have to fork out now for a slot cutter cause my "mate" can't find his

[patrickl]

Why are you putting so much time in painting the control panel? I thought you were going to use a CPO to cover the CP.

[HoopstarsGarage]

Why are you putting so much time in painting the control panel? I thought you were going to use a CPO to cover the CP.

- Because I am fussy..
- Because if it looks good with paint on it, then I can be assured that it will look good with the overlay.
- Because I want the back and sides to look as like they were molded from one piece.

[HoopstarsGarage]

Today was a fairly productive day and as a result I have pretty much finished the control panel..


First job for today was to rub down the surfaces that the overlay would be attached to.  This was to remove the slight orange peel finish in the paint, giving a nice flat surface, ensuring maximum adhesion.  To do this I used 2000 grit wet and dry with a couple of drops of dish washing detergent in the rubbing down water - this helps lubricate the paper which is very useful when using such fine grades of paper.  I then wiped down the whole panel with a wet cloth to get rid off the bulk of rubbing down slurry and then brought it back inside and stuck it in front of the heater to evaporate any remaining solvents trapped under the cured skin.  

After about 3 hours getting all toasty warm in front of the heater, it was then back outside for a wipe down with prepsol to remove the remaining rubbing down "powder" along with any oil from finger prints etc.  This was the followed by a quick wipe down with a tack cloth to remove any remaining dust..

My fiancee was then conned into helping me hold things while we attempted to stick down the overlay without stuffing it up - it was pretty nerve racking stuff.  With the backing paper still in place, I lined up the centre punched holes with the  button/joystick holes and then taped down the top edge with masking tape forming a sort of "hinge" arrangement.

Once we were happy with everything, Kristy started slowly pulling off the backing paper while I used a spray bottle to spray both the control panel and the back of the overlay - the water had a couple of drops of baby shampoo added to it to stop the overlay grabbing straight away but rather float on top of the panel until we are absolutely 100% sure of alignment.  I then took a plastic squeegee and started squeegeeing the water out, working from the centre outwards.

It was a nervous time but at the end of it all, but it came out beautifully with alignment being spot on.  I then took a sharp razor blade and trimmed off the excess around the edges along with the joystick and button holes.
Next up I fitted the joystick shafts, fire buttons and of course the Atari volcano buttons.  When I had my overlay printed, they actually messed up the first one - fortunately they sent me a replacement.  Using the first overlay, I cut out the area around the joysticks and stuck them onto the built in dust washers on the joystick shaft's, helping them blend in a little more..  

..And here is the result - all in all, I am pretty happy with it




You can see how close a match the paint colour is to the overlay colour..

I then started on the wiring - this is a BIG job to do neatly.. I've seen some people who's control panel wiring looks like a rats nest with wires running everywhere and all in the same colour.  For me, I think the little bit of extra effort it takes to route everything neatly helps prevent mistakes in the first place, and also helps you trace faults and come maintenance time too.

The Mini-Pac interface uses a 40pin IDE connector on board - I found an old hard drive cable in my spares bin and wired that up to a 25pin male connector.  I then wired up the main loom to a 25 pin female connector which then terminates with spade connectors for the mircoswitches - everything is soldered and heat shrunk of course.  The 25 pin connector was probably overkill, but works nicely as I always shudder when I have to pull on the 40 pin IDE connector, waiting for something to break..  The USB cable on the back of the control panel was also spliced and hard wired to the Mini-Pac.

After about 6 hours, this is where I am at with the wiring loom - everything is hooked up except for the LEDs in the Volcano buttons.  Unfortunately I didn't have any 220 ohm resistors in my parts drawers, so I'll have to get some tomorrow - I will then tidy up the wiring going to these buttons and button it all up.


I now really wish I had painted inside the control panel area - it looks a bit feral in there, but hey, no one is going to see it.. :rolleyes:

Next job is to get stuck into the cabinet and get it prepped and painted but not before I cut the slot for my T-molding which has also arrived.  I still need to get a slot cutter and one place I rang wanted $50 bucks for the thing, so I am still looking around..  My monitor has also arrived, so I need to make up the mounting panel for this.  

Still a lot to do, but at least there is light at the end of the tunnel - stay tuned


Hoops

[HoopstarsGarage]

Also, I am thinking of maybe changing the button colour to either red or white - what do you guys think?

EDIT: Special thanks to Joy Monkey for the artwork on the overlay - he did this almost 18 months ago for me...  it's been a long time coming but big thanks mate..!!

Hoops

[M.A.M.E Power]

Hey Hoops

Great looking project, I think that it would be a good idea to change the colour of the buttons, you could perhaps have one side white and the other red?

I think if you wanted just one colour, then red wold be the way to go as it would match your joysticks. At the moment the buttons are a very similar colour to the CPO, just a thought.

Thanks

[Timstuff]

Looks great, can't wait to see the rest.

[CJK]

I vote for red or white buttons also.

D*MN, that is one fine looking CP...

-- Chris

[patrickl]

Absolutely stunning

Perhaps white buttons you suggested would look nicer. I'd say the blue matches the background of the CPO and the red would match the red patches the buttons sit in. Didn't the original centipede use white buttons too? But then again, it looks stunning as is.

[dweebs0r]

Man,

The talent you people on this board have makes me so jeolous.   

That is one great looking cabinet you have going here.

It makes me crazy that I can barely screw together an arcade depot precut cocktail and then I see this kind of job done from scratch.  Wow.

Anyway, absolutely fabulous job!  Cant overstate how impressed I am.

-Dweebs

[mmmPeanutButter]

Also, I am thinking of maybe changing the button colour to either red or white - what do you guys think?

red red red   

Also...  it's funny cause I got my cpo printed at the same place and they screwed up my first one too (but had no problem replacing it) and I used the original one for the same thing you did.  And mine was a centipede too! 

The only difference is that you actually seem motivated!!   

Looking great!!


post script:  The ball tops look awesome!  I might be stealing those...  and before you get upset, let me compliment your dust washers!!   

[HoopstarsGarage]

The only difference is that you actually seem motivated!!

18 months after getting the CPO printed I start work on this thing and you call that motivated..?

post script:  The ball tops look awesome!  I might be stealing those...  and before you get upset, let me compliment your dust washers!!   

I would never get upset Peanut..!!
I think we have both had some great ideas on this - I think it's awesome that we can share them and make BOTH our panels look amazing.  The dust washers were a stroke of genius..!!

[Bones]

That looks bloody amazing. The amount of care you have put into it really shows in the finished product.

[currygoat11]

I sat here for like 30 minutes reading in detail everything you've done thus far.

[HoopstarsGarage]

btw, can you kindly restate how exactly the control panel 'locks' into place?  From your picts, it looks like it slides in but how does it lock? And then how does one unlock/remove the panel correctly?

The "locking" is purely done by design - that being the angle of operation of the joysticks versus the angle required to remove the Control Panel.  You need to remember how close the tolerances are on the slides and their respective slots (on the CP) - this prevents VERY little lateral movement either up or down or sideways (less than .25mm in total - MAX).  Also look at the length of the slides - they extend almost to the end of the control panel shelf area.. these reduce the angle that you can pull the CP to remove it.  You have to pull it probably within a couple of degrees of square to remove it.. anything else and the CP binds on the slides.  Lastly, to a very small degree, the USB connectors help hold lock the CP in..  imagine how firm it is to remove a USB thumb drive from a USB port.. this is essentially the feeling of how it is to remove the CP when pulled squarely - it's just a really big USB device

As they say, a picture speaks a thousand words (this is looking at it from side on - sorry for the crappy diagram but art is not my thing):



I can't really explain it any more clearly than that..  I might try and get a small video together of the operation. (anyone want to host it for me?)


Hoops

[currygoat11]

Ok I think I got it - thank you for the pict.  So you're saying you gotta really tug on the control panel, perfectly straight and even, outwards at an angle level to the ground, and only then will the thing budge. And if a really rough player is yanking on the joysticks, due to the slanted angle, the CP shouldn't move at all.

Given all this, is there even an opportunity to install a locking mechanism on the inside (like reaching up into the coin door and locking a latch or something?), or is that just too paranoid?

on a side note, given you're replicating the Centipede cab, why did you opt out on a trackball?

[HoopstarsGarage]

Ok I think I got it - thank you for the pict.  So you're saying you gotta really tug on the control panel, perfectly straight and even, outwards at an angle level to the ground, and only then will the thing budge. And if a really rough player is yanking on the joysticks, due to the slanted angle, the CP shouldn't move at all.

You got it - in fact, I think it's fair to say that the rougher you are with the joysticks, the harder it will "bite" into the slides..

Given all this, is there even an opportunity to install a locking mechanism on the inside (like reaching up into the coin door and locking a latch or something?), or is that just too paranoid?

I have come up with a remote locking mech that I "thought" I'd have to use, but it turns out that it is not necessary..   It's a bit of a shame actually as the locking mech was kinda cool..

on a side note, given you're replicating the Centipede cab, why did you opt out on a trackball?

Umm, because I have a removable Control Panel and therefore I can also swap Control Panels

I am planning on building a trackball CP with three buttons (so I can play Missile Command) but with the CPO being almost exactly the same as Centipede..
I also have plans for a steering wheel and shifter CP as well..

Hoops

[currygoat11]

Umm, because I have a removable Control Panel and therefore I can also swap Control Panels

yes of course, I forgot    good deal.

[pathdoc2]

Incredible job.  Beautiful design and well executed.

[jcroach]

Can you explain a little more about your sound system?

[AlanS17]

Also, I am thinking of maybe changing the button colour to either red or white - what do you guys think?

EDIT: Special thanks to Joy Monkey for the artwork on the overlay - he did this almost 18 months ago for me...

[richms]

So, you have the bi-amp and the sub amp.  Looks liek with the bi-amp you didn't need any cross-overs. I'd like to do a simmilar thing with individual, sheilded speaker, but I don't have a bi-amp. How would you do something similar with cross-overs or other stock parts? Could a car amp be used for all the speakers and a sub-woofer? Would cross-overs be needed then?

Any sub/sat speaker system will need a crossover, most car amps have a basic highpass/lowpass selectable crossover in them, but if you are going to a 3 way system then you will need something that has a bandpass as well. Car amps are not as cheap as you think once you take powering them into account.

Jaycar in NZ and Aust do a kit 3 way crossover that works quite well

You just need 6 channels of amplification to handle the various speakers, and if you are doing a single sub, the amp for that needs to be bridgable. Most PA amps when bridged have an internal inversion and you use the 2 speaker positives for the speaker, and they only take the input from one RCA socket, so you have to passivly mix it if the crossover doesnt do that for you.

Are you going to have a volume knob somewhere on the outside? How will it be hooked into the system?

I would guess between the soundcard and the sony stereo he has in there. Otherwise you could wire into the existing volume on the baby stereo.

[blindraccoon]

Oh MAN!  That CP is beautiful.  Will it marry me?  Please?!? 

[xonix_digital]

I think red buttons would be great. I was in love with the blue until someone said red. Then I was like ....yeah.

Big Props on the craftsmanship of this cab. Uber-Inspiring man.

-=XD=-

Keep us posted! 

[HoopstarsGarage]

Are you going to have a volume knob somewhere on the outside? How will it be hooked into the system?

Firstly, sorry again for the lack of updates on this - I am STILL waiting for the slot cutter to arrive and then things will pick up again.. 

I have a volume control obviously on the front panel of the amplifer - this will be set to "cap" the maximum volume the system can be run at.  Between the computer sound card and the amp, I have used a 20K logarithmic stereo pot which will be mounted on a "admin" panel behind the coin door..  this control will fine tune the volume between basically zero volume through to the pre-set maximum volume of the amp..

[currygoat11]

Oh MAN!  That CP is beautiful.  Will it marry me?  Please?!?

I saw her first man!

[dmsuchy]

Man oh man, I can't wait to see some more photos! Between the great idea of mounting the control panels and the built in speaker boxes in the cab, I can't get enough. Anyone remember the other Centipede scratch built cab with the 8 ball for the track ball? That was a great cab also. Keep up the great work and lets start on the next control panel!

[HoopstarsGarage]

Man oh man, I can't wait to see some more photos! Between the great idea of mounting the control panels and the built in speaker boxes in the cab, I can't get enough. Anyone remember the other Centipede scratch built cab with the 8 ball for the track ball? That was a great cab also. Keep up the great work and lets start on the next control panel!

Thanks for the kind words..

and yeah, the was TheJohns Centipede - I have every photo and took a lot of my inspiration from his cab.

thanks again.

Hoops

[xonix_digital]

is there a link to his cab pics?


-=XD=-

[HoopstarsGarage]

is there a link to his cab pics?


-=XD=-

He took them down about 7 or 8 months ago

[dmsuchy]

Comeon, nothing new yet?

[HoopstarsGarage]

Comeon, nothing new yet?

It's winter here down under... and it has not stopped raining

I need to route out the T-molding slot, but I am not wanting to do it inside the workshop cause the dust will get everywhere - hence I am waiting for a small dry spell to wheel her outside.

[danny_galaga]

Today was a fairly productive day and as a result I have pretty much finished the control panel..


First job for today was to rub down the surfaces that the overlay would be attached to.

[DaveMMR]

Hoopstar - I don't reply to Project Announcement threads too often (nothing personal against any of them,  I'm just usually hanging out in the EE section).  But I just had to comment since I've been working on a Centipede shaped (but not exactly themed) cab for a little over a year now. 

First off: AWESOME job!  While the cab as a whole looks excellent, the implementation of your swappable CPs is simpy astounding.     Along with Carlos' cab, I will now also turn to yours as reference for my project.  Incidentally, I'm working on swappable panels (along the lines of Doc's Modular system) while maintaining the smooth curves of the original (i.e. - no overhang).  I'm hammering out some ideas for a spring-loaded system that involves a gentle push to have panels pop in and out - but as it's still in the planning and thought stage, I'll keep that details minimal.  Nevertheless, seeing your idea makes me wish I was back at square one doing what you did.  If I wasn't so hung-up on having different control schemes, I'd follow your example.

Now not to hijack this thread but... you've mentioned that you had to raise the cab a few inches to avoid the 'ole 'marquee in the eye' bit.  I'm tall enough to make it necessary to place my cabinets on stilts to avoid this.  So my question is: how high is the marquee (with wheels attached) from the ground? 

Also, how big of a monitor are you putting in there?

Anyway, excellent work.  Hope to see a project webpage one day.

(EDIT: My 555th post - make a wish!)

[HoopstarsGarage]

So my question is: how high is the marquee (with wheels attached) from the ground? 

First up, thanks for the kind words..  I actually painted the cabinet yesterday and it came out brilliantly.. will post some piccies in the next couple of days.

The bottom of the marquee panel (speaker panel) is 1675mm from the ground and the top of the marquee panel is 1830mm from the ground..

Also, how big of a monitor are you putting in there?

The monitor is 21"..  Originally I was going to be setting the cabinet up with a rotating monitor (ala Carlo's Centipede..) but in the end I scrapped the idea with the plan to just build a dedicated vertical cab - which will be my next project.. and another classic 80's cabinet 

[mmmPeanutButter]

The bottom of the marquee panel (speaker panel) is 1675mm from the ground and the top of the marquee panel is 1830mm from the ground..

Translation: 1675mm = 5'6"   1830mm = 6'     

[bob808]

More Control Panel work

Started filling the control panel with 2-Pak filler to smooth and level everything off.

[Bones]

It has been a week, any updates Hoopstars?

I am keeping a close eye on this one, it is really looking special so far. 

[DefJam]

Panel is stunning. 

[nullb0y]

  amazing work that pannel looks rendered! its so beautiful!

[ARCADE5280]

Looks great so far!  I can't wait to see the finished cab--Keep the pics coming.

[dmsuchy]

You gotta be kidding me, no new pics??!!

[the3eyedblindman]

Why have i not seen this before! My favorites are custom build replica dedicated cabinets! I will be doing one as my next project, this is very cool, Im very impressed! 

[HoopstarsGarage]

Sorry guys.. I have been EXTREMELY busy with work working 12-14 hours a day.  The last thing I have felt like doing is going out to the workshop and playing.. 

When the project at work is finished, then I will have some more time - when that is depends on lots of things outside my control...  But trust me, I am as keen to see it finished as you guys.!!

[dmsuchy]

bump

[ARCADE5280]

I always keep checking this one out.  This is the best Centipede out there.  I wonder what the total cost is going to be.

I WANT ONE!!!

[HoopstarsGarage]

This is the best Centipede out there.  I wonder what the total cost is going to be.

I don't think I want to know.. and I am sure my fiancee doesn't need to know

A bit of an update:
I have now finished cutting the T-molding slot and have painted the cabinet - the outside panels (where the beautiful Centipede side art will be going) is done in a nice white enamel with a little hardener mixed in with it.  This helps resist scratching and marking.  The inside area is done in a satin black and looks amazing..

I will post some pictures tomorrow when I drag her outside, because the cabinet is now inside the house and doesn't photograph so well indoors.

Thanks to all of those people who have sent well wishes and kept me inspired with their kind words - it is very humbling.

Regards

Hoops.

[elvis]

Nice work Hoopstar!  Don't forget the OCAU lads too... they've been salivating for some updates also.

The effort and detail you've put into this project is amazing.  I can't wait for the finished product.

[markrvp]

Have you also built any of the other control panels yet?  What controls do you plan to have on the other panels?

[HoopstarsGarage]

Have you also built any of the other control panels yet?  What controls do you plan to have on the other panels?

Hell, I haven't even finished the cabinet let alone building more CP's

The plan is to build a trackball CP which will be a replica of the Centipede control panel - this will be for games like Centipede (doh!) Missle Command etc..
Then I will be building a 270 degree steering wheel with Hi/Low style shifter - the wheel I am looking for is one from a Spy Hunter cause it is one of my favourite games..

I have also started throwing together a race sim setup for the games room - it uses a PS2 and GT4 at the moment, but when funds/time permit will be setting it up with a PC and GT-R.  Awesome sim game..

[HoopstarsGarage]

Well it's been a while since I've played with my cabinet due to work commitments, but I've finally found some time to finish a few things off..

As posted before, I got around to cutting the slot for the T-molding, finished off the prep work on the outside of the cabinet and primed everything up.  I then shot a couple of coats of gloss white on to the outside of the cab.  The finished result is amazing and made me glad that I put a little extra effort into in.  The middle and inside of the cabinet was shot with 4 coats of satin black and looks a treat.

I also stripped and repainted the coin door and polished the reject button plastic to shine like new.  I made up my own 'coin mechs' with a couple of pieces of 3mm MDF which uses an optical pickup and a simple circuit to sense when the coins are inserted .  I placed a microswitch behind the reject button to add credits and have installed a switch to disable the credit button as well.  I installed new T-molding and the marquee with my 'hardware' store marquee retainers painted with the satin black..

After all this was completed I fitted the 21" monitor and chassis and carefully wired everything up.  I had a local glass company cut a couple of pieces of laminated glass - one clear and one tinted.  I put the tinted piece in first, then the bezel surround and finally the clear sheet - the result looks stunning.  The only thing left to do now is install the side art..  I need to wait for some fine weather and a helper to install it, so that may take a little while.

All in all this project is just about finished and plays a treat. I have finished the front end using the awesome MameWah and am running about 150 games on it - mainly classics, but also a few modern fighting games for my nephews when they come over to play.

Enjoy the photos...  and now onto the next project.  

Cheers


Hoops

[Bones]

Man, that looks so awesome. It really is a quality build.

Congrats.

[dmsuchy]

Nice! But I want to see some "gut" photos, meaning how the monitor is mounted ect....

[xonix_digital]

bitchin'

-=XD=-