Williams multicade-inspired Bartop with 17 inch CRT and modular control panels

[KenToad]

Hello All,

  I finally finished my bartop project last weekend.  When I say finished, I mean that I have put away the tools for the moment.  My fiancee still thinks it's the ugliest thing she's ever seen .  Here's a pic:

Update May 16, 2006:  I have written two freelance Retroblast! articles about aspects of this project.  Someone viewing this project thread may find them useful:

49-way setup: http://www.retroblast.com/reviews/49-way.html

BYO Hillbilly Spinner: http://www.retroblast.com/articles/hillbilly-04262006-01.php

Feel free to comment on these articles in this thread.   

[KenToad]

And another pic of the other side before it was "finished."

[KenToad]

Here's a shot of the wiring.  I used way more wire on this project than I ever would have guessed a 20 inch wide panel would require.  Also, note the parrallel port interfaces that make this panel modular.  That was a lot of extra time, but it's worth it and works perfectly.  Soon, I will make a fighter panel with super joysticks and then a dual spinner panel for some Pong action.

[KenToad]

Here is the CP Artwork.  I downloaded all the artwork from the AAL and modified it slightly with Photoshop.  Thanks to the original artists who inspired me so much. 

[KenToad]

Some specs for anyone interested:  17" Dell branded Monitor that I have not decased, but was perfect for $20 from the ONLY local thrift store.  That is a very good price for monitors around here.  I tested it first in the store using my laptop.  Some people walked over thinking my laptop was for sale.  Gotta watch yourself in thrift stores.  Here are the dimensions:  22" wide x 32" tall at the peak x 28" deep.  A 19" monitor would fit in every way except the depth.  Maybe if I decased it ... Anyway, it's too much of an additional investment for this box and for me right now.    Otherwise, the 49-Ways with RandyT's interfaces and Floyd's rotary adaptors are still in the testing phase.  I still need to hook up a dedicated computer with this thing.  Anything but a very large computer case can easily fit in the space behind the marquee.  I also would like to get some nicer prints of the jousters for the sides.  Right now, each one is three 11x17 sheets of paper covered with clear contact paper, kind of ghetto for a project like this, but better than the $50 or more dollars it would cost to get these things printed professionally. 

My biggest surprise so far with the 49-Way joysticks:  Spy Hunter works well in raw or progressive 49-way mode.  I still would love to have the original super awesome steering wheel and some pedals with a shifter, but these analog joysticks make it playable for me.  Who woulda thunk?

I will post more impressions as I playtest more.

Cheers,
KenToad

[clonestar]

What ever your fiance says this is truly a thing of beauty

[Veinman]

Awesome.

[walls83]

that is very nice.


One question.  What are the 2 white lines above and below the marquee

nm

[flampoo]

Some of my favorite cabs were the ones with tons of art. Kangaroo, Popeye, Donkey Kong, Carnival, etc. That is a lot of good artwork. And because it's all Williams it looks even better.

[KenToad]

Sweet, thanks to you all for the compliments.  I knew I needed some positive feedback in my life .... j/k my male friends and even a couple of the female friends have been impressed.  Here is the insert coin sticker I used on the bottom administration panel.  I modified another design using Adobe InDesign.  I forget the font:

[KenToad]

Here's another pic showing what I thought at first was poor planning on my part:

[KenToad]

But to address the modular capability of this CP, I found that the gap was perfect for removing the CP, although there is a space underneath if need be.  Here is a pic of my last minute decision--to use elevator bolts instead of clamps to hold the CP in place.  The bolts kind of remind me of Frankenstein's head, which seems fitting for this hodgepodge of original arcade designs.  I considered going with tee nuts as well to really hold the bolts in place, but I scrapped that idea when I saw how firmly the bolts hold the CP in place, which is admittedly a tight fit.

[KenToad]

And here is the CP pulled back.  I haven't taken this thing off for a couple of days and it was stiff--could be the humidity or maybe the paint is still drying.  Anyway, I haven't yet mounted the GP-Wiz49 interfaces.  Also, I don't think I'm going to secure the monitor.  It doesn't move on the shelf, even when my friend and I played through to the end of Heavy Barrel last night.  I just a 2x4 above it to keep it from rocking side to side.  I think I'll want to remove the monitor whenever I pick up this beast.  It's heavy enough and so bulky that even my long arms can't get a really nice hold on it. 

[TOK]

Awesome, AWESOME job. Women don't "get" Williams games, don't sweat it.
My wife looks at me like I'm insane while I'm screaming vulgarities at Defender or Robotron.

[Magnet_Eye]

COOL! 

So what was the final verdict on the 49-way stick thing from randyT? I was following that thread, but it go so out of control I got lost. Did they ever figure out how to play 720 and how do you set it up to play rotary games? I'm thinking of using these instead of my Happ's Optical rotary sticks.

[markrvp]

Dude, that's awesome.  I don't mean this weird, but I'm very proud of you!  That's truly a great machine.

[KenToad]

Dude, that's awesome.  I don't mean this weird, but I'm very proud of you!  That's truly a great machine.

Not weird at all, that makes me proud, Mark.  I've admired your work for a while now. 

Cheers,
KenToad

[KenToad]

COOL! 

So what was the final verdict on the 49-way stick thing from randyT? I was following that thread, but it go so out of control I got lost. Did they ever figure out how to play 720 and how do you set it up to play rotary games? I'm thinking of using these instead of my Happ's Optical rotary sticks.

I've never played with optical rotary sticks, at least not since I played Cal. 50 in the arcade many years ago.  I don't know if I would ditch those things just yet.  The rotary emulation in Mame seems imperfect, IMO, since it doesn't officially support one button=one turn in those games just yet.  I have yet to fully test this implementation in Analog Mame, but initial testing also seemed imperfect.  It's possible your optical joys may give more consistent results in Mame, since that is how the official build is set up to receive inputs for the rotary games.  Also, Cal. 50 is a fun game and you can probably use those optical rotaries for other spinner games like Off the Wall and Puzz Loop. 

Otherwise, the final verdict is still out for the list of fully compatible games with the 49-Way joysticks with RandyT's encoder.  One thing that has bugged me a little so far has been the sticks slow return to center.  RandyT and others say that this will get better with use, as the rubber grommets will break in.  I can't say, but I did play Atomic Bomberman, the PC game with these sticks in 4 way mode and really noticed that your bombdude will continue to walk if the stick doesn't return to center with a decent spring.  This led to a lot of mishaps in a game where every twitch counts.  I also don't like these sticks for fighters, too squishy, which, again, could change with use.  Luckily, as you would imagine, RandyT's encoders will work with microswitch joysticks perfectly, since each joystick just needs four microswitches to function. 

Hope that helps, let me know if you need more info.

Cheers,
KenToad   

[KenToad]

Oh, about 720, Magnet_Eye, I think the verdict was no.  These sticks don't feel like 720 sticks at all and I don't think the 16-way mode ever really panned out to anything .... yet.

Cheers,
KenToad

[The 80s Man]

I've been watching and reading the BYOAC Forums for months from the sidelines.
But this Bartop project has made me log on just to say...Holy $h!t that is one super Bad @$$ bartop, by far the best I have ever seen. very nice work. So nice I must shed a tear of envy

The only thing I might suggest is on of these just for fun
http://homepage.ntlworld.com/chris.nightingale1/arcades/coinboxmainpage.htm

[Timoe]

Very nice!    I want one!

Any plans or dimensions?

[KenToad]

I've been watching and reading the BYOAC Forums for months from the sidelines.
But this Bartop project has made me log on just to say...Holy $h!t that is one super Bad @$$ bartop, by far the best I have ever seen. very nice work. So nice I must shed a tear of envy

The only thing I might suggest is on of these just for fun
http://homepage.ntlworld.com/chris.nightingale1/arcades/coinboxmainpage.htm

Now that's praise!  Thanks a million.  It makes me look at the box and wonder how the woman could be so cruel .  I guess she'll learn to accept it like the homebrewing hobby that she initially rejected because she was afraid it would usurp most of the space in our place. 

That's funny that you would mention coin mechs.  It's the one thing that I knew I'd miss by building a legless arcade box.  I had wondered if there were any really small coin acceptors or any cool ways to get a slot that just simply triggers a switch.  I came to the conclusion that a coin activated switch just wasn't in the cards.  The coins would just roll out from under the cab anyway--or I'd have to keep a little bowl under there.  I checked out the page you linked, pretty slow loading on this dialup connection.  In fact, it's loading just as I type this.  Thanks for the link.  That might be cool for my standalone CP, but I'm pretty sure I want to keep this project as-is, although I may get around to storing a few extra usb controllers for Bomberman ... when I get the dedicated computer set up, that is.

Cheers,
KenToad

[KenToad]

Very nice!    I want one!

Any plans or dimensions?

Thanks.  The basic dimensions are in the earlier post, the first one without a picture.  I'm not a woodworker, so I probably couldn't provide workable plans.  Also, it's really just a couple of pieces of MDF cut in a resized Joust cab shape with two 2x6's and two 2x4's as cross-members. 

As for the shape of the sides, I took an ebay straight-on side photo of a joust box and photoshopped it.  These two images should illustrate what I mean.  I just resized the second image to the size of the box and cut it into letter size pieces that I could tape together and use for my cutting template with my jigsaw.

Hope that helps.

Cheers,
KenToad 

[Timoe]

What holds the plexi & bezel in place?

Also, what does the back look like?  Any special needs for venting etc?

That should be enough questions for now.    I have to build one of these.

[KenToad]

What holds the plexi & bezel in place?

Also, what does the back look like? Any special needs for venting etc?

That should be enough questions for now. I have to build one of these.

Yeah, I was wondering if anyone would see that the plexi rests on the rear pinball buttons.  Look at the pic where the CP is pulled away from the box.  You should be able to see what I mean.  Also, there is a 2x4 above the monitor that also serves to hold the plexi in place.  Both of those were last minute decisions.  I try to make building as simple as possible. 

Cheers,
KenToad

[zorg]

really sweet, I love it.

[Zeosstud]

Your Woman is WAAAYYYY off base, that cab is tight.  My question is, where is the the inviso button for Stargate??

Rodney

[jcroach]

Sweet, thanks to you all for the compliments.

[KenToad]

Your Woman is WAAAYYYY off base, that cab is tight.  My question is, where is the the inviso button for Stargate??

Rodney

I decided to let the Inviso button go.  It just seemed too cluttered with that extra button and, since Stargate was never in my arcade and truly I have never even seen that machine in person, I decided that I can use the Player 1 "Flap" button for Inviso if I ever decide I need it. 

Thanks again for the compliments, guys.  My first project, a standalone CP, looks like a dumpy piece of crap next to this box.  I still enjoy the functionality of both devices, but I guess I've learned a lot, especially from you guys and others on these boards, about how to put together building materials. 

Next project is a desk that doesn't wobble and that is 36" wide so that I can clamp my standalone CP to the sides--or maybe I could install some T-nuts in the current crappy desk, sure the woman wouldn't notice.

I like this solution. It gets the coin button off the control panel and places it where you would expect a coin slot, without actually accing a coin slot. I plan on doing the same thing for my cab. I bought some rectangular lit buttons for just that purpose.

Nice machine!!

Rectangular lit buttons, now that's a good idea!  Now then, if only I had unlimited cash.   Thanks.

Cheers,
KenToad 
 

[ChadTower]

could someone explain how a bartop is gargantuan?   

[KenToad]

could someone explain how a bartop is gargantuan?

I guess I just meant size and you know impressive subject and all that .

Cheers,
KenToad

[markrvp]

could someone explain how a bartop is gargantuan?

[ChadTower]

Right.  BTW, we can smell that gargantuan from here.  Stop soiling yourself.

[KenToad]

could someone explain how a bartop is gargantuan?   

His bartop is gargantuan the same way there is something gargatuan in my pants - it's relative to the size of other similar objects.

Right.  Is mine the biggest?

Cheers,
KenToad

[Dire Radiant]

Nah, he just meant he has a really big wallet!

[KenToad]

What holds the plexi & bezel in place?

Also, what does the back look like? Any special needs for venting etc?

That should be enough questions for now. I have to build one of these.

Oh, I made a pretty half-assed diagram of how this thing is put together.  It is screwed and glued.  Also, I glued dowel inserts into the top sheet of MDF.  The back and top are open fot the moment.  I also just realized that the top is not really all that big for a computer box and speakers.  There's a University auction this weekend and hopefully I will get a sweet deal on a decent computer.   

[Timoe]

Kentoad, how did you get that nice rounded edge on the front of the control panel?  What is the radius?  like 3/4"  Did you use a router?

[KenToad]

Kentoad, how did you get that nice rounded edge on the front of the control panel? What is the radius? like 3/4" Did you use a router?

Hey Timoe,

  That rounded edge is actually 3/4 inch quarter round, the kind that carpenters use for trimming baseboards.  It says it's 3/4 inch, but really it's about 1/2 inch.  Since I had 3/4 inch MDF, there would have been a gap where the two pieces of MDF met, because the quarter round would not have fit into the space created by the two pieces of MDF, if you can visualize that.  I find it kind of hard to describe.

What I did to remedy the problem was to sand the edge of one of the pieces of MDF down to the width of the quarter round.  It's much easier to visualize if you have all the pieces in your hands and can just dry fit them to see what I mean. 

After sanding, I used brass corner braces to hold the pieces all together while the glue dried.  I left on the braces because they probably add strength.  I'm not really very much of a carpenter, but this made a tight fit that seems like it will last. 

I'm going to make the first of my modular panels soon and will post some pictures showing what I mean.

Hope that helps.

Cheers,
KenToad   

[Timoe]

Thank you.  I dont know why I didnt think about that.  I just finished installing new baseboards in my new house.  I have the quarter round of which you speak.


Then its just wood putty and sanding, I guess.

[KenToad]

Thank you.  I dont know why I didnt think about that.  I just finished installing new baseboards in my new house.  I have the quarter round of which you speak.

Then its just wood putty and sanding, I guess.

Funny enough, I didn't think of it, either.  I can't remember where I read about someone doing that.  Sometimes it's just really hard to get creative and stay practical at the same time. 

Good luck with your project. 

Cheers,
KenToad

[KenToad]

I made a new Street Fighter 2 themed panel for my bartop.  Here are a couple of pics.

Cheers,
KenToad

[KenToad]

You can tell that the fit is not perfect, but it doesn't move during gameplay.  Also, I made it quickly and didn't clamp the pieces of the panel properly to the quarter round.  There is a slight lip.  However, it turned out just fine for me and, as you can see, most drunken dudes don't notice either.  Two more pics.

Cheers,
KenToad

[KenToad]

These guys are loving SFII.  But the party favorite is always track n field.  Everybody screams when somebody breaks a world record.  This seems to happen no matter what people are around and what they're drinking.

Cheers,
KenToad

[KenToad]

This first picture made me really proud.  My fiancee will not touch the box.   So I love it when the ladies give it a go.  This was in the middle of a Ms. Pac, Q*Bert, Galaga and Frogger gaming marathon strictly for the women.  I only wish that I had taken pictures of the use my bartop got when I took it to the cabins where my best friend got married.  There were really little kids waiting in line to play Pac-Man.  I love to see that.  Of course, it's nothing like some dudes crapping their pants when they hear the elephants in SFII.

Cheers,
KenToad

[KenToad]

Sooooo .... my next panel needs two spinners.  I will make them myself on the super super cheap budget I must follow.  I should be able to make a pretty nice spinner using mouse guts, a block of wood, a carriage bolt, some nuts washers, an encoder wheel printed on a transparency, a trolley wheel and two small bearings.  My last homemade spinner was made in a similar fashion.  I'll try to get some pics of the building process when I get started. 

Otherwise, let me know if you guys think it was blasphemy to make a SFII themed panel for an obviously Williams-themed cabinet?  

BTW, after much contemplation, I definitely prefer the Competition joysticks to the Supers.  I may switch out these supers and use them in another panel.

Cheers,
KenToad

[Cameronj]

OK. This is the nicest looking Bartop that I have seen! I think it should be nominated for the Hall of Fame!

[unclet]

It is always a good idea to make these cabinets "before" one gets married ....       Nice work!

[KenToad]

OK. This is the nicest looking Bartop that I have seen! I think it should be nominated for the Hall of Fame!

Hey, I appreciate that sentiment.  Maybe it will inspire me to finally get started on the spinner panel.  Otherwise, the SFII panel has been getting 90% of the action, primarily because that is how my friends and I like to play Track and Field. 

It is always a good idea to make these cabinets "before" one gets married ....

Agreed, but I'm pretty happy that she didn't call the whole thing off, especially since the box dominates our living room now.   Actually she might be more unhappy about the Game Boy Micro that I now carry around everywhere.  I'm completely addicted to Bionic Commando all over again.

Thanks a lot for the comments.  I'll post more pics when I can.

Cheers,
KenToad 

[MameMaster!]

....man I don't get women sometimes. That thing is so pretty!.....fantastic job.

I'm a big fan of modular panels. Great PhotoShop work!

[KenToad]

Thanks, MameMaster.  I don't understand women either.

I guess no one found my Multi-Williams-->Street Fighter II reversible conversion all that disturbing.

Cheers,
KenToad

[IG-88]

Great looking cab! I have GOT to learn to use my Paint Shop program. Was it hard to do the graphics? Where did you get them? Did you just print them on sticky paper and print them yourself? They look fantastic.

[Stobe]

Agreed, but I'm pretty happy that she didn't call the whole thing off, especially since the box dominates our living room now.

Just find her some pillows and drapes that match the Williams / Joust artwork.

[markrvp]

Actually, some carpet like at CIRCUS CIRCUS casino is Las Vegaswould make it seem right at home.

[Santoro]

Looks reeeealy good.    Great work.

[KenToad]

Great looking cab! I have GOT to learn to use my Paint Shop program. Was it hard to do the graphics? Where did you get them? Did you just print them on sticky paper and print them yourself? They look fantastic.

Thanks.  Most of the graphics work was just cutting and pasting in Photoshop.  I guess I know a bit about the program, given that I had a course in graphic design in college, but I'm definitely no professional.  I got most of the "classic" logos from the Arcade Art Library and the SFII stuff from various sources that I can't remember.  I modified pretty much everything to fit my theme and had it printed on 11x17 paper at Kinko's.  Then I just taped it together, covered it with clear con-tact paper and stuck it on with some spray-on adhesive.

I'm still considering what theme should go with my endlessly forthcoming spinner panel.

Cheers,
KenToad

[Razor]

That is a very nice bartop, thats the sort of thing im looking to make, hopefully 

[KenToad]

I'm finally updating this page.  I've been hard at work.

[KenToad]

Another pic, will post more of different stuff soon.

[markrvp]

Excellent job KenToad!  The artwork really makes that panel shine.


For those of you who haven't heard, this bartop cabinet won a very prestigious MAMEY award for being the best crafted Bartop cabinet of 2005. 

Please check it out here:  http://www.mameworld.net/massive/NEWMAMEY/misc.htm

[KenToad]

Mark, you're awesome.

Thanks again for voting for and, I assume, nominating my bartop.  Long live the Mameys.

I was so proud of that award that I was inspired to go another building spree, which I will reveal the full extent of shortly.

Stayin' up late here, Ha.

Cheers,
KenToad

[markrvp]

Somebody else nominated it before I got a chance.  It was a no-brainer though.

[vrf]

Beautiful work! I really like the classic look to it.

[KenToad]

The classic look of the original modular CP is now completed nicely by GGG's cherry Ball top joysticks.

Cheers,
KenToad

[njchan]

nice cab ... pm sent.

[MameMaster!]

I forgot that you did this...the Smash TV panel looks awesome!

That's why I'm a big fan of modular panels.

Great job! 

[Kremmit]

Nice choice on the balltops- they look way better.  You've gotta get some on the SmashTV panel now.

[Timoe]

Kentoad,

I sent you a PM to complain about the unsightly gap you have between your new balltop shafts and your old dustwashers.


Yeah, thats right.

[dweebs0r]

Whats that black line across the bottom of the monitor in that picure?

Did something crack?

I love the modular panels as well.  I cant seem to decide on a control panel layout for mine.
And the balltop joysticks look perfect on the original panel.

-D

[KenToad]

Whats that black line across the bottom of the monitor in that picure?

Did something crack?

I love the modular panels as well.  I cant seem to decide on a control panel layout for mine.
And the balltop joysticks look perfect on the original panel.

-D

I don't know where that line came from.  Nothing cracked, so I guess it's a camera issue.  Dunno. 
Thanks, I love the look of the balltops, as well.  Also, the original panel suffered the least of my construction errors/ photoshop crapouts.  I will post the latest of my modular panels and my least favorite (only in terms of photoshop/layout) here in a moment, once I shrink these here pictures.  Here's a teaser ...

[KenToad]

I'm naming this picture because, as I mentioned before, my wife (we just recently married) is not a gamer, hailing as she does from the former German Democratic Republic, i.e. behind the iron curtain or safe from Capitalist pig infiltration, depending on your point of view, i.e. far away from anything resembling an 80's arcade or even computer technology.  

Long story short, she hated the games as a waste of time, hated the box as a monstrosity, etc. etc.  Some of you out there know exactly what I'm talking about.  The rest of you have geek girlfriends/wives (more power to you btw   ).

So we had a showdown when I started building the spinner panel.  She couldn't imagine why I would need yet another panel to further my senseless retrogaming goals.  I prevailed, naturally, and one of our friends convinced her to try out the spinners for Puzz Loop in vs. mode.  

She not only proceeded to kick his German ass, but she set the new record for Panic Mode.  I have since bumped her off and the three of us have sort of jostled for first place and most wins in a row in vs. mode, but that doesn't matter.

What matters is that I hate the graphics I put on this module (not to mention that they adhered poorly) and yet I can't think of starting over, since it works and ... she actually likes to play one game on the machine.  

So it probably didn't really save the marriage and the blunder is only skin deep, but hey there was some sort of magic there that two spinners enabled and I'm thankful.

Please notice the crappy, low-res marquees spilled over the front and the poorly spaced buttons.  And I thought the SFII graphics on the other panel were a stretch ... Still, this is easily the most played of all the panels now.  Everyone digs the funky reggae beat of Puzz Loop.

By the way, I wrote an article about the construction of this spinner.  It's called the Hillbilly Spinner and it's still on the first page over at Retroblast.  

http://retroblast.arcadecontrols.com/articles/hillbilly-04262006-01.php

*Edited to fix broken link

[KenToad]

In response to Timoe's complaint  , I am just posting a pic of the Versa 49 washers that fit the new balltop shafts perfectly, but fail to cover the hole in the wood, since they have a smaller outer diameter than the original dust washers.  I had to wrap a small amount of clear plastic tape around the joystick shaft to stop the rattle, since the new dust washers are metal.  Still, a fine deal, if you ask me, and I think they look great.

Also, I got the new grommets RandyT is offering and I have to say that they are a fantastic improvement.  I love the snap back that they provide.  No more squishy joysticks.  Also, I have the new leafswitches from Ponyboy and I love them, as well, although I did cut off the upper plastic retainer in order to make them easier to press, more like the original leafs.

One other thing is MikeDeuce's button inserts, which I'm including two pictures of at long range:  They look fantastic lit up in low light as my glowing red coin insert buttons.  Thanks again, Mike.

[NIVO]

nice work Ken, if you got her to turn to the darkside(play a game) even once, then it was worth the trouble 

[KenToad]

Thanks, NIVO, I totally agree.