Mounting a PC monitor in a cocktail

[dweebs0r]

Wow,

Had a long and counter productive day trying to mount a decased 21 inch monitor in an arcade depot cocktail.

I know there are many posts on the various ways this can be accomplished, but does anyone think that the new Spincade universal monitor mounting shelf brackets would do the trick?  Heres a link

The only thing I accomplished today was breaking off the loosely hanging front controls of the monitor.  Now I have to short one of the pins on a metal tab on the monitor to turn it on and off.   

Next question, I have a neighbor with a welder, should I try to get him to whip me up some sort of a cage?

Lastly, should I give up and buy a "true" arcade monitor (I'd sure hate to throw the $160 down the drain that this monitor cost me).

Thanks,
-Dweebs

[AlanS17]

You've got a couple of options.

1.) If you can still put the monitor back in its case, you can rest it facing up on a shelf built into the base.

2.) Got to Home Depot and buy some "angle iron". You'll want thick guage steel with the holes in it. You can cut it into proper sections with a dremel. Otherwise, a hack saw will work.  First you create a frame out of wood. Then you use the angle iron to mount the monitor to the frame using the bolt holes that originally mounted the monitor inside its case. Just cut it to proper lengths and line the holes up with the holes on the monitor frame. Then bolt them together. Then mount the whole thing to the wooden frame. I'll attach a picture. The blue portion is the frame, the red portion is the monitor's screen, the black lines are the angle iron, and the black dots are the mouting points. I've done this with 2 monitors before with great success. Once you have the monitor in the frame, you can either find a way to attach the frame to the top folding portion or build a stand for it attached to the bottom of the cabinet. I recommend attaching it the the bottom for support reasons. You can also build your frame to suit your needs. Mine have both gone all the way around, but that may not suit your needs. It's whatever works for you.

[Raven..]

I'm thinking about doing this with the 31" monitor I have for sale.  If nobody buys it, I may just build a cocktail cab around it.

[AlanS17]

I use a similar method to hold my de-cased 27" tube in my TMNT. I used mounting brackets that came with the monitor, but the concept is basically the same. That thing is super sturdy. I used a solid piece of wood for a frame and I got away with using a 1.5" frame.

[dweebs0r]

Thanks for the reply.

That is the great thing about this community, people really go out of their way to help.

I picked up another piece of 3/4" Birch plywood for the frame (I ruined the other) and some angle iron.

AlanS17, I have seen your posts about building an arcade depot cocktail kit, are you going the route of a true arcade monitor or will you be using a decased PC monitor?

Once I get the frame built around the monitor, I will try to get it mounted in there somehow.

I was really frustrated by my lack of woodworking ability this weekend and I very nearly threw the entire cocktail and monitor setup out in my yard.   

I feel better now, but still a little frustrated by my inability.

One problem with using a pc monitor is I dont think I will have the room to keep my coin mechs once the monitor is mounted.  I guess thats really a minor issue though.

Thanks again for the ideas.  I'll let you know how things go when I have a chance to work on it again (probably not until the weekend).

-Dweebs

[AlanS17]

I'm actually using a VGA universal mount monitor in mine. I bought a "used arcade monitor" off of ebay thinking I was buying a standard res monitor. When the thing showed up it had a VGA plug on it. Sure enough, I plugged it into my laptop, dropped the resolution down to 640x480, and the thing fired right up. I ended up paying about $75 after shipping because the description was so horrible that nobody else bid on it. It's not a grade A monitor, but it'll work just fine for the classic cab it's going into.

As for the frame, I would recommend making it from one solid sheet of plywood (if you're not already). You'll have more stability that way. Home Depot sells 3/4" plywood in 2'x2' squares for pretty cheap. I couldn't tell from the description in your post whether you were going with a board or a sheet, but definitely go with the sheet if you can. Post pictures and tell us how it goes!

I'm worried about space issues, too. I'm not sure my speakers are going to fit very well where I want to put them, but I won't know until I get everything else put together. I don't have the cabinet yet to measure. I might also have a problem with my coin mechs, too. I don't have an original Midway cocktail coin door with the flat mechs. It's standard so they stick way out the back like yours. We'll just have to see what happens.