Portable MAME Machine

[Searcher7]

I'm still in search of a portable MAME machine and was wondering if anyone has seen or purchase something simular to the following:

http://www.sl-interphase.com/system.html
http://www.etgtechnologies.com/gamepad.htm

They appear to be prototypes that didn't get off the ground, but look like something that would suit my purpose.

Quite frankly I find a battery life of under 8 hours(playing MAME) is unacceptable, so I guess that Laptops/notebooks are still out.

Any more suggestions/ideas on what hardware I could use?

Thanks.

Darren

[menace]

Alot of the major portable players have a mame port--your 8 hr battery life is unrealistic since I have yet to see a portable that has enough power for mame and yet can last that long.  The device I'm using (gamepark32) has a battery life claimed at 6 hrs but I have yet to relaize that with cpu intensive games (i.e. mame)  Maybe you could clarify your requirements further.

[Searcher7]

Alot of the major portable players have a mame port--your 8 hr battery life is unrealistic since I have yet to see a portable that has enough power for mame and yet can last that long.

[Abomination]

What about using a psp or a pocket pc (ie ipaq)?

[NoOne=NBA=]

I've got an old Powerbook that I use for portable gaming.
A gamepad fits really nicely in the bag for it, as does the trackball.
Unless you plan to take it camping, power usually isn't an issue with a laptop.

You can get car converters for most of them, and can plug them in between trips (at work, at home, at a friend's house, etc...).

[Setabs]

Just from the looks of those pages I wouldn't count on them actually showing up anywhere.  The 3d modeled renderings are a dead give away in my opionion.  And if they did come out they would be expensive.

I also think your battery life expectation is set to high.  Go w/ a pda or psp buy extra batteries.  Besides w/ the psp you can watch movies and play new games on it.

[Searcher7]

I know all about battery life. That is why I said that Laptops/notebooks are still out.

Therefore the ability of the device to use household current is a must.

Obviously a MAME capable PC with a USB port and 7 inch screen doesn't exist, yet.

Darren

[elvis]

The GPX2 is due out soon.  It's the next model up from the old GP32X, and should be more powerful (ie: able to play a larger selection of MAME games).

http://www.gp32x.com/gp2x.php

They're quoting 8 hours of video play time on 2X AA batteries.

[Searcher7]

The GPX2 is due out soon.

[spystyle]

I've got an idea for a portable MAME arcade.

Dig this : A bartop made of 5/8" plywood, it uses a laptop folded backwards, so the screen is viewable and the rest is hidden behind it. Connected to the laptop is the car adaptor, connected to that is a motorcycle battery, connected to that is a battery charger.

When the arcade is not in use plug in the battery charger and it will charge the battery. An auto battery should power a laptop computer for many many hours, I estimate 12-24, but it wouldn't matter as you could plug it in to charge when not in use.

An auto battery gauge could be present on that back.

Yup, I've given allot of thought to this and will eventually build it.

It's "portable" as in it powers itself and can be carried between the vehicle and the destination without much grunting.

Practical? No, there is no good reason to build an arcade machine that can be brought on picnics.

Groovy? Yes, the fact that it's an arcade machine that can be brought on picnics

I will call it MAMEboyAdvance!

Dig it?
Craig

[elvis]

The GPX2 is due out soon.  It's the next model up from the old GP32X, and should be more powerful (ie: able to play a larger selection of MAME games).

http://www.gp32x.com/gp2x.php

They're quoting 8 hours of video play time on 2X AA batteries.

I read 6 hours on another site.

And I'd need the option of swapping controls anyway, so something like that unfortunately will not work.

Darren

So you want 8 hours of battery life, swappable controls, enough power to play most MAME titles, and totally portable.

Sorry mate, but you're asking for the impossible.

1) Size/portability
2) Power
3) Battery life

Choose 2.  You can't have all 3.

GPX2 will give you size and battery life, with poor grunt.  Laptop will give you size and power with poor battery life.  A custom designed LCD screen. mini-ITX system and 12V battery style setup will give you power and battery life, but with limited portability.  There just is no option for all 3 at the same time.

And if there was, someone would be making millions from it already.  At the end of the day you're going to have to sacrifice something. 

[vrf]

You'd pay through the nose, but can you imagine building an ultra small control panel with a little space for one of these:

http://www.trustedreviews.com/article.aspx?art=876

[Lilwolf]

Aren't those computers cute.

trouble is they are $2000 used on ebay...  The question is how much would you pay?  If there was a good solution for $1000 would you? 

And they would probably be a pretty bad system for mame.  The buttons look like crap for gaming mainly.  And they don't seem to be placed well to use in your hands.

I'm still hoping for a better solution out there.

[vrf]

I wasn't thinking Gameboy-size. Those buttons wouldn't work, I agree. But what if it was more of a "laptop" configuration with a mini-CP. You'd pack the CP and this thing into a custom plastic case about the size of a notebook computer.

You'd have to have a good design, of course, and maybe even get all of your parts cut by laser.

http://www.pololu.com/laser_cutting.html

Or, if you wanted something really small, you could hack a game pad into a little plastic "frame" that surrounds this thing.

And yes, you'd spend a fortune, that's for sure.

[Lilwolf]

I considered making a control panel in set of luggage when it looked like I might be taking a traveling job.  So with that and a notebook (was hoping to get one with a detachable screen) I would have one. 

I guess the question is how portable (could but wouldn't want to daily) or very (runs on batteries) or just a control panel (maybe a computer + control panel but plugs into others TVs).