tempest cabinet

[ptpeter]

hi,

         I bought a tempest cabinet the other day for 10 bucks. Its doesnt have the monitor or pcb and the arcade art is gone. Im just wondering if these are easy cabinets to turn into mame machines? Are there any problems with the size of the cabinet?

Thanks

[redfivexw]

I think it would fairly easy to convert to mame.  You will need to drill holes in for the joystick and buttons of course.  I just took a completely gutted out donkey kong and turned it into a beautiful mame machine.  Here is my advice.  Get a cheap used 19" computer monitor, take it out of the case(very easy, just a few screws).  Buy a piece of plywood (4X4 piece from home depot is about 10 dollars) and cut out a hole for the monitor to fit through, also cut the wood to fit the monitor space in the cabinet.  mount the monitor to the plywood using the screw holes that are on each corner of the monitor.  Then drop the completed assembly into the cabinet.  I did this exact procedure on mine, i paid 20.00 for the monitor, and about 10 dollars for the wood.  Once the monitor is behind the glass you cannot even tell.  You can cut a bezel from a piece of poster board.  I use GameEX as a front end for Mame, it is the easiest to set up and use.  Good luck

[ptpeter]

thanks alot man! is it easy/possible to take apart a tv screen?

[Magnet_Eye]

I had a tempest mame cab. Only problem is lack of space for controls. One player, no problem. Two players gets tight. I bought a caseless VGA monitor that mounted right into the cab. Worked great.

[redfivexw]

it is not hard at all to take the cases apart.  On the back there will be some screws, take them out.  Gently pull the rear case off.  Here is the part you need to be careful.  If there are any exposed parts of the tube or chassis, do not touch them!  When i did a computer monitor, the entire assembly was encased, when i did a tv, everything was exposed.  There is a lot of voltage in there.  anyway.  On the front of the tube, there will 4 bolts attaching the tube to the case, remove them.  the 4 tabs on the front of the tube are what you use to attach the monitor to the board. 

[ptpeter]

is there alot of voltage in them when they are unplugged? if so can you decharge it?

[RayB]

is there alot of voltage in them when they are unplugged?

Yes. Please read up on monitor tube charge and discharging.

[Necro]

is there alot of voltage in them when they are unplugged?

Yes. Please read up on monitor tube charge and discharging.

Let me expand on this.  "Please read up on monitor tube charge and discharging before you kill yourself trying something."

[Teebor]

is there alot of voltage in them when they are unplugged? if so can you decharge it?

discharging a monitor is not something that you want to do if you are faint of heart.  Or if there is anyone else in the building.  They can go off with a BIG bang

[redfivexw]

what he said, as i said before, do not touch the wires...

[leapinlew]

is there alot of voltage in them when they are unplugged?

Yes. Please read up on monitor tube charge and discharging.

Let me expand on this.  "Please read up on monitor tube charge and discharging before you kill yourself trying something."

lol!

[ericball]

I fit a 21" PC monitor into my Tempest cab.  However, even with the monitor against the glass, I still had to cut a hole in the rear door.