"The Varsity Club" Dual Monitor Arcade *Reconstruction has begun* 12/29/09

[mccoy178]

 Pic of the day:


Zakkk just notified me that I've been awarded a Mamey.  How cool is that?  When I started this project, I wanted it to be one for the ages, and I'm honored to see that even with the "doofey" sport theme, guys in the community still like it.  Thanks fellas!

http://www.mameworld.net/massive/NEWMAMEY/cabinet.htm

Also, Retro James notified me of the cabinets newest news article:

http://retroblast.com/newsitem.php?cid=1852



I've built five cabinets since discovering this hobby about a year and a half ago.  I built two at xmas time for friends and family and they both had ledwiz's.  I made the decision then and there that I am only building one ever again.  So, I am finally starting an announcement thread well in advance to post my process from the beginning up through the end.  I will start out by listing what I am planning on using and will update the list as things come along.  This is going to be a bear.  I will also start a thread announcing the creation of my jukebox.  Here is the basic list:

1. Arcade monitorDecided after talking with HowardC to keep my 27" tv and use the component input.  I ordered my dongle. - IN HAND!!! $250 + $30
2. 15" LCD monitor in the top similar to GTLive - Decided to go with 17" Acer LCD for $175 after tax!
3. LED Wiz - Received 3/8/06!!! $50
4. 4 Midway 49 ways with encoders - Received 3/8/06!!! $325
5. Keywiz for escape keys, coindoor, vpinball, and start buttons - IN HAND!!! $40
6. Use tokens instead of coin button - hidden coin button - Ordered token/quarter coin mechs 3/19/06 - $20
7. Impliment PowerMame
8. Add Spinner - Purchased two of RandyT's spinners 3/28/06 - $150 Delivered
9. PowderCoat cabinet - Bad news here.  Looks like it's not available in my area.  Regular paint it is.
10. Have add on steering wheel
11. Exceptional Artwork on CP and cabinet (Decided on black and white OSU themed art) - Proud to say I designed the overlay myself and I've sent the work to Scott at Mamemarquees - $75 shipped
12. 4 Person Coindoor that functions - Ordered from Divemaster 5/23 - $147 shipped
13. Custom Pause Screen
14. Dual Screen Support for second monitor - HowardC project
15. N64 Doggles - ugh, that's going to be expensive
16. USB Hub for external controls - IN HAND!!!
17. Motion Detection Teaser - Need to find proper motion detector
18. Swappable P1 and P2 Spots (i.e. steering wheels, tron controls) - Decided not to go this route.  No flight stick for me.
19. OSU themed Front End including music and movies - Need to figure out how to make layouts
20. Leaf switch buttons that Ponyboy just added. Bought 30 new and complete red translucent buttons for $55 shipped!!!
21. No Australian Parts!  Oh wait, they never made any!
22. Upside down stool for when any of the PP guys come over. (Stingray and the boys said they were in!)
23. The addition of light guns.  Need to research as to outside of the act labs setup, what else is worth the money. - Ordered 1 LCD Recoil 3/25/06 - $51 - Purchased second one from Crashwg for $30 delivered.10/10/06
25. Use the new Ice buttons of Randy's with the leaf switch addition of Ponyboys - Went with all leafswitches.  Sorry Randy!  You'll just have to live with $125 of my money.
26. Light Leafswitch buttons - Ordered 26 LiteMite boards from Whammo - IN HAND!!! $86
27. Rotary dials and interfaces for two of the 49 ways - Paid Rdagger $39 for the interface
28. Decide what FE to use.  I love Mamewah, but I need to check out DK and some of the others.  I need to find out if customizable layouts are going to be a possibility.
29. Find out how to make exit key wait 2 seconds before quitting(Hate accidental exits!)Need to search for thread on this one.  Think I'm going to use "P" button as a shift needed w/escape to exit.
30. Real Pinball Plunger for Pinmame - purchased from Tornadodotterry $25 5/4/06
31. Make indentations on CP for Pinball Flippers. - Done
32. Incorporate Beta Bright into marquee like current cabinet - IN HAND!!! $175
33. Make CP top out of metal - 16 gauge aluminum - $28 in hand
34. Block "O" cut outs for side art of cabinet - Same metal company will cut these for $100
35. 3" casters on bottom of cabinet - Have some from another cabinet.  Finally, something free!
36. Red Light Cathodes behind side art
37. Wireless USB hub for internet connection (for server options and updating)- IN HAND!!! - $50
38. Logitech Z2300 speaker system - IN HAND!!! $50
39. Happs 3" Trackball w/translucent red ball(From Bob Roberts) and Optipac - IN HAND!!! $125
40. AMD Athlon64 3200+ to handle all my needs for the moment - Woot!  I found an entire setup on Craigs list for $210 shipped!!!
41. 1000 gig of HD to handle all the memory - IN HAND!!! $350
42. 1 gig of Ram - IN HAND!!! $60
43. 4" Castors - Picked up from older cabinet - $0!
44. 3 Sheets of MDF board - $60
45. Build custom monitor bracket - $40 from Lowe's
46. Video card that supports the component dongle - purchased SAPPHIRE ATLANTIS RADEON 9600 Radeon 9600 128MB DDR AGP 4X/8X Video Card - $60 Shipped from NewEgg
47. One solid piece of plexiglass.  26"x48" - $65 in hand!
48. Ordered Marquee from MameMarquees - $35 shipped
49. Ordered TMolding from TMolding.com - $35 delivered
50. USB PCI card so computer will boot properly - $20
51. Spinner knobs from GGG with coin inlay - $50
52. Hand Carved Side art from Donkey_Kong and the Pine Princess - $225 shipped

Please note, some items came from my current cabinet.  That makes the cost a little easier to live with.

 Total to date: $3190

[mccoy178]

Cabinet section

Parts that I have:
Smart strip power strip
Happs Illuminated Triangle Button for Power On/Off
MDF is no problem
BetaBrite Sign for Marquee
4" Casters
4 person over/under coindoor
Plexiglass

Parts I need:
Motion detection parts

[mccoy178]

Control Panel section

Parts that I have:
4 - 49 way midways controllers and wiring harnesses - $130
4 - GPWiz49 way interfaces #1,#2,#3, and #4 - $150
Powered USB hub - $20
Happs 3" Trackball - $75
3" red translucent trackball from Bob Roberts - $20
KeyWiz max - $35
LEDWiz - $50
OptiPac - $39 + s&h
26 LiteMite LED boards - $86 shipped
2 - GGG spinners - $150 shipped
26 - 1 5/8th Red Translucent Leaf Switch Buttons, harness, and leaf switches - $55 shipped
Mamemarquee overlay - $75 shipped
16 gauge aluminum for overlay - $28 in hand
Real Pinball Plunger - $25 shipped

[mccoy178]

Computer section

5/10/06 - AMD 64 3200+ Asus K8V SE Deluxe 1GB Mushkin PC3200 - $210 Delivered
5/10/06 - SAPPHIRE ATLANTIS RADEON 9600 Radeon 9600 128MB DDR AGP 4X/8X Video Card - $60 shipped

[mccoy178]

Software section

I'm going to start listing the emulators that I plan on having and the front end.

Emulators
Mame w/Zinc
NES
SNES
N64
GBA Advance
Atari 2600
PSOne
Sega Genesis
Pinmame
Turbo Graphix16


Front End
Mamewah and GameEx are at the top of the list right now.

For the time being, I'm going to use this section to list useful links that I may need.  If you have any that may help, please post them in a reply.

This is really really badass.  The sounds alone would be good for Mamewah.
The motion teaser you were talking about is here:

http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?topic=43234.0

First post has the program and sound pack

Original Thread w/ Idea and some tech information (I think)

http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?topic=42069.0

Here is a great thread about how to build metal control panels:

http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?topic=32328.msg278769#msg278769

Here is the thread that showed me how to get the keywiz to load on start up with my configuration:
http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?topic=34895.0

Here is the link to the Powermame Wiki that details how to set up the lighting cfg so the lights will work properly:
http://www.powermame.com/pmwiki.php?n=Features.LEDWizOutputSetup

Here is the AHK for making the exit key 2 seconds:
http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?topic=45340.msg431082#msg431082

How to make so you don't need a login with windows xp:
http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?topic=61215.0

Mame Registry Tweaks for a cabinet:
http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?topic=61266.0

Howards wrapper for Zinc:
http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?topic=52607.0;all

How to make multiple HD's look like one:
http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?topic=59858.0

[SirPoonga]

Awe, c'mon, post development as it happens like everyone else.

[mccoy178]

I will, but I want to have it up front as well so it will be simple to see what went into this.

[SNAAKE]

even more cabinet lol

pix ? ?

[sc1103]

The motion teaser you were talking about is here:

http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?topic=43234.0

First post has the program and sound pack

Original Thread w/ Idea and some tech information (I think)

http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?topic=42069.0

I had filed this away but never got around to it 

[c64rulez]

Noobs section

I've built five cabinets since discovering this hobby about a year and a half ago. 

That sounds like ... mmm... one every three months. Now this is going to be one of two scenarios for noobs:

1. The noob who just bought his MDF sheets
    "Great !! 3 months is nothing. Hand me that saw!"

2. The noob whose been staring at his half built cab for the past five months.
    "Aaaahhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!. Hand me that saw!"




btw.... good luck

[mccoy178]

Well, I can tell you this much about my first cabinet.  The building didn't take long at all.  Getting the software figured out really really sucked.  I luckily had a local guy hook me up and get me running.  So initially, I was out the gate fast, but it took a long time to get to where I wanted to be.  This time, the preparation will take a while as cost and time are limited at the moment, but once I get going, I expect this one to be big time.  Like I said, I honestly expect this to be my last one.  I don't think I can handle the stress of doing another.  I always push my limits and that gets old after awhile.  I can't help it.  It's a motivating force I guess.

[GadgetGeek]

Awe, c'mon, post development as it happens like everyone else.

Maybe Pixelhugger is his idol?

[markrvp]

What was HowardC's reasoning for using a TV?  Howard is a great programmer, but not reknowned for his cabinet building skills.

I have all three of the major display devices:  TV, Arcade Monitor (CGA), and Multisync Monitor (Betson 27" multisync).  I would only use a TV if I already had an extra and couldn't beg, borrow, or steal enough money to buy the mulitsync.

My $.02.

[mccoy178]

Well, after rapping with him in the chat room, I mentioned that I had been using a 27" flat screen w/s video and told him that I had components on the back of the t.v..  So he suggested that the quality of that picture would be very good.  On a side note, I would use a computer monitor if I could to play everything, as I'm still in my twenties and want to have good vision into my thirties.  All I'm saying is that I don't mind compromising the original look for a clearer one.

[markrvp]

Well, after rapping with him in the chat room, I mentioned that I had been using a 27" flat screen w/s video and told him that I had components on the back of the t.v..  So he suggested that the quality of that picture would be very good.  On a side note, I would use a computer monitor if I could to play everything, as I'm still in my twenties and want to have good vision into my thirties.  All I'm saying is that I don't mind compromising the original look for a clearer one.

Text still won't be great on a TV, no matter what you use.  On the Betson Multisync, you can run Windows on a standard VGA card at 1024x768 (if that's what you want) and get perfect crystal clear graphics and text. 

[mccoy178]

Don't tell me that!   I'm gonna go do some pricing on those monitors.  Geez, why in the world did you say that.

[mccoy178]

Wow!  Over $500!  I just received the component dongle today, so I'm gonna give it a try and hopefully be able to live with it.   I think somehow I may be able to survive.  It's gonna be hard, but $500, I'm just going to have to make it work.

[bigtimes]

This is going to be one hell of a cab.

What's this Component dongle you speak of? I've got a 33" TV I'm using as my monitor, but I'm using S-Video.

[mccoy178]

It's from ATI.  It is a dongle that will convert the signal from the PC into component signal.  It was about $35 after shipping.  It will work with Radeon 9500, 9600, 9700, and 9800 series video cards.  I know this cabinet is going to be expensive!  I've been going through the parts list and man it's off the hook!  But, this isn't my first rodeo, so I am fully understanding at the costs involved and what I am looking to do.  I've been following this dang community non stop since I joined, and I feel I am making the best choices for what I like.  BTW, would you guys go with one spinner or two?  I am thinking one would be fine.

EDIT: Here is the link to the dongle:
http://shop.ati.com/product.asp?sku=2537967
Pic:

[markrvp]

You can get the Betson for $425... well I can get it for that.  If we get together this summer at -S' then maybe I could pick one up at Betson in Dallas and bring it to you.

Spinners - one should be sufficient for most games like Tempest and Blasteroids as they are alternating player.  If you want to play two player simultaneous games like Championship Sprint (or Super Sprint), then two spinners would be neat.  The second spinner would be pretty low on the priority list, though.

[mccoy178]

I think I am going to go with one spinner.  I may have to take out another mortgage to pay for the buttons and lighting.  What an expensive option!  Now, should I have a dedicated four way on my CP?  That is the $64,000 question at the moment.  I will already have a lot going on, would this be too much in your guys opinions?  I plan on having a spinner and a trackball, but that is about it for extras.  Anyone who has their spinner above their trackball have problems with Golden Tee?  I could see how that could be a deal breaker.

[Timoe]

I had a spinner located above my trackball.  Infact it was even off to the side alittle and I STILL smashed my fingers into it playing GT.

[mccoy178]

This reply will compare the cost of my button options:
This combo: Ice Lightning button, RGB board and Leafswitch would cost: $8.65 ea.!




or I could go the Knievel route and go with true leaf switch button, litemite lear switch lighting board, and that would cost: $7.50 ea!




Both options are crazy expensive, but for the GGG route, I could have RGB's.  The other route, I could have true leaf switches but I would be limited to a couple colors.  Since I'm building an OSU themed cabinet, I would be stuck with red translucent buttons.

[mccoy178]

By the way, I hand wired two four person control panels with ledwiz's, that is why I don't have a problem playing for a premade option.  I may sack it up in the end, but I really really like the rgb route and I don't know if I could mentally handle doing all that soldering again.

[markrvp]

Dude:

I would be tempted to go with the RGBs, simply because I think it would be cool to light up the buttons by game, in the same color they were in the arcade.  If you are not doing that, then I don't see a huge point during gameplay for RGBs.  That would only really be cool during the attract mode IMHO.

Something to think about before adding a 4-way:
Do you like playing 4-way games with the 49-way joystick set to 4-way mode?  If the answer is yes, then there is NO reason to add a dedicated 4-way.  If the answer is no, then you should add a dedicated 4-way because there really is no better way to play 4-way games.  I am so partial to the feel of the original Pacman 4-way joysticks that I restored a whole Pacman Cocktail with original PCB and joysticks because I didn't like the way any other joystick felt in Pacman in MAME. 

The next question you need to ask if you are going to use a dedicated 4-way joystick is:  Do you like the way the 49-ways feel in 8-way games?  If the answer is yes, do you like the way they feel more than a dedicated 8-way joystick?  If the answer to either of those questions is NO, then maybe you shouldn't be using the 49-ways at all.  You might be happier with a dedicated 8-way that you love and a dedicated 4-way that you love.

Now, if you really like the feel of the 49-way joysticks, then just use them.  For games like Assault where you need dual 4-ways, it would be nice to be able to set all the 49-ways to 4-way mode.  However, for games like Assault and Tron you need some kind of triggerstick or thumbswitch joystick.  Are you into those games as well?

Let's talk out all you want to play, what your favorite games are, and what games you will feel limited against, and we can come up with as good a solution as possible.  For me, the only solution I'm going to be happy with is a modular system.  However, that eliminates artwork and LED lighting, so everything's a compromise.

BTW, I know I'm not telling you anything you don't already know, but sometimes it's nice to bounce ideas off of somebody.  I'm going to be bouncing some MameWAH stuff off of you here before long.

[mccoy178]

BTW, I know I'm not telling you anything you don't already know, but sometimes it's nice to bounce ideas off of somebody.  I'm going to be bouncing some MameWAH stuff off of you here before long.

I appreciate this.  Gets me thinking.  I've read a ton of stuff over the past year and my brain can't handle all the jumble.  I will post a list of some of my favorites.  I can tell you the corner stone of the whole thing is Golden Tee and the old school emulators, so all this other talk is just for dessert, but very important non the less.

[markrvp]

So do the console emulators expect gamepads or will they accept keyboard inputs?

[mccoy178]

They will accept game pads.  The only problem I can forsee is the esc key as most are hard programmed.  I have an unused keywiz max that I was going to use for that purpose.  I was also going to use if for vpinball as well and the coindoor.

[markrvp]

I strongly endorse using a keyboard encoder to handle admin, coin, and start functions.  These tend to lose their mapping in MAME when assigned to a gamepad and the gamepad gets unplugged.

[mccoy178]

Okay, after serious debate and research, I have chosen to go with the following route for my buttons:
I will go with all Leaf buttons and the mite bright boards.  I am going with a black and white CP overlay and red buttons.  OSU colors are Scarlet and Grey and the incorporation of these two will accomplish the look that I want.  I am also considering a radical idea for my side art.  A metal fabricated block "O" that has lighting inside to create indirect light off the cabinet.  Now that I'm in the Technology Education program at Ohio State, I should have access to everything I need to make that happen.  The metal would help tie in the CP overlay. 

Next effort:  I am going to attempt to get my artwork together for my layouts and for the cp overlay.  I feel that if I can get the artwork done on that,(SNAAAKE, you out there?!), then momentum will get really going.

[mccoy178]

My wife is not going to be happy.   I just ordered my lights from Whammo and now I'm going to order my leaf switches and LEDWiz to get the ball rolling.  This is going to go well.

Here is the costs including shipping:
1)Ordered 26 Lite Might boards from Whammo: $87.94
2)Ordered 26 Red translucent 1 5/8th leaf switch butttons from Centsibleamusements: $83.68
I cancelled this part of the order untill I'm ready for the buttons.
UPDATE:Ordered 30 new and complete red tranlucent leaf switches for $55 shipped!!!  Deal of the month!!!
3)Ordered LEDWiz from GroovyGameGear: $51.00
4)Look on my wifes face: Priceless!
Grand Total for lighting and buttons: $193.94
This will go over like a lead balloon.  What it did though, was save me from buying two or three LEDWiz's and paying around a dollar more a button.  So, she'll just have to deal with it.


Here is the links to the stuff I bought:
Leaf Switch Buttons and Leaf Switches (I did not buy them from here):
http://www.centsibleamusements.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWCATS&Category=225
Litemite LED board with LED and screw terminal:
www.nicemite.com
LEDWiz:
www.groovygamegear.com

[mccoy178]

I'm going to add a real plunger to the front of the cabinet.  I have contacted another member on how to do it, so that will be excellent!  Here is the link to the tutorial:
http://www.johnsretroarcade.com/hardware_pinball.asp#schematic

I also just bought my control interfaces for P3 and P4 for the 49 ways.  That set me back a cool $72.25.  Now the CP construction will be ready to roll!

[markrvp]

Hey, you know the 1-5/8 buttons are for metal panels, right?  The 2" buttons are for wood.  What are you making the panel out of?

Knievel used the 2" buttons under wood and still had to router out 1/4" of material for them to line up right.

[mccoy178]

I don't believe they make 2" buttons in translucent red.  The two places I looked didn't have them and one of those was Wico.  I am planning on planing down my CP to the desired thickness for this.  That would keep me from having to countersink the 49 ways!  I will look into it further.

EDIT: Noticed that I didn't order the LeafSwitch spacers.  I will wait untill I get the buttons before ordering.  I may have to fabricate the top out of metal and add the wood on the back like the standard control panels have.  That will be fun.

I could have my cp artwork made, lay that on top of my metal, then drill the holes out and the artwork would look perfect!  I could also mount the trackball straight to the metal.  I like that idea!  Now, how to figure this out.................................

[markrvp]

I'm not trying to be a pain in the arse, but I want to make sure you get exactly what you need.  To make the leafswitch buttons work you need 3 parts:

1.) Button




2.) Holder with leafswitch




3.) Pal Nut




The cost you have breaks down to $3.21 per button.  However, I don't see on Centsibleamusements' site the button holders with leafswitch.  Did you get those, and if so, how much were they?  The reason I ask is because I ordered 14 leafswitch buttons from Centsibleamusements back in November and the cost for all the 3 parts needed for 14 of them was about $100 with shipping.



BTW, Lizardlick Amusements has the 2" translucent red buttons, but they are $2.50 as compared to $1.79.  The button holders with leafswitch are $3.  Also be aware that the button holder for the 1-5/8" buttons is typically thicker than the ones for 2" buttons which will further compound the problem of mounting them in wood.

If you want me to STFU I will, but please post pics of exactly what you bought so I can go to sleep not worrying that my OSU buddy got the "losing coach penalty" on his buttons.

[mccoy178]

Well...........the more I've thought about it, I may return the leaf switches until I order the holder and nut at the same time, but I'm really interested in the metal top.  I think that would be a great way to do it.  Thanks for the heads up.  I will keep the buttons that I ordered and hopefully get this figured out.  Thanks for the help, I appreciate it.

EDIT:  Looks as though I will need to find a Greenlee punch for my holes.  Now I just need to find a four foot piece of metal.  Also, time to bust out the trial version of Adobe Illustrator to get my CP laid out.  I probably won't change much from my previous designs of four player layouts, but you never know.  I do have some changes in mind that are fairly key to the whole thing.  Wow, I didn't plan on starting this early.

[mccoy178]

I cancelled my leaf switch button order all together.  I did order the lighting, ledwiz, and the controller interfaces, so outside of the buttons, I have all I need to start the cp.  I did research making the cp out of metal and I definitely think that is the way I'm going to go.  Now I need to get my artwork done and go from there.  I think I am going to make a metal block "O" on the side with rounded sides so I can hide neon red lighting behind it.  We'll just have to find out how good my metal bending skills are.  I want to do as much on my own as I can, so I will just have to see how it goes!

[mccoy178]

Okay, it's picture time!  Thanks Whammo!  You are the first official supplier of "new" parts for the cabinet!

[Tahnok]

That button comparison isn't completely fare you know. You didn't acknowledge the fact that the electric ice buttons are quite different than normal translucents. Yes, they're more expensive than what you bought, but what you bought doesn't do the same thing.

Anyway, looks like you're really going all out with this project; I can't wait to see how it turns out.

[mccoy178]

I fairly said that by going with the leaf switch option, I was sacrificing the rgb's.  The ultimate reason was that the leaf switch add on for microswitches probably don't work with the rgb boards.  The other negative(or positive depending upon how you look at it), is that I would've had to add two more LEDWiz's to have enough outputs for all the rgb's.  I would have preferred the rgb's, but with all the bells and whistles, I have to pick and choose carefully.

BTW, thank you very much for the compliments.  I hope the documentation from start to finish will help others down the road.