Some quick questions before starting...

[Hockeyboy]

I've seen some incredible things on this site, from restoration jobs to complete build-ups and I am finally in the market, so to speak, on getting started on my own cabinet. I mentioned before a friend is giving me an old TMNT cab that is all but gutted to rebuild (no monitor, no board, just the p/s and some wiring in the bottom and marquee lighting). My plan is to remove just about everything and rebuilt it since he's about 99.6% certain that it's not even an original TMNT cab and he got it for nothing (he's checked on it and it's not as though I'd be desecrating some oldie-but-goodie).

Before I get it to the garage and start, I do have a couple quick questions though:

1) I'm only going to running MAME and Daphne through this - no consoles, except maybe some Neo-Geo games that come on whatever media I have (or will purchase). What CPU setup would be acceptable and what version of MAME should I strive to find? (I currently have 1.03 and the associated games, but would be willing to go back a few versions if that's what is necessary.) I'm thinking a PIII 800-950 MHz chip with 512 RAM and a TV-out video card would be fine, along with a DVD-ROM and a simple 30-40 Gig hard drive.

2) I won't be doing super-duper fighter games, but I seem to be leaning towards staying towards what seems to be the "standard" CP template of 2 joysticks with 6 buttons each, a trackball, and a spinner. Should I include extra buttons near the trackball or spinner for those types of games? Or are there so few games using this that I shouldn't worry about it?

3) Cost is an issue - I have a brand-new house so I can't go super spendy on everything but I do have the "official" (i.e. wife) blessing to do what I want with this and take as much time as I need. Are there things I absolutely have to have when building a first cab? Are there things I should probably do without and see if I want to ever build a second cab and then include them? Opinions and thoughts are much appreciated on this question.

Thanks, all...just trying to get a good idea of base items I'll need...it's simply a matter of gathering/ordering what I need and starting at this point. Wish me luck. 

[NickG]

I agree; this forum's members are incredible.
1) Your PC specs sound suitable for most of MAME and Daphne   

2) I added the extra buttons near my trackball and I kind of regret it sometimes.  Sure they are handy when I am using the trackball as I mouse, but there are so many buttons on my control panel already.  I can use any of them in as mouse or game buttons via software mapping and configuration settings.   On that same note my spinner was placed directly above the player one buttons.  It is not the most ergonomic (see my projects page from my signature) as it is too close to the buttons for comfortable play.  I would position further right and higher away if I were to rebuild it.

3)  Definitely take your time.  I hurried into a few projects and ended up with a couple pieces of scrap.  I am a cost-conscience guy myself, but I just had to have a spinner.  A lot  have sticker-shock when they research new spinners like those from Wico and Oscar. I surely did.   A spinner was my see-if-you-can-do-without-it, but I couldn't after a while.  My advice is: leave room on(one of) your panel(s) for it if you are into spinner games.  A lot of spinner games can be [casually] played with a trackball in the meantime (if you can't find an acceptable means of acquiring one).  If you are also a looks-conscience person, and if you are really planning to build another cab or CP, you might later wish to build a separate panel for optical/analog type controls.

Good luck with your project.

[Hockeyboy]

Talked to the guy from work again and it turns out this TMNT cab does have a 25" monitor but it does not have any neck boards or control boards, just that monitor chassis, along with the glass bezel, the marquee lighting, an isolation transformer mounted on the bottom that runs to the monitor, and a Jamma wiring harness (but no game board). He's telling me he'll let me have all that with the cab, so now he's got me intrigued. I've read about several people re-doing monitors and re-wiring them, and I'm okay with that, just need to know if it's possible to buy neck/control boards for 25" monitors (yes, I will need to know the brand of the monitor) and get it running? He also affirmed that is indeed an original TMNT cab.

Any more thoughts or opinions or suggestions?

[majs]

Not sure if this will help but I just gutted a pit-fighter cab to just the marque and monitor with the isolation transformer. I hooked the monitor directly to an arcagevga by ultimarc with the cables I bought from him. I also got an ipac and did my input connections through it. If the monitor is ok then you should just use the same route I did.

[NickG]

You need a neck board and control board of some sort. You can't connect an arcadevga or any other video card directly to a yoke by itself, right?  Ask around in the monitors forum if/when your tube is identifiable...

[majs]

I searched google for a neck board and yes my monitor does have it. I'm a noob too, that got a working cab. And with the help of the other posts and instructions from the ultimarc site,  I just cliped the color coded wires coming from the monitor to the jamma interface (where a jpac would have connected) and connected it to the arcadevga cable. So my guess is, you do need that neck board.

Not sure where you could get one, maybe ebay, but I wish you the best of luck.