Author Topic: I got wood- But it's already put together :) (Read 7248 times)

gamenut · « **on:** November 12, 2006, 01:26:25 am »

Ok, I'm tired of waiting for my buttons.

So i decided to start gutting the cab i'm going to use for mame.

I have only ever opened one of these for cleaning and repairs.

Now its time to get dirty

Thats my friend reaching where my popeye arms won't

Apperently, this cab has had a long life. First frogger, then Arkinoid.

Oh Wait, The marquee is covered with some truely AWESOME marble contact paper.

But whats this?

After peeling away,count'em, THREE LAYERS of crap, I find this.

An even longer life.

\Here's some pics of the CP

gamenut · « **Reply #1 on:** November 12, 2006, 01:27:32 am »

The bearing are pretty shot in the spinner. If i can find replacements i'll keep it.

I'm lovin the suround sound :groucho

PCB is out

Now the monitor.

Screen cover is out

Arkinoid bezel

Heavier than i thought!

Empty

leapinlew · « **Reply #2 on:** November 12, 2006, 01:30:54 am »

Looking good! Whats the overall plan for this thing?

Be careful with that floor... I damaged my wood floor cartin arcade games around on it.

AlanS17 · « **Reply #3 on:** November 12, 2006, 01:39:51 am »

That's not the only machine you've got that's been reicarnated. Your Mortal Kombat used to be a Data East game - probably a Bad Dudes.

gamenut · « **Reply #4 on:** November 12, 2006, 02:47:58 am »

I'm not sure what the "over all theme" is gonna be.
But its gonna be a two player(7 buttons each) pretty much fighter cab.
It will also have a track ball and spinner, side buttons for pinball.
This is my first mame project, so i'm probly not gonna go to crazy with the artsy side of this cab.
I just want to have one that functions.
I'll be adding a LEDWiz. Got to have the pretty lights

I'm thinking a 23" T.V. for the inside.
Still batting around the idea of a dual monitor( *tips hat to McCoy178*).
And i might get a new coindoor.

But since i'm SOOOOOOOO new, I'm still considering a few things.
Will to take input

gamenut · « **Reply #5 on:** November 12, 2006, 05:25:55 pm »

Well today i started working on the control panel.
I ended up cutting 3 different tops befor i got one that iwas happy with.

I'm going to smooth out the rough corners on the box.

theCoder · « **Reply #6 on:** November 12, 2006, 07:00:53 pm »

Great progress. I like the rounded corners as well. As far as...

Quote from: gamenut on November 12, 2006, 05:25:55 pm

I ended up cutting 3 different tops befor i got one that iwas happy with.

I would have played with cardboard first. How are you going to lay-out your controls?

leapinlew · « **Reply #7 on:** November 12, 2006, 08:04:18 pm »

Quote from: theCoder on November 12, 2006, 07:00:53 pm

I would have played with cardboard first. How are you going to lay-out your controls?

true true...

Do a mockup in cardboard with controls to find any hidden issues...

gamenut · « **Reply #8 on:** November 12, 2006, 08:53:17 pm »

You know, I've been going through all these posts for a couple of months now, and i remember seeing people do just that. Don't know why i didn't think of it today. Oh well. I've got it now.

i guess i'll keep it in mind for next time

But porbably just a very small annoyance compared to several more to come since this is my first build.

gamenut · « **Reply #9 on:** November 12, 2006, 09:03:02 pm »

OH_ By the way, as far as the control layout, I'm thinking a two player-7 button w/trackball and spinner,Maybe some buttons on the side for pinball.
One question though, How many games use 7 buttons?
I'm using a modified version of the one given in the byoac book.
I really like fighter games, Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3 is what pushed me to build this.

gamenut · « **Reply #10 on:** November 13, 2006, 03:46:39 pm »

Well i had a little time today and got started on the new box for the coin door.
This piece will also add support to the CP.
It was easier to make than i thought it would be.

gamenut · « **Reply #11 on:** November 14, 2006, 08:24:12 pm »

Woohoo! I just got my Keywiz & LedWiz today

Now i keep peeking out the window for the mailman to bring my buttons

gamenut · « **Reply #12 on:** November 18, 2006, 11:26:19 pm »

So i had a few minutes today to finalize my CP Layout.
Here's a few pics

gamenut · « **Reply #13 on:** November 21, 2006, 02:10:23 pm »

I got my buttons today! Thanks Divemaster

And yesterday i had enough time to put a 24" tv i my cab.
I didn't get any pics of the process but i'll post a few of it in there when i get a chance.

danny_galaga · « **Reply #14 on:** November 22, 2006, 06:58:38 am »

hmm, looks like your wood is bigger than mine...

gamenut · « **Reply #15 on:** November 26, 2006, 12:22:59 am »

Well i've got the buttons and joys in.
And the LEDS working for the most part.
Got a 23" tv in it.
I can't read any text what so ever on it.
Games look "OK"
I'll post some pics as soon as i find my camera.

subcriminal · « **Reply #16 on:** November 26, 2006, 05:26:35 am »

FrankenFrogger

gamenut · « **Reply #17 on:** November 26, 2006, 09:22:00 pm »

Bwahahahahahaha

gamenut · « **Reply #18 on:** November 29, 2006, 06:38:09 pm »

Ok, heres some more pics.

Heres one of the tv finally in. 24" still in the case. Thought about decasing a 27" but.......nah!

Downloading software and setting screen settings.

Start of button wiring. I heart keywiz!

Thats my son doing some "config" testing

Thats my friend hogan. Doing some testing on the buttons and making sure the leds are correct.
Gotta give a thumbs up to Youki and all the people putting together AtomicFE.
The LED animation setup is easy as pie.
even for a supernewb

Havok · « **Reply #19 on:** November 30, 2006, 09:22:15 am »

Looks great so far. Now quick take that control panel apart or you'll never get done!

gamenut · « **Reply #20 on:** November 30, 2006, 03:57:32 pm »

theres no kidding there

gamenut · « **Reply #21 on:** December 03, 2006, 03:16:10 am »

If you noticed, the pics with the cab screen on, you might notice that the screen is shifted down and too the left.
It only happened on a few games but those games are some of my faves.

I couldn't figure out how to adjust JUST those games.
How to fix it?

Well i toyed around with the settings on the (right click desktop/properties/res/settings) to no avial.
The only thing that happened changed everything,all games were changed. But still down and to the left.
The next thing i tried was switching from mame32 to mame110.
It worked. All my games are centered on the big screen. But a few games don't work. grrrrrr

Oh well-keepn truckin right

subcriminal · « **Reply #22 on:** December 03, 2006, 06:20:59 am »

Quote from: gamenut on December 03, 2006, 03:16:10 am

The next thing i tried was switching from mame32 to mame110.
It worked. All my games are centered on the big screen. But a few games don't work. grrrrrr
Oh well-keepn truckin right

What version of MAME32 were you using? Maybe it was an earlier version than MAME110. You can download earlier versions of mame by changing the version number in the download URL.

http://www.mame.net/zips/mame069b.zip

Chris · « **Reply #23 on:** December 04, 2006, 10:49:32 am »

Nice! I've been trying to solve a similar CP issue with mine, and I like what you've done with yours!

gamenut · « **Reply #24 on:** December 04, 2006, 11:08:51 pm »

screen issues too huh? PM me if you need help. I'll do what i can.

gamenut · « **Reply #25 on:** December 05, 2006, 02:48:15 pm »

Well i made the mistake of making installing the tv permenantly. today i had to install a new power button for the tv.
What a pain!

Ended up turning the cab upside down in the end so i could solder the connects for the new power button.
Newbie's take heed, look where the power button is BEFORE you glue in tv supports. DEE DEE DEE

Oh well,live and learn

Kaytrim · « **Reply #26 on:** December 05, 2006, 04:15:58 pm »

Quote from: gamenut on December 05, 2006, 02:48:15 pm

Newbie's take heed, look where the power button is BEFORE you glue in tv supports. DEE DEE DEE
Oh well,live and learn

Either that or mount it so you can take it out if needed for repairs, changes in design, etc...

dweebs0r · « **Reply #27 on:** December 07, 2006, 09:42:22 pm »

The picture on the TV looks great. Perfect actually.

What video card and tv combo are you using?

-D

gamenut · « **Reply #28 on:** December 07, 2006, 11:59:05 pm »

http://www.circuitcity.com/ssm/EVGA-E-GeForce-6200-Video-Card-128-A8-N339-LX/sem/rpsm/oid/153130/catOid/-13043/rpem/ccd/productDetail.do
That's the video card i'm using.
It outputs to a monitor/flat panel tv-via adaptor/ and s-vid.
The TV i'm using i got at wal mart for $125. Durabrand, a/v input in the front, but no s-video.
I picked up one of those $14 "Any dvd player to TV" converters. It will take s-vid and convert to regular TV co-ax.
I think the picture is ok, just not great.

But i got pretty lucky not knowing what to buy.

Here are a couple pics to show you how it looks.

Here's one of the FE w/snap

And another

A close up of the snap

An in game pic

Here is one of how text looks.

if i get a chance i'll take some small vids of in game play to show you how it looks.

And now some up dates

I did some wire clean up. Not too worried about it since this is my first cab and i have to take it all apart later anyway.

I did some primer paint on the bare wood.

I'm not going to do anything to the main sides untill i get the artwork figured out

monzamess · « **Reply #29 on:** December 08, 2006, 09:18:29 am »

Nice so far!

I modified the same cabinet (mine was originally a Space Firebird). It's nice to see what it was supposed to look like inside--mine was already hacked up when I got it.

I wonder if your control panel will be too high. I originally had mine about that high (maybe a little higher) and it was uncomfortable--then again I'm not a really tall guy either.

I later lowered it down to the height of the original panel and it's much better.

If you look at my webpage, you can see I will need to completely redo the CP to properly integrate it with the cabinet (I built the control panel 5 years before getting the cabinet). I like your false front / pedestal better than the "outriggers" I put on mine.

http://dgbrown.h-body.org/videogames/cabinet/index.html

Glaine · « **Reply #30 on:** December 08, 2006, 10:31:29 am »

I'm really surprised your video quality came out that good, because if I remember right, the component would always end up being the weakest link here as it is your TV's input. So even though you use something else to translate S-Vid to component, it should always end up looking like component. Not that it matters at least on the classics (which to me looked kinda blurry anyways, cept some of those crisp vector games).

I've had to buy new TVs before cuz all I had around the house were component.

Like your setup, funny about that marquee - I don't know so many on here can get enough of that sticky mess off of sideart and marquees to bother with stripping em.

O, and that dragon wall art looks preatty awesome.

gamenut · « **Reply #31 on:** December 08, 2006, 10:11:09 pm »

Art is a sickness, a disease.
And some times you just have to get it out. Even if it lands on the walls or the floor.


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