Building my 2nd cabinet - questions regards new ideas

[mike_bike_kite]

I've allready built one mame cocktail cabinet (http://www.bikesandkites.com/arcade.html) but I want to go further. Version 2 will have the same dimensions (roughly 2 foot cubed) but I wanted advice on the following ideas.

To make the box kid (and drunken adult) friendly I wanted a thick sheet of shaded acrylic to cover the top and then have the buttons and joysticks come through it. Has anyone tried drilling and bevelling a sheet this 2 foot square and 1/2 inch thick? Could I light the middle of it and would the edges glow - I think I've seen this done somewhere else -  also would I be able to still see through the sheet to the game below?

Normally the joysticks screw into the underside of the control panel but my control panel would be acrylic - how would I fix to this? Could I get by without joysticks? it would look more sleek but I'd loose half the games:(

I was intending on using an LED wiz board to light the buttons - I haven't done this before but thought it would look neat - is there a way of lighting the on/off button (wired to the reset button on PC) permanently ie when the PC is switched off? Could I just hide the inards using a piece of black card under the acrylic?

I've seen 250mm fans on PC's and thought this would look very cool on the front - where can I buy one, are they easy to fit and would it look naff? Are they strong enough to be on the front?

I'm going to try using an 17" LCD screen - would this be enough/bright enough and with enough view angle for an looker or two?

I thought about putting the main directory on USB stick so I could easily add new files etc - is this a good idea? is it just read from or is it written to a lot?

Any suggestions for a front end that could:

• * start up automatically with the last game played.
  * control the LED wiz
  * have a juke box function (1980's hits seem appropriate) - I've headr of arcade jukebox but can this be called from the front end?

Thanks for reading.

Mike

[javeryh]

All of what you want to do is doable (I think).  Check out MaLa for your front end - it does everything.  I like your idea - something original!   

[Green Giant]

Sounds pretty sweet, but doesn't acrylic scratch up easily?  Would tempered glass work better?  Either way, wouldn't you have to worry about drunks spilling stuff the panel?

As for a front end, Mala works great for everything you need.  It offers the most variety for the ledwiz.

[Pops]

Some good ideas their, let's see what the snags are...
Acrylic is less inclined to scratch up than plexy so good choice. Bending 1/2 inch thick ain't easy, you'll need a machine specially for bending plastics, shop fitting manufacture?

Forget the LCD panel, unless mirrors are involved the viewing angle is terrible.

Am I right in thinking you want the CP and top all in one piece? Nice with only buttons that could look smooth.
 
Dunno what advantage putting the ROM Dir on the usb would be, it's just as easy to drag n drop from the stick as to pull and update the stick was in the first place.

The joy sticks in 1/2 inch plexy will need bolts through the plexy or route a recess and fix them in place with glue.  It's doable but the all button panel sounds cool. build two cp boxes for joysticks connected by usb when you need them. Ultimate 360 are ideal for this.

Go for it.... looking forward to the pics and progress.

[Havok]

Forget the LCD panel, unless mirrors are involved the viewing angle is terrible.

I would disagree with you there - I only use LCD screens, and have for some time now. If you get a good model, they have 170 degree viewing angles. Just don't shop at Walmart when you buy one...

[patrickl]

Acrylic is less inclined to scratch up than plexy so good choice.

Actually Plexiglass is a brand name for and Acrylic  product. So they are the same. Lexan (brandname for Polycarbonate) does scratch easier, but is tougher and easier to work with.

[mike_bike_kite]

Acrylic: I'm not intending to bend it - I just want a counter top with the controls - buttons & maybe joysticks - coming through it and the LCD screen  below. Tempered glass might be beyond me to drill.

I've tried turning the LCD around and it looks ok as long as I have a slight angle to it when fixed. My son currently has the 17" screen but I haven't told him it's going inside the new machine (I'll quietly swap it over one night with another LCD). I do have a spare CRT screen but it's 15".

If I put all the game folders in a USB stick then I could just grab the stick - shove on a few more games and plug it back in. Only problem would be if the folders are writen to a lot then the stick would break down after a while.

I've just ordered the buttons, I-Pac etc and started the install win 98 on the donor PC. I've already loaded power mame but I'll give Mala a shot to - wasn't she the girl in the film fight club?

Mike

[shardian]

... mame but I'll give Mala a shot to - wasn't she the girl in the film fight club?

That would be Marla.

[Dudeman]

OK...

We don't talk about Fight Club.

[mike_bike_kite]

Everything is going well - I've rebuilt an old PC with Win 98. I've ordered all the buttons etc and I'll be drilling a test rig up this weekend to try all the buttons on for when they arrive.

I also quite like Mala (and Marla) as well but I have a few small questions:

• How do I get Mala to show the images (snaps) for a game and show them as an array I can navigate around (left/right & up/down)?
• How do I get Mala to recognise the Arcade Jukebox software?
• Then how do you navigate easily between Mala and the new jukebox?
• If I replace the windows shell with Mala is there an easy way of getting back to the shell in future ie could it be picked as a game?
• Where can you buy 250mm case fans?

Mike

[DaOld Man]

• Where can you buy 250mm case fans?

Mike

Hi Mike, and good luck with your new project. It sounds cool, cant wait to see some pics.
As for the fan, you might try nexfan.com.
Not sure if they have 250 mm fans though. I do know they have 120 MM ones.
Suggestion: you might want to get a dust filter for your fan.

[dweezinator]

If I put all the game folders in a USB stick then I could just grab the stick - shove on a few more games and plug it back in. Only problem would be if the folders are writen to a lot then the stick would break down after a while.

Have you looked at an IDE to CF adapter?
http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?topic=70167.0

That one mounts inside the case, but I've seen some that mount in back planes of the case or in the 3.5" floppy bay. http://www.theinquirer.net/default.aspx?article=32070

I haven't used one myself but have seriously thought about it.  In theory you could remove card from MAME pc and tweak the configuration or add games on a seperate pc.  To do that you'd probably have to stick with FAT instead of NTFS though.

[Pops]

Yeah, my bad regards the plexy and lexan confusion.

Good to hear that the viewing angle on LCD is improved from when I last looked at them. I actually forgot about the horizontal viewing angle anyway, for some reason I pictured  a vert orientated setup with my minds eye.

Learning new stuff everyday.

[mike_bike_kite]

As for the fan, you might try nexfan.com.
Not sure if they have 250 mm fans though

Sadly they didn't.

Suggestion: you might want to get a dust filter for your fan.

I kind of like the idea of being able to see the circuit boards through the fan - I was intending on lighting those parts specialy. The dust filter would definitely keep the dust out but I'm going purely for eye candy here.

Have you looked at an IDE to CF adapter?

What an interesting idea! I think it would be overkill for this project but it's got me thinking for other projects

I actually forgot about the horizontal viewing angle anyway

I will tilt the screen a bit but the horizontal(ish) plane does make the view angle worse that for vertical displays.

Is there a Mala forum anywhere - I looked on google but didn't end up at any forums as such. I can't get the snaps to appear in the game list and need to use the mouse to get the mala jukebox to come up - can't get the arcade jukebox to appear at all unless I start it separately.

Mike

[mike_bike_kite]

I can now answer two of my questions!

How do I get Mala to show the images (snaps) for a game and show them as an array I can navigate around (left/right & up/down)?

You just need to download a layout - I assumed it was an option somewhere but it requires a download. I used something called blue and was impressed.

If I replace the windows shell with Mala is there an easy way of getting back to the shell in future ie could it be picked as a game?

Not really - I tried it as an experiment and found (of course) that your either running Mala or nothing (blank screen) and so it's difficult to go back. Hmmmm - I think I'll do this right at the very end.

Still no idea on these two questions though :

• How do I get Mala to recognise the Arcade Jukebox software?
• Then how do you navigate easily between Mala and the new jukebox?

Mike

[dweezinator]

If I replace the windows shell with Mala is there an easy way of getting back to the shell in future ie could it be picked as a game?

Not really - I tried it as an experiment and found (of course) that your either running Mala or nothing (blank screen) and so it's difficult to go back. Hmmmm - I think I'll do this right at the very end.

The Arcade Controls Wiki has a nice post on hiding windows including how to use a custom front end and upon exiting how to start Windows Explorer...
http://wiki.arcadecontrols.com/wiki/Hiding_Windows

[mike_bike_kite]

I just realised I never posted a pick off my cab even though I finished it yonks ago

I ended up not having any glass/plastic top on it at all simply because I was incapable and too lazy to do it but it looks and plays fine. The details are here if you're interested. I know it's a bit late but thanks for the advice.

Mike