Old Atari cab + Custom CP (from arcadesrfun) = ???

[TelcoLou]

Hi there nice people 

  I recently acquired an old cab, no monitor or PCB and was wondering how the heck I might go about fitting a custom control panel from Arcadesrfun.com.

I have a 19" CRT monitor to fit inside, and will soon be ordering a custom CP, but am at a loss on how to mount it. Any pointers would be most appreciated.

Thanks in advance,
Telco

[Singapura]

Why don't you order the parts and make your own CP? It's not that hard and you can customize it to fit your cab!

[specfire]

You have a cut-corner Dynamo Cab there.  Why do you need a control panel made for you?  The metal panel that you already have is the 75% solution right there without you having to do anything.  You can make due with what you have now (2 x joys with 4 buttons each) or you can even add 2 more buttons to each side (for the 6 button SF2 layout) and add a 2.25" trackball in the center of the panel and you're golden.  Also, the GGG TurboTwist2 spinner will fit in any button size hole and you could put 1 or more of those on that panel as well and still not crowd out the other controls.

Cut-corner Dynamos are great, don't spend money on a panel when you already have one, just fix up the one you have.  You can remove the crappy Neo-Geo artwork and get a custom overlay from mamemarquees to spice it up.

spec

[MaximRecoil]

You have a cut-corner Dynamo Cab there.  Why do you need a control panel made for you?  The metal panel that you already have is the 75% solution right there without you having to do anything.  You can make due with what you have now (2 x joys with 4 buttons each) or you can even add 2 more buttons to each side (for the 6 button SF2 layout) and add a 2.25" trackball in the center of the panel and you're golden.  Also, the GGG TurboTwist2 spinner will fit in any button size hole and you could put 1 or more of those on that panel as well and still not crowd out the other controls.

Cut-corner Dynamos are great, don't spend money on a panel when you already have one, just fix up the one you have.  You can remove the crappy Neo-Geo artwork and get a custom overlay from mamemarquees to spice it up.

spec

That's not a Dynamo cabinet—it's an Atari cabinet (Centipede?). That Dynamo (or Dynamo-style) "cut-corner" control panel on it is obviously not original to the cabinet.

[specfire]

Well, my bad.  Don't listen to me, I can't tell a classic cab from the early 80's from a generic cab from the 90's.   

Good catch on the Centipede...the cut corner panel IS a great panel though

[MaximRecoil]

Well, my bad.  Don't listen to me, I can't tell a classic cab from the early 80's from a generic cab from the 90's.   

They do look similar. The easiest way to tell the difference is to look at the top. A Dynamo cabinet is flat on top, rather than angled down like the Centipede. Also, where the monitor glass meets the inside of the side panels, it forms a triangular shape on a Dynamo, while the monitor glass runs roughly parallel to the contour of the side panel on a Centipede:

...the cut corner panel IS a great panel though

Agreed.

[javeryh]

Although I agree you'd be better off making your own CP (it's easy - and fun - once you dive in!) to answer your original question, you can use velcro to hold down just about any CP.  That's what I use and the thing doesn't budge at all and it's also a snap to open it up if you need to get inside to do maintenance.

[TelcoLou]

Thank you for the replies

I wanted to go for a pre-made CP, since I don't have many tools at my disposal, and very little free time to muck around with layouts, wiring, etc. .. plus, the 2-player setup from arcadesrfun looks amazing, and they'll customize for free Also, the cab is ~25"wide, which is a little too close for 2 players IMHO.

Velcro huh? Great idea! Just another n00b question; is the CP open in the back? It seems like I might be able to 'hang' the CP over the cut-corners .. here's how she looks after some sanding and gutting:

[Crowquill]

Thank you for the replies

I wanted to go for a pre-made CP, since I don't have many tools at my disposal, and very little free time to muck around with layouts, wiring, etc. .. plus, the 2-player setup from arcadesrfun looks amazing, and they'll customize for free Also, the cab is ~25"wide, which is a little too close for 2 players IMHO.

Velcro huh? Great idea! Just another n00b question; is the CP open in the back? It seems like I might be able to 'hang' the CP over the cut-corners .. here's how she looks after some sanding and gutting:

What I'd do is pretty much just as you described. Make (or buy) the control panel box. The back will be open except for the parts that extend beyond the sides of the original cabinet.

Attaching it might be the trickiest thing. Perhaps you could design it or modify it so that you would have wooden beams going out the back that could screw to the inside of the existing sides. Here's a pic of how my Primal Rage cabinet is constructed. In it's case, the control panel sides are even with the cabinet sides. In your case you'd have the inner support beams connected to an wooden support in the control panel itself.

There actually was a 4-player Dynamo CP that went over the larger cut-corner cabs in a very similar manner. I'm not sure exactly how it mounted.

[TelcoLou]

Thanks very much, Crowquill ... those pics help a lot! The only area I might have to fool around with it the transition between the top edge of the CP and the monitor plexi, but I'm confident enough to come up with something

[Daniel B.]

There actually was a 4-player Dynamo CP that went over the larger cut-corner cabs in a very similar manner. I'm not sure exactly how it mounted.

I just bought one of these on ebay. Unfortunately it was intended for a different dynamo than the 25" Z-Back that I have. I was able to use the mounting brackets that came with it and make it work. The bracket is similar to a boxed L Iron. The cab has 2 layers of particle board (Cab side and "cp" side) that I drilled 4 holes in and mounted it with 1/4" carriage bolts. I've jostled it pretty good and it seems sturdy enough. If I notice the wood start to get weak in that area I'll surely add some planks for support. It's not the cleanest, but I have some left over vinyl that I can cover the brackets with to allow it to blend in.

I'll try to get some pictures tonight, TelcoLou. Have faith though, I was at a loss as well with my cut corner cp. There are ways to make it work!

DB