Main > Project Announcements
Project A-kab = FINISHED!
Zobeid:
I'm on the verge of starting my self-designed, scratch-built, upright cabinet project. I've done a lot of studying and planning, I've cleared out a workspace, I've bought tools, I've started buying components. I built a couple of sawhorses. I got a circular saw for cheap at the pawn shop, then made a sawboard for it.
It's still kind of daunting. Computers and wiring, that I can handle. I was rewiring my Atari controllers when I was in junior high. But woodworking? Seriously? With power tools?
I got a router at the pawn shop too, it's a Ryobi. I tried out the slot cutter and the flush trim bits on some scrap plywood, it worked like a charm. It's kind of amazing how smoothly and effortlessly it cuts the wood. Before I got Saint's book, the only "router" I ever heard of was a computer networking device.
I've had a couple of snags in getting my construction work started. The first hang up was wood. My local lumberyard can get MDO "signboard", which I wanted, but they're trying to put together a larger order "so the shipping doesn't kill us". Monday will be two weeks. If they haven't at least ordered it by then, I'll cancel and build the thing out of plywood after all.
While waiting on the wood, I intended to get started on the electronics. I bought a refurbished computer on eBay, then waited. . . and waited. . . After a week I had no computer and no word from the seller, so I sent him a message asking what happened. "Our technicians are running behind schedule," I was told, but the computer would ship "today or tomorrow". And of course it turned out to be tomorrow. Now it's crawling at a snail's pace through the FedEx system. (According to the FedEx tracking system, it took them 30 hours just to get it moving in my direction.)
I'm pretty determined to make this work. All the same. . . I'm venturing into unfamiliar territory. Wish me luck!
I'll post further updates as warranted -- and try to think of a name for my project.
Mr Wilson:
good luck its not as hard as you think ;D
Zobeid:
It was getting on toward 6PM when the FedEx guy finally made it around here. It must have been a long day for him, he just had two small packages in the van to deliver after mine. It was a long day for me too, waiting!
The PC is a Dell 2.8 GHz P4 system, refurbished from some corporate IT department apparently.
The huge old Mitsubishi CRT that I saved from the cow barn didn't work with the PC. I don't know why. It worked with the Mac Mini when I tested it earlier, so I just don't know why it's compatible with the Mac and not with the PC.
Be that as it may. . . I brought the PC in the house and connected it to my HDTV set, and I was in business. I've been surprised at how well things have gone during the short time I've been messing with it. The computer appears to work fine. I got MAME running on it, no problem.
I even did some speed testing and comparison with my Power Mac, which is a 2.0 GHz G5. My quick test showed they are performing very similarly with MAME. Some games run a bit faster or slower on one or the other, but on the average there's no difference worth mentioning. STUN Runner at 100% speed is my benchmark for acceptable performance. The Mac hits about 125%, the PC is getting about 120%. That's good enough.
I installed the U360 software, tested the sticks, upgraded firmware and assigned ID numbers. I gave Ms Pacman a spin. All working as it should.
I want to put the U360s into my old HotRod controller next, for testing purposes. Problem. . . I need the button encoder harnesses for the U360s. I ordered them with the sticks, I paid for them, the packing slip that came with the sticks listed them -- but I didn't get any harnesses.
I sent email to Andy letting him know what happened, but it's been four days now and I still haven't heard any response.
DaOld Man:
Sounds like you are off to a good start!
Just a word of advice about woodworking:
Always play it safe. Use goggles and ear plugs. Wear a respirator or at least a paper mask when cutting, sanding, or routing the wood.
Take your time, do not get in a hurry.
Oh yeah, and measure twice and cut once. (I usually do the opposite :) )
I will be watching your progress, Im sure it will turn out very nice.
Zobeid:
The lumber yard has finally placed an order for my MDO and expects to have it next tuesday. So. . . What, almost another week? I must be patient. I have to say, if I'd known how long it would take them to get MDO, I would have gone with regular plywood. I could have done a lot of sanding and painting in those three weeks.
My workspace is getting crowded with all the components I've been accumulating for the cabinet that I have not yet begun to construct. :P
The computer I got came with an OEM (Dell) WinXP Pro SP2 install disc. It also came with a COA sticker. Problem: the COA is for Win2000 Pro. D'oh! It won't accept the code and install.
I tried Win98 SE, which I gather a lot of people are still using. But I ran into too many driver problems, including trying to coax it into reading my flash drive, which I use to transfer all kinds of software from my Power Mac to the PC.
Next I tried TinyXP. It installed and ran, but it didn't immediately run MAME. I had to DL and install the DX9 runtime and drivers for my graphics card and integrated audio. Now I have it doing everything I need. It doesn't run MAME any faster than the full XP install did -- but the system has a lot less annoying junk. (Example: No more message popping up after every boot telling me that my computer "may be unprotected".)
I ripped all the electronics and wiring out of the old HotRod controller and put the two U360s and TT2 into it. I thought the U360s would be a drop-in replacement for the original 8-way sticks, but they were actually a bit too wide to fit in the same recess. I had to go after the recesses with a dremel tool and a mallet and chisel to enlarge them. The controls are working, except for buttons. Andy assured me the missing button harnesses are on the way to me.
I'm having more trouble than I expected getting used to the U360s. I may end up having to get the restrictor plates and stiffer centering springs.
My plans previously called for using car stereo speakers, but I have changed my mind. I decided to get a Klipsch ProMedia 2.1 system exactly as shown in The Good Book. It helps that I've already got a Klipsch GMX A-2.1 system on my Power Mac and love it. It makes great scary noises when I hit the coin button on Defender. (Has there ever been a game with better sounds than Defender and Stargate?) Why did I want to fix something that's not broken? I do have to figure out where I'm going to put the subwoofer. I figure I'll have it firing out the back of the cabinet.