Feasibility of Primal Rage as a MAME Machine

[IDDQD]

One of my buddies is flipping his Primal Rage machine, and I'm thinking about picking it up, but first, two questions:

1.) He says the screen is a little wavy, but that there are a bunch of knobs on the back that will probably fix that issue. Is this something I can do, or am I going to need to pay somebody to do it for me?

2.) I read that the CP is only 24" wide -- is this enough to install two U360s with six buttons each, and a trackball in the middle? I imagine it'd be a pretty tight fit, but is it worth it?

Input from anyone with experience with Primal Rage would be greatly appreciated.

[Perogy]

I don't have a primal rage but I have a 24" cp on my mame cab. It's enough for joysticks 6 buttons and player 1/2 buttons but thats about it. I have no admin buttons on my cab, everything is done by shift functions. I don't think a trackball will fit. I wanted to put one in mine but couldn't find a way to implement it.

[Ginsu Victim]

Mine is 23 5/8" x 11"

I have two U360s with 7 buttons each, a spinner, and start & select for each player.

[Malenko]

ginsu, you have the perfect cab for LCD top guns


my panels 24" wide, I dont know about room for a tackball between players


other pix in the mortal kabinet link in my siggie

[IDDQD]

Well, cool, thanks for the responses. At least I know it's not going to be possible (for now, at least). It sounds like very few arcade size cabs are going to be big enough for a trackball as well.

Anyone have any idea about the wavy screen issue or have experience with a Primal Rage cab? I'm thinking about just picking it up and seeing what I can do with it, at the worst I'll have to find some professional to take a look at it.

[IDDQD]

Here are some pictures of the cabinet to show why I want to make this one work: it looks like it has been really well maintained!

[severdhed]

that's an awesome looking cabinet.    i did alot of trial and error with my first cabinet trying to get all of the controls in there. i found that in order for things to be comfortable, the panel needed to be about 30" wide to get the trackball and a 6button layout in there comfortably.  you may be able to knock a inch or two off of that, but 24" is a pretty tight fit.  thats why i decided to build  a second cabinet for the trackball and spinner games

[IDDQD]

Okay, so assuming the CP really is 20", I don't think I'm going to be able to fit a trackball... maybe I can rig up some sort of hack in the future, or maybe extend the CP (?) to fit it, but it's not going to fit as it is now

[FrizzleFried]

You should be able to move the sticks as far left and right as they can go,  move the buttons a little closer to each stick and you should be able to roll with a 2.25" trackball in the middle...

[IDDQD]

I'm going to take a look at the cab tomorrow; he's asking $200, if I can't get the monitor to work, I don't think I'm going to buy it, because I don't really have the technical knowhow to replace the caps (if that's what it takes). Right now, I'm bringing a tape measure, a video camera (to record what's going on if I can't fix it, and see what you guys think) and the relevant part of a manual I found online, for the 25" monitor someone said was in their Primal Rage. I'm bringing the adjustment procedures, and am hoping that just a few knob twiddles will fix the problem, as I can't imagine the machine has seen that much use (given the pictures and its age). Is there anything else I should know going into this, or any other advice? Thanks a bunch for your input so far.

[IDDQD]

Because I can't seem to edit, here's a reply to clarify what I mean:

if I can't get the monitor to work on the spot, but everything else is working (coin doors, lights, buttons) and the machine looks to be in good shape (marquee, side art, etc) is $200 too much to pay? I know the monitor is the most important part, but it may only take a cap switch to make it work, according to the monitor FAQ, and although I know that's hard, I may still do it... am I crazy? Or should I just wait for something else to come up?

[Crowquill]

Just got your PM. I have a Primal Rage cab that I use to run JAMMA games in. I bought it from an operator not knowing if the monitor worked for $100 + $50 delivery. As it turned out the monitor worked pretty well.

The metal control panel is workable at 24" wide. The default layout for PR isn't bad and leaves enough room to add buttons 5-6. Fitting a trackball in there would be near impossible. The way it's designed you could add a control panel box onto the front ala Pit Fighter, though. I thought about doing this for a while and shifting MAME over to this cab, but never got around to it. Now I don't need to as I stumbled onto a 4-player Spiderman cabinet.

PR does have a slide-out shelf behind the CP which is where the original boards were. This is awesome for a JAMMA cabinet that I switch game PCBs in and would be a nice feature for a MAME cab as well. Depending on your speakers you're planning the subwoofer on the front might be pretty cool.

I wasn't a fan of the artwork so I peeled off the sideart (it's one large vinyl sticker). The control panel and kick panel still have PR graphics on them, but not for much longer.

The biggest downfall is if it has the original monitor. Wavy lines are usually fixed with a cap kit. On most wells-gardner monitors this amounts to replacing about 10 capacitors and you're back in business. The Neotec 2515c has about 30 caps to replace. Mine is a bit wavy and has some ghosting, but works well enough to play Mr. Driller 2 on. I don't want to tackle doing the cap kit until the monitor goes out or becomes unplayable.

Ultimately, it's not a bad cabinet by any means, but if you have access to others that you wouldn't have to modify as much they might be better. It's rare to stumble onto a cabinet that has that much artwork. That may well be a plus for you too. One huge factor is how many cabinets are for sale in your area.

There's a few more details of my experience with the cab in this thread.

If you need any more detailed pictures I can take a few.

EDIT: fixed picture and added link to other thread.

[nickynooch]

I have a Primal Rage cab myself, just couldn't bear to destroy it by MAMEing it, so I have decided to build one from scratch.  We'll see how it turns out!

[ablizno]

Mr. Driller Looks so funny... but in a good way

[Ginsu Victim]

ginsu, you have the perfect cab for LCD top guns

I only just noticed this comment...

Why do you say that? (Since I know jack about them)

[Franco B]

Don't the top guns use sensor bars? (I have no clue either  )

Im guessing that if they do use them you could mount them to the protruding sections next to your monitor.

[Malenko]

Don't the top guns use sensor bars? (I have no clue either  )

Im guessing that if they do use them you could mount them to the protruding sections next to your monitor.

that and the monitor is completely vertical

[Ginsu Victim]

The monitor is only vertical because if I left it at the original angle, the PC monitor would've stuck out the back. I don't care for it being as "in your face" as it is, but until I get a better monitor, it'll do.

It is completely vertical, though. I used a level to make sure of it. (Since any angle at all and I was screwed. It's up against the back of the case!)

...and de-casing it only gives me like 1" inch, so I left it in.

[Malenko]

The monitor is only vertical because if I left it at the original angle, the PC monitor would've stuck out the back. I don't care for it being as "in your face" as it is, but until I get a better monitor, it'll do.

It is completely vertical, though. I used a level to make sure of it. (Since any angle at all and I was screwed. It's up against the back of the case!)

...and de-casing it only gives me like 1" inch, so I left it in.

i wish I could get my monitor more vertical, I didnt mean any offense, its just the cab is pertect for topguns, the angle of my monitor makes it extreme crappy as a light gun gab

[Ginsu Victim]

I didnt mean any offense

None taken, it's just something that bugs me already.

[Ginsu Victim]

Thanks a lot for making the LCD Topgun comment. I already told my wife I wouldn't spend anymore money, and now I want a Topgun!

Guys are just trying to get me in trouble...

[trollnest]

One of my buddies is flipping his Primal Rage machine, and I'm thinking about picking it up, but first, two questions:

1.) He says the screen is a little wavy, but that there are a bunch of knobs on the back that will probably fix that issue. Is this something I can do, or am I going to need to pay somebody to do it for me?

2.) I read that the CP is only 24" wide -- is this enough to install two U360s with six buttons each, and a trackball in the middle? I imagine it'd be a pretty tight fit, but is it worth it?

Input from anyone with experience with Primal Rage would be greatly appreciated.

My Control panel is only 24" and with some deft manuvering, I'v managed to fit two joys, six buttons each and a three inch Happ trackball dead center in it. It's not yet complete waiting on a three inch hole saw, but ive dry mounted it and it seems fine. Just close.