Laptop Galaga Bartop (100% Done - Now with Final Pics)

[Neverending Project]

I got a PM request for the sketchup file, so I thought I would attach it here in case anyone else wants it. Enjoy.

[IG-88]

It's not coming up for some reason....

[Neverending Project]

It's not coming up for some reason....

It may be related to some forum issues with attachments, IIRC. I have it on my personal site, and you can download it here.

[erunama]

It may be related to some forum issues with attachments, IIRC. I have it on my personal site, and you can download it here.

Thanks a lot for these!  I'm leaning towards a Ms. Pacman bartop, so these should give me a great starting point!

Any good postmortem tips?  Things you would have designed differently or paid better attention to?  One change I'm definitely going to make is to add some extra space below the control panel.  I don't want to run into any problems mounting the joystick, so an extra couple inches there would make it a bit more flexible.  The laptop I have slated for the project has a 14" screen, so I may be able to keep the overall height about the same (I don't want the bezel to be any larger than what you ended up with).

Where did you mount the speakers?  From the picture of the finished inside, it looks like they are mounted on the bottom panel inside.  How did that work out for sound?

[Neverending Project]

Good question. I would say I have the following comments, in no particular order:

• The marquee was a good size as designed (and proportional), but when I added the home-built retainer the amount remaining that you could see got a bit skinny. The retainers were 3/4" each, IIRC.
• The back panel was designed to open up all the way, and it did. Until I plugged the AC cord into it and then it only opens about 80%, and rests on the cord bending it in an unnatural way. I don't have to open it often, but when I do it is usually plugged in and the cord prevents it from opening all the way. The same could be said about the volume know, although the cord gets in the way first.
• The wood braces I used to hold the laptop in place work well, but they do cover up some of the keys. If I ever need to do any maintenance on the software, they always get in the way. Sure I can plug in a keyboard, but it is at my dad's place and he doesn't have a spare.
• The speakers are mounted on the bottom panel and I cut some slots to let the sound out. They point at the ground bouncing the sound off the counter, and they sound fine. After all, the only things run on this are 20+ year old games, and it doesn't need to be THX certified.
• The joystick did need some adjustment to get it to fit, so a little more forethought might have prevented this.
• I was not happy with the results of the rolled on paint. There were brush marks and roller marks. Next time I will definitely spray paint to give it a more professional finish, especially considering the overall size is small enough to get away with cans of spray paint.

That is all I can think of off the top of my head. Very small stuff, because I am very happy the way it turned out. Thanks for you interest, and your compliments, by the way.

[severdhed]

awesome project.  i'm kicking around the idea of a bartop, if i ever get around to building it, i hope it turns out at least half as good as yours and i'll be happy with it

[vectoralpha]

nice work man..
Am thinking of doing a Discs Of TRON/TRON combo

[Anubis_au]

 So I know this thread is 12 years old right now! However, I was just wondering, what angle is that monitor sitting at inside the cabinet? I want to make a bar top, and this is the exact cabinet that I would want to base it off.

[javeryh]

So I know this thread is 12 years old right now! However, I was just wondering, what angle is that monitor sitting at inside the cabinet? I want to make a bar top, and this is the exact cabinet that I would want to base it off.

Just do a cardboard mock-up and figure out what you like best.  Won't take more than an hour or 2 to cut out the sides and some interior support pieces that you can hold together with tape.

[leapinlew]

14 degrees.

See Javery, that’s what folks want. 

[IG-88]

Wow! 12 years. I need to dig up some of the old threads. Been a while...