is my future cab going to be a fatass?

[evilfuzzle]

hey everyone!
just a quick question:

how wide is everyone's cabs (not including the control panel)? i want to know because i have this tv i want to use

can i use this without making my cabinet look strange. does anybody have any examples of cabs that used this size screen?
from my last tread i said i got a just got a tv from my friend insteadof using this monitor but as it turns out he dropped when he was moving it aroundit just before i went to pick it up and it shattered into billions of peices on the ground (he was ok, but very lucky to be ok) so i am without a monitor.
do you guys think i could use the tv i have?

[Franco B]

I dont know why but your image wouldn't load for me, here it is:



A 27" screen does seem rather large. It may be more suitable to a showcase style cab than a regular upright. I dont think I would want to stand two feet away from a screen that size for long. Is it a CRT? If so your cab will want to be solid to hold it.

But to answer your question, yes you will have the J-Lo of cabs 

[evilfuzzle]

damn 
nvm, i will have to find some way to get a monitor for cheap. would a 25" with a slim border be ok?

[abzman2000]

I may end up using my newly acquired gateway dimension 27" for my first scratch built because it won't fit in my simpsons shell.  I may even make it rotate for some killer galaga action  

I think in most people's opinion a 27" is huge, but after seeing so many 15" - 17" crapilly built mame cabs (not on this forum) I endeavor to not let screen size be an issue. 

[brock.sampson]

I can't see the picture either so I'm making some assumptions based on franco's diagram above that there are speakers on each side of the 27" tv.  I have a blitz/mk cabinet that I mounted a 27" tv in.  It was too wide to fit as is so I used a saw and cut down the sides of the tv.  You could always decase the tv if you are comfortable with that.  My cabinet was orginially made for a 25" monitor, I don't find the 27" to be too large or hard on the eyes.

[Flake]

I can't see the picture either so I'm making some assumptions based on franco's diagram above that there are speakers on each side of the 27" tv.  I have a blitz/mk cabinet that I mounted a 27" tv in.  It was too wide to fit as is so I used a saw and cut down the sides of the tv.  You could always decase the tv if you are comfortable with that.  My cabinet was orginially made for a 25" monitor, I don't find the 27" to be too large or hard on the eyes.

I second that.  My cabinet is an old Killer Instinct cabinet (same style as MK/Blitz).  I decased a 27" Toshisba TV and ended up using the mounting brackets that came with the cabinet (with a little modification) which were orginally designed to mount a 25" monitor.  I thinkit turned out great - the only thing is you will need to get creative on a bezel.

[evilfuzzle]

i cant decase it, my parents wont let me under their roof they say a dead body is not what the need right now, which is fair enough

[Malenko]

i cant decase it, my parents wont let me under their roof they say a dead body is not what the need right now, which is fair enough

then unplug it first?

[Twin-X]

I am building a pac like cab with a 28"hantarex monitor in it.
My cab is 70 CM Wide and it does not look ugly.

[padstack]

I put a 27" TV (speakers on bottom though) in my UAII cab.  I widened it about 2" form the plans, but I think it looks great.  Anything smaller looks odd to me now... 

[RayB]

Looks more buxom than fat-ass to me. 

[padstack]

That's right!  And who doesn't love buxom???

[ivwshane]

My cab has a 27" tv in it (decased) and it's 30" wide (not including the cp), too me it's big but it doesn't seem any bigger than a real arcade machine with a monitor in it of that size.

Click on my link for pictures.

[Dak-ak]

i cant decase it, my parents wont let me under their roof they say a dead body is not what the need right now, which is fair enough

then unplug it first?

CRTs can hold a lethal charge for days, if not weeks.  Use care even if it is unplugged.

[abzman2000]

hefty craftsman screwdriver and a dead extension cord's ground wire (and some electrical tape) and your perfectly fine, just be smart about it

[evilfuzzle]

"CRTs can hold a lethal charge for days, if not weeks.  Use care even if it is unplugged."


actually months and years in some cases.  i value my life too much to risk it

[Malenko]

"CRTs can hold a lethal charge for days, if not weeks.  Use care even if it is unplugged."


actually months and years in some cases.  i value my life too much to risk it

yeah but youre talking about taking it out of the case, not discharging it.  Maybe Im misunderstanding the rational behind it.... you cant cross the street either right, cause you know, cars out there might kill you.

[Havok]

That is such a bad analogy. Handling a decased tv can be deadly regardless of whether  you are at the time discharging it or not. I would respect your parents wishes and just use a smaller tv, or try out a 20 inch LCD - One of my cabinets has a 20.1" and I find it is plenty large enough. I also have a Hard Drivin cockpit model with a 25" medium resolution CRT so I can easily compare the size difference. If you go the LCD route, it opens up all kinds of design possibilities not available with a large heavy CRT. Or, just make a large ass cabinet. After all, fat bottomed cabs make the rockin' world go round, right?

 

(You may be too young to get that last bit!)

[Mr Kray]

Personally, I don't think there is a problem with having a fat cab... I've almost finished my cab and it's not only fat but short too. It's like the George Costanza of arcade cabs!

But I like it because it serves it's purpose well, which is to allow two people to sit (on normal chairs not stools) comfortably next to each other and be low enough to turn into a normal TV stand (the TV flips up to a vertical position).

One of the things I like about scratch-building arcades is that you can customise the design to whatever suits your purpose, a lot of purists want to match what they experienced in the arcades but I like the opportunity to make something that is not only my own design but has things that couldn't be done in the arcades... imho cabs are generally skinny because floor space in a commercial arcade is at a premium and that constraint is not such an issue at home.

Here's a sketchup image of my cab, I forgot to add the width dimensions but the cab is 80cm wide, the TV mount is 90cm and the control panel is 1m (But in the end I knocked it down to 90cm)... I think you'll be hard pressed to find a cab who's width to height ratio is worse than mine!

BTW, I'm using a 27" TV and you only sit about 60cm away from it so you can really immerse yourself in the experience! 

[evilfuzzle]

i kinda had my heart set on an upright cabinet
what if i turn it up in it's side and make it vertical, would i still be able to play horizontal games without making it look like crap, i prefer horizontal games, so it would be important.

[Malenko]

That is such a bad analogy. Handling a decased tv can be deadly regardless of whether  you are at the time discharging it or not.

ok, my example is a bit extreme but for a reason... you can die doing anything; Elvis died pooping; its not gonna keep me from doing it   De-casing a TV is actually pretty safe, so long as you do it right; discharging a CRT tube is dangerous, even if you do it right.

In all honestly LCDs make design (especially rotating displays) and construction much easier but there are purist who think LCDs are the devil. Don't make your cab based strictly on looks and definitely don't make it to please other people. Make your cab for you. As for the fatass-ness as long as you can play it and move the cab when you move out, why should it matter?

[evilfuzzle]

I know I am not old enough to have a preference of screens since I have never really played on a real authentic arcade (well there was once, but that was years ago), but I really don't like the idea of using an LCD screen. Firstly they are small unless you want to spend a mountain o' cash and they don't have the charm that a CRT monitor has, I can't put my finger on it... there is just feel that something CRTs have no LCD can match. am i going crazy?
anyway, I only have 4 days left of the holidays to work on my cab before i am consigned to scattered Saturdays to work (sucks pretty hard) and i can't start the construction until i know what screen i am going to use. i have been searching around for a damn monitor for the past week that is cheap enough since i am poor after buying all the other components (I never would have guessed that wood was so flipping expensive?).
does anybody have any advice on where I could pick up a largish screen for really cheap in Sydney, or anywhere else for that matter.

[Malenko]

Im not sure how it works in Sydney ; but around here (east coast USA) we have old thrift stores that sell old 20" CRTs for like $10

believe it or not, go to a bowling alley and see if they have any old screens, thats what my monitor in my cab used to be (27" monitors that hang from the ceiling)

[TOK]

Discharging monitors seems to be gaining almost legendary status. Over the last 5 years its gone from being "you might get a good jolt" to "you're definitely going to die". Definitely something to be respected, but when you see someone stick a grounded screwdriver under the anode cap, wait a minute then do it again (many don't even do that), you'll realize how irrational the fear is.

 

[Malenko]

Discharging monitors seems to be gaining almost legendary status. Over the last 5 years its gone from being "you might get a good jolt" to "you're definitely going to die". Definitely something to be respected, but when you see someone stick a grounded screwdriver under the anode cap, wait a minute then do it again (many don't even do that), you'll realize how irrational the fear is.

 

dangerous and deadly arent the same thing. Ive discharged a few in my day and so long as you take the proper precuastions youre fine. the main issue is stupid people trying things they shouldnt. when people can sue because they spilled hot coffee on themselves its proof positive people are stupid.

we're getting pretty far off topic :p

[Mr Kray]

I only have 4 days left of the holidays to work on my cab before i am consigned to scattered Saturdays to work (sucks pretty hard) and i can't start the construction until i know what screen i am going to use. i have been searching around for a damn monitor for the past week that is cheap enough since i am poor after buying all the other components (I never would have guessed that wood was so flipping expensive?).
does anybody have any advice on where I could pick up a largish screen for really cheap in Sydney, or anywhere else for that matter.

First of all I highly doubt you will be able to complete the cab in the one weekend before the school holidays finish; to finish before school starts you would've had to order the parts to arrive at the beginning of the holidays and then spend most of your time off working on the cab.. and that's assuming you're using an existing design like Lusid's and/or have the help of someone who has done a carpentry before and has the tools required - esp. if you're making your own design.

I'm in Sydney and when I blew up my first TV I had to source another one; it took me a few weeks to find another 27" TV for a decent price and that meant watching eBay and Gumtree like a hawk waiting for the bargains to come through.. in the end I bought a TV with a damaged case I found on Gumtree for $40.

Most of the TVs I saw on eBay ended up going for $80+ but if you're lucky, every now and again you'll find one that goes for $60 or less, if you only want composite video (I was looking for S-Video) you can probably find one for $40.

If you aren't going to remove the case you should really go for a smaller screen as the case adds at least 5cm to each side of the screen for the speakers - probably more - so you will inevitably have a fat cab.

[evilfuzzle]

i wasn't saying that i could get it finished in the next four days, i just wanted to make the most of them. i guess now that the holidays are nearly over (ends tomorrow) i can be patient and just wait for a good opportunity to present itself.