guy offered me 5 cabs!

[Nemss316]

Hey all, I have been looking into building my own MAME cab for quite some time now. I have been lurking these boards, and checking out everyone's cabinets, CP's and the like. I found a listing on Craigslist, and a guy has 5 cabs that he is wanting to get rid of. The one I'm interested in the most in, is a Defender cab that had a new CP installed. It currently has a Jamma set up in it, running Marvel Super Heroes. This is the cabinet I'm interested in the most, as the CP is new, buttons are new, and the monitor is new.

My questions are:

1. How hard would it be to rewire the controls through something like KeyWiz, to have a keyboard to use also?

2. The monitor is new as stated before, but if I run a MAME cab, I'm going to need to rewire it to connect to a PC. I've seen the stories on here about shocking yourself, and have to admit: this is my biggest holdup. How hard is it going to be to set the monitor for a PC to use, or would it be easier to just hook an LCD up and brace it in the cab?

Thanks for the help, and I will be sure to post pics of my Cab once I get it!

[HaRuMaN]

 

[SirPeale]

Start reading.  A lot.  All the answers are here.

Buy this book: Project Arcade

[Nemss316]

Book was  ordered yesterday, can't wait to get it. I'm just trying to get an idea of which one of the cabs would be the best one to use. All of the cabs are pretty much stripped, except for the Defender cab, that currently has the Jamma board.

[SirPeale]

Let's see some pictures.  You can likely move the monitor to another cab depending on how it's mounted.

[Nemss316]

I guess thats true, the only problem is that I really only have room for one cabinet. I would love to be able to take them all, but sadly, no room for all of them   .

I guess what I'm most concerned about is the monitor. I am somewhat familiar with cabling and splicing, but I guess if I need to, I can always install an LCD and make that part of the process a lot easier. I will be sure to post some pics, once I have an idea of what theme I want to do.

[Tim N.]

Hey all, I have been looking into building my own MAME cab for quite some time now. I have been lurking these boards, and checking out everyone's cabinets, CP's and the like. I found a listing on Craigslist, and a guy has 5 cabs that he is wanting to get rid of. The one I'm interested in the most in, is a Defender cab that had a new CP installed. It currently has a Jamma set up in it, running Marvel Super Heroes. This is the cabinet I'm interested in the most, as the CP is new, buttons are new, and the monitor is new.

My questions are:

1. How hard would it be to rewire the controls through something like KeyWiz, to have a keyboard to use also?

2. The monitor is new as stated before, but if I run a MAME cab, I'm going to need to rewire it to connect to a PC. I've seen the stories on here about shocking yourself, and have to admit: this is my biggest holdup. How hard is it going to be to set the monitor for a PC to use, or would it be easier to just hook an LCD up and brace it in the cab?

Thanks for the help, and I will be sure to post pics of my Cab once I get it!

If it is already Jamma, get a Jpac and be done with it...simply wire right to the Jpac.... If you're truly new to the scene, you are probably not going to want to go the arcade monitor route... It isn't overly difficult to use a monitor, but as a first project you are ging to probably run into more issues with an arcade monitor than a PC monitor/TV/LCD....

... Then there is the whole cabinet debate... Converting a defender cabinet into a MAME machine is usually a cardinal sin for purists. Add to the fact that it has a new CPO and the decision should be even more so to go away from the defender... Now, if all the other cabinets are crap as far as condition and the Defender isn't (and you don't really have any scruples about destroying a defender).... Go for the Defender if it is nice... I always think cabinet condition is the key when redoing an arcade cabinet...

[Nemss316]

I definetely want to look at all the cabinets, and figure out which one would benefit the most. The reason I was looking more at the Defender cab, was simply because it has a new control panel, and a new monitor already installed.

I talked with the guy earlier today, and he said that he bought the cabs about two years ago, and just hasnt had the time to work on them. I was hoping to restore the Defender cab, but he stated that the Defender cab was already gutted out completely, and he went ahead and redid the control panel for his project, just never got around to finishing it.

[Malenko]

where you at? how much does he want for the cabs? Im lookin for some new projects

[Nemss316]

I'm not sure of the price, he is going to let me look at the cabs on Saturday. I am located by St. Louis, Missouri.

I know that a couple of cabs he had, he was running some console emulators on, and has stripped them completely. The only cabinet that has anything in it, is the Defender Cab.

I will be sure to post pics once I see them. I am excited to pick out my new cabinet, more than I was to pick out my new puppy I got a few weeks ago!

[Havok]

Besides being evil hacking up a Defender cab, look at the control panel sizes. Defender has an extremely small and relatively thin panel - not much room for controls. You will have to pick which games you are planning to run in advance of designing your panel, and it will be quite limiting.

[bigdog1977]

I will be sure to post pics once I see them. I am excited to pick out my new cabinet, more than I was to pick out my new puppy I got a few weeks ago!

Geeeez man what kinda dog did you get???

[Jack Burton]

Don't worry about which cab has a working game in it if you plan on running MAME, that is just extra cost that you don't need.  You can run Marvel Super Heroes 99.9% exactly the same in an emulator as you can on a board. 

So, get an empty cab if you can, it will cut down on costs, and if you are not comfortable with using an arcade monitor you will not have to worry about it.  You can just start from scratch using the wood cabinet as your base.  If you can get a bigger cabinet, like say a big Midway or Capcom cabinet, those are great for MAME and would be much better than the defender. 

BUT, if you just want to go the quicket and easiest route to a MAME cab, then pick up the defender and stick a J-Pac in it.  You'll be up and MAMEing within a day. 

And as long as you don't hack it up or do anything worse to it than has already been done, you be karmically OK with the Elder Classic Gaming Gods. 

[Nemss316]

Thanks for all the input, I really appreciate it. I may be able to get to view the cabinets tonight, I'm waiting to hear back and see if he will be home later tonight.

I was doing some research on the JPac, and it sounds like a really nice alternative. One question though: I run the arcade controls to the JPac, from the Jpac to the PC, then run the monitor to the ArcadeVGA? This probably needs to be asked under another part of the forum, and if it does, please let me know.

I will be taking my camera w/ me, and will post some photos of the cabinets, to get everyones input on which one might be the best alternative.

For my cabinet ideas, i'm not looking to add a trackball, just a typical SF2 setup with two player controls.

FYI: the puppy I got was a Golden Retriever. His name is Krypto!

[Jack Burton]

The VGA cable will go from the AVGA to the the VGA port on the J-pac, you won't have to disconnect anything from the monitor in the cabinet. 

[Nemss316]

Oh, ok, and then I just run the JPac to the PC, and it will display my video?

This is why I can't wait to get my ProjectArcade book. Good thing is, it shipped this morning! 

[Malenko]

if you use a JPAC you dont need an arcade VGA. you go from the PC to the JPAC and the JPAC puts the video on the arcade monitor. You dont need a keyboard encoder either, the JPAC takes care of that as well.

[ChadTower]

if you use a JPAC you dont need an arcade VGA.

Not quite correct.  The JPAC does not convert from 60khz to 15khz.  You still need the video card to get it down to at least 31khz.   The specs say the JPAC can convert 31khz to 15khz but you're better off starting with 15khz to begin with.  You don't need an ArcadeVGA specifically for that, there are lots of ways, but it's misleading to say that the JPAC eliminates the need for the ArcadeVGA.

[Nemss316]

If I decide to go ahead and use an LCD, will it be a good idea to still run the ArcadeVGA then? Or could I just have the LCD run the resolution i'll need?

[ChadTower]

If I decide to go ahead and use an LCD, will it be a good idea to still run the ArcadeVGA then? Or could I just have the LCD run the resolution i'll need?

If you use an LCD you're not going to have any of these issues.  The 15khz issue is for arcade monitors and televisions. 

[Nemss316]

Ok, thats what I thought also, I just wanted to make sure.

Since it will be my first cabinet, I will probably go ahead an use a 21" LCD that I own. I recently upgraded last year to a 23" Widescreen.

The more I think about it, the more inclined I am to just get a gutted cabinet and build it up. I like the idea of using the Jamma board and wiring, and the control panel, mainly for time saving measures, but I am intrigued to attempt to build most of it myself.

[Jack Burton]

You won't need to bother with an ArcadeVGA if you use an LCD monitor.  You should just use a regular graphics card and set your resolution to whatever the native res of your LCD panel is.  After that you can use the video settings in MAME to tweak your image however you like.

It isn't really much time at all to set up a MAME cab with a PC, I-pac, and monitor.  I would say even a beginner could do it in less than a day, and anything over three days would just be ridiculous. 

If you do end up going with a gutted cab and LCD monitor, the trickiest part of your build wil be mounting the LCD panel into the cab.  It's not hard at all, you may need to do a little woodworking or drilling to get it to fit right.  Or you might get lucky and your cab might have a shelf built in for the monitor to sit on.

[Nemss316]

I had another offer from someone else for a Cab today. Its an old TMNT cabinet that was converted for SF2. Monitor works, and its JAMMA, and he's offering $250. Would that be a better deal?

[Flake]

So its been almost a month since this thread was rolling.  What did you ever pick up?  I live in STL as well and am always on the lookout for cabinet sources.  Plus I have a stepbrother looking for a cab as we speak for a mame project. 

Post some pics of what you got or maybe what else this guy has to offer.  I'm betting its the guy in Madison IL.  I believe he has a nice stockpile of empty cabinets and other arcade goodies.

[Nemss316]

Sorry I never updated this thread. I ended up not getting any cabinets from the guy I posted about. He ended up being a real hassle to deal with. I ended up landing an older cabinet from another seller. I'm making a Superman themed MAME cabinet. I'm currently painting it, and I'll post some pics on my Projects thread once it's painted!

PS. I saw the guys postings from Madison. The Soul Edge cab would be a steal at that price. Shame I don't have the room There is also a posting for a KI2 cabinet in great shape for $400 in DeSoto, just in case.

[Flake]

Yea, I search CL everyday pretty much and have seen his ads.  I know a couple people who have dealt with him.  Apparently he hangs out at these autions until the end and people end giving him great deals for ---steaming pile of meadow muffin--- at the end because they only buy certain cabinets for the boards, or monitors or whatever.  At least thats what I've heard. 

My Stepbrother is going to take his chances at the Super Auction on 11/22.  But thanks for the heads up.

[Nemss316]

The auction at the Belle-Clair Fairgrounds? I'll be there for sure. A few of my friends have seen my progress and are now jealous of what I'm doing, and want their own, lol. So, I'll probably be at the auction for sure.

[Flake]

Thats the one.  Its the only place around here I know of that has arcade auctions.  I've only been hooked into this hobby for a little less than one year and so I've only been to two of these.

Dont go bidding on stuff I want!

[Nemss316]

Do you know what you are looking for yet? Are you wanting a complete cabinet to restore, or a gutted cabinet to use for MAME?

[Flake]

Oh I'm all over the board on what I want.  I already have a Mame cabinet completed.  I was thinking maybe a megatouch or a nice shooter or racing game to add to the collection.  My main focus will be on a megatouch machine.

[Level42]

Hey I know you're new etc. Maming a Defender is bad enough, but putting a freaking LCD in it is a crying shame ! Get a nice general cab to Mame.

[Flake]

Hey I know you're new etc. Maming a Defender is bad enough, but putting a freaking LCD in it is a crying shame ! Get a nice general cab to Mame.

I think if you read all the posts you would realize he never got that Defender cabinet.  At least thats what I got out of it.  Cut the dude some slack.

[Ummon]

Thats the one.  Its the only place around here I know of that has arcade auctions.  I've only been hooked into this hobby for a little less than one year and so I've only been to two of these.

Dont go bidding on stuff I want!

Many people meet up at the shows for various reasons. Makes it easier to not bid against each other.

[Nemss316]

Hey I know you're new etc. Maming a Defender is bad enough, but putting a freaking LCD in it is a crying shame ! Get a nice general cab to Mame.

I did not get the Defender cabinet. I mentioned in an earlier post that the guy who initially offered me the 5 cabinets ended up being a hassle to deal with. I ended up getting a general cabinet to MAME instead.