Flip open CPs

[Visitor Q]

How often do you need access inside your CP? I was not currently planning on having mine flip open but rather unscrew with a few screws. Is this something I will find myself venturing into a lot or is it safe to have it closed up for the most part?

[More Cowbell]

Once it's put together and working, you shouldn't really need to get in there all that often. You're safe with screws in my opinion.

[Martijn]

I think its just for show. i wont make mine open up with a hinge, because for starters i could not find a suitable hinge in my country, and it was rather impossible with my build.

I will use adjustable clamps, so i can remove it easy if i need to, (access through coin box)



Some people have a keyboard behind it or a mouse, so then it would help i guess.

And if you want to show everybody your elite wiring skills then it would make sense..

[ahofle]

The amount of times I've had to open my CP over the years (for everything from replacing bad microswitches to adding LEDs) has made the hinges I installed more than worth the minimal extra effort of installing them.  It also makes a nice little storage compartment for extra micros and small spare arcade parts.

A piece of advice if you do go with hinges, make sure to install one or two of those toy box safety hinges:
http://www.rockler.com/product.cfm?page=410&filter=lid%20supports&cookietest=1

[Blanka]

How often do you need access inside your CP?

Close to never! Just use screws. And in the unfortunate case that you open it too much and screws get loose, put some drops of wood-glue into the holes first before screwing again.

[RayB]

Often enough.

[DaveMMR]

You can need to access it close to never or you may have to go in there once every so often (though, the better put it together the less you need to access it).   Regardless, you should make it somewhat accessible (for quick repairs).   I recommend some sort of clamping system or bolts - but not semi-permanent screws. 

[Ginsu Victim]

How often do you need access inside your CP?

All the time. I have swappable CPs. (And mine aren't the box type; just a panel with nothing under it.)

[CheffoJeffo]

Interesting to read the responses ...some say "screw it, just screw it" (one of whom is trying to market cabs, which makes me shake my head a bit) and some say "screw it, just do it".

IMPO, this is an area where we should learn from the example of arcade cabinets built by professionals.

Obviously Midway wasn't expecting you to crack the CP on Galaga all the time, but they gave you the option. At the same time, Asteroids uses carriage bolts, but they are easily undone. At the end of the day, every CP in my collection comes open easily, with the one exception of BattleShark (which is understandable, given that it is a periscope!).

I have opened pretty much all of those CPs in the last few years. Sometimes you need to get in there. You certainly NEED access to the CP more often than you NEED a coin door!

Similar situation to back doors -- some say leave them off and some say keep them on. Most experienced folks I know say keep them on, and after the experience I had this past summer, I will always keep them on.

Grab yourself a set of panel clamps -- it's a perfect solution.

EDIT: For typo

[ahofle]

I think it also depends on how much you like to 'tinker'.  If you enjoy adding/upgrading things, trying new controls, adding lights, etc, then you will need in there more than someone who doesn't enjoy working on their cabinet and just plays games.  Judging from past posts, it seems the vast majority of people here prefer actually working on the cabinet to playing games!

[DeLuSioNal29]

I only open mine to grab my mini keyboard which I keep inside of it when I am configuring keys.  Mine swings open with piano hinges so it's not an issue.

[ark_ader]

Don't laugh, but I use velcro.

My old arcade cab (an Ikari Warriors) had latches you could access via the coin box.  I think that would be a better idea especially for stability, versus carriage bolts.

[Namco]

With all those wires, something always goes wrong. I open mine often to fix a loose connection here and there, adjust the joystick, move the dust washer, upgrade the sticks, etc...

[Jakobud]

Building a cabinet very very rarely goes as planned.  If you feel confident that you can hook up all the wiring 100% perfect and know without a doubt that all the connections and solid and nothing is loose and all the hardware is 100% in perfect working order and you know that you will never need to access the inside of the CP ever again.... don't feel obligated to make it openable (is that a word?).

But in 99.9% of cases, the cabinet construction, setup, wiring is never perfect the first time and you need to constantly tweak and adjust things in the beginning.  Personally I would never build a cabinet without being able to get inside the CP easily (but not so easily that any random person could open it).

The truth of the matter is, building and/or Mameing an arcade cabinet is no small feat.  There is a lot of work that goes into it.  Making your control panel openable (there is that word again) is a very minor construction task compared to the rest of the project.  It shouldn't be a problem to add it if you make that decision.

[BORIStheBLADE]

I think screws put in an accessible place to get to the CP is fine. As ling as its not jury rigged together, you can always find a tasteful way to do it.
I mean.... didn't the older cabs have screws?

The other thing I did was I ran two usb extensions to the coin door so if I wanted to do anything with the computer I can easily plug a mouse, keyboard and thumb drive to load something on it. 

[DeLuSioNal29]

The other thing I did was I ran two usb extensions to the coin door so if I wanted to do anything with the computer I can easily plug a mouse, keyboard and thumb drive to load something on it. 

It's funny that you mention that.  I just did the same thing the other day so that I can easily hook up my external hard drive when needed.

~ D

[Pongo]

Mine is hinged so I can swap the 4/8 way restrictor plate on my joysticks.

If not for those, I'd probably still do the hinge just for easy access.

[RayB]

Go for easy removal. Doesn't have to be hinged, but make it clamped or partly bolted.

By the way, where does one get a "mini" keyboard for cheap?

[DeLuSioNal29]

I can't remember where I bought mine, but I found one for under $20 here:

http://www.thetwistergroup.com/store/customer/product.php?productid=AKB-901%20X02535&source=fr

Also, this "roll up" keyboard looks pretty neat as it can be stuffed inside your coin door:
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?O=cart&A=details&Q=&sku=481470&is=REG

[Arcadiac]

Go for easy removal. Doesn't have to be hinged, but make it clamped or partly bolted.

By the way, where does one get a "mini" keyboard for cheap?

On-topic, access to the cp WILL be needed, my original cab was a conversion so I just used the hidden clamps that were already there, accessed thru the coin door.

Ray, FWIW a quick google came up with this:
http://www.dark-circuit.com/directron/sorteditems/minikba.php

I'm looking for a mini keyboard for my touchscreen WTF Cade (less than 12" wide) for entering names etc. in the games.
I might like the full-size rollup one for 10 bux, depending on shipping of course!
Gotta look around a bit more.

Keep me posted if y'all find anything cheap that would work!

ARCADIAC!

[Blanka]

As for the keyboards: go Bluetooth. I use an Apple BT keyboard. Not the cheapest, but very handy.

[Martijn]

i love the clacking sound when i click the clamps

*CLACK*

[CheffoJeffo]

I think screws put in an accessible place to get to the CP is fine. As ling as its not jury rigged together, you can always find a tasteful way to do it.
I mean.... didn't the older cabs have screws?

Not typically --  Asteroids unscrews via two carriage bolts with butterfly nuts on them, but that's about it that I can think of (other than specialty controls like periscopes).

[CheffoJeffo]

Don't laugh, but I use velcro.

I used velcro on my first MAME cocktail cab and it still works fine today.

[Visitor Q]

WOW!

Lots of info. here.

The reason why I asked is because the CP Mameroom is building me does not flip open. I can pay them to have it added but they currently do not build their CPs like this. I guess what I could do is get it from them and then see how often I would need to get in there. I suppose I can always add a way for it to flip open at a later date unless you guys think this should be done from the get go?

Maybe it would be difficult to add a way for it to flip open at a later date due to wires?

[Ginsu Victim]

I bought clamps, but wasn't sure the best way to apply them. Everything is at 90° angles, so it seems awkward. Any pics/advice?

[DeLuSioNal29]

I suppose I can always add a way for it to flip open at a later date...

Not likely.  Once you get it without the hinges you are stuck.  With Mameroom, they use the cam and shaft design to put the control panel together, so the pieces cannot be separated in order to put a hinge on at a later date.  If you try to seperate the top of the panel from the other pieces, it will fall apart.

http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?topic=79636.0

~ DeLuSioNaL

[paulscade]

hehe!... I have a totally different reason for hinging my control panel.

While being able to access the bottom of the panel is important for troubleshooting (and my primary reason for hinging)... I could have just as easily screwed it down... and unscrewed it for access.

Another consideration of mine was:

To show off!    ... it looks really cool when you open it up.

... Sort of like proping up the hood of your hot-rod car...

My wife said the same thing... when are you going to need to open it?... my answer... anytime someone comes over and says "wow... you built that".

Hey... after doing so much planning before every step of the build and after working so hard (BTW... not finished yet), I want to be able to show off a bit.

[Arcadiac]

Damn, I thought I was the only one.........

ARCADIAC!

[DeLuSioNal29]

LOL.  You're right!  I do the same thing.  The most fun thing about building your own arcade is showing off. 

There's not much difference between the two: