My humble project :) **The Ghetto-Cab**

[TelcoLou]

Well, here it is thus far; my first attempt at a MAME cab. I was thrilled to get the already gutted cab for only $50 and am pretty pleased with how it looks after a lot of sanding, painting, installing new T-molding and a new bezel.

Sometime in mid-march I'll be getting a new PC, and I already have a like-new 19" CRT monitor hooked up to an old laptop (for setting everything up, testing, etc).

I'll also be getting a custom CP from arcadesrfun and a sheet of grey tinted tempered glass from onedayglass to finish up the project.

... not really a "Build-Your-Own" job, but I'm happy with it so far

[waveryder]

Excellent paint job! Id still count it as a "Build-Your-Own" job. I turn cabs that are POS into beautiful things myself. Not everyone has a workshop and zen like router skills! Everyone on the board "Builds their own" using the talents they've got. Thats what makes BYOAC forum such a great place to showcase and share what you can do. What a great score for $50. Keep the progress pics coming. 

[TelcoLou]

Thanks for those kind words, waveryder.

I'm in such awe at all of the great scratch-built projects here, that I feel VERY out-of-place 

I'll be working on mounting the monitor this weekend, so I'll at least be able to see how it looks playing MAME in the actual cabinet .. pics to follow 

[dmworking247]

I really like that cabinet! I looks like it'd be tricky to build from scratch with those extra angles.

Has anybody got replica plans of this style of cabinet?

Nice paint job! Make sure that testing-setup you've got doesn't go anywhere near your cabinet until its ready or you won't finish

[waveryder]

Make sure that testing-setup you've got doesn't go anywhere near your cabinet until its ready or you won't finish

Lol, been there I got "BubbleGum Betty's" test setup in the cab early on............nearing a year gone by since I started and she's still not done. Too busy playing games 

[TelcoLou]

Well, I didn't heed the warning;

Make sure that testing-setup you've got doesn't go anywhere near your cabinet until its ready or you won't finish

 

I got the monitor mounted and just HAD to see how the games looked through the bezel.
It was gratifying to say the least 

Next on the to-do list:

• Marquee art. The light fixture works fine, but was blasting in my eyes while playing, so I turned it off for now.
• Tempered, tinted glass (to cover the bezel).
• Holes/grills for the speakers.
• New PC, 2.1 speakers.
• Custom CP.

[_) (V) (-)]

Looks like you are off to a great start TelcoLou.
It's going to be difficult to make any more progress except at high scores as long as it's playable, ha ha.

One of the first things you will find out is that you are never really truly ever done with it. There will always be something you'll want to change or redo. Especially after browsing some of these other guys projects. The collective imagination of this place is really remarkable.

Have fun with it!

[TelcoLou]

Here's a small (but significant) update; I finally got my glass from onedayglass.com, installed it yesterday. WOW ... it looks amazing! I was initially concerned about having to crank up the brightness/contrast on the monitor to compensate for the tint, but no need .. it actually seems to have improved the contrast some how (maybe color saturation, not sure ... it just looks "better").

I took a shot with, then without the flash as a comparison. Next up .. the marquee! It'll get finished ... some day 

[XYXZYZ]

That cabinet used to be a dedicated Centipede. (Atari cabinet with the large coin door, as opposed to the smaller doors on DigDug and Kangaroo) If you show off your project on any other forum, make sure that you let them know that you're not the one who killed the Centipede, you'll be flamed to a crisp otherwise. You might be attacked anyway for not restoring it back to a Centipede.

I'm in the same boat now, I'm MAMEing a Centipede that was painted black and converted to a Mortal Kombat by some operator long ago.

-Could you see the shape of the original side art under the paint from the right angle? (Before you painted it)

[TelcoLou]

That cabinet used to be a dedicated Centipede. (Atari cabinet with the large coin door, as opposed to the smaller doors on DigDug and Kangaroo) If you show off your project on any other forum, make sure that you let them know that you're not the one who killed the Centipede, you'll be flamed to a crisp otherwise. You might be attacked anyway for not restoring it back to a Centipede.

I'm in the same boat now, I'm MAMEing a Centipede that was painted black and converted to a Mortal Kombat by some operator long ago.

-Could you see the shape of the original side art under the paint from the right angle? (Before you painted it)

... my first post in this thread shows the cab exactly as I got it; already converted to a NeoGeo setup, painted black, with those god-awful square stickers on the side  It had no monitor or PCB and I could see no evidence of its original centipede-ness 

Quite the irony as I had no idea what is was originally, until I asked here; Centipede was my Wife's favorite arcade game "back in the day" 

[TelcoLou]

Well, not much of an update, but a significant one .. got a new PC and installed a lock for the coin door. YAY!

PC:

Pentium 4 3.0ghz
2 GB RAM
80 GB HD
Sapphire Radeon 256MB gfx card (w/s-video out, if I ever want to hook up a TV)
Audigy SB sound card

Lock:

$4 cabinet lock from Home Depot 

[TelcoLou]

Getting closer to a "finished" cabinet 

Here I cut new holes to fit the satellite speakers (I eventually 'cleaned' up the cut-outs after this pic):



Then, I glued some posterboard covered with this neat ultra-sticky contact paper with a faux-leather texture over the holes, and cut out "X"'s from above, creating flaps. Then I fed the speakers thru the holes, and secured with some aluminium tape (better than duct tape, in some cases!):



Here's a very blurry shot of it all buttoned up (I have zero photo skills), I had to paint the bottom part of the speakers flat black, as well as the power-on light .. it was distracting (reflected in the glass) .. also note the temporary marquee printed on plain paper from a color laser printer  :



And finally! I get to play some games with the speakers in their proper spots!



I like it, and if I decide to get a different speaker setup, it's easy enough to alter. I need to stop the light leak on either side of the marquee, maybe some thin black weather-strip stuff.

Now to work on that darn control panel ... 

[skippy0420]

Nice progress ... I have the same cab and am at odds as to how to proceed with the CP at this time. I am curious to see what direction you go with yours and would enjoy some data as far as dimensions that you go with.

 

[TelcoLou]

Thanks

Here's the design my wife and I have decided on, going to get a custom panel from arcadesrfun.com:



The cab itself is ~25.5" wide, so there will be 5" of 'overhang' on either side. Also, I'll have to (gasp) cut into the 'ears' of the cabinet sides to accommodate the new CP.

[skippy0420]

That is the same setup that I would like to include for the most part. I will be watching your progress on mounting that CP as I will have the same issues being the same type of cab. Nice choice on the layout!

[skippy0420]

Any more thoughts on the mounting of the CP? 

[TelcoLou]

Any more thoughts on the mounting of the CP? 

....errrr, a few. And they all involve either a sawzall or a handsaw 

I made a quick sketch using my super-duper paint skills to illustrate my devious plans:



The red area shows where I'd cut away to provide support for the CP box. To cover the resulting gap between the back of the CP and the monitor bezel/glass I will use some thick foam board, cut at an angle and painted black to match the rest of the cab, as shown by the thick light grey line.

... and I fully expect a flood of pitchfork-wielding villagers to come after me for posting this, but I'll take my chances 

[skippy0420]

The cab you had was in no better shape than mine so I don't think that you will run into much pushback. I think that is going to be one of your best shots at mounting the CP as you are getting it in one piece. correct?

I am going to try to use the two latches as well as the hinge area again but it's all a pipe dream at this time. 

[TelcoLou]

Yes, 1 piece. Here's a pic from arcadesrfun's site (they no longer sell just the blanks, but the picture is for reference):



... basically a box, with the top hinged at the front.

Oh, and the wait is the worst part ... need to get my tax refund before I have any further "Mame Cabinet" monies to play with 

[skippy0420]

I guess you COULD measure out the dimensions and cut slots for the 'box' to slide in place and anchor it there on the original spots.... Just a thought.

I am not sure what would be in the way there but slots somewhere around!?

[TelcoLou]

Ah yes! This kind soul provided some great info for what you suggested:

http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?topic=76146.msg791496#msg791496

... however, I'm lazy, impatient and have very few skills/tools to attempt such a thing. Either way, I'd have to screw into the 'ears' anyway, so I want it to be as easy as possible

[skippy0420]

Either way you go I will be interested to see how you mount the CP. When do you expect it delivered?

[JKJudgeX]

Very cool.  I am more into restores than ground up builds simply because I don't have the skills needed to build my own from the ground up .  So, I learn a lot from threads like this!  Lookin good!

[skippy0420]

When are you expecting your CP?

[TelcoLou]

Heh. Approx. 6 weeks from the time I order it ... which I haven't yet done, been waiting on a generous tax-refund to arrive 

[emb]

Any more thoughts on the mounting of the CP? 

....errrr, a few. And they all involve either a sawzall or a handsaw 

I made a quick sketch using my super-duper paint skills to illustrate my devious plans:



The red area shows where I'd cut away to provide support for the CP box. To cover the resulting gap between the back of the CP and the monitor bezel/glass I will use some thick foam board, cut at an angle and painted black to match the rest of the cab, as shown by the thick light grey line.

... and I fully expect a flood of pitchfork-wielding villagers to come after me for posting this, but I'll take my chances 

When you cut your wings on your cabinet and mount your cabinet, how are you going to support/stabilize it? I will be cutting the wings off my cabinet as well to fit my control panel but I was worried about stability/support to hold the control panel up.

[TelcoLou]

I've been thinking of this (excuse the primitive rendering, I'm at work):



I'd cut some spare wood to support it, as poorly represented i the mock-up (NOT to scale, of course)

Here's my latest idea for the layout:

[skippy0420]

I like the layout, What are the dimensions of this last layout? I am really looking into mocking my full layout up soon and like what you have so far.

[TelcoLou]

Thanks    The dimensions will be 35" x 18" (the box is 34" x 14.5")

[TelcoLou]

Well, after some discussions with Jack from arcadesrfun, I've decided on a smaller version of their CP:



There's been some negative feedback regarding the magsticks (changeable 4/8-way), so I opted for the dedicated 4-way along with the 2 8-ways. This smaller panel will be MUCH easier to attach to my cab, and still have all the controls I need

Stay tuned ....

[skippy0420]

Very interesting. I am not kidding when I said I am following this thread! I am trying to get all info I can on specs before attacking the CP. This is my first go around so I need all the info I can before trying the cutting and what not

Looks very nice from what I can invision.....

[TelcoLou]

Thanks, Jack from arcadesrfun has been very helpful with regards to getting a panel to fit this specific cabinet .. I just ordered one from their ebay auctions .. the base is only 10" deep, so there won't be as much of an overhang as the standard panel ... he mentioned something about L-brackets, so I'll keep you all posted ...

[Blanka]

Much better the compact layout.
Question? Why the trackball-plate? A little more effort and you can put everything under the nice printed sheet. That way the space between the ball and keys  is more comfortable for the 3rd stick and spinner.
And I'm always sensitive for alignment. My suggestion:

[skippy0420]

Hey, How much T-molding did you require to redo your cab?

[TelcoLou]

Much better the compact layout.
Question? Why the trackball-plate? A little more effort and you can put everything under the nice printed sheet. That way the space between the ball and keys  is more comfortable for the 3rd stick and spinner.
And I'm always sensitive for alignment. My suggestion:

Oh the trackball plate will be flush-mounted .. I'm just lazy, and used the CP designer program, for a quick visualization of where the controls should go Thanks for the layout suggestion, but the 4-way and spinner would get in the way methinks, esp. for golden tee golf.

Hey, How much T-molding did you require to redo your cab?

I think I got 20', and wound up with a foot or so left over.

[Blanka]

Do you need so much empty space above the trackball for Golden Tee then?
I thought this way you have space to rest your palms while spinning or Pac-manning. In your setup, the hands rest on the buttons for those functions.

[TelcoLou]

Do you need so much empty space above the trackball for Golden Tee then?
I thought this way you have space to rest your palms while spinning or Pac-manning. In your setup, the hands rest on the buttons for those functions.

I was tossing around the idea of 3 mouse buttons above the trackball area, not sure though ...

[TelcoLou]

Newest revision ... re-revised 

[TelcoLou]

WOW, it took forever to get my CP from arcadesrfun .. he's really over-worked with orders, but after seeing the quality of his work, it was worth the wait. I actually got it on Thursday, but had to "test it out", set up the inputs, etc ... you know how that goes 

Soooo, I had to cut an "L" shaped notch off each of the cabinet's side ears to fit the panel (sorry purists, but I'm never going to re-convert this already-been-converted-to-hell-and-back cab to centipede). Next, I mounted a series of shelf brackets to carry the load (this thing is HEAVY!):



Not seen in the picture is 2 small shelf brackets mounted from behind the panel, securing the back side to the cabinet's  inside supports.

I think she looks very nice  :



Here's a close-up:



... the spinner knob is a repro Tempest knob that I bought from groovy game gear ($12+ shipping); blue-LED lit trackball, 2 8-way sticks and a 4-way, on the right side of the CP are admin buttons (black) for ESC, TAB, and Pause. I've got an extra button on the front, left side of the panel that I'm not sure what to assign it to ... for now it toggles on/off the crosshairs in lightgun games (which are fun to play using the trackball).

The transition between the panel and the monitor glass was made from a 3/4" piece of foam board covered with faux-leather contact paper, and simply wedged in place. it sits nice and snug, and looks great (IMHO).

So there ya go ... my ghetto-cab, nearly almost sorta completed  Still need some touch-up painting and some real marquee art, lighted coin return buttons, and other things I'm sure I'll find down the road.

Now if you'll excuse me, I've got some high scores to conquer 

[TelcoLou]

In response to a topic in the main forum, here's a pre-Christmas Ghetto-Cab bump:



Yay for led Christmas lights! Next up; printing out "Free Play" on clear vinyl to stick on the coin-release "buttons"

Oh .. I also swapped out the dedicated 4-way stick for a top-fire 8-way stick.