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Infinicade (fka My Cab Without a Name)
TAG:
Okay, my family was out of town again recently, so I had some more free time to work on the cab.
The first thing I needed to do was install the Perfect 360 joysticks, as that would finish off the control panel. What was holding me back was these metal sleeves:
According to Happ’s website, they’re supposed to be 1/2", but the ones I got were 5/8". As such, when I tried to install the joysticks using them, I could not compress everything enough to get the e-clip on. I tried to order the correct ones from divemaster, but those turned out to be 5/8", as well. I guess that’s just the way Happ makes them. At any rate, a Dremel and a cutting disk (and a lot of sparks...good thing I don’t store gasoline in the shed!) took care of that excess 1/8" in no time. Once that was done, it was no problem getting the joysticks attached.
I attached all the USB cords from the computer to the various components in the CP, then dropped the CP into place.
Next, I attached the back panels using the quick release pins. Before attaching the bottom panel, of course, I used the Dremel again to make an opening for the power cord.
The next step was making the bezel to hide the area around the monitor. Since I’ll eventually be covering the front with Greylite 14 glass, the bezel didn’t have to be too complicated. I used black foam core board that I got on sale at the Hobby Lobby, cut it to size with an x-acto knife, then cut the opening for the screen. When I test fit it, I realized that it angled back too far, so I added some additional wood for the bezel (and the glass) to rest against. That resulted in the bezel being at the same angle as the sides of the cab.
Here’s how it looks at this point.
And here’s the 360 degree wheel and a shifter that will eventually be made into an add-on.
And here’s the 270 degree wheel and the pedals that I hooked up.
And, finally, here’s a Thrustmaster Freestyle that I picked up on eBay that will be perfect for biking and other games.
Another shot of the CP, just for kicks.
All that’s left now is the marquee (which I can’t do until I settle on a name...anyone have a preference between Infinicade and Arcade Overload?), the monitor glass, the speaker grilles, and the button labels. At that point, it’s a future full of software tweaking and game playing (hopefully more of the latter than the former)!
Thanks again for following this thread!
Epyx:
Looking good. Im biased but I do like red t-mold on black ;)
TAG:
--- Quote from: Epyx on August 27, 2009, 10:28:01 pm ---Looking good. Im biased but I do like red t-mold on black ;)
--- End quote ---
Yes, I noticed that I posted my CP pic right below yours on the main board. It confused me for a second, as in, "Wait, I thought I had more joysticks on...oh, wrong message!"
The marquee (with whatever name I settle on) will be black with red lightning and red letters, and the button labels will be red, as well. And the trackball also lights up, although I just realized that I don't have pictures of that up, yet.
TAG:
Spare time has been in short supply these last couple of months, but I found some this weekend and was able to work on the cab.
At some point since my last update, I settled on Infinicade as a name. My wife likes it, and it grew on me, as well. So I went ahead and ordered an all-red lightning design from Scott at Mame Marquees. I got the completed marquee in about a week and a half, and it’s exactly what I wanted (the red even matches perfectly with the red t-molding and buttons).
Highest possible recommendation for Scott and his products!
So, this weekend I went to work on the marquee assembly. I picked up some plexiglass at Home Depot and measured it up. Following the technique most others have used, I scored it with a plexiglass cutting tool, clamped it down, then broke it cleanly along the lines:
It turned out great, with nice clean edges.
Next came the retainers. I wasn’t wild about the Happ marquee retainers, so I decided to make my own. Since I was short on space on the speaker shelf (the speaker grilles will take up several inches), the bottom retainer couldn’t be very wide. I picked up some angled aluminum at Home Depot:
Drilled the holes:
Primed and painted it:
And then realized that it wouldn’t work. Because of the angled speaker shelf, the bottom retainer has to bend out about 15 degrees. Try as I might, I couldn’t get the aluminum to bend. Plus, the aluminum wasn’t quite wide enough to be able to screw it into the speaker shelf far enough from the edge to take hold.
Luckily, I also bought some plastic corner guard, which WILL bend enough to allow that 15 degree angle:
I drilled the holes again, then primed and painted:
Once painted, they looked great, honestly, probably even better than the aluminum. After they dried, I took them inside to install on the cab. I screwed the bottom one onto the speaker shelf, then slid the marquee in:
Then I screwed the top retainer into the top of the cab:
Here it is lit up (with the custom XP boot screen):
And the cab as it now looks:
Crossing the marquee off the list, that leaves installing the monitor glass, the speaker grilles, and the button labels. I’m still deciding how dark of a tint I want for the glass, though. The Greylite 14 is what I’m leaning towards, but I wish I could find someone in town who has some scraps that I could use to test before I buy the whole sheet.
Donpatchi:
I like how well you are documenting this, it has become a guide on its own. Nice job on the cab too.