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Author Topic: A Mame machine in an antique buffet - USB probs solved (I think!)  (Read 202639 times)

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DeLuSioNal29

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Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet - Playable again!
« Reply #560 on: October 20, 2010, 11:04:38 pm »
This one's a beaut!  Can't wait to see it all finished!
Stop by my Youtube channel and leave a comment:

Vebbo

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Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet - Playable again!
« Reply #561 on: October 21, 2010, 03:41:55 am »
I read about the lightning  :angry: good to see that ur back on track!
Vebbo
I was elected to lead, not to read!

Vebbo turning x-men cab to custom 1942 cab

Rick

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Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet - Playable again!
« Reply #562 on: October 21, 2010, 10:10:24 am »
I've been following this since I became a Member.  It's one of the reasons I went custom on my cabinet.  I only hope mine can look half as nice as this has turned out.  Way to be true to your vision.  This is awesome.

drventure

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Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet - Playable again!
« Reply #563 on: October 21, 2010, 07:22:12 pm »
Thanks guys! It's nice to get the comments.

@Rick I remember that turkey punch game! When I first saw your thread, I about spewed. Talk about +obscure+ video game reference. I love it!

newmanfamilyvlogs

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Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet - Playable again!
« Reply #564 on: October 21, 2010, 09:22:51 pm »
I bet we can come up with FAR more obscure references than something from Doom 3. (;

Rick

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Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet - Playable again!
« Reply #565 on: November 05, 2010, 03:41:48 pm »
I bet we can come up with FAR more obscure references than something from Doom 3. (;

Such as?  Maybe that'll be my next design.

@Rick I remember that turkey punch game! When I first saw your thread, I about spewed. Talk about +obscure+ video game reference. I love it!

Thanks!  BTW, I linked to this thread from my thread over in KLOV, and lo and behold... ...the consensus seems to be that they dislike your work over there.  (I would take it as a compliment - I posted my idea at 6 a.m. and at 3:40 p.m., I have no responses.  Yet, your thread seems to have two pages on it.  I say MISSION ACCOMPLISHED.)

 ;D

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Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet - Playable again!
« Reply #566 on: November 05, 2010, 04:35:43 pm »

Such as?  Maybe that'll be my next design.

Just a few off the top of my head..

The Pen Ultimate
Toasters and Chainsaws
Brainscan


Rick

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Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet - Playable again!
« Reply #567 on: November 05, 2010, 05:58:45 pm »
Just a few off the top of my head..

The Pen Ultimate
Toasters and Chainsaws
Brainscan

Do you have links to these? I'll be honest - I haven't heard of any of these, but they sound awesome!

drventure

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Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet - Playable again!
« Reply #568 on: November 05, 2010, 07:12:10 pm »
Holy $h!+. Ouch, yeah, I'd say they don't like it much  ;D

I knew there was a reason I didn't end up hanging out over there. That's a lot of vitriol for a project that isn't even remotely complete.

But, I suppose the theme and approach is definitely not for everyone. Just jump on about any "steampunk" oriented posting anywhere and you'll find +lots+ of people that, doesn't matter the creativity or skill involved in whatever the project is, if it hints of "steampunk", they hate it.

And, yeah, I'm guilty of a frankenpanel, but, well, I knew that going in. I'm certainly no game purist, and for me, the fun has been in the build process itself. The games are just a happy side effect. Besides, I went looking around and I really didn't see much over there in the way of custom builds, mostly restorations. Oh well, doesn't surprise me and doesn't bother me.

I think someone here made a comment about two trackballs being overkill, which it is of course. But I've had a blast playing simultaneous 2 man Marble Madness with my 6yo, so, it was worth it.

In the end, Haters gonna hate  ;)

I'm looking forward to your progress on the Turkey Punchout BTW!

I'd never heard of those references. I googled them and I STILL don't know where the came from. cotmm68030 wins the obscure aware!


shilmover

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Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet - Playable again!
« Reply #569 on: November 05, 2010, 08:08:23 pm »
I frequent both sites. 

Dont take it too hard.  Your project was posted on a site that deals with classic games and restoring them, no MAME.  You have skill, it just doesn't apply to KLOV.

B


Holy $h!+. Ouch, yeah, I'd say they don't like it much  ;D

I knew there was a reason I didn't end up hanging out over there. That's a lot of vitriol for a project that isn't even remotely complete.

But, I suppose the theme and approach is definitely not for everyone. Just jump on about any "steampunk" oriented posting anywhere and you'll find +lots+ of people that, doesn't matter the creativity or skill involved in whatever the project is, if it hints of "steampunk", they hate it.

And, yeah, I'm guilty of a frankenpanel, but, well, I knew that going in. I'm certainly no game purist, and for me, the fun has been in the build process itself. The games are just a happy side effect. Besides, I went looking around and I really didn't see much over there in the way of custom builds, mostly restorations. Oh well, doesn't surprise me and doesn't bother me.

I think someone here made a comment about two trackballs being overkill, which it is of course. But I've had a blast playing simultaneous 2 man Marble Madness with my 6yo, so, it was worth it.

In the end, Haters gonna hate  ;)

I'm looking forward to your progress on the Turkey Punchout BTW!

I'd never heard of those references. I googled them and I STILL don't know where the came from. cotmm68030 wins the obscure aware!


My projects...

Finished:  Stargate (only 'cause I got it that way)
In progress:  Tron, 48-in-1 for School Auction, DKJr (currently a 60-in-1), Millipede, MAME System

drventure

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Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet - Playable again!
« Reply #570 on: November 05, 2010, 10:05:11 pm »
Thanks Shilmover

Yeah, no worries. When I looked around the KLOV boards, it looked like pretty much all restos and original machines, which I totally respect, but which I have no space for at all. Besides, that's a whole other set of knowledge and skills there. Even the guys here, when I read about "capping a monitor", or tracing down circuit problems on the original pcboards , that just intimidates the hell out of me.

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Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet - Playable again!
« Reply #571 on: November 05, 2010, 10:12:39 pm »
"capping a monitor"

Every time I read this, I picture people shooting old CRT's.

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Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet - Playable again!
« Reply #572 on: November 05, 2010, 10:29:24 pm »
Do you have links to these? I'll be honest - I haven't heard of any of these, but they sound awesome!

The Pen Ultimate was the handheld computer used in the LucasArts adventure game "The Dig":
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Dig

Toasters and Chainsaws is a game whose marque was seen the background of a newscast interview, by all reports it was never finished or released:
http://www.poetv.com/video.php?vid=80704
There is a slot machine that apparently pays homage to it:
http://www.ohiogaming.com/igtchainsawsandtoasters.htm

Brainscan is a 'video game' horror movie from 1994 starring Edward Furlong. Sort of a precursor to movies like 'eXistenZ', play a video game, kill in real life, etc. Maybe not a good starting point for a cab, but it's got some cheezy one liners and sort of a neat logo:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brainscan
You could play around with that poster art and make some cool side panels.
trailer:
streamable: http://www.crackle.com/c/Brainscan/Brainscan/2481062

drventure

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Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet - Playable again!
« Reply #573 on: November 05, 2010, 11:01:50 pm »
Wow. Definitely obscure.

But I remember the Dig. Damn, that was a long time ago....

JustMichael

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Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet - Playable again!
« Reply #574 on: November 06, 2010, 02:40:14 am »
"capping a monitor"

Every time I read this, I picture people shooting old CRT's.

ROFL!!!!   :laugh2: :laugh2: :laugh2:

kingchimp

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Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet - Playable again!
« Reply #575 on: November 06, 2010, 08:23:36 am »
Well when they make No18 Arquadium Engine: The Movie you now have the prefect tagline.

Quote from: SgtSmackaho
It looks as if an electric elf on acid humped a wurlitzer in a gypsy's closet.

Frankly I'd be tempted to incorporate that into the startup video.  ;)

drventure

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Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet - Playable again!
« Reply #576 on: November 06, 2010, 09:31:34 am »
That was pretty funny  :)

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Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet - Playable again!
« Reply #577 on: November 06, 2010, 09:02:25 pm »
And speaking of the dig.. it's amazing how well that game has aged. Up-rezzed with ScummVM and its still gorgeous.

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Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet - Gun shells
« Reply #578 on: November 23, 2010, 09:34:37 pm »
I've been looking for some gun shells that would fit with my overall aesthetic for some time now. I think I might have actually found a couple.



Obviously, they'd need the "aged brass and copper" treatment, but the shapes seem perfect.

One is some no name brand, the other is a Nerf "Buzzsaw". It's a ball launcher that uses a weighted spinning wheel to launch foam balls. Never saw one before but it's got "Steampunk" written all over it :)

I also found them intriguing because they're big enough that they can both completely contain an aimtrack, plus other stuff or a Wiimote.

I think I'm about over the wiimote as gun for Mame though, just doesn't seem to work consistently enough.

But, I'm thinking Aimtrak, with a wireless USB extender and a small battery pack. That could easily fit in either of these shells.

I'm just not having much luck finding a Wireless USB extender at the moment that would work in such a configuration.

If that doesn't work, just a simple USB extension cable out the bottom of the guns would work as well. Or maybe a surface mount MINI USB port on the gun with a cable latch of some sort (I'm thinking brass door latch style).

Then, unplug the cable and the guns look like "normal" steampunk ray guns, and just plug in a cable to shoot.

As for other progress, I've gotten a bit sidetracked by some completely irrelevant and useless "steampunkish" decoration plates for some  of the interior parts of the cab. Once that's done, I'll post pics, they'd look totally stupid out of context.

I've slowly been getting software (LEDBlinky, bought a license, thanks Arzoo) and config up to snuff. Damn that's a slow process.

I'm also working on a ControlPanel layout for CPWizard and trying to get all that hooked up.

And lastly, i'm working through all my Cabinet photos and cleaning up the background transparency so they look better when displayed in Mala. That's a REALLY slow process!


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Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet - Possible Light Gun shells
« Reply #579 on: November 24, 2010, 01:52:32 am »
I think those guns will look great done up in the aged brass treatment.  The buzzsaw one expecially.  (The bottom one right?)  The top one I'm a little unsure of but once it's finished I will probably change my mind. 

Might need to take out the spring for the ball launcher though otherwise you may be shooting the aimtrack module at the tv instead of foam balls.  I can just picture it now.   ;D

drventure

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Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet - Possible Light Gun shells
« Reply #580 on: November 24, 2010, 09:43:14 am »
 ;D

Yeah, the guts will all have to be removed, same with that tube sticking out the top on the buzzsaw (it's the one on the right).

And that giant doofus d-handle at the back of the other one will go as well. They won't be shooting anything but IR when I'm done.  :)

The top I was a little unsure of as well. But I think with a good paintjob and a few details, it'll work fine. I'd really not wanted to have to exactly alike. That didn't quite seem to fit the overall theme to me. These two are big enough to provide a good amount of interior space to work with, but not so big as to be unwieldy. I'm looking forward to these conversions!

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Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet - Possible Light Gun shells
« Reply #581 on: November 24, 2010, 10:28:51 am »
...same with that tube sticking out the top on the buzzsaw (it's the one on the right).

Umm, NO!  Can't you put a steam unit in there?  You want 'steampunk', so what's better than a tube belching actual steam?!

 :soapbox:

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Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet - Possible Light Gun shells
« Reply #582 on: November 24, 2010, 10:36:25 am »
Like the buzzsaw, don't care for the other, a retro-futuristic crossbow would rule

drventure

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Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet - Possible Light Gun shells
« Reply #583 on: November 24, 2010, 11:09:39 am »
Quote
Can't you put a steam unit in there

That'd be great, but all the steam units I've found
a) require a pretty hefty amount of current (they actually heat up the steam fluid to generate steam)
b) have a fluid reservoir that I suspect would leak or spill all over the place if put in something like this.

But I love the idea! Maybe I will keep the tube and just fix it up like a smokestack or steam pipe or something.

If anyone's got any ideas on steam generators that might work.....

@BadMouth... Yeah, I'm not near as sold on the other as I am on the buzzsaw. But I still like the idea of two different looking guns.

I think I'll end up converting the buzzsaw first, and depending on how it turns out and how much space I end up needing internally, I might try converting a Maverick instead.

Maybe something like this


severdhed

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Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet - Possible Light Gun shells
« Reply #584 on: November 24, 2010, 11:23:38 am »
i like the buzzsaw, but i vote for maverick over the other one.  the maverick is pretty awesome looking...way more so than that other one.
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Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet - Possible Light Gun shells
« Reply #585 on: November 24, 2010, 11:33:39 am »
You could use something like an HO train smoke generator...

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Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet - Possible Light Gun shells
« Reply #586 on: November 24, 2010, 11:33:56 am »

Reminds me so much of Hellboy's "Samaritan".



Damn, I love that gun.  Now, if somebody would Steampunk a BFG, THAT would be SWEET.



Edit: Stupid nolinky linky.
« Last Edit: November 24, 2010, 01:54:00 pm by Rick »

drventure

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Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet - Possible Light Gun shells
« Reply #587 on: November 24, 2010, 11:51:05 am »
That samaritan is already steampunk in my book!

Awesome.

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Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet - Possible Light Gun shells
« Reply #588 on: November 24, 2010, 01:46:50 pm »
Something more like this would work:
http://www.horrorseek.com/home/halloween/wolfstone/Fog/fogus_UltrasonicFog.html

Ultrasonic inducers would be very small and requires 24v at 1.2A.

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Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet - Possible Light Gun shells
« Reply #589 on: November 24, 2010, 05:31:50 pm »
You could use something like an HO train smoke generator...

lol, when someone says "ho train" this is all i can think of....

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Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet - Possible Light Gun shells
« Reply #590 on: November 24, 2010, 06:47:57 pm »
How did you do the gold stamping?  Are they actually stamps?  Is it stamped with paint or gold leaf?  It looks so amazing.  It looks so much like gold tooling on leather.  Something like that gold tooled on leather would take days or weeks to do.  It's really amazing.  I'm embarrassed of my thread.  Need a job?   :D

The control panel really is top notch.  Gratz!!!!

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Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet - Possible Light Gun shells
« Reply #591 on: December 02, 2010, 05:00:13 pm »
very cool build. i read this yesterday, you did a great job.  today i was reading another webpage.  and it made me think of this cab.  its a steam powered record player :)  steampunk all the way!!


http://hackaday.com/2010/12/02/steam-powered-rickrolling/




chris.

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Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet - Possible Light Gun shells
« Reply #592 on: December 02, 2010, 05:44:10 pm »
@skinz

Sorry I didn't get back to you sooner. It's actually stamping. I used some stamps typically used for scrapbooking, along with a metalic gold ink. What I found was that every ink/paint combo i tried would simply not stick well to formica. Most would stick, but would come off pretty easily from hands playing games on the machine.

I first tried clearcoating with a spray enamel. that DID NOT work! Ugh, just check out pics from earlier in this thread for that fiasco.

I was however able to get all the clear off, then used alcohol to get off the stamped ink.

Restamped, and then coated the panel with Future floor wax (that stuff is MADE for formica/linoleum)

Haven't had any issues at all with it since then.

And yes, the idea was to simulate that gold leaf embossing that you often see on high end leather desktops. With the leather texture of the formica and the natural "stamped" look that comes from actually stamping the design, I think it turned out spot on.

Of course, it's likely not many cabs would do well with this look but, hey!  ;)

drventure

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Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet - Possible Light Gun shells
« Reply #593 on: December 02, 2010, 06:14:47 pm »
@jipp

I love that record player, but it's not quite "audiophile", what with the steam whistle and all  ;D

drventure

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Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet - Possible Light Gun shells
« Reply #594 on: January 01, 2011, 09:07:49 pm »
Finally got some time over the Christmas break to do a little work on the buffet!

Not much in terms of "building", but mainly software config this time around.

First up, get my wireless guitars connected and operational.

I picked up 2 of these before christmas



Then I picked up a wired XBox360 drum set off a guy on CL for cheap.

The guitars are pretty slick. Solid body, they feel like real guitars and not cheap plastic controllers. The drums... Well. They're plastic  :)

Hooked everything up and pulled down the FOFIX version of frets on fire, along with the Rockband skin.

Then found a few places to download the chart info for songs I've already got. Holy cow! There are TONS of good charts out for FOF. I grabbed a pile of Stevie Ray Vaughn tracks.

Anyway. it took a bit of trial and error.

First, I'd plugged them into USB hubs that were powered, but apparently under so... so when all three activated, things started dying.

A few swaps of USB ports and that was fixed.

Then, even though everything worked properly in the Game controller view in windows, when I started FOFIX, it'd scramble the Drum controller, the Xbox light would start flashing, and it'd no longer work. If I unplugged it and plugged it back in, it'd would work, but then the Guitar controllers would be screwed up. and round and round it went

Here's a view of some of the controllers installed.



More trial and error and I discovered that the wireless guitars have 3 "modes",  PS2, PS3 Guitar Hero, and PS3 Rockband. For whatever reason, in Rockband mode, the xbox drums screws them up.

But, I switched them both to Guitar hero mode and now FOFIX loads up and can control all three with no hicupps.

Sweetness!

Here's a screen shot of the FoFix Rockband theme. It's really nicely done.



But, alas, all was not well. Mame was screwed. All my controllers had been remapped when I plugged up the guitars and drums.

That story is for another post, though. I've gotta get something to eat.

Mr.Ian

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drventure

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Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet - FoFIX working with Guitars and Drums
« Reply #596 on: January 03, 2011, 09:49:38 pm »
Thanks Ian

Yep, I saw that thread, Awesome build, exactly what I'm planning (ok, actually wasn't planning the solenoid thing, but that looks great too).

Still toying with Wiimotes, if only because they're wireless. But if the accuracy stinks, well, I guess we'll see.

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Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet - Guitars and Drums and USB hubs
« Reply #597 on: January 03, 2011, 09:56:01 pm »
Ugh. I thought I'd post another word of caution about cheap USB hubs.

I've spent the better part of the last week fighting with 2 guitar controllers (PS2/PS3) and an XBox 360 Drum controller. They worked, but intermittently, and often not together.

After LOTS of trial and error, I finally narrowed it down to a 7 port USB hub I was using. A cheapo from radio shack I picked up ages ago.

I happened to check the power supply. 5v 1amp. 1 FREAKING amp!

Each port draws a max 500ma, so that hub was grossly underpowered. If just 2 ports pulled close to the max, anything else would send it over the edge.

Anyway, off to frys and I picked up an IOGEAR 7 port hub. Had em open the box before I purchased.

It comes with a 3.7amp PS.

At 7 ports, max draw would be about 3.5 amps, and throw in a little more to power the hub, and that appears to be a properly sized PS for that kind of hub.

Some devices don't draw all that much, but these guitar dongles and radio recievers and they appear to draw a lot, as does the xbox drum controller. And LEDWiz's DEFINITELY draw a lot if you're powering the LED's via the port and not externally.

Anyway, just a heads up for anyone else that might trundle off down this path....


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Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet - Ammeter and Barometer
« Reply #599 on: January 06, 2011, 12:59:21 pm »
Very nice. I like that voltmeter, but 59$? ouch

Actually, though, I've already got a couple of gauges that are going in (though I suppose I could always use more  :) )

I documented them way back here

But i never added in newer, finished shots....

So, here's a couple.

First, the ammeter that I cooked up.



It's an old Westinghouse that goes up to 2500 amps. The prongs on the sides are actually working connector points. I've got some wire that I covered with old style brown cording that terminates in a couple of copper lugs that I'll use to connect the ammeter to an LEDWiz output. That way, the LEDWiz can drive the readout on the ammeter either via an animation (the ammeter has a pot in it to allow me to adjust the voltage, I actually added a resistor across it to convert it to a crude voltmeter instead) or via a little service I'm working on to send data directly to the output port (for instance to read out CPU utilization).


Then the barometer



Yeah, this one's just silly, granted. But the pigtail actually does connect to an led inside it to light it up, and the barometer, although ancient, actually still works. I calibrated it and it's still reading right.

The main prob with gauges and such (I'd love to add more) is that 1) there's not a lot of space left for that kind of thing, and 2) Since all this has to effectively be "surface mounted" anything that's thick I have to build out a container for that looks reasonable, which can be tricky.

Plus, nothing can interfere with the whole thing closing up, OR with the monitor rotating (which is still in the works).