My first cab - Phase 1 [In my head]

[mr_doles]

I have decided to stop hijacking other people's posts to ask my questions and start my own.  I have been hesitating doing this as it will be a while before I can even start my build.  Maybe I'll win an award for longest time to build.

I have been playing with emulators for a little while now and was frustrated with trying to use the keyboard to play games.  I stumbled onto BYOAC and said to myself hey why not.  Well besides the fact that I have zero woodworking skills, my electrical skills are lacking, and all I know is the computer part.  So why build my own, I guess a sense of accomplishment of playing on something I put together.  My father-in-law will be helping (who I my kidding, doing most of the work) with the woodworking, but said he will not help with out plans, makes sense to me.

Computer Specs

• Dell OptiPlex GX620
• 2.66 GHz Celeron* with 1 GB of RAM
• 80 GB hard drive
• 20.1 inch LCD monitor
• MAME .128 (and some other emulators)

*Note:  I am not a fan of the Celeron but the price was right and everything that I play works for me so far.

CP phase 1:

• U360 x2
• U-Trak 3" trackball (usb)
• HAPP Concave Long Buttons w/ Cherry Switches x14
• Player 1/2 start buttons
• Pause and ESC buttons
• Encoder (MiniPac or U-Hid)

*Note:  Still not sure if I am going to put the coin on the CP or rig the Coin Door to do it.  The encoder is for the extra buttons since the U360 will handle the 7 P1/P2 action buttons.

The problem is since I have the monitor I need to design around it.  So my first 2 questions are:

1)   Do they make bezels for 20” LCD monitors?  I have seen one for one for 19” on eBay but here are my measurement problems:

	Monitor	Monitor Bezel	Viewable	Bezel	Wasted
Width	17.48"	1.375"	16.105"	14.5"	1.605"
Height	16.02"	1.375"	14.645"	12"	2.645"

That just seems like a lot of wasted viewable space.

2)   Trying to find the right width to balance the size of the monitor and the size of the CP.  I don't want the width to be too small and have the CP stick out 3 feet on each side but I also don't want it to be too wide and have the monitor look tiny.  The CP will be 2 player, 7 button NeoGeo layout each and a trackball in center.

I downloaded this sketchup on google that looks about the right width for both CP and monitor, but today was the first time I ever used sketch up and could have done the measurements wrong.  I came up with 24.4094 " (620mm).  That seems close for the bezel to fit.

Lord what have I got myself into. ???

[ivwshane]

I don't know if you are aware but the u360 supports up to 8 buttons by itself, just get the usb harness, no encoder needed unless you plan on having more than 16 buttons. If the u-track supports buttons then you will also be able to have p1/2 coins.

[mr_doles]

This is something that I have been struggling with.  The U360 supports 8 physical buttons and with Shift supports 15.  I started with 6 action/side, P1/P2 start and P1/P2 coins and was going to shift pause and ESC.  Now there are many threads discussing the pros and cons on doing this, here's one.  I really want a physical ESC button.  Here is another that talks about u360 and encoders.  Well after working on my FE the other day, I discovered I have more NeoGeo games then I thought, hence button number 7 was added.  I wish the U-Trak did support extra buttons but alas they don't.  I had a thread here where you chimed in (bet you forgot about that didn't you) with some good advice about the Electric ICE trackball (which is still on my maybe column).
I want out of the planning stage and into the playing stage.

[mr_doles]

Had some free time yesterday and took the advice of all and did a quick cardboard mock up of player 1.  Just wanted to get a feel for size and what I am in for.  I learned A LOT from doing this, like I hate crimping, measure from the inside of the button bolt (as you see from the first button I cut), and did I mention that I hate crimping.  Plugged it up to test how it works and ended up playing games for 40 minutes.
Well anyway here she is, the beginning of a beautiful relationship.

[Franco B]

Wow, you hate crimping? Are you crimpist of something?  Why exactly do you hate it?

I love crimping/wiring. Not only because its something I enjoy to (try to) do well, it also means I'm near the end of the project.

Maybe your are a master woodworker and want to spend your time on that. Maybe you are a master electrician and wiring bores you as its your day job.

I am a master of neither but I love to try to do both well and enjoy it at the same time.

Good luck with your project

[mr_doles]

Actually I am a master of none of those things.  I just got very frustrated because the wire would slip out, I broke some of the quick disconnects squeezing to hard, I had to tape some of them up.  I don't mind the wiring as I do networking and have to make LAN cables, but I have nice tools and gadgets at work to lay the wires into.  Doing this I felt like I needed a third hand.  To be fair I have only crimped with quick disconnects one time before when I was running speakers in my room, just got to get a better feel for it.  I am sure by the time I am done I will be better at it and enjoy it more.  I am going to redo all of it as it is a mess, that is why there is no picture of the bottom side.

[mr_doles]

I wanted to post this for any noobs like myself dealing with the U-Trak.  The measurements can be found on Ultimarc's website but I could not wrap my head around how it fit on the control panel to get the width.  I took a picture from blind_dado's U-Trak review and overlaid the measurements from Ulimarc.  The width was off the screen so I marked it on the picture.

[mr_doles]

Still working on the dimensions of the CP and had a question for you guys.  I have seen people angle player 3 and player 4 but have not seen any examples of doing it with player 1 and 2.  Has anyone done this and do they have any complaints with it.  I have attached a very crude picture of what I am talking about.

EDIT: Realized I put the joystick on the wrong side in the picture, told you it was cude.

[ivwshane]

The problem with angling it like that is that it puts both players on the side of the cab which also has them looking at the monitor from the side, which is a little awkward.

Unless you have a third person who will be in between the two refereeing, there really is no reason to have people stand that far apart from each other.


The other thing to think about is where you plan on putting the cab. If it's in the middle of a wall then there wont be any issue however if it's in a corner then you will have one or both people squished up against the wall.

[mr_doles]

To all tall people (6 foot plus) I am 6 ' 3" and was wondering what is a good height for the cab.

[ivwshane]

I wouldn't worry about other people, figure out what you like and find what works best for you.

In a worst case scenario you can by some stools for everyone else to sit on;)


My cab is roughly 37.5" high in the front and 40" high at the back of the cp (my cab is on casters and adds about an inch of height) and it feels like if it were a tad lower I still would be comfortable (I'm 5'11" with shoes on).