a few arcade system questions

[Chad.]

Alright so I'm building an arcade system with a nintendo 64 inside(no i'm not using a computer) and I have a few question.

What size tv screen is best to play arcade games like pac-man or galaga?

Does anybody have blueprints or drawing ect of a traditional arcade systems with the design and deminsions and what not?

How are tvs supported in these? does anybody have a pic of the inside so I can see? can I make the tv removable to if I want to haul in down the steps I can just take the tv out(planing on making a backdoor.

Is there an easy way for me to make a button to turn the n64 on and off or should I just make a door were I can access the power button manualy.

how big of a hole do I need to cut for this joystick?:


Please and thanks for the help.

[daywane]

Alright so I'm building an arcade system with a nintendo 64 inside(no i'm not using a computer) and I have a few question.

What size tv screen is best to play arcade games like pac-man or galaga?

Does anybody have blueprints or drawing ect of a traditional arcade systems with the design and deminsions and what not?

How are tvs supported in these? does anybody have a pic of the inside so I can see? can I make the tv removable to if I want to haul in down the steps I can just take the tv out(planing on making a backdoor.

Is there an easy way for me to make a button to turn the n64 on and off or should I just make a door were I can access the power button manualy.

how big of a hole do I need to cut for this joystick?:


Please and thanks for the help.

Q: What size TV screen is best to play arcade games like pac-man or galaga?
A: 20 inch should be OK 27 is better.

Q:Does anybody have blueprints or drawing ect of a traditional arcade systems with the design and deminsions and what not?
A: http://www.jakobud.com/

Q:How are tvs supported in these? does anybody have a pic of the inside so I can see? can I make the tv removable to if I want to haul in down the steps I can just take the tv out(planing on making a backdoor.

A: I have original cabs. a wooden door is allready there. I just used long lag bolts. I drilled into the sides of the cab and into a 2x4 on each side. I then bolted 2x4's on the top of the 2x4's bolted to the sides of the cab. making a very strong shelf. and slid TV on top of shelf.

Q: Is there an easy way for me to make a button to turn the n64 on and off or should I just make a door were I can access the power button manualy.

A: yes. open up the N64. cut wires to on button , add more wires to the wires going to motherboard, Attach wires to a arcade button, this will turn system on.

Q: how big of a hole do I need to cut for this joystick?:
A: 1 1/8" (28mm)

[daywane]

before everybody and there whole family dog piles on you...
just at the top of this web page you see
Arcade Controll.com?
Just below that is 5 buttons. Not well noticed.
home, help, search, profile, log out

all answers were found fast in the search button.
but what the heck I did not mind helping you out

[dkubarek]

I'm a noob so I don't know all the joysticks, but that looks like an 8-way joystick. It's tough getting an arcade cab to play console games such as N64 because it has so many buttons and a digital 8-way directional pad AND an analog stick. So, you would need I guess an 8-way joystick, an analog joystick and a buddy to hit the buttons for you. Also, the drill hole is 1 1/8, I think. Daywane probably just made a typo.

There was a thread not too long ago titled "controller for console games" or something that dealt with this. It actually kinda sucks playing N64 games with arcade controls was the resulting theme. I have arcade controls for mame but I'm putting in USB ports for console controllers. You won't need that since you're just using the system. Maybe rethink your plans a bit, but if you want to do it go for it.

[daywane]

yes I did mean 1 1/8 inch.
Thanks for catching that.  i did fix it after you pointed it out.

He pointed out he wanted to play pac man and Galaga.
That stick should be able to switch to 4 way mode.
It would be fine for those type games even with a N64 system and cart

[severdhed]

if you are planning on only playing classics like pacman and galaga, why not go with a PC instead of an N64?  with the n65, you are going to have to hack some gamepads and do a good bit of soldering to get the controls interfaced properly.  you are also going to have to mount the n64 in a way that allows you access to the cartridge slot to change games, Unless you are only planning on using Namco Museum.  if you want to be able to play the more advanced N64 games, then you are going to have to try to find some way to interface an analog stick of some kind into your control panel, which could be pretty difficult.

on the other hand, if you look around, you could more than likely find an older PC for cheap, or free that would be more than suitable for playing the classics in mame....some of the older versions of mame run pretty well on  crappy computers. then you have the luxury of using one of several control interfaces that are easy to work with and programmable.  this would also get you a much larger list of games to choose from.

[Turnarcades]

Does seem like a fruitless excercise if playing classics is what you wanna do. Saying that, a lot of noobs and potential customers have come to me in the last few months wanting to use a console hack inside their arcade. It seems the generation divide is now showing as people want that classic arcade machine they saw as yongsters and we enjoyed as teenagers, but want to play modern games. The silliest request I had was to build a system suitable of emulating (and I quote) "PS1, PS2, Dreamcast, Saturn, Gamecube and X-Box, but if that impossible I can live without the Gamecube or could you just hack a few consoles inside there?".

The absolute limit I bother with is PS1, and that's only for the huge crop of great fighting games that suck ass in MAME.