trackball on top of cab? Dumb?

[paigeoliver]

Ok, finishing putting together the Amazing Mame, and the motherboard was fruiting and not wanting to boot.

I am sure I just have a jumper wrong or something. But now that I have to pull it back out I am thinking that maybe I should put my good computer inside (so I can play Dragon's Lair, etc).

If I put my GOOD computer inside I would need a mouse/trackball of some kind. There is no room on the panel for a trackball, but there is PLENTY of room on the roof of the cabinet to put a navigation trackball (and it is low enough to reach).

Or would I be better off getting a touchpad and sticking that on top?

[RandyT]

As long as you aren't too bent on being "authentic" you can do what I did when faced with the same dilemma.

Make a small fixed or folding shelf on whichever side of the cabinet you favor and use a CompUSA trackball or similar.  Not too offensive and even works ok for a round of Missile Command once in a while .

RandyT

[kspiff]

I don't think authenticity is going to be a big issue when the monitor is sticking out the back like that

Paige, put some socks on when you work, man.. you'll get your shoes all smelly

Oh.. forgot the question.. why not get a good-but-cheap wireless mouse?  If it's just for navigation..?

[paigeoliver]

Shelf on the side would be a no-go. That cab in the picture is the last known complete Amazing Maze cabinet in the world. And I am NOT going to put any holes in the side.

I think I will just go to Compusa and see what kind of small pointing devices they have. I do have a small spot in between the player one and player 2 controls. It isn't big enough for my 3" arcade trackball, but I can probably jam something in there.

I actually couldn't put a trackball on the panel even if I had room, the panel has a wicked angle, and I doubt the ball would roll correctly.

[paigeoliver]

Hee hee. That isn't me in the picture. I was the one taking the picture.

Actually I went to a lot of pains to keep the cabinet as original looking as possible. I am even reusing as much as possible of the original cardboard bezel art, and I used the original glass, and even kept the control panel at the dumb angle it is at, AND I am going to scan the original CPO and rework it for the controls on the new panel.

Yeah the monitor pokes out, but you can't see that from the front.

ANyway. I think I figured out what I am going to get.

THIS

http://www.compusa.com/products/product_info.asp?product_code=303538&pfp=SEARCH

It is a USB remote control that functions as a mouse.

[grafixmonkey]

I have a similar one that came with an all-in-wonder Radeon 8500 card - runs on radio frequency instead of infrared.  You might be able to find one like it without the card, and save having to put the IR receiver on your cab.

The directional pad is a little touchy for mouse control...   I'm getting used to it though.     I'd think that button in the middle would make it hard to navigate quickly without pressing it all the time.  

I looked for any brand markings on my remote, because it came with a matching USB pluggie dongle thing with an antenna on it, and it looked like ATI might have gotten them from another company.  Didn't find anything though

[paigeoliver]

Well, I am not exactly figuring that I will use the remote much. I still plan on having the cabinet boot into Mamewah. But I would need the remote to launch other applications and emulators.

Also with any luck the thing will be a directinput device, and I will be able to map some Mame functions onto it. (I am thinking tab, escape and that sort of thing).

[grafixmonkey]

Go for it then, this remote I've got works great for that kind of stuff.

Just can't exactly use Photoshop with it!    

[paigeoliver]

Ok. I got it. The monkeys at Compusa tried to tell me that they didn't sell anything like that. But then they found it after I told them that their website said they were in stock at their store.

It seems to work allright. Only one mouse button, and you cannot drag and drop. The buttons do not seem to be directinput ones, and I couldn't map any mame functions onto them.

But it does do what I need it to do, which is move the cursor, control the volume, and it has an alt-enter button (nice for some emulators), and 3 shortcut buttons (which I mapped to mamewah, snes9x and Daphneloader).

[grafixmonkey]

That sucks...  mine can drag and drop, and has both buttons.  Guess all remotes aren't created equal.

Whatever version of windows you're running might have an accessibility feature to let you drag and drop even if you can't hold the button down while the mouse moves.

[paigeoliver]

If I decide I don't like it I will just return it and spend the extra $10 and get one of them powerpoint mice that they have (remotes that are just mice, but are much nicer).

[paigeoliver]

Ok. I went ahead and returned the Streamzap and got a Targus "Wireless Notebook presenter".

It is SO MUCH BETTER. It has both mouse buttons and has 16 way control (close enough to a true analog mouse that you cant tell the difference). It also has a laser pointer built in (which I don't need). Finally it has a button that toggles the mouse buttons between being mouse1/mouse2 and pageup/pagedown.

With this baby I can now navigate windows, and I can use it in Mame to add coins, bring up the menu, pause, and exit. (I also have all those functions duplicated on a rack of buttons inside the coin door).

[grafixmonkey]

Great!  Maybe I'll pick one up too.  

Not much of a fan of the whole D-pad mouse pointer thing.

[Brax]

I don't think authenticity is going to be a big issue when the monitor is sticking out the back like that

You know, in this day and age you shouldn't go making fun of people with a monitor for a head! Poor fella! It's even monochrome........ Is his name Amber by chance?

[kspiff]

LOL, that's hilarious.. poor thing appears to be stuck

I'm pretty sure that is one of Paige's pixeltouch (or whatever) monitors he bought a while back.. I still want to know if those things can be used as arcade monitors.. I'd *hope* the original monitor fit better than that :/

[paigeoliver]

Yes that is a 21" pixeltouch. It is mounted to the original monitor shelf. It looks great from the front, it only pokes out from the back. The way I am going to line my games up should hide it.

The original monitor was actually larger (23"), but those monochrome monitors have really shallow tubes, and thus they fit perfectly in that cabinet.

ANY normal monitor would have poked out the back of that cab. The darn thing is almost a foot shallower than a normal Pac-Man or Defender (or whatever).

I also have the same model of monitor massively poking out of the back of my Artic Mini as well, and plan on poking the 3rd one out of the back of my empty video poker cabinet, which is going to be a vertical trackball cabinet (only like a dozen games are vertical trackball, but they include a few really good ones, Centipede, Millipede, Capcom Bowling, and Quantum).