Tekken3 -> Mame an idiots project

[Smeghead]

I figured id put this into a thread here as although my cab is not the coolest or techincally brilliant compared to most on here, it does serve a good purpose to show what an idiot who knows NOTHING about soldering, woodworking or electronics can do.
If thats you, theres hope! Because I did it:
-------------------------------------------------
DAY1
I wondered if there were any arcade repairers in my area, and to my surprise I found one about 5 miles from me
I gave them a call and asked if they have any old arcade cabinets 'out back' that they could sell me
What a stupid question that seems now. I've been there twice now, once to see what he had and once to pick up the one I chose

Each time I was there he practically had to tell me LEAVE! Hes very busy and I just wanted to spend hours there looking through his huge warehouse
full of every 1978-1995 arcade game you can imagine.
Mostly in disrepair but for me it was like the best museum on the planet, I wanted to stay all day but I could see he wanted me to leave so he could get back to his work.
Wish I would have taken a picture. Im sure i'll be back there for something at some point, so then I will

So I had a choice in the little time I had there between a WWF cab, absolutely HUGE thing with 4 player controls, and a Tekken 3 cab with 2 player controls
The WWF was $100 and the Tekken 3 cab was $25 (both prices without a monitor) so I chose the Tekken 3 cab.
He wanted an extra $100 for the monitor included, and I wasnt sure I wanted to pay that for something VERY well used and maybe even burned in so I left with me Tekken 3 cab for $25 (+$10 to include the coin mechanisms)

An online friend loaned me his trailer and another friend his tie down straps so there was no cost to me for transportation

TOTAL COST SO FAR: $35

So here it is, fits in there nicely next to the fish tank
Awesome graphic on the right side of one of the Tekken 3 fighters (sorry I dont know who it is, its not really my kinda game)
Tekken 3 decal on both sides up high and really really really CLEAN and in awesome condition, im TOTALLY stoked
The wood is strong and hardly chipped or dented, plastic on the marquee and screen cover in nice condition


Im sure the fish wont mind the violence going on at the end of the tank


Looking good, and this is without any kind of cleanup, this is how it came

I love this controller, loads of elbow room and nice overlay, although im going to remove the 'punch' and 'kick' labels

Nice stroke of luck, everything is already wired for me!
Just need to splice in some longer wires for one of the sides to reach the I-Pac

[Smeghead]

DAY TWO

Not much time to do anything today thanks to car trouble

These are the two speakers that came with the cabinet.
I figured they had to be quite good, Tekken 3 has half-decent music so im
sure they were capable of more than a few beeps so I decided to use them

Used the control panel from the cheapo desktop computer speakers and wired them to the cab speakers
I was worried about blowing the amp but they did very well, even cranked up loud
Mounted it on the side at the back to give access to the power button, volume and headphone socket

Cut out a section of the back door to allow it to close and the buttons / earphones socket to be accessable

[Smeghead]

DAY THREE

Spent most of today sending emails to people on Craigslist asking if the tv they are selling has S-Video
So far all "NO"s

Went to two Savers Thrift stores, and actually found the perfect TV.
Nice picture, 25" Sony, cheap and S-video connections-wohooo!
Then I noticed several DEEP scratches on the glass of the screen = useless

So the search for a 22"-25" tv continues. Still some emails out there and one VM left
I really want to get the monitor/tv part of this build DONE! The rest shouldn't be too bad after that

I Wanted to achieve something today, so I bought a strip light from Walmart for $10 for the marquee
Screwed in a strip of wood and attached the light to it.
Had to re-route how the wire came out of the plastic housing due to it being cramped in there, but the end results are good.
Its very bright, the camera makes it look not so bright but it'll be fine

TOTAL COST SO FAR: $45




Oh, and I did load 'TinyXP' on a pc I had to see what its like.
Nice minimal version of XP, think that will be my OS

[Smeghead]

DAY FOUR

Not much time to do anything today, busy with soccer n stuff but I did get my TV!
A Zenith 25" with two S-Video inputs in a nice black case for $50
I was hoping not to spend as much as that but this one is so perfect its worth it


My cab is 27" wide inside, this tv (including case) is 25" wide - perfect

The existing woodwork in my cab allows me to attach two struts to them to sit the tv into,
Putting the front of the tv tube 1/4" behind the plastic screen cover of the cabinet - perfect!

Its not very deep so I dont think im going to have a problem with the back of the tv hitting the rear door of the cab

Best of all, even after unplugging the tv, when you power it back on it resumes looking for an s-video input
I've heard some tvs default to the cable input or something, this one doesnt

The only thing I dont like much is the horizontal scanlines
Now I KNOW some people go to great lengths to achieve this authentic effect, but im not one
I know it adds to the arcade feel, but I would prefer the picture was smooth, but for me this is a very little thing

Very happy overall, hope to mount it tomorrow!

Cost of TV: $50

Total cost so far: $95

[Smeghead]

DAY FIVE


Finally the worst part of this whole build is done - the TV is in!


After alot of thinking and overbuying at Home Depot, I went with some metal vertical struts that the tv hangs on from the sides
These damn things were $10 each but wont bend or break which is worth it I guess

I was able to take the plastic back off the tv and get everything just right, without having to deal with the weight of the entire tv itself which was VERY nice!



Added 2*2 wooden bar across the back to stop it going anywhere backwards or downwards
This isnt really actually neccesary to hold the tv, the metal struts are enough, but just in case



Im very happy to get this part done
Need to order a plastic bezel which is $25 off Ebay and it will look very authentic Cost of tv mounting hardware : $40

Total cost so far: $135

[Smeghead]

DAY SIX


INstalled and wired up the I-Pac2 today
Wasnt too much of a big deal, just time consuming

I discovered all my joysticks and buttons work, but some WILL have to be replaced and soon

I wanted fairly neat wires, but had to leave them all fairly slack to allow the controller board to lift up
I also used the existing ground wires as they seemed ok, so I just had to do the red positive wires








Then although my real PC for this project isnt ready, I had to try the controller out so I hooked
up my laptop and gave it a good testing with all my fave games



Cost of Ipac + 18 gauge wire : $50

Total cost so far: $185

[Smeghead]

DAY SEVEN


Today I spent alot of time troubleshooting problems with the I-PAC
Somehow the shift key (normally player 1 start) got put on P1A whatever that is
The www.arcadecontrols.com forum solved the problem for me, seems several other people have had the same issue
Inexperience with the config program was basically the issue. Set it wrong somehow and didnt know how to set it back right

I was tired of looking at that marquee space with no marquee in it
Im going to print two out at Walmart for the real marquee, but in the meantime I cut up an 'Incredibles' balloon and stuck it in there
Looks crap but better than nothing at all


Also had a good idea about the coin slots lights.
I took a USB mouse, cut the mouse off and attached the black (ground) and red (+5v) wires to the connections on the coin slot lights
Whaddayaknow it works - USB powered coin slot lights
Yeah I know I need some more mechanisms, but slot 1 works and is hooked up to the I-PAC to accept coins



The PC im using for this project is in now too. I got a PCI-E ATI x300 video card that has no fan on the heatseat for $9.99 free shipping off Ebay
Works great with TinyXP as the O/S
I really really love TinyXP, lightening fast OS, boots in 15 seconds and uses very few system resources
The pc is a Dell Optiplex 755, 2GIG RAM, 80G HDD, PCI-E ATI X300 video card (with S-video connector), TinyXP for the OS

The most time spent on all this today was on the front end.
Im using Atomic ( http://atomicfe.com )
I tried many, each time being frustrated with how hard they were to configure. Atomic was very easy and looked great
I've since found out how very well it is documented and supported too. Cant beat that. Thanks Havoc!

I was easily able to set up a menu system with hierarchy for all my games, Mame, Daphne, even some DOS games like Lightcycles!
BTW if anyone wants this LightCycles game you can get it here: http://www.alterna-uo.net/mame/lightcycles.zip
It plays SO WELL on an arcade machine!
Still some work to do to get it just right but so far im loving it


Cost of mouse: already had one lying around
Cost of Video card: $10

Cost so far: $195

[Smeghead]

DAY EIGHT


Today is power day, and hopefully the last time I will need to pull the cab away from the wall

I installed a button on the front of the cab, which activates the power button on the PC inside the cab
I had to mount the pc on top of a box and secure it all to make it all line up but works fine
Now I know this is kind of botchy, but this small form factor case's power button was NOT hackable at all
There was nowhere to splice in, solder into, nothing, so thats how I did it. Not ideal, but it works perfectly


Inside the case is a 'SmartStrip' a must have for all Mame Cabinet makers!
The pc is plugged into the master socket, then all other things plugged into the green sockets do whatever the master socket is doing
So when the outside button is pushed, the pc turns on.
The other sockets sense this and turn on themselves, the speakers, tv, marquee light etc
Then when the pc is turned off, everything else turns off too! Brilliant.
These things are everywhere on the internet and Home Depot for $35 and up, but this one was $19.99 free shipping from Amazon!


And heres how im keeping the tv power on. Another reason I love this tv, holding the power button in
with a screw means it turns on when power is supplied, unlike some tvs.


A little 'adjusting'

Now the door goes on fine

Cost of smartswitch: $20
Cost of button: $3

Cost so far: $218

[Smeghead]

DAY NINE


Progress has slowed as we are all enjoying playing the games so much!
I've been refining the front end (Atomic) adding a favorites menu and stuff

Also added a Pokemon emulator with Pokemon Gold rom for my daughter, she loves it!

Replaced the plastic sheet in front of the monitor.
The one that came with had cigarette burns, scratches and other grime that wasnt coming off
The same thickness stuff from Home Depot was $50! So I went thinner which works just as good

Also driled the new holes for the buttons that are arriving soon
I want a "3 and 3" layout as you see below, mainly because one of my favorite games is Bank Panic which demands it!


Also removed the punch/kick stickers. Will be adding a plastic box around buttons when the new ones are in

Cost of plexiglass + cutting tool: $25


Cost so far: $243

[Smeghead]

DAY TEN


Got the new buttons in today, now I have a 3 x 3 layout which is nice, especially for games like Bank Panic (which I love)



Here you can see the chopped up keyboard and mouse I have inside


Also got my marquees in!
$20 printed at Walmart, look great backlit dont they!



Cost of buttons: $15
Cost of marquees printed at Walmart online, regular photo paper: $16


Cost so far: $274

[Smeghead]

DAY ELEVEN


Got my monitor bezels in the mail, $16 with free shipping off Ebay, great deal!


For now its duct taped to the wodden surround


Here it is in place, really makes a difference to the look and 'feel' of it all not seeing the TV at all


Also worked on my trackball. Here it is, got it for $15 off Ebay, some guy as the bezel selling stuff cheap



Heres my 5th attempt at the mouse hack. Finally did it after SO MUCH frustration.
I just cant solder, I suck at it so I ruined at least 5 mice trying to do this. I would recommend the Optipac if you can afford it

So heres how it looked opened up, full of years of grime, crap and dirt

And here how it is now, after the cleanup. It actually spins for a few seconds after you let go of it now!
Tons of cleaning solution, water, WD40 and scrubbing

Its alive!


Cost of trackball: $15
Cost of bezel: $16


Cost so far: $305

[Smeghead]

DAY TWELVE


This evening (and much of the night) I got the trackball in and working
I wont say its 'done' as im not very happy with it and may well end up redoing it all
I read on the www.willcoxonline.com website about how he took the top off his trackball making it
stick up alot more than with a mounting plate, and although I actually did order a mounting plate
I decided to give this a ago. That meant taking the top off the trackball and making cutout areas
in the control panel underside where the trackball PCBs and optical wheels need to go

I dont have a very good set of tools, and certainly dont have a router so it was all done with a hammer and chisel!





The end results are kind of cool, but I had to undo all the wiring for the buttons etc
and didnt have to time to put it all back neatly, so thats another 'to-do' to tidy up the wires




The 3" holesaw cost me $17 but im not including the price of tools, as most people have a good set already

Cost so far: $305

[Smeghead]

DAY THIRTEEN


I got my Flightstick in today. $15 from Amazon
I got the idea from www.willcoxonline.com
Its a nice looking USB flightstick with fold up legs that can easy be removed, leaving just
The joystick that can be fitted into a 40mm hole and still work with no base!

I removed the legs and hacked off the pieces the legs attach to (pics from willcoxonline)


The base screws on from underneath the control panel, and a few screws secure it all in place




Also added some admin buttons, Escape, Enter, Tab and F1 (brings up filter search in Atomic)
Used to sharpee to label them till I think of something better



Im not happy with it though, its too crowed so im going to make a new top and repostion EVERYTHING
And also run new wires to make them more tidy. Its a bit of a mess under there
But for now, its all done. All works. Great fun

Cost of Fightstick $15
Cost so far: $320


The PC by the way was kinda of a "donation" so didnt cost anything, but you can
get them anyday online for about $75 so if you add that:
Total cost: $395

[Smeghead]

DAY THIRTEEN


Not much of an update, just added some LEDs for an 'underglow' effect and took some pics







Thats pretty much it and where it is now.
 I have a Guncon2 gun but it only kinds sorta works, still working on that problem. But its finished enough to have fun!



Cost of LEDs $10


So as you can see, even an idiot can do this!
Cost so far: $330

[Flip The Switch]

Awesome!

im a little bit iffy about the flightstick though, it distacts me and it kinda looks funny there, im funny like that though

its your cab!

looks great so far.

[Smeghead]

Yeah the whole controller is cluttered. Its because I used as many of the existing buttons and holes as possible, and theres too much too close together. You whack the stick using the trackball in some games lol

A complete replacement/redesign is coming soon!

[solidteezme]

Whats the game?

[emphatic]

http://www.alterna-uo.net/mame/day13/8.jpg

Whats the game?

Alpha Mission II.

[solidteezme]

Cheers Bud!

[Nado]

nice cab..  I like the handywork on the power button.. cause bridging the button or replacing it with a switch would have been crazy