How to build audio jacks in the backpanel of your MAME cab?

[ammitz]

Hi

I'm building a bartop MAME machine. I've bought this MOBO (Gigabyte GA-EP43T-UD3L) which supports "Home theater quality 8-channel High Definition Audio"
On the back panel of the MOBO there is 6 x audio jacks (Center/Subwoofer Speaker Out/Rear Speaker Out/ Side Speaker Out/Line In/Line Out/Microphone), you can see them to the right on this picture


Because of my design of the cabinet with a lot of different angels, I will not be able to build the back of the MOBO into the backpanel. I would like to have acces to a least 3 of the audio jacks (Center/Subwoofer Speaker Out/Rear Speaker Out/ Side Speaker Out). Not that i will use the regulary, but sometimes i might wanna use them.

So I would like to make some kind of extension from the MOBO to the backpanel where it should be buildt in, so it would look nice and give me a quick acces.

Do you guys have any suggestion for the kind of terminal I should use? I'we searched around, but haven't found a good solution yet.

What have you guys done to solve this problem?

[drventure]

A cheap solution would be to pick up 3 3.5mm extension cables like this.

http://www.buy.com/retail/product.asp?sku=203478806&listingid=32534428



Then, drill a hole to accommodate the female end, glue it in place and you're done.

Cleaner might be to pick up a panel, or panel mount jacks. I'd think Radio shack should have stuff like that, but it won't be as readily available as a plain extension cable.

[ammitz]

Thought about doing it just with cables, but I dont know how good a fixation I can make and how durable it would be. And I dont think I could make it look clean

Cleaner might be to pick up a panel, or panel mount jacks. I'd think Radio shack should have stuff like that, but it won't be as readily available as a plain extension cable.

I'll look at radio shack and see what they have. Thanx for that advice

UPDATE.

Been at www.datapro.net where I found this:


or this



And then I would just have to make my own faceplate to mount the female jack in. This would take a little work, but would look nice and clean in the end.

[Dr Zero]

Put a cup on the back and run the patch cable down to the MOBO and plug it in some heat shrink tubing on the one end and no one can tell.





http://www.allelectronics.com/make-a-store/item/SWT-500/SPEAKER-TERMINALS-GOLD-BANANA-JACKS/-/1.html

Several kinds here

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss?url=search-alias%3Delectronics&field-keywords=terminal+cup&x=13&y=14

[Blanka]

As they are actually line-outs, I would make them with the normal RCA terminals:

Use a mini-jack cable to connect them, and cut off one plug to solder it on the terminal.
Using speaker terminals is very confusing.

[ammitz]

The problem is that i haven't got the equipment and i don't know how to solder.

So a solder free solution would be very nice

[Zebidee]

Why put them in the back? Put the at the front and make a feature of them:

   

There are a few more examples here

[Franco B]

As they are actually line-outs, I would make them with the normal RCA terminals:

Thats pretty much what I did for the I/O panel for my cocktail:



I used two female RCA couplers for audio in/out and video out and connected RCA>3.5mm jacks to the PC for the audio.

[bkenobi]

Have you considered using modular wall plates?  These are available at any box hardware store and give you the ability to build a plate that matches exactly the connections that you need.  The available connectors are expanding, so you can get pretty much anything you need these days.  You could actually take a blank plate and make your own with a drill/dremel tool/nippers, but this is quicker albeit more expensive.

Here's one place that I grabbed off google that shows some examples of what I'm talking about.  I have no affiliation with them, they were just the first hit that looked right.

http://www.twacomm.com/catalog/dept_id_277.htm


EDIT:  Here's  a better place from the looks of it.  I've at least heard of them too:

http://www.cablestogo.com/categories.asp?cat_id=2200

[ammitz]

As they are actually line-outs, I would make them with the normal RCA terminals:

Thats pretty much what I did for the I/O panel for my cocktail:

I used two female RCA couplers for audio in/out and video out and connected RCA>3.5mm jacks to the PC for the audio.

How did you fasten it?

Why put them in the back? Put the at the front and make a feature of them:

And because i'm building a bartop, then there isn't any room for at the front, so that's why it's at the back.

[Franco B]

How did you fasten it?

I machined the holes so that they are a very tight fit. You could use some epoxy to stick them in position or screw some strapping in between the ports from the inside of the panel.

[javeryh]

Check out frontx - they have lots of nice stuff like this:

[bkenobi]

Check out frontx - they have lots of nice stuff like this:

That stuff is cool, but it adds up FAST!  I like how clean it is though.

[javeryh]

That stuff is cool, but it adds up FAST!  I like how clean it is though.

yeah - you are correct.  I ordered a bunch for my jukebox (will I ever finish??) and it came out to around $60 or something for some USB extenders, the headphone jack, ethernet port and some RCA jacks.  Long term it will be worth it though. 

The headphone one pictured is super easy to install - just drill the hole and screw the ring nut on and that's it!

[DrumAnBass]

You could also go with a wall plate and just paint it to match the cab; great prices here:

http://www.monoprice.com/products/subdepartment.asp?c_id=104&cp_id=10425

[SavannahLion]

You could also go with a wall plate and just paint it to match the cab; great prices here:

http://www.monoprice.com/products/subdepartment.asp?c_id=104&cp_id=10425

+1

Saw some of that Home Depot and Lowes last month. Made a mental note to check them out later. If I recall correctly some of the wall jacks were solder free. Plug in the back and a plug in the front. Didn't pay too much attention to which wall jacks were sold like that though.

The problem is that i haven't got the equipment and i don't know how to solder.

So a solder free solution would be very nice

You should learn how to at least solder a wire into a cup. The amount of money I saved with even a mere $30 invested in basic soldering tools more than paid itself over the years. So much so that I regret not paying more for the more sophisticated soldering irons. Might even watch eBay for awhile and see if I can snag one of the irons PBJ always talks about.

[ammitz]

I'm thinking that I would have to learn to solder, tried i 25 years ago as a kid.... How difficult can it be

I can buy a plate fixed with 6 RCA unit's for around 2,5 $. then I'll buy 3 cables of stereo mini jack to 2 RCA, cut of the 2 RCA and solder the wire to the plate.

The total price for the 3 wires and the plate would be 13$

And then I'll have to buy a cheap solder, they have some cheap ones around 15$.

About the solder, with my tiny needs, does it matter how many watt it's on?

Btw the way, this sure is an expensive hobby, but a good way to have an excuse to buy new equipment

[bkenobi]

Btw the way, this sure is an expensive hobby, but a good way to have an excuse to buy new equipment

I disagree.  It CAN be an expensive hobby, but if you want to keep it simple and are shrewd about what you do, you can definitely keep the price down.  If you go with all the bells and whistles, then yeah...

Example:
Buy an old cheap cab off Craigslist ($0-50).  If the sides are solid and look ok, you don't have to do anything there, move on.  Add a computer from the closet ($0).  Add an encoder to connect the controls to the computer ($30 depending on what you get).  Add a CP (anywhere from $0-$$$$ depending on what came with the cab and what you want to do).  Add a TV from Craigslist/freecycle ($0-100 depending).  Misc supplies (paint, lexan, drill bits, etc) ($0-$$$$).  Add it up, it's as little as $30 for an encoder plus whatever else YOU choose to put into it.

Of course, if there is a female involved in looking at it, you will have to spend a LOT more to get it in the house 

[mvsfan]

As they are actually line-outs, I would make them with the normal RCA terminals:

Thats pretty much what I did for the I/O panel for my cocktail:



I used two female RCA couplers for audio in/out and video out and connected RCA>3.5mm jacks to the PC for the audio.

this is just an awesome I/o panel for built from scratch. thanks for sharing it. nice work.

what i did for mine though is i got a 6 space keystone wall plate put in all the jacks i wanted, then i got the cables from cables to go to hook it all up.

ive got 2 Rca Jacks for Audio, a Vga Out for hooking up an external monitor, A RJ45 for network, and 2 Usb ports.

but what he could do in his case for the bartop, is just use 6 Rcas on a keystone plate, and then get some 12" long 3.5mm to Rca from cables to go.