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Portable with changeable control panels - Complete (More or less)
Hawkweber:
I glued up the case (was getting tired of having to work around the clamps keeping things together). Will have to do some sanding to get rid of some extra glue and to smooth up the joins. Thinking about using some brackets to secure things up a bit more, but those will get added later. Weighed empty is 9.2 lbs - not too bad. Decided to do an internal running temperature test to make sure that there is enough ventilation. Put in all components, (as well as a digital thermometer), covered it with the admin and a control panel with all button holes filled and covered the speaker holes. Starting temp was 70 degrees (F). After 2.5 hours when I stopped the test the final temp was 73 degrees. A 3 degree increase - very acceptable. Satisfied with the ventilation.
dynasty_trs:
Hawkweber,
I really find your project quite innovative. I did consider doing the same style approach, without the removal tops, to save space.
I also found your use of the cat5 cabling to be invaluable. I am wondering if this wiring can also be used to connect the pushbuttons to the ipac / controller. Do you have any plans to do that?
Here is my post I just created.
http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?topic=102244.0
Hawkweber:
--- Quote ---I also found your use of the cat5 cabling to be invaluable. I am wondering if this wiring can also be used to connect the pushbuttons to the ipac / controller. Do you have any plans to do that?
--- End quote ---
Yes and no. Cat5 wiring can be used for all control panel wiring, but I am not planning on using it for everything. Because the cable can be punched down into the rj45 jacks and crimped with rj45 plugs, I am using it only for those purposes. It will run from the jacks in the case to the key-wiz controller (which will also be in the case). Lengths of cat5 with the crimped plugs will be used to connect the control panels to the jacks. The other ends of the cables will be connected to "european-style" terminal blocks attached to the control panels. The pushbuttons will be wired to the terminal blocks using 20-gauge stranded wire. I am using the stranded wire for that part as it is more flexible and should allow me to route the wires to the blocks without retaining any "kinks" that solid cat5 wires tend to get. All cat5 wires remain sheathed until the termination points as that allows me to nicely bend the cables without kinking.
Hawkweber:
Time to install the panel lockdowns to see how they look and make sure they work. My original plan for the admin panel was to have it hinged so it can be opened easily in case I needed to get to the back part of the motherboard or to remove the mobo, but then I got to thinking... 1) I will rarely have to lift up the panel or access the back of the mobo, 2) I really HATE having to install hinges! 3) There isn't a lot of overlap room on the back to use proper sized hinges, and 4) I really HATE having to install hinges! So, I decided to use the same lockdown mechanism for the admin panel as for the changeable control panels.
Here are the two parts of the lockdown attached. The receiving part gets attached to the side of the box and the insert barrel part gets attached to the underside of the panels:
So, here is what the lockdown looks from the side:
Yes, they're brown, but I am now planning on painting the console a brown like color (like furniture), so it won't be too bad. Anyway, once the panel is placed on the base, you just give a half turn to the lock (using a screwdriver) and it secures the panel in place.
And here's the console with the admin and 2-player panel locked down:
On another note, I accidentally knocked my TurboTwist2 Spinner off of the table and it broke - the electronic part at the bottom came loose and there was a bunch of rattling going on in that part. So I contacted GroovyGameGear to find out how I go about ordering a new one since the optical control board was still good. RandyT from GGG got back to me and told me to just send back the broken unit and he would fix it instead of me having to buy a new unit. Saves a lot of $$$. Kudos to GGG and RandyT for great customer service and standing behind their products.
Hawkweber:
Ok, now I feel like I'm making progress here. Went to Home Depot to get the primer and paint. Picked up Zinsser Cover Stain oil-based primer. Asked to have my color (Sweet Tea) done up in Alkyd Enamel and was told that you can't get alkyd paints here. I asked him what about the Sterling store (next town over) and he said that I can't get it anywhere in the county - will have to try another one. So I asked if the Fairfax county (next county over) stores would have it and he said no. The only alkyd paints that I could get are primers (as they are needed to prime oil paint to take latex acrylic) or Rustoleum sprays that are already colored. Not wanting to have to locate a county that I could buy a stupid quart of alkyd paint, I submitted and got the latex acrylic semi-gloss. I would have preferred to use alkyd for its hardness and durability on the control panels (not covering with lexan or anything like that), but that is not to be. Did some research and it turns out that all of Northern Virginia is in the "Ozone Transportation Restriction" zone - no ozone producing oil paints (other than primer and spray cans) can be sold within the area. The next closest area I could buy it would have been about 2.5 hours away! Oh well. Here's hoping that the "new formulations" of latex paint are truly as durable as they claim...
So, got the case and all panels primed - yeah! Used high-density foam rollers as I heard from several people on this board that they are necessary to get the nice smooth finish. Apparently not when using primer. Was very rough and spent about an hour sanding everything down smooth. Had to use my orbital sander to do it as doing it by hand was making a mess and the sand paper kept getting gunked up with primer. Didn't have that problem with the orbital. Makes a hell of a lot of dust though. I hope the roughness does not happen with the finishing paint.
Hope to get the first coat of color on this stuff soon. But, seeing everything at least painted is giving me a sense of progress. It also means that I'm ready to get this done - no more drilling holes or cutting things out. Once it's painted, it's painted and ready to go.
Here are the obligatory "gray" shots of the case and panels...