atari cabinet question

[Dafu]

Hi all,

I spotted an Atari cabinet for sale, for $60CAD, which is less than half the cost of the materials needed to make a new one. Anyone have experience with this type of cabinet?

http://www.atarimuseum.com/videogames/arcade/fullsize/lunarlander.html    (its not lunar lander, it was some sports game with a trackball, but same cabinet shape)

I was only able to measure the inside width (monitor plexiglass width) and it was 26.5-27inches. I would want to cram a 27" TV in there (which is 26" wide). Any idea if this is doable? Or will I encounter framing and such inside that will narrow down the cabinet to an unworkable size? I will also want to mount a 34"x14" cp on it, which I think is doable if I cut out the existing one, and maybe extrude the front to act as a base for the cp, like Mountain did with his box.

[CheffoJeffo]

The cab is the same as Asteroids -- inner width is less than 24".

If you choose to MAME it, please don't post it ... I don't wanna see.

[Dafu]

Humm, its definitely not 24" on the inside, I measured 26.5-27 from inner side of one side panel to the other. So maybe its a different cab with similar profile. I'll have to drop by the store and measure it again tomorrow.

[Dafu]

I should add they also had an atari Centipede cabinet there (but for $300), of the same dimensions, if anyone is familiar with that one.

[CheffoJeffo]

Neither Asteroids (which is defiinitely less than 24" wide inside -- I just measured mine) nor Centipede will make a good multiplayer MAME box, but here are the profiles of various Atari cabs.



I see that you are in Canada -- where are you ? Perhaps I can point you to someone who does have a good cabinet to MAME (and for far less than $300).

 

[Dafu]

I live in Kitchener/Waterloo, Ontario.

Hmm I can't find the game I saw in that list, nor any other list I searched for, all I remember is that it had "Sport" in the name, had a trackball, and looked like the centipede machine. I should have paid more attention, but I went there to get an old coindoor ($10) and only got really interested in their cabinet on my way out:)

I'll update tomorrow after checking it out again.

[CheffoJeffo]

You are in the heart of cabinet country (believe it or not) ... head over to http://cgcc.ca and check out the coin-op forum.

[Dafu]

Thanks Chef!

I didn't see anything at this moment, but this is a great resource to keep in mind!

[Dafu]

Alright, I went back to the store and took better measurements:)

First of this is not an atari cab at all, there were other atari cabs around and I guess I got things messed up. The cab is 25.5" inside, around 27" outside (3/4 panels). The side panels are some kind of plywood, in a very good condition, I didn't spot any damage on the front or sides, but didn't get to look behind. The inside looks good too, nice and clean. The cab has been gutted of everything except the coin door, and controls. The marquee says "Super Sports" which might not be a game at all but some kind of custom sports compilation job?

Photo attached, what do you guys thing, mame-able? My 27" inch tv is about 25 3/4s wide with the plastic casing, so a little casing trim would squeeze it in...

[bkenobi]

Measure the depth of the TV.  I'm guessing it will stick out the back of that cab.

[Dafu]

Ah yes, I did measure that also, it of course depends on the tilt of the tv, more tilted = wider. So again I might have to play with the tv plastic casing there, but it should fit.

[HanoiBoi]

I'm still new to the MAME game, but I'd say hell yeah. 

Personally, this shape is my favorite, being an Asteroids fan and owning a Space Duel cab.  Yeah, mine is less than 24" inside, but I have managed a comfortable control panel with 2 player controls.  I should mention that I don't have a trackball or spinner.  I'd have to expand the CP for the trackball, which would not be aesthetically pleasing to me, but I'll have no issues fitting a spinner in there.  I just haven't yet as I'm still in MDF CP mode. 

Since my cab is Space Duel (like 2 player Asteroids) I've got 5 buttons per player.  I'm also not a big fighter game guy, so don't think I'll need 6 buttons.  I've attached a couple photos to give you an idea of size....that's all.

What I'm not a big fan of is the 'wood' cabinets.  I wouldn't keep it like that.   

Hey Cheffo, can you attach a larger copy of those Atari Cabs, or point me to a website if that's the origin.  That's some good stuff!

[bkenobi]

You can de-case the TV to gain a bit of extra space and possibly make mounting easier.  However, the metal cage that might be inside is harder to work with.  My CRT PC monitor has the circuitry mounted to the bottom of the metal cage, so I can't remove it.  It could be modified, but it fit fine in my cab so I left it alone.

[CheffoJeffo]

Hey Cheffo, can you attach a larger copy of those Atari Cabs, or point me to a website if that's the origin.  That's some good stuff!

The board must be scaling it. Here are direct links:

http://happycampers.to/arcade/ataricabs2.gif

http://happycampers.to/arcade/williamscabs.gif

http://happycampers.to/arcade/sterncabs.gif

[CheffoJeffo]

I have the *exact* same cab ... right down to the marquee. Mine was a Capcom bowling when I got it.

 I put a 60-in-1 board in there and it was the PERFECT cab for that. The CP pulls out with an attached mounting board that is wonderful to work with.

Mine had a predrilled CP that allowed space for multiple trackballs, joysticks, etc. I'm trying to find the picture that I posted of the bare CP, but I'll be damned if I can find it.

Definitely don't feel bad about doing any kind of modification to the cab. It is nice to work with as is, but may require some CP mods to accomplish what you want.

And I agree that you may have depth issues with the back end of the TV.

[Dafu]

What I'm not a big fan of is the 'wood' cabinets.  I wouldn't keep it like that.

Definitely needs a paint job:)

[edge10]

I'm still new to the MAME game, but I'd say hell yeah. 

Personally, this shape is my favorite, being an Asteroids fan and owning a Space Duel cab.  Yeah, mine is less than 24" inside, but I have managed a comfortable control panel with 2 player controls.  I should mention that I don't have a trackball or spinner.  I'd have to expand the CP for the trackball, which would not be aesthetically pleasing to me, but I'll have no issues fitting a spinner in there.  I just haven't yet as I'm still in MDF CP mode. 

Since my cab is Space Duel (like 2 player Asteroids) I've got 5 buttons per player.  I'm also not a big fighter game guy, so don't think I'll need 6 buttons.  I've attached a couple photos to give you an idea of size....that's all.

What I'm not a big fan of is the 'wood' cabinets.  I wouldn't keep it like that.   

Hey Cheffo, can you attach a larger copy of those Atari Cabs, or point me to a website if that's the origin.  That's some good stuff!

Hey HanoiBoi, I thought I was the only one crazy enough to try an asteroids button layout in a MAME cab!  Mine is still just a pile of wood (although it is being glued together now) but you give me hope.  Thanks for sharing.

[HanoiBoi]

I'm still new to the MAME game, but I'd say hell yeah.  

Personally, this shape is my favorite, being an Asteroids fan and owning a Space Duel cab.  Yeah, mine is less than 24" inside, but I have managed a comfortable control panel with 2 player controls.  I should mention that I don't have a trackball or spinner.  I'd have to expand the CP for the trackball, which would not be aesthetically pleasing to me, but I'll have no issues fitting a spinner in there.  I just haven't yet as I'm still in MDF CP mode.  

Since my cab is Space Duel (like 2 player Asteroids) I've got 5 buttons per player.  I'm also not a big fighter game guy, so don't think I'll need 6 buttons.  I've attached a couple photos to give you an idea of size....that's all.

What I'm not a big fan of is the 'wood' cabinets.  I wouldn't keep it like that.  

Hey Cheffo, can you attach a larger copy of those Atari Cabs, or point me to a website if that's the origin.  That's some good stuff!

Hey HanoiBoi, I thought I was the only one crazy enough to try an asteroids button layout in a MAME cab!  Mine is still just a pile of wood (although it is being glued together now) but you give me hope.  Thanks for sharing.

Happy to be an inspiration of sorts, edge10.  For me there's really no substitute for the 5 button setup for games like Asteroids, Space Duel, Asteroids Deluxe, Star Castle, Rip Off, Gravitar, etc.  I know that with just 5 buttons, I'm kinda crippled for Defender/Stargate, but in all honesty I've never been that good at those games and can easily decide on a button to never use (Inviso, for example).

As far as your pile of wood....take your time and enjoy!.  But, if you're anxious, it can be done relatively fast and mostly cheap.  For the setup I have right now, I picked up the empty cab and stuck in an old PC and monitor.  My new costs were for the marquee, an IPAC board, 2 Mag Stik Pluses and a buncha HAPP buttons.  I have my system running for about $225.  That's not counting the old PC and Monitor.

BTW, I'd love to play Armor Attack again, but for whatever reason, I don't have a good copy / overlay, etc.  Any ideas?