| Main > Main Forum |
| Recommendations on Arcade Cabinet Kits? |
| << < (5/14) > >> |
| CheffoJeffo:
--- Quote from: garnerb350 on January 27, 2010, 09:18:49 am --- --- Quote from: shateredsoul on January 26, 2010, 07:06:12 pm ---So, the wifey pretty much told me she'd kill me if I ordered/ built a cab right now because of our room situation. --- End quote --- Well you just need to tell her "SHUT YO MOUTH WOMAN! THIS BE MY HOUSE!, GET IN THERE AND MAKE MY DINNER BEFO I SLAP YO FACE!" --- End quote --- Now, I now that garner350 downplayed/backpedalled what he said here, but it still needs to be said ... if you think this, even as a joke, then you probably will end up being able to have as many arcade cabinets as you want ... because there won't be anybody around to say otherwise. If you want to know how much Astroglide is required in order to have intimate relations with Robotron, I suggest you run over to KLOV. I don't think that I have ever seen somebody who actually has both a wife and and arcade (used here in the proper sense to represent more than a single cabinet) ever say anything even remotely resembling "THIS BE MY HOUSE". It seems to run to the contrary ... the folks who actually have a reasonable number of arcade cabinets are actually nice, normal (really, they are) guys who enjoy nice, healthy relationships with their wives. There are a couple of questions that nobody asked before you start making decisions about cabinets and kits. Do you just want to play a bunch of the games that you loved or are you jonesing for a big wooden box that reminds you of how you felt when you played those games ? *I* may need need the full cabinet and immersive experience (blacklights, cigarette burns, big hair, etc), but that doesn't mean that you do. If you are happy with arcade controls, then go for a countertop machine or a just a control panel ... whatever fits in the space you have. Do you care about things like genuine arcade monitors or is there a specific game with specialty controls that you just HAVE TO play ? If you want a fullsize arcade cabinet and want to do it on the cheap, then ignore all of these guys who have never actually done that. Going cheap is not an easy choice in a community like this. I know lots of folks who do it all the time, but they definitely don't post their projects here, despite knowing more than most. You can assemble a MAME cab for under $100 cash if you have patience (and having a stockpile of controls helps ... if you don't then you can still do it for $200 or $300). Now, if you want of keep a lean budget, then buying a big kit from one of the fullsize cabinet vendors won't fit your bill. There are a couple of countertop kit vendors who I would feel free to recommend, even though I have never bought a countertop kit (word of mouth is a GoodThing(tm)). EMDKay and PeteDiak come to mind there. I see one poster in this thread who used a gutted Dynamo cabinet. Some will say that $100 is too much for a gutted Dynamo (even one with a monitor) ... but cheapass collector pricing doesn't always take into account the fact that some of us REALLY want to play games NOW, so I can't fault him for that (hell, the choice of a gutted Dynamo is another GoodThing(tm)). Since I have the space, I always recommend grabbing up an old generic cab (not a classic or anything rare) and using that as a base for a MAME project. It is the cheapest way to get going. If you are on a budget, I would also steer you away from the "normal" CP shops or X-Arcade. I don't have anything against them specifically (and I don't hate X-Arcade as much as others do ... their encoders are pretty nifty). OK, so Scott (MAMERoom aka GreatSomethingSomething) and I butted heads some time back because he was behaving like an idiot, but I'll never denigrate the quality of his work or his hardware. The time it takes to craft a quality product, especially if customization is required, costs money and you may not be willing to pay that much. Take the time to cruise eBay -- I paid less for the last batch of *10* trackballs that I picked up (locally FTW!) than you can buy a single trackball for new from any of the vendors here (and I love our vendors). It took me a couple of hours, a bit of elbow grease, some WD-40 and some 3-in-1 oil and I ended up with 9 (of 10) perfect trackballs that you couldn't tell from NIB. Having said that, be sure to check with our vendors and don't ever order from Happ directly unless you are absolutely sure that you can't get a better price (which does happen ... I have a Happ retail account to prove it!). And I disagree with Delusional about some of his wiring advice, but that really is a matter of personal preference. I would say, if you aren't looking to build multiple cabinets, then spend your money on better wire and get a cheap crimper (if you are building one cabinet or control panel on a budget, then just use pliers!). If you are looking to build multiple cabinets, then buy good wire and a good crimper. My best advice for someone starting out who doesn't really know what they want and doesn't want to think about it... grab up a cheap generic cabinet at auction, set up a standard 2-player SF2 control panel and get to playing. Then, as you desire, flesh out your design and expand the number of controls. At the end of the day, the more you know, the more you can save. I brought my first MAME cabinet (build from a generic cocktail) in on a nice budget under C$600 (3-sided cocktail, horizontal side in standard 2-player SF layout, no trackball or spinner, IPac2 and computer speakers). I haven't spent more than half of that on a MAME cabinet since, despite the fact that I like to use ArcadeVGAs and JPACs which are both fairly pricey (to be fair, I do have a MAME project awaiting spinners, wheels and pedals that will break that price point due to the controls involved). Better advice is to figure out what you want to play and start from there. EDIT: Man, that was a truckload of typos ... and there are still a couple that I am too lazy to fix! |
| shateredsoul:
Thanks for the tips delusional. Just to be clear, these tools are in case I decide to build my own control panel? or are these the tools I can use to set up the north coast control panel? I probably will build the control panel using the Classic Controller kit (here's the link http://www.mameroom.com/ProductDetail.asp?ID=CLASSICCPKIT. Then I'll probalby buy an old cabinet.. and after I'm yelled at and patch things up I can start work on it. My neighbor, who's more familiar with building things, said he'd be interested in helping. I'm a little sad about one thing though, the pc I was hoping to use (a really new pc, core i7, 8 gb ram, ati hd radeon 4850, 64 bit) won't run blaz blue.. yet my underpowerd laptop will... in slowmotion but it does run it. Thanks Delusional, you have always been very encouraging and always tehre to answer questions on the maximus forums and here. --- Quote from: DeLuSioNal29 on January 27, 2010, 07:12:43 pm ---Your best bet, try to find an old arcade cabinet on your local craigslist. Usually $100 or under. Maybe even free if you get lucky. Where are you located? It's easier to restore one than building one from scratch. A lot cheaper too. That's what I did for all of my MAME cabs. (new project pics coming soon). You simply gut it out, bondo and paint it and replace it with new PC parts and such. As for the router bits, you just can't use it without the router itself. There is no way to hold the drill steady enough. You don't really need a router anyway (especially if you buy a used cabinet). A router is used to cut out the groove for the t-molding (which if you get a used cabinet you don't need) and also to flush mount trackballs and/or joysticks. But if you buy a pre-fab, you probably won't need it either. And routers are pricey. If you do decide to build it yourself, get the blank panel and the following tools: 1) BYOAC Wiki - http://wiki.arcadecontrols.com/wiki/Main_Page 2) A good set of Ratchet Crimpers, similar to this: http://www.sherco-auto.com/wiring.htm (don't cheap out on the cheap one! Trust me!) 3) Wire strippers 4) Quick connects - If you buy Happ buttons with Cherry switches (.187") you'll need "FDV1-187" connectors from http://www.sherco-auto.com/wiring.htm . If you get them from GroovyGameGear.com they no longer use Cherry switches, but E-Switch™ instead, which is a bit bigger. You'll need "FDV1-2" connectors instead. 5) Bell Wire (found in Home Depot in the doorbell section). Best bang for your buck. 6) Controls (joystick, buttons, etc) 7) Keyboard encoder (I-pac http://www.ultimarc.com/ipac1.html) or (Key-Wiz http://groovygamegear.com/webstore/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=76_80&products_id=303) 8) PATIENCE! :) And above all else, we can ALWAYS help you here at the forums if you need help during the process. DeLuSioNaL29 --- End quote --- |
| shateredsoul:
Hey Cheffo, Thanks for saying this, and for making those good points. I didn't mean to portray my wife as " hen pecking and naggy". I can see how my statements could have encouraged those perceptions. My wife is actually very outgoing and enjoys doing exciting things. She tolerates my hobbie far more than any other person would and I love her for that. Currently I'm a graduate student, so her concern isn't only about the space but me having enough time for us and things we both enjoy. Now moving on to your questions I do have some fond memories of playing teename mutant ninja turtles 2, the simpsons, and street fighter 2 in the arcades.. but also street fighter alpha 3, snk vs capcom 2, and guilty gear. I also spent a bunch of time on home systems (much more than arcades) so I was hoping to integrate home consoles as well. I saw a project where I saw someone integrate plugs for many console game controllers into the side of his cab (nes, snes, n64, etc), but I figured I could use 2 of my wireless xbox 360 controllers and have 2 holsters for them on the side of the cab. I have an 18 inch monitor (wide screen lcd) which I have felt was always too small.. but maybe it'll be fine for this project. I guess I'm worried about how a wide screen lcd flat screen will fit in the a cab that was designed for a different size monitor. I think I'm going to buy the arcade book so I can even know what everyone is talking about. I do have many questions.. quesitons that I feel I can answer if I made time to read more (it's hard to make time to read right now... I read for a living so it's a lot easier when I get help and advice from people, and to be honest. I find it a lot more interesting to have a conversation on the forum because people have different opinion on how to do things and because it's more interesting to interact with people than to read on my own. It makes me feel more excited). In the meanwhile, I would love to hear more about your advice on wiring. Honestly, I want something that would make someone.. even someone who didn't like game go "wow". The pc has dual pc connectability, so I also thought that I could have a TV in the same room and have the pc broadcast the same signal to both pcs, so if I decided to watch a movie .. or if I wanted to play a console game on the tv I could easily do that. thanks for the info! I appreciate it. Hopefully I'll have better questions when I get more reading and preperation done. I'll definitely check ebay first! Thanks! --- Quote from: CheffoJeffo on January 27, 2010, 09:16:05 pm --- --- Quote from: garnerb350 on January 27, 2010, 09:18:49 am --- --- Quote from: shateredsoul on January 26, 2010, 07:06:12 pm ---So, the wifey pretty much told me she'd kill me if I ordered/ built a cab right now because of our room situation. --- End quote --- Well you just need to tell her "SHUT YO MOUTH WOMAN! THIS BE MY HOUSE!, GET IN THERE AND MAKE MY DINNER BEFO I SLAP YO FACE!" --- End quote --- Now, I now that garner350 downplayed/backpedalled what he said here, but it still needs to be said ... if you think this, even as a joke, then you probably will end up being able to have as many arcade cabinets as you want ... because there won't be anybody around to say otherwise. If you want to know how much Astroglide is required in order to have intimate relations with Robotron, I suggest you run over to KLOV. I don't think that I have ever seen somebody who actually has both a wife and and arcade (used here in the proper sense to represent more than a single cabinet) ever say anything even remotely resembling "THIS BE MY HOUSE". It seems to run to the contrary ... the folks who actually have a reasonable number of arcade cabinets are actually nice, normal (really, they are) guys who enjoy nice, healthy relationships with their wives. There are a couple of questions that nobody asked before you start making decisions about cabinets and kits. Do you just want to play a bunch of the games that you loved or are you jonesing for a big wooden box that reminds you of how you felt when you played those games ? *I* may need need the full cabinet and immersive experience (blacklights, cigarette burns, big hair, etc), but that doesn't mean that you do. If you are happy with arcade controls, then go for a countertop machine or a just a control panel ... whatever fits in the space you have. Do you care about things like genuine arcade monitors or is there a specific game with specialty controls that you just HAVE TO play ? If you want a fullsize arcade cabinet and want to do it on the cheap, then ignore all of these guys who have never actually done that. Going cheap is not an easy choice in a community like this. I know lots of folks who do it all the time, but they definitely don't post their projects here, despite knowing more than most. You can assemble a MAME cab for under $100 cash if you have patience (and having a stockpile of controls helps ... if you don't then you can still do it for $200 or $300). Now, if you want of keep a lean budget, then buying a big kit from one of the fullsize cabinet vendors won't fit your bill. There are a couple of countertop kit vendors who I would feel free to recommend, even though I have never bought a countertop kit (word of mouth is a GoodThing(tm)). EMDKay and PeteDiak come to mind there. I see one poster in this thread who used a gutted Dynamo cabinet. Some will say that $100 is too much for a gutted Dynamo (even one with a monitor) ... but cheapass collector pricing doesn't always take into account the fact that some of us REALLY want to play games NOW, so I can't fault him for that (hell, the choice of a gutted Dynamo is another GoodThing(tm)). Since I have the space, I always recommend grabbing up an old generic cab (not a classic or anything rare) and using that as a base for a MAME project. It is the cheapest way to get going. If you are on a budget, I would also steer you away from the "normal" CP shops or X-Arcade. I don't have anything against them specifically (and I don't hate X-Arcade as much as others do ... their encoders are pretty nifty). OK, so Scott (MAMERoom aka GreatSomethingSomething) and I butted heads some time back because he was behaving like an idiot, but I'll never denigrate the quality of his work or his hardware. The time it takes to craft a quality product, especially if customization is required, costs money and you may not be willing to pay that much. Take the time to cruise eBay -- I paid less for the last batch of *10* trackballs that I picked up (locally FTW!) than you can buy a single trackball for new from any of the vendors here (and I love our vendors). It took me a couple of hours, a bit of elbow grease, some WD-40 and some 3-in-1 oil and I ended up with 9 (of 10) perfect trackballs that you couldn't tell from NIB. Having said that, be sure to check with our vendors and don't ever order from Happ directly unless you are absolutely sure that you can't get a better price (which does happen ... I have a Happ retail account to prove it!). And I disagree with Delusional about some of his wiring advice, but that really is a matter of personal preference. I would say, if you aren't looking to build multiple cabinets, then spend your money on better wire and get a cheap crimper (if you are building one cabinet or control panel on a budget, then just use pliers!). If you are looking to build multiple cabinets, then buy good wire and a good crimper. My best advice for someone starting out who doesn't really know what they want and doesn't want to think about it... grab up a cheap generic cabinet at auction, set up a standard 2-player SF2 control panel and get to playing. Then, as you desire, flesh out your design and expand the number of controls. At the end of the day, the more you know, the more you can save. I brought my first MAME cabinet (build from a generic cocktail) in on a nice budget under C$600 (3-sided cocktail, horizontal side in standard 2-player SF layout, no trackball or spinner, IPac2 and computer speakers). I haven't spent more than half of that on a MAME cabinet since, despite the fact that I like to use ArcadeVGAs and JPACs which are both fairly pricey (to be fair, I do have a MAME project awaiting spinners, wheels and pedals that will break that price point due to the controls involved). Better advice is to figure out what you want to play and start from there. EDIT: Man, that was a truckload of typos ... and there are still a couple that I am too lazy to fix! --- End quote --- |
| garnerb350:
I cant stop laughing at Cheffo's post... THIS BE MY HOUSE! (I was watching Dave Chappelle during that time) Shatered, we know that your wife isnt "hen pecking & naggy"...I was just doing a silly comment...its a common joke that flies around here... (man....maybe i need a "Dont try this at home disclaimer..." :laugh2:) I agree totally with what Cheffo said,... My best advice for someone starting out who doesn't really know what they want and doesn't want to think about it... grab up a cheap generic cabinet at auction, set up a standard 2-player SF2 control panel and get to playing. Then, as you desire, flesh out your design and expand the number of controls. Cant find an auction, go to craigslist... I hope I dont seem like I am/was backpeddling/or being flipfloppy...\ The reason I brought up X-arcade, was because I have one and I guess I went the route of building around it...I'm not a X-arcade pro-supporter, but Im not a hater of it...its never given me any problems...and i know you mentioned something of maybe just getting a prefab control panel...so i brought that up...as an option When you multi-task at 2-3 different things and try to respond to a question, you sometimes get mixed up.... and I am bad for that...so I'm sorry if I confused anybody. :cheers: |
| shateredsoul:
Hey garner, Yeah I'm probably going to go with a used cab. That probably won't be until the summer, but between now and then I thought I'd work on the controls. Can you think of any problems I might run into if I go this route? For example... it would really suck if I couldn't fit the controls onto the cabinet because I didn't build them to the specification of the cabinet. I was just thinking of using the northcoast 2player and track ball controls. Oh and I'm glad people know that.. I just wanted to make sure I didn't come across that way when talking about my wife. Anyways, thanks for the input. I'm scowering ebay looking for a set of buttons and joysticks to see if I can find something that's a good deal. **edit** I forgot to ask.. so if I order the control panel (just the wood work) from northcoast aka mameroom, I'll have to solder right? I'm okay with learning to do this, it actually seems pretty interesting. Can anyone recommend a good soldering machine? Not the best of the best, but good and not something that's too cheap. --- Quote from: garnerb350 on January 28, 2010, 10:19:02 am ---I cant stop laughing at Cheffo's post... THIS BE MY HOUSE! (I was watching Dave Chappelle during that time) Shatered, we know that your wife isnt "hen pecking & naggy"...I was just doing a silly comment...its a common joke that flies around here... (man....maybe i need a "Dont try this at home disclaimer..." :laugh2:) I agree totally with what Cheffo said,... My best advice for someone starting out who doesn't really know what they want and doesn't want to think about it... grab up a cheap generic cabinet at auction, set up a standard 2-player SF2 control panel and get to playing. Then, as you desire, flesh out your design and expand the number of controls. Cant find an auction, go to craigslist... I hope I dont seem like I am/was backpeddling/or being flipfloppy...\ The reason I brought up X-arcade, was because I have one and I guess I went the route of building around it...I'm not a X-arcade pro-supporter, but Im not a hater of it...its never given me any problems...and i know you mentioned something of maybe just getting a prefab control panel...so i brought that up...as an option When you multi-task at 2-3 different things and try to respond to a question, you sometimes get mixed up.... and I am bad for that...so I'm sorry if I confused anybody. :cheers: --- End quote --- |
| Navigation |
| Message Index |
| Next page |
| Previous page |