Main > Main Forum

Recommendations on Arcade Cabinet Kits?

Pages: << < (11/14) > >>

shateredsoul:


--- Quote from: Charlie97L on February 07, 2010, 01:39:12 pm ---i totally relate to the build vs buy conundrum.  i suck at woodworking, and by the time i bought all the tools necessary to build my own, i could just have ordered a put together cab.

as an alternative to a full size cab, have you considered a bartop?  that's what i'm doing, more as a dry run for a full size later this year, but in all seriousness, if you're going to be moving, i wouldn't even consider a full size cab, until you're settled in a house.

i've wanted to build a fullsize for the past 5 years, but waited until I had a house.  :)  it was worth it.

just my .02 cents.  emdkay also has a great 2p bartop kit.

good luck!  trust me, the wiring is easy, you won't need months to do it.  maybe 2 afternoons if you've never worked with any type of wires before.

--- End quote ---

Yeah very good points you made there (many of which my wife has already made ha ha).  I guess sometimes I get overtaken with excitement and don't consider other things.. like moving.  I have looked at the bartops, but it just doesn't feel the same for me.  I guess it's because I never actually played a bartop arcade.  I have seen a few at some of the bars we go to, but they never attracted my attention.

The plan right now is to build a control panel and control stand and mount the tv on the wall.  I have also been designing a Marquee just for the fun of it, and yes it's one of those cheezy character cutout mame ones, but I like it! I was considering names for it, but the best I could come up with was "The Way Back Machine" So mame it is! http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?topic=100065.0





shateredsoul:

*update*

So I am in the process of designing my control panel layout and control panel overlay art.  I ordered a 2p control panel from arcadesrfun. I also have some decals I bought from pongo.  Very nice quality I must say.

So I do have one stupid question and one opinion quesiton.

1. First the stupid question, you guys are going to kill me for asking, but...

What kind of screws did you use to install your joystick? I want to buy those now, so I can have them later. I see them on the arcade store websites, but I have a feeling they will be cheaper to buy from home depot or ace hadware.

2. I have asked around to see what buttons people think are best to have on the control panel, you probably saw my thread, any suggestions on what buttons are needed other than the p1, p2, coin, and player buttons?

I asked Jack, from arcadesrfun, to see if the jukebox buttons would work on the front.  I also want the side buttons for pinball.

I'm using Maximus Arcade, in case that's ueful in thinking about what buttons may be needed


DeLuSioNal29:

My panel is from Arcadesrfun as well.  They do a great job.  The ONLY complaint that I have about them is that they don't pre-drill the holes for the joystick screws from underneath.  Mameroom.com does do this, so the joysticks line up perfectly with the hole when mounted.

That said however, I found a perfect little tool that does the job nicely at Bob Roberts' store.  http://www.therealbobroberts.net/joyaid.jpg

So from underneath, you lay this metal template over the hole and then mark where the screws would go.  Then drill small holes (not all the way through of course) from underneath.  Then mount the joystick with screws.  Perfectly aligned!

To order, you simply e-mail the guy (don't forget to include your mailing address) and he will give you a price with shipping.  It only costs $2 + shipping and it's totally worth it.

D

shateredsoul:

Thanks for the heads up on that, I'm actually still waiting to see a draft of the control panel. I happened to place my order right before he went on vacation (doh!), but Jack has been very nice about keeping me updated and getting back to me about questions.

I sent him an e-mail asking him if he could do this for me, so I can avoid buying a drill.  Would you have any recommendations on what screws work best for mounting the joystick? If he says he can do this, I might then be able to give him more specific details.  So far I just asked him if he could do screw holes so that the joystick can be centered, and that I would not want the screw holes to go all the way through the panel. I'm assuming the trackball also needs screws? so I asked him if he could do that too.

Also what do you think about this idead? I thought of mounting an ipac underneath the control panel.  I really like how it looks when people do that, because it makes it easier to be neat about things.  I'll probably drill those holes on my own. So I can decide where everything goes.

also another update about the cp design, I really like this button layout (combined snk and capcom design)



I'm taking out the slot that's cut for a flight stick.  I won't really need that. I'm trying to figure out where I can place some jukebox buttons and how many I will need (add, next,)

These are the buttons other than the ones used to play with I will be adding. Player 1, 2, coin 1, coin 2, pause, exit.  I think that's good right?

And i'm still looking for an overlay.  Delusional, Would you mind sharing the art you used for your space invader cab? I might do something like that.. but blue? I was hoping to see if I could make my cab stylish, and since I'm starting with the control panel this will influence how the whole cab will look. I've been having a hard time finding images or user made control panels that look stylish.  

I tried a wood patter.. looks funny, marble, looks cheap, so maybe I should just keep it black with button labels as part of the overlay?


*edit* I also forgot to mention that I've narrowed my design for the rest of the "cab" to either building a stand for the cp and mounting an lcd tv, or making one of those new custom made slim arcades.  I think Taz designed one, but I also saw another one that was really fancy and made out of metal. I think that same guy that designed this won some kind of award for his previous arcade cabinet, can anyone remember his name? I can't find his design anymore.   if I can figure that out then i'll probably be doing something alone those lines.


DeLuSioNal29:

Funny, I asked Jack the exact same questions when I was building mine.  Here's how he responded:

"Your blank panel comes with the trackball mounting kit which has it's own hardware to mount your trackball from underneath. It's just 4 thin small machine screws and washers. Be very careful to only hand tightne and not use a drill with a screw bit as the screws are of soft steel and I have stripped off the heads using a drill driver.
 
Install the joystick bases from underneath the panel by first drilling a shallow pilot hole smaller than the actual screw. We use 1" long zinc plated wood screws from Home depot or Lowes at about $4 per 100.
The size is #10. The box would then be marked 10 X 1.
 
The screw does not come through the top of the 3/4" panel as the joystick base is thick enough. We use only the outside corners of the joystick bases for the screws. You can test on a piece of scrap wood to feel confident about using that size."

As for the Green Invader cab CPO, I created them in several colors (shown below), so you're in luck.  PM me your e-mail address and I'll send you the .psd (Photoshop) file for the blue one.  As for the marquee:  I created different color variations for Emdkay so that he can offer them in his store.  So you can simply order one from them in the color that you need.  http://emdkay.net/catalog/invader-marquee-p-176.html

Good luck!

DeLuSioNaL29



Pages: << < (11/14) > >>

Go to full version