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Main => Project Announcements => Topic started by: drventure on January 15, 2009, 05:32:09 pm

Title: A Mame machine in an antique buffet - USB probs solved (I think!)
Post by: drventure on January 15, 2009, 05:32:09 pm
I've been lurking around here for ages getting up enough motivation to start a project of my own, and I've finally done it. Just wanting to share, and maybe get some feedback/ideas.

Anyway, I've wanted to Mame cab for ages, but I don't have a gameroom, and I really didn't want a tall, traditional black arcade box in my house (just no good place for one).

We were browsing through an antiques shop one day and it hit me that maybe I could fold all the necessary components into an otherwise unassuming, normal piece of furniture.

I started doing to research, acquiring various parts, sticks, buttons, controllers etc.

I decided on a 4 player panel. In retrospect, I probably should have gone smaller, but oh well.

I did come across this thread here on the board
http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?topic=15128.0 (http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?topic=15128.0)
but it looks like it died back in 2004<sigh>. Plus, he was doing a rolltop desk, which I'd considered at one point.

Anyway, I ended up finding an antique buffet in decent condition (queen anne legs, a bit roughed up finish, all walnut with a really nice solid 1" thick walnut top) for cheap on craigslist. The thing had been moved poorly and the front doors had cracked the veneer on both sides and needed repair, plus the finish was shot).

My project is underway but not completed yet. At this point, most of the major woodworking is complete (I had to extend the buffet back 4 inches for clearance, convert the top to flip open, like a piano, and rip out all the doors and drawers and convert them all to one big fold up door), the refinishing is done, etc. When folded up, it looks like a normal buffet again, so I could get it out of the garage and into the house without my wife complaining about "that ugly box"!

I've also got the control panel more or less finished. 4 player stations, lots of buttons, no Coin door (but that's ok, wouldn't look right on an antique buffet anyway), all hardwood, black ultra-sticks, 2 happ trackballs (for Marble madness), a spinner and a flightstick (heavily modified Logitech Extreme 3d digital USB stick). I probably went a bit overkill, but I also didn't want to get it built and then realize that I "really really should have just put in x"<g>.

Here's the rub, though. In the time that it's taken, I've kind of come to the conclusion that traditional arcade controls just aren't going to look right on this thing, so I've started considering a "steampunk" motif. Nothing over the top, but maybe using old ceramic or brass faucet handles for joysticks, a small solid brass knob for a spinner, some brass furniture tacks, some Victorian carving accents, wood inlays, etc.

Yeah, the flightstick won't exactly fit the bill, but maybe I can come up with some ideas for that too (something like those steampunk nerf guns I've seen floating around the net).

I'll post some pictures soon if anyone's interested.
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: Demon-Seed on January 15, 2009, 08:31:57 pm
Hello,
I too have also been trying to come up with a way to hide controls...I would love to see photos of your project.

thx
Jim
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: Bender on January 15, 2009, 09:53:43 pm
please post some pic... I gotta see this!
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: drventure on January 15, 2009, 09:59:24 pm
Hi

Thanks for the note!

I'm pretty new to posting on this board. I'm not exactly sure how to get images into the messages. I know it can be done, but, if they don't make it, I'll try again.

At any rate, here's a few pics.

The first is of the buffet all closed up. Basically, it looks...um, like a buffet. In this pic, I don't have the cabinet hardware on yet (the original antique brass ring pulls that were on the unit). They're a whole other story. Because they're ring pulls, they flop around, so when you drop the front door, they'd catch on the bottom of the cabinet. I ended up using magnets hidden behind the pulls to 'latch' them to the front, so you can still pull with them, but they'll stay "closed" and not catch when you fold the door up.

The second is with the top lifted up so you can see the control panel in it's "nested" state. There's no monitor yet, but the plan is to frame one with a gilt victorian frame and mount it on the underside of the buffet top, along with some additional fitments, though I'm not sure what they'll be yet. I plan on using gas springs to lift the top into place, but they aren't there yet either.

The last is with the control panel fully "Up", though that's not where it normally would sit (the position is too high). Mainly that position is for working on it right now. Also, the panel will be mounted on short throw slides so it'll slide forward slighting for better playing position.

Those lifts will also be refinished (from the plain computer beige that's there now).


Like I said, in retrospect, going the "frankepanel" route may have been a bit overkill. If I did it over again, i'd likely go with a similar, two level approach, but used removable panels for each player station. Oh well. Live and learn.

The control panel itself is more or less finished, except that now, I'm wanting to "antique" it a bit to stay in keeping. So I'm considering doing some scrollwork carving on it, restaining and refinishing in a gloss like the rest of the buffet, with possibly some brass cornerwork, upholstery nails, leather instead of tmolding, etc. Just not sure what yet.
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: Bender on January 15, 2009, 11:41:37 pm
right now this thing is kinda awckward...
but this has mad potential

you HAVE to steampunk that thing out!

and you need to keep the cp  lower and have an flat panel screen mounted to the bottom of the lid, man THAT would be cool
and while your at it make and oldschool ovalish frame for the monitor so it looks all steampunk like something from the movie Brazil

are those sewing machine lifts?
I was thinking of using those for a project too
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: drventure on January 16, 2009, 09:10:18 am
Exactly, I'm right there with you on everything.
Yes, those a sewing machine lifts. I'd originally wanted to automate the whole folding process, but pricing linear actuators kind of forced me to reconsider that.

I'm kind of thinking of using something like the first pic for the spinner: pic 1

and

maybe ceramic or brass handles for the sticks. Pics 2 and 3

Spot on about the LCD and frame, I was leaning toward something like Datamancer's Computation Engine. Pic 4

Maybe some lamps with tasseled red shades, brass stems, etc.

The idea being, when closed, I could put a vase on it and it can just hang out in my Dining room and look utterly in place, but then, unfold and it looks like something out of the 18th century.

But yeah. right now, it's a bit funky looking. actually, once I got the brass hardware back on the outside, it improved 100%, so all the little things left to do I know will help a lot.

I'm mainly just open for any ideas, thoughts or feedback anyone has. It's been a blast working on it thus far, though its taken +forever+...
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: Bender on January 16, 2009, 02:55:26 pm
never seen that datamancer site before, that some funky shiznit!

those examples are exactly what came to my mind

check out "City of Lost Children" a french flick but I think there are some pretty cool references in there for you!

if you can pull it off this will be one of the most unique builds EVER!
I'm really excited to see what you come up with
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: drventure on January 16, 2009, 03:17:39 pm
Thanks!

That "City of lost Children" I'm definitely going to check out. Thanks for the idea. Just a quick check turned up the picture below:

Awesome stuff, very much like what I had in mind (though maybe a +little+ darker that what I was seeing<g>).

I had actually found an old phonograph horn at an antique store recently, but it was the real deal, all brass, and from, I believe, an old Edison unit, they were asking ~700$ for the thing. A tad to rich for this project<g>.

Any thoughts or ideas warmly welcomed!

I think my priority now is mainly to get a machine and a screen fitted out. I'm thinking a 24" dell widescreen. I believe it'll fit sideways, and I'm thinking of mounting it to a lazy suzan on the underside of the top, then using a brass gear mechanism to rotate it vertically when the top opens (probably manual at this point, but I still need a way to lock it into position once it's rotated).

Any ideas about where to find gears like that would be much appreciated! I'm definitely no metalsmith.

I was also thinking of that Via Artigo pico ITX box for the PC, just because it's small enough to tuck underneath the unit without being visible in the least. I could box it in, vent it and it'd become invisible.
http://www.via.com.tw/en/products/embedded/artigo/index.jsp

Once that's all in place, then I can really concentrate on cleaning up the mechanics and final fitments.
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: drventure on January 16, 2009, 03:22:20 pm
BTW
@Bender
Your folding bar top design is AWESOME. I have a thing for folding contraptions though (if you haven't guessed!)

Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: drventure on January 16, 2009, 03:25:18 pm
Oh man. @Bender,

I'm also a fan or your button layout<g>
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: drventure on January 16, 2009, 04:15:51 pm
One other little tweak that isn't really visible in the picture.

The unit is intended to play Pinball games as well, (Visual pinball, and Future Pinball in particular).
I've already got the flipper buttons and a working plunger in place, and I'd considered putting in extra buttons for nudge left/right/front.

But then I came across this little accelerometer
http://www.trossenrobotics.com/store/p/3231-PhidgetSensor-Accelerometer.aspx?feed=Froogle

It's USB and, as far as I can tell, looks like a joystick to the system. My plan is to use one of them, mount it in a removable block, either wood/brass/marble, etc and make it "dockable".

Basically, when Docked, it can detect bumps to the cabinet and "press" the appropriate nudge button.

But, when you pull it from the doc, it becomes a kind of tiltable controller, possibly for games like those tilting table labyrinth games or Marble Madness.

Anyone ever done anything with those accelerometers?
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: Jetson on January 16, 2009, 04:47:46 pm
Very interesting...can't wait to see the finished product
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: DaOld Man on January 16, 2009, 05:12:44 pm
If you like Benders work, you need to check out his invisible project:

http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?topic=88374.0

 ;D
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: drventure on January 16, 2009, 05:40:25 pm
 ;D

Too funny!

Looks exactly like a custom Volkswagen project of mine :)
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: Demon-Seed on January 16, 2009, 09:13:21 pm
Dude that is pretty cool!! Now will it fold up inside that cabinet??

thx
JIM
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: drventure on January 16, 2009, 10:49:57 pm
Definitely
The list mechanisms are in place and functional, the front door is mounted and folds (it's manual, but that's good enough for now).

Getting the doors operating was a real trick. I had to chop up the entire front of the buffet, cut the fronts off the drawers and then biscuit everything together and hinge it 4 ways (so the folded doors would clear the flipper door hinges on the inside.

The real pain was the clearances. I'd already built the control panel, so I had to find a buffet that'd fit.

The one I ended up with didn't quite, so I had to extend the back.

I've attached a couple shots of that process, with the back all clamped up, and the hand carving I had to do to make the extension trim look like the original solid walnut top (it's 1" thick, and as far as I can tell, was all hand carved).

That was in interesting all day affair  :banghead:

Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: Demon-Seed on January 18, 2009, 09:35:35 pm
Hey
that looks like a neat cabinet.. I can not wait for the finished project.

thx
Jim
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: drventure on January 18, 2009, 09:48:29 pm
Thanks!

I'll upload more pics soon. Right now, I appear to have a prob with my ultrastiks, I guess 6 months of sitting in the control panel without being hooked up horked them. They won't recognize anymore on my machine when plugged in.  ???
Title: Double Screens?
Post by: drventure on January 26, 2009, 12:50:53 pm
I'm in a bit of a quandary about how to handle the screen on this cabinet.

I've got a couple possibilities (maybe there's more I'm not seeing though).

Originally, I was envisioning a single, largish (maybe 24" widescreen) lcd mounted to the underside of the buffet top.

The main prob with that is that I can't mount it such that it's over the flightstick, because of clearance issues.

So. I'd considered mounting the LCD on slides, so that it could slide to the left when closed, and be slid back to the right (to the center) when opened. Possibly even rotated for those vertically oriented games.

But... that's getting, shall I say, complicated.

Now, I'm starting to think that maybe using 2 smaller screens (say 19" 4:3 or 22" widescreens) might work better.

The outside players would be able to look directly at a screen and the inside players would still be almost directly in front of  screen.

The only real downside I see is that my out player sticks, I mounted at a 45' angle (which I'm starting to regret, based on some comments around here), so having the screens directly in front of the player 3/4 positions might make that a little odd.

Any thoughts?

The buffet's 5' wide so there's plenty of space for either approach. It's also still pretty rough. There's lots of detailing work that still needs to be done.
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: Bender on January 26, 2009, 03:14:38 pm
I think you should really consider lowing the flight stick and going with the largish screen, it might be a pain, but in the long run I think you'll be glad you did it that way. Much more simple and aesthetically pleasing.

It seems like you may have two ways to lower the flight stick, either lower the whole top tier of the CP or angle the flight stick slightly forward and recess it a little into the CP
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: drventure on January 26, 2009, 03:22:12 pm
Thanks
Yeah, I definitely am not sold on the 2 monitors idea. A friend suggested it and at first I thought it might be a simple solution, but... I'm having my doubts.

The prob with lowering the stick is it definitely won't be simple. Even if I tilt it forward and drop it, I've only got about 1/8 inch clearance currently.

the thinnest LCD I've found yet is about 3 inches think. Add a little for mounting plates etc, and I'd have to recess the stick almost 4 inches, which would make it a little on the weird side<g>.

I +really+ should have picked the furniture piece before I built the panel<sigh> but cest la vie! As a first cab, this is all about the learning for me...

Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: Griffin on January 28, 2009, 04:25:54 pm
Few resources to check out for design inspiration...

Movies:
Brazil
Metropolis
Serenity (and Firefly series)
Gattaca
Dark City
All movies I could think of that are futuristic with an antique style.

Game:
Bioshock
Crimson Skies (not a lot in the way of furniture but might spark some ideas).

Google image searches:
Art Deco Furniture
Vintage Radio

Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: drventure on January 28, 2009, 05:01:08 pm
Hi Griffin

Thanks for the ideas. I'll check em out. I've looked at Dark City, and I completely forgot about Serenity and Firefly, but they are some favorites.

Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: SavannahLion on January 28, 2009, 06:37:20 pm
Few resources to check out for design inspiration...

Movies:
Brazil
Metropolis
Serenity (and Firefly series)
Gattaca
Dark City
All movies I could think of that are futuristic with an antique style.

Game:
Bioshock
Crimson Skies (not a lot in the way of furniture but might spark some ideas).

Google image searches:
Art Deco Furniture
Vintage Radio



It's a bit toony, but he might be able to grab ideas from anime flicks. Steamboy immediately pops into mind.

Moving along. Don't forget your silk wrapped power cord. These were very common on lamps and the like prior to the 1930's. They're generally not longer available in their original design, but UL cords are readilyl available. It's basically the standard cord with the fabric woven around. It makes the overal cord thicker, but the look is still there.

I used a similar product when repairing a lamp from the 1920's. The site I used had a huge variety of cloth patterns which is what I needed at the time. Most sites sell plainly wrapped cords. Watch your gauge too.

I can't find the site where I ordered the orignal cord from, but some examples are:
http://www.sundialwire.com/index.aspx
http://www.victoriandesign.com/notions.html
http://www.antiquelampco.com/Catalog/Cord.htm
http://www.electricalrestorations.com/cloth_covered_wire.html

However avoid companies that sell the original cord to spec unless you want an insurance payout.
http://www.paxtonhardware.com/products.asp?dept=183&grp=1
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: drventure on January 28, 2009, 11:58:59 pm
Cool idea. I need something like that to hide the USB cord from my Control panel to the PC (it'll be below the buffet, hidden. Also, I think those cord wraps might work very nicely for hiding the gas struts that will hold up the top. I'm thinking I might also setup a brass stop, kind of like these brass shutter stays

http://www.vandykes.com/product/cd190001/lacquered-brass-window-sash-stay-12-

Right now, I'm mainly concentrating on a good looking way to mount an LCD to the underside of the buffet top.

I want to frame it in a victorian style frame (an oval frame was suggested, which would be awesome if I could find an oval LCD<g>)
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: SavannahLion on January 29, 2009, 01:44:57 am
I want to frame it in a victorian style frame (an oval frame was suggested, which would be awesome if I could find an oval LCD<g>)

Oh suck. If I knew that was an idea in your head, Michaels (http://www.michaels.com/art/online/home) was having a 40-50% off sale on all picture frames including their custom frames. I'm sure you'll find something interesting there complete with an entire line of paints to color the frame to match your cabinet, you just won't have the sale prices. Keep an eye out for coupons though, they have them on a regular basis.
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: Ond on January 29, 2009, 03:46:38 am
This is a great idea and could result in a really unique machine.  Another movie to check out for ideas is the 'Time Machine' I mean the original one with Rod Taylor.   Good luck with this one.
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: drventure on January 29, 2009, 09:10:21 am
@SavannahLion
Nuts about the timing, but it's not a big loss, cause I don't have the monitor picked out just yet anyway. I'll check Micheals out though. I actually picked up some wood appliques from them that I plan on using on the control panel to "Class it up" a bit<g>. Maybe stain and then give them a light gold leaf?

@Ond
Excellent movie. Heck I just google image searched it and there's a TON of stills out there.

Plus I guy built his own version, and that gave me a great idea for the marquee.

How about nixie tubes (if I can find them with the alphabet)
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: harry on January 29, 2009, 01:27:22 pm
Nixie tubes are cool looking and would fit right in with style and look of your masterpiece.

We had an old Digital Volt Meter laying around the shop in early 80's and I loved the orange glow of the digits. Good luck finding letters.
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: drventure on January 29, 2009, 01:32:56 pm
Yeah, that could be tricky (that, and I'm not really an electrical engineer, more a software guy).

But I did find some Alphanumeric nixies online. The prob is, they're freaking >20$ +EACH+.

Ugh.

I may or may not go that route... Especially since I was considering a name that included
"Perceptuo-Emulatron"<g> Yikes, I'd end up spending 600$ on tubes for the Marquee!
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: polaris on January 29, 2009, 01:44:54 pm
Yeah, that could be tricky (that, and I'm not really an electrical engineer, more a software guy).

But I did find some Alphanumeric nixies online. The prob is, they're freaking >20$ +EACH+.

Ugh.

I may or may not go that route... Especially since I was considering a name that included
"Perceptuo-Emulatron"<g> Yikes, I'd end up spending 600$ on tubes for the Marquee!


how about just glowing valves lighting a clear marquee with a bold print on it
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: SavannahLion on January 29, 2009, 03:18:48 pm
I may or may not go that route... Especially since I was considering a name that included
"Perceptuo-Emulatron"<g> Yikes, I'd end up spending 600$ on tubes for the Marquee!

How about some orange EL wire? If you can source some glass globes, a bit of patience from Jobes and some fine modeling-type construction skills, you could build fake Nixie tubes. Even if you just restrict yourself to a fixed letter arrangements (therby saving yourself building complex circuits to show every letter of the alphabet many times over), you might be able to construct something very convincing looking.

Just an idea. A quick Google search shows some shops selling ten feet of wire for about $50. Much lower than the $600 you're pricing for Nixies.
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: drventure on January 29, 2009, 03:32:04 pm
Very interesting. Actually, I'd really intended on the marquee being a fixed message, so the alphanumeric tubes were really only to be able to light individual letters.

This EL wire is pretty sweet. I'd have to get some pretty thin stuff and it'd need to be bent pretty tight, but it looks like that should be doable. And a WHOLE LOT cheaper than real nixies.

I'm seeing a set, mounted horizontally, (like the horizontal nixies that have the letter/number shown on the TOP of the tube rather than the side) mounted directly into a hardwood framed polished brass plate.

Thanks for the heads up on the EL Wire!
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: drventure on March 14, 2009, 05:53:35 pm
I got the EL Wire and transformer in a week back or so. Very cool stuff, although the "Orange" comes out more yellowish if you ask me.

Still, it'll work for now.

I'm in the process of figuring out how to disassemble vacuum tubes without completely destroying them. I'll post pics as soon as I have something concrete.

In the meantime, here's a few from the build process of the control panel itself.
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: drventure on March 14, 2009, 06:08:56 pm
Oops. Hit post with no pics.. Here they are.

First up, the raw panel cutouts.

Next, the panel, underside, prewiring. Yeah, it's not hinged :(. My original design was for it to be a semi portable CP I could stick the closet. That didn't pan out.

Next, a detail of the pinball plunger. Works a treat!

And finally, the whole thing, minus the flightstick.

Yes, those are hole plugs<sigh> I'm not sure exactly what I was on that day, but I couldn't measure right to save ---my bottom---. Eventually, I'll likely rebuild the whole panel, now that I know more. But, for a first attempt, it didn't turn out too bad.

It's not as, shall I say, colorful, as most of the Cp's ive' seen here, but since it's going in a old buffet, that just keeps in line with the aesthetics.

I do plan on making a few additional mods. Mainly the replacement of joystick handles (already discussed on this thread) and likely adding some carving/moldings, and brass button nails with possibly some leather.
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: drventure on March 14, 2009, 07:11:11 pm
Ok, One more post for the day.

Since I'm in a bit of limbo right now while I find the right screen for this thing, I decided to have a go at some front end design.

I first tried Hyperspin, but it's just a tad to "animated" for this cabinet, I think.

I tried atomicFE, but it just crashed on me constantly. Not saying it's bad, but I couldn't get it to work out of the box.

I looked briefly at maximus and GameEx but didn't like any of the sample layouts, none of them came close to what I was envisioning, so I'm assuming I couldn't either with them, but I could be wrong  :)

Anyway, Mala seemed +highly+ recommended so I decided to give it shot.

Wow!

Very cool. There's a few things I'd like to see, like being able to display the history (or part of it) in text on the main screen, and a slightly different "clock-esque" spacing algo for the gamelist (you can see why from the screenshot), and better handling of scaling images (maybe it's just me, but I could not get images to scale consistently when in free scale mode), but those are all relatively minor things.

Here's a shot of my first draft of a layout for Mala.

The game list scrolls around the clock edge like you'd expect. Of course the snaps and cabinet pics are dynamic.

It's designed for 1920x1200 (I plan on running at this res on a 24" widescreen LCD), but the shot is shrunk down for file size.

Each of the History, Exit, game start, and menu screens also have similar themes.

The machine name isn't set in stone yet, but I am leaning toward
"The No18 Arqadium Engine"

Or just "No18 Arqadium" for short.

Why 18? It just has a steampunk/old railroad ring to it. This is definitely not my 18'th build!

If anyone has any suggestions, or thoughts, please let me know.

And if anyone's interested, the fonts are Peake, Acadian, and PCOrnaments. The clock is from a screensaver I found online, and the DaVinci-look drawing is via Google Images, searching for "steampunk" and spending WAY too much time browsing ::)

Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: Lyellin on March 14, 2009, 07:14:06 pm
Love that frontend.

I'm currently playing with Maximus right now, but MaLa keeps on looking interesting.

Nice cab so far!
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: drventure on March 15, 2009, 11:22:14 pm
Thanks for the comment on the layout.

To be honest, I didn't even install Maximus. I just checked out the sample layouts on the site and none of them even came close to what I was looking for, so I didn't bother.

But it did look like it could do some nice tricks!
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: drventure on March 29, 2009, 12:53:14 am
Well, a little progress.

I've run a tad low on cash, so picking up a monitor or PC for my cabinet is out for the time being.

So, I decided to have a go at getting the Marquee started.

The basic idea is that it'll be all exposed wires, pipes, gears and nixie tubes.

BUT, 1) real nixies are $$$, 2) the only real nixies that do alpha characters are segmented (like the old LED calculators), and that just wouldn't look right.

So, I found a snap online where a guy had disassembled a nixie to get the numeric cathodes out, went through all my fonts (more than I care to think about) and found a pretty good match.

I ended up using Bauhaus

So I cut some pieces of EL Wire, bent it into the proper forms and wired it all up. Works great!

Now then, I just had to build a fake nixie.

I'd picked up some busted vacuum tubes on craigslist a while back, so I smashed one to make sure the things weren't going to explode on me (they don't).

So I clipped the pins off another, twisted the base off (they tend to come right off, though a few have been a challenge)

Then, I took a triangle file and scored all the way around the bottom of the tube. A couple knocks with a glass cutter's mallet and the bottom of the tube fell right off.

I fished out the guts, bent up some wire to look like all the other letters/numbers that are usually in a nixie (normal nixie tubes actually have a separate cathode for each numeral, you can see them all stacked up on top of each other when the thing is off, it's a very cool analog look.)

All nixies have a wire mesh that surrounds the tube on the inside (that's the anode), so I found some window screening, sprayed it nickel, cut a piece and wrapped the inner assembly in it. epoxied it all up, and, well, the pics are below.

You can see the font template in the background I used for bending the wire.

The dark pic is with the tube on with the lights dimmed.

That's the first letter.

Hopefully the rest will go faster!
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: Bender on March 29, 2009, 11:35:58 am
just wanted to reiterate how cool this is!

love the FE and light up letters BRILLIANT!
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: Octo on March 29, 2009, 12:11:20 pm
This is so freakin sweet!  :hissy: I've always loved the HG Wells/Steampunk motif, and this has so much potential.

I was thinking that you could modify your buttons by screwing brass knobs through them to give a raised typewriter sort of feel without having to make them completely from scratch. Something like these:
(http://www.homedepot.com/catalog/productImages/300/73/73db52f7-f13f-42e1-8d0e-5c1221cc358f_300.jpg)
(http://www.homedepot.com/catalog/productImages/300/f8/f85ad345-e124-4c7c-af4a-e77a0354d8ce_300.jpg)
(http://www.homedepot.com/catalog/productImages/300/30/306937ba-7a65-47c7-8e1d-8e27fd2dfb57_300.jpg)

And it would be pretty sweet to have a trail of copper gears that rotate the monitor. Offset a foot to the left, turning the main gear then turns each consecutive gear, which rotates the monitor. Clockwork stuff like that just looks so crazy :blah:

You could also craft some phonograph horns from tin flashing, which is pretty cheap at Home Depot or whatever you have around you. It comes in 10" wide x 10' lengths for ~$7. If you make a series of cones and solder/weld them together it would come out with that phonograph look, for much cheaper than the ones you found in an antique store... Fit the speakers in there, and put a copper wire screen over them and it would really kick.
(http://www.homedepot.com/catalog/productImages/400/b1/b1c6e9cd-0c8f-4907-ae38-3921e17e9e1d_400.jpg)

OK, that's enough from me, for now.... :laugh2:
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: drventure on March 30, 2009, 11:27:40 am
Thanks for the comments!

 I like those knobs, my only concern with actually using some kind of metal would be the effect on the speed of the button. Adding a lot of mass might make the button slower.

That's funny about the tin for a horn. I actually picked up some sheet brass at Hobby Lobby to experiment with for precisely that purpose (and to fashion a frame around the monitor eventually). But I'm no metalsmith, so how it'll turn out, I'm not sure :-[

My biggest prob with the gears is finding a suitable set of gears. I just have no idea where to look. I thought about possibly using old bike sprockets and some chain... that +might+ look good. Of course, it might end up looking like a bike crashed into my cab, too  :-\


@bender
Thanks for the compliments! I wish I had your speed and quality of work! Those street fighter sticks are fantastic!

This cab is turning into as much an art project as a mame cab. But, it's all part of the fun.
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: Octo on April 01, 2009, 12:10:53 pm
Well, as for the horns, I can model some up in Blender and use Pepakura to unfold them into a sheetmetal template. You would just need to solder/braze/rivet the edges together.

Bike sprockets would look cool, as long as you changed them to a brass or copper finish to match the rest of the cab (chrome would look out of place) Usually there are bikes cheap or free on Craigslist, to harvest gears and chain from...

Good luck on this, really hope to see it complete :cheers:
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: drventure on April 01, 2009, 12:25:24 pm
Oh definitely about the brass, Chrome would just not cut it on this at all  :P

Never used blender or pepakura but they sound pretty cool. I really appreciate the offer. Let me get a bit further along and determine how much room I've got for those sorts of things before I commit to anything there, though. No point in spending the time if there won't be room anyway :'(

On a side note, I've gotten 4 of the vacuum tubes put together. I think it's looking pretty good. Once I find something suitable for a base and get them mounted, I'll upload some picks.

This EL Wire is very cool, but DANG it's tough to work with! Getting the sleeve stripped without ripping the corona wires is tricky business. If I was doing much more of this, i'd spring for one of the special wire strippers designed for this stuff.
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: DashRendar on April 01, 2009, 05:18:40 pm
Here's some more ideas for this theme--

Spark Regulator:
(http://thewildhunt.org/images/stories/spark.jpg)

Knife Switch:
(http://thewildhunt.org/images/stories/knifeswitch.jpg)

Or maybe some tesla coils or plasma balls on either side of the marquee? 

Man, you could have some fun with this setup.  :)
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: drventure on April 04, 2009, 01:39:58 pm
I had to share this...

It's a miniature plasma globe that connects to a USB port!

I gotta figure a way to incorporate a couple of these into this cab!

What would be truly awesome is to work this into a trackball somehow (yeah, yeah, fragile, couldn't smack it for Golden Tee, I know  :) )
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: drventure on April 17, 2009, 08:07:36 pm
A little more progress, and this is pretty funny so I had to share.

I'd been trying to figure out some way to improve the look of control panel proper. I'd used a flat black, leather textured formica laminate on it that went on quite well, but looks a little, well, plain, for what this build is turning into.

Long story short, I was browsing a Van Dykes Restorer's catalog several days ago and came across Leather desk inlays (the kind you'd typically see on very high end executive desks).

But these all had various gilded borders around the edges. See the first pic

And that's when it hit me, gild a border around the top!

So I started looking for gilding foil and roller irons and that went nowhere.

The I happened across rubber stamps. You know, scrapbooking crap ;)

Next thing I know, I end up in a scrapbooking rubber stamp store over in Ft Worth. Definitely out of my comfort zone :)

I picked up a couple stamps, and found a gold ink pad too.

Since then, I've been experimenting with different inks, paints etc, to get a consistent effect.

The test results are below. This particular ink went on excellently, but doesn't appear to be permanent when applied to formica, so I'm looking for a different ink pad now.

Still, I think the results are promising.

I also found a compass stamp that's a little over 6" in diameter, Plenty big enough to surround a joystick or trackball.

Ok, it's a little weird I'll grant. But I think it could really make for a sweet control panel, circa 1862!




Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: thatpurplestuff on April 18, 2009, 03:06:18 am
That compass stamp is going to be sweet for the sticks!  Can't wait to see where this project goes.
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: drventure on April 29, 2009, 03:04:28 pm
I've done a pile of experimenting with the stamping technique, not to mention going through 4 different stamp pads and inks to find one that gives a reasonably decent stamp on black textured formica and +won't+ just wipe off anytime you touch it.

Also, I picked up a decent, extra fine pt gold paint marker for inking in solid lines using a straightedge (trying to stamp solid lines looks about as good as you'd imagine, no amount of tinkering is going to get that right).

So, I think I'm reading to actually pull the trigger.

But to be sure, I took a photo of the panel and mocked up what it'd look like, mostly anyway.

The mockup's not perfect but I wanted to get some opinions from anyone who's willing ;)

First, a few caveats

1) the exposed wood areas now have some additional trim that make it look much more period, but I'd already mocked it up using the older photo.
2) I know the gold color doesn't exactly match between the gilding and the compass roses, but it was as close as I could get.
3) I know that all the gilding clashes a bit with the "normal" bright colored arcade buttons. My long term goal is to replace the buttons (or somehow color them copper, nickel, brass, and maybe graphite...) Same with the black plastic and chrome sticks, not period, but it'll have to do for now.


So, the questions
1) should I even bother? Is it just too garish?
2) I could tone it down about by leaving off the compass stamps around the trackball (or doing the trackballs like the sticks)
3) I could also tone it done by not doing the imprints around all of the sticks.
4) I could also not gild the edges or possibly only put a single gold line around the edges, or possibly only gild the front edges and not the back.
5) finally, maybe I need +more+. Say, some imprints around certain buttons, or something else? There's certainly no shortage of swirly curlyque stamps for wedding albums and the like. Just don't want to overdo it  :) (like that's not gonna happen on this cab!)

Any thoughts?
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: Octo on April 29, 2009, 03:36:32 pm
With copper/brass controls I think it would look really good.
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: drventure on April 29, 2009, 03:49:14 pm
Thanks Octo!

Yeah, with the primary color buttons, it's just not quite right. But I do believe it's another step in the right direction.

I've looked into possibly painting buttons, just not sure how well that would hold up under typical abuse ;)

I do know that, masked properly, there's no worries of the paint jamming the button or causing added friction, at least not with the Happ buttons I've got here to experiment with.
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: Bender on April 29, 2009, 04:41:40 pm
yeah,

get some more retro controls and that thing will be awesome!

great Work!
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: drventure on April 29, 2009, 05:49:49 pm
Hey Bender.

Thanks for the feedback. I agree. I've got to get some bone or ivory sticks, and some kind of metallic buttons. And brass. Lots of brass.

I think the spinner knob will be pretty easy to fabricate from something. I just want one that "feels" as good as a normal knob, too. It's gotta look good, but I still have to be able to play the games in comfort<g>
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: thatpurplestuff on April 29, 2009, 08:58:22 pm
I really like the compass graphics.  If you're going to modify your design, I say you go with more rather than less because I really like what I see so far.  I agree that the brightly colored buttons are detracting from your overall theme, but I also don't have any ideas to fix that other than paint them or something.  Great job so far!
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: Gatsu on May 01, 2009, 10:54:29 am
I love the look of it so far. I have one suggestion. How about overlaying the gold brushwork ontop of an old looking map of the world.

(http://imagecache5.art.com/p/LRG/10/1086/6J6V000Z/old-world-map.jpg)

something like that maybe.

Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: drventure on May 01, 2009, 11:14:52 am
Hey Gatsu

That's an excellent idea and I wish I'd thought of it earlier in the process. I really like that map graphic. The colors might be too much but I could always convert to sepia to tone it down a bit. But doing +real+ cp art at this point would probably be pretty tough.

1) all the controls are mounted, I'm guessing I'd have to take em all off to lay down the art.
2) I didn't really build the panel or tmold with any plex overlay in mind so that all might be a prob (spacing, tmold slot etc).

That said, I've got a pile of ideas going for what might turn into the next project, and the map graphs would be great.

Anyone know a way to cast a globe into a 3" happ translucent trackball<g>
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: drventure on May 05, 2009, 10:26:35 am
I noticed another thread asking about tips and techniques for painting cabs, which got me thinking about how I might address my pushbutton issues.

I've pretty much decided the common button colors just aren't gonna do it for this cab.

I'm thinking
1) rough em up with fine steel wool
2) a Krylon fusion primer base coat
3) a spray enamel metallic 2'nd coat. Possibly a third
4) some aging with waterproof india ink
5) dip it in Future acrylic floor wax for a protective seal coat.

I know that works quite well with models, and Future is floor wax, so it'll take a pretty good beating.

And this cab is going in my home, not an arcade, so it's not likely to take +too+ much abuse.

I've experimented on a single button just to check out the look. I've left the black one in for comparison. Also note this one isn't aged or sealed yet....

Any thoughts?
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: thatpurplestuff on May 05, 2009, 10:48:52 am
That button looks great!  It'll look even better with the india ink and protective seal.  It matches the molding on the bottom absolutely perfectly.  I say go for it with all the buttons!
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: drventure on May 05, 2009, 11:36:55 am
Thanks Purple!

I definitely think it'll be a better with the aging applied. I'll post a pic once all that's done.

The color scheme there is "graphite" for the ring and "antique brass" for the button itself. because of the way these Happ buttons are molded, it's trivially easy to mask off the parts that actually contact  each other inside the button, so there's +zero+ effect on the action of the button from painting. Definitely a happy surprise there!

I'm thinking graphite rings all around, and bright brass (more gold really than brass), antique brass, nickel and copper for the 4 player colors.

Probably antique brass for various misc buttons. Graphite on graphite for the admin buttons (pause and esc) and since the player1-4 and coin 1-4 buttons are already white, i'm thinking I might try to yellow them slightly for an ivory look. I can get more creative on those buttons because they're mounted vertically so they aren't likely to get near the level of abuse that the actual player buttons will.
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: drventure on May 19, 2009, 12:33:30 pm
Well, I decided to go for it and refinish all my buttons.

All the various player buttons (7 each, yeah I know, total overkill, but I didn't realize it till I'd already bought the buttons and drilled the holes) I redid in nickel, copper, dark brass and bright brass, then aged each with a wash of india ink.

All the button rings i refinished seperately in a graphite, with an ink wash as well.

Then dipped the button heads and mounting rings in Future (an acrylic floor sealer, a trick modelers have used for years).

It  takes a few days to full cure, but the stuff seems rock hard once it's cured, and since my cab shouldn't get too abused, I decided to go for it. I think the results are much more inline with what I was invisioning than the original bright red/yellow/blue/green buttons.

I'd contemplated making additional mods for some lighting (ala a discussion I had with OND a few days ago). His prototype turned out fantastic, but I'm not sure that would be in keeping with the aesthetic I'm going for so, for now, anyway, lit buttons are on the back burner.

I didn't take many shots of the coin, player x start or admin buttons (just a pause and escape was all I believe is necessary), but they required a good bit more work. You can see them in the last pics.

Essentially, I sprayed them ivory, let it cure, then washed them with a brown and mottled it, so the end result looks a lot like old ivory or possibly an antique marble.

But, a plain marble look just wouldn't cut it. Since these were "admin" buttons (I won't have a coin door in this cab), they won't get bashed much at all, so I decided to get a little creative with them

I countersunk 1/2" holes in the tops of the buttons, blacked the insets and then epoxied gold plated jewelry finding (some convex lacy discs I had around) into the hole for the coin buttons,  and cut the middle of those discs out, and epoxied in some small brass stamped numbers and letters for the Pause, Esc and player 1-4 buttons.

Anyway, here's what I came up with. You can see the copper player buttons in the foreground in one of the last shots.


DOH! I typed all this and now realize I can't upload fotos! urg... Hmm. Well, nuts. They'll just have to wait...

Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: emphatic on May 19, 2009, 05:27:09 pm
How many buttons do you need? I have a couple of metal pushbutton collecting dust somewhere in a box. But I think I only have 10 or so. Here's a picture of what they look like:
(http://www.emphatic.se/jkcabinet/coinbutton.jpg)

They tend to get dull, but can be polished if you want them shiny. Should you be interested, PM.
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: drventure on May 19, 2009, 05:42:17 pm
Hey emphatic

Thanks for the offer! But, I reasonably happy with the way they turned out, although that button in your pic does look pretty decent.

Thing is, I'd want 'em for the player buttons, and for a full set, I'd need 28 (7 for each of 4 players). Then they'd be all steel colored, and I wanted a little variety (though it's arguable how much variety there is between antique brass and bright brass  :) )

I guess I'll have to post the pics somewhere and link to them while the attachment support on the board is down, that'd give you a better idea.

Thanks again though
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: severdhed on May 20, 2009, 10:53:41 pm
yes..please post pics..i have to see these buttons!!!!
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: drventure on May 20, 2009, 11:23:03 pm
Trying to attach an image here

(http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3414/3549893093_2b9bf59842_m.jpg)
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: drventure on May 20, 2009, 11:32:49 pm
Ok. Looks like this might work.

Here's a shot of the buttons being disassembled.
(http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3414/3549893093_2b9bf59842_m.jpg)

And one of my super fancy custom spray jig  ;)
(http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3573/3549893147_5f30a011bd_m.jpg)


One of the buttons being masked off (use lowtack tape to do the inside, it's much easier to deal with).
You really only want the very tops of the buttons painted. Leave the inside of the barrel bare so the button action isn't affected in any way.
(http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2456/3549893181_c0774c4e1e_m.jpg)

A bunch right after an initial coat. The rings got graphite, the tops got bright brass in this case. I used valspar and krylon metallic paints. Plus Krylon FUSION as a primer.
(http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3598/3550700400_67d5457717_m.jpg)

Here's a bright brass button about to get inked (basically, smear it with india ink and then rub it off with a paper towel). This gives the buttons a very real "depth". Otherwise, they just look spray painted.
(http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3608/3550700444_903d9a1420_m.jpg)

Dipping them in Future (That's right, the floor wax!)
(http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3413/3549893291_750d6e54fe_m.jpg)

The money shots. All the buttons installed. The player 1, coin 1 and exit buttons are prominent on the vertical panel here. The player buttons in the foreground are an antiqued brass finish.
I did a little more modifications on the admin buttons because they don't need to take near as much abuse.
(http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3302/3550700532_967853e961_m.jpg)

and from the other side
(http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3637/3549893365_9c66b9bb95_m.jpg)


I know the images aren't super high res. I'll have to experiment some more and post a little better shots in a bit.

Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: severdhed on May 21, 2009, 10:12:33 am
A buffer state is a country lying between two rival or potentially hostile greater powers, which by its sheer existence is thought to prevent conflict between them. Buffer states, when authentically independent, typically pursue a neutralist foreign policy, which distinguishes them from satellite states.
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uh....thanks stephanie? :dunno


to get back on topic...those look great...i'd love to see some pics that are bigger than my cell phone screen though :)
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: thatpurplestuff on May 21, 2009, 10:31:15 am
Fantastic job on the buttons!  They really look great alongside the wood grain of the cabinet.  I would love to see a walkthrough that explains every step in this process, because the end result is really nice.
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: drventure on May 21, 2009, 10:35:40 am
Quote
A buffer state is a country lying between two rival or potentially hostile greater powers, which by its sheer existence is thought to prevent conflict between them. Buffer states, when authentically independent, typically pursue a neutralist foreign policy, which distinguishes them from satellite states.

Where the heck did that come from?

Here's a couple of bigger shots (Looks like I grabbed the wrong link from flickr)
(http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3382/3550907061_b4a8d3b55e_o_d.png)

And from the other side
(http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3361/3550907211_df887e3320_o_d.png)
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: drventure on May 21, 2009, 10:42:22 am
Hey Purple

Thanks for the compliments. I'm pretty happy with the results so far. I'll have to reserve final judgment till I see how well they hold up to real use.

Yeah, I had the best of intentions to photograph everything, and then, well, it just didn't happen  :-[

Anyway, I've still got all the pieces/parts so I'll write a walkthrough up in a bit.
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: severdhed on May 21, 2009, 11:13:38 am
simply amazing....i'm curious to see how these hold up over time.  those admin buttons are awesome...that must have taken a long time.
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: Aceldamor on May 21, 2009, 12:33:56 pm
This project is gearing up to be an award winner  fo sho!

The admin buttons look amazing. One potential suggestion on the player buttons, I would "antique" them a little more, and potentially coat them with a semi gloss/flat clear coat so they aren't so shiny. Have you considered throwing some turquoise around the edges to give them the "aged copper" look?

Someone else suggested Tesla coils, and other stuff, what about a small Jacob's ladder?

I am really liking where this project is heading, keep up the great work.
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: drventure on May 21, 2009, 12:48:32 pm
I'm right there with ya!

Actually, I experimented with giving the copper buttons a patina, but never could get the effect right. They ended up looking too "painted". So I rubbed them down with india ink as well, and let it go.

I'm kind of thinking the same thing about the gloss. They are a little on the shiny side. I think the photos actually make em look even MORE shiny than in real life, though. I'll probably wait any any further treatments till I get the rest of the panel finishwork done to see how it all comes together.

Believe it or not, I spent a LOT of time investigating a jacobs ladder, but what I found is that it requires an INSANE high voltage to get that effect (something along the lines of exposing a monitor flyback coil voltage), and that's getting just a tad over the line for me  :)

However, I did find this
(http://www.shopcustomcreations.com/images/ip-139pl.jpg)

It's a plasma sphere for a car cig lighter, all of about 1.5 inches in dia. And no chance of electrocuting anybody playing my cab! Remove the black rubber shell and mount it in some brass gizmo (I'm imaging an old astrolabe or something similar).

Could work...
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: severdhed on May 21, 2009, 01:44:18 pm
this project is simply amazing....

WHen you mentioned the trackball, i started thinking....upon looking around the net, i found this site...

http://www.spherestoyou.com/Sshoppe/marble.htm

(http://www.spherestoyou.com/Sshoppe/bgmarble.jpg)

or

(http://www.spherestoyou.com/Sshoppe/burgundy.jpg)



something like this would make an awesome trackball.  some of them are available in 3" diameter, so it should be a drop in replacement for a 3" trackball.  i'm sure it would be a little heavier though, which may take away from the performance of the unit....

or perhaps something like this:

(http://ep.yimg.com/ip/I/jewelbasket_2055_50721136)

which can be found:

http://www.jewelbasket.com/gemstone-paper-weight.html

That one is listed as weighing 2lbs, which is pretty heavy...i dont know if these things would be durable enough for this type of use, but it might be worth looking into.  they are a little expensive, but about the same price as a replacement ball from Happ.

just an idea.
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: drventure on May 21, 2009, 01:55:06 pm
Oh.wow!

That globe ball would be utterly awesome!

Not sure of the weight, you're right about that, but, oh heck yeah...

I'll do some digging on that.

In looking for plasma balls, I'd come across these glass plasma "discs"
(http://www.powscience.com/store/storepics/fascinations/lumindisc.jpg)

If you look close, it's a matrix grid internally, so I started wondering if it'd be possible to get that grid into a solid "ball" such that the somehow the outer edge of the ball could be "powered" with a  lot voltage that would allow the whole ball to spark like the disk, but the ball could still free float in the trackball assembly, maybe using some kind of contact brushes. Yeah, that's pretty far fetched, but it'd be the most impress trackball ever!
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: Ginsu Victim on May 21, 2009, 02:07:57 pm
That globe ball would be utterly awesome!

Not sure of the weight, you're right about that, but, oh heck yeah...

I'll do some digging on that.

If it's a paper weight, it should be flat on the bottom. That would make a terrible trackball.
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: drventure on May 21, 2009, 02:47:53 pm
Yeah, a paperweight wouldn't work, but a full globe would.

Maybe this (a 3" "desktop globe with stand")?

(http://d3f8w3yx9w99q2.cloudfront.net/1396/artline-earth-ball-3-inch-desk-globe-globe/artline-earth-ball-3-inch-desk-globe-globe_0_299x235.jpg)

Looks like it's got the design silkscreened on the "inside" of the globe. That might make for a ball that's too light to be a trackball, though. Unless it was filled with clear epoxy or something...
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: Ginsu Victim on May 21, 2009, 02:56:30 pm
Typically too light PLUS they tend to have a seam at the equator.
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: drventure on May 21, 2009, 03:01:27 pm
Hmm, Too true.

There's always this (it's solid crystal and 300$  :) )

(http://www.1worldglobes.com/images/Globes/SH/181-AQ_sm.jpg)
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: Ginsu Victim on May 21, 2009, 03:02:46 pm
Pretty nice, price aside.
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: Aceldamor on May 21, 2009, 04:05:15 pm
I'm right there with ya!


Believe it or not, I spent a LOT of time investigating a jacobs ladder, but what I found is that it requires an INSANE high voltage to get that effect (something along the lines of exposing a monitor flyback coil voltage), and that's getting just a tad over the line for me  :)

You could "Fake" the JL by putting up the Wires and running some light conductive material across the wires, then have an LED stobe the "rung" to make it look like one. I've seen some fakes, decorative of course, but still give's teh "effect"
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: drventure on May 21, 2009, 04:18:39 pm
The globe would be best, but I also came across this (3" dia wooden contact juggling ball, incidentally, I happen to be into contact juggling also, so I could use this even if it didn't get used in my cab!)

(http://us.st12.yimg.com/us.st.yimg.com/I/yhst-32008395649366_2028_6337804)
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: drventure on May 21, 2009, 05:18:21 pm
Ok, last post on the subject (at least for now).

But I gotta say, this as a trackball would rock (it's 4.5" though, so that sucks)

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/v/LOp5CYGBxIU&color1=0xb1b1b1&color2=0xcfcfcf&feature=player_embedded&fs=1[/youtube]
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: MinerAl on May 26, 2009, 05:00:04 pm
Happs sells a 4.5" trackball assembly.  You can also find them on the original Atari trackball games like Missile Command and Atari Football.

Would kind of fit with the steampunk/old-tech theme.
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: drventure on May 26, 2009, 05:13:14 pm
Whoa momma!

Hadn't seen that before, but it's probably because I'd have fallen over at the price  :(

Still, that would make an awesome trackball if it was tough enough to stand up to the abuse.

But since my CP's already built and assembled (and it's be REALLY rough to retrofit that 4.5 inch mounting plate now) I'm afraid that one will have to wait.

I do however have a line on a different crystal globe (with imprinted continents no less) that's 3" and might work, but they have a minimum order of 6, at 40$ apiece, I'll have to get em to so a small order for me or find the same globe elsewhere, but it might work

I'll post when I find out more.

Thanks for the Happ pointer though. Definitely something to keep in mind!
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: ratzz on May 26, 2009, 07:01:46 pm
Good luck with this one.

Fantastic idea, and could be a great, unique machine.

I'll be watching this one! :applaud:
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: Bender on May 26, 2009, 09:29:09 pm
give me us some more info on the new 3" globe you found

I might want one and maybe that would help with your order
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: drventure on May 26, 2009, 10:02:42 pm
Here's the one that I ended up settling on. It really is a full globe and not a paperweight so there's no flat spot.
(http://www.1worldglobalgifts.com/images/Awards/R66Wjpg.jpg)

Here's the site link
http://www.1worldglobalgifts.com/globe_pyramid.htm (http://www.1worldglobalgifts.com/globe_pyramid.htm)

I spoke with Bryan there, and he had no problem selling me just one, it's just their site that says there's a min order.
It's 35$+10 shipping, so a tad pricy but that's actually less than a clear Happ trackball! No idea whether it'll work well or even at all, but it'd definitely look great uplit with an LED!

Here's one that'd really look sweet. but it's 300$ for a 3" ball  :dizzy:
(http://www.1worldglobes.com/images/Globes/SH/181-AQ_sm.jpg)
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: Bender on May 27, 2009, 09:56:27 am
wow 3 bills is insane, but man that would be cool!

Let us know how the other one works

I've heard of people using billyard balls I know their not clear but maybe they make some specialty ones that might  be cool (those might be 2 1/4" though)

like these (http://www.Billiardsstore.com/products/description/4144.cfm)
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: billpa on May 27, 2009, 05:25:50 pm
Yea if you could go with a 2.25 inch ball, you could get something cool

https://www.antiquespider.com/detail.asp?id=11531

https://www.antiquespider.com/detail.asp?id=6695

Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: drventure on May 27, 2009, 05:33:05 pm
Wow, those'd look slick too. and real friggin ivory to boot!

Gah. I had to pick the one size...  :'(
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: Bender on May 27, 2009, 06:05:41 pm
Yea if you could go with a 2.25 inch ball, you could get something cool

https://www.antiquespider.com/detail.asp?id=11531

https://www.antiquespider.com/detail.asp?id=6695



way F*&#ing cool! bettter than I could have imagined!

wonder how much those things go for?
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: billpa on May 28, 2009, 10:21:05 am
Yea I suppose a bit of a tease...looked at the links a second time and it appears they were sold already and not sure what the final price was. Oh well...the one you chose is pretty cool and would definitely look cooler with some creative lighting.
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: drventure on May 28, 2009, 10:44:48 am
Here's hoping. I think with some good lighting, it could look sweet. I'm a tad concerned about it being +actual+ crystal, will it be easily scratched by the trackball rollers, or (god forbid) break while being played.

But the guy I spoke with there indicated he'd seen these abused pretty badly and never break, so we'll see.

I'm also wondering if it'll grip the roller bearings good enough, but I thought if not, I might be able to take some heatshrink tubing, slip it over the rollers and shrink it, surely that'd give it more bite (and might prevent scratching to boot).

It'll be one big experiment!
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: drventure on June 02, 2009, 06:09:53 pm
Grrr. Well, I got the globe in today, but it's 2.75" dia, NOT 3"  :angry:

Needless to say, I'm bummed. And there's no way it'll work in a 3" happ trackball chassis.

I'm reaching out to my contact there to see if they could have just sent me the wrong size, but I'm betting this is it, and their web product description is just wrong.

Sigh

Well, time to keep hunting...
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: drventure on June 11, 2009, 01:18:47 pm
The globes are on hold waiting for shipment, so I decided to try my hand at something new.

I've got a lot of "mechanical" stuff in this cab to raise and lower the cp, and it looks good, but not really what I had in mind.

So, am I the first to actually +upholster+ part of a cab?  ;D

The legs are part of my dining table, not the cab  :). I can't install it quite yet because I'm also upholstering around the Sewing machine lifts used to raise and lower the whole thing. it's those lifts that I +THINK+ I can automate eventually by taking out the pistons and replacing with linear actuators.

But that's down the road.
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: drventure on June 18, 2009, 01:13:36 am
Not much progress but I did come across this.

(http://snpi.dell.com/sna/images/products/mlrg/CN_I472029.JPG)

More details here.

http://accessories.us.dell.com/sna/productdetail.aspx?cs=19&c=us&l=en&sku=A1553475&dgc=CJ&cid=0&lid=0&acd=10550055-227502-167612-n-10 (http://accessories.us.dell.com/sna/productdetail.aspx?cs=19&c=us&l=en&sku=A1553475&dgc=CJ&cid=0&lid=0&acd=10550055-227502-167612-n-10)

It's 380$, but it's a touchscreen to boot and it's designed to fit in a 5.25 drive bay. Why? Hmm. Why Not?

It'd be cool in something, though I'm not sure I could fit it in with my cab.
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: Bender on June 19, 2009, 06:29:43 pm
I know it's 7" diagonal but...    how does that thing fit into a 5.25 drive bay?
looks like a single DIN size for a car stereo

any luck on the Trackball front yet?
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: drventure on June 19, 2009, 07:36:24 pm
no, I'm still waiting for the second attempt to arrive. 2 weeks and counting! sheesh.

The first one (that crystal ball) would have been fantastic. After talking with the guy at WorldGlobes, appearently, those crystal globes aren't "manufactured" per se, they're all hand made, so they vary in size quite dramatically.

I asked, but he said he really couldn't go opening up all the boxes and measuring them all to find one that was +actually+ 3" dia :) Oh well.

This other one I've found says it's 3", and I spoke with the manufacturer and they verfied, but it's 1/8" acrylic, so I'm guessing if the size really does work, I'll drill a small hole in it and fill it with optically clear epoxy.

In the meantime, I've been upholstering some covers for the side lifts. I'll have pics up soon.
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: Benevolance on June 19, 2009, 07:53:38 pm
I think the 3" wooden juggling ball would make for an awesome track ball in a steam punk desk. Stained to match the rest of the cabinet, it would help visually pull the wood elements down from the upper tier to the lower.
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: drventure on June 19, 2009, 08:07:39 pm
True enough. I think I'll get one to try it out.

The only downside is I won't be able to backlight it with an LED. The globe looked incredible backlit like that.
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: Bender on June 19, 2009, 09:09:22 pm
if you can find just a plain 3" glass ball I might be able to etch some simple art onto it (like a globe for example)
Also this place (http://www.oddityinc.com/customer_stores/shop/category.asp?page=2&catid=68&sortby=name) seems to have a few different 3" balls like these that might be cool and there pretty cheap
(http://www.oddityinc.com/customer_stores/images/00291.jpg)

man this place (http://www.crystal-cure.com/crystal-balls.html) has some crazy stuff can't find the right size 76mm but man if you could way cool! (oh yeah you gotta disregard all the new-age mubo junmo!)
(http://crystal-cure.com/pics/ball-malachite819.jpg)

I'm now obsessed with this

here is someplace (http://www.thespheremaker.net/crystalspheres.html) that may be able to make a crystal ball to your exact size
Pretty expensive stuff but man are they cool lookin'
there is a 3.4" that's only :o $70 bucks but you might be able to get them to make 3"
(http://fototime.com/78F45C0D38499E4/standard.jpg)
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: drventure on June 19, 2009, 11:08:04 pm
Damn, Bender. You've turned up a pile of good sites!

Thanks!

I dunno about the calcite ball  :) Not exactly way up there on the Moh's scale  :(

But some of those stone spheres would be very nice looking.

I saw an opalescent ball that might look especially nice.

You say you can etch? That might be an option, too. I'm guessing if I tried that, i'd end up with a gooped up expensive piece of trash...

I'm still kinda stuck on the whole globe idea, just haven't had much luck yet.
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: Bender on June 19, 2009, 11:28:08 pm
as far as etching goes, I have this stuff you just paint on glass leave it for a while and then wash it off and it makes that area of the glass matte

so it's just frosting the glass I guess
I made some cool stuff with it by masking some areas off. Looked kinda like that globe you got, that's what reminded me of the stuff in the first place
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: drventure on July 11, 2009, 12:01:09 am
Well, I gave up on the globe idea. Eventually, I might try again, but there just isn't anything out there that is truly spherical and is exactly the right size, AND would look appropriate/better than the blue acrylic balls that came with the happ trackballs.

So, there it is.

Now I'm on to the speaker assemblies. I wasn't able to find any good brass horns/cones, but, I did find some ribbed glass ceiling fan shades at Lowes for .25c on clearance.
Those combined with some gooseneck Office Depot desk lamps, gutted, should make for some mighty interesting looking speakers. Plus, they'll pivot around to face any direction I want.

Pic1 is the glass
pic2 shows the backside of the speakers (they'll be visible through the glass)
pic3 is the speaker grill

But one thing I can't seem to find... If anyone had any pointers, I'd really appreciate it.

I need a brass escutcheon for a 3/4 in pipe that looks.... well...victorian, or thereabouts.

The closest I've come so far is something like this

(http://www.shop4classics.com/images/desc5b.jpg)

But it's not quite the size. I thought about drilling out a plate with a smaller hole, but I can't seem to set up a rig that'll hold the plate while I drill it

What would be perfect is something like this only in brass with maybe some etching/embossing (or just plain would work too).

(http://www.kitchenfaucetdiscounts.com/images/products/sm_catalog/jac09/6004.gif)

Anybody know of anything offhand?
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: Benevolance on July 11, 2009, 04:02:41 pm
You could always just spray the steel cover with a metallic spray paint. There are some very convincing and inexpensive spray paints on the market now.

Else if price is no object, reproduction doorknob covers (http://www.vintagehardware.com/index.php?cmd=product&prodid=27520) would probably work well enough.
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: drventure on July 11, 2009, 06:09:59 pm
Wow. I love that door knob backplate, but 83$  :dizzy:

Actually, I've played A LOT with Metallic sprays, and they do look good (just check out my buttons earlier in this thread  :)

But... When they're right next to a real piece of brass, the effect, at least to me, is not so good.

I found some wood rosettes that I think will work well. I've drilled them out and stained them, Will get them in place tomorrow and see how that looks.

Here's the raw piece
(http://images.lowes.com/product/converted/009215/009215029875md.jpg)

I just drilled a hole out of the middle and used a dremel to even up the carving.
Unfortunately I burned out my Dremel in the process (at least the motor still runs but the bit doesn't turn, I think I can fix that though).

Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: drventure on July 17, 2009, 04:24:28 pm
Yeah! Just picked up a Dell 2405fpw for the cab. Speakers and now a screen! I might actually be able to play this thing in.... oh, who'm i kidding. I still gotta finish that Vacuum Tube marquee  :)
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: drventure on July 28, 2009, 04:19:13 pm
It's slowly starting to look like I might actually get this thing finished having something playable soon.

I had a pile of Fry's gift cards lying around and finally decided to pull the trigger for a mobo/processor/memory/HD. Already had a decent PS lying around, and I picked up a Dell 2405wfp a few weeks ago.

Here's the guts in all it's glory  :)

Basically, it's an ASUS M3N78-VM mobo, with an AMD Athlon 64 X2 5050e dual core processor, 2gb ram and a WD 1tb harddrive.

I had a PS around, and I'm using a USB Wireless G dongle for networking. No floppy, no cd, no dvd. It's been a big experiment getting windows on it with ONLY a USB drive.
But eventually, I was able to get it there. GPARTED is awesome, just remember to set the SATA device into ACHI mode (or whatever the heck the abbreviation is).

So far, the benchmarks are coming in right in line with my Core 2 duo, maybe a little shy, but certainly not bad for onboard video. I don't think I'll be playing Blitz, PropCycle, or gauntlet legends, but still.

Maybe there's some overclocking in my future  ;)
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: Ond on July 28, 2009, 11:06:37 pm
It's getting there eh?   :) What onboard video card is on those mobo's?  I notice you mentioned speakers as well, heh, your project is progressing in a similar way to mine - I just got my mobo etc and I'm testing speakers/amp/ps at the moment.  I'll be interested to see what you come up with for your sound system.  I'll be posting in a day or two my own progress.  Did you end up making use of the EL wire for something (I might have missed it if you mentioned it).  hmmm and more questions!  :lol do you have some kind of opener Vid in mind - short and sweet but awsome, there are so many theme possibilities with this.  There's a movie production company that has some elaborate shots of gears all turning and lots of gizmo's all spinning as their opening integration....damn I can't remember who has that.  If you have some ideas in that area let me know if I can help.
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: drventure on July 28, 2009, 11:39:53 pm
Quote
There's a movie production company that has some elaborate shots of gears

hehe, way ahead of you there  :)
It's Lion'sGate Films. I grabbed that shot off a dvd I had and have been playing with it ever since.

The mobo has an nvidia 8200 onboard. not a super fast chipset, but pretty decent. It appears to be running at about the same level as my ATI Radeon 1900xt, which is 2+ years old, and that was really what I was gunning for. Overclocking the mobo probably would help, as would picking up an optimized mame, but that'll come.

The speakers I've finished. Just haven't cobbled together some images. They turned out better than I'd hoped. The LEDs on the inside of the glass light up the glass and the edges, so the edges of the speakers flicker and glow too.

I ended up using a set of Altec lansing speakers vs 2321
(http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/511E3BRD26L._SL500_AA280_.jpg)

I decased the speakers, and just decorated the subwoofer with some paint and brass corners (it's hung underneath so you really can't see it anyway).

They sound FANTASTIC, even being incased in glass lampshades. I was very surprised. I was all set to hear scratchy vibrations all over. And because they're computer speakers, the amp and all is all contained. I even mounted the headset jack and volume control buttons (with requisite brass knobs and mother of pearl LED lamp) at the back of the buffet with quilted taffeta.

Back to the opening screen, I suck at movie "production", I suppose. Basically, i cut the gears part, then had it flying out and "through" one of the numbers on my clock background for MALA, then the screen ends by fading into my MALA backdrop. It looks ok, but it could be better. It's short, too, at about 7-9 seconds. But, I have no decent tools for any of this, it's all Windows Movie maker, PhotoStory, an open source app that can reverse video and a mixing app.

I'm trying to come up with some good opening music. Believe it or not, I've almost settled on some music from the background of the kids game "Disney Princess-Enchanted Journey" (My 5yo daughters  ;) )

I was asking her one day what music I should use, and she busted out with "How about some music from my princess game?"

Turns out, they're all just OGG files right there on the CD. I'd be happy to post what I've got so far. Do you do animation work?

Oh and the EL wire. Yes, I finished all 12 vacuum tubes, they're wired and operational but I haven't figured out quite how I'm going to mount them. In a shadowbox type thing, or on a plate with a brass wire "cage", on a gimbal, something else?

Just not sure there.

Oh and I found several antique knife switches (ala frankenstien) that I might use as the power switch for the whole thing. One is enormous and mounted on a solid slate panel. Weighs 9 lbs!
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: Ond on July 28, 2009, 11:58:27 pm

 I'd be happy to post what I've got so far. Do you do animation work?


Great to hear the speakers turned out well, yep I can animate something original or maybe tidy/improve what you've already got.  The Lion'sGate opener is very elaborate and something similiar would require many hours of work BUT there are other possibilities...  Email me what you've got if you like, and I'll have a look.
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: drventure on July 30, 2009, 12:48:51 am
Finally got some pics put together of the speakers I've torn up and rebuilt for this cabinet

First, I started with some 25c (yep that's right 25c at Lowes) glass fan lampshades. I cut a base for the back and used some long screws from an old attic fan motor to hold things together

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=90051.0;attach=128472)

Then I picked up a couple RGB leds from Radio shack and mounted them in a hole drilled in that plate. But a simple RGB wasn't enough  :). I came across a pile of those "fake tea lights" with a flickery orange LED inside for 50c each. So I bought a pile of them and started hacking them apart.

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=90051.0;attach=128466)

Inside, they're REALLY simple. just a 3v battery, a switch and the LED. The LED actually has a tiny little chip in it that handles the flicker.

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=90051.0;attach=128468)

Turns out, with the proper resistor, you can drive these straight from an LEDWIZ.

So there will be some RGB goodness going in but mostly it'll be flickery candle light that illuminates things in this cab.

Once I'd fixed the LED's in place, I had to do something with the sub. It was going underneath the buffet, so it really wouldn't be seen much, if at all. Still, i couldn't just leave it as a big silver/black box, so a little paint, some brass trunk corners, and flowery bits laters.

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=90051.0;attach=128474)

And here it is in its new home.

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=90051.0;attach=128476)

The speakers had a little control panel with a headphone jack, vol knob, and indicator light ,etc. I mounted those in an upholstered panel near the back of the cab, but still accessible. Had to add more brass bits  :)

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=90051.0;attach=128470)

And the final result looks like this. I also upholstered around the lifts so you really don't see any of that hardware any more. I've kind of shifted from a "full out steampunk" theme to a little more subtle "refined Victorian SteamRapscallion" theme.

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=90051.0;attach=128480)

And up close on the speaker itself.

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=90051.0;attach=128478)

I don't have the LED's wired yet, but I have powered them up off the battery. They make the entire glass shades glow and flicker as if candles were in there. It's a really neat effect that turned out better than I could have imagined.

I'm not sure if it comes out in the pics, but the speakers are on flexible goosenecks, which lets them bend over into the cab, so everything folds up nice and tidy still. When it's closed, there's literally no indication of what's inside.

Now, the big issue is figuring out how to mount the mobo, PS and hardrive up underneath there, but not have it all just hanging out.

I'm guessing I'm going to go with a stained a trimmed walnut box with some more brass corners and acorn nuts all around.

But if anyone has any ideas, I'd love to hear them! The wackier the better. I'm open. I was at one point considering putting the sub and PC in a small antique trunk and parking that to the side of the buffer, like an end table. But I decided all-in-one has a better feel to it.
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: drventure on July 30, 2009, 12:51:35 am
Oh, and I forgot the steampunk part. They aren't speakers.

They're "Crystaline Audiometric Projectors"

 ;)
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: Ond on July 30, 2009, 03:20:17 am
Beautiful, love those Crystaline Audiometric projectors  :lol very nice touch with the flicker effect, it would be great to see them working (video hint). You really are having fun with this.  I can imagine the perplexed/enchanted look on ppls faces when you explain it all to someone for the first time i.e. not BYOAC folk who already have been following along. Where ya gonna fit the giant Frankenstien switch?.  It would be cool to have some kind of electrical sizzle sound when it switches on.
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: drventure on July 30, 2009, 09:25:56 am
Yeah, I'll have to get the PC finished up and in place before I can get any video shots of the lights in action. But I'll get some up.

You're right about the looks. Esp when it's all closed up with an old picture frame and a few candle sticks on top. Take em off, lift the top, fold the front doors, and lift and slide out the CP, and the reactions have been great. And that was with no screen, no PC, nothing lit.

I lost my bids on the knife switches (the dang things went for >50$ + shipping!).

So I'm keeping an eye out for more.

Considering I can get a .5 inch copper bar for about 5$ a foot, I might just make one!
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: Bender on July 30, 2009, 01:00:15 pm
looking FANTASTIC! :cheers: :cheers:
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: Kman-Sweden on August 01, 2009, 05:28:02 am
I have to admit that I really hated this build in the beginning. I think that I was converted right about when you started painting the buttons..
Nice work and keep it up.  :applaud:
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: drventure on August 01, 2009, 09:05:52 am
Hey KMan

Thanks! Yeah, it's not exactly a "traditional" build  :)

And I know there are a lot of people out there that don't get into the whole "steampunk" thing, which is cool.

When I started this whole thing, it was going to be something completely different. But the project has kind of morphed and taken on a life of it's own.

Even now, it's changing a lot. Back several months ago, I'd planned on going all out, steampunk wise, with piles of gears, copper pipe and gauges.

But now, I'm thinking I'm going to tone that down some. Make it "steampunk influenced" instead of full on.

But thanks again for the comments!
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: drventure on August 03, 2009, 12:28:38 am
Had to post this.

I don't think I can use them in my cab, but dang these are gorgeous looking buttons

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=90051.0;attach=128845)

Here's the ebay item

http://cgi.ebay.com/3-Gold-Steel-Push-OFF-ON-N-O-Switch-for-Harley-G16BN_W0QQitemZ290263878405QQcmdZViewItemQQptZBI_Connectors_Switches_Wire?hash=item4395134b05 (http://cgi.ebay.com/3-Gold-Steel-Push-OFF-ON-N-O-Switch-for-Harley-G16BN_W0QQitemZ290263878405QQcmdZViewItemQQptZBI_Connectors_Switches_Wire?hash=item4395134b05)

Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: Epyx on August 03, 2009, 01:27:37 am
Looking forward to seeing how this turns out! :cheers:

To me it really has that "Bioshock" vibe, something I would expect to find in one of Rapture's art deco buildings...cool.
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: drventure on August 04, 2009, 10:13:38 pm
At long last. Finally picked up a scroll saw

A Delta 40-530. Not the top of the line, but it was 40$ on CL and came with extra blades.

(http://www.fagimex.fi/tuotteet/kuvat/delta/40-530.jpg)

Very tight, with a spiral blade I picked up, was able to cut amazingly intricate details with a completely smooth finish.

The blade change is a bit of a pain. I'm hoping I'm just not used to doing it.

This thing is HEAVY!
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: jeremymtc on August 04, 2009, 10:18:22 pm
Hey, cool. I have that exact same unit. Need to get some new blades though.
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: Ond on August 04, 2009, 10:29:26 pm
Had to post this.

I don't think I can use them in my cab, but dang these are gorgeous looking buttons

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=90051.0;attach=128845)

At long last. Finally picked up a scroll saw

A Delta 40-530. Not the top of the line, but it was 40$ on CL and came with extra blades.

(http://www.fagimex.fi/tuotteet/kuvat/delta/40-530.jpg)





Those buttons look fantastic!  But I suspect the actual 'push pressure' required is not suitable for arcade games,  I reckon they'd be a bit stiff.  Gives me ideas though.

I've always wanted a scroll saw , I'm jealous  :cry:.... :lol
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: drventure on August 04, 2009, 10:39:36 pm
Yeah, I thought about the push pressure, but you might be able to take the springs out and replace them or cut them down/pre compress them.

And they also would work great for admin buttons as is.

I just wish i'd come across a decent scroll saw back when I started this cab. Oh well. better late than never.
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: Yvan256 on August 05, 2009, 09:38:37 am
Yeah, I thought about the push pressure, but you might be able to take the springs out and replace them or cut them down/pre compress them.

And they also would work great for admin buttons as is.

I just wish i'd come across a decent scroll saw back when I started this cab. Oh well. better late than never.

I bet somunny would have liked to use those buttons for his ARK project! (unless he did and I don't remember - I got distracted by how amazing his cab looks)
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: drventure on August 11, 2009, 11:40:50 pm
I've had a little more progress on the build.

I finally picked up a system to use in this cab. I could have sworn I posted about it, but I don't see it on the thread, so maybe I didn't

Anyway, I went with an AMD dual core athlon x64 5050e with an asus motherboard with built in nvidia 8300 video. So far, it seems completely adequate for what I'll be doing. And it's small, which was a necessity.

First, I grabbed a PDF of an micro ATX mobo, printed it life size for a template and cut up some hardboard to use for the case.

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=90051.0;attach=129451)

A good bit of sawing/drilling/nailing/gluing later and I ended up with this bare box.

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=90051.0;attach=129453)

Even though the case will be hung underneath, there's no way I was gonna leave it looking like this. I still had some stained wood trim from the CP build and some taffeta/batting from the upholstery I've done, so out it came. Throw in a painted grill from one of the speakers I ripped apart, and some left over mother of pearl studs, brass balls, acorn nuts, and gold rope trim and I ended up with this.

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=90051.0;attach=129449)

It's not full on steampunk, but I think it works with the cab quit nicely.

so from the top it looks like this with everything mounted up.

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=90051.0;attach=129447)

I mentioned that I picked up a bunch of those LED flicker lamps, so a couple HAD to go in here. I played with placement and decided the best look was mounted over the fan so you get a weird flicker/strobe effect on the fan (plus the bulbs are angled such that they cast a cool orangy pattern on the floor in the dark.

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=90051.0;attach=129445)

and turned on with lights going (it's a rough pic because I had to leave the shutter open so long...

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=90051.0;attach=129443)

I mounted it up, powered up and discovered that, for all the silencing work I'd done, I hadn't paid attention to the harddrive. Let me tell you, a harddrive screwed to a metal bracket screwed to a wood case screwed to the bottom of a buffet sized sheet of 5/8 inch walnut gets amplified about 100 times. It sounded like a Rush concert going on during boot up.

Needless to say, I had to pull it down, and remount the hd.

I used some squishy silicone HD isolators that came with an Antec case I bought a while back. Excellent case, BTW.

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=90051.0;attach=129441)

With those in place, all is back and quiet.

Final note, I need a nice way to hang this box UNDERNEATH the buffet, yet still let me have fairly ready access to it, for maintence etc.

I didn't want it hinged, cause working on it from underneath would be a pain. and I couldn't find any good hooks/clasps/etc that would fit in the tight space I had.

So I settled on magnets! Yep that's right, this case is hanging from beneath the buffet by 8 rare earth magnets (rated at 8lbs each) plus a lagbolt mounted behind them to intensify and direct the magnetic field. You can see them in the pic of the case, the little silver discs. I drilled countersink holes in the buffet bottom, then JBWelded all the magnets in place.

It takes a pretty good yank to get it apart but it works fantastically.

One thing that I discovered when setting this up.

JB Weld is MAGNETIC. You glob that stuff onto a magnet and it literally gets pulled all the way +around+ the magnet like something out of an XMEN movie! Surprised the hell out of me when I went to mount the first magnet.

Next step, getting that screen mounted.


Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: Ond on August 12, 2009, 07:34:03 am
I could have sworn I posted about it, but I don't see it on the thread, so maybe I didn't



 :lol You did, and I asked you a question about it...well I can see it anyhoo.  Great idea putting some flicker lights in the case, a great looking upholstered PC case at that!  That's an interesting idea with the isolating washers, I think I'll try something similar under the bearing cages I use for my stepper motor to tone down the noise it transmits into the timber a bit.
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: drventure on August 12, 2009, 08:36:03 am
You know, I'm gonna blame it on staying up late, and not on age :)

Yeah, now I see that post. <sigh>

Well, at least I didn't repeat myself too much.

Definitely try those washers out. I'm not sure where you'd get them by themselves though?

I looked on Antec's site and didn't see any.

I did turn up this

http://www.silentpcreview.com/article262-page1.html (http://www.silentpcreview.com/article262-page1.html)

But it's not quite the same thing.
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: javeryh on August 12, 2009, 09:26:30 am
I just read this entire thread - totally sick.  This has to be one of the most original things I've seen around here in a while.   :cheers:
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: severdhed on August 12, 2009, 10:12:42 am
those rare earth magnets are pretty powerful...i'd be a little hesitant to have them near the hard drive of that PC...i've seen a few hard drives become corrupted because someone decided to stick magnets to the side of their PC case....

just be careful


on the other hand...this project is simply amazing....keep up the good work
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: drventure on August 12, 2009, 10:24:35 am
Hey Javeryh

Yeah, I thought about that, but after doing some research, it looks like, generally speaking, you'd have to put the magnet +right up+ against the hd to have much of an effect.

And, it looks like you pretty much can't harm a drive with a magnet while the drive is off, only when it's on, and then, it's not that the magnet will harm the recorded info, but rather that the drive head (which is magnetic metal) can be attracted or repelled from the external magnet and go slamming into the platters.

Given that the heads are usually on the side where the connectors plug in, and in my case, that end of the drive is farthest from the mag in the corner, I don't think I have much to worry about. <fingers crossed!>

I did burn it in for a solid day over the weekend and haven't had any issues, so things are looking good.

But, it I loose this 1TB drive, I'll post back and eat that crow  :)
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: gryhnd on August 12, 2009, 07:47:15 pm
Great project!  I love the Steampunk/Warehouse 13 look. Nice job.
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: drventure on August 12, 2009, 08:00:22 pm
Funny you mention Warehouse 13. I just Tivo'd that and watched part of an episode last night. It was a bit tough to get into. Has it been on long? Does it pick up at all?

I want to like it. The sets are very cool and backstory seems interesting, but, I dunno, just wasn't clicking with me.

Maybe they've got some set stills someplace I can use for ideas...
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: gryhnd on August 12, 2009, 08:54:59 pm
Funny you mention Warehouse 13. I just Tivo'd that and watched part of an episode last night. It was a bit tough to get into. Has it been on long? Does it pick up at all?

Three episodes I believe.

It ain't highbrow, but when I'm shifting gears for bedtime (and so far that's the only place I've seen it), I find it decent entertainment. I like the banter between the two leads...it gives me some good fodder for arguing with my wife  >:D

Do I think it will stand the test of time? No. Popcorn? Yes.
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: drventure on August 12, 2009, 11:08:11 pm
The knife switch I grabbed off ebay finally came today.

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=90051.0;attach=129505)

Not quite sure how I'm going to mount it. The thing is big. 7" handle with a solid slate base and copper prongs.

It's not quite as banged up as the flash photo makes it out to be, still it could use a little cleanup, maybe some polish. Or then again, maybe I'll just leave it as is?

Plus, as I understand it, most power switches for PC's these days like to be momentary. This definitely wouldn't be  :)

Now I just need an old electrical fuse panel and some 6 gauge wire!
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: jwoods on August 13, 2009, 01:52:14 am
I think the Farnsworth and the Tesla will work in this discussion.
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: gryhnd on August 13, 2009, 08:44:52 am
Plus, as I understand it, most power switches for PC's these days like to be momentary. This definitely wouldn't be  :)

I bet a relay and small circuit would take care of that.

...thinks, Googles...

Ya, here....just what you need:

Constant to Momentary Output (http://www.the12volt.com/relays/page5.asp#ctm)
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: drventure on August 13, 2009, 08:53:38 am
@jwoods

Excellent. I love the Farnsworth. The ray gun looks a little cheap but it's still pretty cool. Just needs to be beefier!


@gryhnd
That is GREAT!. But aren't pc power switches usually connected to the ground side? Would you want to send voltage down that line or just a ground connect?
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: gryhnd on August 13, 2009, 09:18:09 am
In a low voltage situation it probably doesn't matter what you run through the switch, but in a typical situation (switchuation?) you usually wire up the (+)...that said...maybe switch the ground with everything being bare. Disclaimer though, I'm not an electrical engineer :)
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: gryhnd on August 13, 2009, 05:12:35 pm
I realized I misinterpreted your question completely.

You're not going to want to send any voltage on the side of the relay that will switch the computer on, that's correct. You just want it to close and complete the circuit for a blip.  So if I read that schematic correctly, you would take one of the two PC wires and put it on the part labeled "12V fused" and the other on the "12V momentary".  I don't see that there's any actual voltage here unless the 12V fused is a true 12V to begin with.

But, as I say, I'm not an EE.  I tend to experiment and occasionally blow things up  :P

Someone with superior knowledge should jump in here.
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: DashRendar on August 13, 2009, 05:48:52 pm
I'm not an EE either, but...

Are you sure you want electric current running through that knife switch?

I mean, the metal's exposed and all.  Not sure I'd want that out where people could get zapped!     :dizzy:

Maybe it would be better just for show, rather than being functional.
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: gryhnd on August 13, 2009, 06:18:54 pm
It'd only be 12V DC and not a whole lot of amps...nothing much to worry about IMO. You might feel a tingle if you held onto the metal and then grounded yourself to something.

i was thinking about that too, though...maybe DrV can come up with a cool looking flip-open case to protect the knife switch yet let it be seen.  Some perforated/cutout brass in suitable steampunk style, or very victorian...or...well...you get the idea.
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: DashRendar on August 14, 2009, 09:54:36 am
It'd only be 12V DC and not a whole lot of amps...nothing much to worry about IMO. You might feel a tingle if you held onto the metal and then grounded yourself to something.

i was thinking about that too, though...maybe DrV can come up with a cool looking flip-open case to protect the knife switch yet let it be seen.  Some perforated/cutout brass in suitable steampunk style, or very victorian...or...well...you get the idea.
Yeah, I was thinking the same thing.  Maybe run shielded wires behind the metal, or bore a path in the metal- it looks thick enough to do that.

Or, it could be done with a push button switch and a spring around the handle perhaps.  When pushing the switch closed, you would push down through the spring, but it would bounce back.
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: Bender on August 14, 2009, 12:57:17 pm
How about something similar to what Dash said, put a little plunger switch in the middle on the bottom there so when you close it it hits the little microswitch, and have NO current at all through the thing

you could hide the look of the switch in some kind of little block or something
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: severdhed on August 14, 2009, 02:23:48 pm
How about something similar to what Dash said, put a little plunger switch in the middle on the bottom there so when you close it it hits the little microswitch, and have NO current at all through the thing

you could hide the look of the switch in some kind of little block or something

if it hit the microswitch when it closed, wouldnt it still be holding the button in, similar to a push on/push off switch?

what about something like this:

(http://www.severdhed.com/images/switch.png)

one wire would attach at the hinge side of the knife switch. the other could attach to small conductive pad mounted on a non conductive post, that is taller than the regular contacts on the switch.. that way when closing the switch, the lever would briefly come into contact with the conductive pad, completing the circuit,  and then move right past it until it is closed position.(which would open the circuit back up)  this would be just enough momentary contact to trigger the PC to turn on or off.   
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: drventure on August 16, 2009, 09:10:33 pm
Wow, I go away for the weekend and you guys are all over this!

Thanks for all the input and ideas.

@Severedhed
Dang, nice drawing! I see what you're getting at but I'm not sure how I'd do it. the base is solid slate that I'm not sure I'd want to drill through or even could drill through without getting a diamond bit. But, I MIGHT be able to put some kind of non-conductive mask IN the contacts that are there so that closing it momentarily swipes the contact, even though the switch appears to be completely closed. It's an interesting idea. I guess it's the partial EE in me that was looking for the circuit solution.

@Bender and Dash
Yeah, i'd considered a switch like that but, there's that whole messing up/with the slate base that I'm not sure I want to do.

@gryhnd and Dash. Yeah, I'd definitely not want to run anything more than 12v through an exposed switch like that. Actually, I'd rather not run even 12v. But I think I've got a circuit together that'll convert a constant switch to a momentary switch with just 5v and few capacitors, resistors, and relays.
I just need a full on EE to verify it for me.

The biggest problem is that when everything is OFF, I'd like for there to be NO VOLTAGE anywhere exposed. So the switch needs to toggle power on for the PC with no voltage available, but then once the PC is on, there will be 12v or 5v obtainable easily from a HD power plug that I can use to power a circuit to toggle the PC power on connector when the knife switch is disengaged.

I'm going to draw up the circuit a little better than the scratchings on a napkin that me and my dad put together this weekend and post here it for some critique  :)

My prob is I have no idea how to calculate the values of any of the caps/resistors/ etc. Did I mention I +really+ didn't care for my EE classes way back when  ;)
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: drventure on August 21, 2009, 11:29:18 am
Well, my initial magnetically attached hanging PC case didn't exactly work as planned.

It held, for almost 2 days. Then one morning I was making coffee and heard a pretty load "crash".

Took a bit of searching till I discovered that the case had "separated" from the buffet and dropped about 1.5feet onto a hardwood floor.

Fortunately, everything was off at the time and there was no damage.

But, that told me my magnets (even with the solid bolt backer rods) just weren't quite enough.

I got online and looked up the string. These particular mags are .5 in dia and .125 in thick, with a pull strength of 5.3lb.

My case,fully loaded is 16lbs.

Since there are 4 mags, I thought 20+lbs of pull would be enough, and it IS, but it doesn't take much more to knock it loose.

So, I picked up a set of these.

(http://www.rare-earth-magnets.com/images/NSN0582.jpg)
http://www.rare-earth-magnets.com/detail-ID-139.html (http://www.rare-earth-magnets.com/detail-ID-139.html)

And a few of these

(http://www.vandykes.com/images/cache/variation/02017048250_229_.jpg)

The magnets are rated at 16lb pull, so 3 times more than what I'm using now.

The hooks are decorative and definitely look good with the red upholstery, but will serve as a backup to the magnets as well.

I still like the magnet technique just because it's so much easier to lift up and get set into place. No manhandling the box while fumbling with hooks at the same time.

It's overkill, but what about this cab hasn't been  :)


BTW, if you want/need to awesome magnets, browse around that site. They have a .5 dia by 1in thick rod magnet with 28lbs of pull force. Yikes. and that's a pretty dang small magnet.
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: drventure on August 22, 2009, 01:07:16 am
I posted a few days ago about finally getting an old Knife switch for use as the power on device.

Thanks again to everyone that threw out ideas on how to implement it.

I'm still formulating a plan, but, I just discovered something tonight that I didn't know, maybe everyone else does, but I thought I'd share.

If your PC motherboard BIOS supports the WAKE ON USB feature, and you've got at least one USB port that receives +5vsb (the 5v standby power), you +should+ be able to set a button on your control panel (shifted or not) to act like the POWER button on many USB keyboards.

Just run the WIN IPAC program, right click on a button and there's the POWER option right there!

I don't think this will work with a continuous ON switch like the knife switch, but that's a heck of an intriguing option

I've got some experimenting to do tomorrow. Also want to try and get WAKE ON LAN over a Wireless USB dongle working. looks like it might be possible too...

Time for bed....
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: drventure on August 23, 2009, 11:29:51 am
I've had the screen I'm going to use for a a few weeks now, just propped it up on a table next to my cab to check everything out.

I had to work up the nerve to go drilling holes in a very nicely finished piece of 1" thick walnut, even if that's the only way I'm going to get this monitor mounted <sigh>

So, A few days ago, i bit the bullet.

First, I marked off the extents of the monitor (even mocked up a cardboard box that's the exact same size to make SURE I had clearance (I did, but only about 1/4 inch all the way around, so much for using a 4" wide fancy gilt victorian frame for it  :)

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=90051.0;attach=130033;image)

Once I was fairly certain I had the right placement, out came the bits. I used brass insert nuts to provide the flushest mount possible.

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=90051.0;attach=130031;image)

I didn't really trust the 2 fairly thin screws that came with the monitor mount bracket. Plus, there were ONLY 2 holes for mounting the bracket. That didn't seem like enough, so I picked up some beefier screws, drilled 2 more holes in the mounting plate and used 4 bolts instead of just 2. With that, i don't think I have to worry about the monitor pulling free (at least, here's hoping!)

The end result? I've done a +very bad thing+  ;)

The cab is now actually playable!

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=90051.0;attach=130029;image)

And, of course, not much more has been done on it in the last few days other that configure sticks, buttons, boot screens, etc.

Still got a lot to do. There's all the LEDs to wire up to my LEDWiz, that backplate (that the monitor is attached to) +really+ needs some trimout (the Nixie tubes, a brass gas lamp, some gears, maybe that chain sprocket assembly....), all the wiring is going in brass or copper pipes, etc, etc.

But, one surprising positive. Multiple mice support in Mame 129 worked AMAZINGLY WELL. I had 2 simultaneous player trackball games working in about 2 minutes. Flawlessly. And the spinner works independently as well!

The Bios on this asus mobo even recognizes them all (2 keyboards, and 5 (yep 5) mice!.

Unfortunately, even though the USB ports remain powered when the PC is off, the mobo doesn't appear to support Wake on USB.  :(

It's got the option to wake on PS2 keyboard or mouse, which works just fine, but my IPac4 and trackball mice are all USB.

Doesn't make any sense why they'd leave power to the USB ports, but NOT support WO_USB. Hopefully, I find out I just have some weird bios setting off, but I haven't found it yet.

Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: Bender on August 23, 2009, 06:17:31 pm
Wow, looks great! Haven't seen the whole thing in a while, you really have made some major progress! :cheers: :cheers:
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: drventure on August 23, 2009, 06:35:23 pm
Thanks bender. It's coming along, albeit lots more slowly now!

Had a bit of a scare just a few minutes ago. My brother came over to check it out and EVERY SINGLE BUTTON suddenly started acting like a CTRL key! WTF!

I rebooted, but no effect.

Then I remembered, this particular mobo appears to leave power to all USB devices even when it's off. Not sure what's up with that because there is no WAKE ON USB that I can find in the bios, so leaving power on doesn't seem to be very "green" for a "green" motherboard. Put an email into ASUS about it, but we'll see if I get an answer.

It's a M3N78-VM in case anyone's seen any issues like this before or has an idea about the USB.

Anyway, cycling the usb devices solved the problem, so I'm guessing my IPAC got snackered somehow and needed a boot.

Still, don't like that at all.
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: drventure on August 23, 2009, 10:12:42 pm
Another handy tidbit I thought I'd share.

I've read a lot of good things about those "SmartPower" strips that have a "master" plug, that, when whatever is plugged into that outlet is turned off, the strip turns off the power to ALL the other outlets. Obviously that's REALLY handy for cab builds.

The one I've see the most is this:

(http://www.smarthomeusa.com/Products/LCG5/images/LCG5.jpg)
http://www.smarthomeusa.com/shopbymanufacturer/bits-ltd./item/lcg5/ (http://www.smarthomeusa.com/shopbymanufacturer/bits-ltd./item/lcg5/)

But I rarely seen those for <35$ or so. That same company makes a single row strip that's cheaper, though. I've seen them online for from 20$ to 30$.

I was in walmart recently and happened to notice this Philips smartstrip, though.

(http://i.walmartimages.com/i/p/00/60/95/85/14/0060958514229_215X215.jpg)
http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=6528241 (http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=6528241)

The list is 25$, but I got mine for 20$ and it was right there in wally world. No shipping or waiting.

At any rate, this things works a treat. I was really wondering how it'd work with a computer that NEEDS to have power fed to it while off (for the Wake on lan, wake on kdb, etc to work). No problems. And it's pretty small, too. Works perfectly. Power the PC off, everything else shuts down. Power up the PC (no matter how) and everything else comes back on.

The surge suppression element might not be all that good (the one online says it's rated at 1080 joules, mine says 1440, but neither is as much as the bigger smartstrip at 2250, though it's about inline with the smaller version).

Still, it might be worth checking out if you need something like this. I actually put a whole house suppressor in a while back, so I'm a tad less worried about that part.
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: Bender on August 24, 2009, 12:30:48 am

Had a bit of a scare just a few minutes ago. My brother came over to check it out and EVERY SINGLE BUTTON suddenly started acting like a CTRL key! WTF!

I rebooted, but no effect.

Then I remembered, this particular mobo appears to leave power to all USB devices even when it's off. Not sure what's up with that because there is no WAKE ON USB that I can find in the bios, so leaving power on doesn't seem to be very "green" for a "green" motherboard. Put an email into ASUS about it, but we'll see if I get an answer.

It's a M3N78-VM in case anyone's seen any issues like this before or has an idea about the USB.

Anyway, cycling the usb devices solved the problem, so I'm guessing my IPAC got snackered somehow and needed a boot.

Still, don't like that at all.

might it have something to do with it dropping on the floor?
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: drventure on August 24, 2009, 12:38:22 am
 ;D

Touche!

I don't think so. That was a week or so ago. Plus, I dropped the PC case part, not the CP, which is where the IPAC lives.

So far, I've been really happy with the way the PC case turned out, and with the AMD/ASUS mobo combo. And supposedly, it's quite overclockable, though for right now, it plays everything I've thrown at it except Alpine Racer.

I think my last foray into overclocking was with 486s, so it's been awhile :)
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: gryhnd on August 24, 2009, 04:41:48 pm
But I rarely seen those for <35$ or so. That same company makes a single row strip that's cheaper, though. I've seen them online for from 20$ to 30$.

Good find!

I picked up my latest Smartstrip SCG5 for the island build via Buy's store on eBay for $27 incl tax, free delivery at the time. Looks like they are charging $6 for delivery now though :(
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: drventure on August 26, 2009, 12:23:08 am
No pics just cause it's late and I don't have everything hooked up yet.

Buttt.....

Finally got around to wiring up a few LEDs to my LEDWiz and installing LEDBlinky.

Holy cow. Frickin' cool!

Those speaker cones glow with any color imaginable. And all those blinky "fake tealight candle" led's work perfectly.

I'm planning on changing out the LED's that illuminate the two trackballs to ones hooked up to the wiz so I can at least fade and blink them (eventually, I suppose it'd be cool to get milk white trackballs so I could make them glow any color with a couple RGB's.

Anyway, jeez, this'll keep me busy for weeks....
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: drventure on August 27, 2009, 02:38:40 pm
I have a problem I thought I'd throw out and see if anyone's got any better ideas for a solution than myself.

I have a logitech flightstick mounted in my CP (yeah, I know, it's a frankenpanel, but it is what it is....)

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=90051.0;attach=130324)

Anyway, see that gaping ugly hole it sticks through?

I've been trying to come up with some idea for a boot to cover that up.

My first thought was a pretty standard dust washer, but it'd have to be big, so big that it'd bump up against those buttons.

I can't really use the rubber boot that came with the stick because it's not big enough to cover the entire hole.

I was thinking possibly of using the red fabric I used elsewhere on the cab and fashioning my own boot. That's actually the leading idea at this point. It's gotta be a relatively thin material because if it's very thick, it'll cut down on the stick travel

Anyone have any other suggestions?
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: severdhed on August 27, 2009, 03:26:37 pm
i'm thinking that a thin fabric boot is probably your best option...how exactly to implement that...i'm not sure
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: Epyx on August 27, 2009, 03:45:23 pm
how much clearance do you have at the underside of the circle between the circle and the controller base?

You could leave it a hole and spray the inside wall of the hole black and then fasten a smaller ABS disc (sprayed gold to match the buttons) from underneath since you would require less movement closer to the base of the shaft the diameter would be smaller so looking into the shaft you would see black wall and golden disc below that.

Like this:

(http://i210.photobucket.com/albums/bb312/epyx_photo/ABScircleplug.jpg)

Then you could even have a 2nd golden disc that was part of the controller below the 2nd so you would only just see the golden yellow (where you currently see the inner black circle...it would sit just under the permanent disc.
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: drventure on August 27, 2009, 04:11:59 pm
Hmm, now something like that just might work. I could even use a nice etched brass plate down there...

Hmm, I like that. Looks like I have some fabrication to do this weekend  :)
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: Aceldamor on August 28, 2009, 03:32:20 pm
Wow.....if this doesn't win a MAMEY I will be astonished....I love this machine. Steampunk is my favorite genre and you did an amazing job at it here.

If I might make just one suggestion?  you have got to find a way to hide the monitor bezel, that is the only thing that takes away from the aesthetic.

Something like this (http://steampunkworkshop.com/lcd.shtml) would be killer on that cab (minus the base of course)



Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: drventure on August 28, 2009, 03:42:36 pm
Hehe. I've had datamancer's page bookmarked for ages  :)

That monitor definitely isn't staying that way. Actually that whole area to either side of the monitor will be steampunked in some mannerr or another. Just haven't figured out exactly what/how yet.

But I've got 12 fake nixies that are +dieing+ to come to life, plus a great big ol' frankenstein knife switch for power.

it'll get there...


Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: DashRendar on August 28, 2009, 05:09:00 pm
Yep, I'm loving this project.  Maybe it's the whole thing about it transforming into something that the GF would approve of, while still having the gaming functionality there.   :laugh2:

Nah, it's just the creativity that can (and is) going into this project.  It's just unique as hell and you're really doing a great job with it.

Although I'd still like to see a spark regulator on there somewhere!

More ideas here:  http://www.oobject.com/category/diy-frankenstein-lab-items
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: drventure on August 28, 2009, 05:25:50 pm
I got some pointers to some local swap meets from a guy last week, so I'll definitely be checking them out.

That spark regulator is on my "short list" of inspirational pics!
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: drventure on August 30, 2009, 10:54:54 pm
Well, no pics this time, but a handy little trick, in case anyone else runs into this.

I've put everything in my cab on one of thosesmart strips (mentioned it a few posted back) andit works +great+.

BUT, I noticed that when I powered the PC down, my CP didn't power off. (at least, I had 2 USB lights that I was using to light the trackballs and they stayed lit).

Sure enough, when I opened it up, all the hubs I'm using (they're those hubs with the ridiculous blinking leds all over inside them), were ALL lit up and flashing!

Ack! and this is with a supposedly "green" motherboard.

The thing is I'm SURE that this is meant for that "Wake on USB" feature where if you have a USB keyboard or mouse, doing something with it will power up the PC.

But here's the rub. This MOBO doesn't support Wake on USB!

So the leave the power on, but don't actually support anything that would make use of it (other than maybe a phone charger or something, sheesh!)

Anyway. I played around with splicing a relay into the 5v line on the USB, or possibly replacing that 5v line with one from a harddrive power plug. But those all seems like dicey solutions (I read online in a number of places that delivering, or dropping, power to usb devices can be tricky to perform at the hardware level like this and still have everything work right.

Then i remember I had an old PCI USB/Firewire card from an old server that didn't have USB ports (it's since gotten a new mobo, so that card went in my scrap pile).

Cut up the case a little to accommodate it. Slapped it in, and plugged it up. Viola! When I shut the PC down, anything attached to THAT CARD does indeed completely shut down!

Since my keyboard is PS2, and this ASUS mobo DOES support wake on PS2, I can still power things up just by pressing any key on the keyboard (unfortunately, buttons on the CP don't work, because they all go through an IPAC which is connected to usb). Minor point, cause that's not the way I'll eventually power up anyway.

Moral of the story: A little 10$ cheapy USB card can fix mobo's with USB ports that won't shut off.
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: severdhed on August 30, 2009, 10:59:58 pm
very cool.. a nice easy and cheap solution.  i ended up powering my trackball and buttons lights directly from the 5v on the power supply, instead of drawing it from the USB...that way it turns off when the pc shuts down. 

it is good to know there are several solutions to this problem.
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: Vebbo on August 31, 2009, 04:54:17 am
Hopla, this is really an original project  ;D , fun to read about your progress and solutions also. Keep up the good work  :cheers:
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: drventure on August 31, 2009, 08:12:31 am
@severedhed

Yeah, I considered that, but I had so many hubs that that wouldn't have helped really.
However, I realize now it was a mistake not to wire up at least 2 buttons as "mouse buttons" attached to one of the trackballs. LOTS of cab management can be accomplished with just a mouse and it's buttons. I've got a little rewiring to do there  :(
Oh well. live and learn.

@vebbomania
Thanks!


Here’s a quick pic I cobbled together in Sketchup (I +suck+ at Sketchup, btw)

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=90051.0;attach=130701)

I'm trying to work out the details of what will be going on the top panel (to iether side of the monitor).

I kind of like the oculus effect going on here, though I'm not exactly sure how I'll get walnut to play along with my ideas  :). Those subtle curves would be interesting to work out. I guess I'll need a steam bender now.... Hehe, steam.....bender.... Hey Bender, got any cousins?

I found the Dell widescreen model online, just replaced the girly pic that was on it with my Mala background, so nope, that wasn't my doing...
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: Bender on August 31, 2009, 12:49:06 pm
you Just need a length of PCV pipe that the wood will fit in but a little hole in the bottom and hook it up to kettle(with some rubber house) and your all set
oh, a form to mount it to till it dries is good too
A friend, not a cousin :laugh:, of mine made a canoe and a toboggan that way, he spent less than $10 to make the steam Bender
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: drventure on August 31, 2009, 12:56:04 pm
I like it! Definitely a cheap way to go. Since the pieces might have to be 4 inches wide, I'd potentially need a fairly big piece of PVC, but it wouldn't have to be long.

Thanks!
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: gryhnd on August 31, 2009, 02:55:51 pm
very cool.. a nice easy and cheap solution.  i ended up powering my trackball and buttons lights directly from the 5v on the power supply, instead of drawing it from the USB...that way it turns off when the pc shuts down. 

I'm always hesitant to put unneeded loads on the PC power supply, and to allow another route for shorting if something goes whonky.

My first build I used an old AT PS to power all the gizmos. In my latest build I used one of the many orphan wall warts I had laying around, a number of which were 5V (LEDs) and 12V (fans). Either way, when they are plugged into a Smartstrip type of affair they all go off when the PC shuts down, of course.
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: drventure on August 31, 2009, 03:06:41 pm
Good point

Right now, the LED's in the cab (there aren't many) are all powered via the LEDWiz USB 5v.

BUT, once I get to the point of hooking up my fake nixie's (if I get there, space being the real question), since there will be some additional circuitry involved to switch the 90v AC generated by the ELWire transformer, I was planning on using the LEDWiz bank voltage select and supplying the 5vdc from a wall wart.

The good news is, with a little help from digitaldj and my dad, I've got a nice little cheap solid state relay circuit to do just that, no inductive relays required!
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: drventure on August 31, 2009, 10:26:30 pm
Well, a little success and a little fail  :(

First the success.

With a little help, I found some schematics for simple circuits to

1) convert a constant contact switch to momemtary.
2) silently switch AC voltage via standard 5vdc (Like say, from an LED Wiz)

First, the constant to momentary switch.

I got the circuit from here
http://www.simprojects.nl/toggle_to_momentary.htm (http://www.simprojects.nl/toggle_to_momentary.htm)

Here's what it looks like
(http://www.simprojects.nl/images/Image12.gif)

Change the 12v supply to 5v, and change the 12v relay to a little 5vdc relay you can get at radio shack
http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2062480 (http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2062480)

Keep the 330mfd capacitor and bam. There you go.

I prototyped this up and it works the treat. Slam the great big ol' frankenstein switch ON and you get a click on the PC power switch.

Pull it back, and you get another click to power off.

This click is really quick with a 330mfd cap, supposedly, you can increase it to 400-470mfd for a longer click, but I didn't get a bigger cap in my "assorted caps" grab bag, so I'll have to go back to the store tomorrow.


For the AC switching circuit, I found this at, of all sites, a Christmas tree light fan site!
http://computerchristmas.com/christmas/link-how_to/HowToId-7/How_to_build_a_triac_switching_unit_SSR (http://computerchristmas.com/christmas/link-how_to/HowToId-7/How_to_build_a_triac_switching_unit_SSR)

Here's the circuit
(http://computerchristmas.com/tmp/myimages/7-Schematic.jpg)

I couldn't find these exact parts but Fry's did have an NTE5603 (triac) and NTE3409 (optoisolator).

Now, I'm no Electrical engineer and if I was ACTUALLY switching household AC, I wouldn't be playing with any of this. But the output from the ELWire transformer, while high enough voltage to make you sit up and take notice  ;) isn't enough current to actually do any real damage, so it's pretty safe to experiment with.

At any rate, buying the components from Fry's isn't cheap. I could get compatible components at digikey for pennies a unit, so I'll be ordering the rest from there (i've got 12 to wire up).

But, they work!

I could really see some cool stuff happening using ELWire with an LED Wiz to control multiple segments. How about lit tmolding, or inlaying the wire underneath your cabinet side art so that the art is outlined in glow when the lights are off?


And now the fail

Remember all that great gold "leaf" stampwork that really made the cp pop?
Well, turns out, that ink doesn't quite hold up as well as I thought it would to sweaty gamer hands

This is what has happened after only a few days of my 5 year old playing

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=90051.0;attach=130749)

that's not a shadow, it's worn down, not completely, but very significantly.

Doh....

Well, it's all one big experiment.

I did do a little test with some matte spray acrylic and it SEEMS to hold up pretty well and protect the design, plus it doesn't make the formica look weird. But it DOES make it like slightly blacker, so if I spray, I gotta do the whole CP.

Gack. Haven't decided what I'm going to do about this yet...

Ok, some additional counteracting good news. Those painted buttons I fretted over? Still look perfect. No issues whatsoever and we've been pounding them pretty good. I'll just have to wait and see how they hold up long term.
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: Ond on August 31, 2009, 10:40:30 pm

I could really see some cool stuff happening using ELWire with an LED Wiz to control multiple segments. How about lit tmolding, or inlaying the wire underneath your cabinet side art so that the art is outlined in glow when the lights are off?


Heh heh, guess whose been thinking exactly that with my 'Mark II CP" design.  And for the really good bit the EL supplier here not only has wire but flat panels that can be cut to any shape - boggles the mind just thinking of the possibilities yeah?  Sorry to hear about the gold art coming off, it's gonna have to be coated with something.
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: drventure on September 01, 2009, 08:01:35 am
Right, I forgot about those sheets, but yes, they could definitely be used for some good effect too.

And the el stuff is relatively straightforward to work with (if not a big pain in the a$% because of the tiny little wires involved)
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: drventure on September 02, 2009, 11:46:17 am
Another concept I thought I'd throw out here and see if anyone has any input.

I've got an old Sidewinder ForceFeedback Wheel (the OLD OLD kind, game port and not USB).

The wheel is great, and as far as I know still works fine, but... trying to use a Gameport ANYTHING under XP or vista is a bit like trying to mow the lawn with boiled spaghetti.

Anyway, I've put it up on CL and ebay a couple times with no takers, so.... I was thinking, why not hack it, take the motor out and use that to drive my rotating screen? Or something else?

Or is there someone here that would actually +want+ a gameport ff wheel?

Or alternately is there a way to actually use one of these under XP or vista?

Any thoughts?
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: martoon x on September 06, 2009, 03:02:34 am
Yes, those a sewing machine lifts. I'd originally wanted to automate the whole folding process, but pricing linear actuators kind of forced me to reconsider that.
I was actually thinking the same exact thing for my cab. But then I found these http://www.firgelliauto.com/product_info.php?cPath=110&products_id=134 (http://www.firgelliauto.com/product_info.php?cPath=110&products_id=134) but I don't think I could get away with just using one. You definitely could though.
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: drventure on September 06, 2009, 11:12:14 am
Hey Martoon

Thanks for the link, but I think someone had already suggested Firgelli. I've got em bookmarked anyway. Yeah, those would probably have worked quite nice. Actually, I may still do something like that, just replace the gas strut in the sewingmachine lifts with linear actuators. But then again, probably not for this cab. As it is, I'm pretty tight on space, and to have the lifts be automated but not the lid or the doors just seems like "going halfway".

But If I can find a bigger antique the next time.....  ;)
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: Franco B on September 07, 2009, 08:27:51 am
How the --Papa Smurf-- have I missed this thread??  :dizzy:

I frigging love it, Love It, LOVE IT!  :)

Awesome work dude, love the theme.

If I can help out in anyway just give me a shout  :cheers:
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: drventure on September 13, 2009, 10:21:36 pm
A little side project I started on with this build

I'd posted elsewhere about playing an MP3 file +WHILE+ windows boots.

http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?topic=96222.0 (http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?topic=96222.0)

It takes about 50 seconds for my cab to boot up, so I thought it'd be nice to have something happening other than some more or less static screens popping up.

So, why not play an mp3?

Of course, the computer proper can't play it, because it's booting. So, I pulled an old MP3 player out of the junk heap to have a go at wiring it up.

So far so good on the test bench. Next step is the crack the shell.
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: drventure on September 13, 2009, 10:27:48 pm
Doh.

Just stumbled upon this

http://www.globalsources.com/gsol/I/Sound-module/p/sm/1004747135.htm (http://www.globalsources.com/gsol/I/Sound-module/p/sm/1004747135.htm)

Which led to googling "Recording sound module"

Hell, there are piles of devices out there that'll do this sort of thing. Maybe no full on MP3 players with lineout, but pretty dang close.

Just in case anyone's interested....
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: Bender on September 14, 2009, 10:30:25 am
this is a great idea! :cheers:
why didn't I think of that
I'd love a sound file to play when the Brenderama unfolds (and then while it's booting up)
can't wait to see what you come up with

Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: drventure on September 14, 2009, 02:08:04 pm
Hey Bender

Yes, pretty cool. I could easily see something like that in the Benderama

Here's another link to a module that's a tad more $$ (about 40$) but has Line Out already there.

http://www.quasarelectronics.com/3189-120-second-message-recorder-isd17120.htm (http://www.quasarelectronics.com/3189-120-second-message-recorder-isd17120.htm)

In your case, closing up, you can handle via the internal PC itself (cause it'll already be on when you close things up, right?)

So you'd only need module for the "Open Up" sound.

I'm still leaning to the "use any old MP3 player you can find for cheap" idea, cause there are piles of old ones with 16mb or 32mb that would be perfect for something like this.
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: severdhed on September 14, 2009, 07:09:59 pm
this is a great idea! :cheers:
why didn't I think of that
I'd love a sound file to play when the Brenderama unfolds (and then while it's booting up)
can't wait to see what you come up with



that would be awesome...and you need to use this sound... (http://www.entertonement.com/clips/scpztrblvk--Transformers-Transforming-to-RobotTransformers-)



Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: drventure on September 14, 2009, 08:41:52 pm
That sound is great. Needs to be longer, but it could be remixed....

Ok bender, the glove has been thrown  ;)
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: Bender on September 15, 2009, 12:34:25 am
I'm waiting for you to solve this one....              then I'll steal it >:D
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: drventure on September 18, 2009, 01:01:34 pm
A little more progress
I posted about the wearing that was happening with the gold stamping several weeks ago.
You can see it here.
(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=90051.0;attach=131902)

Finally took the time to pull the sticks and mask everything off.
(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=90051.0;attach=131908)

Even decided to give my spinner knob a little aged brass treatment
(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=90051.0;attach=131906)

The spray didn't go on 100% even, but, after looking at it a bit and getting the masking off and controls back on, my wife and I both agreed that, at least for this particular cab, if it'd been a "perfect" finish, it wouldn't have looked right. As it is, it's just flawed enough to look like it's been around since about 1850, just well taken care of

At least, that's what I'm telling myself  :)

I've also got an idea as to how I'm going to run the monitor power and Video cables. Right now, they're just draped about, but I found this nifty bell shaped pipe mounts and Lowes.

After a few hours in an ammonia vapor bath, they end up looking nicely patina'd with a brown cast and just the right amount of greenish-blue.

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=90051.0;attach=131904)

Should be interesting!


Also, I just saw the thread about Ultimarc's new Gun module! Oh yeah!

I'll be picking up a couple here soon and doing a couple more steampunk nerf guns, this time with these modules.

Here's a couple guns I did about a year ago, just to see what kind of success I'd have. I think they turned out pretty good, though, for an actual cab gun, I certainly wouldn't want to put all the embellishments on them  ;)

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=90051.0;attach=131890)


And finally, you can see in that last picture the "stick boot" I've put together for my flight stick. It turned out quite nice, but, I really need a brass bezel to go around the lip. Leaving it bare doesn't look good, but the bezel can't be too thick or it'll impede the stick movement (even more than it already is <sigh>)

I cut a bezel out of thin .005 brass sheet, but, whew! that's just too thin. It's way to dentable and I can't get it to lay flat.

So I'm not sure what I'm going to do about that yet.
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: Epyx on September 18, 2009, 01:18:12 pm
What I love about the No 18 Arqadium project is picturing how comfortable it would be to just sit around it and game.  Does it have that cocktail cabinet ease of sitting around it that I am picturing or do you need to stand?
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: Benevolance on September 18, 2009, 01:56:33 pm
I totally agree with Epyx. I could just see rolling up to the arcade in a nice, leather chair and playing for hours.
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: Epyx on September 18, 2009, 02:00:12 pm
Quote
I totally agree with Epyx. I could just see rolling up to the arcade in a nice, leather chair and playing for hours.

And on Halloween this would have to be done in Victorian garb...complete with monacles and pipe... ;)
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: Benevolance on September 18, 2009, 03:32:14 pm
And you can doff the top hat, roll up those shirt sleeves when Ms. Pac Man starts to get intense.
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: drventure on September 23, 2009, 10:48:38 pm
Well, no pics just yet, but suffice it to say, I'm cryin'

 :cry:

Take it from me, DO NOT try to seal formica with clear enamel spray.

I knew it was a tad risky, and, well, for about a week, it looks fantastic.

But then, everywhere where sweaty hands touched it, the enamel has discolored, turning a chalky whitish gray.

I thought at first it could just be wiped off, but no go.

And it's steadily getting worse.

I even tested it on a spare sample and let it sit for a week. That test piece still looks great  :angry:

Oh well. It plays and I've still got the bottom panels and monitor to frame out and finish up.

In the meantime, maybe I'll figure out some way to salvage the cp...
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: Ond on September 23, 2009, 11:49:03 pm
No way! :o that's a damn shame  :( .  I'm thinking about how to rescue it.  Maybe try to remove the clear enamel and go back to the formica surface, I would try acetone (the stuff in nail polish remover) it should dissolve the enamel without wrecking the formica surface, you could try it out on the sample first and even leave it for a while after it's clean to be sure.  It will probabaly take off the gold work with the enamel though.   Paint thinner is also an option but I would try Acetone first and only on the sample to start with.  I've had to go through the pain of stripping back and starting again it's infuriating and frustrating to say the least, I did something else for a bit until I was ready to tackle it again.  You've come way to far to let this ruffle you for long though.

Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: drventure on September 24, 2009, 12:09:02 am
Hey Ond

Yeah, I'm going to concentrate on some of the other finishing touches, and getting all the LED and ELWire elements operational (LED Blinky is some kinda fun!)

Maybe it'll all just flake off on it's own  ::)

I suspect if push comes to shove, I could use paint thinner or similar, but that'd almost certainly wreck all the stamping, and getting that right the first time was a chore. I guess it'd likely to be much easier the second time around though.

I've also thought about possibly having a vinyl overlay printed, but getting all the holes lined up now would be a whole world of pain.

And I know all about stripping. After I'd re-veneered the cabinet doors, I stained them, and got the color too red (even though I'd tested it too, sigh). So I had to grind them both back down to below the stain. No big deal except I sanded +through+ the veneer in one small spot before I realized I'd done it.

Fortunately, a horse hair brush and a little ebony stain, and I emulated (hehe) the maple grain good enough that you can't even tell now. Still, that was a little disheartening too.

So, I'll do something else for a few weeks and see where it goes.

BTW, have you seen this guys PC case mod?

http://www.flickr.com/photos/steampunkfrankenstein/ (http://www.flickr.com/photos/steampunkfrankenstein/)

(http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3640/3390811186_40dd71b606.jpg)

The thing's almost 8 FEET tall!

Unbelievable detail, and he says he got virtually everything off ebay.

It's a tad TOO "steampunky" for what I'm doing but wow. Lots of ideas for small elements I hope to incorporate.

Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: Ond on September 24, 2009, 12:28:35 am
I'm looking forward to playing with LED Blinky myself.  Step back from it as you say and give youself time to think it through.  That case (case ???) is nuts.  One thing though it's loaded with fodder for design for your animation I'm doing, valves, brass nuts, tubes etc, I'll go check it out more.  Hmmm I might have to find some parts in the anime to do in timber too.  :afro:
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: Epyx on September 24, 2009, 12:30:53 am
Lol looks like a server rack case mod ;)

The detail is amazing though.
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: drventure on September 29, 2009, 11:18:50 am
Just came across some cool stuff. Might not be terribly applicable to many cabs, but in cases where you want to tidy up cabling and you can't slide a sleeve around the cable (like with a DVI cable or anything with large end plugs on it), I found this stuff.

It looks like braided expandable sleeving but it's actually split, so it'll slip onto cabling from the side.

Nice looking, not too many colors, I was really hoping for some brass or gold look, but , no joy.

(http://www.computercablestore.com/images/products/TechFlex%20Corporation/fwn-sm.jpg)

http://www.computercablestore.com/12_FlexoWrap_100FT_Beige_PID17868.aspx (http://www.computercablestore.com/12_FlexoWrap_100FT_Beige_PID17868.aspx)

Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: Epyx on September 29, 2009, 12:14:02 pm
Yes they also have them in UV:

http://www.ncix.com/products/index.php?sku=34503&vpn=SKIT2-UVG&manufacture=Mod/Smart

So you could use a blacklight and light them up ;)
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: drventure on September 29, 2009, 12:27:27 pm
I looked at some of that kind of sleeving a while back, but it didn't look like it would expand out enough to go over a DVI plug (the Flexowrap is actually split, so it doesn't have to go over the end plugs on the cable).

I'd bought some gold mylar sleeving thinking the same thing (it's 1/2" unexpanded, biggest I could find), but it just barely won't fit over a DVI plug  :(

Sucks too, because that stuff looks great.
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: Billy_Goatfeet on September 30, 2009, 03:22:17 pm


  I like the way your cp looks with the pattern being a little worn off and faded, it would be better if you had a bit more of it going on in random places.  Makes it look more weathered, like a true antique.  Worn in.  Problem being of course that if it all eventually comes off of course....

Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: drventure on September 30, 2009, 03:45:27 pm
Hey BillyGoatfeet

Thanks! Yeah it's supposed to look a little "worn around the edges", but not too much so.

I'm trying for a "Built in an alternative 1850's" looks when the 1850's was about 10 years back, so I'm shooting for worn, but not completely worn out, rusted up and beat to hell.

And decently maintained. That's why I'm actually polishing most of the brass and copper to some degree (though it won't be "fresh off the showroom floor" shining.

I'm with you on the CP. I had thought about putting a little more design work on it, and had actually played with it a bit, but it just ended up seeming "too much" so I wiped all that back off.

Hopefully, all this clear enamel will end up just chipping off. It's going that way so far anyways.
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: Billy_Goatfeet on October 02, 2009, 10:09:02 am


  Yep, I agree, clean design is nice.  The enamel wearing off would be cool too!  Awesome project dude!!



Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: drventure on October 04, 2009, 09:39:49 pm
Yikes....

I finally got a chance to setup Future Pinball on the buffet tonight and, well, it's not looking good.

Mame runs perfectly fine with the onboard video (essentially nVidia GForce 8200 with 512mg ram), but FP just chokes.

Full detail runs at 10fps (yes, 10  :'( )

That sucks.

And minimal detail mode only runs at 16fps. I'd always heard MAME doesn't take advantage of the graphics card power, but I'm guessing FP takes as much advantage of it as possible  :-\

Guess I'm going to have to pick up a higher end video card card now. Grrr. Well, I suppose it was inevitable anyway, if I was going to hook up the external Touchscreen for a jukebox eventually.

And yuck. I forgot just how much of a pain it is to setup a table in ArcadeRender mode for FP. And you gotta do EACH TABLE! Ack!

And, seriously, Scroll lock, plus 8-4-6-2, plus DEL to speed up the movement!?!?!

Mr. Leathley definitely knows his 3-D, but that UI? Ugh.

Oh, well, enough bitchin'.

Back to scraping all this clearcoat off the CP now....

Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: drventure on October 06, 2009, 11:12:21 am
Got a few new pics to share

Way back when, Dash Rendar suggested a Spark Adjuster as something that might look interesting.

(http://thewildhunt.org/images/stories/spark.jpg)

Well, I found the balls for it  ;) . Here's a shot with one half of one ball still not polished (They were pretty bad off, originally were drawer pulls from a huge armoire)

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=90051.0;attach=133291)

Get a few more brass bits, and maybe some carbon fiber tubing or something similar, and I'll have my own spark adjuster. Not sure I I can actually make em spark though  :)

Since I hooked up the polishing wheel to my drillpress, I've been able to polish a lot more stuff, a lot quicker. So I started working in earnest on the gas lamp that'll go on.

I picked up a box load of old (I mean OLD) gas lamp parts off ebay from some guy in NY. They were totally crusted, burnt, tarnished, etc.

I disassembled them, started polishing the parts up and then drilled out the gas lines so I can run power cord to a little 10watt flicker bulb I'll mount in it.

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=90051.0;attach=133293)

What's funny is that all the threads on the gas lamp mate perfectly with modern mounting flanges and light sockets I'll use to convert it. No rethreading necessary (at least not yet).

And finally, the sad part. I debated even posting this pic, cause I'm afraid it's going to end up on crap mame, but, I'll post anyway in hopes that it serves as a warning for any future cab builders that get the bright idea to spray clean enamel on formica to protect it.

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=90051.0;attach=133295)

Yeah, it's bad, though the flash makes it look even worse.

See the finger prints? Everywhere where me or my daughter touched the surface has hazed to this chalky white. And what's worse, those spots didn't just discolor. The clear has actually separated from the surface so in those spots, it'll just flake right off.

You can see where I've started scraping it off. Of course doing that shoots flakes of clear coat everywhere, and even with a vacuum running, it's HIGHLY staticy, so it sticks to everything and won't vacuum up.

In short, a big friggin mess, but, so far, one that I think I can correct without completely redoing the CP.

Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: Epyx on October 06, 2009, 11:22:02 am
Do you have the parts laying around to do another CP?  IE spare formica offcuts and MDF? It shouldn't take you too long to redo it. Im thinking the re-stamping would be the hardest?

Or maybe this time do the stamping over paint then enamel. Another option...paint, stamp and then very think plexi.  

Then again...it does have a certain "dusty" charm to it hehe...almost like you pulled it out of an attic rather than off the assembly line! ;)

Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: drventure on October 06, 2009, 01:02:51 pm
Ok, one more quick post. I've been playing around with this whole idea of using an old MP3 player to play some kind of audio track WHILE the cabinet boots up. Totally frivolous, I realize, but then, isn't it all  :)

Anyway, here's the MP3 version of the boot track as it is right now. Remember, the whole thing turns on using a great big chunking knife switch, hence the sounds at the start.

It trails on a little long (about 60 seconds right now) but that’s so that I can fine tune the final length to match exactly how long it takes to get into the actual front end from a cold boot. The time actually will be around 45 secs or so.

At that point, mala would take over and theoretically play the startup video.

In reality, I'll probably need to adjust this boottrack to mesh into whatever the start up vid ends up being.
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: drventure on October 06, 2009, 10:03:05 pm
@Epyx
Yeah, my wife actually had the same comment "It's +supposed+ to look old and beat up right?" , but this is not quite the look I was going for.

I don't think I'll have to rebuild anything. Worst case, I have to use thinner on the formica and it takes up all the stamping, and I have to redo ALL of it (that's pretty likely anyway, but I'm hoping maybe not).


Here's something new. (I posted parts of this in the main forum as well, for everyone else's benefit. Hope that's ok)

Has anyone played with the Mimo 720S Touchscreen

(http://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0026/7132/products/mimo720-S_medium.png?1254495165)

http://www.mimomonitors.com/products/mimo-720-S (http://www.mimomonitors.com/products/mimo-720-S)

It's USB powered (right, a single USB cable over to it), small 7" or so, and is a touchscreen. Works like a regular monitor

Here's a shot from Scott Hanselman's blog about it, extends the desktop just like a regular monitor

(http://www.hanselman.com/blog/content/binary/WindowsLiveWriter/ReviewMimoMonitorsiMoPivot_E557/image_9.png)

The non touchscreen version is 130$, the touchscreen is 220$ so it's not a steal, but that's pretty slick for an all in one solution

This would be completely PERFECT for the victorian framed touchscreen I was planning on putting on top of the buffet when it's all closed down (to allow control of the jukebox when everything's all closed up)

Not sure when I'll get around to picking one up but if anyone does, please let me know your impressions.
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: Benevolance on October 08, 2009, 01:25:52 pm
Ah, hells yeah.

I'm currently turning an old 1930s standing radio (it was gutted when I bought it - I didn't kill it, honest!) into a hidden media centre/mame machine. I've been stymied by what to do with the monitor. Right now I'm running an HDMI cable to our projector, but that's not wholly convenient. Having the monitor in a picture frame on top would be a good option. $220 is a little steep for a touch screen, but I can probably make do with a non-touch option.
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: drventure on October 08, 2009, 01:47:23 pm
Cool. Sounds like a great project. Have you got a thread with any pics yet? I'd love to check it out.
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: Benevolance on October 08, 2009, 04:00:02 pm
Actually, it didn't occur to me to start one, since it wasn't directly Mame related. But maybe I should? :P
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: drventure on October 08, 2009, 04:13:36 pm
Well, I'd be interested in it. And some of the techniques you use would be applicable to a mame cab, I'd guess.
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: Encryptor on October 08, 2009, 06:23:29 pm
Ah, hells yeah.

I'm currently turning an old 1930s standing radio (it was gutted when I bought it - I didn't kill it, honest!) into a hidden media centre/mame machine. I've been stymied by what to do with the monitor. Right now I'm running an HDMI cable to our projector, but that's not wholly convenient. Having the monitor in a picture frame on top would be a good option. $220 is a little steep for a touch screen, but I can probably make do with a non-touch option.

I'm doing something very similar. My brother bought one like this for parts and gave me the empty cabinet. It's in pretty rough shape right now but hopefully I'll be able to restore the finish on the cabinet.

Encryptor
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: drventure on October 08, 2009, 06:55:11 pm
That could be an fantastic cabinet/jukebox/something.

I love that style of radio/furniture.
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: Benevolance on October 08, 2009, 08:11:39 pm
That is very similar to the one I am using!

(http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3477/3195315745_2be2f0cf6a.jpg)

I plan to add some discrete external USB jacks to the radio shell, to plug in a SNES usb hack. It will make playing my Nintendo and Super Nintendo games more fun. I enjoy playing them on the arcade but...I miss the original controls.
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: Encryptor on October 08, 2009, 10:31:16 pm
Very nice! I wish mine was in that kind of shape. I don't have any pics of mine. The one above I pulled from the net. Mine is missing some veneer in spots and the original finish is worn and peeling on most of the cabinet. Mine will be just a jukebox. I'm keeping my eye out for a monitor small enough to fit on the window where the dial used to be. The glass dial was the part my brother bought it for so it's missing. I think it will work well if I can find one to fit in there.


Encryptor
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: drventure on October 08, 2009, 10:50:23 pm
Ah that would explain it. When I saw that pic, I thought, damn, that's pretty nice to be considered in "bad shape"  :)
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: drventure on October 13, 2009, 05:56:48 pm
Just picked up a cool little tidbit for my marquee  :) ....

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=90051.0;attach=133878;image)

Should go nice with the old glass phone pole insulators I picked up a few days ago at a local junk shop.
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: Bender on October 13, 2009, 06:54:07 pm
I too have one of those old gutted radios I want to turn into a media center/jukebox, so post the info and Pics
I mean look at mountains Juke it's not Mame related and it's one of the most popular threads on here
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: drventure on October 15, 2009, 01:22:56 pm
Yay!

A cheap bench grinder finally popped up on craigslist

A TaskForce 6" with a light

(http://cn1.kaboodle.com/hi/img/2/0/0/8d/2/AAAAAr_f7ggAAAAAAI0m7A.jpg?v=1194929603000)

Certainly not a high end grinder, but I plan to use it mainly for a little shaping, grinding off screws and for polishing stuff.

And for 15$. I won't feel bad for tossing it if it only lasts through a few projects  :)
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: Ryglore on October 19, 2009, 03:07:04 pm
(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=90051.0;attach=133295)

 :cry:

Oh dang! I'd not checked this thread in a while. How'd this clean up? I agree it looks nice and weathered and steampunkish, but I can totally see how it's not the type of weathering you'd be going for. I know I wouldn't be happy with calling a mistake a "good" alternative to actually getting the look you were going for.

Totally sucks though that you have to redo all that stamping. That looks like it was extremely time consuming and tedious. But the end result is amazing. Hopefully it's not too much trouble to get it back to normal.
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: drventure on October 19, 2009, 07:57:38 pm
Hey Ryglore

Yeah, I just can't leave that as it is. Yeah, I could "say" it was intentional, but it really looks pretty bad.

I'm a little farther along with the cleanup, but I've gotten sidetracked into fabricated a copper and brass frame for the monitor and mounting all the embellishments and adornments (not to mention my "marquee", I gotta figure out how to steam bend some walnut, but Bender got me hooked up on an idea for that...)

I even took today off, but made almost no headway <sigh>.
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: Ryglore on October 19, 2009, 10:23:19 pm
Ya, I know all about getting side tracked. There have been times where I had been working on one section  of my build and then jumped to another section entirly for no good reason.

Personally I liked how it looked when it was clean and unweathered. But that kinda defeats the idea of it being an antique buffet....
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: drventure on October 20, 2009, 11:37:46 pm
Just read another thread here about a little gizmo I'd never heard of before

the ARFX light effects module

http://www.arfx.nl/index.php?main_page=index (http://www.arfx.nl/index.php?main_page=index)

Whoa! Since my monitor is hanging out in front of the backing board of my cab (yeah, it's kinda weird that way), something like this could totally work for me!

This and those AimTrak modules and it'll be one hell of a christmas!
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: Ryglore on October 20, 2009, 11:55:19 pm
Oooh nice! That's dead sexy for sure.
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: drventure on October 22, 2009, 10:48:28 am
I finally got up a 3 man game yesterday to try out the player 3 and 4 positions.

The fact that I angled the sticks.... Nothing bad one way or the other. It actually felt pretty natural for them to be angled.

The fact that I used MagSticks and didn't spring for 2 more u360's.... Ugh. Shoulda got the u360s.

Granted, i wouldn't consider myself a purist in any sense of the term. I loved the games growing up, but was never competitive or anything like that.

But the u360's just "feel" so much better. The magsticks do have a shorter throw and the "clicky" nature of them is certainly more old-school, but, boy, if I find myself playing positions 3 or 4 much, I'll be upgrading those sticks!

Live and learn
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: versapak on October 22, 2009, 11:27:18 am
I finally got up a 3 man game yesterday to try out the player 3 and 4 positions.

The fact that I angled the sticks.... Nothing bad one way or the other. It actually felt pretty natural for them to be angled.

The fact that I used MagSticks and didn't spring for 2 more u360's.... Ugh. Shoulda got the u360s.

Granted, i wouldn't consider myself a purist in any sense of the term. I loved the games growing up, but was never competitive or anything like that.

But the u360's just "feel" so much better. The magsticks do have a shorter throw and the "clicky" nature of them is certainly more old-school, but, boy, if I find myself playing positions 3 or 4 much, I'll be upgrading those sticks!

Live and learn


If you look at my post history, you will find that until this post, I was in full support of angled P3&4 sticks. That is how they are installed on my cab. It was after testing them in that position, and it felt completely natural. I also never got any complaints from anyone else.

Recently though, after a few years, I was in the player 3 position, and I hated it. For some reason the angle now bothers me. My brain kept wanting it to match the position of the screen.    :dunno

Maybe it was because at the time the whole cab was new to me, and regardless of the position I easily adapted. After playing so long at player 1 though, it has conditioned me to see up as toward the TV.  ???

I have definitely changed my stance on angled sticks, and would never place them that way again.



Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: drventure on October 22, 2009, 12:02:39 pm
Good point. Muscle memory could definitely be a factor after a while (what you get used to and all...)

I know when I've had to switch from a keyboard with a wide backspace key to on with a small backspace key, it takes a while for my fingers to readjust.

I could easily see that with sticks too.

You know though. I was thinking about it. If I put u360's in those spots, I'd just have to change the map for them. No rerouting the mounting plates or anything.

Yet another argument for u360's (now, justifying that to the "boss" might be a tad more difficult  :) )

Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: Ryglore on October 22, 2009, 02:32:50 pm
(now, justifying that to the "boss" might be a tad more difficult  :) )

Ah the joys of working for one self.  ;)
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: Benevolance on October 22, 2009, 02:43:00 pm
Spending a lot of time with Ms. Palm and her five sisters, Ryglore? :D

How are the U360s for fighting games? Are they very responsive? I've got Happ 49 way, with the GGG upgrade grommet. The new grommet was a huge improvement over the base Happ model, but the joysticks still have terrible action. They re-center sluggishly, and getting through a lot of fast-reponse games is more an art than a science as a result. I'd like to upgrade. I top-mounted my joysticks beneath my artwork and screwed it in place, so whatever joysticks I replace my Happ 49s with will still have a good, long throw.
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: drventure on October 22, 2009, 03:13:50 pm
I'm not a huge fan of the fighting genre, so I'd really be the last person to weigh in on that.

But they sure are fantastic for all the games I usually play.

I've never quite understood the long throw/short throw debate. Guess it's just personal taste. The 360's seem to have a fairly long throw to me, much longer than the magsticks anyway. But I can't say that I really like one over the other, not yet anyway. If I had to choose, i'd probably say I prefer the short throw over the long.

But then, maybe it's just the fact that the 360's can register a movement without necessarily requiring a full swing of the stick that makes them "feel" short throw, even though physically, they can move a lot farther.
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: Ryglore on October 22, 2009, 04:44:30 pm
Spending a lot of time with Ms. Palm and her five sisters, Ryglore? :D

Not really. But I just don't have to answer to anyone about buying things, which is nice. Thus the reason I am taking perfectly good Happ Super sticks and making custom ball tops. :P
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: drventure on October 22, 2009, 05:06:55 pm
BTW, I love the way the shmup arcade is coming together. Esp all the painted artwork. Nice cab!
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: Ryglore on October 22, 2009, 05:27:30 pm
Thanks man, I'm sure it wouldn't be as nice as it is if I hadn't been directed to the BYOAC. Really all these awesome projects  have pushed me to try my best and challenge myself even more.... sure the joysticks are fine as is... but what's the fun in that? Sure a coin door is cool, but it's even cooler recessed into a slanted surface, with working slots that actually take tokens. If I didn't have awesome projects like this one to look up to and challenge myself to be as good as, I'd have a PC in a box and some buttons. ha

Your cab is amazing, it looks like it belongs in the Nautilus right next to Captain Nemo's organ. Great work, really.  :cheers:
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: drventure on October 27, 2009, 11:17:54 pm
Ok. Completely NOT about my cab, but just saw this sign at some site and laughed ---my bottom--- off. Reminded me of that Bacon thread (that I can't find now).

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=90051.0;attach=134934)
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: Ryglore on October 27, 2009, 11:20:33 pm
How about this? http://bacolicio.us/http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/ (http://bacolicio.us/http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/)  :o
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: drventure on October 28, 2009, 09:53:02 pm
Hey Ryglore. That's pretty good  :) Gotta love bacon!

Here's a riddle...

What am I prototyping?

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=90051.0;attach=135006)

Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: Ryglore on October 29, 2009, 12:08:41 am
Hey Ryglore. That's pretty good  :) Gotta love bacon!

Here's a riddle...

What am I prototyping?

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=90051.0;attach=135006)



An automatic unfolding system using a series of ropes and pulleys.
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: drventure on October 29, 2009, 12:45:17 am
Good guess. I've been watching that Defender cab thread pretty closely. Awesome design, that.

But this is what +might+ turn into my version of a rotating monitor setup.

I've got a bead on some brass pulleys, grandfather clock wire, old motorcycle transmission gears, and, possibly, the worlds cheapest pseudo linear actuator.

With any luck, I'll end up with a wonderfully Rube Goldberg-ian contraption!

Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: Epyx on October 29, 2009, 12:51:20 am
Hehe awesome, would be cool if you could pull that off.
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: drventure on October 29, 2009, 12:55:32 am
Yeah, I've gotten myself stoked again on this build. Fixing the cp will still be a pain, but I'd been struggling to come up with a  good way to rotate the monitor. And I think I've now got something!

I just need about 2 weeks of vacation days  :-\
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: Epyx on October 29, 2009, 01:07:23 am
Quote
I just need about 2 weeks of vacation days

I hear you :(

I haven't had a vacation in 18 months...took Fridays off in August and won't get my remaining 2 weeks until after my current work project is complete. /sigh

Now if we could only win a lottery and spend lazy days building our cabs...ah to dream!
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: Ryglore on October 29, 2009, 11:08:06 am
Good guess. I've been watching that Defender cab thread pretty closely. Awesome design, that.

But this is what +might+ turn into my version of a rotating monitor setup.

I've got a bead on some brass pulleys, grandfather clock wire, old motorcycle transmission gears, and, possibly, the worlds cheapest pseudo linear actuator.

With any luck, I'll end up with a wonderfully Rube Goldberg-ian contraption!



Oh, nice. That was my next guess, that would be amazing if you get it working!
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: drventure on October 29, 2009, 11:20:21 am
I was hoping to make a copper iris for the monitor, but alas, I just can't fit the requisite parts in. No clearance.

I have put together a copper frame for the monitor though. Once I hone my soldering skills a little more, I should have that put together and mounted. That should go a long way toward "vintagifying" things. Having the DELL logo and a plastic-framed monitor sticking there is just harshing the vibe  8)
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: Ryglore on October 29, 2009, 01:17:49 pm
Having the DELL logo and a plastic-framed monitor sticking there is just harshing the vibe  8)

Yup! Does the Dell logo pop up when you turn on the monitor? I have a Dell LCD Tv and when you turn that on it takes 10 seconds to get to video, cause they insist on the Dell logo popping up first. It's rather annoying, but I'm used to it now. Then again I have a LCD monitor I got through Dell and it just turns on and goes right to video without a splash screen....  :dunno
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: drventure on October 29, 2009, 01:33:18 pm
Oh, the splash screen doesn't bother me so much, I'm talking about the logo at the bottom of the monitor frame itself.

Now, if it said "Woolworth and Sons, patent 1865", that'd be ok  :)
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: Ryglore on October 29, 2009, 01:41:05 pm
Oh, the splash screen doesn't bother me so much, I'm talking about the logo at the bottom of the monitor frame itself.

Now, if it said "Woolworth and Sons, patent 1865", that'd be ok  :)

Time to find out about hacking monitor firmware.  :P
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: drventure on October 29, 2009, 02:11:30 pm
Wouldn't that be a trip!
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: Ryglore on October 30, 2009, 05:10:46 pm
Have you put any thought into modding the joysticks to some kinda of brass handled sticks? Rather than the plain ol' black ones?
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: ccmathome on October 30, 2009, 05:43:22 pm
Really nice build all you need now is a fog machine and some epic music playing like the first bit of song #9 in this video

Top Ten Epic Music (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5wwrUsqeIbw#)
oh and a really bright light shining from the bottom have it all automated on start up
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: drventure on October 30, 2009, 07:56:06 pm
@Ryglore

Actually, already thinking that. I mentioned it way back on page one of the thread

http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?topic=88515.msg929425#msg929425 (http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?topic=88515.msg929425#msg929425)

It's a little farther down on the scale though. Plus, I'll have to do some experiments to see how much they effect game play. I still want to be able to play the thing  ;)

But, yes, definitely something I'm considering.

@ccmathome
Cool tracks. Interesting that transformers was listed. The movie wasn't all that great but that theme music rocks!
And yeah, I could see doing something with that 300 music. I might have to pick up the soundtrack and give it a listen.

Can mala play sound files when it transitions from one group to another? That could be really cool, play the transformers theme when moving to the shmups group, and play the 300 theme when moving to the fighting games group, etc.
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: Ryglore on October 30, 2009, 08:04:18 pm
Ah, I looked through the thread before I posted, but must have missed it. And it's true, you don't want to sacrifice playability just for a theme.  :cheers:
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: drventure on October 30, 2009, 08:21:44 pm
Just found out the EMUWAVE plugin for mala can play specific or random wav files as you switch emus or game lists....

Very cool!
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: Ryglore on October 30, 2009, 08:43:52 pm
I was thinking you could maybe get some brass balls that look like they came off of this:

(http://thewildhunt.org/images/stories/spark.jpg)

Some regular (non stainless) steel shafts, plain ol' metal, no shine. And then tried your little corrosion trick on them to give them a weathered look...
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: n88n on November 04, 2009, 10:41:35 pm
maybe when you get this thing buttoned up your machine will make a list of the coolest steampunk hacks.   :cheers:

http://weburbanist.com/2009/11/04/mods-26-sexy-steampunk-hi-tech-hacks/ (http://weburbanist.com/2009/11/04/mods-26-sexy-steampunk-hi-tech-hacks/)
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: drventure on November 04, 2009, 10:53:55 pm
Got a shipment in today.

Some good ol' tractor parts  :)

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=90051.0;attach=135514)

Honest to god John Deer gears and engine cover plates.

A little cleanup and they'll look quite nice covering up all those messy internal steamworkings/goings on in my buffet.

And they gears JUST MIGHT be useful for turning my monitor.

I'm just not sure how I'd mount them to bearings?

Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: drventure on November 05, 2009, 08:24:15 am
Found a sweet little book a few days ago. Especially nice for any steampunk gearheads, but it's an interesting flipthrough for those mechanically inclined

It's called 507 Mechanical Movements by Henry Brown

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=90051.0;attach=135584)

There's a downloadable version here

http://builders.reprap.org/2008/09/507-mechanical-movements.html (http://builders.reprap.org/2008/09/507-mechanical-movements.html)

though it's in a weird djvu format, so you'll have to get the viewer as well (it's a freeware alternative to Acrobat).

Anyway, pages and pages of pictures and descriptions of just about every kind of mechanical motion transfer device you can think of.

translation: lots of cogs and gears and pulleys and wheels!

Good stuff
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: Ryglore on November 05, 2009, 08:35:17 am
Oh wow! That should totally help in figuring out the Monitor rotating. And maybe automating the un-folding of the CP  ;)
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: Benevolance on November 05, 2009, 07:58:05 pm
Or building a giant steam-powered mechanical spider that is really good at Donkey Kong and seizes the high score title from those inferior moist fleshbags. Bwa ha! Ha ha ha! HAHA!!
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: drventure on November 07, 2009, 11:22:33 pm
I think I just found my pulley system

It's called a "Butler's Blanking Bell Pulley" from back in the days when, if you wanted to summon your butler, you'd pull a string, which was routed about via pulleys to a Bell mounted in the butlers quarters.

(http://www.periodfeatures.net/acatalog/Pulleykitlarge.jpg)

Looks like they're nice and solid brass, and appear to be a little heftier than the grandfather clock pulleys I'd been looking at.

One more step toward a rotating monitor....

Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: Ryglore on November 07, 2009, 11:25:23 pm
Nice find! Now all you have to do is attach those to the John Deere gears...
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: drventure on November 08, 2009, 10:37:29 am
Working on it  :)

I found some bearings at Tru Value that just might work. Gotta get the sizes down...
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: Ond on November 08, 2009, 05:52:14 pm
Loved the 507 Mechanical Movements download, great fodder for some drawing ideas for your stuff.  How ya gonna use those bits to rotate your monitor you mad inventor you???  :P
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: drventure on November 08, 2009, 09:42:55 pm
I'll speak in terms of the 507 Mechanical Movements  8)

Combination of plate 18 (twice), plus some brass swivels and a few victorian doorstops, something like this

(http://www.vandykes.com/images/cache/variation/02023024250_229_.jpg)

or this

(http://www.vandykes.com/images/cache/variation/02022126250_229_.jpg)

Plus, I think some brass grandfather clock pendulum cabling.

And possibly some of plate 113 (using the motor out of a back massage chair pad I picked up off CL for 10$ )

I've also got some old gears from a John Deer tractor that I can hopefully factor into the mix (I found some bearing at HomeDepot that I +think+ will fit them).


And on top of all that, I'm on the lookout for some methylene chloride to use in another part of the cabinet now  (http://msn.mess.be/data/media/21/secretagentman.jpg)
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: drventure on November 08, 2009, 09:43:26 pm
Just another day at the mad scientist's lab   ;)
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: drventure on November 18, 2009, 01:01:32 pm
It's been kinda slow progress. The machine is down right now because I had to take the monitor off to build up a sheet copper and brass frame for it.

I got about half way through that project when I got sidetracked on building a couple of panel lamps out of doorstops! I got the idea from a post about a guy building a steampunk tardis and they just looked so cool, I had to give it a try.

Anyway, here's my attempt.

First, I needed to address the wiring. All my wiring and piping is exposed, so it had to look period. I found some old fashioned clothe covered lamp cord online, but 25' didn't go very far.

I've got piles of phone cord lying around though, so I was in the craft store and found some brown cotton Macrame cord that looked very much inline what what I was thinking.

First strip the cotton guts out of the cord. This was a REAL pain in the ass
(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=90051.0;attach=136589)

Then I needed wire, so some old phone line cord I had seemed to fit the bill.
Just had to strip off the covering
(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=90051.0;attach=136593)

I tried getting all 4 wires into a single cord, but it was just too tight a fit. I could have done it, but it would have taken REALLY forever. This process only seemed to take forever :)

So I ran 2 wires through 1 cord, 2 through a different length, and then twisted them together
(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=90051.0;attach=136595)

I cut base plates out of some stock I had around, routed the edges, then drilled out clearance and some access holes on the sides (so I could run the wires in, and also for screwing in set screws to be able to mount the lamps to the cabinet top (remember, my cab back is actually the underside of the TOP of the buffet, so I can't screw anything "through".
(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=90051.0;attach=136597)

I picked up a small breadboard at radio shack, cut it up into half circles and soldered 3 high power RGB LEDs to each of them, with resistors.
(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=90051.0;attach=136591)

I used brass doorknob back plates, and two brass doorstops (one, a wall mount type and one a floor mount type) for each lamp.
Then took 2 ping pong balls, cut them in half, ground things down flat on my sander and epoxied them in place under the stops.

Then used some brass eyelets, and screws and washers for some decorative (and functional) effects.

Polished everything, then coated it all with a couple coats of Future (to keep all that brass nice and shiny!)

the end results look like this...

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=90051.0;attach=136599)

All I have to do now is drill holes in the back panel, set some threaded inserts in, thread in some threaded rods, clamp the lamps down and run the wired to my LEDWIZ.

the 3 LED's each are wired in parallel, so they all light as if they were one LED. They can get quite bright! Esp in full red mode (Red Alert! Red Alert!)

So now that I'm done with em, I find myself asking "Why the heck did I do that?"  :)

Gotta come up with some interesting ideas of how to use them, either in the menus or during game play.

I was thinking if there was a way to monitor the "volume" of sounds coming from the game, and flash them when high volume spikes are detected could be cool.

But, the build was fun, so why not!

and the
Lots of jiggering, tweaking, etc later
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: Ryglore on November 18, 2009, 07:48:17 pm
Oh damn! Those look amazing! Nice work DV.  :cheers:
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: ratzz on November 19, 2009, 03:30:28 pm
BTW, have you seen this guys PC case mod?

http://www.flickr.com/photos/steampunkfrankenstein/ (http://www.flickr.com/photos/steampunkfrankenstein/)

(http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3640/3390811186_40dd71b606.jpg)

The thing's almost 8 FEET tall!

Unbelievable detail, and he says he got virtually everything off ebay.

It's a tad TOO "steampunky" for what I'm doing but wow. Lots of ideas for small elements I hope to incorporate.



Love it!

I love the look of these, and I'm a big fan of your project too man ...
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: drventure on November 19, 2009, 03:43:44 pm
Thanks Ratzz.

I keep getting sidetracked on little projects like this that, well, frankly don't have a whole heck of a lot to do with arcades in particular but are quite fun anyway.

I just saw turnerarcade's use of a locomo Neon equalizer style lightbar... now, I gotta figure a way to fit one of those in (in a classy, neo victorian way, of course!).

What happened to your project. I went to check it out and see it kinda faded off.
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: Ryglore on November 19, 2009, 05:29:07 pm
I guess your cab is the perfect example of "feature creep". But really, all the little touches are what's really going to make it amazing.... now if you could only talk the wife into decorating the rest of the room to look period...  :laugh:
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: drventure on November 19, 2009, 05:39:05 pm
Working on that  ;)

We've had a ball and claw dining table for forever, with ball and claw chairs. I picked up a small side table in the same style. Need to find some beaded brass floor lamps and a brocade settee or two 8)

I'm not much of a decorator though.
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: Ryglore on November 19, 2009, 11:05:54 pm
Plaster walls and ceiling.  :P
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: drventure on November 30, 2009, 01:38:08 pm
Had a great long holiday, but got more eating done that Cabinet work.  :)

I did get my monitor "control pod" more or less done. Note to self; led's don't really like a propane blowtorch in close proximity  ::)

The monitor frame is +almost+ complete. I'll have pics when it's done and nicely polished up, but dang. I've already polished most of it and wow. Looks really good on the monitor. My daughter was out in the garage with me working on it. She was playing with a scrap piece of copper tube (i'd drilled a bunch of holes in it only to realize too late that my alignment was off, so I had to scrap that piece).

Anyway, she commented that it looked like a smoke stack. Smoke....Steam....scrap piece just begging for me to do something with it.... Yikes, another side project!

I also was browsing through Tuesday Morning a few days back and came upon this.

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=90051.0;attach=137356)

It's a +2 pack+ of dancepads (she's just about falls over every time we go out somewhere and there's a dance pad game). For 10$ no less!

I have no idea how good they are, and they're PS2, which required me to pick up a PS2->USB adapter (I found the one in the picture at Frys, 20$, it's an HVG2 PS203).

But with the adapter, they do appear to work just fine. Unfortunately, the cabinets down right now with the screen out, but hopefully, this will allow for a few dueling matches of DDR or somesuch.

Anyone trying any dancing games in Mame with real dance pads?
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: Ryglore on November 30, 2009, 02:16:10 pm
... oh ok. PS2 not PS/2. I was like "They are both PS/2? What the hell? that makes no sense." Then I looked closer at the box in the picture.  :laugh2:
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: drventure on November 30, 2009, 02:31:28 pm
Oh wow  ;D

I hadn't heard the term PS/2 in a LONG time.  But I've still got lots of those dang MIDI style keyboard plug to PS/2 keyboard adapters...

Anyone need one of those  :D

But yeah, I'm talking Playstation 2 here
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: Ryglore on November 30, 2009, 02:34:34 pm
Yeah the only reason I thought about PS/2 is because both my KeyWiz40-ST and Trackball are connected via PS/2 port. Since my mobo only has 2 USB ports I wanted to save them for a keyboard and external HDD when I need to go in and tinker with PC workings.  :lol
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: drventure on November 30, 2009, 03:04:56 pm
2 usb ports?  :D

I've got 3 on the mobo backplan, probably another 4-6 as jumpers off the mobo directly (one of which I'm pulling 5v from for other purposes), AND I ended    up having to add a USB card with 4 more ports because the mobo ports stay powered up even when the mobo is turned off (and I didn't want all my usb peripherals to stay powered all the time).

USB ports are the new harddrive space, the more you have, the more you use, seems like.
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: Ryglore on November 30, 2009, 03:13:06 pm
Ya what I need is a USB Hub, I can store inside the CP box and just run the cable for my keyboard and just stash the external HDD inside the CP box when I'm using it.
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: Benevolance on December 02, 2009, 04:18:48 pm
My advice is to buy a bigger hub than you think you need. I bought a 5 port and it was filled within the week; I should have followed my gut and sprung for the 7-port hub off the bat. :D

I haven't tried emulating playstation on my MAME cabinet, since I've got a PS2 hooked up. I've got similar pads - they work pretty well. Sometimes the sensors seem to migrate a bit in the softshell and it can get touchy about registering a step or not. Unless you are really competitive (and we're not) it isn't a super huge deal.
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: ratzz on December 02, 2009, 04:56:55 pm
Thanks Ratzz.

I keep getting sidetracked on little projects like this that, well, frankly don't have a whole heck of a lot to do with arcades in particular but are quite fun anyway.

I just saw turnerarcade's use of a locomo Neon equalizer style lightbar... now, I gotta figure a way to fit one of those in (in a classy, neo victorian way, of course!).

What happened to your project. I went to check it out and see it kinda faded off.

Yea, mine has kind of been side tracked as well. Have done more work on it but just haven't been able to upload any pics yet.

Work has really picked up for me this past 12 months and I don't have time to do much other than work.

My half built arcade cab stares at me each day from the corner of my office, BEGGING to be finished - and one day I will!

Following this thread with a great deal of interest. Keep up the good work!
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: drventure on December 13, 2009, 06:45:58 pm
Well, the bad news is, the company I've been working for succumbed to the ongoing economic situation. It was sold off. Which I suppose was "good" except that the buyer is so ridiculously dev heavy, only one developer was offered a position. <sigh>

I've got a paycheck till Jan, but then, ugh.

I suppose the good news is that gives me A LOT MORE time to work on my cab and on this Mala add in I'm kicking about  :)
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: Ond on December 13, 2009, 06:55:39 pm
Sorry to hear that man  :( although it was some time ago I've been through that myself.  I got some spare time coming up too and will be working on cab projects as well. 
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: drventure on December 13, 2009, 07:46:39 pm
Thanks Ond.

Yeah, timing kinda sucks, but, what can you do.

Work on a slide show Mala Plugin, that's what!
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: thatpurplestuff on December 13, 2009, 07:56:36 pm
Very sorry to here hear that drventure.  Hopefully it'll end up being a nice short break and you'll find something even better.

As a side note, the Mala plugin sounds very interesting!
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: drventure on December 13, 2009, 09:11:57 pm
Thanks.

Yeah, the plugin is getting there. Now I might have a bit more time for it.

I found a great little open source library of transition effects that I'm folding in now. Little bit more interesting that a simple pop-1image-pop-another image.

I've got WPF operational, but it's a tad.... peculiar. So that part may need to wait till v2.

Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: Ryglore on December 14, 2009, 08:57:34 am
Sorry to hear about the lay off DV. Hope everything turns around.  :-\

Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: drventure on December 14, 2009, 10:31:02 am
Hey Ryglore
Thanks for that. I'm looking. This is just about the worst time of year though. Nobody wants to bother with the hiring process right now (I know, I've been on the other side  ;) )
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: Ryglore on December 14, 2009, 10:44:30 am
Nobody wants to bother with the hiring process right now

Yup, I dunno if it's the same in TX, but in MI we don't even get the 90 day trial period... they just toss unemployment on everyone no matter how many days they have been working... 3 or 91. Ha, we had one guy work a week, quit, and he got unemployment...  :dunno

Anyway, get your unemployed arse to work on that add-on (and cab)! I'm addicted to making Mala layouts! I may be designing SHMUP layout v3.0 now that I have transparency and definables figured out!  :blah:  :lol
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: wilno45 on December 14, 2009, 05:17:22 pm
Hi drventure

Sorry to hear about the job mate, that sucks.

On a brighter note, congratulations on the project so far, looking great. I haven't looked at many other peoples
build logs since I started mine tbh - but I'll keep an eye on this one for sure.  You will fix the the CP in no time at all.

All the best.

wilno45 aka Rob
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: drventure on December 14, 2009, 05:35:19 pm
Thanks Wilno. I'm definitely following that cab or yours too!

Here's a little more progress.

I found a brass grommet ring some time ago to go in the hole for the flight stick. But, it didn't look that great all by itself.

So I got this idea to create a brass "kickplate" of sorts to go around it.

Here's the template I cut from a scale print out from Sketchup. The battery and wire are for testing the LED's in my monitor frame...

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=90051.0;attach=138390)

I've been slowly nibbling away it with with a hand nibbler I picked up at Harbor Frieght a while back.

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=90051.0;attach=138388)

It's not a fast way to do it, but the power nibblers are $$$, and I only need to do a little.

But dang, a nibbler is so much better than cutting. It doesn't deform the plate AT ALL.

The copper I used for the Monitor frame (pics are coming) I used a cutter on, and I had to do a LOT of hammering to +mostly+ get the cut marks out.

But, this whole thing is kind of +supposed+ to look hand made, so I guess I achieved my goal.
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: drventure on December 15, 2009, 12:43:35 am
Here's a bit of an artsy shot of the gas lamp I converted. I don't think I've posted pics of it yet.
The sun was coming in the windows one morning just right, so I snapped this.

I'm quite pleased with the way the lamp turned out. Note that the screen is removed and the cab is powered down so the speakers aren't lit etc. Just sittin' there...

The lamp is on a pivot arm, so it swings back and forth. I couldn't figure a good way to convert the toggle pull chain gas valve to a switch for the light, so I left it as is and the light just comes on when the cab powers up (kind of like the old gas street lamps that used to burn 24hrs a day)

Believe it or not, the cabinet still all folds up. Getting clearances and positions right for all these bits has been quite tricky

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=90051.0;attach=138397)
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: wilno45 on December 17, 2009, 05:35:12 pm
Looking good, this thing looks like it belongs on a certain submarine ..... http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0046672/ (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0046672/)

Cheers (great gothic theme going on)

Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: drventure on December 17, 2009, 07:29:29 pm
I can't remember if I thought of it, or if someone suggested it, but for a while, I was REALLY trying to figure a way to make a monitor cover that opened like a big brass and copper iris.

Good stuff!
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: Ryglore on December 17, 2009, 07:32:42 pm
Ha, I do love the lamps, nice touch! I still say you need brass shaft and silver balltopped joys though.  >:D
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: drventure on December 17, 2009, 07:41:44 pm
yeah, see back a ways in this thread when we were discussing a bunch of possibilities there.

I actually found a plating and machining guy local, that might be able to do something, but that'll have to way a bit.

Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: drventure on December 27, 2009, 02:19:50 pm
Well, christmas has delayed things a bit, finally got to roll out the new element of my Cab. My daughter is in wonder of those Dance Dance Revolution games every time we go out somewhere that has them, so I picked up a couple of inexpensive foam pads (2 came in the box for 10$), plus a EMS USB Playstation 2 to USB adapter (if your going this way, USE THAT ADAPTER. Don't even bother with anything else<sigh> I did unfortunately....)

Anyway. Christmas, she opened everything up. was a little dismayed at the one box that contained just the adapter  ;D . "Um, dad, I think Santa got the wrong name on this gift...." We got a good laugh out of that.

But she looked like the Home Alone kid when she opened the big box and saw they were dance pads.

Hooked em and played DDRA in Mame. After tweaking the frame skip, it was playable, but there appeared to be a delay in the inputs. Probably 50ms or less, but definitely noticable. I was kinda bummed.

But i'd been hanging out on the StepMania forums to get info on USB adapters for dance pads, so I downloaded stepMania, along with some tracks, a zip of a bunch of characters, etc.

WOW! This program is fantastic! Very well put together. No glitches at all that I've seen so far and the response using both pads simultaneously is spot on.

Plus it's easy to configure Mala to fire it up, and she already knows how to navigate in Mala, so double win.

There's likely better DDR games out there, but for free, StepMania is pretty dang good.

And I'm actually getting a decent workout over Christmas, too!

I suspect a build of some hard pads is in my near future  ;)
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: wilno45 on December 27, 2009, 02:23:54 pm
Bought my nephew a spud gun and a potato for christmas, guess which one we gave him first.  ;D
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: drventure on December 27, 2009, 02:34:45 pm
That's great!
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: saurian333 on January 03, 2010, 12:03:04 am
Just read another thread here about a little gizmo I'd never heard of before

the ARFX light effects module

http://www.arfx.nl/index.php?main_page=index (http://www.arfx.nl/index.php?main_page=index)

Whoa! Since my monitor is hanging out in front of the backing board of my cab (yeah, it's kinda weird that way), something like this could totally work for me!

This and those AimTrak modules and it'll be one hell of a christmas!

Hey Doc, I only just saw your post on this.  Just wanted to mention that I personally have an amBX system (http://"http://www.ambx.com/videos") (lights only, not the built-in speakers, fans, other goofy stuff), and I think it's pretty sick.  Obviously the ARFX would work better in your case, since they're LEDs on a bar and take up less space.  The amBX is pretty bulky, although your cabinet might allow you to place everything down inside the box and still get a pretty cool effect.

Also, I see that ARFX has somewhat better Linux support and a lot of other software-related advantages.  That appeals to me as well, although I primarily like the amBX for gaming, which (unfortunately) restricts me to Windows anyway.

The advantage of the amBX?  It's WAY cheaper than ARFX.  On eBay or what have you, for just the lights, you're looking at probably around $60-100, last time I checked.  I got mine on woot.com during the last woot-off, for $25 shipped.  Looks like the ARFX starts at 100 Euros.  :o

Anyway, just food for thought, if you were serious about that.  If you can find an amBX as cheap as I got mine, it might be worth playing with.  I certainly don't regret mine.
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: drventure on January 03, 2010, 09:34:31 am
Holy ^&*%!

That's perfect, and CHEAP! 5 minutes of searching turned up a site selling them for 35$+10 shipping, so I suspect I can find them even cheaper like you mentioned.

http://www.sizzletwist.com/philips-ambx-starter.html (http://www.sizzletwist.com/philips-ambx-starter.html)

Thanks for that pointer! I hadn't run across this but it would work just fine I suspect. It's basically the same thing, only using traditional LED's rather than the strips so they're bulkier. I my case, I'd probably have to decase them (or desolder the LED's and hook them to wires to run them where I need them). But still, that's easy to do. It'd also provide a few other possibilities, like potentially hooking up the led console lights I built to that device rather than the LEDwiz. And at 20-40$, I wouldn't cry over decasing them  ;)

Great stuff!
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: drventure on January 03, 2010, 05:47:34 pm
Well, yesterday at our New Years Day party, the cab finally got a (small) workout. No one there was +truly+ into old school classic arcade stuff like people here, but we had a great round of "I used to play this game.... Can't remember what it was called, you run around...shooting....blah blah".... Followed, by several guesses, then some game's name comes up... "Track And Field?".... "Yeah that's here", and we fire it up, then repeat the process.

My cabs definitely not quite "hardened" but it handled pretty well for having 4 guys pounding on it during a game of TMNT, and 2 guys playing track and field FAR better than I ever will  :)

Everyone loved the theme. I didn't actually collapse it, as the front doors are off and I've got several elements undergoing "finish out" right now. And worse, I don't have any of the lighting actually operational, so that whole element is dead right now (though that amBX module will certainly help in that regard!).

But it was definitely a good time (as was Halo on the projection screen!).
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: saurian333 on January 03, 2010, 08:30:52 pm
Yeah, I don't think the light modules would be too difficult to take apart if you really wanted to.  I can look at mine more closely if you want to know about the construction; there may be some screws or something on bottom.  I guess I was thinking you could just stick the modules down in the bottom of your cab, unless you really did want them behind the monitor.  The software is fairly configurable.  I haven't tested it with MAME yet (I think it only grabs from Direct3D or OpenGL output, FYI), but it should work OK.  It basically grabs colors from different areas of the screen and lights the right combination of LEDs for that color.  I've used it on a couple of movies as well as Red Alert 3 and Far Cry 2, and it works quite nicely.

The nice thing (that I haven't actually played with) is that you can create your own profiles for it, setting brightness levels and such.  I'm not sure exactly to what extent you can configure things, but it may be enough that you don't have to take them apart.  The wallwasher unit has 3 separate light modules in it, and the L/R ones each have one.  Again, if you really want them to actually be behind your monitor, you might have some disassembly ahead of you.  Personally, I think it would be kind of cool to have the ambient light emanating from below!

I'll test with MameUI one of these days and see what I can get going.  Glad to be able to suggest something useful to you. :)  I think the lighting effects to go with games is a great idea; it's unfortunate that it hasn't caught on terribly well and doesn't have the greatest support as a result (the main issue is with drivers under Win7 64-bit).

Also glad to hear your cab got some play time!  TMNT is definitely among the great 4-player games, one of my personal favorites.  Even 2-player on the NES version was fun.
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: drventure on January 03, 2010, 09:41:28 pm
Hey Saurian

Definitely, that's a heck of a buy compared to the ARFX.

About the software, from what I saw online, there's some sort of software driver that, if the current running app doesn't output ambx commands, can "interpret" the average color of the screen and drive the ambx modules that way? Is that right? Does it work pretty good or have you played with it?

Since this is a mame cab, I'm pretty sure there won't be anything runnning on it that'll actually generate ambx commands, so i'd have to use something that can "detect" the average color on screen and drive the lights accordingly.

Yeah, what I'm envisioning is the wallwasher lights behind the screen, with the other 2 modules down below, lighting things up from below.

Heck, if I decase it, I'm thinking I +might+ be able to wire in additional LEDs to the lines that are driving the existing ones. That'd be very cool!
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: saurian333 on January 04, 2010, 01:44:49 am
About the software, from what I saw online, there's some sort of software driver that, if the current running app doesn't output ambx commands, can "interpret" the average color of the screen and drive the ambx modules that way? Is that right? Does it work pretty good or have you played with it?

Since this is a mame cab, I'm pretty sure there won't be anything runnning on it that'll actually generate ambx commands, so i'd have to use something that can "detect" the average color on screen and drive the lights accordingly.

Yeah, that's essentially how it works.  I haven't yet tried any games that aren't on this list (http://"http://www.ambx.com/wiki/List_of_compatible_games"), though (I've only had it for a month or so, and don't get a whole bunch of free time for gaming lately).  Like I said, I think it only works for Direct3D or OpenGL; MAME can handle that, right?  I know the Linux version (SDLMame, e.g.) will do OpenGL, but haven't played with the Windows one in a long time.  Anyway, if the amBX software doesn't pick up the app and let you configure it, there is a fan-developed app called Aurora Synesthesia (http://"http://www.ambx.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=2766&hilit=aurora") that works with anything displayed on the screen, so you should be safe.  I have played with that program only a little, but it was picking up even the colors of web pages in Firefox and such.  I've found that the official software provides a somewhat better experience in most cases, but AS has lots of cool options (including reaction to sound; it's pretty awesome with both sound and video reactions enabled).

Yeah, what I'm envisioning is the wallwasher lights behind the screen, with the other 2 modules down below, lighting things up from below.

Heck, if I decase it, I'm thinking I +might+ be able to wire in additional LEDs to the lines that are driving the existing ones. That'd be very cool!

That would be interesting; not sure how simple it would be, though.  Each of the 5 modules has what I assume to be a "cluster" of LEDs that allows you to get the full range of 16 million colors.  I'd imagine you'd have to wire your new LEDs in parallel (and matching colors) with the existing ones.  I think you'd pretty much just accomplish expanding the area of a particular module, which normally reacts to something in a certain position on the screen.  For example, in a flight combat game of some kind, you might have a blue sky on most of your screen, causing all the modules to light up blue.  If a plane explodes on the left side of the screen, only the leftmost module and maybe the left wallwasher would light orange/red/whatever.  If you expanded on that with more LEDs, you'd just have a larger area of orange.

Now, I don't know exactly how it works, but I've seen setups with expansion modules that have up to 4 of the little towers (which would be just one additional pair).  Then the amBX software could be configured for the two new locations and take them into account.  But I'm really thinking the lights included in the basic set are plenty for your cabinet.

Obviously what you do is totally your decision, and I'm certainly not opposed to experimenting. ;)  I just wouldn't want you to go soldering away putting new LEDs in and then deciding it was a waste of time.  But if you did try it and got a really cool effect out of it, that would be...well, really cool!

In any case, I'm excited that you're looking into it.  Your buffet cabinet is one of very few designs out there that would lend well to something like this, and I think it will be a sweet addition.
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: saurian333 on January 04, 2010, 02:35:18 am
OK Doc, just tried out amBX with MameUI.  Friggin' SWEET!  MameUI specifically gives the option for Direct3D, which is how the amBX software detects it, and it works great!  Not perfect for vertically oriented games, I'm afraid; the satellites don't pick things up that far from the edge of the screen, but the wallwashers still work.

Pretty cool; I'm glad you turned me on to this idea!  I might work amBX into my next cabinet now!  (SO many ideas for my next build already...argh!!)
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: drventure on January 04, 2010, 09:00:31 am
That sounds very cool! Thanks for checking it out. Definitely on my short list of bits to buy now!

Yeah, I'll likely stay away from adding led's esp if you can add two more modules directly. Probably not worth the trouble or risk.

As long as I can just add wire to the LEDs in the wall washer to relocate them behind my monitor, that should be good enough, sounds like.

Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: saurian333 on January 04, 2010, 09:29:19 pm
As long as I can just add wire to the LEDs in the wall washer to relocate them behind my monitor, that should be good enough, sounds like.

Yeah, that seems like the only downside in your case.  Your cab isn't like a vertical where there's a ton of space behind the monitor!  But as you said, if it's that cheap, there's not much harm in taking it apart to see!  I looked underneath my pieces last night, and there's sort of a rubberized bottom, the type of thing that would peel off and probably has screws underneath.

By the way, something else that occurred to me:  it would be pretty awesome if you could wire that unit up to an Electric Ice trackball kit!  Can you see your trackball changing colors as you play?!
EDIT:  Although, that might not fit your cab's theme too well, now that I think about it for two seconds...
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: polaris on January 04, 2010, 09:58:15 pm
i may be being lazy and not seeing them but are there any recent pics of this in its current decor state 'im sure youve added lots since weve seen overall pics, if im wrong just say and ill search the thread for them. :cheers:
i always think of this cab wghen out shopping, i seem to see things and think theyd be cool on it, like the continuing search for an uber trackball globe
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: drventure on January 04, 2010, 10:44:17 pm
Quote
not seeing them but are there any recent pics of this in its current decor state

Hehe. Yeah, guilty as charged. Actually, I've gotten a few things setup over the xmas break, but it's been tough to concentrate on doing much with the cab when
1) you're daughters off for xmas break too
2) you lost your job right before xmas and are kind of preoccupied with finding something else quickly  :(

But, be that as it may, Here's a few shots of what I've been working on

First, a screwup, I driled 2 holes for mounting the knife switch, and then realized, too late, I'd positioned it too close to the monitor so the monitor wouldn't be able to turn (DOH!)

Fortunately, the switch is mounted on a nice stained a sealed plaque, so the extra set of holes is covered
(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=90051.0;attach=139563)

Next, the monitor frame being soldered. I used a plumbers solder I picked up at lowes. The stuff is a structural solder, so, it's not welding, but it's dang close. And there won't be a ton of stress on the monitor frame, so it's good enough.

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=90051.0;attach=139555)

Another pic, Here I'm soldering the brass corner brackets.

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=90051.0;attach=139557)

And here,I'm laying out the pieces for the monitor "Control pod"

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=90051.0;attach=139559)

And finally, here's the control pod, soldered in place, with the control pins sticking out. The mother of pearl buttons haven't been fastened at this point. You can't see it, but there's actually LEDs down in those holes, so that all the buttons light up when the cab is on (but no, they don't flash and aren't controlled by the LEDWiz, I figured that was getting a little too crazy  :) )

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=90051.0;attach=139561)
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: drventure on January 04, 2010, 10:57:12 pm
And a few more pics

First some old school Copper and Brass monitor porn

In this pic you can see the extra "steam exhaust vents". There's not actual steam coming out of them.... Yet.
And I'll probably take the frame off and add a few more brass embellishments, plus some more copper piping and maybe a drip oiler or two. But that can wait for now.

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=90051.0;attach=139566)

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=90051.0;attach=139568)

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=90051.0;attach=139572)

Here's a shot of the finished monitor control pod with the LEDs going (though they aren't bright here because I'm just using a 1.5 volt battery to test 'em with. Also, they aren't quite lined up right here, I had to do some tweaking on the buttons once everything was in place.

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=90051.0;attach=139570)

Chopping up the foam I pulled from that Back massager,

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=90051.0;attach=139574)

That I then inserted behind the frame between it and the monitor to keep everything nice and tight. You can just see the foam sticking out.

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=90051.0;attach=139576)


I left all the vents mostly unobstructed, so I hope I don't end up overheating my monitor. I think it should be ok though.
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: polaris on January 04, 2010, 10:59:55 pm
sorry to hear about the work thing, hope it sorts out soon for you, cant offer any advice with the daughter, they always win.
that screen looks awesome, thanks for the picture update :cheers:
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: drventure on January 04, 2010, 11:16:13 pm
Hey, no worries. We had a great break, she's back at kindergarten now. I've got a couple lines on possible positions, so it's good.

I should have some pics of the mounted frame and switch up soon.

Still gotta get my brackets and pinball plunger back from the plating shop. Then those will be going in also.
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: saurian333 on January 04, 2010, 11:57:46 pm
2) you lost your job right before xmas and are kind of preoccupied with finding something else quickly  :(

I'm sorry as hell to hear that, man.  But good to hear you might have something lined up already.  Good luck on the job search; I know it's not easy.

Your cab is shaping up to be not only among the coolest arcade cabs I've seen, but one of the best steampunk projects I've seen!  I love the brass work.  Can't wait to see that monitor mounted and lit up.  Everything looks extremely cool!

One more point on the backlighting (amBX) for the monitor -- I'd suggest mounting the lights to the back of the monitor itself, since you plan to rotate the screen.  amBX won't take into account the fact that your monitor is rotated (unless the OS does the rotating instead of MAME), so you'd be getting lighting effects on the sides that are mimicking what are really the top and bottom of the screen.  If the lights rotate with the monitor, at least they'll stay with the right area of the screen.

I know you're not nearly that far yet; just another thought that came to me when I was reminded your screen is going to rotate.
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: RayB on January 05, 2010, 03:14:17 pm
(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=90051.0;attach=139568)

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=90051.0;attach=139572)
LOL, I saw this set and thought you made a matching Pool Table!
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: drventure on January 05, 2010, 03:40:31 pm
Quote
LOL, I saw this set and thought you made a matching Pool Table!

Now THAT would be cool!
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: drventure on January 05, 2010, 10:51:22 pm
Ok. Guess I have saurian333 to thank for this one.

I was just poking around the ambx site. Turns out they have an SDK. Plus, you can get those ambx start kits for 30$ at kmart and sears (check it out through google shopping).

PLUS, the SDK has an ambx hardware simulator, so you don't even need the hardware to write code for the thing!

Short version of the story. While I don't have even the 30$ to throw at something like this right now, I can still hack around at the SDK and see what happens. Maybe a Mala plugin?

According to the docs, the SDK is C++ only, but I've never let that stop me before  :)

I think those screen-color-coordinated glowing trackballs are in my near future (BWAH HAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!)
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: drventure on January 05, 2010, 10:54:24 pm
And in case you don't know what ambx is,

www.ambx.com (http://www.ambx.com)

(http://www.ambx.com/components/com_jumi/files/amBXkitsavailablenow/kit-premium-2.jpg)

Basically, it's a lighting controller that casts a colored glow via a wall light and several speaker shaped lights, but it can also control additional devices (like fans to simulate a breeze, additional lights, a vibration feedback pad and it sounds like other devices in the near future).

Its like the ARFX package I mention several pages back but a TON cheaper!
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: saurian333 on January 06, 2010, 01:39:57 am
Oh yeah, didn't even think to mention the SDK!  I didn't know about the hardware simulator; that's pretty cool.

I wouldn't hold my breath for "other devices in the near future," though.  Phillips was distributing the thing but dropped it at some point, and now the amBX company is trying to go it alone.  They reportedly struck some sort of contract with Sony, which includes provisions for PS3 related devices and I believe something specifically related to the Bravia line.  Hopefully that's going somewhere, and they'll have the funding and support to continue.  But based on what I've seen in the community, things haven't looked the "brightest" lately (pardon the pun).  Maybe they're focusing on the Sony stuff right now, which is resulting in a bit less support for the discontinued Phillips stuff.

LOL @ the pool table comment; that is what it looks like!  And it would be cool!
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: drventure on January 06, 2010, 07:32:41 am
Yeah, I'm not holding out a lot of hope for it. Wasn't there a USB device some time ago that let games generate "smells" to "immerse you into the gaming world" or somesuch?  :)

Just what I want, my computer stinking things up on me!

But the light effects look great.
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: Ryglore on January 06, 2010, 04:52:18 pm
(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=90051.0;attach=139568)

Been out of the loop the last month. To say this looks amazing is quite the understatement, very very nice work DV!  :cheers:

Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: Nacimroc on January 06, 2010, 08:52:52 pm
Wow! This is proper craftsmanship! Nice work!
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: drventure on January 06, 2010, 10:20:03 pm
Thanks, guys. My metalworking isn't near a match for some of the other guys around hear (franco, nudge nudge  ;) ), but it was fun. Never soldered stuff like this before.

However, I can say that without a power nibbler and a brake shear, messing with sheet metal is a right pain in the ass. The frame did come out reasonably nice though. There's a few things I'd have done different if I had better tools available, but, what can ya do  :dunno
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: Ryglore on January 06, 2010, 10:25:23 pm
ya sheet metal breaks and power nibblers are awesome... I know how to use our break, but I've yet to use the nibblers.... hmm.
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: drventure on January 06, 2010, 10:40:54 pm
I ended up picking up a hand nibbler are Harbor freight to try on some brass I was making a joystick mounting plate out of. It worked, but wow, it was tough on the hands. My fingers were cramping after I finished cutting it.
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: Ryglore on January 06, 2010, 10:45:10 pm
Oh ya totally, I've used hand nibblers to cut sheets of aluminum at work... total pain in the hands.  :lol
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: saurian333 on January 06, 2010, 11:11:50 pm
... Wasn't there a USB device some time ago that let games generate "smells" to "immerse you into the gaming world" or somesuch?  :)

Just what I want, my computer stinking things up on me!

Dude, I remember reading about that.  I'm pretty sure it was a rumor that sprouted from a joke, or vice versa.

There were specifics in it, though: gunpowder for ammo packs, bread for health packs, etc.

But talk about a niche market... If it was an actual device, it still would be a joke. :lol
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: drventure on January 06, 2010, 11:24:53 pm
This isn't the one I was remembering, but, they're out there...

(http://www.blogcdn.com/www.engadget.com/media/2006/09/aroma-geur.jpg)


http://www.engadget.com/2006/09/06/forget-smell-o-vision-usb-aroma-geur-lets-you-smell-the-radio/ (http://www.engadget.com/2006/09/06/forget-smell-o-vision-usb-aroma-geur-lets-you-smell-the-radio/)
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: saurian333 on January 07, 2010, 04:32:40 am
This isn't the one I was remembering, but, they're out there...

http://www.engadget.com/2006/09/06/forget-smell-o-vision-usb-aroma-geur-lets-you-smell-the-radio/ (http://www.engadget.com/2006/09/06/forget-smell-o-vision-usb-aroma-geur-lets-you-smell-the-radio/)

Well, I'll be damned.  Aromatic radio.

Leave it to the Japanese, huh?
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: drventure on January 07, 2010, 03:01:38 pm
Benevolance was asking about how I did some of the metal work on this frame, so I thought I'd reply here just in case anyone else was interested.

Just keep in mind, this is all from a +completely+ clueless metal working guy  :)

Quote
what tools you needed/used to make that monitor casing?
Basically, I had some heavy gauge sheet copper (the kind you use for roofs) left over from a remodel I did several years back, so, being cheap, that's what got used.
I used various clamps, plus a few different jigs made from scrap wood to essentially jerry rig a break which is a metalworking tool that allows you to easily bend sheet metal to a crisp, sharp corner. But because it was all wood, the metal didn't bend completely true, that's how it got that ever so slight curve in the top (completely not intentional, btw).

For cutting, I used a set of, i think they're called horizontal shears. Essentially, imagine a pair of tin snips, but the snip part is angled 90' to the handles, so you can cut through metal without the body of the shears (and your hands!) having to be between the 2 cut edges.

The prob is they leave a VERY noticeable ding at each point in the cut, which is pretty unsightly.

To get rid of that, I used an anvil and hammer and just eyeballed it and pounded the hell out of it till I was reasonably happy it was straight. Then used a grinder to clean up the edge, and a foam sanding block to derazor it (otherwise, that sheet metal comes out ULTRA sharp!).

I used the snips to cut angles at the corners and bend them over to make "lips" and then clamped things together with wood blocks and clamps while I soldered the top 2 corners.  I mitered the front and back corners so that the frame rails would mate up and be flush. Could have overlapped them and just butt jointed them, but I think it fits a little better mitered. But the corners ended up not showing anyway because those corner brackets hide them.


Quote
The corners and braces I recognize as being regular hardware I can buy. Did you buy them in brass and antique them, or did you paint them up?

I bought all that hardware. The corner brackets are "trunk corners", then a bunch of brass corner angle brackets and lots of short #10 brass screws and washers.

The tough part about that was that one of the main reasons for using a metal frame was space. Once the buffet folds up, there's less than 1/4 inch at the top and bottom of clearance, between the monitor and flight stick on the bottom and between monitor and front doors of the cabinet on top.

So that ruled out any wide ornate wood frame (which was my first choice).

BTW All those brass corners and screws are +soldered+ on, the I used a grinder in the back to cut the screws off flush. This is because the copper sheets fits TIGHT up against the monitor itself. There just wasn't any room for nuts inside. (I'm leave the door wide open here  ;) )

I also drilled a few small holes to mount some brass grommets to, just for effect (they kind of remind me of the exhaust vents on old thunderbirds or something like that). You can see that here:
(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=90051.0;attach=139566)

Then, as I was fitting things together I realized that I couldn't fashion the frame as a single piece, cause I wouldn't be able to actually +put it on the monitor+ Doh!

Sooooo, the bottom rail with the control pod I soldered all together, and I soldered the screws holding the corner brackets to it, but for the screws holding it to the side rails, those i actually threaded the copper sheet, screwed the screws into place, then cut off the screws to fit flush from the inside. It means that those screens +could+ pull out relatively easily.

HOWEVER, 2 back screw on each side does have enough clearance for a nut, so I put one on, and, well, people aren't gonna be hanging from my monitor frame so it's not likely to get too much abuse.  :)


And finally, that control pod. It looks cooler than it is  8)

I took a short piece of copper pipe, drilled holes all the way through it, cut some 1" long pieces of copper tubing, drilled holes in THOSE, and soldered them in place in the holes. Then wired up leds to illuminate the buttons and fished them through the holes, running the wires out the end. Wired up all the resistors inline and bundled all that in the end part of the tube (so there's only a 5v line and ground required), fished that wire through the copper pipe, bent and shaped that tubing (it's old refrigerator tubing, amazing what some polishing compound and a bench polisher can do  :afro:

I used brass plumbing flare fittings and caps for the various end caps and such (spent a LOT of time in the plumbing section of Lowes for that stuff), and brass grommets I picked up at a sewing supply place

The buttons themselves are mother of pearl brass snaps I picked up at the same sewing supply place. They're translucent to the led's shine through nicely.

The tricky part was bending and twisting and cutting paperclip wire into little "dumbells" such that one end of the dumbbell sits just on each of the monitor's buttons, and the other sticks up just above the edge of the copper pipe.

Here's a shot of that in process (I posted this earlier in the thread too)
(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=90051.0;attach=139559)

Then, I epoxied the pearl buttons on and viola! working buttons that are nothing more than straight mechanical links. No circuit board mods etc. The really nice thing about all that is that I can unscrew a few screws, take the frame off and the monitor is completely untouched. Stick the stand back on it and it's good to use as a monitor again.

Final step was to polish everything to within an inch of it's life, then Brasso everything, and finally slather it all with Future (floor polish). Dang that stuff is awesome for sealing stuff like this!

It took a while, but I think it came out pretty decent.

I plan on going back and some point and adding a little more brass embellishments, plus maybe some etching, and I'd like to mount several old steam engine oilers I found, and put a little methylene chloride in there, plus a small lamp and an led, and I'll have a mad scientist, bubbling glass beaker!

But, that'll have to wait for now.
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: Benevolance on January 07, 2010, 04:20:06 pm
Awesome, thanks Drventure!

It's going to take me a while to digest all that, but it gives me a good start. And I'll attest that the frame turned out beautifully. Von Slatt would be proud. :) I'm really looking forward to seeing the full buffet finished. Or, well, as finished as an arcade cabinet ever gets. There will always be tinkering to be done, I'm sure.
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: drventure on January 07, 2010, 04:38:47 pm
Von slatt's stuff is truly amazing, but thanks for the comparison!

Yeah, My wife's been bugging me that this little project has taken almost 3 years now  :)

But hey, that's when you know you've got a +good+ hobby!
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: Ryglore on January 07, 2010, 04:41:49 pm
Von slatt's stuff is truly amazing, but thanks for the comparison!

Yeah, My wife's been bugging me that this little project has taken almost 3 years now  :)

But hey, that's when you know you've got a +good+ hobby!

Hey, you said you're on the 7 year plan.
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: drventure on January 07, 2010, 04:44:39 pm
Almost halfway there!

And dang, you pay way too much attention   :D
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: Ryglore on January 07, 2010, 04:45:57 pm
Almost halfway there!

And dang, you pay way too much attention   :D

My brain is a steel trap for useless information. It's a curse.  :lol
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: Benevolance on January 08, 2010, 03:53:26 pm
I went and checked out some break machines. Crap, those are expensive! But it gave me an idea of how it functions.

Did you cut the for the sides to size prior to using the break jig to bend the metal, or did you bend the metal sheets first, and then cut? I'm trying to visualize the process. It seems to me easier to do the former, but I could see where the jig might not be accurate enough, and the bends end up uneven across several pieces, so wanting to cut after would be desireable.
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: drventure on January 08, 2010, 04:30:40 pm
I cut everything first. Otherwise, I'd have been handling an 8' sheet of copper!

Sorry I didn't take any pics of the jig I fashioned. But it was basically clamping down the metal with bar clamps and wood blocks in such a way that I had a wood block underneath it that would put the bend in it. Getting the initial bend started was the tough part, once it started to bend, it was pretty easy.
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: Benevolance on January 08, 2010, 05:30:19 pm
Okay, that was pretty much how I envisioned the process. Do you think it would help to clamp the copper to the wood block start the initial bend with a mallet? Or would that make for an uncrisp line?
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: Bender on January 08, 2010, 05:54:40 pm
Damn!!!!
Haven't seen the thread in a while FANTASTIC work
That monitor case is just sick!
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: drventure on January 08, 2010, 06:34:23 pm
@benevolance

Yeah, actually, I did use a rubber mallet to start the bend. It worked great for short runs, but longer runs were a bit tougher to get the bend nice and crisp, but still straight.

If I had to do it over though, i think I might clamp to 45 degree blocks down and use a 90 degree block on top, then clamp the metal between it (but with the possibility of things sliding around, that might not work too well).

something like this (in wonderful ascii art!)

    V     top block
------- (sheet of copper)
  ^  ^  2 bottom angle blocks

I'm just guessing on that though.


@ Bender

Thanks! I really appreciate that. After wiring up those panel lamps, I have a much deeper admiration of your benderama wiring job with all the buttons wired with rgb leds!



On a somewhat related, I finally succumbed to a bit of "steampunk-gear-itis"  :)

(http://wondermark.com/c/2009-07-28-538fittings.gif)

I'm putting together a cable junction point/cover and decided that a little scrap-clock-parts action was in order here, plus maybe a few vacuum tubes, more red taffeta, some brocade, and some left over brass bits. In this case, it's going at the bottom of the cab, way in the back, so you really won't be able to see it very well, hence I can go a little nuts and use up some of these random parts I've been collecting for 2+ years!

I'll post pics once the idea's gelled a little more.
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: painterinfo on January 09, 2010, 07:19:17 am
drventure I really like your work. I would like to make something like this one day but it seems to need a long term plan.

Stuff made these days is designed to only last a couple of years, Granted you will need to replace it's electronics at some time but it looks like it will last a 100 years, long enough to become a real antique.

This is one of my favorite threads.
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: Ryglore on January 09, 2010, 08:40:58 am
Agreed, his daughter is going to have some fond memories of Daddy working on his big 'puter. ha
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: saurian333 on January 09, 2010, 09:34:55 am

(http://wondermark.com/c/2009-07-28-538fittings.gif)


 :laugh2:  Wondermark is one of my favorites!

drventure I really like your work. I would like to make something like this one day but it seems to need a long term plan.

Steampunk projects can go either way.  They've either been planned out with excruciating detail, or they do sort of like drventure here and just add stuff that looks cool as they go along; it really depends on the project.  Either way can have very impressive results.  Doc has a big cabinet with lots of space to work with, and lots of necessary parts ripe for the dressing-up, so he can build his organically like that, and still end up with a great final product.

The best thing about such projects is that gaudiness is actually a feature, so there's nothing wrong with excess!
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: drventure on January 09, 2010, 09:53:10 am
Thanks for all the kind words! It really does help keep the ball rolling on this project!

Quote
Doc has a big cabinet with lots of space to work with

You know, that's what I thought as I was picking up various pieces that I thought might work in this thing. But it turns out, there's not near as much space as I thought there would be. One of the biggest tricks with this has been making sure that when it folds up, there's still space and clearance for everything.

Quote
Agreed, his daughter is going to have some fond memories of Daddy working on his big 'puter

I hope so. It's a big reason I started the project. Get here comfortable with computer bits and parts! This

This has definitely been an organic project. My original plan didn't even have anything to do with steampunk! Only thing I can say on that is, if you want to do something like this, surf the net, collecting as many photos as possible of stuff that might look good, cruise antique shops and Van Dykes Restoration Hardware, plus the brass fastener isle at the hardware store and collect as much as you can, cause you never know where the inspiration will come from (I never thought I'd be using macrame cord in a Mame cab, for instance!)

Quote
Stuff made these days is designed to only last a couple of years, Granted you will need to replace it's electronics at some time but it looks like it will last a 100 years, long enough to become a real antique.

Thanks, PainterInfo. I'm hoping it'll last that long. Yeah, the electronics will be replaced at some point (after all, I'd love to run cubequest or some of the other 3'd games that are just too dang slow on this particular machine), but since they're all in a "computer case of a fashion", they should be easy to swap out (assume computer components stay the same size or shrink  :D

and yeah, the gaudiness factor definitely makes it more fun. I've got a filecabinet full of parts and bits that I've picked up intending to use that there may just not be space for.

Maybe a portable like the Benderama that folds up into a steamer trunk! (Ack no, not another project!)
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: Ryglore on January 09, 2010, 10:16:13 am
Maybe a portable like the Benderama that folds up into a steamer trunk! (Ack no, not another project!)

That would be pretty need actually....

(Joe Versus the Volcano quote incoming)

Luggage Salesman: This is our premier steamer trunk, it's all handmade, only the finest materials. It's even watertight, tight as a drum. If I had the need, and the wherewithal, Mr. Banks, this would be my trunk of choice.

Joe Banks: I'll take four of them.

Luggage Salesman: May you live to be a thousand years old, sir.
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: drventure on January 10, 2010, 04:17:22 pm
I had a little free time today, so I decided to tackle a long standing problem, how to wire up both an MP3 player AND the main PC audio to my cab speakers, so I can get instant "power up" sound while the PC boots, but then have normal sound in Mame, etc when it finally finishes booting.

I started with a plain audio splitter path cord.

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=90051.0;attach=139893)

these work great for splitting an OUTPUT signal, but not so great for splitting input signals...

After a little digging, i turned up this simple circuit to do the job

(http://www.shed.com/tutor/mixer/circuit_large.gif)

The guy's page is here http://www.shed.com/tutor/mixer/linelevelmixer.html (http://www.shed.com/tutor/mixer/linelevelmixer.html)

This circuit simply mixes two input signals, no vol adjustment, etc, but that's fine for my purposes. Granted, there's plenty of little 30$ mixers for dj's and whatnot out there, but, I already had the splitter cord and resistors, so why not?

After cutting the cord, stripping the wire ends and a lot of CAREFUL soldering (the little wires in those patch cords are THIN!), I ended up with this.

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=90051.0;attach=139895)

and a little electrical tape later, it's all nice and, well, it's not pretty, but it'll get the job done  :)

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=90051.0;attach=139897)

One step closer to having my instant on startup sounds!

Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: Aceldamor on January 13, 2010, 03:36:37 pm
WoW......really man...incredible work.

My fear for you Dr. V is that you have had such fun building the thing, by the time you are finished, you won't want to play  ;D

Very inspiring piece. SP is one of my favorite Genres and I must say you have accomplished your goal sir, above and beyond.   :cheers:

Please tell me you are going to incorporate the working gear system that you can see into a rotating monitor, that would be the topper!
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: drventure on January 13, 2010, 03:51:33 pm
@Aceldamor

Thanks! I really appreciate the feedback!

I'm definitely going to make the monitor rotate. Exactly how, I'm still not sure. Originally, I was thinking lots of interconnected gears, but I'm not sure how I'd hook em all up, and I wasn't even sure where I'd find something suitable. However, I think that motorcycle transmission gears might work quite nicely, If I could figure some reasonable way to mount them to some sort of bearings.

Any ideas there would be much appreciated!

Then, I figured I might be able to use a brass wire and pulley system. You can get brass wire and largish ornate brass pulleys for old grandfather clocks somewhat readily, and for not a lot of money, so that might be another option.

About the playing, yeah, I've already wondered about "When it's done, what then?" I think I bit off a whole lot more project that I thought I was getting into, but I've really had fun doing it.

And there's still a lot of ideas floating around in the back of my head (and on this thread!)  :)
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: saurian333 on January 13, 2010, 08:22:26 pm
About the playing, yeah, I've already wondered about "When it's done, what then?" I think I bit off a whole lot more project that I thought I was getting into, but I've really had fun doing it.

And there's still a lot of ideas floating around in the back of my head (and on this thread!)  :)

On the other hand, this is the type of project that never really has to be "done," isn't it? ;)
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: drventure on January 13, 2010, 08:32:22 pm
Quote
On the other hand, this is the type of project that never really has to be "done," isn't it?

Hehe. Yeah, but my wife would kill you if she read that.
Or rather, she'd kill me.  ;)
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: saurian333 on January 13, 2010, 08:37:26 pm
Quote
On the other hand, this is the type of project that never really has to be "done," isn't it?

Hehe. Yeah, but my wife would kill you if she read that.
Or rather, she'd kill me.  ;)

@ Mrs. drventure:  Um...j/k!  :angel:
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: Benevolance on January 14, 2010, 07:34:14 pm
With any luck, you could convince her not to kill you until after you were finished...
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: drventure on January 16, 2010, 08:40:22 pm
Well, I +tried+ to get video of this, but 3 tries and I still can't get it to come out so I'm giving up on that.

I was playing with my ELWire (I've got several feet left over) and thought it'd be cool to light my cp with it (to a degree anyway).

I rewired up my photocoupler circuit on a spare breadboard (I'd wired all this up once before but never actually hooked it up to me LEDWiz), and hooked it all up to my cab's LEDWiz.

Edit the animation and layout a tad, and lo and behold, I have ELWire that can pulse, flick on and off and animate exactly like any other LED on my cabinet, all controlled via my LEDWiz! It's really pretty cool to watch the ELWire fade in and out. Wish I could have gotten the video to work.

I think it'll make for a really slick looking downlight on the control panel. And now, I know I can completely control the "Nixie tube" letters that will hopefully make up my marquee. I could be very cool to make them animate in time with buttons or music in the game....

Hopefully, I can get a video of it once it's installed.

I'd sure love to see some sideart done with EL Wire. Seems like I recall someone talking about it around here, but never seen any pics...



Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: saurian333 on January 16, 2010, 10:58:35 pm
Edit the animation and layout a tad, and lo and behold, I have ELWire that can pulse, flick on and off and animate exactly like any other LED on my cabinet, all controlled via my LEDWiz! It's really pretty cool to watch the ELWire fade in and out. Wish I could have gotten the video to work.

Sounds cool; hope you can get a vid to work at some point. :)  That stuff looks like fun to play with.

Sideart would be interesting, if done right.  I have a feeling it would be a fine line between looking very cool and just being a fugly mess.  Maybe if one carved into the side of the cab, and set the ELWire into the grooves?
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: drventure on January 16, 2010, 11:14:53 pm
Yeah, I'm seeing it as an inlay of some sort. one of those small one hand trim routers would probably work great for that.

I'm going to try my hand at some inlay myself. My dad has said I'm crazy to even try with this formica. I've got some left over so I can use it as a test (won't even think of touch my CP till I'm fairly sure I can pull it off).

I've got a brass plate I fashioned up to trim out my flight stick, but it would REALLY look best inlaid into the CP surface.

If that works, I may just have to strip off the stamped compass points I put on and do em in real brass    ;)

Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: saurian333 on January 17, 2010, 04:17:52 am
Yeah, I'm seeing it as an inlay of some sort. one of those small one hand trim routers would probably work great for that.

I'm going to try my hand at some inlay myself. My dad has said I'm crazy to even try with this formica. I've got some left over so I can use it as a test (won't even think of touch my CP till I'm fairly sure I can pull it off).

I've got a brass plate I fashioned up to trim out my flight stick, but it would REALLY look best inlaid into the CP surface.

If that works, I may just have to strip off the stamped compass points I put on and do em in real brass    ;)


I haven't worked much with formica myself, but I imagine it's a ---smurfette--- to keep from chipping and such.  I wonder if you'd be better off hand-carving it somehow (not sure what tool would be best for that).

If you're referring to a "laminate trimmer," I just got one myself.  $22 at Menards, works just as well as a router on smaller jobs.  I used it to flush-trim my plexi to the lid of my cab, and it was PERFECT.  (I'll be posting pics of that soon; getting close to the final stretch before I get my controls and computer.)

EDIT:  I feel like I've been pimping out that trimmer a lot.  I guess I really like it.
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: drventure on January 24, 2010, 04:12:45 pm
Ok, finally got some decent video of the ELWire controller.

First a couple of shots of the board (yeah, I decided to be somewhat professional about it and actually solder things down vs just using a proto board  :) )

Top of the board
(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=90051.0;attach=140714)

The LEDWiz outputs (that would normally go to an ACTUAL led) go in the top connectors.

The ELWire AC voltage (from the transformer), goes in the side).

And the switched ELWire voltage comes out the bottom.

There are circuits to control 2 elwire segments, via 2 LEDWiz outputs on this one board.

Here's the back (no laughing at my soldering job  ;)

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=90051.0;attach=140712)

And here's a little vid of it in action (hopefully, I've got the embed right)

All I've done with this is set it to the LEDWiz built in ramp up/down animation.

ELWirePulse.AVI (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yj_XlnaXgs0#)

Not a huge deal, I suppose, but it's been fun working out the circuit. Technically, this circuit should be good to control any kind of ELWire or ELTape/panel you want.

I'm wiring up a few "Power coils" like the above, plus some downlight effects on the control panel itself, that'll all be controlled along with all the LED's via the LEDWiz.

Believe it or not, it's bright enough to see the pulsing even during the day, though it's definitely more impressive with the room darkened  8)
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: thatpurplestuff on January 24, 2010, 05:00:42 pm
Holy crap that is awesome!  Honestly that looks really slick, and the "small" (in size, not in coolness) details like this are really going to make your cab shine.  This thing is already looking great and it just keeps getting better.

As a side note, thank you very much for your electrical input for the skeeball build.  I've had to take a short build break since we've been having to pay deposits for various wedding services and money is pretty tight right now, but I plan on resuming work shortly.  Thanks again!
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: painterinfo on January 24, 2010, 08:25:16 pm
That ELWire looks like interesting stuff and the way you have it curled and pulsing like an old fashioned light bulb fits in well with the theme. I bet not even the ELWire people have it do that. 
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: drventure on January 24, 2010, 10:04:50 pm
Thanks, guys

Yeah, I've seen some blinking ELWire, that kind of thing, but only in tshirts or backpacks. The really cool thing is, once you hook it up to a controller like the LEDWiz and an app like LEDBlinky (Thanks Arzoo!), effects like that are childs play.  Unfortunately, the controller circuit isn't particularly cheap.
At frys, I spent approx
2.50 for the optoisolator
2.50 for the triac
4 for 2 small breadboards (so 2 for the one).
3.50 for 6 screw down molex connectors
probably .05 a piece for the resistors

so about 9$ to control one ELwire segment. Granted, there's places online that sell these components for MUCH cheaper esp in bulk, but still.

Next up (when I get a few bucks) is to pick up one of those Ambi light sets. It'd be utterly fantastic to have all the cab lights dance in time (and color) to what's going on onscreen.

And if I can ever get DirectShow filters figured out, I might just be able to put a first release of Engine18 up.
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: saurian333 on January 25, 2010, 02:29:44 pm
WOW, that is really slick.  I love the coil.  How much does the LEDWiz software allow you to customize the pulsing?  Could you make it, say, slower/more gradual or even randomized?  That would be exceedingly cool.  I'm going to have to pick one of those up when I have the cash to spare, just to play around with.

Where did you get your ELWire from?  (My apologies if you've said so; I'm obviously too lazy to search through the thread.)  I'd like to experiment with that stuff as well, time/$ permitting.

As always, excellent work, Doc.  I'll almost be sad when you decide this thing is finished!
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: drventure on January 25, 2010, 03:22:15 pm
Quote
I'll almost be sad when you decide this thing is finished

 :laugh2: That's assuming it ever gets "finished"  :)

I got mine here
http://stores.ebay.com/GlowinWire (http://stores.ebay.com/GlowinWire)

But there's lots of places to get it on ebay. Thing is, i could never find a stateside seller. Oh well. I tried.

I also picked up one of these usb EL Wire inverters. Works great.

http://cgi.ebay.com/USB-inverter-for-3Meters-el-wire_W0QQitemZ120384615603QQcmdZViewItemQQptZLH_DefaultDomain_0?hash=item1c077b74b3 (http://cgi.ebay.com/USB-inverter-for-3Meters-el-wire_W0QQitemZ120384615603QQcmdZViewItemQQptZLH_DefaultDomain_0?hash=item1c077b74b3)

They also sell el sheets you can cut any which way you want.

I haven't played much with LEDBlinky (just enough to make sure I could control the wire through it). I'm pretty sure you can set up animations just about any way you want to with it though.

I'll definitely post more on that once I get to that point.
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: saurian333 on January 25, 2010, 06:06:01 pm
Cool, thanks for the info.  That stuff isn't actually as expensive as I thought.  That means it's going to make its way to my workbench [via my wallet], because I need more of that sort of thing [like a hole in the head].
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: drventure on January 25, 2010, 06:20:49 pm
 ;D

Not that anyone "needs" any of this stuff, but it sure is fun to play around with.

I know I can't wait to pick up that ambx kit and either some wiimote guns or a pair of aimtracks!

The Hand Cannons that one of the other threads here mentioned would be perfect for this cab (with the requisite steam punkiification!)

(http://cowfish.org.uk/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/02/overkill-hand-cannon.jpg)

Just imagine +that+ in brass and nickel with some gears and gel filled test tubes! Oh yeah!
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: painterinfo on January 25, 2010, 08:37:26 pm
I would "go medieval" with a Hellboy gun
http://images.google.com.au/images?hl=en&q=gun%20hellboy (http://images.google.com.au/images?hl=en&q=gun%20hellboy)
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: drventure on January 25, 2010, 09:29:55 pm
Yeah, there's no way I'd leave those Hand cannons alone. I like the lower barrel on the "good samaritan".

Great name, too  :)
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: saurian333 on January 26, 2010, 08:17:39 pm
Just imagine +that+ in brass and nickel with some gears and gel filled test tubes! Oh yeah!

THAT would be cool.  Now you have to do it. :lol

Seriously, you've got my hopes up now.  I won't let this one go!
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: Aceldamor on February 18, 2010, 11:44:43 am
Hey Doc,

Found a cool mouse for your Cab...

Gizmodo (http://gizmodo.com/5474667/rotobotmouse-is-the-computer-mouse-offspring-of-dr-robotnik)
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: drventure on February 18, 2010, 12:03:46 pm
 :)

Pretty cool. I think I'd make it wireless though.

I like the concept of that red light "lighting up your palm from underneath".

I've actually been toying with the idea of cobbling together a "sonic screwdriver" with a wiimote in it for a mouse. But, given that the way I've got my trackball and buttons configured, that they work pretty well for what limited mouse stuff I need to do on the cab, i'll probably wait on that particular project.

Besides, I +REALLY+ want to get a working steam/smoke generator hooked into it somehow now
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: Aceldamor on February 18, 2010, 12:07:09 pm
I know it's a small scale, but have you looked into the smoke generating devices on HO scale model railroad engines? Perhaps you can glean inspiration from one of those.
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: drventure on February 18, 2010, 12:43:08 pm
Yes, actually, that's +exactly+ what I've been looking at. They're typically wired for 12v, so that's easy. And they aren't terribly expensive. I'm just wondering about the smoke fluid reservoir and whether the stuff evaporates quickly. It'd suck to have to refill it every time I turn on the cab...

Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: Aceldamor on February 18, 2010, 05:22:08 pm
You could make a tank that feeds the device. IIRC, a few drops of smoke lasted a while...though it wasn't a ton of smoke. It almost looked like cigarette smoke coming out of the engine. It was a cool effect for model railroading though.

I wonder if you could scale it up to perhaps "O" scale, or something that might give you a bit more "umph".
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: gryhnd on March 26, 2010, 10:02:54 am
OT, but I thought of the Dr when I saw this: http://www.slashfilm.com/2010/03/22/cool-stuff-steampunk-stormtrooper-helmet-boba-fett-and-princess-leia/ (http://www.slashfilm.com/2010/03/22/cool-stuff-steampunk-stormtrooper-helmet-boba-fett-and-princess-leia/)
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: ammitz on March 26, 2010, 10:13:32 am
Hi drventure

You have done a great job  :applaud:

I'm wondering if there is any update on your build?

Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: Epyx on March 26, 2010, 11:48:55 am
Quote
I'm wondering if there is any update on your build?

+1
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: Benevolance on March 26, 2010, 07:38:49 pm
+2
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: drventure on March 26, 2010, 07:49:50 pm
Ack! Ok Ok!

I'll get some pics posted this weekend. Progress has been slow, what with the looking for a job and all.

But I've picked up a few REALLY interesting trinkets to add to the menagerie, so it's all good.

Plus, I finally got up the guts to take a dremel to my nice smooth black laminate CP top and do some brass inlay. The first cut is always the toughest  :)

And I got my ELWire control circuit all done and hooked up so i can control elwire elements via the LEDWiz.

Anyway, hopefully more tomorrow.
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: thatpurplestuff on March 27, 2010, 05:31:25 am
Although late, I just wanted to add my name to the list of people that needs an update to this thing!
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: XtraSmiley on March 27, 2010, 01:40:07 pm
Looking for a job?  Man, you could sell these things as a job!  I'd love to commission you to build me a steampunk MAME machine....
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: drventure on March 27, 2010, 01:48:54 pm
I dunno. I'd have to get a LOT faster at it to actually make any money (unless of course, you're Jay Leno, or Bill Gates  :), in that case, YES I'd be happy to build you one! )
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: drventure on March 29, 2010, 12:20:44 am
Ok, got a few pics of some things I've been working on
First, Dust washers. I was ok, with my hand painted black plastic washers

I thought I'd posted pics of them, but I guess I never did. Here's a close up.
(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=90051.0;attach=144754)

It's ok, but. meh.

Anyway, I was surfing ebay a few weeks ago for bits and pieced and came across a guy blowing out as set of these antique brass knob back plates at about .25c each, so I figured I certainly could use em for something.

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=90051.0;attach=144752)

When I got them, and starting looking at em, they looked to me to be almost perfect Dust washers for my cab, and I had 20 to play with.

Pull out the Drill press and dremel to cut the hole bigger and polish it out nicely, and presto, late 1800's arcade dust washer goodness!

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=90051.0;attach=144750)


I also picked up an old brass Barometer and an industrial ammeter that reads to 2500 amps!

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=90051.0;attach=144756)

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=90051.0;attach=144758)

The Barometer is going in, pretty much unchanged except I'm making a new casing for it.

The Ammeter is getting a new casing as well, plus it's being repurposed as an actual working gauge to show the CPU utilization. Essentially. I'm running one of my LED wiz outputs through a trim pot and then directly into the ammeter as if it was a Voltmeter. With the right resistance, it'll read 0-5v across it's entire range. Write a little service to convert CPU usage to an LEDWiz output color, say, 5-10 times per second and presto!

Here's a shot of the Ammeter in progress. It still needs some finishing, plus the brass bolts and copper lugs that'll connect the LEDWiz signal to it (all via cloth covered wired), but that's not quite done yet. The brass lamps in the background are a couple french antiques I picked up on a whim a few days ago. They just looked too cool to pass up, though I'm not sure what I'll do with em yet.

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=90051.0;attach=144760)


I also chopped into my CP top's formica to fashion up the brass inlay that'll go around the flight stick.

I'd already cut the inlay, so here's a pic of the cut out formica, the inlay, and the brass grommet that will trim it all off.
(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=90051.0;attach=144776)



And finally, I actually wrote about doing something like this way back here
http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?topic=88515.msg972839#msg972839 (http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?topic=88515.msg972839#msg972839)

But, recently, I stumbled on a site that was blowing out those very car plasma balls for 5$ or so, so I was hooked.

First, I practiced drilling out the holes on some scrap (I'd be drilling into my stained and finished CP, so I knew I'd better get it right or I'd really be kicking myself).
(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=90051.0;attach=144772)

Next, I scrounged around for something to trim it out. I ended up finding a nice assortment of clock bezels, 3 of which, in combination (along with some epoxy), worked perfect.
(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=90051.0;attach=144770)

I polished the bezels up and they looked far better
(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=90051.0;attach=144768)

Then I breathed deep and took the plunge
(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=90051.0;attach=144766)

Finished out the hole
(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=90051.0;attach=144764)


I cut a short piece of 3 inch PVC pipe and glued it to the backside of the hole then stuck industrial velcro to the outside of the tube and to the back of the plasma ball itself. That way, I can easily pop the ball out and replace it if it fails.


End result?
No18's Computational Ganglion

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=90051.0;attach=144774)

I dimmed the lights a bit for the photo, but believe it or not, that plasma ball is completely visible in full sun.

It's 12v, so I've got a little 12v supply powering it right now, but eventually, I plan on hooking it up via an SSR to my LED wiz so I can make it pulse or change it's activity rate in sync with something going on on the computer proper. It's actually kind of cool. If you drop the voltage, you get fewer of those plasma spikes, at 12v, a LOT of them, at 9, quite a few fewer, at 5, fewer still, at 2v, only a few spikes. I don't THINK there'd be any electrical issues with that.... but till I clear that up, I'm leaving it just powered at 12v, just like it would be in your car.


Well, that's it for right now. Lots of little stuff, lots of pieces in flux, but I least I finished out the plasma ball install. Those brass bezels really make it look like it's actually there for a purpose  ;)



Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: thatpurplestuff on March 29, 2010, 12:40:00 am
Absolutely SICK!  Seriously, wow... awesome work!
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: Epyx on March 29, 2010, 12:43:04 am
Very Nice! Good to see an update...just love the vibe and atmosphere of this build!  :cheers:
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: wilno45 on March 29, 2010, 03:08:50 am
Very nice drventure, those brass dust covers match perfectly. The ammeter and barometer will go very nicely too.

 :applaud:
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: ammitz on March 29, 2010, 03:21:54 am
OMG you are amazing!

Very beautiful craftmanship and a very innovatively build  :applaud:
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: drventure on March 29, 2010, 07:51:34 am
Here's one more shot. That last one was kinda dark, this one shows the bezels around the ball a little better.

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=90051.0;attach=144788)

@Ammitz and Thatpurplestuff - Thanks!
@Epyx - Thanks, and same to you for that Aliens build!
@wilno45 - Yeah, that was a happy coincidence. I had measured them and from the measurements, i thought they'd be too big. But not at all.

Plus with those grommets I picked up ages ago, the grommets lift the washers off the surface of the CP, just a little bit, but enough to keep it from dragging over the cp and scuffing up the stamping. Doubly important if you're actually using metal dust washers!

The barometer and ammeter I think will look great, but that'll pretty much do it for space. I've still got to mount all my elwire nixie tubes and get them wired as well, plus run all the cabling around. And then there's the whole rotating monitor conundrum  :)
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: ninjasquirrel on March 29, 2010, 12:46:39 pm
Amazing job on all accounts drventure!  Very inventive use of materials...I love the look of this thing.  I also like the Mala layout you have going on.  Overall great work, keep it coming!
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: Santoro on March 29, 2010, 03:48:53 pm
wow. 


Did I say wow?   Wow.
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: emphatic on March 29, 2010, 07:00:21 pm
EPIC.  :applaud:
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: KapnKerfuffle on March 29, 2010, 09:09:43 pm
Oddsbodkins man!  Top hole!  A regular stunner!
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: drventure on March 29, 2010, 09:19:23 pm
Thanks, guys

and @KapnKerfuffle....

I almost spewed when I read your tag line

"Screw the inscrutable"

 :laugh2:
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: Ond on April 01, 2010, 05:21:47 pm
Just got back from some hiking and camping and checked your thread, very nice work on the plasma ball addition!  This machine has so many interesting features now that someone seeing it for the first time would need at least 15 minutes of close inspection just to take it all in (and they'd probably still miss something).  It would be an awesome piece of work even if it wasn't functional.  I want to see the prank video where it's been placed in some dusty corner of a second hand / antique store and some customers 'discover' it.   :lol  On a recent trip with the family we visited one of those 'historic' steam era towns, guess who was busy taking pics of steam era bits and bobs for some design work? "come on dad, you've taken like 20 shots of that stuff already"  "wait, wait, I gotta get one more close up".   ;D
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: rablack97 on April 01, 2010, 08:14:00 pm
Awesome as always........one of a kind and still improving.............. :applaud: :applaud: :applaud:
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: drventure on April 02, 2010, 12:51:05 am
@rablack - Thanks!

@Ond - That'd be a great prank!
It's funny, my wife once commented that it seemed like I was putting too much on there, and that you wouldn't know where to look  :)

I laughed and said "That's the whole point!"

I want to see some of the steampunk art when you get it there!
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: kop on April 04, 2010, 06:56:42 am
This project is just brilliant.  Your attention to detail is awesome.  :applaud:

And using an old analogue ammeter to show CPU utilisation has gotta be one of the coolest ideas I've ever seen on an arcade cab. Very clever.
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: oldgamesrbetter on April 04, 2010, 09:04:42 am
Jesus christ this is awesome. I loooooooooove the antique look you have going.  :notworthy:

_____________________________________________
ARCADE VORTEX http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?topic=99724.0 (http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?topic=99724.0)

(http://i78.photobucket.com/albums/j91/steve1331/av.gif)
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: Bender on April 04, 2010, 09:46:23 am
This project is just brilliant.  Your attention to detail is awesome.  :applaud:

And using an old analogue ammeter to show CPU utilisation has gotta be one of the coolest ideas I've ever seen on an arcade cab. Very clever.

Wait... What....?

That meter is going to show the CPU usage?
Damn this is what happens when you just look at the pictures
I totally missed that!
THAT is cool!!!!!

I thought they were just for decoration
Should have known better with the Dr. in the house!
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: drventure on April 04, 2010, 09:50:41 pm
@kop and Bender - Thanks. I saw that ammeter and just thought it looked soooo appropriate, I had to use it somehow.

I found some projects online where guys had wired up voltmeters for similar purposes, but not an ammeter, and certainly not a 2500amp ammeter  :)

Turns out, it's pretty trivial, assuming you've got a way to get a variable voltage to the thing (and, hey, isn't that what an LEDWiz is all about!)

I'll by posting pics of that subbuild pretty soon. I'm not completely sure exactly what I'll represent with it, most likely CPU, cause I've already tried that out and I know it works, but maybe something else?


@oldgamesrbetter -  :), your handle says it all, and +really really+ old-ish games, with lots of brass and pin-tuck taffeta are even better  ;) Thanks!
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: kyoke on April 05, 2010, 10:44:12 am
I'm amazed by the constant ingenuity on this project! It's making me want to put together an "antiquee" bartop, like in an old foot locker chest or something. Keep up the good work drventure!
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: drventure on April 07, 2010, 09:41:45 pm
That sounds like a cool idea for a juke or a single player console.

I'm still keeping an eye out for an old victrola or rca radio that is busted enough that's it's not worth anything as an antique but decent enough that I could restore and retrofit it.

Yeah, like those come around every day  ;)
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: oldgamesrbetter on April 09, 2010, 08:28:56 am
Seriously.. if your project was a woman i'd make sweet sweet love to her <3

_____________________________________________
ARCADE VORTEX http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?topic=99724.0 (http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?topic=99724.0)

(http://i78.photobucket.com/albums/j91/steve1331/avav.jpg)
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: GadgetGeek on April 09, 2010, 12:44:49 pm
Just in case you were running out of ideas (http://blog.makezine.com/archive/2010/04/victorian_computer_command_center.html)

The steampunk usb key is awesome.
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: drventure on April 09, 2010, 11:29:23 pm
@GadgetGeek

Wow! talk about some ideas! I wonder how long that guys been collecting stuff that have that big an assortment of bits to put together.

Very cool! Thanks for that link!
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: drventure on May 02, 2010, 11:07:56 pm
Well, I've had basically no time to work on my project lately <sigh>

I did a little on a couple gauges, but that's about it.

I did however, just snag a pretty sweet deal on an AMBX system.

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=90051.0;attach=146730)

I got the full set, 2 lights, a wallwasher, 2 fans (not sure how or even if I'll use em), a wrist rumbler (I'm thinking that might be cool screwed to the underside of my CP), and even a dang subwoofer (this is the full multimedia system, which includes speakers and a sub, not just the lights.)

I don't really need the speakers and sub (my cab already has all that), but for the price, I couldn't pass it up. They may just have to be sacrificed to the arcade gods  >:D

The thing works a treat. What's better, my test app I put together using the ambx hardware simulator works perfectly with it too, Under win7 64bit, no less.

As a side note, I happened across one of these at bestbuy recently

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=90051.0;attach=146732)

http://store.phantomdynamics.com/amdjmebar50r.html (http://store.phantomdynamics.com/amdjmebar50r.html)

BestBuy was wanting 150$ for the thing too. Um... No.

But I could really see that used to color wash the floor around a cab or the wall behind a cab. Surely there's cheaper alternatives (actually, the AMBX stuff looks to be a pretty decent cheaper alternative).

Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: drventure on May 07, 2010, 08:01:58 pm
I posted this over in the pinball forum as well, not sure which is more appropriate, but I thought I'd post the gist of the question here too, just in case anyone that's following my thread proper might have any ideas.

My cab has a pinball plunger for use with virtual pinball. Picked it up a while back on ebay.
Thing is it was all chrome, which didn't work right with my cab at all.

So I found a local guy that does brass plating. Well, long story short, that as more than 5 +months+ ago (when he told me the slowest he'd have it done by was 6 weeks!). Yeah, I was pretty much thinking I'd never see my parts again.

I finally resorted to pestering the hell out of the guy till he relented and finished them up, and I got them back.

Well, in all those 5 months, the guy NEVER thought to call me and tell me he couldn't plate the damn aluminum knob on the end of the plunger! Jeez, talk about great customer service!<sheesh>

Anyway, so now I have a nicely brass plated pinball plunger with an aluminum knob on the end!<urg>

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=90051.0;attach=146950)

So, here's want I +want+ to do.

I found a nice victorian style cabinet knob, standard screw mount.

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=90051.0;attach=146952)

So I'd like to take the aluminum knob off and put this on.

BUT, it looks like the aluminum knob has been hydraulically pressed on.

I could pull out an angle grinder and get it off, but then, given that the plunger rod looks like stainless steel, i'm not sure even IF I could drill and thread a hole in the end for a screw to mount the new knob.

Anyone have any suggestions?
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: Yvan256 on May 07, 2010, 08:29:08 pm
It looks like the aluminum knob has been hydraulically pressed on.

If you look at it, it seems to have pressed indentations to keep it in place. The good thing is, aluminium should be relatively easy to cut, but if you do there's a chance you'll cut the stainless steel rod too... My advice would be to go slowly while cutting, since you probably don't know how deep the rod goes inside the aluminium knob. Or you could just cut the whole thing where the aluminium ends and drill a hole for a bolt in the rod itself... but since I have no experience with such things, please take my advices with a grain of salt.
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: Benevolance on May 08, 2010, 12:47:38 pm
I guess living with the little bit of silver as an accent colour is out of the question?
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: drventure on May 08, 2010, 03:03:54 pm
Quote
I guess living with the little bit of silver as an accent colour is out of the question?

 :)

I suppose that's a possibility too

I posted to the pinball forum as well, and qbert247 pointed me to a site that sells these.

(http://www.zplating.com/cart/images/products/preview/ballybrod.jpg) :o

I'm going to try grafting a knob on, if that fails, I'll be picking up one of those plated shooters.
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: gryhnd on May 08, 2010, 09:17:01 pm
(http://www.zplating.com/cart/images/products/preview/ballybrod.jpg)

Mother's Day bouquet?
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: drventure on May 08, 2010, 10:06:49 pm
Quote
Mother's Day bouquet?

 :laugh2:

I'm not sure she'd appreciate it, but +I+ think that'd be awesome!
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: drventure on May 25, 2010, 01:24:22 am
Got a little time over last week to finish out the pinball shooter.

I took a page from OND's light up shooter, and added a little LED bling in the form of two amethyst mother of pearl insets, plus I ground off the top of the shooter knob and added a little victorian flare. It's all polished brass, but the picture doesn't really do that justice (the flash has a way of doing that it seems).

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=90051.0;attach=147705)

Next up, I've put down a first round redoing the CP "artwork" as it were. I'll post some pics to get general feedback before I seal it down. I think it turned out pretty decent, but I'd love some feedback from the more graphically minded of you guys out there.

I'll try to get those up tomorrow.
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: Epyx on May 25, 2010, 01:02:34 pm
Looks great! Although you skipped a step!  :cheers:

Quote
BUT, it looks like the aluminum knob has been hydraulically pressed on.

I could pull out an angle grinder and get it off, but then, given that the plunger rod looks like stainless steel, i'm not sure even IF I could drill and thread a hole in the end for a screw to mount the new knob.

Anyone have any suggestions?

All of a sudden it's on...what did you end up doing? ;)
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: drventure on May 25, 2010, 10:07:17 pm
Hehe. I totally cheated  :)

First, I grabbed my angle grinder and ground off the bump on the aluminum part of the shooter knob.

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=90051.0;attach=147728)

Then, I had several extra of these fancy filigree "beads" I picked up at Micheals a while back.

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=90051.0;attach=147730)

They originally had a small loop sticking out to thread ribbon through (for putting them on jewelry and what not).

I cut that off, filed and smoothed it out.

Sprayed the aluminum part of the knob with brass spray paint, washed it in india ink to "age" it a bit.

Then JBWelded the bead to the face of the knob.

Then, so that it'd be all sealed up, I grabbed some extra clear casting epoxy that I had lying around, mixed a small amount up and just poured it over the knob portion (not the rod).

Let it set and presto! victorian pinball shooter!
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: Epyx on May 26, 2010, 11:00:44 am
Awesome solution to your dilemna drventure!  :cheers:

Thanks for taking the time to post what you ended up doing...I find these workarounds you come up with among the most fascinating of your updates!
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: drventure on May 26, 2010, 07:05:37 pm
Thanks Epyx

I think it turned out fairly nice. Maybe not quite as nice as those completely plated shooters, but I would have probably ground the bump off one of those and epoxied that bead on it too, just because it looks so much more "old-old school"  :)
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: drventure on May 26, 2010, 08:34:18 pm
Ok, I need a little feedback on the new CP artwork I'm contemplating.

For reference, so that you don't have to go scrolling back through this voluminous thread  :)

Here's what my CP started out life looking like.

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=90051.0;attach=147810)


And after the first stab at gold stamping artwork, here's what I had.

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=90051.0;attach=147812)


Since the clear coat flaked off, I basically had to redo all the stamp work i'd done, and I thought the button areas just looked too dang plain, so I dressed em up  a little.

Here's the new look (forgive the lack of buttons and sticks, they're all out right now pending the final clear coat:

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=90051.0;attach=147808)


I think it works much nicer. There's still "dark space" but there's not near as much of it, which seems to gel with the rest of the cab design.

If it's bogus, i can strip it at this point with some alcohol and take another round, but I kinda like this look.

Any thoughts? Too much?  :)
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: Epyx on May 26, 2010, 08:39:30 pm
Quote
I think it works much nicer. There's still "dark space" but there's not near as much of it, which seems to gel with the rest of the cab design.

Agreed and not bogus at all. I think it looks great and the motif's surrounding the buttons definitely brings the CP together!  :cheers:
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: Ond on May 26, 2010, 09:33:06 pm
Quote
I think it works much nicer. There's still "dark space" but there's not near as much of it, which seems to gel with the rest of the cab design.

Agreed and not bogus at all. I think it looks great and the motif's surrounding the buttons definitely brings the CP together!  :cheers:

+1, hell of a thing to have to redo but definitely worth the effort.  With your cab it's all about enjoying the fine detail, taking it in and appreciating the effect you've achieved.  In some parallel universe HG Wells is drooling over the  No. 18 Arqadium Engine.  Nice work on the plunger it's been doct'rd just right.
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: drventure on May 26, 2010, 09:55:26 pm
Thanks, guys!

I appreciate the feedback.

I think i'll be sealing it up the weekend then! Yay! Finally able to get back to some of the other bits (like those ELWire nixie tubes I've had stashed for a year now)

Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: Bender on May 26, 2010, 11:08:29 pm
Looking great Dr. :cheers: :cheers:
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: thatpurplestuff on May 27, 2010, 12:03:36 am
Fantastic job on that plunger, and the CP (again)!  Seal that baby up and get working with those tubes!
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: R0UNDEYEZ on May 27, 2010, 03:43:22 am
I've just found this thread for the first time tonight and read the whole thing.. amazing!
I love steampunk as a style and had considered it when building mine, but decided against it because I couldn't think of anything for the joysticks and buttons..and well, to really make it look great like you have it takes attention to those sort of details. You said its going on 3 years somewhere in the thread.. do the buttons still have good finish? I wrote off painting as an option figuring they would wear off and get "gummy" with use.
I am also curious about the pinball plunger rod, is it hooked up to a button? I seem to have missed how it interfaces.

great project though, A+ on all the details man.
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: drventure on May 27, 2010, 07:51:08 am
@Roundeyez

Thanks! Actually, I posted about the shooter on the very first page

http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?topic=88515.msg950177#msg950177 (http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?topic=88515.msg950177#msg950177)

Here's a pick

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=88515.0;attach=119852)

The buttons have actually held up fantastically. I think the key is the scuffing and the primer. But the future is equally important to seal everything up. That stuff is amazing.

That page above details the steps I used to finish out the buttons.

@Bender and thatpurplestuff

Thanks guys! Sometimes, you get so close to something, it becomes tough to tell whether you're still on track or not. Thanks for the feedback!
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: rablack97 on May 27, 2010, 10:30:27 am
 :notworthy: :notworthy: :applaud: :applaud: :dizzy: :dizzy: :cheers: :cheers: :laugh2: :laugh2: :timebomb: :blowup:

Greatness sent me into delirium....Awesome man, just awesome
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: Benevolance on May 28, 2010, 02:28:01 pm
I really dig the extra detailing on the control panel. Good choices!
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: drventure on May 29, 2010, 12:39:52 pm
Thanks for the comments! Yeah, the extra artwork/patterns I think really improve things.


The pinball shooter got me thinking, so I decided to dress up my spintrack similiarly. That spinner knob had always bugged me a bit.

I started with the normal spinner plus a big brass "necklace bead" that I found at michaels. Notice the little wire hanger bit at the top.
(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=90051.0;attach=147955)

I cut the wire hanger off, then polished it up a bit to smooth it out.

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=90051.0;attach=147959)

Here's a test fit

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=90051.0;attach=147961)

And from the top

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=90051.0;attach=147963)


And the final result in place (Haven't put the buttons back on yet)

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=90051.0;attach=147965)

I think it turned out nice, for using a standard spinner knob. My original idea was to replace it with an old victorian style cabinet knob or doorknob, but I think this works pretty good. Much better than before, and it's easy enough to pop it off and redo with something else if I feel like it later...

Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: Benevolance on May 29, 2010, 01:26:19 pm
Wow! That turned out brilliant. It's like a pocket watch.
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: emphatic on May 29, 2010, 01:53:17 pm
 :applaud:
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: drventure on May 29, 2010, 03:02:53 pm
Thanks, I actually have a pile of old watch and clock gears that I'd tried to come up with a way to fit in or on that spinner, but in the end, it's still gotta be aspinner, if there's gear spikes or sharp things poking out, it might look cool, but you'd never want to actually use it.

I think this option is a nice blend of nice-looking-for-this-cab while still completely playable.

Besides I was envious of all the cabs I've seen around here that use those BYOAC token inserts on their spinners.
(http://retroblast.arcadecontrols.com/photos/TokenTop/tokentop2.jpg)

Those are great! I had looked a LONG time ago for something like a fake doubloon  to use in a similar fashion but never did find anything available that was the right size and all.

(http://www.centralstates.info/images/brasher_doubloon_obv.jpg)


Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: Benevolance on May 29, 2010, 03:13:18 pm
Now everyone else can be envious of your golden knob. ;)

I showed the cabinet to my wife. She's a bigger steampunk geek than I am. She was very impressed with the build and wanted me to pass along her compliments. I sincerely hope I am not soon asked to duplicate your efforts. :P
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: drventure on May 29, 2010, 03:30:37 pm
Quote
I sincerely hope I am not soon asked to duplicate your efforts

 ;D

If I'd known what I was getting myself into, I might not have even started. But it's been a ton of fun coming up with all this stuff.

You definitely wouldn't want to duplicate my efforts, though :) Pretty much everything I've done has been "Don't bother measuring, cut 4 or 5 times"  :D

However, if I had to do it over, it could be done a lot cheaper and quicker now!
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: Ond on May 29, 2010, 06:07:47 pm
On the wife score-o-meter topic, I showed this cab to mine, her first word on seeing it was "beautiful".  You must be getting it right doc.   ;D  She said to pass on her compliments.
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: drventure on May 29, 2010, 06:18:58 pm
Wow. Thanks Ond!

I was talking with mine last night. She's getting a tad annoyed that we haven't been able to actually play it in a while cause it's all in pieces again.

But I explained that, really, at this point, for me anyways, it's kind of becoming more an operational work of art than just a gaming console. And art takes patience  ;D

BTW, when's that radar dish of your's gonna get mounted. I can't wait to see that!
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: Ond on May 29, 2010, 06:34:37 pm
Welcome,   :lol "operational work of art"  I'm going to use that term too. The radar dish is happening in about a week, I'm obsessing about (and working on) the CP it's mounted in place on new hinges but more work is needed.
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: drventure on May 29, 2010, 06:49:21 pm
Ok. A little more work and more request for feedback  :)

I know several cabs that have including light up buttons. Ond's buttons, with the glowing rings are probably the slickest in my mind, but, as I stared at things this morning, I just could not come up with any way to do that particular trick that wouldn't look utterly out of place.

So then I started thinking about putting the lights "beside" the buttons. My first thought was to use some little gold findings that I originally used as insets in some of my buttons...

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=90051.0;attach=147976)

But that just looks too busy to me. Plus those findings raise up from the cp surface, which would make restamping very difficult (and if history has taught me anything, it's that I'll likely be restamping again before this is done  ;) )

But then I thought, why not just ditch the findings and just have a little hole beside the button.

Pull out the drill and the scrap sample I made to try out inlaying, and viola!

From an angle
(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=90051.0;attach=147972)

From head on
(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=90051.0;attach=147974)

When it's dark
(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=90051.0;attach=147978)

another angle
(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=90051.0;attach=147980)

The varying glossiness is me testing how future would look and hold up on that formica (It seems to work very nicely, so far anyway).

Those last two images, if you look, there's actually 4 holes there of varying dia.

The very smallest is toward the middle in the last image.

That's what I'm tending towards right now. To cap it, I "commandeered" some citrine beads from my wife's bead collection.

They're small, yellowish, and fit perfectly. I drill a very small hole through the front, then CAREFULLY drill a bigger hole through the back, big enough to jam the bead into and snug it up to the underside of the formica top.

In the end, the bead is clearish, but doesn't show up as a brightish yellow spot when the LED is off, as a yellow LED would if I just snugged the LED up right to the underside of the formica.

In fact, as you can see from the bottom photo the bead almost makes the hole completely disappear when the LED is off.

But yet it's VERY visible, even with the lights on, when the LED is on.

I +really+ like the idea of lighting up which buttons are active when a game is selected. That's the whole point of this.

I also like the notion that I can insert and wire up these LEDs and they'll stay in place, I won't have to mess with them If I ever do need to take the buttons out again. That's a big plus.

They're VERY unobtrusive when everything's off, which is cool, but with em on and yellow, that seems to go very well with the overall black and gold artwork theme.

Anyway, that's my thoughts on it

Anybody think of any other ideas? I'm open to all sorts of wackiness!
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: Ond on May 29, 2010, 07:05:11 pm
I agree, my lit ring buttons wouldn't suit your cab IMO.  (ironically I may not use them myself ) It looks like the small bead solution you've come up with does suit well.  Unobtrusive when off but  nice effect when on.  You are only going with gold/yellow lighting yeah?  (no multi colors I hope  :)).  
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: Benevolance on May 29, 2010, 08:07:46 pm
It's a 4 player cab, right? I think that having a light by each button could get too busy looking, but busy in the distracting way, not in the usual intricate and complicated awesome Victorian way. What about instead of having a light by each button, you just had a single spot that had the lights laid out in the same pattern as the buttons. Then, that single light display could be lit up to indicate which buttons were funtional for a game, but for all four players at once? Sort of like a HUD display. But, you know, all brassy and metal and awesome instead of just transparent.

Dammit. There are too many pages. I can't locate a picture of the whole buffet assembled to suggest a spot you might put it. :P
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: drventure on May 30, 2010, 12:14:36 am
Hmmm. Interesting idea. I suppose if I could come up with a good design to frame it with, it might work.

Truth be told though, those holes I'm talking about are just about 1/16th inch in dia. In other words, quite small.

When I stand back from the sample piece it put together, I literally can't see the hole if it's not lit. Esp with the bead in place.

Putting all the lamps together in one spot would draw more attention to that one spot. Could work, or that in itself could be a distraction.

I dunno, I could see it both ways. I'll have to sleep on that one!

Thanks for the ideas!
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: Benevolance on May 31, 2010, 02:41:54 pm
Hmmm. A physical frame is an interesting idea.

You know those victorian sitting rooms always had portraits of family members, friends, people they only sorta new, things they'd shot...pictures everywhere, on everything. What about building something that is free standing, done up like a picture frame? It could simply be a grainy, off-black and white picture of game controller, with six/seven button setup, and those buttons in the photograph can be lit for the game. It wouldn't be physically attached to the CP, just something that you could sit on top in case people needed reference? And then you could just unplug it and put it away when you didn't want it out.
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: drventure on May 31, 2010, 08:31:56 pm
Quote
Hmmm. A physical frame is an interesting idea.

Actually that's kinda what I had in mind...

Imagine something like this...

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=90051.0;attach=148134)

Stripped of the frame parts and framed by the CP top, or placed in some VERY small victorianesque wallet photoframe.

That screen is 1" to 1.5", so very small and easy to "hide away" or even embed in the CP or next to the monitor somehow.

It could have a single USB cable running to it, which could theoretically update the image shown at will (I've found several "Hack" projects that detail how to actually make that happen).

I'm toying with that idea for later, going to pick on one of those digital keychains off ebay to experiment with.

But, for now, I decided to throw caution to the wind and start drilling holes again in my CP  8)

Went to fry's, picked up a pile of yellow leds, resisters, more wire, and a new video card (Visual Pinball and virtual pinball just killed my onboard video <sigh> .  Got all the holes drilled (only had one accident that a little black furniture putty fixed), got the citrine beads in place and glued up, and got one harness of LED's in place and wired.

I don't have any pics yet, because I still need to get another LEDWiz to drive all the new LEDs.

But, I did hook power to them one at a time to make sure they work. I think it's going to turn out fantastic.

The Citrine is dark enough that the holes just completely disappear on the CP, If I stand an normal playing playing height, and with normal lights in the room, I literally can't see them until I light em up.

The holes are 1/16th inch, so they're so small they really look more like pinpricks of light when they light, but the citrine beads have their sharp points set right at the surface of the cp, so they scatter the LED light really nicely when on.

I was pushing those beads into place, thinking "I've now got an arcade cab upholstered in red pintuck taffeta and set with actual semi precious stones"  :dizzy:

My weekend is officially complete  :)

Title: A Mame machine in an antique buffet - Now with more Bling!
Post by: drventure on June 13, 2010, 11:18:49 pm
Didn't have much to show last time, and I still don't have the CP back in the buffet so I can't really show much of the button lighting proper, so I figured I show a little wiring pron  ;)

First, the citrine beads I used, this is a closeup, these guys are +tiny+
(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=103207.0;attach=148587)

The CP with the stamping done
(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=103207.0;attach=148589)

The holes for the lights. They're more visible at this angle than just about any other. When you actually stand in front of it, you can't see the holes at all.
(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=103207.0;attach=148591)

A "guts" shot of the wiring for one player. What a pain in the ass! The eyeballs belong to my daughter  :)
(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=103207.0;attach=148593)

Another behind the scenes shot, with the leds out so you can see the beads jammed up inside and glued in place with elmers (it's clear, so it doesn't affect the led light transmission)
(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=103207.0;attach=148595)

Another below decks shot, you can better see the led wiring. I wired the resistors inline right at the led, then wrapped them in heatshrink. Not sure if this is the best way to do it or not, but it keeps the resistors nice and tidy (and keeps the wiring at the LEDWiz neat as well).
No comments on my suboptimal wiring skills, Ond!  ;)
(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=103207.0;attach=148597)


And finally, a sad shot of a u360 shaft. Note the corrosion. Gack. I've only actually used the thing for, what, maybe an hour total!?
(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=103207.0;attach=148599)

Anyway, a little brasso, some polish, and some silicone lube and it looks good as new. Hopefully, all that'll help resist more corrosion as well.
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet
Post by: drventure on June 13, 2010, 11:48:35 pm
One more post for the night.

I'd gotten the top clear coated, got all the buttons and sticks back on, but then I couldn't leave well enough alone.

I had some extra filigree beads lying around, and decided I needed a little more bling  ;D

So I decided to try my hand at another round of carving, nothing complex or anything, but nerve wracking none-the-less.

First, the tools involved, You can see the beads I used scattered about. Drill, forstner bits (several sizes), regular bit (for the LED hole), a Japanese Carving Chisel, stain, several of those LED "flicker" candles, some plastic cut from the top of said candles, Pencil, etc
(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=103207.0;attach=148603)

Outline the area to be carved...
(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=103207.0;attach=148605)

Drill the started hole with the large forstner, it's just slightly smaller than the beads...
(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=103207.0;attach=148607)

Use the chisel to carve out the bead outline, for a nice tight seamless fit.
(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=103207.0;attach=148609)

Use the second size forstner to drill another hole, centered and a little deeper.
(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=103207.0;attach=148611)

Now, use the last size forstner to drill a "light well", a space to allow light from the LED to spread out a little

Then, use the regular bit and punch through for a hole to mount the LED in.
Then mount the led. You can see the multiple "steps" clearly here, Top step to hole the outer bead, next step to hold a white plastic disk to help diffuse the LED light, and the last step to server as the light well (might not be completely necessary, but, then, is there anything about this cab that's necessary :)
(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=103207.0;attach=148613)

Finally, restain the area, glue a round piece of translucent white plastic sized to just fit the second step down, and then JBWeld the bead in place on top.
Presto!

Boiler pressure relief vents!  ;)
(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=103207.0;attach=148615)

I shot a short movie of one in place with the light on. It took about an hour to work through it all, and I've got 6 total to do, so there's only one in the movie right now.

I did it once, but I can't for the life of me remember how I embedded a youtube video now. So, here's the link. Sorry about that. saint's note - embedded now :)
www.youtube.com/watch?v=JwVNx2TGqs8 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JwVNx2TGqs8#)

I'll probably link them all up to one control line on the LEDWiz, so I can turn em off if necessary. However, they should be relatively inconspicuous when you're playing because they're on the side of the bottom level of the CP (not like that glowing plasma orb on the top level  :D

I've just had a fire lit under me to get this thing back together so, I can't spend too much more time on the distractions, but what the hell!
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet - Now with more Bling!
Post by: Ryglore on June 13, 2010, 11:54:21 pm
Awesome DV. Now when are you adding the fog machine?  :cheers:
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet - Now with more Bling!
Post by: Epyx on June 14, 2010, 12:36:37 am
The static shots are great but the youtube really delivers justice to the lighting...looks amazing!  :cheers:
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet - Now with more Bling!
Post by: Ond on June 14, 2010, 04:38:46 am

....Another below decks shot, you can better see the led wiring. I wired the resistors inline right at the led, then wrapped them in heatshrink. Not sure if this is the best way to do it or not, but it keeps the resistors nice and tidy (and keeps the wiring at the LEDWiz neat as well).
No comments on my suboptimal wiring skills, Ond!  ;)


Nothing but praise from me Doc,  as Epyx says the video does justice to your efforts on those inserts.  I’m glad to see you went with the tiny lights next to the buttons rather than the ring lit buttons, it just seems to fit the theme better IMO.
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet - Now with more Bling!
Post by: drventure on June 14, 2010, 07:50:38 am
@Ryglore: Oh, I'm right there with ya. I've been doing some looking for something that might work, given the space constraints (and the fact that I don't want to be refilling the dang thing every 5 minutes)! But yeah, there'll likely be something. There's actually a little space behind those brand new "Boiler vents" for some added possibilities  ;)

@Epyx. Thanks, yeah, the static shots don't really convey much for the flicker effect of those leds. It's really pretty nice looking esp with the translucent plastic in place to diffuse the light a little. Thanks!

@OND. Definitely, I'm digging the tiny lights more. They're all yellow (no RGB for this element, besides, you guys that wire up a CP in full RGB have got to be insane!  :) . I think I ran about 250' of wire for JUST the single color led's I installed, and I didn't put in any LED's for the sticks themselves (really wanted to, to indicate 2-4-8 way stick but it was going to be too tricky to get the stick bases out, and putting the leds far enough out to miss the base would've looked stupid.)

Anyway, once I get the CP reinstalled, I hope to animate the leds with some interesting wipes and fades, and make a few vids of that. It'd be much more interesting than shots of the wires  :)
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet - Now with more Bling!
Post by: mllkat on June 14, 2010, 08:12:19 am
Great Work. This project is another amazing example of attention to detail. The youtube video of the light in action sort of reminds me of the "Neural Neutralizer" light from Star Trek TOS "Dagger of the Mind." Ooops....My inner "Trekker Nerd" Just surfaced again....and after all that therapy too! ;)
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet - Now with more Bling!
Post by: Ryglore on June 14, 2010, 10:27:45 am
@Ryglore: Oh, I'm right there with ya. I've been doing some looking for something that might work, given the space constraints (and the fact that I don't want to be refilling the dang thing every 5 minutes)! But yeah, there'll likely be something. There's actually a little space behind those brand new "Boiler vents" for some added possibilities  ;)

Ha sweet, can't wait to see what you come up with. The only thing I can think of would be the need to keep any fog moisture away from PC components, etc.
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet - Now with more Bling!
Post by: drventure on June 14, 2010, 07:19:24 pm
Most of the smoke machines use a sort of non-toxic oil that is heated to generate the smoke, though there are some "mister" type units that create a water based mist fog.

I'm kinda leaning towards the units used in model railroad engines (maybe the gardenscale type) as opposed to a music club type fogger, but we'll see.
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet - Now with more Bling!
Post by: drventure on June 14, 2010, 07:26:33 pm
@milkat That neural Neutralizer is cool, in a totally cheezy 60's way  :)

Found it on some trek site

(http://images2.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20071223103925/memoryalpha/en/images/thumb/0/02/Neural_neutralizer.jpg/180px-Neural_neutralizer.jpg)

I love the control panel for the thing

(http://images4.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20040826003414/memoryalpha/en/images/thumb/c/cd/Neural_neutralizer_controls.jpg/180px-Neural_neutralizer_controls.jpg)
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet - Now with more Bling!
Post by: gryhnd on June 14, 2010, 08:06:29 pm
Most of the smoke machines use a sort of non-toxic oil that is heated to generate the smoke, though there are some "mister" type units that create a water based mist fog.

I'm kinda leaning towards the units used in model railroad engines (maybe the gardenscale type) as opposed to a music club type fogger, but we'll see.

Weeellll. The fogger we use at Halloween is neither a mister nor an oil based unit, and it's typical of most fog generators of this ilk: they heat up a glycerin/water solution.

Just throwing that out there. Now back to your regularly scheduled programming.

PS - I hear Warehouse 13's new season starts soon.
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet - Now with more Bling!
Post by: drventure on June 14, 2010, 08:42:10 pm
Doh. Shows what I know about foggers  :-[

I thought that "Fog Juice" you see in party supply stores was oil based, but maybe I should stand corrected  :)

If only I could find one that's about 3x5 inches!

Yeah, WH13 is pretty interesting from the gadgets and such, but the acting is just soooo, ugh! At least from the two leads.

Arty's pretty cool (or is his name Arnie, or should I stand corrected again   ;) )
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet - Now with more Bling!
Post by: gryhnd on June 15, 2010, 06:47:23 am
Yeah, WH13 is pretty interesting from the gadgets and such, but the acting is just soooo, ugh! At least from the two leads.

100% agreement there.
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet - Now with more Bling!
Post by: mllkat on June 15, 2010, 05:31:58 pm
@milkat That neural Neutralizer is cool, in a totally cheezy 60's way  :)

Found it on some trek site

(http://images2.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20071223103925/memoryalpha/en/images/thumb/0/02/Neural_neutralizer.jpg/180px-Neural_neutralizer.jpg)

I love the control panel for the thing

(http://images4.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20040826003414/memoryalpha/en/images/thumb/c/cd/Neural_neutralizer_controls.jpg/180px-Neural_neutralizer_controls.jpg)

 :lol The Scary part is,when I was a kid all those Star Trek Gadgets seemed so high tech...now when I see old episodes I see gaudy wood grained boxes with lights that are WAY way too big on them. Must have been wearing my Trekker glasses....but then again..."I was a Kid! Not an Engineer, Dammit!!"
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet - Now with more Bling!
Post by: likwidtek on June 16, 2010, 01:03:55 am
Holy crap this is awesome.
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet - Now with more Bling!
Post by: drventure on June 16, 2010, 07:27:57 am
:lol The Scary part is,when I was a kid all those Star Trek Gadgets seemed so high tech...now when I see old episodes I see gaudy wood grained boxes with lights that are WAY way too big on them. Must have been wearing my Trekker glasses....but then again..."I was a Kid! Not an Engineer, Dammit!!"

Yeah, I remember reading an interview with, I think it was Patrick Stewart. He was talking about the set of STNG, and commented that he thought it was funny how, when you see it on TV, everything looks metal and solid and strong, but when you're actually on it, the set guys are constantly saying "don't touch that" and "don't lean on this" because it'll just collapse on you!

@Likwidteck
Thanks, always nice to hear kind words!
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet - Now with more Bling!
Post by: likwidtek on June 16, 2010, 12:20:43 pm
Do you have a dedicated photo album somewhere that shows all of the progression up until now?
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet - Now with more Bling!
Post by: drventure on June 16, 2010, 09:53:36 pm
No, not really, got all the photos locally. I plan on putting something together eventually,

but this thread is pretty much it right now....
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet - Now with more Bling!
Post by: likwidtek on June 17, 2010, 07:37:26 pm
Photobucket and (Google's) Picasa web albums are both great.  Personally I prefer Picasa simply because the Picasa photo program they give you for free is AWESOME.  Both of them have an auto uploady kinda deal that makes it easy.

Anyway, this thing rocks man.  You have some serious talent!

Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet - Now with more Bling!
Post by: Benevolance on June 17, 2010, 08:01:55 pm
Actually, if you choose the 'view all posts' option, and you blink your eyes rapidly just right while scrolling down with your wheel mouse, Dr Venture has cleverly arranged the photos so that the cabinet assembles itself into its final form like a stop-animation transformer in real time. It's very cool. If it doesn't work for you the first time, try blinking faster or slower. You'll get it eventually.
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet - Now with more Bling!
Post by: drventure on June 17, 2010, 11:40:01 pm
@likwidtek

Yeah, I use Picasa A LOT, but just not to upload photos... Might have to check that out.

@Benevolance
 :laugh2:
You've caught on to my nefarious machinations!  >:D I'd rule the world by surreptitiously hypnotizing all the byoac'ers who happen upon my thread. But not anymore. Thanks to you meddling kids!  ;)

Which reminds me, I gotta put together a stop motion animation of the whole thing opening up at some point in the near future. Wish I'd been able to automate +that+ process <sigh>. Guess there's always the next build  :)
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet - Now with more Bling!
Post by: drventure on June 23, 2010, 10:31:42 pm
A little more progress. Finally got time last weekend to get a good start on my "adjustable tilt sensors", and just finished 'em up tonight.

So, here goes.

First, the obligatory workspace shot  :)
(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=103207.0;attach=149214)

I've been working out of my dining room because it's just too dang hot to do this stuff in the garage!

Here's some of the parts I'm using. Long brass screws. Brass knurled knobs, washers, nuts, etc.
(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=103207.0;attach=149216)

A few interesting bits, some grandfather clock hands I had lying about, what was left of the little numbers I used on my P1-4 buttons. Remember those?
(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=103207.0;attach=149218)

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=103207.0;attach=149220)

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=103207.0;attach=149222)


A few tools necessary for the process. Hacksaw, hammer, vice, a jig (basically just a hole in a piece of wood!)
Not pictured, disc sander and grinder
(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=103207.0;attach=149224)

All that is for shaping brass rod into small U shapes to use as "finger guards". Not because your fingers are in danger, but to keep poking fingers away from thin clockworks!

You can see those brass rod "u"s above. I polished them up and sealed them with Future.
(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=103207.0;attach=149226)


and that's it!

No, actually, the rest I'll post in the next post...  ;)
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet - Now with more Bling!
Post by: drventure on June 23, 2010, 10:42:34 pm
Tilt mechanisms, part II

I'm using those little mercury tilt switches I mentioned several posts back. Actually I got the idea from a different pincab thread around here, can't find it right off though. Great little switches!

The idea is to mount 3, one for left, right and the last for the forward nudge.

But I wanted to be able to adjust them from the OUTSIDE of the cabinet, since my CP doesn't hinge up. Plus I figured it'd be a good way to add some good ol' brass steampunky bling that was functional as well as easy on the eyes!  ;)

Soooo, here's shot of the forward nudge adjuster from the outside. It's the little knob just right of the pinball shooter.
(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=103207.0;attach=149232)

And here it is from the inside, nothing complex just some nuts and toothed washers to give it some friction grip
(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=103207.0;attach=149234)

I did something similar for the left and right adjusters, but mounted them next to my plasma globe. and soldered the clock hands on.
and then countersunk those numbers so everything looks all nice and tidy.
(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=103207.0;attach=149236)

Finally, I drilled holes for my "Finger Guards" and hammered them into place.

All said and done, I ended up with this...

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=103207.0;attach=149238)

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=103207.0;attach=149240)

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=103207.0;attach=149242)

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=103207.0;attach=149244)


I think it turned out pretty nice, and it's actually functional to boot, so it ain't just "gears glued on for effect"  ;)

Now I can put my CP back in place and finish out the Monitor rotation mech and my nixie tubes!
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet - Actual Functional Steamplunk Bling!
Post by: Ond on June 24, 2010, 12:17:08 am
Ahh man, I'm jealous of your progress which BTW is very inspiring.  I gauge my own progress against more 'longer term' projects like this one and now this is all coming back together.  Standout stuff including the new lustre finish on the CP and functional steam punk additions.  That must be a 1st, externally adjustable tilt switches.  :applaud:
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet - Actual Functional Steamplunk Bling!
Post by: shateredsoul on June 24, 2010, 01:29:24 am
Wow.. when you make the arcade hall of fame I can say, "He helped me with my graphics card driver once!"

Very nice
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet - Actual Functional Steamplunk Bling!
Post by: xseoer on June 24, 2010, 01:48:56 am
Just wanna to reiterate how cool this is!

 :cheers:
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet - Actual Functional Steamplunk Bling!
Post by: drventure on June 24, 2010, 08:06:40 am
@Ond Yeah, I'm pretty pleased with the finish that the Future gives. Just hope it holds up on the real thing as nicely as it has on my test piece! I think I speak for everyone around when I say I can't wait till you next installment either!

@Shatteredsoul  ;D   Thanks!

@xseor Thanks for the nice words.

Everyone's feedback is a big part of what keeps the gears whirring in my head!
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet - Actual Functional Steamplunk Bling!
Post by: HaRuMaN on June 24, 2010, 10:14:32 am
 :applaud:
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet - Actual Functional Steamplunk Bling!
Post by: Ryglore on June 24, 2010, 10:26:55 am
Awesome work DV. I hope one day I can sit down and start a long term project like this, but that'll have to wait til I have my own house to mess up. :)

+1 for the Mich Ultra.
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet - Actual Functional Steamplunk Bling!
Post by: emphatic on June 24, 2010, 11:39:19 am
Spectacular!  :applaud:
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet - Actual Functional Steamplunk Bling!
Post by: likwidtek on June 24, 2010, 02:47:27 pm
Good lord man.
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet - Actual Functional Steamplunk Bling!
Post by: Benevolance on June 24, 2010, 03:24:58 pm
Those P1 buttons, etc. on the front are so ---Bad words, bad words, whatcha gonna do? Whatcha gonna do when saint censors you?--- sexy. I like the fact that we're getting some more-finished CP shots. And I especially like the fact that you're making the bling functional. Too many steampunk projects throw gears and gilt everywhere in the hopes it looks like its hi-tech, without really giving thought to funtionality. In short: I think you're doing it right. Good job.
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet - Actual Functional Steamplunk Bling!
Post by: Epyx on June 24, 2010, 04:40:38 pm
 :notworthy:

Absolutely droolworthy!
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet - Actual Functional Steamplunk Bling!
Post by: Bender on June 25, 2010, 06:01:27 pm
Man I remember way back when you first posted about this thing and I thought, this thing has great potential. Now you just blew past my wildest dreams for this thing, keep it coming, unbelievable!!!!!!! :cheers: :cheers: :cheers:
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet - Now with more Bling!
Post by: Number21 on June 28, 2010, 12:06:55 am

All said and done, I ended up with this...

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=103207.0;attach=149238)



Thats not a vacuum tube in the center is it?  I thought those were frowned upon among steam punks.  ;)
I like it but a Dekatron spinner would also be cool.  Let me know if you need a OG-4.
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet - Actual Functional Steamplunk Bling!
Post by: R0UNDEYEZ on June 28, 2010, 04:55:17 am
every time i check back here you have some cool new stuff added!
So you say those mercury switches are for your pinball nudge.. How much do they need adjusting typically?  do those numbers indicate the level they are adjusted?
Great work. its an incredible inspiration especially since I wanted to build myself a steampunk cab ..maybe someday!
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet - Actual Functional Steamplunk Bling!
Post by: wilno45 on June 28, 2010, 06:08:04 pm
Hi drventure

Been away a while but always glad to see the progress pics on such a great project.

I quote Lethal Weapon.....

"This is real pro stuff. I haven't seen anything like this since the war".
"The CIA used to hire mercs. They used the exact same setup".
"Mercury switches, gaflooey! That's heavy ---steaming pile of meadow muffin---". (my edit  ;))
"Guys"!
"We got something. The detective wants to see you".

Cheers
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet - Actual Functional Steamplunk Bling!
Post by: gojira26 on July 07, 2010, 04:37:51 pm
Wow, I've been lurking these forums forever just getting ready to start my first cab build, but I had to post in this one.

Drventure your design work is brilliant! my first cab build is going to be a more simple MAME type upright, but my end goal is to be able to create
a steampunk themed cabinet, once I've gotten pretty good with this stuff. I'm so glad I found another person doing the same type of thing! Truly an inspiration! Hopefully in due time when I eventually start planning and building my steamer cab, I could get some feedback from you!

Can't wait to see more!
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet - Actual Functional Steamplunk Bling!
Post by: Donkey_Kong on July 07, 2010, 06:30:02 pm
Haven't seen this for awhile, man it's awesome! Congrats DR! :notworthy

Question: Has the name Dr Emmit Brown came up in this thread? (would rather not have to search all 12 pages)
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet - Actual Functional Steamplunk Bling!
Post by: Ond on July 13, 2010, 08:41:18 pm
Hey doc, I hope all is well, here's a thread bump with the video I did.... STEAMPUNK ON!  ;D

No. 18 Arqadium.avi (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q00EnD8_Z5A#ws)
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet - Actual Functional Steamplunk Bling!
Post by: Dr Zero on July 14, 2010, 11:15:46 am
I was thinking about this machine last night as I played Progear for the first time very cool game that I think would go very well with the theme.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Progear (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Progear)

(http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2369/2438639471_ca4b263e8a_o.jpg)
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet - Actual Functional Steamplunk Bling!
Post by: thecornishhen on July 14, 2010, 01:01:12 pm
haven't been to the forums in awhile (new baby), and I was happy to see the progress on this machine.. absolutely incredible. Great work!
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet - Actual Functional Steamplunk Bling!
Post by: drventure on July 15, 2010, 12:20:05 am
Well. I'm back. Finally.

I had a lightning strike hit about 2 weeks ago. Took out pretty much every piece of electronic equipment I had plugged in. Even stuff behind UPS's and surge suppressors (and took out the UPS's and surge suppressors too!).

AC compressors, thermostats, Garage door opener, TIVO, stereo amps, all my network gear, phones.

And....  :'(

The No. 18


<sigh>

The CP itself was completely disconnected, as I was still working on it, but the PC won't boot anymore, powers up, then shuts right down.

No idea what else got fried with it. I'm hoping the speaker/sound system is still ok.

And I'm starting a new job in 3 weeks, but not a single computer in the house was usable.

Anyway. Numerous trips to frys and Best Buy (and orders from NewEgg) and I'm starting to get back online.


@thecornishhen
Thanks! And congrats on the new baby. Those are fun times!

@Dr.Zero
Love the handle<g>. I'm going to have to check out Progear.

@Ond
That is spectacular! Can't wait to actually get it up and running in place. Thanks again!

@DonkeyKong
Didn't recognize the name Emmett Brown till I googled it. Nice.

@Wilno45 and RoundEyz
Thanks guys!


Hopefully, there'll be more progress soon. I had to scramble to get a machine back up, still having to fight with the Alarm system company to repair things, and with the UPS company to reimburse me (those units were both under warranty and have a 250,000$ equipment gaurantee. We'll see how that works out.
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet - Actual Functional Steamplunk Bling!
Post by: newmanfamilyvlogs on July 15, 2010, 09:42:54 am
How horrible :(

Good luck with your UPS reimbursement. I've always wondered how they might honour those.
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet - Actual Functional Steamplunk Bling!
Post by: gryhnd on July 15, 2010, 10:25:51 am
I had a lightning strike hit about 2 weeks ago. Took out pretty much every piece of electronic equipment I had plugged in. Even stuff behind UPS's and surge suppressors (and took out the UPS's and surge suppressors too!).

Whoa...that sucks for sure.

We had a strike like that the end of May. I did lose one hub/switch, needed to power cycle another and my garage door had mysteriously opened itself. Neighbors next door had recessed lights knocked out of their ceiling by the sound. The electric co.'s digital meter on our house blew its brains out, but continued to function. Luckily we otherwise came away unscathed.

The same can't be said for the two trees it hit (this one looked pretty excited by the whole event), nor the sidewalk which had multiple huge junks of asphalt blown out of it.
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet - Actual Functional Steamplunk Bling!
Post by: Benevolance on July 15, 2010, 02:34:35 pm
That sucks. But, at the risk of seeming insincere...

Let's just be clear what you're saying here: a steampunk arcade cabinet, a painstakingly crafted conglomeration of art and function, hand assembled by an ingenious mad scientist in the very heart of his secret lair, got struck by lightning. That is some hard-core authentic ---steaming pile of meadow muffin--- you've got going on. :laugh2:
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet - Actual Functional Steamplunk Bling!
Post by: EightBySix on July 15, 2010, 05:39:05 pm
Really sorry to hear about what happened.

That sucks. But, at the risk of seeming insincere...

Let's just be clear what you're saying here: a steampunk arcade cabinet, a painstakingly crafted conglomeration of art and function, hand assembled by an ingenious mad scientist in the very heart of his secret lair, got struck by lightning. That is some hard-core authentic ---steaming pile of meadow muffin--- you've got going on. :laugh2:

It IS kind of ironic though. I suddenly got a picture of you in my head like this one...
(http://physics.ucsd.edu/teaching/recruit/mad-scientist.jpg)

When you get No18 back online, promise me you'll say "It's ALIVE!"....
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet - Actual Functional Steamplunk Bling!
Post by: Benevolance on July 15, 2010, 07:04:54 pm
So much for it being a secret lair.
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet - Actual Functional Steamplunk Bling!
Post by: drventure on July 15, 2010, 08:33:47 pm
@Benevolance

 :laugh2:  :laugh2:  :laugh2:

I about spit my tea over that one.
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet - Very Very Sad...
Post by: drventure on July 22, 2010, 10:38:13 pm
Well, I knew the CPU mobo was toasted, but I just was running tests and it turns out the speaker system's is fried too  :'(

That's the Altec Lansing System I'd hacked and shoehorned into the glass lamp shade things...

Ugh. The controller board is actually all hot glued in place. That's going to be a bear to replace...

Lightning doth sucketh  :angry:
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet - Very Very Sad...
Post by: mgb on July 22, 2010, 11:53:05 pm
Wow,
I've seen the posts about this controller but never really gave it a look.
That really is a cool looking controller.
I'm sorry to hear about the lightning strike.
I hope it all works out
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet - Very Very Sad...
Post by: drventure on July 23, 2010, 07:53:48 am
Thanks

It was fun making it once, but remaking it isn't sounding quite so fun. Ah well. I think I'll make a point from now on to just keep it unplugged when I'm not actually using it.

Now just gotta figure out how to actually get it out of the cabinet :)
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet - Very Very Sad...
Post by: gryhnd on July 23, 2010, 09:06:37 am
Thanks

It was fun making it once, but remaking it isn't sounding quite so fun. Ah well. I think I'll make a point from now on to just keep it unplugged when I'm not actually using it.

Now just gotta figure out how to actually get it out of the cabinet :)

 :'(  :banghead:  :hissy:  :bat
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet - Very Very Sad...
Post by: drventure on July 23, 2010, 09:08:35 am
@gryhnd

Captures my mood pretty well, I'd say...
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet - Very Very Sad...
Post by: sstralkowski on July 23, 2010, 02:43:10 pm
Thanks

It was fun making it once, but remaking it isn't sounding quite so fun. Ah well. I think I'll make a point from now on to just keep it unplugged when I'm not actually using it.

Now just gotta figure out how to actually get it out of the cabinet :)

Dude, you're not bailing on the project now, are you?  After so many hours? 
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet - Very Very Sad...
Post by: Ryglore on July 23, 2010, 02:46:05 pm
Man, I just read about it. That SUCKS! But don't bail on the project! You'll get it back together no problem.  :cheers:
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet - Very Very Sad...
Post by: drventure on July 23, 2010, 02:53:14 pm
Oh, no, not bailing. But still, it sucks.

And I'd just finished redoing the CP and was about to start putting all the pieces together and finish out the detail work. Sigh.

Ah well. Press on!

Hey, Anyone have a set of Altec Lansing VS2321 2.1 channel computer speakers they want to get rid of cheap? It'll go into a good cause ;D
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet - Very Very Sad...
Post by: smalltownguy on July 23, 2010, 03:09:12 pm
Oh, no, not bailing. But still, it sucks.

And I'd just finished redoing the CP and was about to start putting all the pieces together and finish out the detail work. Sigh.

Ah well. Press on!

Hey, Anyone have a set of Altec Lansing VS2321 2.1 channel computer speakers they want to get rid of cheap? It'll go into a good cause ;D

http://rochester.craigslist.org/ele/1790294135.html (http://rochester.craigslist.org/ele/1790294135.html)

http://newjersey.craigslist.org/fuo/1851801468.html (http://newjersey.craigslist.org/fuo/1851801468.html)

Good luck!
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet - Very Very Sad...
Post by: Benevolance on July 24, 2010, 01:34:36 pm
Man, that's gone from ironical to sucks. We don't get lightning up here much, so I'm know really sure how much damage it can do to electronics. The speakers themselves should be alright, shouldn't they? It's just the speaker board that's fried?
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet - Very Very Sad...
Post by: drventure on July 24, 2010, 02:55:24 pm
I hope so. I'm hoping I can pick up the exact same unit and just swap out the sub and the controller board but leave the speakers in place. Those things were NOT easy to fabricate.

Still, getting that controller board out will be a trick.

Yeah pretty upsetting. Oh well, now I have one more excuse to keep working on it  ;)
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet - Very Very Sad...
Post by: Benevolance on July 24, 2010, 08:04:37 pm
And, hey, put it this way: lightning is the least of a mad scientist's worries. I mean, a protagonist could have stormed your house, beat up you and your underlings, and then destroyed your diabolical mame cabinet far more thoroughly just because he's a hero and a dick. Then you'd have a broken arm and a non-functional arcade cabinet. That would suck worse.

Edit: Just thinking further...were the speakers physically wired to the control board? Or did they have the standard phono/audio jacks? Could you plug the speakers into another sound system?
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet - Very Very Sad...
Post by: drventure on July 25, 2010, 12:13:38 am
Actually, that's what I'm hoping for. I can pick up another VS2321 set for less than 50$, so I think I'll do that, rip it up and start replacing pieces. Hopefully, it'll just be the subwoofer and main power board that's in there.

I can't imagine that the actual speakers themselves are fried, but who knows.

Yet another casualty, looks like my pool heater got toasted as well. Pool guy took three stabs at it and can't get it working.

That REALLY sucks.
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet - Very Very Sad...
Post by: DaOld Man on July 25, 2010, 11:02:52 am
Man, sorry to hear about your bad luck, but judging from the damage that strike did, you are probably very lucky it didnt burn down your house.
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet - Very Very Sad...
Post by: drventure on July 25, 2010, 07:42:56 pm
Yeah, Agreed. From what a neighbor saw, it struck very close by. Have yet to find exactly where though (if that's even possible).

It'll just delay things some, so in the grand scheme, it's not a huge issue.
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet - Very Very Sad...
Post by: newmanfamilyvlogs on July 26, 2010, 06:35:46 am
Now what would be rather awesome would be if the lightning struck the ground itself and created one of those fused sand-glass structures (Fulgurites), you found it, and then somehow incorporated that into the rebuild. Internally illuminated, made up like some kind of 'power supply'.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fulgurite (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fulgurite)

Wishful thinking, eh?
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet - Very Very Sad...
Post by: XNIF on July 26, 2010, 07:30:07 am
I think this is one of the most original designs i have ever seen. And so well executed, very nice! I hope you will finish it to improve mankind :)
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet - Very Very Sad...
Post by: drventure on July 26, 2010, 07:39:00 am
Thanks, guys!

@cotmm68030
I'd heard of that but never knew what they were called. I'd kind of been hoping to find some evidence somewhere, but so far, no luck. I'll definitely post if I do though. Being glass, something like that could look very interesting lit with LED's  :)
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet - Very Very Sad...
Post by: XNIF on July 27, 2010, 06:25:20 am
i was thinking that it should make sounds from old movies when in idle state.  Weird beeping stuff and strange sweeps....  :applaud:
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet - Very Very Sad...
Post by: drventure on July 27, 2010, 07:45:06 am
Possibly... I've already been putting together the details of a system using an old MP3 player to play a bunch of mechanical/orchestral "bootup" sounds while the PC actually boots.

Wouldn't be a far cry to play something when in "idle, though that might get annoying after a while  ;)
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet - Very Very Sad...
Post by: newmanfamilyvlogs on July 27, 2010, 08:38:41 am
Snag a few motion sensors and have it play some steam noises and groaning when someone walks by.
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet - Very Very Sad...
Post by: gryhnd on July 27, 2010, 11:13:24 am
Possibly... I've already been putting together the details of a system using an old MP3 player to play a bunch of mechanical/orchestral "bootup" sounds while the PC actually boots.

I forgot you were going to do that. For my Rat Rod jukebox, I picked up a couple of Radio Shack 20 second recording modules (http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2102855)  (one being potentially sacrificial for testing purposes) with the thought of having it emit an engine starting sound clip when the juke is fired up. I'll either feed the output into the audio amp, or use it directly driving a TV speaker that's larger than the one that comes with the modules. I'll probably also replace the microphone with an 1/8" audio plug to program the sound(s) directly through my PC.
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet - Very Very Sad...
Post by: newmanfamilyvlogs on July 27, 2010, 03:21:13 pm
on the topic of motion sensors:
http://kbcarte.wordpress.com/2010/07/27/netbot-irc-controlled-air-freshner/ (http://kbcarte.wordpress.com/2010/07/27/netbot-irc-controlled-air-freshner/)

Glade Airfreshener accessed via IRC.

Just re-route the 'spray' trigger to the 'play' button on an mp3 player, or the radio shack sound chip mentioned earlier.
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet - Very Very Sad...
Post by: drventure on July 30, 2010, 09:55:53 pm
Now here's a funny one for you guys.

So, the insurance company basically wants proof that my systems either can't be repaired or can, and for how much.

Ok. So how do I do that, I asked.

"Just take em down to Best Buy and have the geek squad look over em"

Hmmm...

So, I'm off to Best Buy tomorrow with a machine that looks like this....

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=90051.0;attach=129449)

This should be interesting  :)
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet - Best Buy gets a crack at the Arqadium
Post by: gryhnd on July 30, 2010, 10:10:17 pm
custom = BestBuy Guess * 10

...@ minimum  :D

Drop the dude a $20 for the required $$ you need.
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet - Best Buy gets a crack at the Arqadium
Post by: Benevolance on July 31, 2010, 01:11:07 pm
Hopefully they can get you set up with a new computer right quick. Would that include the speaker system, as well, or is this just the computer? And wouldn't that be lucky if the Geek Squad happened to be a BYOAC member?

GS: "Oh hey! The Arcadium! Sweet! So, here's a blank work order, fill out what you want and we'll sign off that it couldn't be repaired..."
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet - Best Buy gets a crack at the Arqadium
Post by: saurian333 on July 31, 2010, 07:35:23 pm
If I worked for Geek Squad...well, first of all, I'd have to kill myself.  But looking past that (even ignoring the fact that I've followed you here since last winter), I'd give you an awesome insurance quote on a sexy machine like that.  And I'd make a house-call on my own time for the No. 18.

So sorry to hear about the incident, man.  Hope the insurance thing works out for you.  I had a nasty power surge recently myself; I think it came in through the cable and over the network (immediately went out and bought more surge protectors, making sure to get one with a coax port).  Fortunately my PS3 and my main desktop survived.  But I lost two other network cards, both of my wireless routers, and my color laser printer (also networked).  I thought that was bad enough, then I read what happened to you. :cry:

Electricity is a harsh mistress.
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet - Best Buy gets a crack at the Arqadium
Post by: Benevolance on August 05, 2010, 06:06:24 pm
Don't know if you saw, but Rush is doing their latest tour totally steampunked. Here's some shots of Neil Peart's steampunk drum kit (http://www.pearldrummersforum.com/showthread.php?s=32ab42c4fae0f5be13877a2b15ae5b81&t=245994) to cheer you up.
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet - Best Buy gets a crack at the Arqadium
Post by: mgb on August 06, 2010, 12:03:44 am
I would love to be there when the geek squad guy looks at that. :applaud:
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet - Best Buy gets a crack at the Arqadium
Post by: drventure on August 06, 2010, 12:52:27 am
Quote
If I worked for Geek Squad...well, first of all, I'd have to kill myself.

 :laugh2:

Well, geek squad was a bust. I spent 140$ for the guy basically to try turning on the machine, see that it didn't boot, and write up a letter that basically said, "The machine doesn't boot, it appears to be the motherboard. Recommend replacing motherboard"

Seriously. That's an almost literal quote.

I was steamed (and not in a good steampunk way  :) )

I went back up there when the guy that did that "diagnostic" was actually back on duty and asked him "WTF?" to which he replied "We can't test individual components". Seriously? W....T....F?

Anyway, got my money back from that waste of time, and took them over to Fry's. The guys there seemed a lot more accommodating. Here's hoping they do a proper diagnostic. At least when I described what I needed, he looked at me like "Yeah, that's what a diagnostic is supposed to be, isn't it?" which was a good sign.

About Rush's drum kit. Holy hell! Only thing is, if you look too closely, it all just looks like a bunch of painted on gears. More Hollywood show that otherwise, but still, I'm betting it looks damn good in concert!

So far, other than the 1% deductible, insurance has been pretty decent.

One thing about surge suppressors that I did not know. Apparently, none of the consumer grade versions protect from spikes on the GROUND line. So, if, say, you had lightning strike the ground, close enough, or strike a grounding spike outside in a certain way, it could cause a surge up the ground line, back into the house. If that happens, most suppressors are useless.

At least, that's what an electrician and several knowledgeable guys at work has said, independently.

Who knows...

I suppose it's still better to have a suppressor on the line than not, but that was pretty annoying to hear.

Got a replacement speaker system (exact same model as what's in the cab). will be using it to figure how much damage was done to the sound system. Hopefully, I can just swap out the PS board inside the sub (or just swap out the sub completely).
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet - Best Buy gets a crack at the Arqadium
Post by: TEKNYNE on August 06, 2010, 01:22:08 am
The people you talked to are correct about the damage from the surge but it is most likely did not come in from the ground but from the hot lead, but since your surge suppressor was most likely a mode 2 device or mode 3 surge device
the resulting surge was directed to the ground. Mode 2 if I remember correctly goes strait to ground and mode 3 goes to the neutral and ground. The resulting surge on mode 2 and 3 devices can cause damage to low voltage circuits on pc and av equipment that use ground as a reference voltage. You should look for mode 1 surge suppressors that use a inductor to handle the surge and release it back through the neutral only.
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet - Best Buy gets a crack at the Arqadium
Post by: drventure on August 06, 2010, 07:59:50 am
Hey Teknyne.

Did not know that. Any idea how to discern whether a device is mode1 2 or 3? I've never seen any indication of a mode on any of the surge suppressors I've bought.

For instance, I just picked up an APC Backups ns-1250

http://www.amazon.com/APC-Back-UPS-1250-LCD-connector/dp/B001QFLRRI (http://www.amazon.com/APC-Back-UPS-1250-LCD-connector/dp/B001QFLRRI)

But I didn't see any notes about a mode.

I'll do some more digging and see what I come up with...
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet - Best Buy gets a crack at the Arqadium
Post by: drventure on August 06, 2010, 08:05:30 am
Maybe something like this?

http://www.zerosurge.com/eightoutletmodels.cfm (http://www.zerosurge.com/eightoutletmodels.cfm)
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet - Best Buy gets a crack at the Arqadium
Post by: TEKNYNE on August 06, 2010, 09:28:24 am
Yup that will work.
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet - Best Buy gets a crack at the Arqadium
Post by: gryhnd on August 06, 2010, 09:34:44 am
For the most part I have your typical consumer power strip style protectors, except for my H.T. rack which has a high end rack mounted unit.

However about a year ago I picked up two of these (http://www.amazon.com/Leviton-51020-WM-Protector-Protective-Enclosure/dp/B003AU0Z48) off eBay for about $60-$70 apiece.

After losing the third controller board in my furnace, it dawned on me that it was probably about the only electronic item in my house that wasn't protected.  One of these Leviton units is hardwired "in line" to the furnace circuit. The other I haven't installed yet (although you're motivating me) but is destined to protect my expensive minifridge and convection/microwave, also in the H.T.

They were really simple to install too, especially if you have enough slack in the line coming out of your breaker box. Essentially you just splice it in. If not, it's only a skosh more difficult to run a bit of new romex from the breaker to give you the slack you need.

Teknyne comments though, made me go look at its specs. Not sure how the protection modes relate:

•UL 1449 TVSS rated.
•IEEE C62.41-1991 Category A&B Combination Wave and
Ringwave Suppression.
•Three protection modes -- L1-L2, L1-G, L2-G.
•Two suppression stages -- primary and backup.
•Fused for suppression protection failure.
•EMI/RFI filtration circuitry.
•Two diagnostic modes include LED and audible indicators
for suppression failure or open ground condition
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet - Best Buy gets a crack at the Arqadium
Post by: TEKNYNE on August 06, 2010, 09:48:00 am
gryhnd: Levitons site I am having trouble with but I am sure that UL 1449 is based on MOV's (metal oxide varistor) and it stating  L1-L2, L1-G, L2-G protection modes I think put it in the mode 3 category.  But I could be wrong.
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet - Best Buy gets a crack at the Arqadium
Post by: TEKNYNE on August 06, 2010, 09:51:46 am
drventure by the way amazing cab! Absolutely love it!
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet - Best Buy gets a crack at the Arqadium
Post by: drventure on August 06, 2010, 09:55:15 pm
@Teknyne

Thanks! Wish I wasn't having to rebuild quite so much of it but ah well.

And thanks for the Suppressor info. I think i'll do a bit more research and pick up a few of these Mode 1 units.

You have any suggested models?
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet - Best Buy gets a crack at the Arqadium
Post by: TEKNYNE on August 06, 2010, 11:38:16 pm
Hey drventure: try surgex.com residential line they are the only ones I have personally installed but there are many others. they are crazy expensive though and you can probably google for cheaper ones. surgex xn120 is just under 2 grand but it is one that mounts at the panel or as a sub panel, it is a small and compact unit. they also have strip type versions sorry I have no cost on there other ones yet. hope this helps some. I might google it myself or check my trade mags for more brands and see what I come up with. might give me a day or two though.
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet - Best Buy gets a crack at the Arqadium
Post by: HaRuMaN on August 07, 2010, 01:42:18 pm
Just under 2 grand???

For that price, you're better off with best surge protector in the world...  when not in use, unplug!   :afro:
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet - Best Buy gets a crack at the Arqadium
Post by: TEKNYNE on August 07, 2010, 06:44:50 pm
Was just waiting for some one to say that. Did a quick google and found many products, looks like a company called hlstores.com has single units that you plug a ups or strip into starting at $199.
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet - Best Buy gets a crack at the Arqadium
Post by: BobA on August 07, 2010, 09:09:34 pm
Why not protect your whole house by installing one of these in your main panel.

Whole House Surge Prot (http://www.smarthome.com/4860/Leviton-Whole-House-Surge-Suppressor-Surge-Protector-51120-1/p.aspx)
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet - Best Buy gets a crack at the Arqadium
Post by: Bender on August 07, 2010, 11:54:34 pm
Why not protect your whole house by installing one of these in your main panel.

Whole House Surge Prot (http://www.smarthome.com/4860/Leviton-Whole-House-Surge-Suppressor-Surge-Protector-51120-1/p.aspx)

if anyone can verify that that thing would work against a lightning strike I'm getting one!
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet - Best Buy gets a crack at the Arqadium
Post by: TEKNYNE on August 07, 2010, 11:54:52 pm
The surgex xn120 is of the same installation type as the Leviton, the problem with the leviton whole house surge that BobA listed is that it is a MOV or the same as a standard surge suppressor. mode 1 surge arrestors are very different and until recently not as common for residential applications, but are becoming more so, so the price will come down more as people become more aware of them I would think. I have installed some of surgex a/v equip for people in upscale nice homes for home theater, besides the xn120 but have not purchased them directly. Sorry I cant be more help other than googling some more and see what other manufactures and price there is.


note: if a surge suppressor has a joule rating on it, it is a MOV or standard suppressor that send the surge to the ground conductor. mode 1 do not have joule ratings. at least as far as I know.

note 2 just check the levitons site on the whole house one and it said it is not for a lightning surge also.
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet - Best Buy gets a crack at the Arqadium
Post by: Bender on August 08, 2010, 12:23:41 am
so what is the cheapest way to protect your whole house from a lightning strike?
sounds like the MOV type actually make computers MORE at risk :banghead:
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet - Best Buy gets a crack at the Arqadium
Post by: TEKNYNE on August 08, 2010, 01:02:54 am
@ Bender, kinda if you have some electronics that use a 3 prong plug (grounding) than ya could be taking a risk if a outside surge happens.

HarumaN said it best if you cant afford good protection, the best is keep it unplugged when not in use.


@ Bender and any-one else standard surge suppressors still do there job which is primarily if a surge happens it keeps YOU SAFE if you happen to be by the equipment during a surge or strike, I dont want to keep people from using surge suppressors that would be unwise also. better to kill your electronics than kill you!

Lightning Arrestor Intermatic AG2401C-IND www.aplussupply.com (http://www.aplussupply.com) $60.
@ drventure sorry I kinda went nuts with this on your page.

Edit: i re read the AG2401c-IND and it appears you can use it on the service entrance to protect the whole house also, good news and cheap probably only cost a hour of labor to install.
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet - Best Buy gets a crack at the Arqadium
Post by: TEKNYNE on August 08, 2010, 09:16:56 pm
Also if you have a older home with possibly no protection on the cable and phone lines there is IG1300-2T which protects the ac, phone, and cable lines.  $240
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet - Best Buy gets a crack at the Arqadium
Post by: Benevolance on August 08, 2010, 11:16:33 pm
The best protection is to move up to the Pacific northwest where we see lightning storms maybe once every 5 years. I'll buy you a beer, and we can hang out at the local arcades wearing pseudo-victorian costumes and complaining about how things were better in our day. :)
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet - Best Buy gets a crack at the Arqadium
Post by: TEKNYNE on August 08, 2010, 11:29:37 pm
That is funny I live in the Pacific Northwest and see lightning storms every year..,couple of weeks ago one struck about 3 blocks from my work.
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet - Best Buy gets a crack at the Arqadium
Post by: saurian333 on August 09, 2010, 03:16:14 am
so what is the cheapest way to protect your whole house from a lightning strike?
sounds like the MOV type actually make computers MORE at risk :banghead:

@TEKNYNE: Correct me if I'm wrong, but aren't most typical surge strips designed to protect against normal surges?  i.e., the smaller surges that happen all the time, which are part of the nature of home electricity.  The power coming out of your outlets isn't necessarily 100% constant; there are brief spikes up and/or down that don't actually fry your electronics outright, but do wear on them over time.

At least, that's the way I understood it.  I'm not an electrician.
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet - Best Buy gets a crack at the Arqadium
Post by: KagatoAMV on August 10, 2010, 02:57:18 pm
Such an impressive job, I'm sorry to hear about the lightening strike. I hope you're able to get it up and running again.

Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet - Best Buy fails, but some good news!
Post by: drventure on August 13, 2010, 12:12:24 am
Well, as I suspected, Best buy failed miserably with their diagnosis.

Almost verbatim from their report

"The machines don't boot. Don't post, recommend new motherboards"

Duh!

I asked if the harddrives, memory, cpu, PS, etc tested out ok.

"We can't test individual components"

WTF!?

I paid 70$ EACH for two machines to be diagnosed and THAT'S what they come back with!

Needless to say, I bitched until I got my money back.

Now Fry's has the machines. Still waiting on their verdict.



And the good news....

I picked up a replacement Altec Lansing VS2321 2.1 speaker set off ebay. Got it in. I was dreading hooking it up. I pretty much expected the controller board (that I'd removed from one of the speakers and hotglued into place in the buffet itself) to be fried.

But lo and behold, it appears that it was only the powersupply in the subwoofer that was toasted.

Plugged the existing controller board into the new subwoofer and the Arqadium sounds good as new!

So, I gotta do a little steam punkification to the new sub and that part'll be good to go!

Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet - Best Buy fails, but some good news!
Post by: saurian333 on August 13, 2010, 03:17:20 am
That is good news!  Glad to hear you're getting somewhere.

Your story is yet another example of why never to go to Geek Squad on purpose.  If they can't test individual components, how can they honestly recommend a motherboard?  They can't, of course; they're committing highway robbery.  Geek Squad started out as a guy on a bicycle making house calls, and Best Buy bought it and perverted it into just another scam.  They should be sued, hard.  If everyone who took their cars with dead batteries to Midas got told they needed new engines, Midas would be out of business within a month.
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet - Best Buy fails, but some good news!
Post by: drventure on August 13, 2010, 07:40:43 am
Hey Saurian

Yeah, i pretty much knew that, but I figured I'd humor my insurance company. But no way was I paying 140$ for essentially nothing. I gotta at least get a written down diag of all the components.

Never been a huge fan of Best Buy anyway, now, definitely not.
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet - Best Buy fails, but some good news!
Post by: Pik4chu on August 13, 2010, 11:39:41 am
Hey Saurian

Yeah, i pretty much knew that, but I figured I'd humor my insurance company. But no way was I paying 140$ for essentially nothing. I gotta at least get a written down diag of all the components.

Never been a huge fan of Best Buy anyway, now, definitely not.

I loe best buy for their deals on DVDs and Blu-Rays but I always give the support counter a wide berth when I walk in, Im afraid their sleeze will contaminate me or something.

I hope Fry's takes care of you though.
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet - Best Buy fails, but some good news!
Post by: bkenobi on August 14, 2010, 12:16:42 am
I'm not an EE, but I asked one about lightning protection a few years back.  He basically said that there is no circuit that activates fast enough to stop the lightening current from getting through before it shuts off.  Even the best protection circuits will allow some of the power through before the kick off.  Considering that a lightening strike is millions of amps, even if a fraction got through, everything that's plugged in at the time and is struck will be AFU.

The only protection from lightening strikes is not having the equipment plugged in at the time a lightening strike hits.   :dunno
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet - Best Buy fails, but some good news!
Post by: XNIF on August 15, 2010, 05:29:46 am
I'm not an EE, but I asked one about lightning protection a few years back.  He basically said that there is no circuit that activates fast enough to stop the lightening current from getting through before it shuts off.  Even the best protection circuits will allow some of the power through before the kick off.  Considering that a lightening strike is millions of amps, even if a fraction got through, everything that's plugged in at the time and is struck will be AFU.

The only protection from lightening strikes is not having the equipment plugged in at the time a lightening strike hits.   :dunno

that is not entirely true. I'm having this in my mame cabinet:
(http://media.conrad.com/xl/6000_6999/6100/6100/6108/610882_LB_00_FB.EPS.jpg)
It has a fuse and is fast enought to stop any overvoltage coming thru.
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet - Best Buy fails, but some good news!
Post by: XNIF on August 23, 2010, 04:15:56 pm
Any more steampunkification ? I just read all pages again...  when this is done you should bundle it and release it in a bookform.  
I found the cover this is how it should look:

(http://www.nomicon.com.ar/enviros/necronomiconGRANDE.jpg)


Dunno why this pic, but i love it :P

(http://craphound.com/images/pacgentleman.jpg)
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet - Best Buy fails, but some good news!
Post by: drventure on August 31, 2010, 09:05:47 am
Well, I had a little time over the weekend to rework the new Altec Lansing sub to replace the burnt one.

This time, I went for a tad more steampunkification  :)

(Plus, I just loves me some red pintuck taffeta!)

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=103207.0;attach=152592)

You can see the older unit in the background. The stamping was nice but the padded fabric and upholstery nails look a little more polished.

And yeah, the grill has been "aged" a bit. Originally, I had it sprayed with this "real metal" paint, which, in reality, looked very much like metal plate (and not the typical frosted metal look of most "metallic" spray paints), but it still didn't look quite right.

Heck, the whole thing hangs UNDER the cab, so it's not like it makes a huge amount of difference, but, if you're standing across the room, you can just see it poking out from under the buffet, so I figured it needed to look decent.

Just for reference, here's the shot of the old unit in place.
(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=90051.0;attach=128476)

Next weekend, I hope to get the main PC box reassembled and reinstalled.

Phillips came through and sent me a  new surge suppressor (one with the master switch), and a check to cover the burnt parts. Very cool. and the first time I've ever had to make a claim like that. They were very reasonable about it all, so definitely keep your paperwork for you surge suppressors (at least from Phillips).

Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet - A new Sub, and good news from Phillips
Post by: Dr Zero on August 31, 2010, 10:35:14 am
Quote
(Plus, I just loves me some red pintuck taffeta!)

LOL that is funny

Congrats on the fundage cant wait to see what is coming down the pipe!  :cheers:
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet - A new Sub, and good news from Phillips
Post by: Benevolance on August 31, 2010, 12:37:53 pm
It lives again! Tally-ho and pip pip! Looking forward to seeing some more progress soon.
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet - A new Sub, and good news from Phillips
Post by: drventure on August 31, 2010, 08:18:27 pm
Thanks benevolance. Me too!

@xnif
Love that book.
Have you seen Datamancer's Scanner, Awesome stuff.

http://www.datamancer.net/projects/optitran/optitran.htm (http://www.datamancer.net/projects/optitran/optitran.htm)

(http://www.datamancer.net/projects/optitran/optitran_final.jpg)
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet - LEDWiz problems
Post by: drventure on September 09, 2010, 06:25:37 pm
Well, I've been out sick from work for two days, but even hacking and weazing, I'm not one that can just lay around (that is, unless I'm +really+ bad off, which fortunately doesn't happen much).

So, a little time for the Arqadium!

Got it all pretty much back together, rebuilt the PC, replacing the Mobo, replaced the subwoofer to get the sound going again.

Had some trouble getting the new gigabyte drivers for sound/lan/onboard video, etc installed (since the old board was an asus, and I didn't completely reinstall windows, the old drivers seemed to be pretty tough to get rid of).

But eventually got all that sorted.

Fired it up and tested out all the input devices. Still golden!

So, how about all the new LEDs and elwire?

Ugh. Load up LEDBlinky and fire off one of the canned animations and I get USB device drop "boings" all over the place.

I figure I've got an over current issue, but yuck. Here's what the underside of a quad player cab with dual trackballs, a spinner, 2 u360s, 2 LEDWizes, and miles of wire looks like.

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=103207.0;attach=153162)

Ok, its not normally that bad. I've got some jumper clips out bypassing some of the normal power wires to use an external power source for the LEDWiz for testing (plus the ever present voltmeter!)

So I start disconnecting USB devices, rebooting, wash repeat.

Eventually, I was able to narrow the problem down to....

1) the big one is the USB ELWire driver module. It says 100ma, but I'm thinking it's drawing way more than that, esp since I'm using the LEDwiz via a couple of optoisolators to control the ELwire, so it's switching on and off very fast, just like it does LEDs.
2) 2 Jumbo super bright LED's I picked up from radio shack ages ago. I'm using them to light the trackballs. The specs say 20ma, but I'm thinking it's considerably more. If I power JUST THOSE TWO led's via the USB 5v that's available on the LEDWiz, it's enough to take down the hub it's attached to.

Moral of the story. If you're driving anything other than just the small usual LED's, it's probably safest to pick up a 5v power brick (mine came from an old DLink router, and can do 2.5amps), then wire an inline fuse on the line, just to be safe. If you get any weird behavior, esp from your other USB devices, that's most likely the issue.

But, bottom line is, now the Arqadium can run all the canned animation patterns that come with LED Blinky, with no issues at all!

I'll get some video once I get everything battened back down.
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet - Troubles with LEDWiz, but not for long
Post by: Jigenjuke on September 09, 2010, 07:15:57 pm
I'm not an EE, but I asked one about lightning protection a few years back.  He basically said that there is no circuit that activates fast enough to stop the lightening current from getting through before it shuts off.  Even the best protection circuits will allow some of the power through before the kick off.  Considering that a lightening strike is millions of amps, even if a fraction got through, everything that's plugged in at the time and is struck will be AFU.

The only protection from lightening strikes is not having the equipment plugged in at the time a lightening strike hits.   :dunno


Actually it is more accurate to say that a lightning strike is millions of VOLTS and about 50,000 to 100,000 amps.  But hey maybe he need a 1.21 gigawatt strike to power this contraption.  I have to say it's better that than trying to get it up to 88 MPH.  Heh heh.

Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet - Troubles with LEDWiz, but not for long
Post by: drventure on September 09, 2010, 08:55:09 pm
@Bender

Quote
Why not protect your whole house by installing one of these in your main panel.
Whole House Surge Prot
if anyone can verify that that thing would work against a lightning strike I'm getting one!

Sorry I missed that comment, bender. Actually, I +had+ a whole house surge suppressor installed when I got hit. Damn thing didn't do squat. I called the electrician and complained pretty bitterly. He did stand up, though, came out, told me that they'd stopped installing that particular model in favor of a different make that works differently (according to him).

No idea if it'll work better or not. Also, no idea whether the suppressor prevented damage to other equipment that "could have been" had it not been installed.

Personally, i think you're better off with one that without, but I'm still not 100% convinced.



@Jigenjuke

Quote
Actually it is more accurate to say that a lightning strike is millions of VOLTS and about 50,000 to 100,000 amps.  But hey maybe he need a 1.21 gigawatt strike to power this contraption.  I have to say it's better that than trying to get it up to 88 MPH.  Heh heh.

Not sure who's quote that is but it's pretty damn funny. Early on in this thread, i talked about wanting to put a Jacob's Ladder in it, till I discovered those things can actually kill you if they're powerful enough to be big and visible.

I decided against it  :)
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet - Troubles with LEDWiz, but not for long
Post by: gryhnd on September 09, 2010, 09:24:13 pm
Not sure who's quote that is but it's pretty damn funny. Early on in this thread, i talked about wanting to put a Jacob's Ladder in it, till I discovered those things can actually kill you if they're powerful enough to be big and visible.

I decided against it  :)

Jacob's Ladder: 500kV Switch Opening (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PXiOQCRiSp0#)
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet - Troubles with LEDWiz, but not for long
Post by: Ond on September 09, 2010, 09:48:31 pm
Good use of  'sickie' days   :) , great to see this coming back online  :cheers:  The lightening strike is now a part of the cabs history, maybe I should re-do the vid, it does after all have the Jacobs ladder effect at the end  ;)
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet - Troubles with LEDWiz, but not for long
Post by: drventure on October 01, 2010, 11:29:16 pm
Well, the Arqadium is back online, so it's actually been getting some play, and not much work :-[

Still, I've done a few little things.

First, almost all the lighting is up.
The CP and most of the accent lights are operational. Still need to get power to some of the el wire, but, here's a vid showing the Arqadium running Animation #7 from LEDblinky's default arsenal of animations (no time yet to build up a custom one).

LightTest1 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IbluDUy0n9Y#)

You can't really get a good look at them, but each button has a light wired to it embedded beside it in the CP that will light up when that button is active in a game. Still working through getting LED Blinky setup for all that.

I also realized that with all the power bricks in the CP, and given the fact that it is TOTALLY closed up, could lead to some heat problems.

So, I pulled out an adjustable circle cutter I picked up ages ago, but never had had a chance to use, and gave it a workout.

Worked great!

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=103207.0;attach=154443)

And from beneath....
(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=103207.0;attach=154445)


There's one fan, an intake port, and exhaust port. They're underneath, so nobody will ever see them, but I found some gold colored fan guards and just used brass screws for everything. The fan's not adjustable, but I can pick up any ol case fan with a speed adjuster to take care of that later.

One bonus, I suppose, is that you can actually feel the air blowing out from beneath the sticks and trackballs. In the long run, i'm not sure that's a good thing (what with dust and all), but it feels nice while you're playing.

Now I've got to get Visual Pinball and FuturePin reset and operational.

Then, I can test those nudge switches!

@ond
Too true, a lightning strike vid could be very cool.

I also need to work up a good sound set. The sounds that come with mala are ok, but don't quite fit the theme  :)
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet - Playable again!
Post by: JustMichael on October 02, 2010, 02:43:29 am
Soooo glad to hear it is up and running again!  I could say the whole build looks awesome or incredible but those words fall far short of just how amazing that mild mannered antique buffet really is!  Great idea on the fans!
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet - Playable again!
Post by: wilno45 on October 02, 2010, 04:26:16 am
Great video drventure, looks superb.
 :cheers:


Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet - Playable again!
Post by: jimmy2x2x on October 02, 2010, 08:01:55 am
It lives.... Again!!

Great to see you back up and running ;)
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet - Playable again!
Post by: drventure on October 02, 2010, 09:29:34 am
Thanks guys. Getting things back on track, little by little!
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet - Playable again!
Post by: Ryglore on October 02, 2010, 01:04:09 pm
Glad to see the Buffet back up and running!
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet - Playable again!
Post by: DeLuSioNal29 on October 20, 2010, 11:04:38 pm
This one's a beaut!  Can't wait to see it all finished!
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet - Playable again!
Post by: Vebbo on October 21, 2010, 03:41:55 am
I read about the lightning  :angry: good to see that ur back on track!
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet - Playable again!
Post by: Rick on October 21, 2010, 10:10:24 am
I've been following this since I became a Member.  It's one of the reasons I went custom on my cabinet.  I only hope mine can look half as nice as this has turned out.  Way to be true to your vision.  This is awesome.
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet - Playable again!
Post by: drventure on October 21, 2010, 07:22:12 pm
Thanks guys! It's nice to get the comments.

@Rick I remember that turkey punch game! When I first saw your thread, I about spewed. Talk about +obscure+ video game reference. I love it!
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet - Playable again!
Post by: newmanfamilyvlogs on October 21, 2010, 09:22:51 pm
I bet we can come up with FAR more obscure references than something from Doom 3. (;
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet - Playable again!
Post by: Rick on November 05, 2010, 03:41:48 pm
I bet we can come up with FAR more obscure references than something from Doom 3. (;

Such as?  Maybe that'll be my next design.

@Rick I remember that turkey punch game! When I first saw your thread, I about spewed. Talk about +obscure+ video game reference. I love it!

Thanks!  BTW, I linked to this thread from my thread (http://forums.arcade-museum.com/showthread.php?t=157553) over in KLOV, and lo and behold... ...the consensus seems to be that they dislike your work over there (http://forums.arcade-museum.com/showthread.php?t=157564).  (I would take it as a compliment - I posted my idea at 6 a.m. and at 3:40 p.m., I have no responses.  Yet, your thread seems to have two pages on it.  I say MISSION ACCOMPLISHED.)

 ;D
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet - Playable again!
Post by: newmanfamilyvlogs on November 05, 2010, 04:35:43 pm

Such as?  Maybe that'll be my next design.

Just a few off the top of my head..

The Pen Ultimate
Toasters and Chainsaws
Brainscan

Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet - Playable again!
Post by: Rick on November 05, 2010, 05:58:45 pm
Just a few off the top of my head..

The Pen Ultimate
Toasters and Chainsaws
Brainscan

Do you have links to these? I'll be honest - I haven't heard of any of these, but they sound awesome!
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet - Playable again!
Post by: drventure on November 05, 2010, 07:12:10 pm
Holy $h!+. Ouch, yeah, I'd say they don't like it much  ;D

I knew there was a reason I didn't end up hanging out over there. That's a lot of vitriol for a project that isn't even remotely complete.

But, I suppose the theme and approach is definitely not for everyone. Just jump on about any "steampunk" oriented posting anywhere and you'll find +lots+ of people that, doesn't matter the creativity or skill involved in whatever the project is, if it hints of "steampunk", they hate it.

And, yeah, I'm guilty of a frankenpanel, but, well, I knew that going in. I'm certainly no game purist, and for me, the fun has been in the build process itself. The games are just a happy side effect. Besides, I went looking around and I really didn't see much over there in the way of custom builds, mostly restorations. Oh well, doesn't surprise me and doesn't bother me.

I think someone here made a comment about two trackballs being overkill, which it is of course. But I've had a blast playing simultaneous 2 man Marble Madness with my 6yo, so, it was worth it.

In the end, Haters gonna hate  ;)

I'm looking forward to your progress on the Turkey Punchout BTW!

I'd never heard of those references. I googled them and I STILL don't know where the came from. cotmm68030 wins the obscure aware!

Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet - Playable again!
Post by: shilmover on November 05, 2010, 08:08:23 pm
I frequent both sites. 

Dont take it too hard.  Your project was posted on a site that deals with classic games and restoring them, no MAME.  You have skill, it just doesn't apply to KLOV.

B


Holy $h!+. Ouch, yeah, I'd say they don't like it much  ;D

I knew there was a reason I didn't end up hanging out over there. That's a lot of vitriol for a project that isn't even remotely complete.

But, I suppose the theme and approach is definitely not for everyone. Just jump on about any "steampunk" oriented posting anywhere and you'll find +lots+ of people that, doesn't matter the creativity or skill involved in whatever the project is, if it hints of "steampunk", they hate it.

And, yeah, I'm guilty of a frankenpanel, but, well, I knew that going in. I'm certainly no game purist, and for me, the fun has been in the build process itself. The games are just a happy side effect. Besides, I went looking around and I really didn't see much over there in the way of custom builds, mostly restorations. Oh well, doesn't surprise me and doesn't bother me.

I think someone here made a comment about two trackballs being overkill, which it is of course. But I've had a blast playing simultaneous 2 man Marble Madness with my 6yo, so, it was worth it.

In the end, Haters gonna hate  ;)

I'm looking forward to your progress on the Turkey Punchout BTW!

I'd never heard of those references. I googled them and I STILL don't know where the came from. cotmm68030 wins the obscure aware!


Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet - Playable again!
Post by: drventure on November 05, 2010, 10:05:11 pm
Thanks Shilmover

Yeah, no worries. When I looked around the KLOV boards, it looked like pretty much all restos and original machines, which I totally respect, but which I have no space for at all. Besides, that's a whole other set of knowledge and skills there. Even the guys here, when I read about "capping a monitor", or tracing down circuit problems on the original pcboards , that just intimidates the hell out of me.
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet - Playable again!
Post by: Rick on November 05, 2010, 10:12:39 pm
"capping a monitor"

Every time I read this, I picture people shooting old CRT's.
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet - Playable again!
Post by: newmanfamilyvlogs on November 05, 2010, 10:29:24 pm
Do you have links to these? I'll be honest - I haven't heard of any of these, but they sound awesome!

The Pen Ultimate was the handheld computer used in the LucasArts adventure game "The Dig":
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Dig (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Dig)

Toasters and Chainsaws is a game whose marque was seen the background of a newscast interview, by all reports it was never finished or released:
http://www.poetv.com/video.php?vid=80704 (http://www.poetv.com/video.php?vid=80704)
There is a slot machine that apparently pays homage to it:
http://www.ohiogaming.com/igtchainsawsandtoasters.htm (http://www.ohiogaming.com/igtchainsawsandtoasters.htm)

Brainscan is a 'video game' horror movie from 1994 starring Edward Furlong. Sort of a precursor to movies like 'eXistenZ', play a video game, kill in real life, etc. Maybe not a good starting point for a cab, but it's got some cheezy one liners and sort of a neat logo:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brainscan (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brainscan)
You could play around with that poster art and make some cool side panels.
trailer: Brainscan Trailer (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QaRbBSeLkj4#)
streamable: http://www.crackle.com/c/Brainscan/Brainscan/2481062 (http://www.crackle.com/c/Brainscan/Brainscan/2481062)
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet - Playable again!
Post by: drventure on November 05, 2010, 11:01:50 pm
Wow. Definitely obscure.

But I remember the Dig. Damn, that was a long time ago....
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet - Playable again!
Post by: JustMichael on November 06, 2010, 02:40:14 am
"capping a monitor"

Every time I read this, I picture people shooting old CRT's.

ROFL!!!!   :laugh2: :laugh2: :laugh2:
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet - Playable again!
Post by: kingchimp on November 06, 2010, 08:23:36 am
Well when they make No18 Arquadium Engine: The Movie you now have the prefect tagline.

Quote from: SgtSmackaho
It looks as if an electric elf on acid humped a wurlitzer in a gypsy's closet.

Frankly I'd be tempted to incorporate that into the startup video.  ;)
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet - Playable again!
Post by: drventure on November 06, 2010, 09:31:34 am
That was pretty funny  :)
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet - Playable again!
Post by: newmanfamilyvlogs on November 06, 2010, 09:02:25 pm
And speaking of the dig.. it's amazing how well that game has aged. Up-rezzed with ScummVM and its still gorgeous.
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet - Gun shells
Post by: drventure on November 23, 2010, 09:34:37 pm
I've been looking for some gun shells that would fit with my overall aesthetic for some time now. I think I might have actually found a couple.

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=103207.0;attach=157330)

Obviously, they'd need the "aged brass and copper" treatment, but the shapes seem perfect.

One is some no name brand, the other is a Nerf "Buzzsaw". It's a ball launcher that uses a weighted spinning wheel to launch foam balls. Never saw one before but it's got "Steampunk" written all over it :)

I also found them intriguing because they're big enough that they can both completely contain an aimtrack, plus other stuff or a Wiimote.

I think I'm about over the wiimote as gun for Mame though, just doesn't seem to work consistently enough.

But, I'm thinking Aimtrak, with a wireless USB extender and a small battery pack. That could easily fit in either of these shells.

I'm just not having much luck finding a Wireless USB extender at the moment that would work in such a configuration.

If that doesn't work, just a simple USB extension cable out the bottom of the guns would work as well. Or maybe a surface mount MINI USB port on the gun with a cable latch of some sort (I'm thinking brass door latch style).

Then, unplug the cable and the guns look like "normal" steampunk ray guns, and just plug in a cable to shoot.

As for other progress, I've gotten a bit sidetracked by some completely irrelevant and useless "steampunkish" decoration plates for some  of the interior parts of the cab. Once that's done, I'll post pics, they'd look totally stupid out of context.

I've slowly been getting software (LEDBlinky, bought a license, thanks Arzoo) and config up to snuff. Damn that's a slow process.

I'm also working on a ControlPanel layout for CPWizard and trying to get all that hooked up.

And lastly, i'm working through all my Cabinet photos and cleaning up the background transparency so they look better when displayed in Mala. That's a REALLY slow process!

Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet - Possible Light Gun shells
Post by: AlienInferno on November 24, 2010, 01:52:32 am
I think those guns will look great done up in the aged brass treatment.  The buzzsaw one expecially.  (The bottom one right?)  The top one I'm a little unsure of but once it's finished I will probably change my mind. 

Might need to take out the spring for the ball launcher though otherwise you may be shooting the aimtrack module at the tv instead of foam balls.  I can just picture it now.   ;D
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet - Possible Light Gun shells
Post by: drventure on November 24, 2010, 09:43:14 am
 ;D

Yeah, the guts will all have to be removed, same with that tube sticking out the top on the buzzsaw (it's the one on the right).

And that giant doofus d-handle at the back of the other one will go as well. They won't be shooting anything but IR when I'm done.  :)

The top I was a little unsure of as well. But I think with a good paintjob and a few details, it'll work fine. I'd really not wanted to have to exactly alike. That didn't quite seem to fit the overall theme to me. These two are big enough to provide a good amount of interior space to work with, but not so big as to be unwieldy. I'm looking forward to these conversions!
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet - Possible Light Gun shells
Post by: Rick on November 24, 2010, 10:28:51 am
...same with that tube sticking out the top on the buzzsaw (it's the one on the right).

Umm, NO!  Can't you put a steam unit in there?  You want 'steampunk', so what's better than a tube belching actual steam?!

 :soapbox:
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet - Possible Light Gun shells
Post by: BadMouth on November 24, 2010, 10:36:25 am
Like the buzzsaw, don't care for the other, a retro-futuristic crossbow would rule
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet - Possible Light Gun shells
Post by: drventure on November 24, 2010, 11:09:39 am
Quote
Can't you put a steam unit in there

That'd be great, but all the steam units I've found
a) require a pretty hefty amount of current (they actually heat up the steam fluid to generate steam)
b) have a fluid reservoir that I suspect would leak or spill all over the place if put in something like this.

But I love the idea! Maybe I will keep the tube and just fix it up like a smokestack or steam pipe or something.

If anyone's got any ideas on steam generators that might work.....

@BadMouth... Yeah, I'm not near as sold on the other as I am on the buzzsaw. But I still like the idea of two different looking guns.

I think I'll end up converting the buzzsaw first, and depending on how it turns out and how much space I end up needing internally, I might try converting a Maverick instead.

Maybe something like this

(http://hacknmod.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/Nerf-Maverick-Crossbow.jpg)
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet - Possible Light Gun shells
Post by: severdhed on November 24, 2010, 11:23:38 am
i like the buzzsaw, but i vote for maverick over the other one.  the maverick is pretty awesome looking...way more so than that other one.
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet - Possible Light Gun shells
Post by: HaRuMaN on November 24, 2010, 11:33:39 am
You could use something like an HO train smoke generator...
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet - Possible Light Gun shells
Post by: Rick on November 24, 2010, 11:33:56 am
(http://hacknmod.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/Nerf-Maverick-Crossbow.jpg)

Reminds me so much of Hellboy's "Samaritan".

(http://www.themodelmaker.co.uk/memoryclear%20020.jpg)

Damn, I love that gun.  Now, if somebody would Steampunk a BFG, THAT would be SWEET.

(http://blogofwishes.com/wp-content/uploads/2006/08/doom-bfg2.jpg)

Edit: Stupid nolinky linky.
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet - Possible Light Gun shells
Post by: drventure on November 24, 2010, 11:51:05 am
That samaritan is already steampunk in my book!

Awesome.
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet - Possible Light Gun shells
Post by: newmanfamilyvlogs on November 24, 2010, 01:46:50 pm
Something more like this would work:
http://www.horrorseek.com/home/halloween/wolfstone/Fog/fogus_UltrasonicFog.html (http://www.horrorseek.com/home/halloween/wolfstone/Fog/fogus_UltrasonicFog.html)

Ultrasonic inducers would be very small and requires 24v at 1.2A.
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet - Possible Light Gun shells
Post by: severdhed on November 24, 2010, 05:31:50 pm
You could use something like an HO train smoke generator...

lol, when someone says "ho train" this is all i can think of....

The Godfathers 1st titantron (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zbm8J9mPSWQ#)
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet - Possible Light Gun shells
Post by: skinz on November 24, 2010, 06:47:57 pm
How did you do the gold stamping?  Are they actually stamps?  Is it stamped with paint or gold leaf?  It looks so amazing.  It looks so much like gold tooling on leather.  Something like that gold tooled on leather would take days or weeks to do.  It's really amazing.  I'm embarrassed of my thread.  Need a job?   :D

The control panel really is top notch.  Gratz!!!!
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet - Possible Light Gun shells
Post by: jipp on December 02, 2010, 05:00:13 pm
very cool build. i read this yesterday, you did a great job.  today i was reading another webpage.  and it made me think of this cab.  its a steam powered record player :)  steampunk all the way!!


http://hackaday.com/2010/12/02/steam-powered-rickrolling/ (http://hackaday.com/2010/12/02/steam-powered-rickrolling/)


Steampunk record player - first full test with steam. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AuWcU3EDw94#)

chris.
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet - Possible Light Gun shells
Post by: drventure on December 02, 2010, 05:44:10 pm
@skinz

Sorry I didn't get back to you sooner. It's actually stamping. I used some stamps typically used for scrapbooking, along with a metalic gold ink. What I found was that every ink/paint combo i tried would simply not stick well to formica. Most would stick, but would come off pretty easily from hands playing games on the machine.

I first tried clearcoating with a spray enamel. that DID NOT work! Ugh, just check out pics from earlier in this thread for that fiasco.

I was however able to get all the clear off, then used alcohol to get off the stamped ink.

Restamped, and then coated the panel with Future floor wax (that stuff is MADE for formica/linoleum)

Haven't had any issues at all with it since then.

And yes, the idea was to simulate that gold leaf embossing that you often see on high end leather desktops. With the leather texture of the formica and the natural "stamped" look that comes from actually stamping the design, I think it turned out spot on.

Of course, it's likely not many cabs would do well with this look but, hey!  ;)
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet - Possible Light Gun shells
Post by: drventure on December 02, 2010, 06:14:47 pm
@jipp

I love that record player, but it's not quite "audiophile", what with the steam whistle and all  ;D
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet - Possible Light Gun shells
Post by: drventure on January 01, 2011, 09:07:49 pm
Finally got some time over the Christmas break to do a little work on the buffet!

Not much in terms of "building", but mainly software config this time around.

First up, get my wireless guitars connected and operational.

I picked up 2 of these before christmas

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=103207.0;attach=158999)

Then I picked up a wired XBox360 drum set off a guy on CL for cheap.

The guitars are pretty slick. Solid body, they feel like real guitars and not cheap plastic controllers. The drums... Well. They're plastic  :)

Hooked everything up and pulled down the FOFIX version of frets on fire, along with the Rockband skin.

Then found a few places to download the chart info for songs I've already got. Holy cow! There are TONS of good charts out for FOF. I grabbed a pile of Stevie Ray Vaughn tracks.

Anyway. it took a bit of trial and error.

First, I'd plugged them into USB hubs that were powered, but apparently under so... so when all three activated, things started dying.

A few swaps of USB ports and that was fixed.

Then, even though everything worked properly in the Game controller view in windows, when I started FOFIX, it'd scramble the Drum controller, the Xbox light would start flashing, and it'd no longer work. If I unplugged it and plugged it back in, it'd would work, but then the Guitar controllers would be screwed up. and round and round it went

Here's a view of some of the controllers installed.

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=103207.0;attach=159001)

More trial and error and I discovered that the wireless guitars have 3 "modes",  PS2, PS3 Guitar Hero, and PS3 Rockband. For whatever reason, in Rockband mode, the xbox drums screws them up.

But, I switched them both to Guitar hero mode and now FOFIX loads up and can control all three with no hicupps.

Sweetness!

Here's a screen shot of the FoFix Rockband theme. It's really nicely done.

(http://www.smedjeborg.se/other/fretsonfire/screenshot2.jpg)

But, alas, all was not well. Mame was screwed. All my controllers had been remapped when I plugged up the guitars and drums.

That story is for another post, though. I've gotta get something to eat.
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet - FoFIX working with Guitars and Drums
Post by: Mr.Ian on January 03, 2011, 09:36:22 pm
Ths may be of interest

http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?topic=108256.0 (http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?topic=108256.0)

Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet - FoFIX working with Guitars and Drums
Post by: drventure on January 03, 2011, 09:49:38 pm
Thanks Ian

Yep, I saw that thread, Awesome build, exactly what I'm planning (ok, actually wasn't planning the solenoid thing, but that looks great too).

Still toying with Wiimotes, if only because they're wireless. But if the accuracy stinks, well, I guess we'll see.
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet - Guitars and Drums and USB hubs
Post by: drventure on January 03, 2011, 09:56:01 pm
Ugh. I thought I'd post another word of caution about cheap USB hubs.

I've spent the better part of the last week fighting with 2 guitar controllers (PS2/PS3) and an XBox 360 Drum controller. They worked, but intermittently, and often not together.

After LOTS of trial and error, I finally narrowed it down to a 7 port USB hub I was using. A cheapo from radio shack I picked up ages ago.

I happened to check the power supply. 5v 1amp. 1 FREAKING amp!

Each port draws a max 500ma, so that hub was grossly underpowered. If just 2 ports pulled close to the max, anything else would send it over the edge.

Anyway, off to frys and I picked up an IOGEAR 7 port hub. Had em open the box before I purchased.

It comes with a 3.7amp PS.

At 7 ports, max draw would be about 3.5 amps, and throw in a little more to power the hub, and that appears to be a properly sized PS for that kind of hub.

Some devices don't draw all that much, but these guitar dongles and radio recievers and they appear to draw a lot, as does the xbox drum controller. And LEDWiz's DEFINITELY draw a lot if you're powering the LED's via the port and not externally.

Anyway, just a heads up for anyone else that might trundle off down this path....

Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet - FoFIX working with Guitars and Drums
Post by: HaRuMaN on January 06, 2011, 12:07:26 pm
You need this:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=370247047058 (http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=370247047058)
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet - Ammeter and Barometer
Post by: drventure on January 06, 2011, 12:59:21 pm
Very nice. I like that voltmeter, but 59$? ouch

Actually, though, I've already got a couple of gauges that are going in (though I suppose I could always use more  :) )

I documented them way back here (http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?topic=88515.msg1073324#msg1073324)

But i never added in newer, finished shots....

So, here's a couple.

First, the ammeter that I cooked up.

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=103207.0;attach=159219)

It's an old Westinghouse that goes up to 2500 amps. The prongs on the sides are actually working connector points. I've got some wire that I covered with old style brown cording that terminates in a couple of copper lugs that I'll use to connect the ammeter to an LEDWiz output. That way, the LEDWiz can drive the readout on the ammeter either via an animation (the ammeter has a pot in it to allow me to adjust the voltage, I actually added a resistor across it to convert it to a crude voltmeter instead) or via a little service I'm working on to send data directly to the output port (for instance to read out CPU utilization).


Then the barometer

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=103207.0;attach=159221)

Yeah, this one's just silly, granted. But the pigtail actually does connect to an led inside it to light it up, and the barometer, although ancient, actually still works. I calibrated it and it's still reading right.

The main prob with gauges and such (I'd love to add more) is that 1) there's not a lot of space left for that kind of thing, and 2) Since all this has to effectively be "surface mounted" anything that's thick I have to build out a container for that looks reasonable, which can be tricky.

Plus, nothing can interfere with the whole thing closing up, OR with the monitor rotating (which is still in the works).

Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet - FoFIX working with Guitars and Drums
Post by: captaincatalyst on January 06, 2011, 08:47:37 pm
Hi drventure,

I'm really liking your cabinet.  I will be doing a steampunk themed build myself.  It will probably be more of a standard sized and shaped cabinet, but we'll see.  At any rate I will be incorporating a rotating monitor as well.  I haven't read all of your posts in this thread to see if you have landed on a solution, but I found something that I will be making use of to rotate the monitor with a hand crank.

I purchased a geared winch (http://www.harborfreight.com/2000-lb-capacity-geared-winch-5798.html) from Harbor Freight.
(http://www.harborfreight.com/media/catalog/product/cache/1/thumbnail/370x370/9df78eab33525d08d6e5fb8d27136e95/i/m/image_1454.jpg)
I had a 20% coupon so it came to a little over $20.  This particular winch changes the direction of motion such that it could be mounted behind a monitor with the handle shaft extended to the side of the cabinet where you turn the crank.  Of course it will have to be modified, but it can be easily taken apart.  Even though cranking is easy, the larger gear stays locked so the monitor wouldn't end up rotating back under its own weight.  I will incorporate a more steampunk themed crank on the outside, but the winch itself will be hidden from view.  You could even go so far as to have this drive other gears that would be visible.  Even if you don't have room for it right behind the monitor you still might be able to use it to drive a series of gears that end up rotating a gear attached to the monitor.
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet - FoFIX working with Guitars and Drums
Post by: drventure on January 06, 2011, 11:21:43 pm
Nice idea with the winch. I'm leaning toward a brass grandfather clock cable and pulley arrangement right now. I just haven't been able to find brass or brass like gears that would be of the size (and look decent enough) for me to actually use. But clock parts are all over the place. My main concern is that they'll handle the torque, but I think it'll be fine.

I'm going to try mocking up a layout on some plywood first to be sure though.

I could see using an old white ceramic faucet handle for the winch crank. Could be sweet!
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet - FoFIX working with Guitars and Drums
Post by: jipp on January 08, 2011, 07:13:19 am
i watched the movie the wild west with will smith last night.. man that whole movie seams steampunk inspired to me.. made me think of your cab. heh

i look forward to what you do with your guns.  i do not really like the aimtrack shells.  but ill end up going with them to start.. blah..

50 bucks for a shell with out even a feed back motor.  the topguns come with one..  but i dunno how well the topgun II guns work.. must be a reason everyone uses the aimtracks.

have a great morning.  :)

i think i hear a steam powered alarm clock ready to blow.

chris.
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet - FoFIX working with Guitars and Drums
Post by: drventure on January 08, 2011, 09:51:53 am
Hey Jipp

I was going to ask if you'd seen the Maverick Nerf gun mod that was recently posted, but I just checked and it looks like you have. Good stuff. That's where I'm leaning, but I'd sure like to make em wireless!
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet - FoFIX working with Guitars and Drums
Post by: captaincatalyst on January 10, 2011, 11:45:34 am
...
I just haven't been able to find brass or brass like gears that would be of the size (and look decent enough) for me to actually use.
...

I have to agree with you on that one.  Large gears seem to be very difficult to track down.  I see very few on eBay and they tend to be pretty expensive.  Small watch gears are very abundant, but of course wouldn't work for rotating a monitor.  Anyone have any ideas on sourcing large (greater than 2") gears?  Ones with threaded screw holes to keep them attached to a rod would be preferable.  I suppose the type of metal wouldn't matter because, if need be, they could always be painted.

I think I'll end up doing mine where most of the functional parts for the rotating mechanism are hidden and drive a set of smaller exposed gears for looks.
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet - FoFIX working with Guitars and Drums
Post by: newmanfamilyvlogs on January 10, 2011, 12:24:37 pm
How about enclosing the monitor in a giant wooden gear, driven by a worm screw at the bottom (:

I've got no clue what the shipping would be like, but I've got access to a very large CNC that can cut solid hardwoods up to several inches thick. How big is your screen again?
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet - FoFIX working with Guitars and Drums
Post by: HaRuMaN on January 10, 2011, 12:27:33 pm
I've got access to a very large CNC that can cut solid hardwoods up to several inches thick.

orly?
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet - FoFIX working with Guitars and Drums
Post by: newmanfamilyvlogs on January 10, 2011, 12:37:55 pm
I've got access to a very large CNC that can cut solid hardwoods up to several inches thick.

orly?

yah rly.
(http://lh3.ggpht.com/_xyVxXgjibE0/TCuQd7usd5I/AAAAAAAABZE/3d9uJXVUc7U/s640/IMG_20100630_141723.jpg)
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet - FoFIX working with Guitars and Drums
Post by: HaRuMaN on January 10, 2011, 12:38:33 pm
 :drool
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet - FoFIX working with Guitars and Drums
Post by: jipp on January 10, 2011, 03:06:13 pm
drools.  that is a beast!!! we are not worthy! we are not worth! bows down.

on a side not i finally went ahead and ordered the aimtrack light gun kit.  once i saw andy was working on new firm wear to support feed back.. was enough for me to support his product.  regardless if it gets that update or not.  he cares and listens to the community.. thats boss!

chris.
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet - FoFIX working with Guitars and Drums
Post by: drventure on January 11, 2011, 08:56:29 am
Nice CNC!

I like the idea, but my cab doesn't have room for that size gear  :(

That Aimtrak Maverick mod though is right up my alley!
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet - FoFIX working with Guitars and Drums
Post by: newmanfamilyvlogs on January 11, 2011, 10:02:25 am
Nice CNC!

I like the idea, but my cab doesn't have room for that size gear  :(

That Aimtrak Maverick mod though is right up my alley!

Oh well. (: When you start building your second steampunk cab, just keep it in mind.

If you can come up with any other things we could cut on it, let me know. The guys over at our woodshop have enjoyed working on the odd arcade projects I've thrown at them, we just can't find a niche that would be profitable enough to market, unless a bunch of people want to start buying Armoircades all of the sudden.
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet - FoFIX working with Guitars and Drums
Post by: HaRuMaN on January 11, 2011, 10:08:08 am
You could cut joystick cases for xbox 360 / ps3 custom builders...   :drool
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet - FoFIX working with Guitars and Drums
Post by: newmanfamilyvlogs on January 11, 2011, 10:17:23 am
I was tinkering with the idea of bartop-cocktail kits. We could mass cut them out on that table like 4 at a time.
But we probably should stop threadjacking.
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet - FoFIX working with Guitars and Drums
Post by: captaincatalyst on January 11, 2011, 11:52:26 am
Drventure, I'm curious how you plan to go about painting the guns to ensure the paint will remain in good shape after a lot of handling.  I'm still researching how to accomplish this with mine before diving in.  Seems like you wouldn't necessarily have access to Krylon plastic paint in the colors you'll need for a steampunk theme.  Automotive paints might be a good option.  You used the Future floor wax for other parts with great success, so do you think it would help on the guns?

Will you eventually have to re-apply the floor wax in the places you used it on the cab?
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet - FoFIX working with Guitars and Drums
Post by: drventure on January 11, 2011, 08:13:07 pm
@Cotmm
Quote
unless a bunch of people want to start buying Armoircades all of the sudden.
:laugh2:

Judging from those comments over on klov, not too soon  ;)

I had toyed with the idea of wood gears, but I think brass would be a bit more in keeping with the design. I'd still love to see some wood gears in a build though. One project I always wanted to take on was building an all wooden clock.

@captaincatalyst

Yeah, that plastic paint hasn't given me very good results the few times I've tried it, and they definitely don't have a good range of "steampunkish" colors.

But I've had excellent results so far with the combination I outlines on this thread for painting my buttons.

basically, I did this
1) start with the normal shiny plastic HAPP buttons.
2) disassemble and take very fine steel wool to them to rough all the exposed surfaces up.
3) mask off the threads
4) spray with rustoleum heavy duty primer
5) let dry thoroughly
6) hit them with very fine steel wool again, lightly, just to smooth out any rough spots.
7) spray with various metalic enamels. I used rustoleum and valspar mostly, because that's what was at Hobby lobby and home depot/lowes.
8) brush on non-water soluable india ink, then rub/wipe of quickly. This REALLY makes the metallics pop and gives the finish a depth you won't get any other way.
9) buy a bottle of Future Floor Wax.
10) Get a large tray and some paper towels.
11) squirt the future all over the painted pieces holding them over the tray (I airbrushed them originally, but I found just squirting it on right out of the bottle works even better, thicker coat, faster to apply, no cleanup)
12) hang the pieces to dry, and use a little paper towel to dab up any drippy spots on the bottom of the items while the future is still watery.
13) after about an hour or so, repeat steps 11-12, then repeat again (I put three coats on).

If you want a little duller finish (Future is SUPER glossy normally), get some tamiya flat acrylic (you can usually find it at high end hobby stores), and mix some with the future. Just how much, you kind of have to play with.

Several people have said online that if you mix some SIMPLE GREEN (another kind of floor cleaner I think), with the future, you'll get an incredibly glossy finish, much like a wet look. But you need to be extra careful about dust if you go that route.

As for durability, I treated all the buttons on my cabinet (the +buttons+ mind you, that get beat to hell when you play anything) and they look the same as when I finished them out originally. I can't detect any wear at all on them. My entire CP I treated with 3 coats of future as well, and it (and all the stamping design I applied) still look like new. Just wipe with water. Don't use any ammonia cleaner (or alcohol based I believe), or it'll take the future off.

As for guns, that's exactly how I plan on doing them. Granted, if you bash the gun, drop it on a hard floor etc, it'll likely scratch, but any paint would do that. Treated decently, I can't imagine there being any problems with the finish.
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet - FoFIX working with Guitars and Drums
Post by: drventure on January 25, 2011, 11:42:51 pm
Well, thanks to NeverendingProject, I'm the proud owner of a new Aimtrak module. Thanks!

Finally gonna get a chance to hack one of these Nerf guns I've been storing for more than a year.

That Nerf Maverick to LightGun thread is due for a complete full reread!
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet - FoFIX working with Guitars and Drums
Post by: captaincatalyst on January 26, 2011, 05:35:38 pm
Keep in mind that Andy plans at some point to release firmware that will support solenoid recoil, so it would end up being much simpler if he does.  I still haven't heard back from him on that yet.  Also, I know you really want wireless, so if that's important, then recoil might be out anyway since it will take a lot of power.
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet - FoFIX working with Guitars and Drums
Post by: jipp on January 26, 2011, 07:06:52 pm
Well, thanks to NeverendingProject, I'm the proud owner of a new Aimtrak module. Thanks!

Finally gonna get a chance to hack one of these Nerf guns I've been storing for more than a year.

That Nerf Maverick to LightGun thread is due for a complete full reread!

hey cool  you got the aimtrack..  check out my pictures if you wanna see how it goes together in the aimtrack gun housing.  i put the gun part together.. just need to do the configuring part when im feeling up to it.  cant wait to see your guns come together.  i know with the aimtracks plastic gun housing they feel a little light for me.. so i may put some modeling clay in to give some mass. 

chris.
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet - FoFIX working with Guitars and Drums
Post by: drventure on January 26, 2011, 09:39:15 pm
@CaptainCatalyst

Yeah, I was kind of wondering about power requirements and a solenoid. Maybe a smaller unit that could work of the 5v on a USB port?

Don't really know yet. I'm kind of leaning toward this first build being a test bed.

@Jipp
Yep, I saw those pics. Fantastic. Definitely with the wieghts. On the Steampunk modded guns I did, I glued lead battery terminals I had laying around inside to give them a little heft.

Don't want the light guns too heavy or it'll wear you out playing!
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet - FoFIX working with Guitars and Drums
Post by: captaincatalyst on January 27, 2011, 11:17:07 am
Yeah, I was kind of wondering about power requirements and a solenoid. Maybe a smaller unit that could work of the 5v on a USB port?

Don't really know yet. I'm kind of leaning toward this first build being a test bed.

I would be very surprised if you could find a 5v solenoid that you could actually feel.  From my limited experience with the solenoids the more volts and definitely the more amps the better.  So even if a solenoid was rated at 5v, it would likely require more amps than the USB port can put out (not sure on the exact USB power specs).

You could get a little vibrating feedback motor that would work on 5v, but I feel like that would be worse than not having recoil at all.  Just my opinion.  It's your project, so experiment and figure out what's best for your needs (as if you weren't already going to :P).
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet - FoFIX working with Guitars and Drums
Post by: drventure on January 27, 2011, 12:51:02 pm
Well, I kind of had a feeling about the solenoid thing. It'd guess it takes some current to actually make something that jolts in your hand.

hmmm... I like the idea of a solenoid for feedback though....

Grrr. Gotta think on this a bit.
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet - A bit more Steampunk goodness
Post by: drventure on March 11, 2011, 10:29:03 pm
Finally broke down and took a day off work to get some time in. Didn't get much done, but was able to start a few things.

First, I've been collecting a bunch of misc brass and copper bits over the last few weeks.
(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=103207.0;attach=162804)

Somehow, all that's going to magically morph into an AimTrak IR Light bar that'll rotate around to in just the right place above the monitor. Gotta do it this way because there's no easy way to attach the lightbar to the monitor frame (without mucking it up) and there's no space to directly attach it above the monitor (the lid wouldn't fold down).

This should be interesting....

First step, soldering up some of the parts...

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=103207.0;attach=162794)

Then I realized that most of these parts should just be able to screw together, so out comes the tap and die set...

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=103207.0;attach=162796)

More on that to come.


Meanwhile, back in the cab itself, I finally decided to pull the trigger on getting some of my wiring nailed down, in particular the Video cable.

First, i picked up some 1" clear vinyl tubing, split it, wrapped it around my EL wire enhanced video cable and then glued it back together with vinyl pool repair cement. That stuff actually melts the vinyl together.
You can see the end result close up here (along with a great vintage plaque I picked up ages ago, finally mounted).

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=103207.0;attach=162798)

Next, I used some copper pipe hangers, threaded rod and some brass flare fittings to make some stays for the cable.

Here's one mounted and ready for the cable itself

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=103207.0;attach=162800)

Lots of placement experimentation, drilling, insert nuts, and antique porcelain insulators later and I have this (the monitor's still not remounted, there's a few more things to take care of).

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=103207.0;attach=162802)

Now I gotta figure out how to set up the right side!
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet - A bit more Steampunk goodness
Post by: Ryglore on March 16, 2011, 12:18:09 pm
Man this is looking super sexy. Love the name tag, excellent touch. Glad to see it's still moving forward after the lightning strike.  :cheers:
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet - A bit more Steampunk goodness
Post by: Epyx on March 16, 2011, 12:34:59 pm
Wow, missed this a couple of days ago it appears...*LOVE* the plaque...that is too cool and just an odds and end you picked up a while ago eh? It looks fantastic mounted, one of those little things but really fires up the imagination.
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet - A bit more Steampunk goodness
Post by: drventure on March 16, 2011, 08:35:28 pm
Thanks guys.
Yeah that plaque had me with the "H.A Schnackenberg".  :)

I'm collecting all the pieces now for my rotating monitor setup. That should get interesting!

In the meantime, this aimtrak stuff is proving to be a good challenge too.
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet - A bit more Steampunk goodness
Post by: Benevolance on March 16, 2011, 08:39:13 pm
How are you finding the Aimtrack stuff with the modding? I'm considering something similar with the modded steampunk style guns, but I'm not the most technically skilled guy around and I'd hate to butcher the components with my thuggish hands. :D
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet - A bit more Steampunk goodness
Post by: drventure on March 16, 2011, 09:46:36 pm
The aimtrak itself looks to be pretty simple stuff. It might get a tad more complex if you want a recoil solenoid (which I'm definitely mulling over), but that's about it.

I've already wired up a custom version of the IR emitter bar (basically just 6 IR LEDs, and 3 resistors, no big deal) and it works a treat, but in my case, I don't have a monitor glass for it to hide behind, so I've got to put the emitter bar front and center, out in the open.Sooooo it can't just look like 6 led's and a few resistors  :)

I suspect when I'm doing, I'll have to worlds most expensive Aimtrack Emitter bar (there'll certainly be enough brass and copper in the thing at any rate)!
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet - A bit more Steampunk goodness
Post by: Benevolance on March 17, 2011, 06:19:09 pm
Aside from the 'because you can', what is the advantage of the recoil solenoids? I'm trying to think of the gun games I played in the arcade (VirtuaCop 2, Lethal Enforcers) and none had kick back on the guns. Was it a common thing that I just missed?
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet - A bit more Steampunk goodness
Post by: opt2not on March 17, 2011, 06:53:52 pm
Aside from the 'because you can', what is the advantage of the recoil solenoids? I'm trying to think of the gun games I played in the arcade (VirtuaCop 2, Lethal Enforcers) and none had kick back on the guns. Was it a common thing that I just missed?
Time Crisis had guns with recoil, and it was awesome.
Time Crisis arcade machine (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hYNZ_F1ONtI#noexternalembed)
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet - A bit more Steampunk goodness
Post by: drventure on March 17, 2011, 09:12:51 pm
I think it's more of just a "Wow that's kinda cool that the gun kicks" thing than being particularly true to any games.

But it's also some extra work, plus you gotta get 12v to the gun, so you can't use a standard USB cable...

Grrrrr
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet - A bit more Steampunk goodness
Post by: newmanfamilyvlogs on March 18, 2011, 05:39:39 am
I think it's more of just a "Wow that's kinda cool that the gun kicks" thing than being particularly true to any games.

But it's also some extra work, plus you gotta get 12v to the gun, so you can't use a standard USB cable...

Grrrrr

I wonder if you can source the metal sheath that regular arcade guns used around their cords.. That would probably give you the room to feed USB through it as well as a +12V/GND pair on heavier gauge wire.
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet - A bit more Steampunk goodness
Post by: drventure on March 18, 2011, 07:42:55 am
hmmm, true. I'll have to do some looking. I was also hoping to come up with some disconnects at the gun so that they could stand "on their own" so to speak without a long cable hanging off.

Lots of experimenting to do there...
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet - A bit more Steampunk goodness
Post by: lokesen on March 18, 2011, 01:32:54 pm
This is so facinating. I really love your project man!
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet - A bit more Steampunk goodness
Post by: newmanfamilyvlogs on March 22, 2011, 05:46:35 am
Still digging to find where you can find the mating end of the connector... but the J1708 connector in heavy-duty vehicles has a nice twist-on action, and is available in 6 or 9 pins:

http://www.ocp.com/product_search/search_product_detail.php?item_num=11760-03-150 (http://www.ocp.com/product_search/search_product_detail.php?item_num=11760-03-150)

Pre-made cables are likely to be a little more expensive (since these are design for doing automotive diagnostic), but I'll bet you can find the male/female connectors somewhere and build your own cable.. put a nice cloth sheath over it or something.

Here's another connector with a clip in action, available in different pin numbers:
http://www.wirecare.com/deutsch-connectors.asp?selectedDelimiter=6&Series=DT (http://www.wirecare.com/deutsch-connectors.asp?selectedDelimiter=6&Series=DT)
They sell mating pairs.
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet - A bit more Steampunk goodness
Post by: drventure on March 22, 2011, 07:29:49 pm
@Lokesen Thanks!

@cotmm68030 Interesting connectors. I'll going to dig around those sites and see what they have. Part of my prob is that I'm not sure what to even call these things. For instance,the cable. "Armored Cable", "Arcade gun cable", "kiosk cable", "vandal proof" "vandal resistant". Haven't turned up much...

BTW, Does you handle imply a motorola processor by chance or something else? I cut my teeth coding assembly on a 6502, so the motorola instruction set brings back memories<g>
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet - A bit more Steampunk goodness
Post by: newmanfamilyvlogs on March 22, 2011, 08:48:59 pm
Yup, I grew up on an Amiga 2000 with a 25Mhz 68030, so some time around 1996 I took m68030 as a handle on IRC. Later on when I started writing music I took the name "Children of the Monkey Machine" to release music under. Eventually I combined the two on IRC to have a single handle. Check my sig for music (:
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet - A bit more Steampunk goodness
Post by: thatpurplestuff on March 23, 2011, 02:16:08 am
Looking better and better with every update!  Awesome!
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet - A bit more Steampunk goodness
Post by: drventure on March 23, 2011, 09:50:33 pm
Thanks! Just checked out the skeeball update. Sounds like you're coming along about as fast as I am  :)
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet - A bit more Steampunk goodness
Post by: Benevolance on March 24, 2011, 07:15:28 pm
Dear Dr Venture,

Where the heck do you find all of this awesome stuff? The name plates, the whoosits and whatfoozles, and slick brass bits? I scour the local shops here for similar stuff, but all I can find are antique stores that want antique prices. Not to mention I'd feel a little guilty tearing apart a working 19-something radio just for some knobs on my arcade machine.

Sincerely,
Benevolance
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet - A bit more Steampunk goodness
Post by: gryhnd on March 24, 2011, 07:33:37 pm
Not to mention I'd feel a little guilty tearing apart a working 19-something radio just for some knobs on my arcade machine.

I've got knobs from a 1950 RCA Victor TV. (http://www.skinners.us/skinners/Misc/Jukebox/IMG_8834.jpg) If you actually need them you can have them :D

Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet - A bit more Steampunk goodness
Post by: drventure on March 25, 2011, 12:10:58 am
@Benevolance

Sounds like Gryhnd might have some knobs for you. As for the bits, believe it or not, a lot of it i've found in the plumbing and hardware sections of lowes or true value hardware. Some I've gotten off ebay. Lots of the clock stuff and gears anyway.

Often, i've gotten on ebay and searched for "brass", "brass parts", etc. to get ideas, then find other places to source things.

Full on antique shops will often charge ridiculous prices like you say, but often, I've found shops that are more "junk" shops that real antique shops. that's really where you want to look.

And I've found some good stuff at the Army Navy store, the GoodWill outlet, Ross, and Tuesday morning. Finally, some of the bits (mother of pearl snaps, ornate gold/brass cabochons etc I've found at Micheals (a hobby/craft store) and various fabric/sewing stores.

Hope that helps! I'd love to see what you can come up with. And I may have some stuff to trade eventually (I've got bins of this stuff, I'm probably not going to be able to use) <sigh>
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet - A bit more Steampunk goodness
Post by: drventure on March 27, 2011, 10:09:26 pm
Well, the swap meet at the Texas Pinball Fest was a bust, but I did turn up a pretty nifty tilt bob in one of the vendor booths. All the parts were there, and for 2$, can't go wrong.

Got it home and in the light, it actually looked like it +might+ be brass (or brass like).

Took it to the garage, and with a little time on the polisher and some Brasso, turned into this:

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=103207.0;attach=163671)

The bob itself looks like lead, but shined up, it still looks great.
A close up of the ring shows what +looks+ like a Williams W. (at least, that's what I'm telling myself).


(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=103207.0;attach=163673)


Gonna have to find a place for that on the back panel, in and amongst all the pulleys, wire, gauges and whatsits  :)
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet - A bit more Steampunk goodness
Post by: AlienInferno on March 28, 2011, 09:29:54 pm
Can't wait to see those parts on your cab. 

How was Pinball Fest?  I completely forgot about it.  It's sad really since I only live about 1 to 1.5 hours away.
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet - A bit more Steampunk goodness
Post by: drventure on March 28, 2011, 09:42:02 pm
@AlienInferno

The swap meet was a bit of a disappointment, but the show itself was great. Lots of good pins there, plus quite a few vids. And several of the vendors inside the show has some decent stuff for sale.

It was busy, but not ridiculously crowded, rarely had to wait for a machine.

Next year, my daughter and I might enter the competition (not that we're any good, but it might be fun!).
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet - A bit more Steampunk goodness
Post by: Nephasth on March 29, 2011, 08:20:30 pm
Found this in the junk pile at work. Totally looks like it belongs on your rig.
(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=103207.0;attach=163755)
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet - A bit more Steampunk goodness
Post by: yotsuya on March 29, 2011, 08:48:17 pm
Did you swipe it for him?
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet - A bit more Steampunk goodness
Post by: Nephasth on March 29, 2011, 08:59:10 pm
It's not going anywhere if he wants it. Thing weighs like 30 lbs, so "if it fits, it ships."
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet - A bit more Steampunk goodness
Post by: drventure on March 29, 2011, 10:37:50 pm
Oh sweet bejeezus :o

Uh, yeah, I'll take that off your hands! Not sure exactly how I'd use it but I guarantee I can come up with something!

If you can ship it, just let me know and I can paypal you or something else if you prefer.

Those are glass insulators, right. Looks like it from the photo.

Alternatively, if you're anywhere close to the Dallas/Ft Worth TX area, I could probably drive to pick it up.

Great Call, BTW!
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet - A bit more Steampunk goodness
Post by: Nephasth on March 29, 2011, 10:57:31 pm
I own a house near Dallas... But I live in Wyoming :dizzy:

Yeah, they're glass insulators, don't know what they're mounted to though.

I hope it can fit in a large flat rate box. PM me and we'll work it out.
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet - A bit more Steampunk goodness
Post by: Nephasth on March 29, 2011, 11:09:16 pm
Ooo :o Dataplate says it's a 24,000V protective capacitor.
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet - A bit more Steampunk goodness
Post by: drventure on March 29, 2011, 11:16:54 pm
A real jacobs ladder would look sweet with those insulators (and they're rated for the voltage  ;D )

PMing now...
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet - A bit more Steampunk goodness
Post by: Benevolance on March 30, 2011, 03:15:56 pm
And the next time lightning strikes the Mameuffet it won't get away so easily!
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet - A bit more Steampunk goodness
Post by: drventure on March 30, 2011, 07:47:37 pm
 :laugh2:
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet - A bit more Steampunk goodness
Post by: drventure on April 09, 2011, 11:50:19 pm
Well, thanks to pinballwizard79 for yet another idea.

Not sure If I've got space but a few of these on the CP would look particularly nice (and be handy to boot!)

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=103207.0;attach=164532)

Found em on ebay. 4.34$ each ,but 8$ to ship  :badmood:
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet - A bit more Steampunk goodness
Post by: kingchimp on May 09, 2011, 09:31:56 am
Apologies to everyone else for making a non-progress related bump of someone else's thread, but I happened upon this post on the srk forum just now and thought the Dr. might like to see it.  :)

http://shoryuken.com/f177/check-out-my-new-arcade-stick-thread-part-deux-201537/index729.html#post10623515 (http://shoryuken.com/f177/check-out-my-new-arcade-stick-thread-part-deux-201537/index729.html#post10623515)
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet - A bit more Steampunk goodness
Post by: drventure on May 09, 2011, 12:01:18 pm
Wow. Thanks for that bump! That's my kind of fight stick.

I'm guessing you'd have to have access to some decent milling gear to get brass button heads like that.

But the abalone inlays certainly look slick.

And those brass sticks.

For those that might not want to follow the thread, here's a pic of the stick the guy built.

Again, definitely not mine, but I wish I had the equipment to do this kind of work.

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=103207.0;attach=165736)
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet - A bit more Steampunk goodness
Post by: Encryptor on May 09, 2011, 07:04:15 pm
Sweet Stick. Are they just brass covers for normal arcade buttons?


Encryptor
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet - A bit more Steampunk goodness
Post by: drventure on May 09, 2011, 08:12:30 pm
From the thread, it sounds like it was a class project for a metal working class of some sort.

He mentions he was on a budget and just hacked a "madcatz" stick for the electronics. I'm guessing the buttons are all custom.

I suspect a full brass button like that would have a LOT of inertia to overcome when playing, regardless of the spring.

Still, it looks fantastic! For Admin buttons at the least, I could totally see that.
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet - A bit more Steampunk goodness
Post by: Encryptor on May 10, 2011, 05:19:32 am
If that is the case I'd love to get a look at the underside to see what the rest of the button look like.
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet - A bit more Steampunk goodness
Post by: jimmy2x2x on May 10, 2011, 10:34:45 pm
another distant relative?
(http://i.imgur.com/wAaX0.jpg)
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet - A bit more Steampunk goodness
Post by: drventure on May 10, 2011, 10:40:41 pm
Nice. Kinda looks like the Farnsworth box from Warehouse 13.
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet - A bit more Steampunk goodness
Post by: Ryglore on July 10, 2011, 08:54:04 pm
Love that tilt assembly. I'm guessing it's a Williams also, though who knows.
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet - A bit more Steampunk goodness
Post by: drventure on July 10, 2011, 09:08:16 pm
Hey Ryglore

Yeah it's williams, I've since found that it's pretty easy to come by those tilt bobs, but I did only pay a buck or so, so I think I came out well  ;)

Still not sure how I'll integrate it into my cab though...
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet - A bit more Steampunk goodness
Post by: Ryglore on July 10, 2011, 10:26:52 pm
Ya I was trying to figure out what purpose it would have...
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet - A bit more Steampunk goodness
Post by: drventure on July 10, 2011, 10:51:16 pm
I was contemplating using it as possibly a "super tilt". I've already get "nudge sensors" installed in the CP that can detect a nudge from the left right and front for pinball.

But if the tilt was activated, I could see that "tilting" the game and ending it.

Just not sure if I'll go that route or not.

I might just shine a blue LED on it and call it a day. It does look pretty good, even if it won't end up doing anything...
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet - Might actually accept coins now
Post by: drventure on July 11, 2011, 09:05:26 am
Just found this on ebay:

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=103207.0;attach=169559)

Should make a nice coin slot for the buffet.

Now I just need to figure out how to make a coin chute....
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet - A bit more Steampunk goodness
Post by: jimmy2x2x on July 11, 2011, 10:30:32 am
Lego!
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet - A bit more Steampunk goodness
Post by: newmanfamilyvlogs on July 11, 2011, 11:05:46 am
You could probably use any bit of metal bent into a 'chute' shape. I think I saw someone on the boards here even using a toilet paper roll taped and rubber banded into an approximation that worked.
How big is that opening?
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet - A bit more Steampunk goodness
Post by: HaRuMaN on July 11, 2011, 11:06:31 am
Someone here made one put of wood.  Seemed pretty simple to do.
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet - A bit more Steampunk goodness
Post by: Nephasth on July 11, 2011, 11:13:09 am
Flat copper tubing?

(http://lzmetal.com/www/upload/20113319251078774.jpg)
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet - A bit more Steampunk goodness
Post by: drventure on July 12, 2011, 09:58:55 am
I like that flat copper tubing idea. Wood would probably work as well....

Hmmm, maybe cut a wood track out of 1x2, route a slot for the quarter, then just glue cardstock to the open face to make an enclosed race. Nobody's going to see that part anyway....

That just might work!
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet - A bit more Steampunk goodness
Post by: newmanfamilyvlogs on July 12, 2011, 11:22:55 am
I like that flat copper tubing idea. Wood would probably work as well....

Hmmm, maybe cut a wood track out of 1x2, route a slot for the quarter, then just glue cardstock to the open face to make an enclosed race. Nobody's going to see that part anyway....

That just might work!

The sound is important here! If you use wood it needs to be really light so it acts like a soundbox to amplify the quarter rolling down it.
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet - A bit more Steampunk goodness
Post by: yotsuya on July 12, 2011, 06:01:32 pm
What would be really steampunky is if you used the kind of coin slot found on gumball machines (slide in quarter, turn crank). I know it's more time consuming, but it seems much more appropriate to a vintage machine. Just a suggestion. Probably not practical, but would be cool.
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet - A bit more Steampunk goodness
Post by: drventure on July 12, 2011, 06:50:24 pm
@yotsuya

Cool idea, i hadn't though of that, but it would look better, esp if the exterior was brass plated. Unfortunately, given the design of the buffet (the actual furniture design, that I didn't have any part of), there's no place to put such a crank thing without it looking +really+ weird.

Couldn't put it on the front doors because they have to fold. Couldn't put it on the front side supports because they're only about 2 inches wide.

Putting on either side was just look terribly out of place.

hmmm. Have to think about that one some more....
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet - A bit more Steampunk goodness
Post by: Ryglore on July 12, 2011, 08:05:05 pm
I like that brass plate and the copper tubing idea for sure. The wood channel shouldn't be a problem, especially if no one hears it.

The problem I can see with the gumball crank is, what about when you're playing and frantically trying to dump tokens/ quarters in? That crank could become tiresome.
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet - A bit more Steampunk goodness
Post by: yotsuya on July 12, 2011, 08:14:02 pm
Yeah, I know the twisting acceptor would be a bit cumbersome, but from a Steampunk POV, I think putting in a quarter and twisting it to activate a credit would be pretty cool. Maybe for your next build!
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet - A bit more Steampunk goodness
Post by: Epyx on July 13, 2011, 10:54:56 pm
Like coming back home seeing this thread still going. Love the new tweaks!  :applaud:
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet - Got sidetracked (again)
Post by: drventure on July 24, 2011, 05:43:36 pm
It's been awhile, and I got a bit sidetracked, but, still making progress!

First, I finished up the contract I was on end of june, and other work hasn't materialized yet. Not great, but not terrible. Lots of work out there, but nothing that's quite the right fit for me (at least not yet).

However, I've had some time to take care of a few things in the interim.

First, sidetracked.... (For the Arcade part of this post, you may want to skip down a bit<g>)

I started cleaning out my garage and turned up a cuckoo clock I'd actually found in the attic 7 years ago when we moved in. At the time, I had no idea what I might do with it, so, up on shelf it went.

Well, I had a bit of time, so what the hell. I pulled it down and started taking inventory of the situation....

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=103207.0;attach=170205)

Some of the numbers were missing, the hands were busted, one bird on the front is gone, and all the brass (chains, etc) is tarnished beyond belief, and the pendulum was gone, but, it still appeared to be otherwise complete, and I even found the weights (in another part of the attic).

I knocked together a little testing stand for it, hooked up the weights, make a fake pendulum from some copper wire, and lo-and-behold, the thing ticked!

Ok, First, clean that chain with buckets of Brasso...

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=103207.0;attach=170207)

Next, get the bellows and mechanism out, then soak it in water/ammonia/Murphy's Oil soap. Comes out shiny! Finally, drop a few drops of oil in all the right places...

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=103207.0;attach=170209)

I had to buy new numerals, hands, bellow paper, and pendulum, then replace the bellows paper (it was completely rotten).

Reinstall everything....

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=103207.0;attach=170211)

Put the new numbers and hands on, with the new pendulum and....

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=103207.0;attach=170213)

Been running 4 days on one winding and still shows correct time!


Back to Arcade stuff


Anyway, you may recall, I'd gotten off on a little bender making up a brass and copper "bar" to house the Aimtrak IR transmitters.

Here's a pic of what I ended up with there.

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=103207.0;attach=170216)

There was A LOT more to it, and when I finally got it all installed, turns out it was just too heavy to stay in the proper place. Needless to say, I was pretty bummed about it.

But, when you spend months to end up with a lemon, you damned sure better figure out how to make lemonade!

So, I desoldered some bits, added a few more bits, and rejiggered mercilessly.

And I ended up with this....

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=103207.0;attach=170222)

The gizmos on the left hand side are oilers from an old steam engine. They actually light up when you power the cab up. You can see them better here.


(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=103207.0;attach=170224)

and from the left side...

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=103207.0;attach=170220)

In case you're wondering, no, it doesn't interfere with player 4 seeing the screen. I was a bit concerned about that, but it ended up not being a problem.

The top bar itself I ended up scavenging from what I'd already built, just simplified it immensely.

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=103207.0;attach=170218)

And the good news it, it works great with my aimtrak, the cabinet still closes up cleanly, and I think I can put away all my metal cutting and welding gear!



Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet - A bit more Steampunk goodness
Post by: Nephasth on July 24, 2011, 06:21:05 pm
Your Aimtrak IR housing is ---smurfing--- SEXY! :applaud:
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet - A bit more Steampunk goodness
Post by: emphatic on July 24, 2011, 07:20:56 pm
Very awesome.  :applaud: :applaud: :applaud:
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet - A bit more Steampunk goodness
Post by: yotsuya on July 25, 2011, 01:25:19 am
Tell me that voltage switch on the left hand side really works...!
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet - A bit more Steampunk goodness
Post by: drventure on July 25, 2011, 08:02:25 am
Thanks for the comments!

@Yotsuya: It doesn't work quite yet, but it IS all wired up. It'll be the power switch for the cab once I've got it wired into the PC's power button. That great big 2000amp ammeter works too, I just scaled it down a bit and converted it to a voltmeter so that it reads the voltage set for one of the outputs of the LEDWiz. Eventually, I plan to write a little service that monitors the CPU utilization and drives that LEDWiz output from 0-5v based on the actual CPU utilization.

The barometer works, but it's just a barometer  :)
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet - A bit more Steampunk goodness
Post by: Donkbaca on July 28, 2011, 12:17:10 pm
You need to build an inter-web access module (a pc) to go next to it and build one of these to use it:  http://www.instructables.com/id/Buccaneer-Keyboard/ (http://www.instructables.com/id/Buccaneer-Keyboard/)
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet - A bit more Steampunk goodness
Post by: drventure on July 28, 2011, 12:27:08 pm
That keyboard is great! Wow. handcutting and polishing all that brass tubing for those keys. Ouch...

That project might have a wait a bit though  ;)

I'm feeling a vpin or a driving cab in my future once I'm done with this....
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet - A bit more Steampunk goodness
Post by: Nephasth on July 28, 2011, 12:50:01 pm
A steam punk driving cab?

(http://usautochoice.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2010/07/1763-cugnot-steam-vehicle-nicholas-joseph-cugnot-invention.jpg)
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet - A bit more Steampunk goodness
Post by: Donkbaca on July 28, 2011, 12:52:00 pm
Is there a steampunk themed pinball machine?
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet - A bit more Steampunk goodness
Post by: Ryglore on July 29, 2011, 12:34:04 am
Is there a steampunk themed pinball machine?


I would LOVE to have/build a Steampunk pinball machine. Maybe build it out of an Old-Old pinball, you know before dot matrix scoreboards.  :laugh:
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet - A bit more Steampunk goodness
Post by: drventure on July 29, 2011, 08:24:20 am
Found this. Not sure it's my style, but, it's.... interesting


(http://steampunkworkshop.com/sites/default/files/pinball.png)

Also found this vid of a work in progress.

Steampunk'd Pinball: The coffee-table WIP (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oKnrd7XOnmI#)
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet - A bit more Steampunk goodness
Post by: Ryglore on July 29, 2011, 09:36:24 am
That 1st one just looks all kinds of flimsy.
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet - A bit more Steampunk goodness
Post by: TopJimmyCooks on August 19, 2011, 12:33:12 pm
steampunk with space opera theme. 

(http://www.jeffdeboer.com/Portals/0/Seamless.Album/413/_photos/WB02door2.jpg)
(http://www.jeffdeboer.com/Portals/0/Seamless.Album/413/_photos/20derringer.jpg)

http://www.jeffdeboer.com/Galleries/SpaceStuff/tabid/69/moduleid/413/viewkey/photo/photoid/434/Default.aspx (http://www.jeffdeboer.com/Galleries/SpaceStuff/tabid/69/moduleid/413/viewkey/photo/photoid/434/Default.aspx)

was just on the make magazine blog. 



Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet - A bit more Steampunk goodness
Post by: Nephasth on August 19, 2011, 12:37:52 pm
The spikes around the porthole window are parts of a tractor's sickle. I've got a couple old rusty tractor sickles in my garage that I was thinking of turning into iron shark jaws.

Sorry for straying off topic...
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet - A bit more Steampunk goodness
Post by: drventure on August 19, 2011, 12:44:37 pm
Nice stuff. I picked up some tractor gears at one point, but they turned out a little too big for the buffet project.

I'm thinking they might work with a lamp project I'm toying with...

I love that portal window, though!
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet - Finally think I resolved my USB issues
Post by: drventure on August 23, 2011, 11:09:05 pm
I wrote about this a while back, had no idea what was going on, and it was quite annoying. Essentially, for the longest time, I've had very strange issues with my USB devices. They'd act as though they'd been unplugged, or would just start acting wonky (my U360s would just freeze up, then a half second later, unfreeze, etc).

The troublesome part was it didn't seem to be limited to a particular hub, or particular devices. I thought at first I was overdriving the USB power with my LEDwiz's (i've got 3), But I double checked all them, and switched them all over to external power, and still had probs.

I decided yesterday, I'd had it. If I couldn't get things stable, this project wasn't going to be too popular with anyone around here.

So I started swapping and testing, swapping and testing.

I also rearranged how I was connecting hubs and devices, based on some info I picked up recently.

Namely:

1) All USB hubs, apparently are 4 port hubs. If you have a 7 port hub, it's just 2-4port hubs that are internally connected, hence you loose one of the ports, thus 7 ports.
2) if you have a 10 port hub, it's just 3 hubs, with one hub connected to the upstream side, and 2 other hubs connected to that hub. hence you loose 2 of your 12 ports, thus 10 ports.
3) It's better to keep the hub nesting depth as low as possible. So, if you have 3-7 or 10 port hubs, you're best off connecting them to another 4 port hub and connecting IT to upstream (ie to the PC). This is because if you use one of the 7 or 10 port hubs, there's no way to tell whether you port your connecting to is the "root" internal hub or a spoke hub, so you could end up nesting 1 or more levels deeper than what you really need to.
4) make sure that you use powered hubs for any 7 or more port hubs, and that the PS is roughly 500ma*#ports, so, for a 7 port hub, you'd want a roughly 3.5amp PS.

and finally
5) don't use cheap-ass hubs

I picked this one up at Radio Shack (it's one of those fancy hubs with a ton of blinking LED's in it), it ended up being the primary source of my problems all along.
(http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/public/G6oE2s7kPvQobPRi_85c4GnYjKkvZslGJ-ePkQkpkC1WhOVVo28eeT-7ECeCJ-83we36FhZ-lrqVJSxRyze1c_J3-d0ntE9pMhYkp9VSe3YrlvtVqFg43rT7BC4pL_rOYq5HQ9orCWZnZ8cIL3sl6hbzvlWSz1fv-4F4Nw)

Here's hoping my USB issues are finally laid to rest!
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet - USB probs solved (I think!)
Post by: amendonz on September 12, 2011, 06:49:12 am
saw this and immediately thought of you  :cheers:

http://shoryuken.com/forum/index.php?threads/check-out-my-new-arcade-stick.75228/page-419#post-5838820 (http://shoryuken.com/forum/index.php?threads/check-out-my-new-arcade-stick.75228/page-419#post-5838820)

(hope you don't mind these sorts of posts too much)
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet - USB probs solved (I think!)
Post by: drventure on September 12, 2011, 07:12:09 am
Don't mind posts like that at all!

Copper tubing for wire guides  :dizzy:

Wow. And I love what he did with the ball top joystick handle. Looks like watch guts cast in acrylic.

Nice!
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet - USB probs solved (I think!)
Post by: Rick on September 12, 2011, 09:13:00 am
Copper tubing for wire guides  :dizzy:

Do I take the emot to say you wish you'd thought of that?  Actually, you've given me a thought...

I spent my weekend clearing out my two sheds that were PACKED to capacity - seriously, I could pretty much just throw things onto others from the door - and cleaned out my Dad's old tools that I wasn't using.  I know that he has one or more hand-held tools for bending thin copper pipe.  Would you like them?  I'd be happy to send them your way, since you're obviously the man who would be able to use them.

Let me know.  If you need a pic, I can snap one up tonight.
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet - USB probs solved (I think!)
Post by: drventure on September 12, 2011, 07:17:13 pm
@Rick, you read the emoticon right. If I was doing a clear cased build, that idea would be high up on my list.

Thanks for the offer. I've got a small(ish) bender a picked up a while back.

It looks exactly like this

(http://lh4.googleusercontent.com/public/3wrmM8ZQ57SaiICXyIfcUdoAUYdf5nDsWDDBSvQ6nnI2g0qHdrmm_sZuxQYtgiBL_vv6dHSFjhCCr7eZb4yU9SHmSaW8er0OAKxphYmqL_NryClriCZM8jQl-dozcFI-bDTaGqGczcRhdSHKGuZz6daC7DaklMXe84_zKc4s0RB1xDWQdCPCI66KBP-dfn_On0wizquGZJFHKLIQzvqATHAkaGh0D2fnOm5PzhYdNV88OGYhpg-YXS0_Wd5eXl8bB7In8ANRkvSOAzOjZzhbnMtz1jzeT3luXFLZmWEefe0gnQclFDr-GRr8KT67XYTwEspn2A)

It only works with small stock, but the main issue I have with it is I can't do particularly tight bends.

I'd definitely be interested in what you've got though, esp if it might do bends tighter than about a 2 inch radius (which is what the one above can do).

I'd be happy to cover shipping and something for your trouble.

Thanks!
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet - USB probs solved (I think!)
Post by: smalltownguy on June 26, 2012, 04:08:15 pm
BUMP!! Anything new on this??

 ;D ;D ;D
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet - USB probs solved (I think!)
Post by: BadMouth on June 26, 2012, 04:13:23 pm
BUMP!! Anything new on this??

 ;D ;D ;D

Last time is was switched on, it disappeared through some kind of portal.
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet - USB probs solved (I think!)
Post by: drventure on June 26, 2012, 05:27:39 pm
BUMP!! Anything new on this??
 ;D ;D ;D
Last time is was switched on, it disappeared through some kind of portal.

Not so much a portal as an iris

(http://blog.ponoko.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/IRIS-3-half.jpg)

 :)

(that's not mine by the way, but damn, I wish I could build one of those... Another project.)

Actually, Since I finished up my antique radio->touchscreen jukebox project, I've been slowly making my way back to the buffet.

But it's playable, so that's been a tad of the kiss of death as far as project time goes with it  ;D

Still, my main target now is to get the screen rotating ala grandfather clock pulleys and brass cable.

I did finally get my volume control worked out though.

I found a very nice app called 3rvx, which, along with a short autohotkey script lets me use my spinner, while holding down a specific button, to adjust volume very easily, with the added benefits of
1) forcing the volume to a predefined "normal" on boot
2) visuallizing the setting via 3rvx (which is completely and easily skinnable)

Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet - USB probs solved (I think!)
Post by: drventure on August 28, 2012, 10:11:28 pm
Wow. Ok, been a few months since I had any time to work on the buffet, but I'm slowly getting back to it.

There's been a few threads concerning the wiimote that I've been watching recently, so I decided to take another stab at getting it working.

This time around, I've actually had a little success.

Here's the wiimote pairing details I've come up with so far.
http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php/topic,122286.msg1297956.html#msg1297956 (http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php/topic,122286.msg1297956.html#msg1297956)

One minor issue that I'm not sure I can do much about is that my custom made IR transmitter bar inadvertently appears to narrow the ir illumination a tad.

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=103207.0;attach=170224)

The end result is that it +seems+ like the Wiimote camera's field of view is fairly limited.

However, I've never played a real wii, so it's tough to tell. Once I get power wired permanently to the IR Bar and experiment more with glovepie converted Wiimote to mouse (or whatever it does to connect wiimote data to mame), I should know more.


Finally, I've just about got a circuit put together to allow me to use this

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=90051.0;attach=129505)

To actually power up (or power off) the cabinet.

Believe it or not, I started +that+ little side project back in 2009. Ugh. The first round kind of worked, but had issues.

But I believe all those are solved.

Many thanks to DaOldMan for helping me sort a few of the finer EE points out. I'll be posting a schematic once I actually get it all hooked up.



Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet - USB probs solved (I think!)
Post by: thatpurplestuff on August 29, 2012, 02:12:57 am
Coolest arcade power switch ever?  Haha love the look of that thing... glad to see you're staying busy!
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet - USB probs solved (I think!)
Post by: drventure on August 29, 2012, 09:33:59 am
@thatpurplestuff

Thanks. It's nice to get a few minutes to get back on this build. I've actually been doing a little software config as well (led animations, slight Mala theme changes, speeding up boot time, etc) but none of that's interesting enough to post, I suspect.  :)
Title: A Mame machine in an antique buffet - USB probs solved (I think!)
Post by: monkeychunkuk on September 05, 2012, 01:56:40 pm
This machine is amazing
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet - USB probs solved (I think!)
Post by: kahlid74 on September 05, 2012, 02:33:06 pm
Looking great!  Love the vibe you're going for.
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet - USB probs solved (I think!)
Post by: Ryglore on October 13, 2012, 12:42:52 pm
Killer power switch DV, man I wish I could see this thing in person. You'll need to do some extensive video logging of it all in action whenever it is finally done.
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet - USB probs solved (I think!)
Post by: drventure on October 13, 2012, 12:46:14 pm
Thanks guys.

Yeah, this might be another of those decade long PixelHugger type projects, but it's coming along slowly.

I've just about got the kinks worked out of the power on switch. Then I'll just wire it up on a proto board and put it in a case somewhere.

I'm getting antsy to start in on the rotating monitor now....
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet - USB probs solved (I think!)
Post by: drventure on October 17, 2012, 10:35:38 pm
Well, a little cleanup and imaging work on this cabinet

I've written about the effort on this thread

http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php/topic,122896.msg1309441.html#msg1309441 (http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php/topic,122896.msg1309441.html#msg1309441)

But in a nutshell, I took all 3400 cabinet images that I've been able to collect from all over, and cleaned them all up so that they're all chromakeyed on pure black.

That way, Mala's transparency works properly with them all now! Yeah, i know. It was a ridiculous amount of work for such a small effect.

But hey, maybe that can be my little contribution to the effort!

So what do they look like?

I grabbed shots from my Mala layout of a few before and after and attached below.
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet - USB probs solved (I think!)
Post by: Le Chuck on October 17, 2012, 11:27:09 pm
Your fortitude in this herculean task is commendable.  The results are worthwhile.  Too speak plainly this build continually ---smurfing--- rocks.   
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet - USB probs solved (I think!)
Post by: Ryglore on October 18, 2012, 12:15:35 am
Oh, that's killer! I agree with Le Chuck, I would never have the patience to knock that job out.

 :cheers:
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet - USB probs solved (I think!)
Post by: TopJimmyCooks on October 18, 2012, 08:44:50 am
The 20 minute job to:

A. learn how to batch resize in PS and
B. batch resize all the CP images to use in Mala

nearly derailed me. 

Congratulations.  Now I don't feel so bad about spending 3 hours cleaning up Itunes a few weeks back.   Possibly making the background behind the images closer to black could make examples like bermuda triangle look more natural? 
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet - USB probs solved (I think!)
Post by: drventure on October 18, 2012, 09:23:51 am
Possibly making the background behind the images closer to black could make examples like bermuda triangle look more natural?

Yeah, That's what I'm thinking too. I like my layout in general but there are a few tweaks I think could really help.

Oh, that's killer! I agree with Le Chuck, I would never have the patience to knock that job out.

Thanks. I'd been mulling this over for several years, but I just could never muster up the oomph to just do it. I started messing around in Firefox one morning and realized you can perform a set of actions, save them, and then assign to a hotkey. That got me over the edge. I defined about a half dozen hotkeys and that made things significantly faster, while still allowing me to inspect each image.

Your fortitude in this herculean task is commendable.  The results are worthwhile.  Too speak plainly this build continually ---smurfing--- rocks.   

Thanks, Le Chuck. I was really hesitant too, because it just seemed like +someone+ must have already done something like this. I never heard back from Pregretto, though (whose collection and that of Mr. Do's is what all this is based on, BTW) so I could only assume he never had. I figured if Circo was charging for the downloads, he might  have, but I didn't hear back from him either. So, here we are. I may well have just replicated someone else's work, but I'll be damned if I could find an example.
Title: A Mame machine in an antique buffet - USB probs solved (I think!)
Post by: monkeychunkuk on January 12, 2013, 06:28:34 pm
Any update on this epic project?


(http://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f225/imlived/podcastlogo_zpsc5a2f0fa.jpg) (http://"http://www.nerdjackers.com")
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet - USB probs solved (I think!)
Post by: yotsuya on January 12, 2013, 06:48:00 pm
This project is on hiatus.
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet - USB probs solved (I think!)
Post by: drventure on January 12, 2013, 09:09:43 pm
Thanks yotsuya.

Yeah, it's still around, just not something I can work on right at the moment.

In the meantime, I hope to take on a few software bits that I've been meaning to get to, but hadn't been able to.

@yotsuya
BTW, you had any issues with the cabinet images? I hope they're working out.
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet - USB probs solved (I think!)
Post by: yotsuya on January 12, 2013, 10:38:59 pm
Dr, I'm redoing my MAME Cab front end in a few weeks, and I'm going to incorporate them. I'll let you know how they work out. Thanks again!
Title: Re: A Mame machine in an antique buffet - USB probs solved (I think!)
Post by: thatpurplestuff on January 13, 2013, 01:48:35 am
Hope everything is alright and that you can resume work on your build sooner rather than later.