The NEW Build Your Own Arcade Controls
Main => Project Announcements => Topic started by: jeef on May 25, 2009, 08:07:44 pm
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No, I'm not giong to call it YAAM. But it has no other name yet.
Just a standard upright cab, based mostly on the Mortal Kombat cabinets. Not too many details yet, other than I'm going to (try) using a 29" CRT TV. I wanted to go a bit smaller, around 27" but the damn things are hard to find.
The control panel artwork is only conceptual.
I'm hoping to begin some construction this weekend! My first major wood working project.
Am I missing the image upload feature? I'll use Postimage.org for now:
(http://www.postimage.org/PqKX8wA.jpg) (http://www.postimage.org/image.php?v=PqKX8wA)
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Looks like a pretty solid design.
I'll be interested to see how you get on with the 29" TV. I've only used arcade and PC monitors, but my next upright is going to use a TV so it be interesting to see how you get on.
Let the construction begin... :cheers:
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Cheers :)
Yeah, I kept my eye on a few TV's on trademe, you can easily pickup a 29" for around $50, you have to keep a close eye on whether or not it has s-video though. 25-27" is really hard to find.
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Okay, finally got started this weekend! This has been quite a few weeks in the planning.
I started by pulling apart the 29" CRT TV. The only space I'm allowed to use inside the house is this tiny little room that actually used to be the entrance hall:
(http://www.jeef3.com/wp-content/gallery/arcade-machine/img_8005.jpg)
First, check that I have all the required saftey equipment. This is my first major woodworking project, don't want to loose any thumbs:
(http://www.jeef3.com/wp-content/gallery/arcade-machine/p6010626.jpg)
Better add the traditional shot of my wood :applaud:
(http://www.jeef3.com/wp-content/gallery/arcade-machine/p6010625.jpg)
Once I got the tube out I cleared some room on my workbench and started to build a frame for it:
(http://www.jeef3.com/wp-content/gallery/arcade-machine/p5300620.jpg)
(http://www.jeef3.com/wp-content/gallery/arcade-machine/p5300623.jpg)
I used clamps plus a straight piece of timber to help me cut straight. After freehanding the tube frame I knew there was no way I could free hand this!
(http://www.jeef3.com/wp-content/gallery/arcade-machine/p6010624.jpg)
And there, my first side completed. Only took me like 2 hours to draw up and cut :dizzy:
(http://www.jeef3.com/wp-content/gallery/arcade-machine/p6010629.jpg)
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looks like you are off to a good start...keep those pics coming
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Thanks! Will do :)
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Looking good so far buddy :cheers:
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Making this cut to the back of my cab was BY FAR the smartest/luckiest thing I ever did!!
Why?
It allowed me access to a power strip
It gave me the ability to move the cab closer to the wall
It also saved the molding near the carpet from being gouged or scuffed
Just my two cents
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@mahalos :cheers:
@skyblast Interesting, cheers. I will see if I can work it, or something similar, into my design
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I'm going to cut out the other side this weekend, and if there's time, cut out the panels. I'm basing a lot of my construction ideas on Martijn's Street Fighter Arcade: http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?topic=84649.0l
But I'm still not 100% sure how I'm going to fix the and then the bezel to the frame, and then hold the glass on top. Any Ideas? Anyone have any details drawings/photos of how they have done theirs?
I was thinking of sandwiching the top of the bezel and glass between the top speaker board, and a piece of angle like this:
(http://www.jeef3.com/wp-content/gallery/arcade-machine/bezeltop.jpg)
And then do something similar at the bottom:
(http://www.jeef3.com/wp-content/gallery/arcade-machine/bezelbottom.jpg)
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Hey man,
what sort of TV did you end up buying? i can see it's a 29", but did you get a flat screen and did you go for s-video or component?
did you check to see if when the TV is turned back it's still on the same channel as when you powered off (AV1 or whatever). I only ask cause the TV i have got at home (philips 36") always turns on at TV One.....which just pisses me off :banghead: and would be no good for use in an arcade.
Here's hoping you have a productive weekend and the weather isn't too bad in your part of the country.
PS. i got my t-moulding today. I ended up going to T-moulding.com as they were cheaper than the guy in aussie. shipping was $20 US and it arrived in a week and a half....not bad :applaud:
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It's just an old Phillips TV. Has s-video inputs, have already tested them, Police Trainer plays well ;)
I'm not sure what it does in terms of startup. I forgot to test that, and it's no in pieces so I won't know until I put it all back together. I think if you can find a box with SCART inputs that would be more ideal, because some of them will switch to the input when it detects a signal. That would be handy.
I've got the bottom, back and top panels cut. Was hoping to cut the other side panel today as well, but my old man just came around with out heat transfer system, so I will be installing that today. Maybe I will get the other side cut tomorrow.
oh neat, although how much did you spend on the t-moulding? hopefully not more on postage than on moulding?
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Zero work done on it today due to installing the heat transfer. However I've got the second side sketched up and ready to cut. Still need to figure out hot I'm going to hold the bezel and glass in place.
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Hopefully I will get some work done this weekend. I hope to cut out the other side and start doing some actual assembly.
I think I've settled on a name; Mortal Arcade. This whole project started when umk3 came out for the x360, so my hommage is to Mortal Kombat. Here's a draft of the marquee:
(http://www.jeef3.com/wp-content/gallery/arcade-machine/marquee.jpg)
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Looks really good dude, I can't wait to see what you come up with for your CPO and sideart (if you're doing any) I regret never doing any artwork on the machines i've built .....well apart from a token "mame" marquee on one of them. I'll be interested to see where you get them printed and how they turn out.
In reply to your t-moulding question i spent NZ$75 all up on 12m of chrome, which i didn't think was too bad seeing as it came from the US.
Keep up the good work :cheers:
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I think I've settled on a name; Mortal Arcade. This whole project started when umk3 came out for the x360, so my hommage is to Mortal Kombat. Here's a draft of the marquee:
You misspelled "Arkade"
;D
-Jason
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@jasonbar haha, good idea! I might have to try that, see how it looks :D
@mahalos Yeah, side and control panel is proving quite difficult. I'm not a graphic artist at all, so it's quite a challenge. All part of the project though! Ah yes, you required chrome, that would be pretty hard to find around here eh. I guess you're covering the cost of the trouble of trying to source it.
I managed to get the other side cut today, just need to round the top corners to match.
(http://www.jeef3.com/wp-content/gallery/arcade-machine/p6130633.jpg)
I've also cut out (almost) all of the panels. Will be taking them around to the old mans place to square them up on his planer.
(http://www.jeef3.com/wp-content/gallery/arcade-machine/p6130632.jpg)
I was trying really hard to not let my old man or brother find out about this project until it was almost done but they saw it last weekend. The reason I wanted to keep it from them is because I knew they would laugh at me (they did) because my brother is a builder by trade, and my old man a joiner by hobby. And I'm a software/web developer. I would laugh at either of them if they were to build a piece of software, so it's only fair. But they know now and the old man has been giving me some useful advice.
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Ha ha, thats funny. Make sure you turn off the pushbutton-credit when they come and visit. ;D
I like your swooping curves. Those little details really update the design.
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@system01 haha, yup, I'll make sure the coin buttons are disabled ;) and thanks :)
I didn't get my panels squared up today. Have to make some descisions on a couple of lengths first. So I've started glueing and screwing the batons on. I took a length of 2x4 to my old mans and got it ripped in half. I was going to buy some 2x2's, but since I already had this and access to a rip-saw, this is cheaper :)
I only have 8 clamps so can only do a few batons at a time. My time to work on this is normally only limited to weekends, but since this is quite a quick procedure I hope to get them all glued up during the week.
(http://www.jeef3.com/wp-content/gallery/arcade-machine/p6140637.jpg)
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Update:
- I now have all the batons glued and screwed.
- I'm re-doing the frame for the TV/monitor. I'm going to use t-nuts to hold the monitor in rather than relying on screws in MDF.
- All the main panels are now cut and squared to width. I just need to cut them to length.
So, not sure how I will go for time during the week, but next weekend I should be able to (finally) start attaching some panels! I also need to start work on the control panel, just some final tweaks to te design of that before I start.
I will also need to do the routing for the t-moulding soon I guess. I am also still trying to decide between painting and using something like Formica. The Formica route will be quite expensice I think.
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Okay, made some visible progress today, the cabinet is actually starting to take shape! Have trimming and dry fitting my panels. Have only got the speaker board left to do. I actually glued one of the speaker boards batons on a little crooked, so need to trim that up a bit first.
I still need to finish my mount/bracket for the TV. But I think I will soon start on the control panel.
Front: For now there will be no coinbox, that will come later when I have more monies. For now I'm saving up for the controls, far more important.
(http://www.jeef3.com/wp-content/gallery/arcade-machine/p6270647.jpg)
Back: Cat approves... I think?
(http://www.jeef3.com/wp-content/gallery/arcade-machine/p6270645.jpg)
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You're certainly making good progress, I must say i'm quite envious as it's been awhile since i've done anything major......although i have been working on a laser etched side-lit acrylic cpo......i not too sure why, but it seemed like a cool idea :dunno
Have you've decided on what sort of controls you are going to use?
keep up the good work :cheers:
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This project is starting to take shape. Very good work!
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@mahalos thanks, by what sort do you mean brand? Brand, I'm not sure yet. But I'm going for a simple 2 8-ways, with 7 buttons each. I think this is common? With no trackball. Ommitting the trackball seems to be an uncommon move? But these projects we do are based on what we remember as kids, and personally, I never played any games that required a trackball.
@DaOld Man Cheers, yeah, it's been a little sad having two side panels and nothing assembled. Been a great sense of achivement having something that actually is starting to look like the finished product! :)
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Sorry for being so vague on the controls question....
I guess i wanted to know brand and layout i guess, but i had a hunch you weren't going to go with a trackball. I've never had one either and don't remember playing with one. The only plus side i can see is the fact they can double as a mouse for navigation i think?? I think it'd be pretty expensive for us to get one down our end of the world, and i'm still upset i can't get one of those sweet touchscreens off ebay that all the guys use in their jukebox builds.
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No worries :)
Yeah, no idea on brand yet. I'm still deciding if I can stretch for the Sanwa joysticks etc. I'll post a screenshot tomorrow of my current control panel.
I've got a, I think 7" screen that I got locally (well, from Auckland, I'm down south). It's an Xenarc. I use it as a jukebox, just no where near as cool looking as the Mountain design! Mine is just the screen stuck on top of the computer case. It works well, but I would love to integrate into something a little more suave! Maybe next project :)
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And here's a quick pic of my current iteration of the control panel. I was going to have a big curved front, but it din't quite quite the overall design I don't think. So have gone for something a bit easier to cut :)
(http://www.jeef3.com/wp-content/gallery/arcade-machine/concept2.jpg)
The button layout is based on my placing my hand comfortably down on a piece of paper and marking where my fingers landed. But I've just realised I was seated when I did this, so will have to try standing to see if the layout is still comfortable. While seated I found my pinky finger sat lower which is why I've placed the 4th button on the pinky side, rather than index side.
I plan to make the lower buttons 1, 2, 3, 4 for 1, 2, 3 or 4 button games and use the upper 3 buttons only for 6 button fighters (Mortal Kombat). My friends have asked me "What games use 4 buttons?" and I'm like "err... I don't actually know". But I've found one, Metal Slug 5! :D
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I'd move the 7th button up to the top row. That'll make the neo-geo games feel a little better I think. Just me though.
Lookin good.
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And use the top row as the 1, 2, 3, 4? I wondered if the bottom 3 would get in the way?
I'll be doing some draft layouts on scrap MDF so will have a play with a few options :)
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7th button to the left imo, and I'm a bigger fan of 2 rows of 3 straight buttons with the 7th offset so the bottom row is like a NeoGeo layout.
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Thinking about it, when I did my "relaxed hand" technique to find a layout, I wasn't taking into consideration the position of my relative to my body. My current design would work great if you didn't need to bring your arm in front of your body. But since the joystick is so near, that is how we stand.
So my current layout would require the user to bend their wrist at an awkward angle. I think this layout will need a bit of tweaking actually.
However I think I'm happy now with the shape of the whole control box.
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Small Update:
One of my batons was glued on crooked. It was fine at one end but over the line at the other. It's the one that will hold the speaker board in place. So I scribed a line and took too it with the skill saw. All better.
I also had to trim my front panel so that it lined up nicely at the bottom. Not that this would be visible due to it being a butt joint.
Also, I unscrewed all the boards and have started gluing them in place. No photos yet because it looks exactly the same except glued as well as screwed. All but the top most board and speaker board, because I need to do something with them in order to be able to attach the marquee retainers.
I'm hoping to get the Castor's on asap because this thing is damn heavy, and I have to put it away after each bout of work on it so that I can get my car in the garage. A full sheet of 18mm MDF is supposedly 40-50kg, so if I use all my MDF then this bad boy will weigh up to 150kg without the monitor. So this thing will weigh around 200kg. Holy crap. I might nned to buy bigger Castor's... :o
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Okay, I have a couple of photos to share this time.
For marquee retainers I'm just using some uneven 25x15mm angle aluminium. So I need a flat surface both top and bottom. And since both top and bottom (speaker) panels are at weird angles this is a little tricky.
(http://www.jeef3.com/wp-content/gallery/arcade-machine/p7050665.jpg)
I already had used my jigsaw (has adjustable tilt) to make the odd angle cut on the top panel so that it has a flat face, but my speaker panel was untouched.
I took both top and speaker panels around to my old mans and borrowed his flat bed planer to make a perpendicular face for the top panel:
(http://www.jeef3.com/wp-content/gallery/arcade-machine/p7050655.jpg)
And then for the speaker panel I used the rip saw (which can tilt it's blade) to make this cut:
(http://www.jeef3.com/wp-content/gallery/arcade-machine/p7050659.jpg)
I will then glue the off-cut to the under side like this:
(http://www.jeef3.com/wp-content/gallery/arcade-machine/p7050660.jpg)
To give me a perpendicular surface, like this (I haven't glued this panel in place yet)
(http://www.jeef3.com/wp-content/gallery/arcade-machine/p7050662.jpg)
I am a little worried about how close the retainer will get to the edge. I was trying to keep an even 20mm offset. This might be the exception though :-\
I then glued and screwed the top panel in place. I still have some work to do on the speaker panel before that gets stuck in yet though.
After this I still had some time so I took to my TV brackets with the router. This jigsaw hard a hard time cutting through 36mm of MDF so they needed a lot of tidying up! They still need some work in order to get them to fit around the TV and inside the cabinet, but they're looking pretty good I think.
(http://www.jeef3.com/wp-content/gallery/arcade-machine/p7050673.jpg)
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The picture depicting the first major woodworking project is pure win...battle ready indeed!
I like the curves on your side panels and look forward to seeing this project progress. Also, nice approach on the marquee retainer!
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@Epyx haha, cheers :) Yeah, I was going to go for small square pieces, but it would get a little fiddly, and this has the same end result. The other option is to try and bend the aluminium angle. It's 1.6mm thick, and I don't have access to any sort of folding machine, so not sure how feasible that would be.
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I've made a bit of progress in the last couple of days. Yesterday I took some wood around to my old mans house and borrowed his rip saw to cut up the panels that will make up the control box. This is soo much quicker than the jigsaw. I've decided to use rebate (rabbet?) joints for this. I'm not a joiner and it shows. It took two miscalulations to get all my pieces the right size. :-[ But I am quiet pleased with the final result.
Here is the back panel of the control box. The bottom route is for the bottom panel (10mm mdf) and the big missing chunk is actually space for buttons (player starts/coin buttons would otherwise conflict with this panel). I will also use this hole for cables, or I might make another hole for that.
(http://www.jeef3.com/wp-content/gallery/arcade-machine/p7090678.jpg)
This is the right side panel. There is a slight angle on the top, so that the control panel is on an angle. The side routes are for the rebate joints and the bottom route is for the bottom panel again.
(http://www.jeef3.com/wp-content/gallery/arcade-machine/p7090679.jpg)
And here's the lot all glued and clamped, no screws. My god this was missions to clamp, need like 5 hands. :dizzy:
(http://www.jeef3.com/wp-content/gallery/arcade-machine/p7090683.jpg)
I then went ahead and finished sizing up the TV frame mounts. Hopefully this weekend I will attach them to the TV and in turn, mount the TV in the cabinet. I am not looking forward to this as the TV is, as you all know, heavy.
(http://www.jeef3.com/wp-content/gallery/arcade-machine/p7090684.jpg)
Routing leaves a LOT of dust!
(http://www.jeef3.com/wp-content/gallery/arcade-machine/p7090685.jpg)
And here's the control panel box in place! (not fixed yet, will bolt it so that it is removable)
(http://www.jeef3.com/wp-content/gallery/arcade-machine/p7090686.jpg)
And here's a close up.
(http://www.jeef3.com/wp-content/gallery/arcade-machine/p7090687.jpg)
This is my first time using a router and I have learnt two things. 1. It's actually very easy to use and not that scary and 2. it makes a LOT of mess!
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welcome to the wonderful world of routing.
Yeah....it makes a lot of mess with MDF for sure. I love my router....but I hate routing MDF. Getting covered in a thick layer of MDF dust isn't that pleasant in 100 degree weather.
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I did my buttons as follows:
22
11 22 33
11 55 33
44 55 66
44 66
77
77
It's not literally that drastic (each set of 4 numbers is a button..had to doulbe it to show the corect spacing), but with this I have an offset 6 button, that is very playable for SF games (Buttons 1-6, a perfect 5 button MK layout (buttons 1,3,4,5,6 and 7 for run), and a great Neo Geo layout with the 4 buttons on the bottom (4,5,6,7)
Thought this might help some since it seems to be MK themed : )
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@Gatsu Yeah, it's great fun! But being covered in that layer of dust in that heat would be uncomfortable! It's the middle of winter down here, so 0-10c (32-50f), but still the face mask is almost too warm!
@Aceldamor Thanks very much for that. I like the idea of the 5 button layout for MK. My button layout is currently under review so will be takingyour suggestions into consideration :) So your button 6 is slightly tot he right (of button 3)?
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I think he's taking the MK layout, with the #2 button above where block would be and then his run button to the right of the cluster instead of to the left like in UMK3. Im not big on using my pinky finger for gaming, hence my desire to have it on the left (and its closer to the real run button of MK, and the A button of NeoGeo)
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@Malenko Some very good points there too. Goes to show how varied button layouts and peoples opinions on them can be.
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Okay, some minor updates. I've finished the TV bracket. But I'm too hungover to try and position it today so hopefully will do that next weekend.
I originally made the bracket out of a single large piece of 18mm MDF and cut out a hole for the TV. I ended up making this a little too small in that there was no way of mounting this bracket to anything. I then realised that I was starting to run out of large pieces of MDF for things like panels, so I've gone the route of a two piece frame. Because once mounted it won't make a difference.
I also did not trust the TV to stay in place only by 12 screws, threaded into MDF. So I've gone with the tee-nut approach and two 18mm MDF pieces to make a single 36mm piece.
So I cut out the two pieces (earlier photos) and glued them together and have now proceeded to mount them to the TV. The TV has four corner brackets with 3 holes each, suitable for maybe an M4 bolt/screw. So the first thing I did was drill them a bit bigger to fit my M5 bolts.
(http://www.jeef3.com/wp-content/gallery/arcade-machine/p7110689.jpg)
Next, I noticed I would need to dig out some space for the TV brackets bolt head.
(http://www.jeef3.com/wp-content/gallery/arcade-machine/p7110694.jpg)
And on the reverse side I drilled a recess for the tee-nuts
(http://www.jeef3.com/wp-content/gallery/arcade-machine/p7110695.jpg)
Tee-nuts in place
(http://www.jeef3.com/wp-content/gallery/arcade-machine/p7110696.jpg)
Then bolt the piece in place
(http://www.jeef3.com/wp-content/gallery/arcade-machine/p7110697.jpg)
Voila!
(http://www.jeef3.com/wp-content/gallery/arcade-machine/p7120702.jpg)
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Small update:
Time to mount the TV! I laid the cabinet on it's side and placed the TV near it.
(http://www.jeef3.com/wp-content/gallery/arcade-machine/p7170704.jpg)
And then I placed the TV in position. I was able to prop it up with a spare piece of MDF... that was actually a lot easier than I thought it was going to be. I rotated the photo so's I can see what it might start to look like :D
(http://www.jeef3.com/wp-content/gallery/arcade-machine/p7170707.jpg)
So now with where the TV is going to go, all marked on the cabinet, I needed a way of mounting the frame. I spent a bit of time redesigning how exactly I was to do this. I wanted the TV to be removable so I couldn't just glue it in place. And because the TV takes up the internal width of the cabinet, there's no way to put anything down the sides. It will only be held in place above and below. So I need as much surface area as I can get, with not much room to get it from. I ended up deciding on some sort of frame. I've only made the top part for now, and thinking back I should have rebated both pieces, but this should hold. I will rebate both pieces for the lower frame, and have some vertical struts to take the weight straight to the bottom of the cabinet. This should help take some stress off where the lower baton is glued to the side panel. Almost like a mini internal frame as I see some people build.
(http://www.jeef3.com/wp-content/gallery/arcade-machine/p7180710.jpg)
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So I got a few basics done this weekend. Finally got the wheels on, sooo much easier to maneuver the cabinet now!
(http://www.jeef3.com/wp-content/gallery/arcade-machine/p7260714.jpg)
I also finished the frame that will hold the TV in place. The TV has small steel brackets. I've bolted it to a small MDF frame to make it easier to secure to the cabinet. And then built a frame inside the cabinet, that my makeshift frame can be bolted to. This makes the TV completely removeable in the event that I wire it back up wrong and need to replace it... :o The frame should be strong enough as it can currently take my weight. The vertical struts are to take the weight to the bottom batons, without that, all the weight of the cabinet and TV will stress on those two batons, this will help distribute the load.
(http://www.jeef3.com/wp-content/gallery/arcade-machine/img_8019.jpg)
(http://www.jeef3.com/wp-content/gallery/arcade-machine/p7260711.jpg)
So hopefully next weekend I will have some photos of it upright with the TV in it. I also bought the hinges for the control box, so will try and cut out the control panel and attach that.
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Really quick update, I had a spare half hour after work so put the TV in and stood the cabinet up... it holds! :applaud:
(http://www.jeef3.com/wp-content/gallery/arcade-machine/p7280733.jpg)
It's a pretty good fit, both width ways and depth. The motherboard should tuck in real good.
(http://www.jeef3.com/wp-content/gallery/arcade-machine/p7280734.jpg)
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Awesome Updates. This projects moving along nicely. I like you monitor setup. Slick and simple. The screen looks like its going to have a nice size to it with a bezel in. I can't wait to see it finished.
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@bobanoob thanks! Yeah, I'm not sure how I'm going to do the bezel yet. I mean, I'll have an MDF top on it, but not sure how to close the gap between that and the curved screen. Those ones from Happ are out of the question due to shipping, I've seen some people use card...
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Looking good. Cant wait to see more. ;D
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@Hippie459MN thanks!
I didn't get much time on it last weekend, and don't forsee a lot of time on it this weekend either. I'm in the process of saving up to buy the buttons, joysticks and encoder etc, probably another few weeks before I can afford them. Tight budget at the mo - down to one income - had to buy the Castor's one at a time each fortnight :-[ but it's getting there :)
But I do have the top of the CP cut out, just needs some shaping. With a bit of luck I'll get it attached to the box part. So if that gets done I'll post some more update pics then.
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Hey man, looking great. I don't know what you've decided to roll with in terms of buttons'n'joys, but if you wanna have a look/play with some of the MCA stuff let me know and i'll send some down. I have quite a few joysticks and buttons kickin' around, some new and some old. They're the same ones they used in all the streeties and mortals back in the day...in fact i think Coin Cascade still uses them on their new machines. Anyways let me know, i'm more than happy to send them down on works account :lol
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Hwow thanks, that might actually be quite useful.
At the moment I'm leaning towards going directly Ultimarc for joystick and IPAC. Am looking at one of their sticks too, something that has reasonable 4/8 way switching without tools. I don't mind lifting the lid to do it, but would be handy. I stumbled (literally) into a bar and they had an arcade machine in the corner set to free play, had about 10-20 games on it. It was an 8-way stick and it actually made donkey-kong and pac-man a little tricky... or that might've been the drinks.
But yeah, some buttons to test with would be awesome. I'm still deciding on layouts, so would be handy!
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Alrighty, some small updates. Despite mild hangover I was able to squeeze some work in Sunday.
So I've started working on the Speaker Panel. I'm going to use the small speakers that came with the TV. They have little separate tweeters even.
So the first thing I did was put the panel into position so I could scribe where my channel will go to hold the bezel and glass in place. Here's a shot with the channel routed and the panel back in place:
(http://www.jeef3.com/wp-content/gallery/arcade-machine/p8090742.jpg)
Then I started on routing the spots for the speakers. I didn't get a lot done, but here's the space for the right most tweeter:
(http://www.jeef3.com/wp-content/gallery/arcade-machine/p8090744.jpg)
And here's the tweeter in place:
(http://www.jeef3.com/wp-content/gallery/arcade-machine/p8090752.jpg)
Notice how close the tweeter is so that (nailboard/support beam)... that was a fluke, I forgot to allow room for that, lucky I measured it far enough away. :o
And another shot of the speaker panel in place, but with both holes drilled for the tweeters:
(http://www.jeef3.com/wp-content/gallery/arcade-machine/p8090750.jpg)
I also cut out and glued in place the shelf for the TV motherboard. Then put the motherboard in place to make sure it fits:
(http://www.jeef3.com/wp-content/gallery/arcade-machine/p8090753.jpg)
Yikes that's a tight fit. I didn't measure that...
Left side:
(http://www.jeef3.com/wp-content/gallery/arcade-machine/p8090755.jpg)
And right side:
(http://www.jeef3.com/wp-content/gallery/arcade-machine/p8090754.jpg)
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Sweet! A couple of joysticks and some buttons arrived today, courtesy of Mahalos. Cheers! :cheers:
This weekend I plan to finish that speaker panel and then work on some button layouts :D
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Updates. I got the speaker panel finished today and have started drilling out a test button layout for the control panel but my hole saw bit is a tad blunt so it's slow going. Might have to invest in a new one.
Here's the holes I've cut (right side)
(http://jeef3.smugmug.com/photos/621000232_PdiFm-M.jpg)
The speakers fit in thusly
(http://jeef3.smugmug.com/photos/621001811_6RnPN-M.jpg)
The close call with the support
(http://jeef3.smugmug.com/photos/621004620_PuCjj-M.jpg)
And here's how it looks from the outside
(http://jeef3.smugmug.com/photos/621003087_nHxGc-M.jpg)
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Okay, things are slowing down a bit due to having almost finished the woodwork side of things and having not yet ordered electronics. But that's okay, I've almost got enough money together to place that order.
Left to do:
- Cut the round corners on the CP
- Trim up the back-middle of the CP so that it can sit flush against the Admin Panel
- Find a way of mounting the Admin Panel
- Make bezel
And that's about it for the woodworking (bar drilling holes etc for the CP).
Here's a pic with the Admin Panel fitting snugly in place and one of my test CP layouts. I've decided to drop the 7th button.
(http://jeef3.smugmug.com/photos/627544206_JnzUg-M.jpg)
And here's a close up of the CP with the slots cut for wrap around effect.
(http://jeef3.smugmug.com/photos/627544826_MByjT-M.jpg)
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lookin' good
nice router work on the speaker insets :cheers:
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@bender cheers :) always use guides when routing! :)
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Looking great. Giving me plenty of ideas when it comes time to build mine. :)
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Nice work Jeef! Checking out your build so far is really helping me figure things out for sure. :cheers:
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@Hippie459MN & Ryglore Cheers guys! Glad to hear it is helping! I'm obviously a complete noob at woodwork, and have pinched a lot of my construction ideas from this amazing project: http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?topic=84649.0l
So for further ideas etc check it out :)
@Ryglore Yeah, I just need to knuckle down and complete the graphics side of things now... :-[
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@Hippie459MN & Ryglore Cheers guys! Glad to hear it is helping! I'm obviously a complete noob at woodwork, and have pinched a lot of my construction ideas from this amazing project: http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?topic=84649.0l
So for further ideas etc check it out :)
@Ryglore Yeah, I just need to knuckle down and complete the graphics side of things now... :-[
haha, Ya my thing was I started designing both roughly at the same time. But the graphics were completed first and then I modified the Lucid plans around them. Mostly because when I am at my apartment I can't tinker on the cab itself and ideas are spilling out.
What's really funny though is now I am totally winging it and the only thing left from the Lucid plan is the design of the CP box... except the dimensions are different. Looking at your build though is totally helping me wrap my head around things, especially the monitor.
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@Ryglore Yeah, I started from some basic dimensions of an MK cabinet. Did a bit of modifying and then in the end let the TV decide the width, which as you can see, is quite a tight fit.
Mounting the monitor was one of the hardest parts to design I think. Again, a lot of ideas on how to do that were drawn from Martinj's SF cab at the provided link. Left to do is the bezel, which is made tricky with a curved screen. But yeah, as you say, we start with reasonably detailed drawings but then realise you have to wing most of it ;)
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Alrighty, progress has been slow lately due to not getting much time to spend on it, but this weekend I was allowed the whole Sunday :applaud:
Rounded CP corners and completed Bezel.
(http://jeef3.smugmug.com/photos/634187847_dHEXr-M.jpg)
Notched back of the Admin Panel so that it can hide the bottom of the glass and bezel:
(http://jeef3.smugmug.com/photos/634191388_wNgCi-M.jpg)
Here's the Admin Panel (not fixed) in place. The gap is where the glass will go. Not sure how thick my glass is so hopefully it fits.
(http://jeef3.smugmug.com/photos/634193174_B9CWC-M.jpg)
To fix the Admin Panel in place I've drilled holes through it. Inserted some M5's into the holes and added some t-nuts to help fix them in place. I will then putty up the front. This means the bolts will be fixed in place. I will then have a little mounting block stuck to the inside of the side of the cabinet. The bolts will slip into that and be held in place by their nuts.
(http://jeef3.smugmug.com/photos/634194967_FJpMg-M.jpg)
And these are the mounting blocks that will hold the Admin Panel and the Control Panel in place. Will be interesting to see if they will hold. I think they will be I will give them some field testing before I commit.
(http://jeef3.smugmug.com/photos/634196633_fAvz4-M.jpg)
I'm still not sure what to do with the gap between my bezel and the (curved) TV. I almost think that it won't be no ticable and might just leave it. Any thoughts?
(http://jeef3.smugmug.com/photos/634189671_y6nhm-M.jpg)
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Man, this baby is starting to shape up!
Great work Jeef, I especially like the detail you put into the monitor mount.
I tend to get in a hurry around that area and cut corners.
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Agreed, the monitor bezel/mount looks fantastic.
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@DaOld Man & @Epyx Man Cheers! This is a 29" monitor and it's heavy. I really did not want it falling. Especially with my reputation with my old man and brother at stake! ;)
Reckon that corner will be visible? Or matter if it is? I'm kinda hoping that by the time I get the glass on and the monitor is lit up it wont be. But I've just though of how I can get the right curves... I've still got the TV's shroud that I can map off! :)
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That's some pretty fine craftsmanship going on there man......well done :cheers:
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@mahalos Cheers, nothing too fancy yet. Cheers for those buttons by the way, they've helped a lot in the deciding of button placement/numbers etc. I've decided to drop the 7th button and just go for a slightly angled 3x2 array. Also been interesting playing with the 4/8 way restrictors on those joys. I'm hopping to order my parts this friday :)
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....
Reckon that corner will be visible? Or matter if it is? I'm kinda hoping that by the time I get the glass on and the monitor is lit up it wont be. But I've just though of how I can get the right curves... I've still got the TV's shroud that I can map off! :)
I am sure you plan to paint the inside of the corners black, so I dont think it will be that noticeable, but you could always cut out some corners out of black poster board to cover the edge between the wood and the monitor viewable area, and place them between the wood bezel and the wood you attached the monitor to.
Or maybe some black weather stripping foam stuff in the corners?
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@DaOld Man Yeah, cheers. Hopefully painting the mounts black will be enough.
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Just a quick update so that you don't think I've abandoned this project!
As you can see from the pics, most of the woodworking is done. I've begun plastering in prep for painting, but there's not much interesting to take photos of. Just imagine the current pics with white blobs :)
I'm also trying to figure out how to make a tricky cut on the CP. I've got an idea that I'm going to try tomorrow. As well as that I'm going to cut my glass for the front and marquee. I'm using glass because it was free.
I've also just now ordered all my buttons/jotsticks etc. I'm not sure how long they will take to get here, probably like 3 weeks or something? So once they arrive it will be all on. Maybe, just maybe I might have it mostly painted by then.
I still need to get a piece of polycarbonate to go over the CP. Will need to thin down the CP - my old man has a thicknesser, so shouldn't be an issue there. I'm choosing polycarbonate because from what I've read, it's a bit softer and easier to work with. I will be using the router on it to match the shape of the CP, and assume it's easier to router polycarbonate than acrylic? I don't want to get into a debate about which is more scratch resistant, strong, better etc. The bottom line for my choice is that I can put a router to it with relative ease.
So yeah, things are still humming along, just no pics to prove it. :angel:
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:censored: stuffed up the glass cutting :'(
Not a huge problem, just there goes my free option.
Notes for glass cutting: Scoring the glass is the single most important and hardest part. If you get a good score, breaking it is easy. If you stuff up the score then it's all over folks.
On the plus side, my controls are apparently already in the country!
@mahalos I can probably soon send your stuff back. They've been very helpful in helping me decide on button layouts etc! :cheers:
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:censored: stuffed up the glass cutting :'(
On the plus side, my controls are apparently already in the country!
@mahalos I can probably soon send your stuff back. They've been very helpful in helping me decide on button layouts etc! :cheers:
Damn shame about your glass. I follow one simple rule when it comes to glass cutting.......don't do it ;D
oohhh....you must be excited that your controls are in the country.......hell, even i'm excited your controls are in the country.
Glad the ones I lent you helped out a bit. :cheers:
Keep up the great work man
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I follow one simple rule when it comes to glass cutting.......don't do it
@mahalos haha, yeah ;) if it wasn't a free sheet I would've just got it cut to size.
aaaand, controls arrived this morning! oly cow that was quick! I ordered them on Thursday local time. Got an email on Friday local time that the order had been proccessed and got a tracking number. today (Tuesday) morning the DHL girl arrives! So will be playing with them tonight methinks.
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:censored: stuffed up the glass cutting :'(
Not a huge problem, just there goes my free option.
Notes for glass cutting: Scoring the glass is the single most important and hardest part. If you get a good score, breaking it is easy. If you stuff up the score then it's all over folks.
On the plus side, my controls are apparently already in the country!
@mahalos I can probably soon send your stuff back. They've been very helpful in helping me decide on button layouts etc! :cheers:
I didn't notice, but what kind of glass are you using? plain old clear or smoked? I'm unsure if I want to go with real glass or plexi/lexan...
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I don't think I ever posted a photo of it. It was just glass from a window of a house; my brother is a builder, pinched it from a house that was having an extension built ;)
So it was just plain clear window glass. About 4mm thick. If you go with real glass, just get it cut to size ;)
Unless I can get another sheet, I'm just going to go with polycarbonate - lexan and plexiglass are brand names. Lexan = polycarbonate, plexiglass = acrylic.
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As per usual progress has slowed, but I am happy with the progress I'm making. It's at the point where I need to save money to progress much further, but that's okay. I have regular payments into an "Arcade Savings" :cheers: So I will get there eventually.
But this update I have some pictures to show.
Today I shaped up the back of the control panel where it will meet the "Admin Panel". I was originally going to make an angle cut so that it would be parallel with that panel, but it was proving quite tricky to cut such an angle. so instead I've done some routing that can't be explain in words, so here's some pics. Hopefully you can decipher what I'm doing here.
First, this is the top of my control panel.
(http://jeef3.smugmug.com/photos/654770321_bEpBj-M.jpg)
And this is the back with a notch taken out. To simulate the angle cut.
(http://jeef3.smugmug.com/photos/654771995_bbZtB-M.jpg)
This is the cut I was going to try and make.
(http://jeef3.smugmug.com/photos/654773476_pfAoC-M.jpg)
This is it moving into place.
(http://jeef3.smugmug.com/photos/654775226_3YRmF-M.jpg)
And finally, neatly in place. I will have a sheet of polycarbonate on top. When I do that, I will reduce the thickness of this panel.
(http://jeef3.smugmug.com/photos/654776845_2BA3h-M.jpg)
And here's an up-to-date shot of the whole thing. With button layouts attached. Haven't started drilling those holes yet. Also note the plaster work is still in progress. Oh, and of course the bezel and admin panel both have one coat of primer on them... I ran out. Another expense to save for.
(http://jeef3.smugmug.com/photos/654778413_8W6Gk-M.jpg)
And close up of the control panel layout.
(http://jeef3.smugmug.com/photos/654780299_uGx4X-M.jpg)
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:cheers:
Coming along nicely! I also had a pain trying to cut angles, but eventually I got them (for the most part).
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@Ryglore Yeah, some aren't too bad, like the smaller angles. My jigsaw can cut at an angle etc. But too big an angle like that and the jigsaw struggles. Also, because it was only part of it that needed the angle, I couldn't run it through the rip-saw.
But yeah, I'm pleased with the progress, cheers :)
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What thickness of wood are you using for the bezel? I was going to do Matte board, but after seeing how yours looks with that piece on the front of it, I'm tempted to do the same. :applaud:
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That's 4.75mm MDF. Thinnest I could find. I think it would look better on a flat screen. Not sure about the mix of curved screen and flat looking bezel like what I have. But it is a simple enough solution that looks good enough I think. The preferrable option would be to get one of those Happ monitor bezels, but too much $$$
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Are you using 2 different button layouts for P1 and P2, or are you just testing different ones out?
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That's 4.75mm MDF. Thinnest I could find. I think it would look better on a flat screen. Not sure about the mix of curved screen and flat looking bezel like what I have. But it is a simple enough solution that looks good enough I think. The preferrable option would be to get one of those Happ monitor bezels, but too much $$$
Cool, I think it looks fine. Are you keeping it white? or painting it black or a darker color? If I do that, I'll be painting it black like my monitor mount board. I think once you put the glass/acrylic sheet on it won't look as bad as you think it does right now.
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@Bender Yeah, I was skeptical at first, but after putting them down there like that it's actually really comfortable! Sega astrocity player 1 and player 2 layouts, with the 2 right most buttons dropped. :)
@Ryglore I see a white bezel and i want to paint it black. Yeah that (grey) is just the primer/undercoat, will be going over it with black. Current plan is whole thing black, red trim, and then hopefully some full size stickers/decals/artwork for the sides, control panel and marquee.
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Just a really quick update; I've drilled all the holes for my buttons, just need to do the routing for the joysticks. I've ordered the acrylic and I've gone for polycarbonate for the control panel. So with any luck I will have that next weekend, but maybe weekend after.
Things I still have to do:
- Put toe-kick in
- glue speaker board in place
- size up the back panel
- route groove for t-molding
- paint
- finish graphics!
So not too much left to do really!
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Alright, got a bit done this weekend. I fixed the route in the speaker panel as it was too thin for the bezel + acrylic, and then glued it in place. I cut the lengths of aluminum that will be my marquee retainers and I flush trimmed my polycarbonate control panel top and drilled all the holes for it. And I routed the top-mounts for the joysticks. Oh, and I used the old mans planer thicknesser to thin the control panel from 18mm to 15mm so that when I put 3mm polycarbonate on top the panel is still only 18mm.
The polycarbonate was incredibly easy to work with. It was quite tricky though making sure it never moved from the MDF part of the CP so that all the holes would line up.
Polycarbonate with holes drilled
(http://jeef3.smugmug.com/photos/669552682_3QQV6-M.jpg)
And SmugMug is on a go slow, so I will attach the other photos in a moment.
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Okay, they're back up. Here's the rest of the photos from the weekend:
Polycarbonate sitting in place, joystick holes drilled:
(http://jeef3.smugmug.com/photos/669553471_Ayk6a-M.jpg)
Top mount routing for the joystick
(http://jeef3.smugmug.com/photos/669554203_KpDCX-M.jpg)
routing complete
(http://jeef3.smugmug.com/photos/669554857_ZPKnH-M.jpg)
I know I will be disassembling this later (to get the graphics in) but I wanted to start putting it together now to make sure it will fit.
(http://jeef3.smugmug.com/photos/669556165_eStTg-M.jpg)
And got a teeny bit of wiring done
(http://jeef3.smugmug.com/photos/669556860_sh9hb-M.jpg)
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Nice! That CPO looks awesome, nice job cutting the round bits. :cheers:
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Looking Sweet!
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One question though. The joystick holes look rather small. I know that when I made my Control panel I had to make the holes for the stick 1 1/8", just like the Button holes. Of course I also mounted my Joys underneath.
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@Kman-Sweden Cheers :)
@Ryglore Thanks. I just used the flush trim and followed the MDF. The polycarbonate cut like butter, no probs at all :) Drilling the button holes with my spade bit was scary at first. Thought everything was going to snap, but it turned out fine.
I used 28mm for the button holes and 19mm for the joystick hole. I wanted to use 20mm but my 20mm spade bit is bent and wobbles :(
Don't know how to accurately convert those to inches with fractions, but according to Google:
28mm = 1.102362 inches
19mm = 0.748031496 inches
It is a very small hole for the joystick. I might make it bigger. At the moment it works, just. Which is what I was shooting for. :)
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Nice. I know when I was getting ready to drill my holes. I was scared to use a Spade, so I went with the Forstner bit instead. Love the progress Jeef, keep it up!
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Okay, I've spent a little time on some graphical ideas. Originally this was going to be a Mortal Kombat themed machine but to be honest, the games I remember actually playing on an arcade machine are Simpsons and TMNT. MK was console for me.
So here's a very rough concept I've put together and it's very open to suggestions. I'm currently worried about the choice of red t-mold. I haven't ordered any t-mold yet so that could easily change, but red controls are already in.
(http://jeef3.smugmug.com/photos/674068880_YquQ6-M.jpg)
(http://jeef3.smugmug.com/photos/674068931_CrniX-M.jpg)
(http://jeef3.smugmug.com/photos/674068992_fyfp3-M.jpg)
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Oh, and don't mind that the marquee is stretched, i just really quickly did that and made it fit. Also don't mind the funny pink/green bits. Couldn't be bothered applying materials to them etc etc.
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Really nice artwork! Wasn't there a cabinet in the Springfield bowling alley called "Time Waster"? I always thought that would be really cool name for a cab.
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Dang, nice! I would almost like to see it with Yellow t-molding and a blue finish...
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@Ryglore To finish of the Simpsons look? I would concur, but I for side art I was hoping to do a collage including tmnt. I guess without showing a render with side art on it would be quite hard to visualise. I'll see if I get time over the weekend, will play with some other t-mold and paint colours :)
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as much as I love the simpsons arcade game....you got a 2-player setup home skillet. I'd go with MK or some other fighter for sure. But thats just me.
Its looking really good though man. Keep it up. You're almost there!
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@Gatsu Thanks! It does seem a shame to have 2-player cabinet themed towards two 4-player games eh! It started out as MK themed, but as I've built through I want something with a bit more colour. Maybe if I throw MK and SF in the mix...?
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Street Fighter or one of the VS titles like Marvel vs. Capcom is pretty colorful. hehe.
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Lol, you could do a mash up of Homer and Bart dresses like Ryu and Ken squaring off vs Mr Burns and Smithers dressed as Leonardo and Donatello. :laugh2:
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@Ryglore haha, an interesting thought! :P
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I know I've been pretty quiet here lately, got a pile of gardening to do and finally getting some good weather to do it in. But the arcade machine has not been forgotten. I've only got a few woodworking this left to do and then it will be ready for prep and paint!
I've been working on my artwork a bit, taking a page from Ryglore's last message. But then my partner said she had already suggested the same thing... woops. Anyway, see if you can guess who this guy is:
(http://jeef3.smugmug.com/photos/685677474_TB8ep-M.jpg)
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(http://jeef3.smugmug.com/photos/685677474_TB8ep-M.jpg)
Nice! I don't know too much about MK, but that mash up is awesome. =)
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So um, Jeef. Any updates?
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@Ryglore Heya, congrats on getting yours finished!
I've been pretty bogged down (with work and gardening) lately, but I haven't stopped completley. I've still been working on the artwork here and there but haven't got a great deal done to be honest. I'm still saving pennies for a few things such as paint and t-molding. I've only got a couple of woodworking things to finish and then I can prep and paint (once I can afford the paint).
But seeings you've been waiting patiently, here's the latest (still in draft of course) artwork:
(http://jeef3.smugmug.com/photos/709098115_HnjLM-M.jpg)
I'm going to go ahead and wire it all up over the next couple of weekends as I want it running for an upcoming party, but it will be minus paint/t-mold and graphics :(
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Nice, what are you naming it now? Springfield Beatdown? :laugh:
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---steaming pile of meadow muffin--- I don't have a name for it now :|
But that's actually quite a good one!
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---steaming pile of meadow muffin--- I don't have a name for it now :|
But that's actually quite a good one!
Ha, you're more than welcome to use it. :cheers:
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Nice job! I like the bezel idea :cheers:
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steaming pile of meadow muffin
Haha, is that the censorship at work?
@DCsegaDH Thanks, hopefully it works out okay.
I've started painting! My missus got onto me and said that I should start painting it, so that when it goes inside it can stay there. She said I can use tinsel instead of t-molding for now...
I've gone through 3 cans of spray paint thus far for the undercoat/primer. I think the top coat will be out of a bucket and with the air-compressor. Will try and take some photos of my makeshift spray booth tonight :)
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Alrighty, just to prove that I am actually still active, here's my makeshift spray booth:
(http://jeef3.smugmug.com/photos/714694201_7Hsbh-M.jpg)
Underside of control panel:
(http://jeef3.smugmug.com/photos/714698187_78bnT-M.jpg)
And the rest:
(http://jeef3.smugmug.com/photos/714696099_sxSQa-M.jpg)
That's the undercoat of course, will need to look at top coat options this weekend. I also need to prep the control panel box and start undercoating that and the toe-kick.
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In keeping with the Simpsons theme. You could call it Slugfest, like the arcade game in the Noiseland Arcade. I know there is a Baseball game for the home consoles called that, but it's keeping with the theme. . .
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@Chicken McNobody haha, neat idea, cheers! :)
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You do know, if you do a mash up of Simpsons and Street Fighter/Mortal Kombat, that you totally need to do Apu as Dhalsim... :lol
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@Ryglore haha! challenge accepted! :)
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I've made a start on Dhalsim Nahasapeemapetilon but I won't show you that just yet. Instead here is the finished paint job. You'll have to forgive the visible plaster etc on the sides, I've only painted the sides as a temp measure until I finish the side-art which will be full size decals. Also, there's a bit of dust visible in the shots.
Here's the full body shot. As you can see I still haven't got a toe-kick:
(http://jeef3.smugmug.com/photos/721430349_TAK2r-M.jpg)
And a close up of the Admin Panel. You can see the smoked acrylic does a good job of hiding the bezel and everything that was visible behind the bezel:
(http://jeef3.smugmug.com/photos/721432041_esdif-M.jpg)
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Lookin good! I like the look of the smoked monitor glass. After jacking up the brightness and contrast of the monitor on mine, the screen looks really nice and you don't even notice the panel behind the glass or the thickness of the bezel itself.
Can't wait to see that Dhalsim Nahasapeemapetilon. :laugh:
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@Ryglore cheers, and yeah, he's getting there :)
Updates:
I got the CP hinges on and fixed up the tight squeeze for one of the joysticks. Haven't wired the TV up yet, hopefully this weekend. But I've started wiring up the CP:
(http://jeef3.smugmug.com/photos/724307825_btbTf-M.jpg)
(http://jeef3.smugmug.com/photos/724308164_Fzp6y-M.jpg)
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Things are progress according to plan. All I have left to do (in this phase) is finish the wiring of the Control Panel (just need more spade connectors) and build the PC (need a new video card, mine's AGP and my motherboard only has pci-e)
So, picys!
Wiring thus far:
(http://jeef3.smugmug.com/photos/728812116_XfL8Y-M.jpg)
Monitor on, but no marquee:
(http://jeef3.smugmug.com/photos/728812242_PhrnT-M.jpg)
Full thing:
(http://jeef3.smugmug.com/photos/728812392_7BTjx-M.jpg)
Oh, and here's a close up of those lovely xmas CP graphics!
(http://jeef3.smugmug.com/photos/728814161_TWfcr-M.jpg)
(http://jeef3.smugmug.com/photos/728814624_V5kGa-M.jpg)
Yes, those graphics are temp, and yes they a wrinkly. It's just xmas wrapping paper. I just wanted something in there for our xmas party this weekend. Plus, this way I'm more likely to finish my actual artwork. Of which I haven't had much time to work on lately, will hopefully bring a shot of Dhalsim next weekend.
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The Christmas graphics are awesome! :applaud: :laugh2: You should decorate it further with some nice bling for your party.
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@emphatic I'll take more photos once the tinsel is in place - can't afford t-molding yet ;)
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@emphatic I'll take more photos once the tinsel is in place - can't afford t-molding yet ;)
haha awesome. I can't wait to see this.... perhaps toss on a bow for good measure?
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@Ryglore Mistletoe perhaps? :D
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rig the x-mas lights to a LEDWiz pack and have them flicker with the music of the game. lol.
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I have the same hinges for my control panel too. Nice work, its coming together nicely :applaud:
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@Gatsu I don't have a LEDWiz, but the xmas lights are a neat idea :)
@DCsegaDH Yeah, they were the only (cupboard) hinges I could find that would open like that. All others would cause a conflict with the box part.
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Loving this build, great job on everything! :applaud:
Great idea for the temp xmas artwork ;D
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@Franco B Cheers man :)
I ran into a show-stopper the other night: I have two spare motherboards (complete with cpu/ram) of differing age. One has AGP but no SATA, and the other has SATA but no AGP (only PCI-E). I wonder if you can see where this is going? I have one spare SATA drive, and my only s-video option (this is an old CRT TV remember) is an old AGP video card.
I was thinking of finding a cheap pci-e video card which is not hard, but I need it now, so that it can be ready for this weekend. My local electronics store didn't have any, but for not much more I found this neat little "PC to TV Converter". It's powered via USB, has a VGA in and s-video out. Perfect! So I got that hooked up last night and it works a treat!
So all I need to do now is finish wiring up the CP and setup MAME+frontend. :D
Will take some more photos tonight.
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My local electronics store didn't have any, but for not much more I found this neat little "PC to TV Converter". It's powered via USB, has a VGA in and s-video out. Perfect! So I got that hooked up last night and it works a treat!
Oh sweet, I may need to look into something like that when it comes time to do a project I have in mind...
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@Ryglore Yeah, although it probably costs a touch more than what you could find a pci/pci-e/agp video card that has s-video on it, but I was kinda desperate. But it works really well, resolutions of 800x600, 1024x768 and 1280x1024 in and (in my case) PAL out.
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Actually I'd prolly end up going with this
http://www.amazon.com/StarTech-HD15CPNTMF-Component-Breakout-Adapter/dp/B00213KFHW (http://www.amazon.com/StarTech-HD15CPNTMF-Component-Breakout-Adapter/dp/B00213KFHW)
For what I'd be doing, the RCA outputs would be more "authentic".
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@Ryglore Just remember that that is Component, not composite out. Composite is crap, s-video is a pretty authentic look, Component can do up to 720p I believe. Also, I'm not 100% sure, but even though the cable exists, your video card might not output Component. Eg, this: http://www.gainbery.com/Product/Adaptor/vga%20to%20rca.jpg (http://www.gainbery.com/Product/Adaptor/vga%20to%20rca.jpg) Will only work on specific video cards.
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It's now playable!
(http://jeef3.smugmug.com/photos/730650938_VUA3V-M.jpg)
I still need a bit of work setting up other emulators etc, but MAME was top priority.
Here's the completed wiring:
(http://jeef3.smugmug.com/photos/730651061_cjGBP-M.jpg)
And here's a shameful pic inside:
(http://jeef3.smugmug.com/photos/730650703_axLmg-M.jpg)
I'll tidy that up, have a friend of mine who will help me make a power switch to turn everything on/off. Just going to pimp his site while I'm at it: http://pacificlights.co.nz/en/2009/telecontrol (http://pacificlights.co.nz/en/2009/telecontrol)
Web controlled xmas lights! :D
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Yeah, they were the only (cupboard) hinges I could find that would open like that. All others would cause a conflict with the box part.
Looking good Jeef!
I was hoping you could provide the specs on those hinges? (my apologies if it's in your thread somewhere and I missed it). I have the same situation with the front overhang on mine. To this point I've just had it mounted with velcro, but hinges would be much nicer for working inside there!
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@Gamester After looking for the hinge online I just realised that I did resort to reversing the hinge. The CP box is the "cupboard door". So I'm using an Inset Hinge, in reverse.
Imagine this diagram:
http://brassware.images.snowvalley.com/content/html/images/InsetBlumHingeDiagram.jpg (http://brassware.images.snowvalley.com/content/html/images/InsetBlumHingeDiagram.jpg)
Where "door" is the front side of the CP box and "Carcass" is the CP lid. Was missions routing out the hole for the hinge in the already assembled box though.
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Great job jeef!!
:applaud: :applaud: :applaud:
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@DaOld Man Cheers, it gets tested tonight at our xmas party :D
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Just a quick shot of it in action at the weekend :)
(http://jeef3.smugmug.com/photos/735152144_KDouy-M.jpg)
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Nice T-mold :applaud:
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@ammitz ;) was all I could afford for now.
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Forget the cab. Look at that Santa-dragon on the wall!!! :laugh2:
:cheers:
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@ammitz ;) was all I could afford for now.
I think it looks great
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Agreed, that Tinsel t-molding is classic! :lol :cheers:
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@Kman-Sweden Haha, yeah, my partners hippie dragon. You burn incense or similar inside it and smoke comes out his nostrils :D
@ammitz, @Ryglore :D
Will see how I go for time over the next week and hopefully get some updates on the artwork up.
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You shouldn't change the artwork untill after christmass, perhaps for your New Years party?
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@ammitz Don't worry, it will be a couple of months at least before the artwork is finished, let alone am able to afford to print it. $280nzd per side, $200usd at the current exchange rate.
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And a close up of the Admin Panel. You can see the smoked acrylic does a good job of hiding the bezel and everything that was visible behind the bezel:
(http://jeef3.smugmug.com/photos/721432041_esdif-M.jpg)
How smoked is smoked? I don't suppose you have a photo of the acrylic prior to install so I can get an idea of how dark the tint is please?
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Silas,
I had a look and can't find any pre-installation photos. I remember when I got it it seemed quite dark, but the screen image comes through fine. Probably a bit like this: http://i18.ebayimg.com/05/i/001/1f/e9/05e2_3.JPG (http://i18.ebayimg.com/05/i/001/1f/e9/05e2_3.JPG)
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Thanks for that link. That's a lot lighter that I thought it would be.
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yeah, it probably is, maybe where two of them overlap
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How do these two compare with the one you used?
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Ah, those are better pictures. I tried to find a pic last night but couldn't find anything decent. The second one, the darker one is quite close.
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Cool... Thanks for that.
I am considering what to buy, but don't want to go too dark in case I can't see the screen clearly enough, but at the same time I want to go dark enough that it obscures everything behind it.
The place I'm buying from sells 3mm and 5mm, may I ask what thickness you used?
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It's dark, but if you crank the screen brightness up a little it comes through fine in my opinion. I think I got all of it in 3mm. I went acrylic for the tinted screen, clear acrylic for the marquee and I actually went polycarbonate for the CP as it required some curved routing etc.
Hopefully that is of some help :)
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My tinting is about the darkness of the second pic as well. and I don't have any issues with darkness. But then again I have the SHMUP set up in a side room of the new house and I keep the overhead light turned off while I play to keep the glare down as well as keep the "aesthetics" of the arcade feel. ;D