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Main => Project Announcements => Topic started by: Ryglore on October 15, 2012, 11:52:04 pm

Title: Retrotron: 1984 (5/3/14) Death of Retrotron: 1984
Post by: Ryglore on October 15, 2012, 11:52:04 pm
Table of Contents:
10/15/12 - Original Post Below
10/16/12 -  Prep Work (http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php/topic,123258.msg1309195.html#msg1309195)
10/17/12 - Marquee Design (http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php/topic,123258.msg1309452.html#msg1309452)
10/18/12 - Marquee Design Part 2 (http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php/topic,123258.msg1309702.html#msg1309702)
10/23/12 - PC Arrived (http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php/topic,123258.msg1310583.html#msg1310583)
10/25/12 - Crafting the New CP and Testing Button Layout (http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php/topic,123258.msg1311031.html#msg1311031)
10/29/12 - Control Panel Artwork Complete (http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php/topic,123258.msg1311787.html#msg1311787)
11/1/12 - Bezel Artwork Completed (http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php/topic,123258.msg1312347.html#msg1312347)
11/3/12 - Test Mounting Joystick (http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php/topic,123258.msg1312703.html#msg1312703)
11/9/12 - Fairly Large Update (http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php/topic,123258.msg1313928.html#msg1313928)
11/10/12 - Artwork Arrived! (http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php/topic,123258.msg1314253.html#msg1314253)
11/14/12 - We've Hit a Snag in Paint Hell (http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php/topic,123258.msg1314965.html#msg1314965)
11/16/12 - Paaaaaint.... (http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php/topic,123258.msg1315591.html#msg1315591)
11/18/12 - More Paaaaaaint, plus CP work & Marquee Light (http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php/topic,123258.msg1315904.html#msg1315904)
11/21/12 - Wiring the CP & Cab, Bezel mounted (http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php/topic,123258.msg1316839.html#msg1316839)
11/24/12 - Work Completed? Not Really... (http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php/topic,123258.msg1316839.html#msg1316839)
12/12/12 - It's ALIIIIIIVE! ...again (http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php/topic,123258.msg1320808.html#msg1320808)
12/26/12 - Solving the Power Button (http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php/topic,123258.msg1323234.html#msg1323234)
12/27/12 - PC Installed & Project Officially Complete! (http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php/topic,123258.msg1323330.html#msg1323330)
5/3/14 - Death of Retrotron: 1984 (http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php/topic,123258.msg1437366.html#msg1437366)

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hey all, long time no see. I'm back! Now you may say, but Ryglore... you have your Centipede project to finish. Why on earth are you working on a new project?! That, my friends, is simple. I've been commissioned to refurbish a MAME cab for a friend of mine!

This cab was actually the last cab made by my buddy madk. This was also the cab that inspired me to build the SHMUP (http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php/topic,95293.0.html). Well, it's sat in madk's garage for the last 2 years and before that it sat disassembled in his side room. It was kind of a shame. Especially after I finished SHMUP and had this sweet cab and the one that inspired it went unloved for all this time.

Here it is, It's kind of in sad condition at the moment. This was taken in madk's garage before I moved it.
(http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d177/LOPWyrm/Retrotron/IMG_20121007_172437.jpg)

Recently, another friend of mine was talking about wanting an arcade cab for his son and was talking to me about it.  He asked how much time it took and how much it cost me to build the SHMUP. After talking about it for awhile, I mentioned that madk might be interested in selling his cab and if he can get it it would save him a bunch of money. He asked if I could find out for sure and I then asked madk and he agreed to sell it. And it is now sitting in my basement awaiting some much needed TLC.

So now I have a new cab project! This one should go pretty smoothly, since I'm not on the hook for all the money and I've given my buddy an estimate on how much it will cost. The cab is an old legit arcade cab, it has a 20" monitor already installed. He's already budgeted for it and he has the PC coming already. All I need to do is pick up the paint, some plexi, a few buttons, a marquee light and do up some sweet new graphics it'll be complete.

Now, the plan:

The plan for this cab is to be themed after Robotron: 2084. The graphics will be a take on Robotron's original graphics and the paint colors will follow suit. The Marquee and anywhere that reads Robotron: 2084 will instead read Retrotron: 1984 and the side of the cab will be 1984 rather than 2084. The screen is already mounted vertically, so I'm going to leave it that way and I'll rework the bezel to fit.

The cab will run MAME again and I'll be using another Windows XP based PC for the system. I'll be hiding windows, like I did on the SHMUP and building a custom and fitting GUI for game selection using MALA again. Luckily I had the presence of mind to keep all of my files saved on a portable HDD for easy access and they are also on the SHMUP if needed, thus I don't need to track anything down. Plus I kept a folder with a bunch of important notes in it on instant sheller and such for hiding windows completely. I'll also be using romlister again to build some good all around play lists and will have to make sure that the games list is kid friendly as possible, making sure to remove any and all "adult" games (I'm looking at you Mahjong)  I'm also going to go ahead with an idea for an intro video that I originally was going to do for SHMUP and that is the idea of making it do mock start up/ rom checks.

My buddy has asked if there was a way to squeeze in 2 extra buttons on each side. So I'll need to rework the CP somehow and I think I may be able to do it without too much issues. The 4 way stick will be staying to allow for DK, Frogger, Galaga etc. Currently the front of the cab has coin buttons and P1/P2 Buttons. I'm going to do away with the coin up buttons and instead wire the coin door up and make it use tokens, just like the SHMUP.

Currently there are holes for possible flipper buttons for virtual pinball, but we've decided to plug them and only focus on arcade games. I may have to keep the P1/P2 buttons on the front, as real estate on the CP is limited. I will be incorporating a pause button onto the cab somewhere, prolly someplace that will be within easy reach for his son. For these I may end up using 2 of my Atari Volcano buttons that I had picked up for the Centipede cab, since I have some spare all black ones and put them on top of the CP. I will also need to make the exit game button easy to reach. My buddy liked the idea of the ones on the SHMUP being hidden, but there isn't anywhere to hide them on this cab.

The Control Panel as it sits
(http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d177/LOPWyrm/Retrotron/IMG_20121007_172451.jpg)

Now that I have the cab in front of me, I can start taking measurements and working on the artwork. This cab is pretty filthy at the moment and will need to good cleaning. I need to peel off the t-molding and will likely buy replacement for it, sand the paint down and patch old holes. Then I can prime the sides and repaint them with the new color. I think the black should be ok for the middle of the body, but I haven't taken a good look at it.

But there you have it, a new project! Hopefully all goes as smoothly as we think it will and I can get this knocked out. I really can't wait to see the look on my buddy's son's face when he sees it!
Title: Re: Retrotron: 1984 (10/15/12 Cab Picked Up, New Project Begins)
Post by: wp34 on October 16, 2012, 10:57:26 am
Welcome back.   I loved the SHMUP and am looking forward to following this build.

Sent from my Atari 800 mobile device using Tapatalk

Title: Re: Retrotron: 1984 (10/15/12 Cab Picked Up, New Project Begins)
Post by: Ryglore on October 16, 2012, 01:08:45 pm
Thanky. I hope to make this cab look as good, if not better than the SHMUP. Hopefully I don't disappoint.
Title: Re: Retrotron: 1984 (10/15/12 Cab Picked Up, New Project Begins)
Post by: TopJimmyCooks on October 16, 2012, 08:53:36 pm
Lot of potential and some good stuff to work with there. 
Title: Re: Retrotron: 1984 (10/16/12 Prep Work)
Post by: Ryglore on October 16, 2012, 10:12:29 pm
Today I started gutting the wiring and cleaning the cab.

I started by peeling the T-molding off of the cab, turns out it's a lot more jacked up than I originally thought. So I'll need to replace it. But that's not a big deal at all. Once the t-molding was peeled off, I pulled the CP off and started cleaning up the wiring. The plan all along was to rewire the entire thing anyway and so I'm scrapping the wiring and starting fresh.

T-Molding off, and CP dismounted.
(http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d177/LOPWyrm/Retrotron/DSCF1834.jpg)

CP set aside
(http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d177/LOPWyrm/Retrotron/DSCF1833.jpg)

Previous Wiring setup
(http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d177/LOPWyrm/Retrotron/DSCF1835.jpg)

Wiring ripped out
(http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d177/LOPWyrm/Retrotron/DSCF1842.jpg)

IPac removed
(http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d177/LOPWyrm/Retrotron/DSCF1843.jpg)

As I was working on the wiring, I was playing around with the coin door and pulling the wiring from it. When i took the picture of the Previous Wiring setup, I glanced down and noticed the box for the coin bin to sit in. It was dark in there, but I noticed that there was something in there. Either someone thought the coin door loaded credits, or madk was testing the door. But it turns out that there was .75 cents in there, which means I just got made a profit! ha

What's this?
(http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d177/LOPWyrm/Retrotron/DSCF1837.jpg)

Oh, cool. Coins!
(http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d177/LOPWyrm/Retrotron/DSCF1840.jpg)

The coin door looks like it's in pretty good shape, I believe madk told me that he went through it and it should be in full working order. Which is excellent news, since the plan is to remove the coin up buttons on the front and wire it in like the SHMUP for tokens.

Rear of the coin door
(http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d177/LOPWyrm/Retrotron/DSCF1838.jpg)

Madk told me that the kicker on the bottom of the cab was an add on that he put on there and that it should be pretty simple to remove, if I chose to. Well I poked at it and the wood seemed kinda soft... I decided that I will instead paint up some diamond plate in place of it in the front. So I found the holes where madk had the screws and cleaned it out w/ my pocket knife and then unscrewed the wood.... turns out it was glued in place too. It was 2 3/4" layers of MDF glued together. I put the prybar between them and peeled one layer off and it came off in soft MDF sections. I then took the second section off and... found water damaged, rotten plywood. hrm...

View one.
(http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d177/LOPWyrm/Retrotron/DSCF1846.jpg)

View two.
(http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d177/LOPWyrm/Retrotron/DSCF1845.jpg)

So now I need to figure out how to repair this. The way it sits right now, I'm thinking I'll have to cut it out and replace it with fresh plywood and then fill gaps. Unless any of you have some pointers on fixing it without major surgery. It looks like the MDF soaked the sides a bit too, but I may need to leave that there...




Title: Re: Retrotron: 1984 (10/17/12 Marquee Design)
Post by: Ryglore on October 18, 2012, 12:07:49 am
Tonight I didn't work on the body of the cab. I'm still weighing my options and I haven't had a chance to talk to my Dad about what he thinks about fixing the rot. I did look at some steel panels we have laying around the shop though and am seriously considering putting one on the front for a kick panel along with repairing the wood, to help save what is there from future abuse. Especaially when you consider that this is going to a house with 2 boys under the age of 10.

But since it was raining all day and I didn't feel like being cramped in the basement I instead came up to the PC and worked on the marquee. Like I said before, I'm naming the cab "Retrotron: 1984" and I'm going to recreate the Robotron: 2084 artwork from scratch with tweaks. So after about 2 hours of work and some internet searches to find decent matches for both the Robotron font and the Williams font. Here's what I've come up with.

Marquee! If anyone knows where I can get a closer font match for the Robotron logo, lemme know. Thanks!
(http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d177/LOPWyrm/Retrotron/marquee_compare.jpg)

So far this is all the playing I can do in Illustrator. I need rework the CP to see if I can manage a 6 button layout w/ the 4 Way joy in the middle like it is. And if I can, then I'll need to adjust the art for the P1 and P2 sticks accordingly. But I may also rebuilt the CP from scratch to I don't have to mess around with moving/plugging holes. Since it looks like madk built a replacement CP for it out of MDF. Plus I want to adjust it a little anyway, since the way it sits, I'm not sure how the bezel plexi will stay in place.
Title: Re: Retrotron: 1984 (10/17/12 Marquee Design)
Post by: Jigenjuke on October 18, 2012, 07:33:00 am
Hey there Ryglore,


Take a look at this thread. http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?topic=45368.0 (http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?topic=45368.0)

Timoe took the Illustrator vector file from http://vectorlib.free.fr (http://vectorlib.free.fr) and rebuilt the letters he needed from what was already there.  It may be the easiest thing to do as I have not come across a faithful font for Robotron. 

Jigenjuke
Title: Re: Retrotron: 1984 (10/17/12 Marquee Design)
Post by: Ryglore on October 18, 2012, 08:56:42 am
Thank Jigenjuke,

I found a font called Data 70 that looks a lot closer than this one. But I don't want to buy it for 1 project. I did however use the "preview mode" on the site I found it on. Typed out RETROTRON: on it then did a screen capture. I figure if I don't like how this one looks, I'll trace this image in illustrator.

Also I just noticed that I screwed up and the Yellow stripe on the bottom should not be running straight across.
Title: Retrotron: 1984 (10/17/12 Marquee Design)
Post by: TPA5 on October 18, 2012, 11:33:51 am
I like where this is going! Subscribed.

On a random note, did you ever finish your Centipede build?
Title: Re: Retrotron: 1984 (10/17/12 Marquee Design)
Post by: Ryglore on October 18, 2012, 12:09:16 pm
I like where this is going! Subscribed.

On a random note, did you ever finish your Centipede build?

Thanks, and no not yet. I did find a micro PC that could work for running centipede but haven't pulled the trigger on buying it so I can test it. The main hold up on it is the screen though. opt2not showed me a nice 8" 4:3 ration screen from deal extreme a few years ago. But I'm iffy on ordering things from overseas. Hopefully one day I can finish it.
Title: Re: Retrotron: 1984 (10/18/12 Marquee Design Part 2)
Post by: Ryglore on October 19, 2012, 12:45:06 am
Just a quicky update.

I did some internet searching today and was able to score a free download of that Data 70 font I was looking at. So with that I was able to redo the RETROTRON text and while I was at it I fixed that stupid yellow line. It looks 100% better now.

(http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d177/LOPWyrm/Retrotron/marquee_compare-1.jpg)
Title: Re: Retrotron: 1984 (10/23/12 PC Arrived)
Post by: Ryglore on October 23, 2012, 09:52:37 pm
Hey all, I haven't forgotten about the project! I hit a snag w/ the ugly wood on the front of the cab and was going over options. The way the panel is mount on the front it's notched into a couple of grooves, which will make it a bear to get out of there. So, on the suggestion of my Dad (since he's still better at these things) I'll likely be filling the pulled away sections and leaving the wood as is. Then I'm going to take a piece of sheet steel and make a kickplate for it. Both for bracing and for durability.

But, for the next 2 weeks I am away from my house... so that means I can't tinker on the cab at all. But, the guy I'm building this for has gotten me the PC for the cab and I have that with me now. So I'll be working on the PC end of things 1st and the cab end of things 2nd. Pretty much all I have to share at the moment are a couple pics of the PC tower.

It's a 2.8Ghz Dell GX620 w/ 2GB of RAM and a 80 GB HDD. I'm unsure if I am going to gut the tower and put it all in the cab loose, like I did on the SHMUP or if I'll leave it in the case and secure it to the body somehow. Personally I like the idea of gutting it and then he won't have to worry about extra heat build up from dust building up in the case.

PC Tower
(http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d177/LOPWyrm/Retrotron/IMG_20121023_212945.jpg)

Case off of case
(http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d177/LOPWyrm/Retrotron/IMG_20121023_213024.jpg)

Anyway, that's all for now. Soon I'll start playing with designing a MALA layout and work on hiding windows. Luckily I have a folder full of info I saved from the last build to give me a refresher, if I can't find enough in the SHMUP thread.
Title: Re: Retrotron: 1984 (10/23/12 PC Arrived)
Post by: MTPPC on October 23, 2012, 10:54:43 pm
I'm using a slim GX620 in my current bartop touchmaster project. It has a 15" CRT touch screen and I haven't begun the cabinet design. I can't decide if I should go wide, tall or long with it. I'm probably going to leave mine cased and use vents and ducts to pull in outside air through the PC and into the cabinet.
Title: Re: Retrotron: 1984 (10/23/12 PC Arrived)
Post by: TopJimmyCooks on October 24, 2012, 09:15:35 am
use the case and strap it in the cab.  since it's going to a less arcade inclined user - that will give them flexibility.  if there is a problem, they can pull the pc and give it to you for service.  Also, if you use a video card, you won't have to glue it in. 
Title: Re: Retrotron: 1984 (10/23/12 PC Arrived)
Post by: Ryglore on October 24, 2012, 09:17:10 am
use the case and strap it in the cab.  since it's going to a less arcade inclined user - that will give them flexibility.  if there is a problem, they can pull the pc and give it to you for service.  Also, if you use a video card, you won't have to glue it in.

Good point. I didn't think of that.
Title: Re: Retrotron: 1984 (10/23/12 PC Arrived)
Post by: TopJimmyCooks on October 24, 2012, 09:53:53 am
Cab pic showing wood brackets that hold the SFF case.  More brackets inside the door to trap it when the back door of the cab is closed.  Tool free, baby.  Of course, I got the cab done and haven't removed the PC since. 

(https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-uY0fZlYa2zE/T0UC9lGSZOI/AAAAAAAABGs/ZEu9sGm-U4A/s400/IMG_5021.JPG)(https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-X48gPf8AFfk/T0UC8CUnwQI/AAAAAAAABGk/zw4EWx5QSS8/s400/IMG_5020.JPG)
Title: Re: Retrotron: 1984 (10/23/12 PC Arrived)
Post by: Ryglore on October 24, 2012, 03:08:54 pm
Oh that's a neat idea for sure. I'm deff gonna need to weigh the options of cased vs caseless.
Title: Re: Retrotron: 1984 (10/23/12 PC Arrived)
Post by: Drnick on October 24, 2012, 03:18:53 pm
I used the same PC in my bartop. kept it cased and with the pretty little monitor stand :)

Title: Re: Retrotron: 1984 (10/23/12 PC Arrived)
Post by: KeithPuetz on October 24, 2012, 03:48:23 pm
I suggest putting metal the plates often seen on kickplates over that weak wood. I believe it would look cool over ordinary wood and remove the blemish.
Title: Re: Retrotron: 1984 (10/23/12 PC Arrived)
Post by: Ryglore on October 24, 2012, 04:07:55 pm
I suggest putting metal the plates often seen on kickplates over that weak wood. I believe it would look cool over ordinary wood and remove the blemish.

Yup that's the plan. I have a bunch of scrap plate steel laying around the shop that I can use and it should look good.
Title: Re: Retrotron: 1984 (10/23/12 PC Arrived)
Post by: mgb on October 25, 2012, 11:22:52 pm
I'm looking forward to seeing how this one goes. I thought Shmup was great
good luck
Title: Re: Retrotron: 1984 (10/23/12 PC Arrived)
Post by: Ryglore on October 25, 2012, 11:45:48 pm
I'm looking forward to seeing how this one goes. I thought Shmup was great
good luck

Thanky,  I hope not to disappoint.  :cheers:
Title: Re: Retrotron: 1984 (10/25/12 Crafting the New CP and Testing Button Layout)
Post by: Ryglore on October 26, 2012, 12:21:18 am
Alrighty, so I now have a hard deadline on when this cab needs to be ready. I need to have it ready and in my friends new house by November 24th for his son's house warming sleep over. That means I have to bust to serious hind end to get this baby done in time. So now with a set deadline I made sure not to slack off tonight and cut the new control panel out of 1/2" MDF. Since he wants 6 buttons on each side for fighting games, I need to move things a little bit and rather than plug holes and wait for glue to dry I decided I would be best off just starting fresh. So, the goal for tonight was to get the CP cut out and play with the button layout. That way I can get the art all made and on order. Since I need to design the art, place the order and plan shipping time accordingly. I plan on getting rid of the plexi on the CP and putting laminated artwork on. Much like the real Robotron.

Original CP stripped down for proper measuring.
(http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d177/LOPWyrm/Retrotron/IMG_20121025_194506.jpg)

2 x 4 sheet of 1/2" MDF
(http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d177/LOPWyrm/Retrotron/IMG_20121025_194451.jpg)

First thing I did was to set up the router with the roundover bit and do some test cuts on the end I wasn't planning on using. Once that was set I cut the edge to a round and finally cut it to size. Then I cut he new panel for the front and set it aside. I made sure to save the drop pieces for gussets when gluing it all together.

Rounded edge
(http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d177/LOPWyrm/Retrotron/IMG_20121025_200941.jpg)

New CP top cut and ready for layout.
(http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d177/LOPWyrm/Retrotron/IMG_20121025_201756.jpg)

New CP front
(http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d177/LOPWyrm/Retrotron/IMG_20121025_202258.jpg)

Once this was all set, I brought the pieces inside and started laying out the joys and buttons to make sure everything was going to eventually fit. Keep in mind that this is just a quick layout and I didn't measure anything. And I am swapping the Happ Supers to Zippyy Red Ball Tops to keep with the theme (plus I was going to buy a set of Supers eventually anyway, so I just traded him for them basically). I decided that having the 4 way in the middle and in line withe the rest of the sticks made it seem slightly cluttered. So, I moved it up a little bit and it doesn't feel like the 2P Joy is crowded as much any more.

(http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d177/LOPWyrm/Retrotron/IMG_20121025_210856.jpg)

Now that I have the CP cut and measurements for it taken I can get started on converting the Robotron CP artwork to fit. This may take some finesse to make it look good. Thanks to the asymmetrical set up of the joysticks and all the extra buttons. But I'm sure I won't have to many problems. If all goes well, I should have the artwork done by the end of the weekend and then it's just a matter of getting it on order.

Also, I put in my parts order for the new marquee light, 2 Zippyy joysticks, 2 more red push buttons and the fresh t-molding. Hopefully those will arrive soon. But thanks to some internet searching I was able to find the dimensions of the Zippyy mounting plate, so it shouldn't hold me back from continuing to move forward.
Title: Re: Retrotron: 1984 (10/25/12 Crafting the New CP and Testing Button Layout)
Post by: madk on October 26, 2012, 09:13:02 am
hey...this cab looks familiar.  :)
Title: Re: Retrotron: 1984 (10/25/12 Crafting the New CP and Testing Button Layout)
Post by: Ryglore on October 26, 2012, 11:19:20 am
hey...this cab looks familiar.  :)

And soon it won't look familiar at all!  :D
Title: Re: Retrotron: 1984 (10/29/12 Control Panel Artwork Complete)
Post by: Ryglore on October 29, 2012, 10:36:44 pm
Took me a few days, but I finally have the Control Panel artwork done.  I had to do some modifications to it to make it work for the new controls layout and moved the crosshair up a bit and the 4 way will be going through the middle of it. The dots are the spots for the buttons and the joysticks. Now all I need to do is tweak the bezel art and the side art.

control panel layout
(http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d177/LOPWyrm/Retrotron/ControlPanel.jpg)

Also, my order from GGG came in today. Got the fresh T-molding, 2 Zippyy joysticks 2 more red pushbuttons and a nova matrix lynx LED marquee light.

(http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d177/LOPWyrm/Retrotron/IMG_20121029_172446.jpg)

Work continues. I have a week left until I am back home, so I can't work on the cab yet. But, hopefully I can start setting up the PC in the next day or so. Then when I do get back home I won't have to worry about anything other than working on the cab.

Title: Re: Retrotron: 1984 (10/29/12 Control Panel Artwork Complete)
Post by: opt2not on October 30, 2012, 03:44:50 pm
Looking good bud!  :cheers:
Title: Re: Retrotron: 1984 (10/29/12 Control Panel Artwork Complete)
Post by: Ryglore on October 30, 2012, 10:48:54 pm
Looking good bud!  :cheers:

Thank man, hopefully it will look even better soonish.  :cheers:
Title: Re: Retrotron: 1984 (11/1/12 Bezel Artwork Completed)
Post by: Ryglore on November 01, 2012, 10:56:20 pm
Finally finished the printed artwork! As of 15 mins ago, I finished the modified Bezel artwork and can now go over and double check all my colors and do any last minute edits before I ship them all off to get printed! Next up, I'll start work on the Mala layout and the PC end of things.

(http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d177/LOPWyrm/Retrotron/RetrotronBezel.jpg)
Title: Re: Retrotron: 1984 (11/03/12 - Test Mounting Joystick)
Post by: Ryglore on November 03, 2012, 09:13:40 pm
Got this idea from Leedsfan's Robotron Bartop (http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php/topic,118938.msg1259779.html#msg1259779), so full credit goes to him for it. I thought it was a sweet idea, and decided to mimic it.

Tonight I stayed after at work and built a quick demo unit for mounting the 4 way stick. I couldn't find a insert nut though and decided on T-nuts instead. I'm using 1/4" x 1/2" machine screws on the bottom side of the panel for mounting. Using Forstner bits, I cut a 2" recess into the board and then used an 1 1/8" bit for the center hole. the recesses for the t-nuts used a 5/8" bit. Once all the forstner holes were made, I set up the router to cut the recess for the plexi.

This all turned out pretty well, though I am not very smooth with the router and my edge wiggles all over the place. I got the thing all ready to go, then realized that the ball top doesn't remove from the shaft and that the dust washer on it is captive on the shaft. Which means I can only do this method on the P1 and P2 sticks and that the 4 way will end up w/ the dust washer on top of the panel. But, I also noticed that the recess for the washer and the hole for the shaft is slightly off center. But all of these things are what the demo unit was all for, so I didn't mess up the real thing.

All in all, I'm happy with how this is going to turn out. Thanks LeedsFan for the inspiration!

Holes cut and Zippyy dust washer in place as a test.
(http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d177/LOPWyrm/Retrotron/IMG_20121103_181737.jpg)

Joy base test fit. Hole slightly off center.
(http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d177/LOPWyrm/Retrotron/IMG_20121103_201810.jpg)

Backside showing mounting.
(http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d177/LOPWyrm/Retrotron/IMG_20121103_201819.jpg)

4 way test fit on top of the plexi to test shaft length.
(http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d177/LOPWyrm/Retrotron/IMG_20121103_201952.jpg)

Now that that's out of the way, I'm spending the rest of the night working on MALA. Hope it done later on tonight!
Title: Re: Retrotron: 1984 (11/03/12 - Test Mounting Joystick)
Post by: matt4949 on November 03, 2012, 11:34:38 pm
cool build.
Title: Re: Retrotron: 1984 (11/03/12 - Test Mounting Joystick)
Post by: Ryglore on November 04, 2012, 01:35:17 am
Thanks  :cheers:
Title: Re: Retrotron: 1984 (11/03/12 - Test Mounting Joystick)
Post by: Yvan256 on November 04, 2012, 09:47:57 am
Very nice build so far, can't wait to see the finished cab.  :cheers:

I do hope you didn't trash that Mr. Do! marquee, it looks like an original and could probably fetch at least a few dozen cents on eBay!  ;)
Title: Re: Retrotron: 1984 (11/03/12 - Test Mounting Joystick)
Post by: Ryglore on November 04, 2012, 04:12:41 pm
I do hope you didn't trash that Mr. Do! marquee, it looks like an original and could probably fetch at least a few dozen cents on eBay!  ;)

I highly doubt that it's a legit marquee. I think he made it from scratch just so he has something to put in the hole.
Title: Re: Retrotron: 1984 (11/09/12 - Fairly Large Update)
Post by: Ryglore on November 09, 2012, 10:06:46 am
Alrighty, I've been doing a lot of work on things since I got back home.

Finally was able to set up the PC and install all of the arcade files onto it. I got Mala and Mame running and have made a bunch of play lists with  ROM Lister. With lists for All Games, 4 way/ 2 way games, Fighting and Beat 'em up, Shooters, Sports, Jeremy's Favorites and a Most Played list. I set up a custom Mala layout using my marquee image, and Opt2Not's drawing of the player character from Robotron (THANKS OPT2NOT), which I don't have saved on this PC and will have to show off later.

I tried setting up Instant Sheller, but was having all kinds of problems getting it to work. I knew that I had previously gotten it to work on SHMUP, so it should have worked fine on Retrotron. But I was getting runtime errors and it wouldn't launch. After about 2 hours of searching I was finally able to figure out that Instant Sheller hates .net Framework 4.0, which is what I had installed. So I did some more searching for .net Framework 2.0, installed it and patched it to Service Pack 1. Loaded up IS and bam, worked. I then saved the install file for .net 2.0 to my portable HDD in case I ever need it in the future. I've since undone IS for the time being and have to work on the load up video for MALA in the meantime.

I took the plunge on drilling out the holes and routing the recesses in the control panel. Took me about 2 hours to do after work one night. And The 1st time I did it I didn't make the recess for the dust washer deep enough, but that was an easy fix. I cut the plexiglass for over top of the dust washers on the band saw and they are all ready to be glued into place.

All holes cut!
(http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d177/LOPWyrm/Retrotron/IMG_20121106_164233.jpg)

Close up of the P1 Joystick mount and buttons.
(http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d177/LOPWyrm/Retrotron/IMG_20121103_201810.jpg)

Plexi and dust washer test fit.
(http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d177/LOPWyrm/Retrotron/IMG_20121106_164556.jpg)

The other night I also picked up a 1 1/4" hole saw to make plugs to fill the holes in the sides and top of the cab. I went with an 1 1/4" because the inner diameter ends up being just shy of 1 1/8" wide. I then took a piece of left over 1/2" thick MDF and cut out enough plugs for the cab. These will get glued into place and then sanded smooth. Once sanded I'll do any last minute patching on them and then I'll be good to go on painting.

1/2" Thick MDF Plug
(http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d177/LOPWyrm/Retrotron/IMG_20121108_172859.jpg)

Testing it in the side of the cab.
(http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d177/LOPWyrm/Retrotron/IMG_20121108_172920.jpg)

14 days left until the deadline. I'm not working (maybe) this weekend though, so I hope to knock out a lot of the cab work Saturday and Sunday. The goal is to have the thing cleaned, patched and primed by Sunday so I can start painting next week. The graphics are on their way from Scott @ Game On Grafix and I should have them in hand soon, since we both are in Michigan. I stopped by the craft store the other night and picked up the material to make my own stencils and need to get those made into the 1984 lettering asap too... but I just remembered there are 3 sheets in a pack and I only bought 2 packs... heh.





Title: Re: Retrotron: 1984 (11/10/12 - Artwork Arrived!)
Post by: Ryglore on November 10, 2012, 09:40:24 pm
Last night I got home and the artwork was in side my patio waiting for me. So I prompt grabbed it and eagerly opened it up to get a look at how it turned out. And I must say, I am super pleased with it! Yet another awesome set of graphics from Scott @ Game on Grafix!

I did a quick test fit of the marquee and I must have mis-measured a little bit, because the marquee is slightly taller than the opening. But that's not a big deal, and I sanded the opening a little bit to accept the marquee. I didn't want to attempt cutting down the art itself, since I had them mount it to a piece of plexi for me. Everything else looks good and seems right on the money fit wise.

Marquee Art!
(http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d177/LOPWyrm/Retrotron/IMG_20121109_183248.jpg)

Control Panel Art!
(http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d177/LOPWyrm/Retrotron/IMG_20121109_183226.jpg)

Bezel Art!
(http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d177/LOPWyrm/Retrotron/IMG_20121109_183405.jpg)

Also, here is the Mala layout (Again, thanks goes to Opt2Not for his Robotron dude)
(http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d177/LOPWyrm/Retrotron/MalaScreenshot.jpg)

And here's the Rom Check load up video for it. Just finished it this afternoon.
Retrotron Load Up Video (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a6Thbg-ZDgQ#)

Once I finished the load up video, I started working on the control panel. The plan is to allow it to be removed , in the case that something under there screws up. I was going to try to find a way to hinge it, and still may. But for now I spent the afternoon gluing the front to the top and gluing the plexi over the dust washers. Here's what I accomplished so far.

Front glued and screwed to the top. I needed to add the corner braces, because for some reason the front piece was really bowed and needed to be held in place. I thought about removing the braces once it's dry, but I figure any extra support doesn't hurt.
(http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d177/LOPWyrm/Retrotron/IMG_20121110_182802.jpg)

Plexi glued above the dust washer.
(http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d177/LOPWyrm/Retrotron/IMG_20121110_175931.jpg)

I decided it would make things much cleaner and I wouldn't have to worry about goop getting in with the dust washer, if I taped over the hole. It worked out nicely!
(http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d177/LOPWyrm/Retrotron/IMG_20121110_204103.jpg)

And wood filler in place and drying.
(http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d177/LOPWyrm/Retrotron/IMG_20121110_204457.jpg)

That's it for tonight. Tomorrow I'm going to sand down the plugs in the sides and top of the cab and work on covering up the red paint on the sides. I also put some filler on top of the rotten wood, after applying some Elmer's Rotten Wood treatment to it. I'll sand that down and get some paint on it in prep for the metal kick panel that I'll be putting there. If that goes well, I'll stand the cab back up and remove the coin door so I can repaint the middle of the cab with a fresh coat of black.
Title: Re: Retrotron: 1984 (11/10/12 - Artwork Arrived!)
Post by: Jigenjuke on November 12, 2012, 03:54:53 am
Ryglore,

Looking great man!!  Can't wait to see the finished product.  How much did all of that art bling from Game on Grafix run ya?

Jigenjuke
Title: Re: Retrotron: 1984 (11/10/12 - Artwork Arrived!)
Post by: Ryglore on November 12, 2012, 09:08:13 am
How much did all of that art bling from Game on Grafix run ya?

Thanks! I'm really hitting my stride now and I think I'm doing pretty good time wise. The way it stands now, I don't see any reason why I'd have to worry about the deadline at the moment.

As for the graphics, it came out to just under $140 w/ shipping. I had the marquee sent with it already attached to plexi and the control panel art is adhesive backed. It woulda been cheaper if I had went without the bezel, but decided to go with it and keep with the plan to modify all of the Robotron artwork. All in all, I'm pleased with it and feel that it was worth it. It's the second time I've used them for arcade art, and they've not let me down yet.
Title: Re: Retrotron: 1984 (11/10/12 - Artwork Arrived!)
Post by: opt2not on November 12, 2012, 03:09:36 pm
Looks great man!  But I really should give you a cleaner version of the Robotron dude.  If I have some time this weekend I'll throw it into Photoshop and do some clean-up. (I feel the sketch-looking colouring could look more consistent with the rest of the solid-coloured artwork...)  :cheers:
Title: Re: Retrotron: 1984 (11/10/12 - Artwork Arrived!)
Post by: Ryglore on November 12, 2012, 03:15:50 pm
Ya man, that would be awesome. And if you do, send it to me as a png w/ transparency if you could be so kind.  :)
Title: Re: Retrotron: 1984 (11/10/12 - Artwork Arrived!)
Post by: opt2not on November 12, 2012, 05:19:34 pm
So demanding...  :angry:







 ;)
Title: Re: Retrotron: 1984 (11/10/12 - Artwork Arrived!)
Post by: Ryglore on November 13, 2012, 09:59:58 am
You know it!  :D
Title: Re: Retrotron: 1984 (11/14/12 - We've Hit a Snag in Paint Hell)
Post by: Ryglore on November 14, 2012, 09:38:54 am
Whelp. I was working on the the mounts for the control panel and there were 2 strips of wood in the way. My only guess was that madk put them there for mounting the original CP to the cab. But, they were in the way thanks to the new button layout and needed to be removed...

Thinking that they were just glued in place (since I didn't see any screws) I took the carpenter's hammer to it and found that they were actually screwed on from the outside... So I attempted to remove the screws and ended up pulling the side paint and some wood out of the side. I tried to carefully remove the paint but eventually ended up with a couple of huge bare spots showing what is either primer or the original paint.

I figured it wasn't a huge deal and I could just sand the edge of the top coat down to make the transition from one to the other smooth. But, after 30 mins of sanding I just ended up with the edge rolling up and more paint coming off, making the bare spot even larger. After another hour of options weighing, I decided to take the plunge and strip both sides of the cab down to bare wood (fun!).

So, a couple nights ago I went and bought some Citristrip paint stripper. After reading a few reviews on it and deciding it was the best bet for stripping paint indoors, I ran to Home Depot for the 4th day in a row. Last night, after letting the stripper do it's work all day I started work on the scraping. I started around 7:30p last night and had one side done around 10:30-11p. I started work on the other side, but for some reason the paint didn't bubble up and peel as nice as the 1st one and was a bear to scrape. So I scraped it down as best I could and left it sit for the night.

Tonight I hope to get the rest of the other side scraped down then both sides cleaned and sanded. Then I can start priming and painting and get back on track. I really didn't want to strip paint, but after trying a bunch "quick" fixes over the course of a day or so I felt like I had no choice. I don't think this will really hurt my timeline though. But I have 9 days to go and really can't afford any more set backs. Especially where paint is concerned.

 :angry:
Title: Re: Retrotron: 1984 (11/14/12 - We've Hit a Snag in Paint Hell)
Post by: sharpfork on November 14, 2012, 09:49:48 am
I know more than a few folks who have been in similar positions with paint going bad late in the game, including myself.  :cry:
Try to give the paint enough time to cure before moving on to whatever the next step is.  Patience will be key with a tight timeline and painting involved...

The cab really looks great so far...
Title: Re: Retrotron: 1984 (11/14/12 - We've Hit a Snag in Paint Hell)
Post by: Ryglore on November 14, 2012, 10:08:28 am
Ya, unfortunately if I had been able to stay at my own place for the 1st 2 weeks of the project I would have been doing the cabinet / paint work first. But since I had to house sit and couldn't take it with me I ended up doing things slightly backwards. But at least I was able to do the Artwork and get those in hand well before I needed them.

I think the biggest problem I face is that the main paint color is a 2 part process. So I have to be able to let the Primer cure, base coats cure, top coats cure and then 2 sets of stenciling. That's at least 5 days of painting, if I'm lucky. But after the paint is done, all I need to do is lay down graphics, add plexi for over the monitor and wire it.

Title: Re: Retrotron: 1984 (11/16/12 - Paaaaaaint...)
Post by: Ryglore on November 17, 2012, 12:50:36 am
Hey all, thought I'd toss out the progress with the paint situation.

It took a few days, but I was able to get all the paint scraped off of the sides of the cab. It totally wreaked my hands, arms and shoulders but now it should be smooth sailing. I used Citristrip to peel the paint off of the sides, which turned out to work pretty well and it is safe for indoor use thanks to the lack of harmful fumes. It took me 2 days work to get it down to bare wood though, thanks to the amount of layers of paint there was on this thing and the wood underneath actually looked pretty good, even in the bottom edge. After it was down to bare wood, I laid it on each side and sanded the crap out of it, wiped it down and started priming.

Stripping begins, at this point I was really second guessing my decision...
(http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d177/LOPWyrm/Retrotron/IMG_20121113_200205.jpg)

Stripping the other side, still not sure if it was the right idea at this point...
(http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d177/LOPWyrm/Retrotron/IMG_20121113_184526.jpg)

Bare Wood HO!
(http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d177/LOPWyrm/Retrotron/IMG_20121114_200328.jpg)

Now, I have the primer on the sides and have repainted the black areas with Flat Matte Black Behr Ultra paint. I have a few low spots in the sides that I have patched and will need to resand them down and reprime tomorrow. But that shouldn't be a problem, as I can prime the sides again and then run to get the material for the stencils while it's drying. I also have the CP primed and 1 coat of black on it at the moment. I'll put another coat of black on both the CP and the cab tomorrow as well.

Primed side, as you can see I don't have the luxury of the spacious garage anymore.
(http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d177/LOPWyrm/Retrotron/DSCF1848.jpg)

1st Coat of the re-painted black areas. Excuse the spots, turns out my lens is super dirty on my camera...
(http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d177/LOPWyrm/Retrotron/DSCF1849.jpg)

Today also marks the 1 week home stretch. This time next week, the cab has to be in place at my buddy's house. That way next Saturday a gaggle of little kids will get to play on it for the 1st time ever. As far as getting this done, I'm pretty confident that I won't have much to worry about. I guess the biggest issue is whether or not the side paint turns out crappy, since it's a 2 part metallic process (damn my need for authenticity!). Or if the stencils bleed under. But I am sure that I have enough painting skill to pull off the 2 part process for this paint and that based on my experience with tape bleeds on SHMUP that I won't let that mistake happen again with the stencils.

Wish me luck, I'll be needing it. 
Title: Re: Retrotron: 1984 (11/16/12 - Paaaaaaint...)
Post by: SpaceHedgehog on November 18, 2012, 04:17:24 am
Looks like a huge amount of effort to get that stripped back. Great job. How are your arms holding up?
Title: Re: Retrotron: 1984 (11/16/12 - Paaaaaaint...)
Post by: sharpfork on November 18, 2012, 11:11:19 am
 :censored:  :banghead: PAAAAINT!  :banghead: :censored:

I'm glad that the most annoying part of the work is done.  This must have been torture:
(http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d177/LOPWyrm/Retrotron/IMG_20121114_200328.jpg)

I find it somewhat humorous that pics of my cab in my basement would have a similar keyboard and elliptical in them.
Title: Re: Retrotron: 1984 (11/16/12 - Paaaaaaint...)
Post by: Ryglore on November 18, 2012, 05:06:20 pm
@SpaceHedgehog Ya it was a bear to do, my arms are good now. Holy crap, I couldn't grasp anything the day after I finished, actually, the 2nd day worth of stripping I had to use both hands to scrape with.

@sharpfolk oh it was, but I just put on my headphones and went into music trance mode. And that's funny about the keyboard and elliptical, I don't even know why we still have it down there, the batteries were left in it and they leaked, so it doesn't work anymore.

Title: Re: Retrotron: 1984 (11/18/12 - More Paaaaaaint, plus CP work & Marquee Light)
Post by: Ryglore on November 19, 2012, 12:57:05 am
This weekend I was able to knock out the base coats and 2 top coats on the sides of the cab. In case I haven't mentioned it, I'm using Valspar Brilliant Metals Pewter Luster for the sides, thanks to Opt2Not again for recommending it as he mentioned to me that it's about as close as I can get to the real thing. Of course that also means that it's a two part process of base coat and top coat to give it that metallic look.

Here's a pic of the side with just the "Weather Fossil" gray on it (I didn't get a picture of the silver top coat yet).
(http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d177/LOPWyrm/Retrotron/IMG_20121118_154409.jpg)

You'll also notice I have the marquee light in place too. It was super easy to install, and I think I may need redo my light on the SHMUP soon. I can't wait to see it lit up. Basically I just took two angle brackets and screwed them to a board, this was then used to screw the Nova Matrix Lynx to and finally screwed into place matching existing holes in the top of the cab. Pretty cake, really.

Mounting the Nova Matrix
(http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d177/LOPWyrm/Retrotron/IMG_20121117_202226.jpg)

Marquee Light in Place
(http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d177/LOPWyrm/Retrotron/IMG_20121118_153223.jpg)

I also have the power on light mounted and the exit and pause buttons hidden in the ceiling of the speaker panel. I used a spare set of Atari Volcanos that were laying around from the Centipede bartop I am slooooowly working on (working being used very lightly here). These were recessed into the speaker panel w/ a forstner bit.

I do love me some hidden buttons.
(http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d177/LOPWyrm/Retrotron/IMG_20121118_153157.jpg)

Since I was waiting for paint to dry, I decided to get to work on the Control Panel tonight. I had previously primed and painted it, and was ready to lay the artwork down. When I ordered it, I had Scott @ Game on Grafix make it adhesive backed so I didn't have to worry about dealing with spray adhesive. It worked really well! The only problem I had was since it was shipped in a tube it wanted to be unwieldy and curl a little. But that's more my fault for not having a place to lay it out until I was ready for it.

Primed and Painted and ready for graphics!
(http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d177/LOPWyrm/Retrotron/IMG_20121117_211209.jpg)

Fancy pants new Retrotron: 1984 CP Art in place!
(http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d177/LOPWyrm/Retrotron/IMG_20121118_194934.jpg)

Now, I'd like to say that it was smooth sailing the entire time I was dealing with the CP art... But when I was locating holes I noticed something and my heart sank, or maybe more like my stomach churned... Every button hole seemed to line up perfectly... EXCEPT the one in the middle of the crosshair. Any other one and I could have not worried about it, but when you're planning on having something centered directly on top of it and it's not it's heartbreaking.

I started cutting the holes and went to that one first. It turned out to be about an 1/8" off center to the left... I could have cryed. And if I had the time, and if it was for myself I would have prolly looked everything over and redone whatever was amiss. I was certain that the art was correct for the placement of the hole, since I made the artwork THEN finalized button placement based off of it. As it turned out, somehow when I was drilling the holes I drilled that one off to the side. I don't know how I managed it. But, well, take a look.

Noooooooooo!
(http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d177/LOPWyrm/Retrotron/IMG_20121118_195613.jpg)

After I finished cutting the holes I fit the joystick into place and gladly both the P1 and P2 joys line up perfectly. But, then as I was mounting the 4 way i realized something wonderful. The holes for the stick are slotted and allow for left/right adjustment! Not only that, but since I couldn't put the dust washer under the CP for the 4 way, that washer sits on top of the artwork... hmm. So I fit the joystick body into place and hoped a little bit. And I was able to move it over.

Joystick mounted in place. Looks like it could work...
(http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d177/LOPWyrm/Retrotron/IMG_20121118_202514.jpg)

Joystick w/ shaft and dustwasher mounted... It looks good! And it doesn't seem noticeable, unless you lift the dustwasher up! (yes!)
(http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d177/LOPWyrm/Retrotron/IMG_20121118_204513.jpg)

And finally here's what she looks like w/ the buttons in place and the other sticks.
(http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d177/LOPWyrm/Retrotron/IMG_20121118_214630.jpg)

I'm now in the midst of wiring the CP. I'm putting the IPAC on the underside of the CP to help save on wire and will be running everything that is on the cab itself down to it. I ended up buying a new soldering iron, because for some reason I can't find my old one and I've been searching for it for 3 days now.

And last but not least, I give you the kickplate. I made it out of a scrap piece of sheet steel and cut it down to size and have drilled a few holes into it for screwing it to the face of the cab. It's plenty thick enough to give that last little bit of support to the bad wood on the face, while being thin enough to not look hokey. I'll be taking it back to work tomorrow with the corner protectors and spraying them all with truck bed liner for added durability. I even painted the screws I am going to use black so they remain hidden from view.

Kickplate all drilled and ready to go.
(http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d177/LOPWyrm/Retrotron/IMG_20121117_094736.jpg)

That should be it for now, other than the minor achievement of making the tokens slide through coin mechs made for quarters. I hope to get the stencils made tomorrow after work. And maybe I can get them painted on the sides on Tuesday, once the paint has set a while. Of course, that all depends on if I need to do a quick wetsand job on the sides to help smooth them out. Sadly, I may have to live with whatever the finish looks like on the main paint... if for not other reason that I only have 4 work days left.

Title: Re: Retrotron: 1984 (11/18/12 - More Paaaaaaint, plus CP work & Marquee Light)
Post by: SpaceHedgehog on November 19, 2012, 03:33:13 am
Thank heavens for large dust washers! Nice recovery.
Title: Re: Retrotron: 1984 (11/18/12 - More Paaaaaaint, plus CP work & Marquee Light)
Post by: emphatic on November 19, 2012, 05:01:21 am
I'd put all three washers on top to make it consistant. :cheers:
Title: Re: Retrotron: 1984 (11/18/12 - More Paaaaaaint, plus CP work & Marquee Light)
Post by: Ryglore on November 19, 2012, 09:19:56 am
Thank heavens for large dust washers! Nice recovery.

I know right? Interestingly, the dust washer on this 4 way is a lot smaller than most washers I've dealt with before. I just got suuuuper lucky.

I'd put all three washers on top to make it consistant. :cheers:

Unfortunately, since the washers are embedded in the CP, that's impossible. But I did show my buddy the pic of it all assembled, and he likes it, so I guess that's all that matters, right?

Btw emph, I was able to finally snag a copy of Mushihime-sama Futari. Thanks for the heads up on it awhile back.  :cheers:
Title: Re: Retrotron: 1984 (11/18/12 - More Paaaaaaint, plus CP work & Marquee Light)
Post by: emphatic on November 19, 2012, 12:07:49 pm
Unfortunately, since the washers are embedded in the CP, that's impossible. But I did show my buddy the pic of it all assembled, and he likes it, so I guess that's all that matters, right?

Btw emph, I was able to finally snag a copy of Mushihime-sama Futari. Thanks for the heads up on it awhile back.  :cheers:

*facepalm* I should have remembered about the dustwashers, dammit. It does look good though. About Futari, get the Black Label DLC, it's a re-balanced version, and a much better game IMHO (search for "Hutari" in the marketplace as it's labelled incorrectly).
Title: Re: Retrotron: 1984 (11/18/12 - More Paaaaaaint, plus CP work & Marquee Light)
Post by: Ryglore on November 19, 2012, 01:01:58 pm
Oh sweet. I'll look into that.
Title: Re: Retrotron: 1984 (11/18/12 - More Paaaaaaint, plus CP work & Marquee Light)
Post by: opt2not on November 19, 2012, 02:13:39 pm
Great progress this weekend bud! The pewter looks great. Did you roll it? And if so, what is the plan for the sparkly second coat?

I gotta ask, couldn't you use another cheap button for the hidden one? 
Seems like a massive waste to use the Atari Volcanoes for that...especially since it was going to be on the Centi-bartop!

Also, if you need a couple extra dust washers for the top, I might have some spares laying around. The zippy's use the same washers as the LS-32's I think.  I can't check my stockpile and see what I have.
Title: Re: Retrotron: 1984 (11/18/12 - More Paaaaaaint, plus CP work & Marquee Light)
Post by: Ryglore on November 19, 2012, 03:04:57 pm
Great progress this weekend bud! The pewter looks great. Did you roll it? And if so, what is the plan for the sparkly second coat?

Yup, I rolled it on. The 2nd coat has been rolled twice now and tonight I'll be wet sanding it. The top coat seems to be slightly more runny than regular paint and has some runs in it. So tonight I'll run and get a couple sanding sponges and get to work smoothing it all out.

Quote
I gotta ask, couldn't you use another cheap button for the hidden one? 
Seems like a massive waste to use the Atari Volcanoes for that...especially since it was going to be on the Centi-bartop!

Oh those aren't the ones I'm using for the Centipede. During the course of the planning of the Centi, I bought 3 sets of volcanoes. These ones were the 1st batch. I've since gotten some lit ones for the Centipede and will be using them for it.

Quote
Also, if you need a couple extra dust washers for the top, I might have some spares laying around. The zippy's use the same washers as the LS-32's I think.  I can't check my stockpile and see what I have.

Nah, it's cool. I like how it looks too and I'm sure his son won't care that one has a dust washer on top and the other 2 are underneath.
Title: Re: Retrotron: 1984 (11/21/12 - Wiring the CP & Cab, Bezel mounted)
Post by: Ryglore on November 21, 2012, 09:15:18 pm
Alrighty, so here's what's happened since the last update.

First I took the corner protectors and the kickplate back to work and sprayed them up with Rustoleum Truck Bed Liner, the can suggests coating it on the piece and then giving it a quick 2nd coat after 2-3 minutes, then follow with a recoat again after an hour. So I put 3 coats on each, which I guess would come out to 6-8 coats of bed liner on them. So, I'm hoping they will hold up fairly well to abuse. I also painted up more screws for mounting the corner brackets to the cab, since the old ones rusted and rotted from moisture. Later on that night I installed the kickplate, and it looks really good on there!

Bed Liner drying on the Kickplate and Corners
(http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d177/LOPWyrm/Retrotron/IMG_20121119_155719.jpg)

Kickplate Installed
(http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d177/LOPWyrm/Retrotron/IMG_20121119_205333.jpg)

While I was working on the Kickplate I devised a way to hold the plexiglass down on the cab. I took a piece of luan and screwed it to the bottom of the bezel area as a small shelf and then took a piece of 3/4" x 3/4" aluminum angle, which I painted black, and screwed it to the edge of the control panel. After checking it I decided I needed to trim the luan back and after a few passes w/ my knife it lays in place nicely.

Painting the Angle
(http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d177/LOPWyrm/Retrotron/IMG_20121119_155753.jpg)

Since I was waiting to paint to fully cure last night I decided to get the CP wired as well. It took a bit, but I did it all while sitting in my living room watching a movie. After it was all set up, I plugged it into the PC for testing, but couldn't understand why the 5 and 6 buttons on either side weren't registering. I did some testing and it was all registering on the ipac programming software, but I couldn't get it to work in mame. I even checked the SHMUP to see if they were working on my cab and they were on the P1 side but not the P2 side... After more testing and frustration I realized that P1 5 and 6 are registered as mouse buttons. The reason why they work on SHMUP is because P1 5 and 6 on that are mouse inputs from my trackball. But I never set up P2 5 and 6 and so it was never working this whole time (shows how many fighting games I play, eh?). So I set them up and went on to test other things. Eventually I got it all working properly and reprogrammed the Ipac's P2 7 and 8 as Esc and P for Exit and Pause while I was at it.

CP all wired.
(http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d177/LOPWyrm/Retrotron/IMG_20121120_005920.jpg)

After this was all done, I went to the basement to install it into the cab. I wired the coin door to the coin inputs on the IPAC and the P2 button 7 and 8 inputs to their respective buttons hidden in the speaker panel. I also ran the ground for the power on button, but not the power line yet. Once everything was wired I placed the CP into the cab and went to work on the bezel.

CP wired into the cab!
(http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d177/LOPWyrm/Retrotron/IMG_20121120_222949.jpg)

The monitor surround slightly worried me, as I was (only for a second) unsure if I had made all my measurements correct. I laid it out on the table and with my metal ruler and xacto blade I went to down cutting the center out of it. Once this was done, I took the plexi and cut it to width. I started out with a 24" x 48" piece of material. Based off of some measurements I took before I started, I was able to determine that 24" was the height I needed to get into the groove in the speaker panel and onto the ledge I made with the luan. So, I only needed to make a single cut. Again w/ the metal ruler and xatco blade, plus my box cutter pocket knife I scored the line on both sides and easily snapped it into a 24" x 22 7/8" piece. I then took it and the bezel to the basement, slid the CP off the cab and put the bezel and plexi into place.

View #1 - Front view, Bezel, plexi and CP mounted!
(http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d177/LOPWyrm/Retrotron/IMG_20121120_232043.jpg)

View #2 - 3/4 view.
(http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d177/LOPWyrm/Retrotron/IMG_20121120_232054.jpg)

Once this was done I called it a night, but not before I placed the marquee on the front really quick to get a feel for how it's going to look when finished! Tonight I'm working on the stencils for the side art and will be painting the blue on shortly. While that's drying I'm going to work on getting the speaker control/sub mounted and get it prepped to take the PC. We're getting into the final stretch! I have to get this done by Friday night. I'm pretty optimistic that I am seeing the light at the end of the tunnel and not that other light... you see when you're dead.  :)

Marquee temporarily in place.
(http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d177/LOPWyrm/Retrotron/IMG_20121120_232332.jpg)
Title: Re: Retrotron: 1984 (11/21/12 - Wiring the CP & Cab, Bezel mounted)
Post by: emphatic on November 22, 2012, 02:39:50 am
 :applaud:
Title: Re: Retrotron: 1984 (11/21/12 - Wiring the CP & Cab, Bezel mounted)
Post by: opt2not on November 22, 2012, 02:47:41 am
Going to copy and paste what I've sent to you here, 'cause I'm sure others will agree:

"One thing I gotta say about your work, is you really can put a theme together and have it be tasteful and appealing! Just like your Shmup cab!
Even though this takes more queues from Robotron, it still is really well applied to the cab's shape and modifications. "

 :applaud: :cheers:
Title: Re: Retrotron: 1984 (11/21/12 - Wiring the CP & Cab, Bezel mounted)
Post by: mgb on November 22, 2012, 10:34:35 am
Going to copy and paste what I've sent to you here, 'cause I'm sure others will agree:

"One thing I gotta say about your work, is you really can put a theme together and have it be tasteful and appealing! Just like your Shmup cab!
Even though this takes more queues from Robotron, it still is really well applied to the cab's shape and modifications. "

 :applaud: :cheers:

definitely agreed.
I normally don't care for a third joystick for a 4-way but this was very tastefully done as well.
Title: Re: Retrotron: 1984 (11/21/12 - Wiring the CP & Cab, Bezel mounted)
Post by: Ryglore on November 22, 2012, 04:43:05 pm
Thanks guys!
Title: Re: Retrotron: 1984 (11/24/12 - Work Complete? Not really...)
Post by: Ryglore on November 24, 2012, 09:23:46 pm
Been really busy the last few days trying to keep on schedule. It included lots of paint, stenciling and wiring. It also included a bit of blood, exhaustion, stress and disappointment. But ended with a happy ending anyway, thanks to a small sacrifice.

I got all of the painting done last night and at 4 am I was able to get the last of it on there, in the form of the Blue N in the logo. I started a few days ago by making stencils out of the frisket film from Hobby Lobby. I ended up having to run out to get sharpies Wednesday night though, which proved to be a pain in the ass, thanks to Thanksgiving. Apparently Staples closes early, and I was forced to go to Meijer and deal with pre-Thanksgiving shoppers.

Once the stencils were made, which I made 2 for the Blue, 2 for the Red and 2 more for the Blue N of the logo. I went into the basement and started laying out the stencils and taping off the stripes for the rest of the graphics. After a bunch of work laying it out I finally had the blue painted on, sometime around 2 am on Thursday morning. But, some of the blue peeled off as I was removing the stencil... this was disappointment #1.

Stencil for the Red lettering
(http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d177/LOPWyrm/Retrotron/IMG_20121121_232017.jpg)

Sides taped off for the blue paint
(http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d177/LOPWyrm/Retrotron/IMG_20121122_010651.jpg)

Blue painted on, the other side looked way worse.
(http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d177/LOPWyrm/Retrotron/IMG_20121122_132015.jpg)

The next day I laid out the stencil for the red and stripes and then rolled the red on. I first mixed some of my primer with some of my red and rolled that on to help cover the blue. Once that was dry, I rolled on the red and it covered the blue no problem. Once that was dry, I used my xacto knife to slice the edges to keep them from peeling away. This time I had no problems and red looked great. After the red had dried I went back over with some tape and a paint brush and fixed all of the blue that had ripped.

Painting on the Red
(http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d177/LOPWyrm/Retrotron/IMG_20121123_204002.jpg)

Red strips and lettering on the side!
(http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d177/LOPWyrm/Retrotron/IMG_20121123_235030.jpg)

While the paint was drying I worked on mounting the sub for the speaker. This was pretty simple and I mounted it behind the coin door so he can access the volume, bass and treble easily. Thanks to a couple angle brackets and one of the holders from the window bolts I used on the CP It hangs in place nicely.

Rear view
(http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d177/LOPWyrm/Retrotron/IMG_20121123_213414.jpg)

Front view
(http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d177/LOPWyrm/Retrotron/IMG_20121123_213451.jpg)

When this was all set I went to work setting up the PC. I hooked it all up to the cab and turned it on, loaded up Mala and couldn't get any of the controls on P1 side to work. The P1 Start button, all 6 buttons and all but the right joystick weren't operational. At this point the CP was screwed into place, the sub was mounted and I had a bunch more cables in the way. But, since the CP wasn't working I needed to get to it to work on it. This was disappointment #2 and I ended up needing to undo everything I had just done to get to the CP to fix it. Turns out, it was  a ground issue and I needed to redo all the grounds on the P1 side of things.

I ended up staying up until 5 am last night working on things. I sliced open my finger and bled all over the underside of the CP. The last thing I did last night was get back to work mounting the PC and... somehow... I bricked it.  :cry:  :cry: This was disappointment #3 and I nearly cracked because of it. I spent the rest of the night trying to figure out what I did, but just made things worse and now all that happens when I load up the PC is it beeps at me. I seriously went to bed last night defeated, with no idea what to do. But before I went to bed, I was able to stencil the the N logo on the red circle.

Fully painted and assembled.
(http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d177/LOPWyrm/Retrotron/IMG_20121124_141007.jpg)

So today after looking into it some more, I decided that the only way to keep on schedule was to do something... drastic? I ended up pulling the PC from the SHMUP, converting all the graphics to the Retrotron layout and setting it up w/ a playlist for 4 way games and deleted the trackball list. This will give me time to look into fixing the PC, while still keeping on schedule w/ the 6pm deadline that was staring me in the face. This was the sacrifice.

Around 3pm my buddy showed up and we ran to my work to get the truck. He brought his son along and I took him into the basement to look at it. And he was thinking it looked really sweet. But still seemed clueless that it was theirs, until his dad was like "Guess what? This it ours. Remember that arcade we picked up last month so Scott could work on it for his friend? This is the same one!" After that he was speechless, which rarely happens, and he was all grins and super excited. It took a little bit of man handling to get it out of my basement and in the midst of bringing it up the stairs we scratched on of the red stripes and the 8 on one side... this was disappointment #4.

We ran for the truck and loaded it up then headed to his house to bring it to his basement. On the way there I noticed a few people checking it out as we drove passed, which is always a good feeling. When I got there the youngest son was there and saw it and I think he was even more excited about it that his brother was. I hooked up the PC and slid it into place, just in time for the 1st guests for their sleep over to show up. And at this moment there is a group of 7-8 year olds calling dibs on next turns on the Retrotron. It was totally worth all the work, problems and set backs just to see their faces. It reminded me of when we were kids at an arcade grouping around the latest game in the place in awe. It was really heartwarming to see a bunch of little kids digging all the work I put into it.

My buddy's youngest son playing the Retrotron for the 1st time. Super cute.
(http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d177/LOPWyrm/Retrotron/IMG_20121124_175711.jpg)

And the Retrotron marquee lit up with the Nova Matrix Lynx, it looks really good!
(http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d177/LOPWyrm/Retrotron/IMG_20121124_182216.jpg)

Now if you'll excuse me, I have some beer to drink and relaxing to do. Then, maybe in a day or so I'll get to work fixing the PC for the Retrotron. If i get it fixed and swapped I'll post some updates on it.


Title: Re: Retrotron: 1984 (11/24/12 - Work Completed? Not Really...)
Post by: opt2not on November 26, 2012, 05:59:55 pm
Congrats on getting it done in time!  Sorry to hear about the hiccups along the way to finalizing, but it looks like all-in-all it turned out really nice. The corner protectors are a nice touch.   :applaud:
And the stenciling looks really awesome from these photos. I'm a huge fan of hand-stenciling, it's easy to do, and most of all cheap! :) :D

Did you get a chance to update the FE screen with the new Robotron guy I sent you?

I bet that beer and relaxation time was extra sweet to enjoy.   :cheers:

Title: Re: Retrotron: 1984 (11/24/12 - Work Completed? Not Really...)
Post by: TGov on November 26, 2012, 07:18:29 pm
Good job!  What model monitor is that?
Title: Re: Retrotron: 1984 (11/24/12 - Work Completed? Not Really...)
Post by: Ryglore on November 26, 2012, 08:38:58 pm
Congrats on getting it done in time!  Sorry to hear about the hiccups along the way to finalizing, but it looks like all-in-all it turned out really nice. The corner protectors are a nice touch.   :applaud:
And the stenciling looks really awesome from these photos. I'm a huge fan of hand-stenciling, it's easy to do, and most of all cheap! :) :D

Did you get a chance to update the FE screen with the new Robotron guy I sent you?

I bet that beer and relaxation time was extra sweet to enjoy.   :cheers:

Thanks! Ya, it seemed to snowball a lot near the end and I was quickly losing my sanity. I wish I had been able to go w/o the corner protectors but the wood on the bottom is kinda not trustworthy. So the protectors went back on, and it's a good thing too. It was only me and my friend loading and unloading and we had to set it down on the rear corners a few times.

I'm super pleased with the way the stenciling turned out in the end too. And I did update the FE Screen, but I didn't get a screenshot of it. Here's what it ended up looking like (done in photoshop). It turned out really well! Thanks!

(http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d177/LOPWyrm/Retrotron/MalaScreenshot_Updated.jpg)

Good job!  What model monitor is that?

Thanks TGov! But I have no idea what model monitor this is. It was already in the cab and though I was around when it was originally mounted into the cab, I don't have a clue as to what brand it is.
Title: Re: Retrotron: 1984 (11/24/12 - Work Completed? Not Really...)
Post by: DaOld Man on November 26, 2012, 09:50:42 pm
Great job!
I must admit I had my doubts about the finish on the sides but it turned out great!
 :applaud: :applaud: :applaud:
Title: Re: Retrotron: 1984 (11/24/12 - Work Completed? Not Really...)
Post by: Ryglore on November 26, 2012, 10:44:10 pm
Thanks!  :cheers:

I'd be lying if I said I didn't doubt it for a second. After the 1st coat I was on the fence, but after the second coat and adequate drying time I really liked how it came out. Plus it gave me an idea on how to do metallic on another (much smaller project) I'm working on.
Title: Re: Retrotron: 1984 (11/24/12 - Work Completed? Not Really...)
Post by: rockyrocket on November 28, 2012, 04:26:22 am
I like the stencilling job - want to try that myself.
Never tried it but I have been told that T-cut is good for leveling out any raised edges left by the tape.
And boy did my hart sink with that control panel "situation"  :) .
Maybe you could make a feature of the dust cap - make it a bit bigger and print some extra art for it?.
Loving it so far though.
Title: Re: Retrotron: 1984 (11/24/12 - Work Completed? Not Really...)
Post by: Ryglore on November 28, 2012, 08:45:50 am
I get what you're saying, but the only way I could do something like that is to use a sticker on the dust washer. But, he's happy with the cab the way it is, so I'm not gonna worry about it.
Title: Re: Retrotron: 1984 (11/24/12 - Work Completed? Not Really...)
Post by: rockyrocket on November 28, 2012, 09:35:06 am
I get what you're saying, but the only way I could do something like that is to use a sticker on the dust washer. But, he's happy with the cab the way it is, so I'm not gonna worry about it.
Yeah thats what I meant - but if he is happy then its all good.
Title: Re: Retrotron: 1984 (11/24/12 - Work Completed? Not Really...)
Post by: Jigenjuke on November 28, 2012, 05:46:30 pm
Been really busy the last few days trying to keep on schedule. It included lots of paint, stenciling and wiring. It also included a bit of blood, exhaustion, stress and disappointment. But ended with a happy ending anyway, thanks to a small sacrifice.

I got all of the painting done last night and at 4 am I was able to get the last of it on there, in the form of the Blue N in the logo. I started a few days ago by making stencils out of the frisket film from Hobby Lobby. I ended up having to run out to get sharpies Wednesday night though, which proved to be a pain in the ass, thanks to Thanksgiving. Apparently Staples closes early, and I was forced to go to Meijer and deal with pre-Thanksgiving shoppers.

Once the stencils were made, which I made 2 for the Blue, 2 for the Red and 2 more for the Blue N of the logo. I went into the basement and started laying out the stencils and taping off the stripes for the rest of the graphics. After a bunch of work laying it out I finally had the blue painted on, sometime around 2 am on Thursday morning. But, some of the blue peeled off as I was removing the stencil... this was disappointment #1.

Stencil for the Red lettering
(http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d177/LOPWyrm/Retrotron/IMG_20121121_232017.jpg)

Sides taped off for the blue paint
(http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d177/LOPWyrm/Retrotron/IMG_20121122_010651.jpg)

Blue painted on, the other side looked way worse.
(http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d177/LOPWyrm/Retrotron/IMG_20121122_132015.jpg)

The next day I laid out the stencil for the red and stripes and then rolled the red on. I first mixed some of my primer with some of my red and rolled that on to help cover the blue. Once that was dry, I rolled on the red and it covered the blue no problem. Once that was dry, I used my xacto knife to slice the edges to keep them from peeling away. This time I had no problems and red looked great. After the red had dried I went back over with some tape and a paint brush and fixed all of the blue that had ripped.

Painting on the Red
(http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d177/LOPWyrm/Retrotron/IMG_20121123_204002.jpg)

Red strips and lettering on the side!
(http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d177/LOPWyrm/Retrotron/IMG_20121123_235030.jpg)

While the paint was drying I worked on mounting the sub for the speaker. This was pretty simple and I mounted it behind the coin door so he can access the volume, bass and treble easily. Thanks to a couple angle brackets and one of the holders from the window bolts I used on the CP It hangs in place nicely.

Rear view
(http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d177/LOPWyrm/Retrotron/IMG_20121123_213414.jpg)

Front view
(http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d177/LOPWyrm/Retrotron/IMG_20121123_213451.jpg)

When this was all set I went to work setting up the PC. I hooked it all up to the cab and turned it on, loaded up Mala and couldn't get any of the controls on P1 side to work. The P1 Start button, all 6 buttons and all but the right joystick weren't operational. At this point the CP was screwed into place, the sub was mounted and I had a bunch more cables in the way. But, since the CP wasn't working I needed to get to it to work on it. This was disappointment #2 and I ended up needing to undo everything I had just done to get to the CP to fix it. Turns out, it was  a ground issue and I needed to redo all the grounds on the P1 side of things.

I ended up staying up until 5 am last night working on things. I sliced open my finger and bled all over the underside of the CP. The last thing I did last night was get back to work mounting the PC and... somehow... I bricked it.  :cry:  :cry: This was disappointment #3 and I nearly cracked because of it. I spent the rest of the night trying to figure out what I did, but just made things worse and now all that happens when I load up the PC is it beeps at me. I seriously went to bed last night defeated, with no idea what to do. But before I went to bed, I was able to stencil the the N logo on the red circle.

Fully painted and assembled.
(http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d177/LOPWyrm/Retrotron/IMG_20121124_141007.jpg)

So today after looking into it some more, I decided that the only way to keep on schedule was to do something... drastic? I ended up pulling the PC from the SHMUP, converting all the graphics to the Retrotron layout and setting it up w/ a playlist for 4 way games and deleted the trackball list. This will give me time to look into fixing the PC, while still keeping on schedule w/ the 6pm deadline that was staring me in the face. This was the sacrifice.

Around 3pm my buddy showed up and we ran to my work to get the truck. He brought his son along and I took him into the basement to look at it. And he was thinking it looked really sweet. But still seemed clueless that it was theirs, until his dad was like "Guess what? This it ours. Remember that arcade we picked up last month so Scott could work on it for his friend? This is the same one!" After that he was speechless, which rarely happens, and he was all grins and super excited. It took a little bit of man handling to get it out of my basement and in the midst of bringing it up the stairs we scratched on of the red stripes and the 8 on one side... this was disappointment #4.

We ran for the truck and loaded it up then headed to his house to bring it to his basement. On the way there I noticed a few people checking it out as we drove passed, which is always a good feeling. When I got there the youngest son was there and saw it and I think he was even more excited about it that his brother was. I hooked up the PC and slid it into place, just in time for the 1st guests for their sleep over to show up. And at this moment there is a group of 7-8 year olds calling dibs on next turns on the Retrotron. It was totally worth all the work, problems and set backs just to see their faces. It reminded me of when we were kids at an arcade grouping around the latest game in the place in awe. It was really heartwarming to see a bunch of little kids digging all the work I put into it.

My buddy's youngest son playing the Retrotron for the 1st time. Super cute.
(http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d177/LOPWyrm/Retrotron/IMG_20121124_175711.jpg)

And the Retrotron marquee lit up with the Nova Matrix Lynx, it looks really good!
(http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d177/LOPWyrm/Retrotron/IMG_20121124_182216.jpg)

Now if you'll excuse me, I have some beer to drink and relaxing to do. Then, maybe in a day or so I'll get to work fixing the PC for the Retrotron. If i get it fixed and swapped I'll post some updates on it.




Ryglore, great work man!

I feel your pain on the stencils mate, but I think they turned out looking great!  Trying to fix my stenciling problems has gound my projects to a halt until I can figure out a better way to do what I need to do....

Jigenjuke
Title: Re: Retrotron: 1984 (11/24/12 - Work Completed? Not Really...)
Post by: maffewl on November 28, 2012, 05:51:45 pm
Looks great!  Love the stencil work!  :applaud:
Title: Re: Retrotron: 1984 (11/24/12 - Work Completed? Not Really...)
Post by: Ryglore on December 04, 2012, 03:23:31 pm
Ryglore, great work man!

I feel your pain on the stencils mate, but I think they turned out looking great!  Trying to fix my stenciling problems has gound my projects to a halt until I can figure out a better way to do what I need to do....

Jigenjuke

Thanks! I found that Frisket Film from Hobby Lobby worked really well. But I had to make sure to cut the paint with my knife before I pulled it. After I did that the rest of the stencils went really well. Also, I used Frog Tape for the stripes and that stuff worked amazingly well, I wish I had used it on my SHMUP cab. No under runs at all.

Looks great!  Love the stencil work!  :applaud:

Thanks man. I was a nervous wreck the whole time I was doing them.  :cheers:

A small little update:

Tomorrow I am taking the PC for the Retrotron to madk's house. He's a lot better with PC hardware than I am, so I'm hoping we can get this thing figured out. If so I should be swapping "boards" soon. I hope so anyway, we are having a New Years Eve party this year and I really want to have the SHMUP up and running (and possibly upgraded) for it.
Title: Re: Retrotron: 1984 (12/12/12 - It's ALIIIIIVE! ...again)
Post by: Ryglore on December 13, 2012, 12:44:19 am
Good news!

Today I took the PC for the Retrotron over to Madk's house to have him look it over, since he is waaaaay more tech savvy than me and better with computer stuff too. So after about an hour or so of look it over, testing things and removing things that aren't vital to the operation of a Mame machine, we were able to get it to boot up!

First he was able to get it to the screen I had seen before I "bricked" it. Then we go it to load up to the settings menus and finally we got it into Windows. It popped up a login screen, which I'll have to play with to make sure it never shows up again (which I think I have done, so far), and then it loaded right into Mala after that. I played around with Instant Sheller to try to keep the login screen from showing and did a few other tweaks while I was in it too. Also, for some reason the gamelist for 4 way games vanished, so I romlisted it again and got that back in order too.

Now, I just need to look it all over and play with rigging the power on button and tie into the 12v feed and ground for the marquee light and coin door lights. Hopefully that's not too much of a problem and I can get my PC back into the SHUMP. I've been itching to play some games at my house and I'm wanting to do some upgrades while I'm at it.

I'll post another update when I get the power button figured out and the PCs swapped. But for now, I'm very happy. :D
Title: Re: Retrotron: 1984 (12/26/12 - Solving the Power Button)
Post by: Ryglore on December 26, 2012, 12:58:27 pm
Alrighty.  I'm not the most tech savvy person in my circle of friends, but I know enough to get myself in trouble. I had to figure out the power on button for the PC. It was really confusing me, because it's on a board with USB sockets and audio jacks attached to the mobo with a ribbon cable... Unlike my PC for the SHMUP which was a simple button with 2 wires going to the motherboard that I could just cut off and replace the button with an arcade button and longer wires.

After some fiddling around with it a little bit I decided to hit the contacts on the back of the board with a piece of wire to see if I could short it across and get it to start up. I tried multiple combinations of the contacts, but it only seemed to fire up if all 4 were hit. After a few more attempts I was convinced that all 4 contacts needed to be hit in order to get it to mimic the button I was bypassing.

So, soldering iron in hand, I went to work adding wires to the backside of the button. I had to have the girlfriend hold the wire in place while I steadied the iron w/ both hands, since it was such a tight space and was extremely close to the ribbon cable and I didn't want to risk burning it. It was really nerve wracking, especially since I had already almost completely screwed this PC up once.

First 2 wires soldered on.
(http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d177/LOPWyrm/Retrotron/IMG_20121222_221953.jpg)

2nd set of wires soldered on. I used Red to help me tell which was which once the cover was on.
(http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d177/LOPWyrm/Retrotron/IMG_20121222_223010.jpg)

Wired to a temp microswitch to test everything out.
(http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d177/LOPWyrm/Retrotron/IMG_20121222_223555.jpg)

I got everything done and hooked it up to my monitor and a keyboard/mouse. Hit the switch and... nothing. Fuuuuuuuuu.... I thought I screwed up the PC again. So, I cut the disconnects off of the wires and started touching them all together to see what happened and when I twisted the 2 red wires together it started to kick on, but stopped. So I tried just touching them quick and it booted right up!

Red wires on the microswitch for testing.
(http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d177/LOPWyrm/Retrotron/IMG_20121222_224252.jpg)

Apparently the green wires are unneeded and I just needed to connect the 2 legs on the button. I did some boots on it and did a few run throughs and everything went smooth w/o any issues. I then cut the green wires off the legs and ran some wire to the 12v and ground for the marquee light and we should be all set.

So, tonight I'm running to swap PCs and while I'm there he needs me to remove the flaps on the coin returns and I'm bringing the red paint, tape and a brush to touch up the couple scrapes in the side art from when we moved it out of my basement. It's a good thing too, I was really starting to itch for some arcade gaming.

EDIT: Adding a little side by side action in here.
(http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d177/LOPWyrm/Side_By_side.jpg)

Title: Re: Retrotron: 1984 (12/27/12 - PC Installed & Project Officially Complete!)
Post by: Ryglore on December 27, 2012, 09:43:59 am
I braved a pretty killer snowstorm last night in order to do the PC swap on the Retrotron. But thanks to a few wire nuts and the forethought to label each wire before I left, everything when super smooth. I pulled the SHMUP's PC out of the cab, undid the wiring and set it off to the side. Then I laid the Retrotron's PC into the bottom of the cab, case and all (decided against decasing it since I've already had plenty of headaches w/ this PC), and hooked up the 4 wires hanging out the front of it.

Before I slid it back into place, I test fired it to make sure it was all set to go. The PC fired up, and I showed my buddy the load up sequence for the first time. When he saw it, he seemed like he was almost as excited about the cab as he was when we first moved it into place. Once we knew everything was ready and good to go, we moved the cab back into place and I did a few tests on it to make sure everything was all set. Knocked out some Frogger, Robotron, Raiden, Street Fighter II', and a few others. No glitches in the system and all of the buttons worked like normal.

Once I was happy that there were no issues that cropped up, I loaded the SHMUP into my car, covered in a black trash bag to keep it safe from snow and braved the snow storm for another 40 minutes to get home. I then promptly installed it back into it's rightful place and converted the graphics back to my SHMUP layout and fixed my playlists back to normal, all the while contemplating a few, much needed, upgrades.

So now I can honestly say, work has been completed on the Retrotron: 1984! It was a fun project, but was filled with anxiety, frustration and nervous prayers. I even managed to rack up a few injuries on the way. But all in all it was totally worth every minute, especially when I go over there and see my buddy's kids and their friends rocking out on it. Much like when we were kids at the arcade.
Title: Re: Retrotron: 1984 (12/27/12 - PC Installed & Project Officially Complete!)
Post by: Jumpman64 on December 27, 2012, 10:09:49 am
Quote
especially when I go over there and see my buddy's kids and their friends rocking out on it. Much like when we were kids at the arcade.

That's what it's all about, isn't it?  Well done! :applaud:
Title: Re: Retrotron: 1984 (12/27/12 - PC Installed & Project Officially Complete!)
Post by: Ryglore on December 27, 2012, 10:29:58 am
Yup. I don't have any kids, so I've never seen a bunch of them go nuts over my cab. It was super cute seeing them all fight for turns the first night we had it in place. Its totally different than a guy my age enjoying it for nostalgia, its all new to them and they are making memories as they go.
Title: Re: Retrotron: 1984 (5/3/14) Death of Retrotron: 1984
Post by: Ryglore on May 03, 2014, 11:38:14 pm
Sad sad news.

Today while I was gaming with the buddy I built the Retrotron: 1984 for, he told me that his basement flooded and sewer backed up. He says that the basement was flooded roughly 6-8 inches deep with sewer water and as a result, the cabinet was severely damaged. I've yet to see it, but he was saying something about it being possibly fixable (by cutting it down passed the water line). But then he'd need to put it up on to a bench or stand to make up the difference in height.

I told him that it could be possible for me to cut the bad parts off of the cabinet and perhaps splice in a new piece. Then repaint it to match. If the damage was only up about 8 inches, that would mean that the stenciling should have survived and it's only a matter of repainting the special metallic pewter. It could maybe work, but I don't really know. I'm glad nothing else in his house was damaged. All of his high end electronics and game collection was safely up off the ground. It's just really sad  about the cabinet. There was a lot of love put into this cabinet. I'd even say that it came out much nicer than the SHMUP.

I hope that we can possibly restore the Retrotron: 1984 back to it's former glory. But at this point in time, I'm not sure if it's going to happen or not.

R.I.P Retrotron: 1984  :cry:
Title: Re: Retrotron: 1984 (5/3/14) Death of Retrotron: 1984
Post by: Malenko on May 04, 2014, 09:41:26 am
This was a great cab with a great theme, Im sure it can be saved!
Title: Re: Retrotron: 1984 (5/3/14) Death of Retrotron: 1984
Post by: yotsuya on May 04, 2014, 01:58:06 pm
I'm repairing a Galaga cabinet where I had to cut off a whole foot on one side. 4 inches on the front, 7 on the other side, and I had to replace the entire back. It can be done. Save that cab! Go for it!  :cheers:
Title: Re: Retrotron: 1984 (5/3/14) Death of Retrotron: 1984
Post by: Ryglore on May 05, 2014, 09:17:16 am
This was a great cab with a great theme, Im sure it can be saved!

I'm repairing a Galaga cabinet where I had to cut off a whole foot on one side. 4 inches on the front, 7 on the other side, and I had to replace the entire back. It can be done. Save that cab! Go for it!  :cheers:

Thanks guys. I'm slightly hopefully and mentioned it to my buddy. Luckily I have the special paint I used for the sides still and I'm thinking I should be able to get it to match. Might be tricky, but at least it'll be back together. I still don't know what the plan is yet or how I'm going to get it to somewhere where I can work on it.

But if it is a go I'll make sure to post a new update for sure.
Title: Re: Retrotron: 1984 (5/3/14) Death of Retrotron: 1984
Post by: diggso on September 10, 2018, 03:58:54 pm
I've just come across this and was amazed as I'm currently putting together a take on the european version of robotron. Great job on the artwork - that's where I'm stuck at right now.
Shame what happened to this, will try to post up the mine in the projects.
Title: Re: Retrotron: 1984 (5/3/14) Death of Retrotron: 1984
Post by: Ryglore on September 10, 2018, 04:15:53 pm
Thanks!

I should have replied, but he managed to get it all cleaned up, with no damage to the body or hardware!

The SHMUP on the other hand had a hardware failure about 4 months ago and has officially died. It sits in my living room still and one day I'll rework it with a retro pi or something. But I haven't had the time or resources to jump into that project yet.
Title: Re: Retrotron: 1984 (5/3/14) Death of Retrotron: 1984
Post by: diggso on September 10, 2018, 04:23:13 pm
Good to hear!
I'm gonna have to go through your build in detail and I hope you don't mind if I throw the odd question your way. I did manage to source some pretty legit looking adobe illustrator files of the european robotron artwork so hopefully i can adapt them. Cheers.
Title: Re: Retrotron: 1984 (5/3/14) Death of Retrotron: 1984
Post by: opt2not on September 10, 2018, 04:28:29 pm
Good to see you posting again, Ryglore!  :cheers:
Title: Re: Retrotron: 1984 (5/3/14) Death of Retrotron: 1984
Post by: Ryglore on September 10, 2018, 04:35:30 pm
Heya buddy!

With the death of SHMUP, I was kicking around an idea for a Street Fighter IV cab. We'll see what happens. I still have that spare cab in my shed.  ;)
Title: Re: Retrotron: 1984 (5/3/14) Death of Retrotron: 1984
Post by: Ryglore on September 10, 2018, 04:38:32 pm
Good to hear!
I'm gonna have to go through your build in detail and I hope you don't mind if I throw the odd question your way. I did manage to source some pretty legit looking adobe illustrator files of the european robotron artwork so hopefully i can adapt them. Cheers.

Fire away, I love this community and though I've been away a long time I am fully game to help out where I can!