The NEW Build Your Own Arcade Controls
Main => Project Announcements => Topic started by: paulscade on July 13, 2008, 01:41:16 pm
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SO... after watching a podcast [Systm] of Patrick and David building a MAME cabinet:
http://revision3.com/systm/mamecase
I decided that I could do it too. It's something that I've always wanted to do and watching this "inspired me".
Over the next couple of days or so... I'll post the progress of a cabinet that I started in Mid-March 2008.
The first thing to do was to arm myself with some information. The podcast recommended the Project Arcade book... so that's where I started.
I went to a few local book stores but the book was nowhere to be found. Everyone could order it (but, then, so could I). A little shopping on the Internet and I found one for a good price.
I'd say that I spent a good 3 months reading and researching before I finally decided to begin.
I had picked a "two-part" cabinet for my build because I liked the way that it looked. At first, I didn't know that it (the cabinet style) had an official name. I saw photos on this board and elsewhere but didn't know what it was called. I searched everywhere for plans without luck.
Until... right under my nose... I found plans... on the CD in the back of the very book that I was using as reference.... the cabinet... The Ultimate Arcade II.
I decided to build my cabinet from 5/8" MDF. I was planning on some modifications to the original plans (more on that later) so I wanted the cabinet to be as light as possible while still using MDF (as it's easy to work with).
Little did I know that I wouldn't be able to find 5/8" MDF anywhere. I ended up ordering it from a local lumber store and I had to wait about 3 weeks for delivery.
And so the project started... with my 3 sheets of 5/8" MDF...
(http://i312.photobucket.com/albums/ll340/pkopp10027/Arcade%20Project/P1014083.jpg)
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The original plans called for the cabinet to sit directly on the ground... no casters. I wanted to be able to move the thing around. I modified the plans a bit to allow for a recessed base that would accommodate nice heavyweight casters. I didn't want to see wheels.
I also did some rough weight calculations.... 5/8" MDF sheets were in the neighborhood of 70 something pounds each. The monitor I chose is 100 pounds. Controls, computer, etc... this was going to be a heavy cabinet.
I didn't think that 5/8 MDF would be good to hold all that weight, so I decided to build the base using a 2x4 frame with a 3/4" Plywood base. I would then mount the casters to the 3/4" plywood.
Time to start cutting:
(http://i312.photobucket.com/albums/ll340/pkopp10027/Arcade%20Project/P1014086.jpg)
(http://i312.photobucket.com/albums/ll340/pkopp10027/Arcade%20Project/P1014090.jpg)
Many of the parts have been cut, it's time to start building the frame for the base:
(http://i312.photobucket.com/albums/ll340/pkopp10027/Arcade%20Project/IMG_1035.jpg)
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2 things -
First, the 5/8ths material will limit your T-molding options. Assuming your doing T-molding and paint. If you use 1/16" laminate on each side - you'll hit the 3/4" mark that will allow you the most options for T-molding. Even at 5/8ths though - you get a decent selection of colors:
http://www.t-molding.com
Second - on the show they routed for T-molding after the cabinet was assembled. This is much more difficult and dangerous (if you hit a screw). Route your t-molding slot BEFORE assembly.
Good luck - have fun.
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Time to put some more of this together... Let's see... Tab A into Slot B...
(up to now... I've got about 16 hours invested in the project)
(http://i312.photobucket.com/albums/ll340/pkopp10027/Arcade%20Project/IMG_1053.jpg)
(http://i312.photobucket.com/albums/ll340/pkopp10027/Arcade%20Project/IMG_1062.jpg)
(http://i312.photobucket.com/albums/ll340/pkopp10027/Arcade%20Project/IMG_1060.jpg)
Time to install that plywood base and the casters:
(http://i312.photobucket.com/albums/ll340/pkopp10027/Arcade%20Project/IMG_1065.jpg)
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Hey leapinlew,
I decided not to use laminate as the plan called for. I'm [possibly] going with a custom paint job.... this artist did an excellent job on my neighbors wall... real talent... I'm considering custom art for the sides (I'm still undecided).
... I've already got the 5/8" T-Molding and the slots cut. More on that later.. I just thought that I'd post a quick response.
Tkx! though for the comments!!
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Ya know what... I just realized that I didn't mention the slot cutting.
BEFORE any assembly I did the slot cutting for the T-molding. All the way around the base sections and all the way around the top sections. It was the first time ever that I used a router. No problems... the MDF cut like butter.
There a bit of a story about that too. I had a heck of a time trying to find a 1/16" slot cutting bit at the local home stores (Home Depot, Ace Hardware, Harbor Freight). I bought a slot cutter bit from Harbor Freight... and then later realized that I had purchased a 1/2" shank and I had a 1/4" shank router. :hissy: I returned it but found that they had no 1/4" left on the shelf. After more searching, I ended up finding the 1/16" slot cutter bit at Home Depot... on the clearence rack... for $8. What a deal.
Edit: corrected mistake of specifying 1/6" slot cutter.
If you look... you'll see that the slots are already there.
(http://i312.photobucket.com/albums/ll340/pkopp10027/Arcade%20Project/IMG_1062.jpg)
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I realized that my base modification had left me with an exposed 2x4 frame... with bolts sticking through. This makes it a bit clunky when trying to place a computer in the cabinet (having to workaround the bolts).
I decided to add a MDF base above the frame. I used the extra space to my advantage... to make a coin box (of sorts). Later, I'll find a plastic bin that fits in the space that I've created.
(http://i312.photobucket.com/albums/ll340/pkopp10027/Arcade%20Project/P1014094.jpg)
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The base section is now almost complete. I'm 33 hours into the project.
(http://i312.photobucket.com/albums/ll340/pkopp10027/Arcade%20Project/P1014093.jpg)
(http://i312.photobucket.com/albums/ll340/pkopp10027/Arcade%20Project/P1014100.jpg)
(http://i312.photobucket.com/albums/ll340/pkopp10027/Arcade%20Project/P1014101.jpg)
Humm... I don't have a good shot of the keyboard drawer. But I was working on that at the same time as the base. The slides came from Home Depot.
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Just a slight setback. There's even a warning on the plans... REMOVE the keyboard drawer when moving the cabinet.
I've been wheeling this cabinet in and out of the garage to work on it. We normally park both cars in the garage. There's a step up to get to the garage door leading to the house.
As I lifted one end of the cabinet to get it up the step... the keyboard drawer came flying out of the cabinet... it hit the concrete at just the right angle to snap it (the front of the drawer from the bottom with the slides). :'( I wasn't happy. Fortunately, the screws bent but held it together enough to make repair relatively easy.
Another mod that's not shown in the photos... to protect the lower edges of the cabinet, I bought some steel angle iron at Home Depot. The angle iron runs along the left and right sides at the bottom and it's mounted on the inside of the cabinet so you don't see it. I figured that it would protect the delicate MDF as I move it up and down the step in the garage.... and wherever else I move it.
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Time to get the top section into place.
I should say... I've been using #8, 1.5" screws and a good wood glue to put this thing together. I first drill 1/8" pilot holes. Then, each hole is drilled about 5/16" deep with a 3/8" bit. I bought a 3/8" plug cutter and drilled plugs from scrap MDF. Once the screws are in place, I hammer in a MDF plug with a rubber mallet.
Here the top section going together.
(http://i312.photobucket.com/albums/ll340/pkopp10027/Arcade%20Project/IMG_1186.jpg)
(http://i312.photobucket.com/albums/ll340/pkopp10027/Arcade%20Project/IMG_1188.jpg)
(http://i312.photobucket.com/albums/ll340/pkopp10027/Arcade%20Project/IMG_1190.jpg)
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After more searching, I ended up finding the 1/6" slot cutter bit at Home Depot... on the clearence rack... for $8. What a deal.
one sixth of an inch? Have you tested your t-molding in the slot yet? We normally use 1/16th.
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Time to work on the monitor mount.
I actually ordered and received the monitor early in the project. I needed to order early because I wanted to insure that the cabinet width would accommodate the monitor. I also wanted to be sure that I built the cabinet wide enough for the monitor but not too wide that it wouldn't fit through the doorways.
The monitor that I chose was the 27" Makvision High Resolution monitor from Happ. Shipping was killer... but I really wanted that monitor (I hope that I made the right decision).
My wife and I lifted the 100 pound monitor into place so I could mark up the cabinet for the mounts. I used 2x4 in just the right places for the mounting bolts. The monitor came back out and I glued and screwed the mounting 2x4's into place.
(http://i312.photobucket.com/albums/ll340/pkopp10027/Arcade%20Project/IMG_1199.jpg)
Edit: I had originally posted that this was the Tri Mode from Happ.
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After more searching, I ended up finding the 1/6" slot cutter bit at Home Depot... on the clearence rack... for $8. What a deal.
one sixth of an inch? Have you tested your t-molding in the slot yet? We normally use 1/16th.
heh... that's got to be a typo. ;D
The arcade is looking very nice so far. 33 hours is nothing - I'd probably only have the keyboard drawer cut out in that time.
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Yup... I fixed the typo. The spell checked didn't catch that. ;D Let's make that a 1/16" slot....
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Well, I'm at 40 hours now... and it's time to build the control panel box.
After some measuring, I came up with box.
(http://i312.photobucket.com/albums/ll340/pkopp10027/Arcade%20Project/IMG_1202.jpg)
3.5 hours later... I had the control panel box built.
(http://i312.photobucket.com/albums/ll340/pkopp10027/Arcade%20Project/IMG_1204.jpg)
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Looking really good. Nice, clean, solid. I haven't been counting the hours I'm spending. If I did, I'd cry.
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... and what an UGLY box is was.
The longer I had it sitting on the cabinet, the more I hated it.
Needless to say... that control panel box now sits in the garage holding household cleaners.
I decided that 3.5 hours wasn't that much time to throw away so a redesign was in order. BUT... I had used up the larger scraps of MDF. It was time to visit the store for some more MDF. Luckily, I still had a largish piece of 5/8" for the control panel top (perfect, as once I add plexi, it's be the perfect 3/4" for the T-molding).
I decided to build the new control panel box from 3/4" MDF (mainly because I wasn't about to special order a sheet of 5/8" just for a control panel).
When I went to the check out at Home Depot, my 1/4 sheet of 3/4" MDF rang up at about $27. Ouch. I knew that there was a problem so I took it back to the racks and found a sales person. It happened that my little piece of MDF had the barcode for the entire sheet attached. I suppose that they forgot to remove it when the cut the sheet into pieces.
With his trusty can of spray paint, the salesperson sprayed over the bardcode and said... there!... now it's $1. Excellent... "such a deal". I was happy.
With my wood in hand... I started my redesign.
(http://i312.photobucket.com/albums/ll340/pkopp10027/Arcade%20Project/IMG_1259.jpg)
This time... I'm going to add some character.
(http://i312.photobucket.com/albums/ll340/pkopp10027/Arcade%20Project/IMG_1260.jpg)
(http://i312.photobucket.com/albums/ll340/pkopp10027/Arcade%20Project/IMG_1269.jpg)
I also realized that I didn't have any slant on the UGLY box... so this new one is 1 inch lower in the front than in the back.
(http://i312.photobucket.com/albums/ll340/pkopp10027/Arcade%20Project/IMG_1272.jpg)
(http://i312.photobucket.com/albums/ll340/pkopp10027/Arcade%20Project/IMG_1273.jpg)
This one took me 6 hours on Memorial Day to build.
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I needed to finish up the top of the cabinet a bit... in the speaker mount area. I was searching and searching for just the right speakers. I've read posting after posting. I wanted the speakers to be as low as possible so as not to interfer with the [future] light in the marquee area. I just couldn't find any PC speakers anywhere [that made me happy].
So... I decided on some car speakers. Sony Explod 5 1/4". I found a nice 40W per channel amplifier on e-bay to drive them.... NOW I can cut the holes and finish the top.
(http://i312.photobucket.com/albums/ll340/pkopp10027/Arcade%20Project/IMG_1288.jpg)
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I also cut out the control panel top from that 5/8" MDF.
I decided to allow 1/2" overhang on the left and right... and 3/4" in the front.
I used an old cookie can to trace out the rounded corners.
(http://i312.photobucket.com/albums/ll340/pkopp10027/Arcade%20Project/IMG_1300.jpg)
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Hardware... oh, yea... I'll be needing some hardware...
I went hunting around for some way to mount the control panel box onto the cabinet. Yes, I know that Happ sells those panel latches (and I'm not sure, I may still need some of those). I found these friction catches at www.rockler.com . I mounted them and the panel now snaps into place. I used 4 of them. Since the catch uses a "pin and socket" sort of design, I didn't want my panel to be sitting on pins (the part of the catch that's mounted to the bottom of the control panel) when it's removed from the cabinet. I decided to place two pieces of MDF (one on each side) on the bottom of the control panel. I cut them at an angle so the panel really does center itself as it snaps.
(http://i312.photobucket.com/albums/ll340/pkopp10027/Arcade%20Project/IMG_1314.jpg)
(http://i312.photobucket.com/albums/ll340/pkopp10027/Arcade%20Project/IMG_1315.jpg)
(http://i312.photobucket.com/albums/ll340/pkopp10027/Arcade%20Project/IMG_1325.jpg)
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Another "thinking" problem.
I wanted to hinge the top of my control panel at the front of the control panel box.... so that the control panel top will lift up from the back (like other panels you've seen here on this site). I had a requirement of not wanting to see the hinges from the front. BUT... my panel top overhangs the front of the control panel box by 3/4". Standard hinges wouldn't work.... because the top needs to lift and separate from the box to accommodate for the overhang.
Again, at Rockler, I found what I think will work. I don't have these mounted yet but my initial tests with scrap wood, it seems that these hinges give me the right amount of lift and separate that I need. They weren't cheap... $15 for the pair + shipping.
Here are some photos of the test.
Simulated 3/4" overhang on the front of a test "panel"
(http://i312.photobucket.com/albums/ll340/pkopp10027/Arcade%20Project/IMG_1333.jpg)
A closed panel top
(http://i312.photobucket.com/albums/ll340/pkopp10027/Arcade%20Project/IMG_1335.jpg)
Some of that lift and separate
(http://i312.photobucket.com/albums/ll340/pkopp10027/Arcade%20Project/IMG_1343.jpg)
This just might work
(http://i312.photobucket.com/albums/ll340/pkopp10027/Arcade%20Project/IMG_1345.jpg)
(http://i312.photobucket.com/albums/ll340/pkopp10027/Arcade%20Project/IMG_1346.jpg)
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Time to place the monitor back into the cabinet for some fine tuning.
I'm now 57 hours into the project.
I placed the monitor back and marked up the holes for the mounting bolts. This was also a good time to cut the bezel to size. A sharp box cutter and a steel ruler did the trick nicely.
Measure twice (I probably measured 4 times)... and cut once. I didn't want to have to buy another bezel.
I also noticed that there was a gap between the top of the bezel and the speaker mounts... humm... time to cut a small MDF filler.
The filler panel for the gap
(http://i312.photobucket.com/albums/ll340/pkopp10027/Arcade%20Project/IMG_1369.jpg)
The first time that the bezel meets the cabinet
(http://i312.photobucket.com/albums/ll340/pkopp10027/Arcade%20Project/IMG_1367-1.jpg)
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Once the monitor is removed, that bezel will need a frame to rest against. The frame will also serve as something to "push against" once I install the glass.
** By the way... I ordered glass from www.onedayglass.com. Smoked, tempered, pencil edges. I haven't received it yet but they had the best price around... I checked a number of local shops and this place beat them all.
The frame needed to be removable as the monitor would hit if I needed to remove it. I built an MDF frame with countersunk screws and attached it to the cabinet.
While I was "in the area", I also sealed up the speaker section. This would provide a for a speaker box and also give me somewhere to mount the marquee light later.
The frame
(http://i312.photobucket.com/albums/ll340/pkopp10027/Arcade%20Project/IMG_1371-1.jpg)
The bezel resting against the frame and the sealed up speaker area
(http://i312.photobucket.com/albums/ll340/pkopp10027/Arcade%20Project/IMG_1373-1.jpg)
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Well... this is where I am today.
63 hours into the project with endless research time.
I bought some primer yesterday but I didn't feel like painting today. I also brought back some paint chips to decide on a color... to go with my, yet undecided, theme.
I have a good amount of parts already... as I've been ordering throughout the project. I plan on having the following components on my panel:
1 x Groovy Game Gear (GGG) Electric Ice Trackball
1 x GGG TT2 Spinner
1 x GGG KeyWiz 40-ST (a recent decision)
2 x Ultimarc MagStik Plus
1 x Untimarc Ultrastik 360
23 x Happ concave buttons
I've got some control panel layouts drawn up in Visio... but I'm not ready for you guys to beat me up on the design just yet.... so for now, I'll keep them to myself.... but check back later. ;)
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You use those magstik+ yet? Curious what you think... they weren't right for me to use on 8 way games. The throw was too short.
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Hey lepinlew,
I'm still waiting for the Magstiks to arrive. I've read many of the postings here about them.... both the positives and the negatives. The feature of being able to switch them from 4 to 8 way from the top made the decision for me.... that's really nice. I'm hoping that I don't regret the purchase.... because I really don't plan on buying more sticks and reworking a control panel (that's not yet built :) ).
My thoughts right now are to top mount everything (yes, extra work routing out space for the sticks, etc). I figure by top mounting, I take advantage of the full stick length of any of the sticks. I know that this doesn't really address the throw... I'll post my opinions of the sticks when I get them.
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Well... I've received all of my controls. Magsticks and U360 from divemaster. Electric Ice Trackball, Happ buttons, Novamatrix marquee light, and TurboTwist2 spinner from Groovy Game Gear. I must say... I'm impressed. This is all quality stuff.
I hooked up the U360 just to play a little (because it's easily plugged in via USB). Pretty nice. I bought the medium spring because many on this board seemed to like it. I haven't installed it yet... but the one that comes stock isn't bad at all. I can't really give it a good run because it doesn't work very well while holding it in one one hand while playing with the other. ;D
I haven't tried out the trackball or spinner yet (they are next).... but both feel like quality made items.
I also received my glass from one day glass. 3/8", smoked, tempered, beveled edges. It fit perfectly.
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I worked on the cabinet again today.
I wanted to add a cooling fan to the rear of the cabinet. I'm sure that the big 29" CRT is going to generate some heat. Since the hole is going to be seen... (if you look)... I wanted it to be perfect. I decided to build a circle jig for the router.
I've only used a router one time before... and that was to do the slot cutting. After reading a few articles about circle jigs, I figured that it would be easy... and it was.
Cool... a perfect 360:
(http://i312.photobucket.com/albums/ll340/pkopp10027/Arcade%20Project/IMG_1382.jpg)
I mounted a scrap piece of MDF to the bottom of the router... measured out the radius (Yes, radius, tkx! shmokes :) ) of the circle that I needed (I needed a 4.5" diameter hole for the fan)... and drove a nail in the MDF to serve as a pivot point.
I drilled a small pilot hole in the back of the cabinet where I would insert the nail from the jig. Cut like butter and produced a perfect hole. :applaud:
Here's the router with the jig attached:
(http://i312.photobucket.com/albums/ll340/pkopp10027/Arcade%20Project/IMG_1388.jpg)
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The cabinet also got its first coat of primer today. I decided to paint both the inside and outside of the cabinet.
(http://i312.photobucket.com/albums/ll340/pkopp10027/Arcade%20Project/IMG_1392.jpg)
Next week... sanding and paint. I haven't decided if I want another coat of primer. Right now... I'm leaning towards skipping that. I figure on painting a number of finishing coats anyway... so there's probably no need for more primer.
I'm now 68 hours into this project that started mid-March.
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You better be careful with that primer around that Beemer :)
Your project is looking good...
Jim
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You are well on your way to putting Patrick and David's cabinet to shame. I quit watching Systm, because I can only take so much of Patrick's witty sarcasm.
Looking great.
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Awesome work Paul. Cant wait to see it finished...
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Two coats of primer (sanded between coats) is my preference. Also, two or three coats of paint with sanding in between will give you an excellent top layer.
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thankx! for all the encouragement guys! :applaud:
Yea GAtekwriter... my wife has already said more than once... "I can't believe that you're building that Arcade Cabinet so close to your car". :o
It's not really that close... it's all camera angles. ;)
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Nice Job - very clean looking :applaud:
My UAII is at the point where I need to work out the Gfx, how to mount the monitor and how to mount the glass.
My biggest whinge with mine is I think that my 21" monitor will be waaaaayy too small.
(http://i196.photobucket.com/albums/aa57/soup001/DSC02134.jpg)
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thankx! for all the encouragement guys! :applaud:
Yea GAtekwriter... my wife has already said more than once... "I can't believe that you're building that Arcade Cabinet so close to your car". :o
It's not really that close... it's all camera angles. ;)
At least she said you could build it. ;D
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Nice looking cabinet soup... looks familiar. You're not too far behind me on your build.
So... I mentioned before that I had received all of my controls and the glass. Even though you've seen controls before... I thought that I'd post these photos anyway.
Groovy Game Gear Turbo Twist II Spinner [and interface board]:
(http://i312.photobucket.com/albums/ll340/pkopp10027/Arcade%20Project/IMG_1397.jpg)
Groovy Game Gear Electric Ice Trackball (top):
(http://i312.photobucket.com/albums/ll340/pkopp10027/Arcade%20Project/IMG_1402.jpg)
The business end... including the custom interface and lighting by GGG:
(http://i312.photobucket.com/albums/ll340/pkopp10027/Arcade%20Project/IMG_1404.jpg)
Ultimarc UltraStik 360:
(http://i312.photobucket.com/albums/ll340/pkopp10027/Arcade%20Project/IMG_1406.jpg)
A pair of Ultimarc MagStik Plus':
(http://i312.photobucket.com/albums/ll340/pkopp10027/Arcade%20Project/IMG_1416.jpg)
And a whole lot of Happ buttons (23 for the CP + some spares):
(http://i312.photobucket.com/albums/ll340/pkopp10027/Arcade%20Project/IMG_1423.jpg)
The whole pile looks like this:
(http://i312.photobucket.com/albums/ll340/pkopp10027/Arcade%20Project/IMG_1435.jpg)
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I'm really pleased with the way that the glass turned out. It was ordered from One Day Glass (http://www.onedayglass.com/). This was only $40. I thought it was a great deal compared to other local shops.
Here are the specs that I decided on:
Shape: Square/Rectangle
Width: 24 13/16" Height: 23 7/16"
Glass Type: Tempered
Glass Thickness: 3/16"
Glass Tint: Solar Gray (Light Gray)
Edgework (Step 1): Pencil Grind Satin Finish
Edgework (Step 2): 1, 2, 3, 4
Option: No Tong Marks
In the cabinet, it fits like a glove.
Glass photos are a bit difficult. I placed a sheet of bright white paper behind the glass so you could get an idea of the tint (but other factors like my camera, lighting, your monitor, etc. will make it difficult to really tell).
Here's the glass:
(http://i312.photobucket.com/albums/ll340/pkopp10027/Arcade%20Project/IMG_1445.jpg)
... and a closeup of the edgework:
(http://i312.photobucket.com/albums/ll340/pkopp10027/Arcade%20Project/IMG_1454.jpg)
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I went with the Groovy Game Gear NovaMatrix lighting for the marquee. I hooked it up for test and it was pretty bright. I don't have any art for the marquee yet... so it remains to be seen if it will provide enough light. I think that it will be fine. I really like the idea of generating less heat in the cabinet.
Here's the NovaMatrix:
(http://i312.photobucket.com/albums/ll340/pkopp10027/Arcade%20Project/IMG_1430.jpg)
... and a close up of three of the 16 LEDs:
(http://i312.photobucket.com/albums/ll340/pkopp10027/Arcade%20Project/IMG_1429.jpg)
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I like the way your cab is shaping up. One thing I wish I did on my cab was route the bottom of the cp for t-molding. Protects it and looks nice. Kudos on the 29" monitor. Should look great!
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I didn't think that I'd go for the second coat of primer... but when my wife Debby offered to help, I couldn't refuse. This coat was much easier to apply. ;D
(http://i312.photobucket.com/albums/ll340/pkopp10027/Arcade%20Project/IMG_1459.jpg)
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measured out 1/2 the circumference of the circle that I needed . . .
Math is not my strong suit, so this may just give you a chuckle, but do you mean that you measured out the radius? I can't figure out how measuring out 1/2 the circumference would be helpful. I need to cut out an odd-sized circle, though, so I'd like to understand exactly how you did this. Finding the right sized hole saw is out of the question.
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duh :dizzy: ... must have been sleep-posting.
I'll go back and fix it.
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The Paint Job
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Over the weekend, I put another 7 hours into the project. Including my wife's help... it was probably around 11 man/hours.
I sanded down the primer with 120 grit paper. I put on the first coat of real paint... Let it dry... Sanded it down again... and painted again.
I was only expecting to apply one coat of paint (over the weekend)... but with the assistance... I managed to get two coats done.
The painting is finished. Final tally: 2 coats of white primer inside and out. 2 coats of semigloss rolled on the outside.
I'm real pleased with the finish. Next weekend, I'll likely get the T-molding done and start adding parts.
Here's what it looks like after about 80 hours of work:
(http://i312.photobucket.com/albums/ll340/pkopp10027/Arcade%20Project/IMG_1498.jpg)
(In the photo, I haven't pulled off the masking tape yet)
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Looks great. I'm eager to see your monitor installed :applaud:
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Your cab is looking great, don't you just love the UAII cabinet design? Not as boring as most cabinet designs.
I went with this cabinet as well because I needed a cabinet that I could take apart easily and move. I ended up using bolts and wing nuts to connect the top part to the base. This way I can remove the top part, remove TV, remove control panel and I have 4 much easier to manage parts to move.
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The monitor is coming soon. I need to get the marquee light [more specifically, the wiring] and the rear fan [again wiring] before I install the monitor. It'll make life easier if I don't have to reach around a monitor.
Yes, I really like the UAII design. I'm only about 1 year into this hobby... when I first saw this cabinet design, I knew that it was what I wanted to build. Unfortunately, I had no idea what it was called... so it took me quite a while to finally find the plans.
Today, I spent a couple of hours on the cabinet. The keyboard drawer was sticking a bit because the paint built up the already tight tolerances.... nothing that a file and some 60 grit sandpaper could take care of.
I also installed the T-molding. There were a few areas that gave me a little trouble... it was where the screws pulled the slot together a bit. I used a piece of 1/16" sheet metal as a chisel and cleaned out the slot. Other than a few areas, the T-molding was no problem to install using a rubber mallet.
Here's the cabinet:
(http://i312.photobucket.com/albums/ll340/pkopp10027/Arcade%20Project/IMG_1535.jpg)
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looking very nice man!! very nice.. I am anxious to see this one progress!! I like the color scheme as well.. Good luck with the rest of the project!
Dang every new project I see makes me want to get out in the garage and start/finish mine haha.
Neil
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Now that it's painted, it's time to start adding some mechanical components.
I've mounted the NovaMatrix light and the Sony speakers... and added the associated wiring. I decided to do my own version of "structured wiring" and wire everything internal to the cabinet to a screw block. This way, I have a termination point for cabinet internals and I only need to wire "patch cords" from the computer to the wiring block.
The speakers:
(http://i312.photobucket.com/albums/ll340/pkopp10027/Arcade%20Project/IMG_1537.jpg)
The NovaMatrix light from Groovy Game Gear:
(http://i312.photobucket.com/albums/ll340/pkopp10027/Arcade%20Project/IMG_1544.jpg)
Wired up to a screw terminal block near the rear of the cabinet:
(http://i312.photobucket.com/albums/ll340/pkopp10027/Arcade%20Project/IMG_1563.jpg)
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Ahhh... but that's not all. I also mounted the fan, coin door, and the monitor. Everything fit right into place.
The monitor was the first thing that I ordered for this project. I wanted it first because it was going to determine the width of the cabinet. I was a little worried that I would get the monitor all mounted and then find out that it didn't work. That wasn't the case. It fired up right away and I was impressed with the 1024 x 768 resolution. Even without the control panel... I couldn't resist playing a few games.
The fan has some blue LED's installed so it puts out a cool blue glow on the back wall:
(http://i312.photobucket.com/albums/ll340/pkopp10027/Arcade%20Project/IMG_1551.jpg)
The coin door:
(http://i312.photobucket.com/albums/ll340/pkopp10027/Arcade%20Project/IMG_1576.jpg)
The first time that this monitor has been turned on (here anyway):
(http://i312.photobucket.com/albums/ll340/pkopp10027/Arcade%20Project/IMG_1589.jpg)
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I had a little trouble deciding where to mount the controls for the monitor OSD. I ended up placing it just above the keyboard drawer. It's really intended to be mounted against some sheet metal... with just the buttons poking through... but this will work fine.
(http://i312.photobucket.com/albums/ll340/pkopp10027/Arcade%20Project/IMG_1593.jpg)
At work, I plotted the control panel layout 1:1. Here it is sitting on top of the real control panel. If everything works as planned, I start cutting/routing the panel tomorrow.
(http://i312.photobucket.com/albums/ll340/pkopp10027/Arcade%20Project/IMG_1566.jpg)
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I dropped in the bezel for a photo op... here's 90 hours into the project:
(http://i312.photobucket.com/albums/ll340/pkopp10027/Arcade%20Project/IMG_1596.jpg)
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I've been cutting/routing/boring the control panel top over the past few days. I decided top mount everything to get the most out of the stick length.
I measured the thickness of the joystick/trackball metal mounting plate (1/16") and routed out a recess for each of the sticks and the trackball.... then I realized I need to go deeper. I plan on having the dust washers from the sticks sit BELOW the CPO. I also had to account for some sort of mounting bolt head. I decided on a 5/32" recess (1/16" for the metal plate, 1/16" for the dust washer, and 1/32" for some additional clearance.
I ALMOST routed the trackball recess the same depth but I caught myself just in time. The trackball mounting plate only needed a 1/16" recess.
The holes for the buttons and the spinner were no problem at all to bore out using a 1 1/8" Forstner bit with a drill guide that I bought at Harbor Freight.
I'm using 5/8" MDF for the panel top... with the "usual" 1/8" Lexan to make it 3/4" total. I routed a 1/16" slot 11/32" from one edge of the CP top. Once I add the Lexan, the T-molding will line up perfectly.
Some things that I learned/comments:
- A Forstner bit doesn't leave a "plug" like a hole saw. It completely eats up the material that you're drilling through.... and it leaves big piles of shavings. :)
- High speed seems to work best with the Forstner.
- It's close to impossible to route a straight line freehand. I had a guide clamped in place but it was too much hassle so I removed it and went freehand.
- Using a dull (ish) router bit will burn the wood and not cut so great... use a sharp bit! I was already in gear for the project so I didn't want to stop once I started... I should have paid closer attention to the bit before starting (like the day before).
Drilling some holes (my cordless drill really wasn't fast enough for the job... so I went with the old standby [a Craftsman electric drill that must be 20 years old]... which worked great):
(http://i312.photobucket.com/albums/ll340/pkopp10027/Arcade%20Project/IMG_1633.jpg)
Nice, clean holes:
(http://i312.photobucket.com/albums/ll340/pkopp10027/Arcade%20Project/IMG_1651.jpg)
The panel (don't laugh at my routing):
(http://i312.photobucket.com/albums/ll340/pkopp10027/Arcade%20Project/IMG_1654.jpg)
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Looks cool, although I must admit, your button layout looks a little uncomfortable.
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Ha!... [notanoob81]... I just knew that someone was going to comment on my button layout.
Here's my logic:
I wanted the 4 in a row for NeoGeo. I wanted 6 in a group for [6 button games]. Now the twist... I wanted 4 in a diamond pattern for other emulators (like Nintendo, etc.) so I could program them like the original controller.
I liked the arched button layouts. (and I'm guessing that you're questioning the 4th "thumb button" being located to the right instead of the left)... hey... my thumb is on the other side my hand. :)
If I had moved the last button (in the row of 4) to the left, it would mess up my arch and I would have to turn my arm to hit all the buttons (the diamond pattern would "force" me to locate the button too low on the panel). When you're playing with two players... you're really not standing right in front of the cabinet... you're, sort of, playing at the corners of the cabinet anyway... so the sideways arm position is more natural.
I found the layout comfortable in my controlled lab testing (my testing consisted of laying out my 1:1 plot of the controls and pretending to play). :P
Anyway... that's my logic... right or wrong.
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One of the forum members had asked me about the paint job on the cabinet. Since my response was somewhat verbose, I thought that I'd post it here for others.
1 - The cans (left to right) are: Black, Blue (both were mixed colors), and primer.
2 - The primer is white and I did not have it tinted.
3 – I hand sanded with a sanding block.
4 – I used 120 grit for the whole project.
I sanded between each coat. (hint… let the paint fully dry. :) ). I did one coat of primer one day, another coat on another day… then, on a different weekend… I did the final two coats of blue/black on the same day. I probably should have waited a day between coats… but I had my wife helping me and she’s one to get things done quick. If the paint isn’t fully cured, it tends to clog the sandpaper… which is what happened to me when I did the two coats in the same day.
All paint came from Home Depot. I bought way too much..
I used:
¼ gal blue
¼ gal black
½ gal primer
I painted two coats of primer on the outside of the cabinet… one coat on the inside. The white that you see in the arcade photos is primer.
Hints/comments:
- The first two coats of primer were applied with a brush. If you’re going to use a brush, be sure to use even strokes in the same direction. It will save you some sanding.
- When I was sanding, I didn’t go nuts. I was only smoothing out any bumps/imperfections.
- Use a good quality, short nap roller for the final coats. I used a cheap roller for the first final coat… and I found myself picking out little fuzz things that the roller had left behind. The final coat was applied with a good roller.
- The black paint was more difficult to work with. It seemed like I could see every little imperfection (maybe I was just looking too hard).
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Well... today was Lexan cutting day.
I started by cutting the trackball hole. I figured that this would be the most difficult and everything else needed to use this as a reference.
I wanted a perfect 3" hole... so I used the trackball mounting plate as a guide. I saw (I believe it was Mountain's) postings so I decided to do something similar as it looked like the way to go.
Here's my circle jig for routing out the trackball hole:
(http://i312.photobucket.com/albums/ll340/pkopp10027/Arcade%20Project/IMG_1660.jpg)
From the top, you can see the mounting plate behind the 5/8" MDF. I clamped this under the Lexan, set the pattern trace router bit to ride along the mounting place, and started routing.
(http://i312.photobucket.com/albums/ll340/pkopp10027/Arcade%20Project/IMG_1663.jpg)
Lexan is really easy to work with. It's sort of soft... at one point, I had a sliver hanging off of the panel... I went to break it off and it bent... sort of like copper wire would bend. I can see why people like to work with it as opposed to Plexiglas.
The hardest part was drilling pilot holes for the router bit to start in. The drill bit wanted to bite into the soft Lexan material... and I needed a rather large hole (3/8") for the router bit. I started with a small drill bit and then stepped up to the 3/8". I had wood directly under each drill hole and I clamped additional support to the left and right of the area I was drilling. I drilled high speed. The clamping and speed helped a lot... but the drill bits still wanted to bite into the Lexan with a sort of pop as the bit went through. I would imagine that this is where most people shatter Plexi.
Clamping the Lexan for drilling pilot holes:
(http://i312.photobucket.com/albums/ll340/pkopp10027/Arcade%20Project/IMG_1668.jpg)
Once I got all the pilot holes drilled, the routing went like clockwork. Like everyone says... the router cut the Lexan like butter. No melting; just "snow" everywhere.
Work in progress:
(http://i312.photobucket.com/albums/ll340/pkopp10027/Arcade%20Project/IMG_1673.jpg)
Here's the [almost] completed Lexan panel with its protective covering still on. (minus joystick holes). It matches the MDF panel exactly.
(http://i312.photobucket.com/albums/ll340/pkopp10027/Arcade%20Project/IMG_1677.jpg)
It took me just under 5 hours but I'm real pleased with the results.
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Hardware... oh, yea... I'll be needing some hardware...
I went hunting around for some way to mount the control panel box onto the cabinet. Yes, I know that Happ sells those panel latches (and I'm not sure, I may still need some of those). I found these friction catches at www.rockler.com . I mounted them and the panel now snaps into place. I used 4 of them. Since the catch uses a "pin and socket" sort of design, I didn't want my panel to be sitting on pins (the part of the catch that's mounted to the bottom of the control panel) when it's removed from the cabinet. I decided to place two pieces of MDF (one on each side) on the bottom of the control panel. I cut them at an angle so the panel really does center itself as it snaps.
Great idea for the CP mount. That was something I struggled with as well (for my kit build) http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?topic=72579.msg748113#msg748113. I suggest forwarding a link to your post to Mameroom. They really should update their design to allow for sturdier CP mount and easy CP removal.
I also love the LED, fan, and speakers. How did you supply power to the screw board for those devices? And are you going to provide an external volume control?
Also, I hope you use the local artist for side art. I think it would be really cool to paint something original rather than stick on something you bought online.
-Jason
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Great job so far, and well done on the Lexan routing. I've only routed a plexi CP once before and I was really nervous the whole way through... its so easy to go wrong if the piece slips or the router catches. Good preperation, and templates/guides are key.
By the way, theres no such thing as a perfect button layout for EVERY possible game configuration, but reading your description of the 6 player arc + 4 player Neo Geo + 'diamond' configuration, I reckon that comes really close. Well done.
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Great job on the project so far, I look forward to following the project all the way to the end. I especially appreciate the comments, tips, and thought processes and you have went along.
Your work and words and inspired me to get off the couch and finally start my first MAME project in the next few weeks. I have been reading and planning much over the past month but it was your post that got me to Lowes yesterday to pick up three sheets of MDF.
Though I plan on using 5/8 and making a few tweaks and personnel ideas to the overall UAII plans.
Again thanks for a great post so far and look forward to seeing how your machine comes out in the end.
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jlfreund -
The fan, LED marquee lighting, and lights for the coin return are all 12v. They are all (will be) wired to the terminal strip. The 12v will come from the PC power supply.
Re: external volume
I fought with that for some time. Even with all the posts on this board, I still had a hard time choosing a sound system. I checked into speakers/sub with external volume controls... and I just didn't find exactly what I was looking for. Once I decided on the car audio speakers, I knew that I would have to find (or build) an amp to drive them.
I found this on Amazon for $60:
http://www.pyleaudio.com/itemdetail.asp?model=PTA2
With the lack of subwoofer, I thought I should, at least, provide decent power to the speakers... I wanted to be sure that I could hear the "wacka, wacka, wacka" of PacMan. ;)
So... because of this choice, the volume control will be in the cabinet. I'll likely mount this just inside the coin door somewhere.
dmworking247 -
re: preparation/template
That has a story too. I did the layout in Visio. We have a nice Epson 10600 plotter at work. I plotted at 1:1. First, I plotted to a local pdf and later sent the pdf to the plotter... it came out too big. Then, I plotted directly from Visio... it also came out too big (the same actually). After the second plot, I measured some key points on the plot and the same points on the the control panel... I figured out the percentage difference... (it was 4.6 percent too big)... plotted at 95%... Bingo... I finally had a template that I could use for the CP top and Lexan cutting. I'll probably use a similar tactic for the CPO.
koinsatx -
Wow... you found 5/8" MDF at Lowes.. amazing.. I had to special order from 84lumber and wait for 3 weeks. Good luck with the project... my advice: Don't rush. Take your time. Do lots of research on this board; it's an amazing resource.
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I mounted the glass yesterday. I was trying to find the right hardware to hold the glass in place. I came across these shelve supports at Home Depot (.99 for 12). They looked like the right part for the job. The supports have a small peg on one side that fits into an appropriately sized hole. On my test wood, I found that the right sized hole was just a hair too big (1/64" smaller was a bit too tight). They fit snugly but I wanted tight.
To fix the problem of these potentially falling out, I first drilled the recommended size hole only 1/8" deep. I switched bits to 1/64" smaller... and drilled the remaining 1/8". I pushed them in tight with a pair of needle nosed pliers.
The shelve supports:
(http://i312.photobucket.com/albums/ll340/pkopp10027/Arcade%20Project/IMG_1690.jpg)
The glass:
(http://i312.photobucket.com/albums/ll340/pkopp10027/Arcade%20Project/IMG_1688.jpg)
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I am also considering the Makvision Tri-mode as my monitor, I was curious what measurements as far as width you used on the front and back panels?
Looking at the Ultimate Arcade II plans is a little confusing on the width of these panels.
Thanks.. keep up the great work, it's look sweet.
Kevin
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koinsatx...
The inside dimension of the top of the cabinet is 25". That allowed for about 3/8" clearance on each side of the monitor. It doesn't really have a whole lot of extra room (by design). I wanted the cabinet to be as narrow as possible while still accommodating the monitor that I had picked out.
I also considered the width of the doorways in the house... nothing like building a cabinet in the garage and finding out later that you can't get it into the house. Doh....
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Everything looks really great, but you button layout looks uncomfortable for Capcom fighters. What's up?
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Paul,
Quick question, are the speakers your using shielded? if not are they far enough away from the monitor so not to cause and problems?
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Paul,
Quick question, are the speakers your using shielded? if not are they far enough away from the monitor so not to cause and problems?
That's NOT going to be an issue ...
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That *was* a consideration when I picked-out and purchased the speakers. I really couldn't find any "cool looking" shielded speakers... so I took a chance. I haven't seen any issues yet... but I haven't actually hooked everything up yet either. I would think that unshielded speakers would cause the most problems when there's a varying magnetic field (i.e. they are on :) )
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Project Status:
I'm now 104 hours into the build and the project has come to a screeching halt. <not by choice>
I have to decide on a theme/graphics.... at least for the Control Panel.
I'm at the point where I can't mount controls on the control panel and begin wiring... unless I have a CPO. The CPO will be sandwiched between the wood CP top and the Lexan... which is held together by the buttons. I'm not about to unmount everything to get the CPO on after it's all wired up.
I have a few themes in mind:
- Space (lots of free, high resolution photos available)
- Star Trek (humm... not real original... my wife’s vote is for this one)
- Alien (the HR Giger Alien)
- Alien vs. Predator (my wife hates the idea)
- Dueling Dragons (from the roller coaster at Universal Studios in Orlando FL.)
Depending on what I hear back from a local artist... I'm leaning towards dueling dragons.
Check out the attached photo. My neighbor has this painted on the wall of their son’s bedroom. I think that (or similar) would look really cool on the sides of my cabinet. I'm waiting to find out if the artist is interested in doing the work... and at what cost.
Meanwhile, I've tried creating a few different CPO's in Photoshop (Space Theme). I'm no artist. I've created "decent" looking composites... but nothing that I'm happy with just yet.
Until I get this solved… I’m on hold. :(
Artist Credit: Rick Froehlich
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I just got word back from the local artist... no go. :(
He's busy working on other projects.
I'll need to go to Plan B. Once I figure out what that is... I'll post an update.
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I'm back in business.
After the artist said no, I decided to go with the theme that I first considered at the beginning of my build... a space theme.
One of the considerations was that space photos (Stars, Shuttles, Space Stations, etc.) are available in high resolution for free.... all over the NASA sites.
A few hours [over a few days] with PhotoShop and a >350MB file later.... I came up with my CPO.
I took the PhotoShop file on CD to my neighborhood FedEX/Kinkos and spent a little time explaining what I wanted and how it was going to be used. For printing media, I was amazed at how many different media types that I could specify. The girl behind the counter first recommended a laminated photo paper. While this looked good, I thought that it may be a little too thick. I don't want my Plexiglas sitting too high on the panel.
I chose their "inside banner paper". It's sort of a plastic photopaper... relatively thin. It's glossy and doesn't rip if you try to tear it.
http://www.fedex.com/us/officeprint/storesvcs/osg/detail_indoor_banner.html
I paid $30 for my photo quality, 17.5" x 29.5", Control panel Overlay.
The comet in the center is part of the area that is being cut out... so my lighted trackball will have it's own tail. ;)
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I started work on the control panel again over the weekend.
I mounted the hinges and ran into a bit of an "issue". While my tests seemed to indicate that the hinges would work without any modification, I found out otherwise when I actually mounted them. More on that in a minute.
The hinges came with these small wood screws. While that might be fine for a cabinet door, I thought that the weight of the panel, fully loaded with controls, might be a bit much for a few tiny wood screws... especially if I end up opening and closing it all the time to show off to friends. ;D
I wanted the screws to go through the wood where I could use a washer/nut to insure that I get a solid hinge.
For the top screws (going through the CP top) it was easy. I countersunk the screws on the top knowing that it would be covered by the CPO. After I tightened them up, I knew that they weren't coming loose any time soon. I plan on leaving that side of the hinge connected all the time (i.e. when I remove the panel top to make wiring easier, I'll remove the set of screws that hold the hinge to the CP box).
For the screws that hold the hinge to the CP box, I wanted to go through the box (for strength)... but... that would be to the front side of the CP box.... not so pretty. Counter sinking would have worked there too...
But what happens later when I need to remove the CP top? The top screw heads won't be accessable... they will be behind the CPO and Lexan. The front screw heads won't be accessable because I will have filled in the countersunk holes. I didn't want to take a chance of the screw heads (or nuts, depending on which way I go) spinning around when I tried to tighten them up.
I must have stood in the isle at Home Depot for 30 minutes thinking of a way around this. Then I found the obvious answer.... T-Nuts (of course, I could have used these for the top too... duh). It meant that I had to drill out a countersunk hole a little bigger than I wanted... but I would figure out a way to fill that up later. The T-nut solved the problem of a spinning nut once the countersunk hole is filled in.
Now about those hinges.... once everything was bolted together, I had an interference problem. The CP top was hitting the edge of the CP box as it hinged upward. It wasn't much but it was enough to make me want to fix it. The fix was to route off the inside edge of the CP box. I had a 1/2" round router bit in the collection so I chose to use that. Once I routed off the front edge, I thought that it looked pretty good... so I routed the entire inside edge of the CP box.
I mounted the hinges back and everything moved smooth as silk.... just what I wanted... strong and smooth. For the final touch, I'll probably connect a chain or something to keep the top from hinging back too far.... to keep some of the pressure off of the hinge.
Here's the routing that I had to do around the inside edge of the CP box:
(http://i312.photobucket.com/albums/ll340/pkopp10027/Arcade%20Project/IMG_1811.jpg)
The panel opens pretty far:
(http://i312.photobucket.com/albums/ll340/pkopp10027/Arcade%20Project/IMG_1816.jpg)
I put on the first coat of paint... there will still be some sanding and additional painting... it's still a little rough around where I filled in the t-nuts:
(http://i312.photobucket.com/albums/ll340/pkopp10027/Arcade%20Project/IMG_1820.jpg)
Since this is going to have a 3/4" black T-molding around it, I masked off the slots that I cut in the CP box... after I remove the tape... I'll paint a black edge around the bottom so, if the molding center is off at all (it shouldn't be with all the measuring that I did), you won't be able to tell.
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I love this cabinet. I'm building my first cab and it's the UAII design as well. Glad I can follow along with this thread (with it's great detail) as I am way behind you in process. Hope you don't mind if I steal some of your ideas, cause I think I'm gonna ;)
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Lookin' good so far!
What kind of hinges are those?
never seen ones like that before
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Lookin' good so far!
What kind of hinges are those?
never seen ones like that before
I am also interested about these hinges as they are screw in ones and am having difficulty in finding a decent pair!
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Lookin' good so far!
What kind of hinges are those?
never seen ones like that before
I am also interested about these hinges as they are screw in ones and am having difficulty in finding a decent pair!
I think they may be similar to these kitchen cupboard hinges:
http://www.screwfix.com/app/sfd/cat/lrgimg_popup.jsp;jsessionid=XZUIGP035LZSOCSTHZOSFFQ?productId=16131&imageNo=null&ts=54537 (http://www.screwfix.com/app/sfd/cat/lrgimg_popup.jsp;jsessionid=XZUIGP035LZSOCSTHZOSFFQ?productId=16131&imageNo=null&ts=54537)
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I think they are slightly different. they look as if you do not need to router out a circle for the hinges to slot into.
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You get get these from Screwfix in the UK. They may not open quite as much as those ones though but they may be worth a try:
(http://images.productserve.com/preview/1228/3308519.jpg) (http://www.screwfix.com/prods/80989/Kitchens/Kitchen-Hardware/Cabinet-Hinges/Concealed-Hinge-Easy-Mount)
(click the image for the link)
I used them on my cocktail and they worked a treat but I was only opening a panel with no hangover though 90 degrees.
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v325/Francoberasi/hingepanelangle.jpg)
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Its the hangover that worries me :-\ (not the drinking one..... :laugh2:)
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predator314... steal away... I'm flattered.
You guys like the hinge... I did too. :)
It's from Rockler:
http://www.rockler.com/product.cfm?Offerings_ID=255
(and I wouldn't have known about Rockler if it hadn't been for this forum.)
No, you don't have to route out a hole... they fit flush against the surface.
But NOTE: you won't get >90 degrees of opening if you have more than, say a 3/4" overhang on the control panel top. Mine is 3/4".
Here's the detailed spec sheet that came in the bag with the hinges.
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Monitor:
I made a slight mistake in my earlier posting (it's fixed now). This is not the Tri Mode monitor from Happ.
The monitor that I chose is the MakVision 29" (27") High Resolution Monitor from Happ.
http://www.happ.com/monitors/49271700.htm
I realized my mistake when someone had asked me (in a PM) about if the monitor remembers geometry settings between resolutions.
Well... the answer is yes, it does. I switched to 1024x768 and made some changes in vertical size. Switched to 800x600 and changed the horizontal size. Switched back to 1024x768 and the previous settings were still intact.
So far, I really like the monitor. It looks great through the smoked glass:
(http://i312.photobucket.com/albums/ll340/pkopp10027/Arcade%20Project/IMG_1827.jpg)
Here are some shots of the On-Screen-Display settings that can be adjusted:
(http://i312.photobucket.com/albums/ll340/pkopp10027/Arcade%20Project/IMG_1828.jpg)
(http://i312.photobucket.com/albums/ll340/pkopp10027/Arcade%20Project/IMG_1829.jpg)
(http://i312.photobucket.com/albums/ll340/pkopp10027/Arcade%20Project/IMG_1830.jpg)
(http://i312.photobucket.com/albums/ll340/pkopp10027/Arcade%20Project/IMG_1831.jpg)
No... it doesn't have all that moire waviness when you see it in person.
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I started work on the control panel top.
I took my CP Overlay to the garage (hard smooth concrete floor) and placed it out on a large sheet of paper. Using the Lexan top as a pattern, I cut around the outer edges with a scalpel. I wanted something real sharp.
(http://i312.photobucket.com/albums/ll340/pkopp10027/Arcade%20Project/IMG_1841.jpg)
Once I had the outside of the overlay cut, I sandwiched it between the CP MDF top and the Lexan and clamped to insure that it wouldn't move as I cutout all the holes. I began with all the button holes... those would allow for the most mistakes because the buttons all have bezels.... I would have to be well practiced by the time I got to the joystick and trackball holes.
(http://i312.photobucket.com/albums/ll340/pkopp10027/Arcade%20Project/IMG_1855.jpg)
Here's the cutout CPO.
(http://i312.photobucket.com/albums/ll340/pkopp10027/Arcade%20Project/IMG_1866.jpg)
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Time to mount some controls.
For strength, I wanted everything to have screws that went completely through the panel with a washer and nut on the reverse side. I'm not sure if anyone has tried wood screws... but given the amount of pushing and pulling on the controls, I wouldn't recommend it.
In my control countersinking, I allowed for extra depth for screw heads. It might sound odd but I couldn't find the right flat head screws at Home Depot... so I used round head screws and filed off the tops a bit.
(http://i312.photobucket.com/albums/ll340/pkopp10027/Arcade%20Project/IMG_1877.jpg)
I found out that the bat tops of the joysticks don't fit through 1.125" holes so I had to take the joysticks apart. I would have had to take them apart anyway because:
- I need to change the spring on the U360
- the bases of the Magsticks didn't "nicely" fit through the cutout that I made (by design) due to the way that the microswitches are attached.
(http://i312.photobucket.com/albums/ll340/pkopp10027/Arcade%20Project/IMG_1882.jpg)
For the Magsticks, I found that it was easier to first mount the top plate on the control panel... then attach the guts later.
(http://i312.photobucket.com/albums/ll340/pkopp10027/Arcade%20Project/IMG_1885.jpg)
The U360 was easy as it has a removable bat handle... so it just fit into the hole that I cutout.
The trackball mounted with ease as I used a mounting plate.
(http://i312.photobucket.com/albums/ll340/pkopp10027/Arcade%20Project/IMG_1886.jpg)
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Now let me point out a rookie mistake....
Take a look at the U360 in the photo above (center stick). Do you see anything wrong?
Before I mounted it, I plugged it in to the computer to check for orientation... woops. It's not a square mount... and I managed to mount it 90 degrees rotated. I know that I checked this when I first got the stick... but it must have been erased from memory when I marked-up and cut the panel.
Good thing that this stick is programmable.
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All the controls fit perfectly. :applaud:
The wood panel, the cutout Lexan, the CPO all fit just like they are supposed to fit.
I was a little concerned about the lineup of the trackball... because it had the "football" hole in the wood but the Lexan had a 3" hole (concerned about the alignment of the 3" hole as compaired with all other holes).
I haven't mounted the spinner yet... I'll do that today.
Including the time I spent on putting a 3rd coat of paint on the CP box, it took me 7 hours to cut the CPO, drill, file (screws), and mount the controls.
I'm 117 hours into the project at this point.
Here's the bottom of the panel:
(http://i312.photobucket.com/albums/ll340/pkopp10027/Arcade%20Project/IMG_1894.jpg)
... and a "sneak peek" at the top with part of the Lexan protective coating missing:
(http://i312.photobucket.com/albums/ll340/pkopp10027/Arcade%20Project/IMG_1893.jpg)
(I'm not ready for a full unveiling just yet) :)
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A few things that I wanted to mention...
U360:
I fully agree with the recommendations of going with the harder spring for this stick. It really does feel much better. With most everyone recommending this upgrade, this stick should really be sold with the heavier spring... and have the light spring as the option (but I suppose that wouldn't bring the vendor an extra 8 bucks. ;) )
The dust washer on the U360 needed to be filed out a bit in the center hole. I'm not using a restricter... and because of the amount of throw on this stick, the dust washer wanted to "tilt" a little when the stick is fully pressed to one side. It tilted instead of sliding around because of the thickness of the washer and the tight tolerance of the center hole. I couldn't have this happening as my dust washers are under the CPO. Filing out the center hole fixed the problem.
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nice work and tutorial, i also have the u360 and ordered extra stiff springs and circular restrictor plates.
in a week of 2/3 i will install the cp and your guide made me think of a few things :D
your almost there , keep it up !
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I'm really REALLY interested in hearing your opinion of the Mag-Stick Plus. Its on the top of my list for my cab. Its simplicity and versatility are what i'm impressed by, however i've found few reviews on them as those were not all positive. Your project looks great by the way.
Bill
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Paul,
The CP is looking great and excellent detail in the documentation of the process. This is why I have found your thread one of the most helpful on the board.
It is looking great!
Kevin
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Thats some nice work.
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After spending 7 hours last Sunday: Control Panel Wiring Complete.
It wasn't difficult... but my hand was killing me from all the crimping.
I started by daisy chaining the grounds. I decided to create two ground loops... one for the left side of the panel and one for the right side. For no particular reason other than it made the wiring a little neater.
Here's shot of some of the daisy chaining.
(http://i312.photobucket.com/albums/ll340/pkopp10027/Arcade%20Project/IMG_1904.jpg)
I stripped each wire end about 3/16" before placing it in the connector for crimping. I found that stripping about 1/4" made it easier when trying to place two wires into one quick disconnect (for the ground chain).
I couldn't find any wire at Lowes or Home Depot. They only had the bigger stuff... for home electrical wiring... and some for alarm wiring.
I was looking for (and found) 20AWG, stranded wire.... at, where else,... my local Radio Shack. I picked up three rolls in a pack (they call it "hook-up wire"): Red, Green, and Black.... 20 feet each. It was just enough for the job. I didn't have much left over.
For quick disconnects... I found that the best deals could be had on e-Bay. I purchased both .187 (for the button microswitches) and .250 (for the Magstik microswitches).
Me, hard at work:
(http://i312.photobucket.com/albums/ll340/pkopp10027/Arcade%20Project/IMG_1920.jpg)
I'll tell you what... my hat's off to you guys that have those showcase panels... it's really difficult to make the wiring look really good. I suppose part of the good looks comes from pre-planning... doing things like laying out controls so that wire runs can have perfectly horizontal or vertical runs.
No matter, I'm happy with the way that it turned out:
(http://i312.photobucket.com/albums/ll340/pkopp10027/Arcade%20Project/IMG_1926.jpg)
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Paul,
Looks fantastic... I was just at Radio Shack tonight and spotted the same wire... lol I am hoping to find the quick connects locally but not having much luck. The package never seems to use the size .187
Again, looks great... look forward to seeing some more.
Kevin
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My U360 Experience:
When I realized that I had mounted the U360 "wrong", I didn't think it would be much of a problem as the joystick is programmable.
I spent about 30 minutes yesterday reprogramming all the stock maps to account for my mistake.
Remember, I mounted the U360 90 degrees rotated counterclockwise. :o
So my thinking as I'm programming went something like this:
"OK... let me see... when I push the stick to the top right... I'm actually pushing it to the bottom right... so... in the map... I need to make anything in the bottom right send the signals for top right.... etc. etc."
When I was done, the maps were confusing but functional.
UNTIL... I got the the analog setting. You can't program the analog portion... so I was starting to feel the pain of the incorrectly mounted stick.
I was thinking... maybe there's a custom driver that I can install (ouch)... or maybe there's a firmware hack that I can get from Andy to make this work. I wasn't about to remount the stick.
I wrote Andy at Ultimarc (and he promptly responded with the answer).... it was staring me in the face all along....
Unscrew the 4 screws on the bottom of the U360, remove and rotate the board 90 degrees, reattach the board. Done. Such a simple fix to my rotated mounting problem.... it looks like it wasn't actually a problem at all.
I reloaded all the maps that I had modified back from the original install... and everything was normal.
Sometimes, it's the simple things that you overlook! :-\
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Is there a "TOP" marked on the U360's someplace? Did you just miss it in your anxiousness to get the joysticks mounted?
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Very very nice. I love wiring a control panel. It is so relaxing for some reason to just sit there and not have to use any power tools. Looking good! :cheers:
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Just unscrew the pcb from the bottom of the u360 and rotate it so the up indicator is pointing up.
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I didn't see anything on the U360 indicating "This Way UP". Before I designed/cut-out the panel, I did plug in the stick to see which way was up but it happened over time (i.e. I received/checked the sticks some time ago... and more recently worked on the panel).
I did take the stick apart... and I used the mounting plate to trace out the shape onto the panel for routing.
I suppose that I just got caught up in the moment.
[recently acquired knowledge]
This stick is really versatile.... it doesn't matter which way that you mount it because you can adjust for mounting by rotating the PCB at the bottom of the stick.
javeryh: re: relaxing
Yea... I really do enjoy working on this project. Unfortunately, most of the work was done in the garage... in Florida.... in the Summertime. :o I'm not complaining... but I must admit... now that it's all "inside work"... it's been much more relaxing.
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Looking Good. It's fun isn't it?
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The wiring looks pretty good to me. Looks like its gonna be a smart machine ;)
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Paul, I wanted to give you a big thanks for doing such an incredible job documenting the build. I started my project just a little after you, and your project has certainly made my job a whole lot easier. Your cabinet looks great!
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Tkx! All for the continued encouragement.
Groovy Game Gear Trackball (Electric Ice):
It's nice that they provide a lighting module but it would have been nicer if they provided a way to turn it on.
The GGG trackball [USB] interface connects to the Betson Imperial trackball... it's sold as one unit from GGG called the Electric Ice Trackball. Also included is a lighting module that's mounted to the center/bottom of the trackball housing. The lighting module has a small ribbon cable attached that provides a way to light the LED's (4 wires: 5v, Red, Green, Blue). For a few bucks more... they could have hooked up the 5v to the USB interface on the trackball and provided a switch to light the individual LED's.... then it would be a complete unit... with nothing else needed to provide a working, lighted trackball.
I know, it might be expected that you would hook this to a LED Wiz or similar. But I don't want a LED Wiz... I just want a lighted trackball. :hissy:
So... I built my own on/off switch / dimmer for the trackball LEDs.
This lets me:
1) completely switch off the LED's
2) select any/all of the three colors available
3) dim the LED's
Here's what it looks like connected:
(http://i312.photobucket.com/albums/ll340/pkopp10027/Arcade%20Project/IMG_1943.jpg)
and the electrical diagram is below (the 5th switch is unused). Also note that the series resistor for the LED's is not shown in the diagram... they are part of the GGG LED board.
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My control panel is done.
I'll have to get some better pictures (because taking photos of highly reflective control panel top is difficult).... but I wanted to share it with everyone....
Tada....
(http://i312.photobucket.com/albums/ll340/pkopp10027/Arcade%20Project/IMG_1958.jpg)
No bevel around the trackball hole (was it mountain that did that?)... but it fits nicely:
(http://i312.photobucket.com/albums/ll340/pkopp10027/Arcade%20Project/IMG_1960.jpg)
Another shot of the final wiring... with the USB cables layed in and the LED control mounted:
(http://i312.photobucket.com/albums/ll340/pkopp10027/Arcade%20Project/IMG_1953.jpg)
It opens nice and wide... a little too wide actually... the top is somewhat heavy and there's a lot of pressure on the hinges when fully opened. I'm probably going to add a small chain to limit the opening and provide some support:
(http://i312.photobucket.com/albums/ll340/pkopp10027/Arcade%20Project/IMG_1984.jpg)
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I also spent some time wiring the coin door yesterday.
It required 4 wires: a common ground, +12v (for the reject button lights), and 2 wires for the coin switch contacts.
I wired the ground just like the control panel... daisy chained from the common contacts on the 2 coin switches to one each of the contacts on the light bulbs.
I daisy chained the 12v to the other contact on the bulbs.
The two coin switch contacts are independent wires... that will run to the control panel (I need to find a nice, 2 contact, quick disconnect before I hook up the coin switches).
The 4 wires that run into the cabinet need to be flexible as the door needs to open and close. I attached the wires at the the top of the coin door leading into the cab... and the wires are attached to the cab at the bottom once inside. This leaves a nice length of wire for flexibility.
Light bulbs:
(http://i312.photobucket.com/albums/ll340/pkopp10027/Arcade%20Project/IMG_1972.jpg)
Coin Switch:
(http://i312.photobucket.com/albums/ll340/pkopp10027/Arcade%20Project/IMG_1974.jpg)
Door:
(http://i312.photobucket.com/albums/ll340/pkopp10027/Arcade%20Project/IMG_1968.jpg)
I'm now up to 132 hours of build time on this project that I started back in March.
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I mounted an arcade button to the side of the cabinet. I picked Black so it would blend in (and it does):
(http://i312.photobucket.com/albums/ll340/pkopp10027/Arcade%20Project/IMG_1991.jpg)
This button is wired to the terminal block on the inside of the cabinet (more on that below).
(http://i312.photobucket.com/albums/ll340/pkopp10027/Arcade%20Project/IMG_1996.jpg)
The PC is plugged into the "MASTER" outlet of a Philips smartstrip.
The monitor and audio amplifier are plugged into the controlled outlets.
I found a nice empty spot on the PC case and I mounted one of these:
(http://i312.photobucket.com/albums/ll340/pkopp10027/Arcade%20Project/IMG_1977.jpg)
The "RST" is tapped into the momentary on power switch on the front of the PC case. I traced the wires from the switch to a couple of connections on the motherboard... they were marked "reset". :) Once I verified that it was really the reset switch, I cut the wire and tapped in.
The 12v comes from one of peripheral power connectors.
With the PC inside the cabinet, I use a "patch cord" to connect these connections to the terminal block that I had installed in the cabinet.
My connections from the PC to the cabinet:
- reset switch to terminal block
- 12V to terminal block (for marquee and coin door lighting and for rear fan)
- audio out to amplifier to terminal block (for left and right speakers)
- USB to: U360, Electric Ice Trackball, and TurboTwist2 Spinner
- PS2 to Keywiz40
- [USB keyboard and PS2 mouse]
One push of the button on the side of the cabinet and it all comes to life.... another push and it all shuts down.
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I have a huge problem....
...and I knew that it was coming because I've read about this phonemenon on this board before....
My cabinet is playable. ;D
So now, I spend all my free time playing games and not finishing up.
I have only a few things left to do before I can officially call it complete:
- side art
- marquee
- coin switch hookup (to Keywiz)
The plus... I'm on vacation this week... so I plan on using my [cough, cough] creative talents and coming up with something for the marquee and sides.
The coin switches are easy... I just need to find a 2 position connector so it can be easily disconnected.
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you bad man , dont give it up !
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Lol, I know that problem...the playing makes work tough but it is so rewarding to have a few games...of course a few usually turns into a few hours...
Love the controller and wiring :)
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Something to consider when building the UAII…
Placing a large monitor in the UAII cabinet puts the rear of the monitor very close to the outside of the cabinet… so close that the flyback transformer is easily within reach. It's sort of sticking out there saying "touch me". :o
(http://i312.photobucket.com/albums/ll340/pkopp10027/Arcade%20Project/IMG_2012.jpg)
The plan for this cabinet (probably most cabinets) is to sit against a wall… but nevertheless, I wanted to protect against accidental “fingerpoken”.
I cut out some triple-corrugated cardboard and slid in the rear of the cabinet… leaving some vent area on the sides. My monitor runs surprisingly cool. I was expecting a good amount of heat. Even after it’s on for a few hours, the fan at the top of the cabinet is still exhausting only slightly warm air. I don’t expect the cardboard to effect the cooling.
(http://i312.photobucket.com/albums/ll340/pkopp10027/Arcade%20Project/IMG_2015.jpg)
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Even though it's not finished, the grandkids have had no problem figuring out how it works...
Adam (waiting for me to sit back down and play :) ):
(http://i312.photobucket.com/albums/ll340/pkopp10027/Arcade%20Project/IMG_2002.jpg)
... and Christopher and Tyler:
(http://i312.photobucket.com/albums/ll340/pkopp10027/Arcade%20Project/IMG_2006.jpg)
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So did you wind up using the Mag Stick Plus joys? If so, how do you like them?
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The MagStik+ Joysticks:
They are OK. I did read other people's comments/reviews before buying them... and the one thing that I read over and over is the comment about their short throw. Well.. they have a very short throw. I measured only 1/4" each side of center. I really wanted the sticks because of their 4/8 way, change from the top, design. I figured that I could get use to the short throw.
The sticks are well made and strong. They look like they could take some abuse. I've found that they work fine in 4 and 8 way mode but the diagonals are not always so easy to hit and the corners, are not as distinct as I'd like.
While these sticks can be switched from the top of the panel, you can't easily tell if you're in 4 or 8 way mode. It would be nice if there were some sort of indicator. If it's before the game starts, I find myself listening for the difference in the clicking sound (as both switches are depressed in the diagonals) to tell when it's in 8 way mode.
I did get use to them pretty quickly.
Compared to the U360... I actually like the MagStiks more. (I have the 360 w/hard spring and no restrictor). I might add the circular restrictor [that I've heard so much about] and that may change my comment. You can't really beat the U360 for versatility... it's really a different stick. It's nice to have both in the panel.
I've also heard others comment about the MagStik microswitch clicking. Yes, they click but I don't see it as a distraction... the click provides a bit of tactile feedback so I see it as a positive attribute.
Would I buy them again... yes.
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Excellent work all around Paul!
:applaud:
Keep it up!!!!
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Very nice work, Paul.
Have you tried a 49 way joystick? If so, could you comment on how the U360 compares to the Magsticks?
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Hey Benevolance.. I've never used a 49-way stick so I can't comment. ... see above... I thought that I did compare the MagStik to the U360.
If I had to add something, it would be to say that the U360 is also a nice stick. It's lighter than the MagStik and it seems more delicate.... even though I don't think that you could easily break a U360.
U360:
There are 4 metal supports extending downward from the base of the stick. These supports hold the electronics and sensor in place. On my stick, they look to be bent a little... almost like if you placed the stick on a hard surface and put a lot of pressure downward/diagonal on it... all 4 supports are bent equally. I wasn't sure if that was on purpose (some sort of "adjustment"), by design, or by accident (shipping?). I left it alone. The stick does seem to be just a little off center.... and even though there's another thread in the main forum about not using Windows calibration to adjust for it (vs changing the dead zone in the maps)... I used Windows calibration anyway and it seems to be working fine.
Although I can't say for sure (because I don't have one)... I think that I'd probably agree with what most people are saying about using the circular restrictor. Without the restrictor, there is quite a bit of throw on the U360... but it does feel nice and smooth through the entire movement.
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That was a retarded typo on my part. I meant to ask how the 49-way compares to the Magsticks...but since you haven't tried the 49-way, that answered my question. :D
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I have been reading these boards for months now, waiting for my stuff to arrive, I have had alot of time to think of ideas for my daughter's cabinet, I thought I'd share one of them, since you posed a question I had thought of as well.
"While these sticks can be switched from the top of the panel, you can't easily tell if you're in 4 or 8 way mode. It would be nice if there were some sort of indicator. "
Have you thought about using another microswitch mounted at the end of the white levers path on the magic stiks. ie. when it's set to 4-way light up an 8-seg led display reading "4" and "8" when the white lever moves (by changing the mode) and presses the microswitch.
My idea was to use 8 3-way leds embedded under the cpo around each joystick, and a microswitch controlled by that white lever, and have the control.ini via ledwiz and that switch light the 8 leds red or green, depending on whether or not it's in the correct mode for the current game.
I have a question, did you bondo over the plates and trackball mount before putting the overlay down? I can't seem to figure it out from the pictures. Or did you have your artwork printed backward on the back of a clear, self adhering vinyl, and stick it to your lexan?
BTW, you have great wood working skills. :applaud:
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Hey MacGyver,
Now that you mention it... I did actually consider a similar addition (albeit yours is more elaborate). I considered using a microswitch to detect the position of the white lever... but instead of lighting a display with a 4 or 8... I just wanted to light a single LED. So "LED on" might mean 4-way. I haven't ruled out the idea... I could even mount the LED under two of the admin buttons (so I don't have to drill into the panel). It wouldn't require any external controlled (i.e. LedWiz).
Just FYI... they make a number of 7 segment displays that you could use instead of using discrete LED's. I'm sure that you could find them at DigiKey or some place similar. I have a few of these "better than 7-segment" displays (attached photo). They require only 5v. It's a Hex display so you can light up anything from 0-F. The segments are not "boxy" so you get a nice round cornered 8.
re: your questions
I routed the trackball plate recess 1/16" deep. So when the plate was installed, it was flush with the top of the panel... no need for filler. The recess for the joystick mounting plates was routed 1/8" deep to allow for the mounting screws and because I wanted the dust washers to be under the CPO (I had to allow some clearance for them to move freely).
The Control Panel Overlay is printed on "indoor sign material" from Kinkos. It's thin and sort of plastic'ie. There's no adhesive. It's not printed backwards (i.e. printed normal like any printout). This CPO is sandwiched between the wood (on the bottom) and the Lexan (on top). It's all held together by the buttons (as the buttons all go through the panel and are secured with the button-nut on the bottom of the panel).
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Great job Paul!
:applaud: :applaud: :applaud:
I especially like your wiring job. Very professional. In my own projects, I get in a hurry near the end and wind up with a sloppy wiring job. Seeing your work makes me want to do better next time.
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Tkx! DaOld Man.
Marquee Retainer:
I spent a couple of hours mounting the marquee retainer. This is the marquee retainer that you can buy from Happ (which I bought through Divemaster). The specs for this product on the Happ site are nonexistent. Similar to: it's PVC and 10 feet long.
http://www.happ.com/accessories/49100000.htm
Once I received the retainer, I realized that it was a little wider than I had expected (1.5 inches wide). The retainer is an extruded J shape. It's nice and thick PVC so it won't bend easily. On the side opposite of the J bend, there's a raised line that runs the length of the retainer. It looks to be a guide for mounting on the edge of the wood.
(difficult to explain) If I had left it stock... it would have allowed the marquee to extend (IMHO) too far above and below the lighted marquee area... and it would have left a wide dark stripe at the top and bottom of the marquee (where it would be blocking the light from behind).
Bottom line... I decided to cut it down.
I considered using a hack saw and a utility knife but this stuff is pretty thick and I wanted a nice straight edge. This might be a good time to mention how handy routers are... :)
Here's the marquee retainer before and after (the top is the original retainer):
(http://i312.photobucket.com/albums/ll340/pkopp10027/Arcade%20Project/IMG_2018.jpg)
I drilled a few mounting holes in the retainer (since I would need them anyway) and I used them to secure the retainer to a piece of scrap wood. I added another piece of wood for the router to slide across. Using a pattern trace router bit, I trimmed the retainer down to size. You can see the bits of black plastic "snow" from the first cut:
(http://i312.photobucket.com/albums/ll340/pkopp10027/Arcade%20Project/IMG_2026.jpg)
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With trimmed the down marquee retainers in hand, I ran into another problem.... how to attach them to the cabinet.
The bottom retainer would be easy... just screw it into the wood. On the UAII and probably other cabinet designs, the marquee is recessed.... so there's no way to slide in a marquee once the retainers are attached.... and if I slide in the marquee first, I wouldn't be able to get to the screws. The top retainer needed to be detachable. I considered using Velcro but I wanted something more "sturdy".
On the top retainer, I used an aluminum angle iron and mounted the retainer to it. The angle iron will sit on top of the cabinet and be attached with a couple of screws.... easy on, easy off.
It looks like this:
(http://i312.photobucket.com/albums/ll340/pkopp10027/Arcade%20Project/IMG_2039.jpg)
(http://i312.photobucket.com/albums/ll340/pkopp10027/Arcade%20Project/IMG_2044.jpg)
And the finished retainer mounting looks like this:
(http://i312.photobucket.com/albums/ll340/pkopp10027/Arcade%20Project/IMG_2047.jpg)
.... now... if I only had a marquee to put in it... <that's next>
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nice workaround. btw did you test if there will be light bleeding through the speaker holes? because i see the marquee light is just above the speakers
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Did you need to use a special router bit to cut metal? Or was it just a regular carbide pattern bit? You've given me an idea of how to make my marquee holder. Thanks.
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Martijn:
There's no light bleeding through any of the mounting holes, etc. for the speakers.
BUT... as an extra added bonus....
The light does backlight the red speaker diaphragms making them glow red. It's not something that I expected... but it looks cool. So cool... I considered adding extra lighting to make them really glow (just considered... I probably won't really do it.... yet).
Benevolance:
I didn't need to cut any metal. I cut down the plastic marquee retainers first.... then mounted them to the angle iron. In the photo, it may look like they were cut while attached... but that's because of my precision measurements. ;D nah... not really... it's about 1/16" off but that didn't matter.
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Heh. The plastic looked like it was metal in the photo.
I'm intrigued by your dimmer switch for the trackball. I bought the Electric Ice trackball, too. I'd like to do the same thing myself, but I know very little about wiring electronics. I have a few questions if you don't mind?
The red wire that goes into the first terminal of the switch is the 5v that you pulled that from the USB board that's on the trackball itself, right? And the second wire in that pairing goes...where, exactly? Regarding the ribbon cable for the lighting module, wires 2-4 go into the switch. The regular 5v just plugs into the green block?
What is the green block beneath the red switch? It looks like the red switch part might 'plug' into the green block beneath it? If that's the case, are the wires going into the red switch or into the green block?
The blue block in the top left is a resistor? It doesn't look like it's connected in any way to the circruit? Is that the case or is there a connection underneath?
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Benevolance:
I've updated the schematic that I posted to include pin numbers. This should clear it up a little.
Where to start....
The green block is just a 16 pin socket. I wanted to be able to replace the switch if it broke... without having to resolder the wires.... so I used a socket.
The red block is a simple switch (x5 but I only needed 4; switch 5 is unused). The switch plugs into the socket. I could have wired directly to the switch but I would have had the issue above.
The blue block is a variable resistor. It has 3 connections... one for each end of the resistor... and one for a wiper arm. I used 2 of the 3 connections... one end... and the wiper arm (which provides for the varying resistance).
Yes, the red wire comes from the +5 pin on the trackball interface. The little header pins on the trackball interface provided for an easy way to tap +5 and Ground. The white wire is the ground. I needed both.
If you have a look at the schematic....
- The red wire comes from the TB and connects to one side of switch 1 (opening switch 1 lets me turn it off completely)
- The other side of switch 1 connects to one end of the resistor
- The wiper arm of the resistor provides the 5v back to the LEDs (in other words... the wiper arm is connected to pin 1 of the ribbon cable coming from the TB.)
(at this point the LED's all have power but none of them turn on because there's no ground.)
- each of the remaining 3 wires from the trackball ribbon cable are connected to one side of each of 3 switches (switch 2, 3, and 4).
- The opposite side of switches 2, 3, and 4 are all connected together along with ground (the white wire from the trackball interface).
Make sense... or add more confusion?.... :dizzy:
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How do you like that tinted glass Paul, now that you have had a chance to play some games on it?
Do you plan on trying any light gun games?
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Paul, that was immensely helpful. Thank you very much.
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The tinted glass is great! When the cabinet is off, it has a nice tinted look that somewhat hides the bezel and monitor (not that it needs hiding :) ). When it's on, you don't even notice that that glass tinted... unless you are consciously looking for tinted glass. Highly recommended.
No, I have no plans on using a light gun... but I have found that some of the light gun games play pretty nicely [for single player] using the trackball... Bang! being a current favorite.
Marquee Update:
I made a cardboard marquee last night to test fit the marquee mounts. It fit nicely... so now I have the exact dimensions that I'll need for the real thing. I'll be out of town for a week... so graphics design will be put on hold for a bit.
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can U still see the bezel though?? I have a 31" monitor and I am planning on building another cabinet but I have NO idea what to do about a bezel. they dont one for that size and I dont wanna make some r andom bezel out of cardboard box or whatever. maybe tinted glass will work best.
anyway nice cabinet. :cheers:
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Yes, you can see through it... it won't hide the bezel/no-bezel completely. You can get different shades of gray... from what I read (before ordering), the light gray seemed to be the tinted glass of choice. If you go too dark, you'll have issues with monitor brightness.
As you probably saw... here's what it looks like with the arcade powered down:
http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?topic=82241.msg878506#msg878506
and here are the specs on the glass:
http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?topic=82241.msg865815#msg865815
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I am still trying to decide if I want to get smoked glass or not. The one very positive thing I can say about the Makvision monitor is the blacks on it are amazing. Vertical games look excellent; the black bars on the sides of the screen are pitch black like the monitor is not even on in those spots... My TV does not even handle blacks that well!
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One of the members here asked me about my trackball LED control.
http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?topic=82241.msg897333#msg897333
I thought that I would share the answers with the general population.
First, I'd like to say...
LED's require a current limiting resistor to be in series with the power supply. This limits the current once the LED lights up. The LED lighting module on the Electric Ice Trackball already has these resistors in place... so lighting one of the LED's on that module is simply a matter of supplying 5v and Ground to the appropriate LED.
The USB interface on the trackball gets 5v from the computer so it's a perfect place to get the power that's needed to light the LED's.
The LED control that I built does nothing more that that.... it supplies 5v to each of the 3 LEDs.
The tweaks...
I added a switch so I can control [on/off] for each individual LED... and... I added a variable resistor so I could supply less than 5v allowing me to dim the LED.
... side note... looking back... I probably could have skipped the dimming... I've never dimmed the trackball... it looks really good at full brightness.
> How hard was it to build? :dizzy:
That depends. If you can't solder, you're going to have a tough time. It wasn't difficult to build... you do have to have some dexterity to wrap small wires around small pins.
> Are the parts pretty easy to get at a Radio Shack or Fry's? :dunno
I had the parts in my parts bin. Yes, Frys would probably have these parts... Radio Shack; I'm not so sure.... they aren't what they use to be. You can definitely get them from DigiKey.
> What was the cost? :dunno
I'd be surprised if you had to pay more than $10 for everything... and I'm guessing that for that $10, you're probably going to get extras (i.e. two in a bag, etc. from Frys).
> Do you have a parts list? :dunno
8 pin IC socket [optional] (I used a 14 pin socket because I didn't have an 8 laying around)
5K Variable resistor [optional]
4 position SPST DIP switch (I used a 5 because I didn't have a 4)
1" x 1" piece of perfboard to mount everything
Some wire (you'll need two... 1 for power, 1 for ground)
> Any instructions? :dunno
Connect the power and ground wires to the corresponding +5 and gnd on the trackball interface (you'll see them marked on the interface board). You should now have a ribbon cable from the LED's and a power/gnd from the interface in your hand.
I'll call the side of the switch with the numbers (1-5) side A and the other side, side B (ref: photo).
Connect the power wire to side A of switch 1. Connect Side B of switch 1 to the center conductor of the variable resistor (the VR will likely have 3 connections). Connect either side (pick one) of the variable resistor to the 5v wire on the *ribbon cable* coming from the trackball LEDs.
-- at this point--- you've got the LED's powered but since there's no ground yet, nothing lights up. The 3 remaining wires (part of the ribbon cable coming from the trackball) are ground wires for each of the 3 LED's
Connect pins 2,3,4 together on side A of the switch... and connect the ground wire (coming from the trackball interface) to any of these 3 pins (connecting them all together.)
You should now have 3 unconnected wires left (the 3 grounds coming from the trackball LED's).
Connect each one of these wires, one to each pin [2, 3, and 4] on side B of the switch. One wire per pin. It doesn't really matter which one goes where... the order will determine which LED color lights up with which switch.
That's it.
Note that this only allows you to turn on/off each individual LED... and dim them all at once. This mod does not allow you to dim the LEDs individually.
(http://i312.photobucket.com/albums/ll340/pkopp10027/Arcade%20Project/IMG_1943.jpg)
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Well... in line with the space theme, my cabinet now has a name.... BLASTOFF!
I designed the marquee using Photoshop and gave the artwork to Scott at Mame Marquees (because I heard so many good things about Mame Marquees here on the board).
I can say that the results were nothing less than spectacular. Although I didn't see the basic marquee material, the "ultimate" is really nice. It's a real thick plastic material with a slightly textured surface on one side. No doubt worth the extra $10.
I had Mame Marquees cut and include the Plexi. It was cut exactly as I specified and it fit perfectly.
Here's the Marquee... more photos will follow shortly.
(http://i312.photobucket.com/albums/ll340/pkopp10027/Arcade%20Project/IMG_2784.jpg)
The photo really doesn't do it justice. Here's a jpg of the artwork.
(http://i312.photobucket.com/albums/ll340/pkopp10027/Arcade%20Project/marquee.jpg)
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Paulscade,
Looking good, glad to see an update. Need to see some pictures of the marquee installed as well as some full cabinet pics.
Did Mame Marquees do (2) pieces of plexi and front and back to sandwich them between?
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Yes... there are two clear Plexiglass panels ... each is .08" thick. They were cut to my exact specification (to the 1/16"). The sandwhich fits really nicely into the marquee holder.
I took a load of photos yesterday evening. Once I go through them all, I'll post them here.
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(http://i312.photobucket.com/albums/ll340/pkopp10027/Arcade%20Project/PlayerSelect.jpg)
I thought that I would share this little applet as others may also find it useful....
Hardware:
The GGG KeyWiz40 (but the hardware really doesn't matter)
Some Background:
The Keywiz allows for multiple profiles to be applied (one at a time). The profile files can be selected using a command line switch when launching the keywiz downloader. So I can program my buttons differently depending on which configuration file that is selected. It also allows for 2 profiles to be selected via the joystick (MAME default and the currently loaded configuration) by holding down the Shazaaam key and moving the stick.
I have a two player control panel setup... but I find that it's *usually* played by one person (but certainly not always).
I have two configuration files that are usually used --
Two Player - this profile programs the controls like you might expect; the buttons/stick on the left are for player 1 and the buttons/stick on the right are for player 2. The analog stick is also used by player 1 by default.
One Player - (the default) - both sets of controls left and right are all programmed as player 1 controls. Button 1 on the left is the same as button 1 on the right, etc.
In the one player configuration, I can stand wherever I want when playing... I can use the stick on the left and the buttons on the right... or the stick/buttons on either side (like you normally would). It also allows me to switch hands (i.e. use the stick on the right and buttons on the left)
My "Problem":
I wanted a simple menu system that lets me select a profile to use at boot time. While I can switch between two profiles using the joystick... my only choices are the MAME defaults and whatever has been uploaded to the KeyWiz.
I wanted to be able to choose between my player one and player two profiles at boot time. While I could have used a batch file, that's pretty ugly. After discussing the "problem" with a friend at work, he wrote me this .hta menu system that works great.... and I'm real pleased with the way that it looks.
How it works:
Pretty simple... it waits for about 10 seconds for a keypress. If no key is pressed, the default option (keypress of 1 [one player]) is chosen.
Valid keypresses are [currently]:
1 - one player
2 - two player
esc - exit
end - exit
You can add additional keypresses by expanding the case statement.
The applet launches the keywiz downloader with the appropriate option then launches my frontend [Maximus Arcade]
You can modify the paths to point to whatever front end that you want... you can also modify the KeyWiz downloader options and path (or replace it completely).
The screen positioning and size are optimized for 1024 x 768 (which is what I run).
Drop these files into the same directory and run the hta.
Programming credit: Billy Casselberry
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When I mounted the marquee, I had some light leaks... maybe 1/16" on either side of the marquee. I placed some light pencil marks where the front of the marquee would sit and I used some foam tape to seal up the leaks:
(http://i312.photobucket.com/albums/ll340/pkopp10027/Arcade%20Project/IMG_2789.jpg)
(http://i312.photobucket.com/albums/ll340/pkopp10027/Arcade%20Project/IMG_2792.jpg)
I'm happy with the results:
(this photo taken with no flash using only the backlighting from the NovaMatrix from GGG)
(http://i312.photobucket.com/albums/ll340/pkopp10027/Arcade%20Project/IMG_2796.jpg)
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Hello Paulscade, I just wanted to say how good your cab is looking.
I'm currently building my first cab, but havn't got very far yet. I have a question for you:
I was planning on using 2 x U360 joysticks and no other joysticks. For what reason do you (and others like you) use 2 x magsticks (or similar) as well as a U360? Why don't you just use 2 x U360s? Should I re-consider my joystick choice?
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Being a first build, I did a lot of homework... reading this forum and searching the web for any info that I could get... so I could make the right choice... well... at least an informed choice.
I wanted a universal panel. I've always liked the feel of real arcade sticks... the ones that have corners (4 way sticks). I also knew that I would be playing plenty of 8 way games. The Magsticks seemed to fit the bill. In hindsight, I think that I made the right choice. They are a very short throw... but I've got very use to them.
The U360 was selected because I wanted an analog stick in the panel (although I haven't exploited the analog functionality yet). I do find myself using it for the flying games (horizontal and vertical scrollers) because it seems smoother.
I'd probably agree with what most people say about the U360 stick... get the hard spring and the circular restrictor. I've got the hard spring... but no restrictor. The stick does have a lot of throw without the restrictor.
As for your choice of using 2 x U360's ... I suppose it's somewhat of a personal preference. If you go with only U360's, you won't have that 4 or 8 way feel... unless you add one of the restrictors... but, then, that sort of, defeats the purpose of having a fully programmable stick...
Side note and off topic a bit...
I spent about an hour composing a nice post with photos (of Blastoff!)... when I went to post, I got an error because I was trying to attach an xls file... when I hit back... my post was gone. :banghead: My next post will probably have photos of the project.
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Looking forward to your photos. Make sure you have one of the full cabiner so we can see it in all it's glory.
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Some project facts:
??? Research for the project started in November 2007
:laugh: My build lasted from March 2008 to December 2008 (mostly weekends)
:o Project cost: about $2100 (excluding the PC)
:applaud: Total build time: 138 hours
I'm 98% complete now. I consider the last 2% of the project the time that it will take me to get together and apply the side art.
I've attached a spreadsheet detailing all the project costs and build time.
This really was a fun project to build... and it's my first woodworking project (aside from when I was a kid and bolted together a few 2x4s to make speaker stands).
Here are the photos of the project:
(http://i312.photobucket.com/albums/ll340/pkopp10027/Arcade%20Project/IMG_2804.jpg)
(http://i312.photobucket.com/albums/ll340/pkopp10027/Arcade%20Project/IMG_2801.jpg)
(http://i312.photobucket.com/albums/ll340/pkopp10027/Arcade%20Project/IMG_2810.jpg)
(http://i312.photobucket.com/albums/ll340/pkopp10027/Arcade%20Project/IMG_2833.jpg)
(http://i312.photobucket.com/albums/ll340/pkopp10027/Arcade%20Project/IMG_2834.jpg)
(http://i312.photobucket.com/albums/ll340/pkopp10027/Arcade%20Project/IMG_2850.jpg)
(http://i312.photobucket.com/albums/ll340/pkopp10027/Arcade%20Project/IMG_3018.jpg)
(http://i312.photobucket.com/albums/ll340/pkopp10027/Arcade%20Project/IMG_3017.jpg)
... And "No flash" shot:
(http://i312.photobucket.com/albums/ll340/pkopp10027/Arcade%20Project/IMG_2824.jpg)
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I think this is one of the best documented project builds I've seen on this site and the final product is excellent. I bookmarked this thread early and routinely followed along with the updates. I took a lot of inspiration for my own cabinet from this thread. And especially thanks for all the help with wiring the lighting for the trackball!
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Paul,
I just want to first say that you did a fantastic job on your cab, and your extremely thorough documentation is really appreciated!
I have a question for you... I was curious about your decision to use a hi-res (VGA/SVGA/XGA) monitor instead of one that supports the authentic arcade resolutions (like the WG D9800 or the Betson). How close to authentic do the older games look on your monitor? Any regrets?
I'm struggling in my decision between the monitors that support the authentic resolutions vs a hi-res model like you got. I can see advantages both ways. I'm leaning toward a hi-res, but my only fear is that I might be sacrificing too much with regards to the display of the classic, low-res games.
Any insight you can offer is greatly appreciated!
Thanks!
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@gamester
Tkx! for the compliments... let's pause a second so I can soak it up. ;D
No regrets at all!.... none, nada, zip.... I run the front end at 1024x768... I'd run it higher if the monitor supported it. I think that it switches resolution and/or refresh rate automatically once you run MAME... to whatever MAME needs.
The monitor looks great. The games all look "authentic" enough to me... sure, they are missing [most] all those scan lines... with the right filter enabled, they look (IMHO) better than the original. The video filtering does make a difference.
Because of the monitor size and the smoked glass in front of the monitor... the vertical games look great too.
re: decision to buy this monitor
I really didn't have any experience at all... this is, after all, my first build. I started off looking for an LCD monitor for the project... but then quickly realized that they don't make *big* LCD monitors (say bigger than 21" or so) in a 4x3 aspect ratio. For me, 4x3 was a requirement... so I knew that I would have to go with a CRT. I went looking for the biggest CRT (within reason) with the highest resolution that I could find.
No regrets... I'd buy this monitor again.
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I have to agree with the masses, you did it right and it shows. I learned alot and took notes on specific things, thank you Paul.
Just one thing I noticed in the final pictures, a errr request if you will.
Please either:
A: move the cabinet
or
B: Re-locate the picture of the marine. (If he visits and sees blastoff covering his pic he might beat you, plus he deserves it).
(this was a joke).
Thanks alot, now build a jukebox or something, how about a CNC, so you can document it and it will help me,,.,,,,heeee heee.
take care.
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DAMN!!!
sometimes, I like to wander around in the forum, see what people did and stuff...
And Here I got an answer for a problem I have too!!!
I got two ultrastick 360 in this cab
http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?topic=110012.0 (http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?topic=110012.0)
And due to space issue I had to put the sticks in the wrong "side" as you did... And sometimes it's a pain in the ass for some games
And reading your stuff, I saw the "just turn the pcb at 90°" ... It's so evident that I didn't see it...
thank you, gonna grab a screwdriver and move the sucker :notworthy: