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I swear I saw a video of someone on here that did the exact same thing with that switch but I can't find it again. I just want to know where he found that switch. Anyone know who did that?
I can't seem to figure out how the best way to keep spills off of the artwork without permanently sealing the panel.
What kind of joysticks are those?
Are you sure you want to redo the control panel first? When it is done. you will play instead of work on the thing.Yeah you're right. ;) I'll probably do everything all at once in this approximate order:
In all seriousness though...why do you have so many panels? I would make the CP cover as one piece of plexi...then route it and just use your buttons and T Molding to hold it in place...you really don't need the bolts/screws. Then use a thin strip of tape on the inner perimetre of the top of the button hole to seal the space between plexi and artwork. The button will still fit in.
Absolutely agree with your reasons for doing this but still think you could get away with one panel as opposed to several once you have shrunk it a bit...will create a better seal as well imo only ;)Are you talking about taking off the wings and adding the 3rd and 4th player to the main panel? I don't think I have room for that? The center panel rotates so anything outside that center panel will have to be separate.
gl! :cheers:
Are you talking about taking off the wings and adding the 3rd and 4th player to the main panel? I don't think I have room for that? The center panel rotates so anything outside that center panel will have to be separate.
One question though: How big is your cabinet?It is pretty giant. I designed it to have a 1/2" clearance through a standard exterior door with the wing control panels removed. I wanted the largest CRT possible which ended up being a 27" tube. The width is approximately 32.5". Eventually it will end up in a basement/entertainment room.... I hope. (Wife approval pending) ;D
It looks HUGE!!! Will your garage, or basement, be the final location for your cab?
So, does that control panel rotate? Or does it just flip down for access?The panel rotates. But I only ever got ONE panel installed so I guess you could say it did just flip down for access. This time around It''ll be a full three rotatable panels.
The giant rotating monitor is slick, in any case!
Speaking from experience, planning around parts you have is much better practice than building/hacking o what you intend to buy. A major thing I would at least re-do is the size of the control panel, which is out of proportion from the rest of the machine.I've shrunk the panel by design already by 6". This will bring it more into proportion and allow me to create a "deck" panel that will have UI buttons, semi-auto rotate monitor switch, player 1 & 2 coin/start buttons and a black light to shine onto the control panel underneath some artwork. I'm going to be adding to the existing rotating monitor mount to make it more robust and be operated by the motor.
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...That's one of the main things I'm worried about. I'm not using a monitor, I'll have a 27" CRT TV. Last time I rotated a TV the degauss didn't work well... If at all. (factory degauss). I think I'm going to have to do the same thing (power off, rotate, power on/degauss) and pray that it works.. Otherwise I'll have to build my own degauss circuit and figure out how to mount THAT as well.
I mounted my motor on a disc at the back of the monitor, so the video interference from the motors magnets wasnt as bad, however I could still see it slightly.
I power the monitor down during rotation. When the monitor powers back on, it degausses, so that takes care of the magnetic interference.
...
Anyway, I like this project and will be watching, but I will try not to put in my two cents worth unless asked. LOL.I really appreciate that you're watching! Your project was one of the jobs that inspired me to go ahead with my rotating monitor w/MOTOR build! If you have any ideas/advice go right ahead! I feel more like MacGuyver (wheres that gum wrapper?) building this machine than I do any esteemed decorative builder... Any advice would be great! PLUS I have no problem telling any of you guys that you're full of dukey and that I don't like whatever idea you came up with! ;D
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Ok. So we've made it to Iowa and we're finally getting settled and I'm able to attack the few remaining issues on the box, one of which includes this degauss problem. The TV is a "newer" CRT (it has component in) and has the giant degauss cable going around the outside of the back of the screen. I've set up a relay circuit (I think similar to the one daOldMan put together a diagram for... Thank you!) that shuts off the tv while the motor is turning. When the TV is vertical and the motor stops the color is still whack. Degauss fail. Ideas? Quick solutions? Or do I need to make my own degauss coil?...That's one of the main things I'm worried about. I'm not using a monitor, I'll have a 27" CRT TV. Last time I rotated a TV the degauss didn't work well... If at all. (factory degauss). I think I'm going to have to do the same thing (power off, rotate, power on/degauss) and pray that it works.. Otherwise I'll have to build my own degauss circuit and figure out how to mount THAT as well.
I mounted my motor on a disc at the back of the monitor, so the video interference from the motors magnets wasnt as bad, however I could still see it slightly.
I power the monitor down during rotation. When the monitor powers back on, it degausses, so that takes care of the magnetic interference.
...
You better hope none of those wires ever, ever comes loose... lol
Riveting. Reminds me of an amusement park ride! The wiring alone about made my head asplode. :applaud:It was a LOT of wiring and really most of the wires are channeled and heat wrapped. There are a few Power and Ground wires that are loose but color coded, a few wires connected to optical encoders that have to be loose (two rotating joys and two spinners) and the rest of the loose wires are the giant black USB cables from all the boards in the panel box, of which I had no control over the length (6 LED WIZ and 1 OPTIPACK + 1 USB HUB). So its not as bad as it looks. Those USB cables are really the bulk of the rats nest. So troubleshooting any wiring problems shouldn't be too tough and there's really no risk of shorts with all the heat wrap.
Just a quick question...why not go LCD for this project? I know in my strange ranking queue I put Arcade monitors/Scart tvs highest and rank LCD just under that but above Svideo/component tv. It will solve your degaussing issues and with the right tweaks look better than the component signal. You will also get a progressive signal as opposed to an interlaced one which will be easier on the eyes. Just a thought.AGREED! The CRT has been nothing but a design nightmare with the rotating monitor setup and it weighs a ton. It finally works though (except for degauss), and I will be definitely moving to LCD if this CRT bites it. I'm too far along now to want to make that change right now.
In all honesty, when I first started reading about your plans I had some doubts. But you've really put it together well, it's impressive. I love the green. I want to do a green and black cab for my next one.Thanks man, I really appreciate that, it was a lot of work. Believe me when I say I had my doubts too. Not to toot my own horn, but I really REALLY like the blinky buttons and backlights. Like REALLY. My favorite part! Thats a lot of LED wires. :) Kudos to the Headsoft guys for making a kickass plugin for GameEx! (I like the kick plates too, but just so heavy!)
Personally, I think you should have just built a dedicated horizontal and vertical cab. It would have been easier, probably would have cost the same, and probably would take up the same amount of space as that best does, and I think it would have looked nicer. I would have ditched it and started overYeah, I'll be the first to admit that I bit of more than I had time to chew. I wanted to do everything in one, got greedy and didn't have enough time to really do what I wanted. In fact I axed the third panel on the rotating part that was going to be analog flight yoke/driving wheel. Can you imagine what the inside of the console would've looked like then? Lack of time was also the exact reason I didn't want to start over. On the other hand I really wanted to GO BIG. I wanted the biggest monitor I could get in there so I did the maximum width (34") to fit in a standard home entry door (which is not the same size as interior doors BTW). I wanted to utilize the whole screen vertical or horizontal hence the rotating monitor. I wanted 4 players so D&D (and like games) were a possibility. I wanted dual sticks and xenophobe playability. Spinners, trackballs all with 2 players+. I got all that :). What I didn't get was the analog stuff. :/ I learned a lot and will be considering a juke project and a counter-top project after this one is FIN! I couldn't of done it though without this community. Whoo boy! You guys rock! It amazes me what some of you guys can put together. Looks so freakin' pro!