| (http://www.cdj.dk/arcade/prototype.jpg) | First i sat down and built a prototype using cardboard...just to get a general idea of the design i was going for. X-arcade theme? Maybe...Anyway, its unthemed and unnamed at the moment! |
| (http://www.cdj.dk/arcade/sides.jpg) | Then I cut out 1 side using 19mm MDF and used that side to cut out a second side. I then sanded the two sides, so they would be identical. |
| (http://www.cdj.dk/arcade/wheels.jpg) | I cut out a 60x50cm wide buttomplate, also using 19mm MDF. My cabinet isnt going to be that deep, since I plan on using a flatscreen monitor. The wife sorta insisted, that I kept the thing as small as possible. I then added some wooden supports, that would be used for putting everything together. I then added some heavy-duty rubber wheels so this cabinet would be easy to move around. These cost a bit, but I thought it was worth it. I suspect this thing is going to be HEAVY :( |
| (http://www.cdj.dk/arcade/wheels2.jpg) | I wanted this to be sturdy, so I used bolts to make sure, that the wheels wouldnt go wobly and fall off. The whole thing seems rock stead at this point :) Anyway...the buttom got glued and screwed onto one of the sides that I cut out earlier. Obviously I had to mount the buttomplate a bit higher than the buttom of the cabinet so the wheels wouldnt show. |
| (http://www.cdj.dk/arcade/lightbox2.jpg) | I then built the lightbox by adding two evenly spaced boards |
| (http://www.cdj.dk/arcade/lightbox.jpg) | One of the boards is deeper than the other to leave room for wiring and the speaker board, that will go beneath the smaller board. |
| (http://www.cdj.dk/arcade/standup.jpg) | At this point I forgot to take pictures of the next few things I added...I kinda got caught up in a building frenzy...It was exciting assembling the whole thing and finally get it to stand up! :) The speaker board was added and I still have plenty of room behind it for installing the speakers and wiring. I added a shelf in the lower half of the cabinet to further stabilize the whole thing. It's fixed in place, so I really hope that I wont need to move it later on...well...I simply CANT move it. There is still plenty of room in the buttom for...well..for whatever im going to put down there. I also built a frame, where the cabinet door is going to be and some "rollers?" for the drawer. |
| (http://www.cdj.dk/arcade/drawer.jpg) | I made a really simple drawer to hold the keyboard and mouse. I wanted to use some higher quality sliders for the drawer, but those were simply too expensive. These are completely basic with a rolling system. I don't plan on using the drawer much, which is why I figured this would be a good place to save some money. It can easily be changed later if I get tired of the cheap ones. |
| (http://www.cdj.dk/arcade/shelf.jpg) | I installed the drawer which works perfectly by the way! The shelf that I added earlier for stability is perfect for holding the computer. The computer im using is dual-core IBM in a small casing, which should be more than enough to run these old games. I really want to add an external powerbutton, so that I wont have to open the cabinet door to turn the system on or off. Ill have to look into this later...im sure I can find a tutorial somewhere :) |
Yes! I really need a theme...but thats a lot harder than I expected.
| (http://www.cdj.dk/arcade/hinges.jpg) | A closeup of the hinges for the door and the frame thats essentialy a "cabinet in the cabinet". This way the door is going to be a nice, tight fit. |
| (http://www.cdj.dk/arcade/door_outside.jpg) | I cut out the door to the cabinet which is exactly 60cm. These kitchendoor hinges are the only hinges I know that can open a door in such a tight fit. I also made a halfmoon hole for opening the door. This won't be seen once the door is in place, and I prefer this instead of a knob. The holes on the outside will be filled with woodputty and then sanded. You'll never see them once the painting/artwork is in place. |
| (http://www.cdj.dk/arcade/softclose.jpg) | I added some softclose fitting to the hinges. The door operation will be silky smooth :) A nice little detail that didn't really cost me anything since I had some leftover from when I built my kitchen a few months back. |
| (http://www.cdj.dk/arcade/door_mounted.jpg) | The door is mounted and works perfectly. Its such a tight fit, that theres nearly no gap. The hinges were adjustable but that wasn't even needed. |
| (http://www.cdj.dk/arcade/light.jpg) | Let there be light! :) I decided on an ultra simple way to fix my marquee light. I bought a really cheap light that gives off a nice, soft yellow light. I screwed the lamp onto two sticks which fit perfectly in the lightbox. This was it was completely centered and easy to adjust depth-wise once I get a marquee on this baby. |
| (http://www.cdj.dk/arcade/standup_light.jpg) | The cabinet door closed and the lights are on :) I love the soft light that this cheap lamp offers. Im hoping it will be perfect for the marquee but I really have no clue. I guess I'll have to wait and see... |
| (http://www.cdj.dk/arcade/screen.jpg) | I got my hands on a 21.3 inch 4:3 monitor! Its a samsung syncmaster 214T and it only cost me around 100$. It was really hard for me finding non-widescreen monitors larger than 19". I figured 19" inches would be too small, which is why im really excited about getting this. The only downside is that its silvercolor, which means I might have to paint the monitor casing black so it will be completely invisble once I add the bezel. |
Yes! I really need a theme...but thats a lot harder than I expected.
I spent a lot of time on the theme for my build. A couple of things that helped me...
1. Start sketching ideas early. Even if you can't draw, keep a series of sketches and your ideas won't be lost.
2. Goggle an "idea", then select the "Images" tab. I Googled "Classic Arcades", "Dogfights", "Aircraft Art", "80's design"... and a bunch more. As I looked at the images from the search results, it spawned new ideas for my theme.
3. Go to any place that has arcade machines. I went to places that had arcades, and just walking around looking at the games for inspiration.
4. After you think you've got a good theme, revisit it often. I tweaked my theme all the way to the end.
Keep at it. :)
I usually use Photoshop or visio to design as I am most comfortable in those applications and its easy for me as I use them for my day job. If you don't have access to those or experience with them- Mameroom had a tool to design control panels and is still available online at http://www.mameroom.com/files/mameroomcpd.zip (http://www.mameroom.com/files/mameroomcpd.zip).
My problem atm is finding a good angle for the controlpanel. Im thinking somewhere around 10 degrees for a stand-up cabinet like this.
| (http://www.cdj.dk/arcade/saw.jpg) | The design of my controlpanel is going to be really simple (like everything else in my build). I love my Festool saw that cuts angles when needed. The 2 meter guide that comes with this saw is also a big plus! After a lot of measuring last night, I settled on an angle of 8 degrees for the controlpanel. |
| (http://www.cdj.dk/arcade/cp_raw.jpg) | When finally installed the controlpanel will be raised about 2 mm and also a piece og 3 mm plexi will go on top. Im still considering if the controlpanel needs to be hinged so I can open it. It should be pretty accessible even if I don't hinge it, but obviously it would be impossible to make big changes to it unless its hinged. But I honestly don't think I will be making any big changes once I get this cabinet running. Either way it should be easy changing switches and wires without it being able to open. |
| (http://www.cdj.dk/arcade/cp_raw2.jpg) | The monitor is still standing on the drawer, which ofcourse isn't the long-term plan ;) I figured it would be best to wait with monitor installation until the controlpanel dimensions were completed. When standing infront of the machine (pretending to play games :) ) the angle of the controlpanel seems perfect. I hope im right, since It would suck if it was too much of a strain on the wrists after many hours of play. |
| (http://www.cdj.dk/arcade/screenmount.jpg) | Today I got my mount for the screen. It's gonna be so nice to get the monitor out of the drawer and into a fixed position in the cabinet. It's a very basic VESA100 mount, that can only be mounted in a fixed position. The good thing about this model is that its very flat. It only adds about 1 cm to the depth of the screen. Also its very easy to install and only cost me around 15$. |
| (http://www.cdj.dk/arcade/screen2.jpg) | The monitor is in! It took me a long time to get the position just right...but I think I nailed it. The angle seems good :) |
Wasn't there another Starcade in history some time with groovalicious artwork?Maybe you are remembering
But regarding this artwork, I feel like it is being wasted on an arcade.
This needs to be on a disco ball spinning jukebox.
| (http://www.cdj.dk/arcade/tmolding.jpg) | I finally got my 3/4" T-molding. I ended up ordering it from the US, even though I could have gotten it from UK (I live in Denmark), but the UK shop didn't sell arbors and slot cutters. Took about 2 weeks to get here, but I guess thats normal. My wife thought I had ordered her something nice...she was kind of disapointed after she opened it >:D |
| (http://www.cdj.dk/arcade/slotcutter.jpg) | I had to buy the slotcutter and arbor from the T-molding shop as well, since the cheapest set I could find here in Denmark would cost about 50$ ! Well...I guess there is a connection between price and quality...since one wing of the slot cutter was barely attached when I opened the package! I decided to remove it, so it wouldn't fly off whilst routing and cause all sorts of havok. It still works, but I had to cut slower that I normally would have. |
| (http://www.cdj.dk/arcade/router.jpg) | Here is the router im using, which is highly recommendable. I've been using it for all sorts of projects and it's never let me down. |
| (http://www.cdj.dk/arcade/primed.jpg) | I primed everything using an oil based primer. Mixed in 10% terpentine and it seems to have primed everything really nice. I'll sand it with some really fine grain and paint it twice with some semi-gloss black oil paint. But for now it's just primed white. I guess I could have added some black in there, so the primer had become grey, but im sure two coats of black will cover it nicely. |
| (http://www.cdj.dk/arcade/routing.jpg) | Cutting the slot for the T-molding was easier than expected...Although being the newbie that I am I reckon I should have cut the slot BEFORE assembling the cabinet. Just incase something had gone wrong - like not getting the slot 100% centered. Luckily everything worked out perfect :) Also...I don't recommend doing this indoors...It will easily cost you 2-3 nights on the couch :( |
| (http://www.cdj.dk/arcade/tmoldingtest.jpg) | I installed a small section of T-molding to see how it would fit. Luckily its perfectly centered and the 100ish degree angle that I have on top of my cabinet doesn't seem to cause any problems. |
But regarding this artwork, I feel like it is being wasted on an arcade.
This needs to be on a disco ball spinning jukebox.
Hehe, I guess you're right. It's not that "arcady" to look at, but im still really happy with it. Once im done, Im hoping to use it as a jukebox too :afro:
No, I was wrong, it was Supercade.
Wasn't there another Starcade in history some time with groovalicious artwork?
There was a Starcade game show on TV back in the 80's, where contestants would compete at playing arcade games. I downloaded all the episodes a couple years, pretty interesting to watch. Not something to follow along, but cool enough to have running in the periphery at your next arcade party. ;)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Starcade (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Starcade)
| (http://www.cdj.dk/arcade/z4.jpg) | I bought this used Logitech Z4 soundsystem for about 50$. I thought it would be simple and easy to install in the cabinet...I was wrong. Due to bad planning I had already screwed/glued in my speaker panel in place, which meant I had almost no room to install these...What to do...I think I'll be unable to do a clean cutout for these speakers and adding a speakergrill on an already installed speakerpanel sounded like a bad idea... But then I got the idea to use carspeakers, since they could be installed from the front and only needed a simple round cutout to be installed... plus they already came with a nice speakergrill. |
| (http://www.cdj.dk/arcade/carspeakers.jpg) | These are the speakers I want to use...Small 4" speakers from XZound with decent sound. It would have been so much easier if I could just use the speakers that came with the Z4, but im hoping these will work just fine :) |
| (http://www.cdj.dk/arcade/speakergrill.jpg) | Should be easy to install from the front. I already have the 100mm holesaw thats needed to install them. The "metallic" look is horrible though...I'll paint that black once I get my hands on some black spraypaint. |
| (http://www.cdj.dk/arcade/z4connection.jpg) | I thought I was in the clear until I realised the Z4 needed an RCA connector from the speakers. Obviously the original speakers were factorymade with RCA, but my carspeakers used standard speakerwire...So how to connect speakerwire with an RCA cable? I went to the local Hi-Fi shop and the guy told me, that it wasn't really possible...something about mixing voltage and current? (I didn't really understand what he was saying to be honest...) So basicly he told me that I had to rethink my whole soundsystem :( |
| (http://www.cdj.dk/arcade/audiowire.jpg) | I was getting kinda desperate and some pages on the web said the same thing that the Hi-Fi guy had told me, and some pages said that it was an easy fix? I bought some RCA cable and cut off the RCA connectors in one end. I felt kind of stupid having bought this nice, new cable and then cutting it in half, not knowing if this would work :) So is it going to work? I don't have time to test it now, but I'll find out tomorrow :) |
| (http://www.cdj.dk/arcade/soldering.jpg) | Ok, so I removed the insulation from the wires and simply soldered them onto the speakers...It works! :) They play really nice with both effects and music. So im very happy with the sound system. |
| (http://www.cdj.dk/arcade/masking.jpg) | Since I needed to paint the speaker mounts black, I decided to make my bezel at the same time. I simply cut some 3mm plexi to fit and masked the screenarea it with some electrical tape and paper to get razorsharp edges. |
| (http://www.cdj.dk/arcade/spraypaint.jpg) | Then I sprayed the speaker mounts and the backside of the bezel with black spray paint. |
| (http://www.cdj.dk/arcade/speakersinstalled.jpg) | Here's the cabinet with the speakers and bezel installed :) Except for my greasy fingers all over the place, the whole thing looks great I think. The controlpanel is missing, since thats whats im going to work on next. |
| (http://www.cdj.dk/arcade/shop1.jpg) | First part of my order arrived a few days ago :) Opening these boxes and finding all these goodies inside is somehow very satisfying...for a noob like me it's a big thing getting your very first arcade parts. I ordered this stuff from arcadeshop.de since they had the shaft extensions that I need. Good service and fast delivery. They were a bit more expensive, which is why I didnt order all my stuff from them. |
| (http://www.cdj.dk/arcade/powerbutton_old.jpg) | The first thing I wanted to do was the standard "one button" powerup thing. I opened my Lenovo/IBM machine and obviously IBM didn't use the standard two wire powerbutton, that I was expecting to find. Instead there was 4 wires!?...as usual I have absolutely no idea what I was doing, but I decided to simply remove 2 of the wires and try and use the remaining two...opting with one yellow and one black wire. Don't ask me why. I felt like a bomb-technichian for a second...or not really. |
| (http://www.cdj.dk/arcade/powerbutton_extension.jpg) | I test fitted the red arcade button and lucky me...it worked and I didn't even blow anything up. So I extended the original powerbutton wires with these plugs and some old speakerwire I had lying around. |
| (http://www.cdj.dk/arcade/powerbutton_microswitch.jpg) | I haven't soldered anything since the 8th grade but I manage to get the other end of the wire soldered to the microswitch. |
| (http://www.cdj.dk/arcade/powerbutton_set.jpg) | My first arcadebutton installed and the one button powerup is working :) Happy days! |
| (http://www.cdj.dk/arcade/powerplug.jpg) | Next up was installing the powerplug so I wouldn't have to have any cables sticking out of my cabinet. Found these shielded crimps and fitted them to the plug. Hope it's safe enough? |
| (http://www.cdj.dk/arcade/subwooferhole.jpg) | Again bad planning had me biting my nails...I would have to cut the subwoofer speakergrill hole on a near finished cabinet. I had never before cut a "big" hole with a router so I was really nerveous about this part. I had a circlecutting rig for the router, but I had never used it before...luckily it turned out ok...sort of. The hole was too big...about 2-3 mm :( |
| (http://www.cdj.dk/arcade/subwoofergrill.jpg) | Since this is on the back of the cabinet, im not too worried about it's appearance, but still it feels better when everything fits. I tried adding a small insulation-foam-thingy and it kind of worked...except now the grill was too big so it was really difficult to fit the grill and some of the foam-thingy got pushed in too deep.( |
| (http://www.cdj.dk/arcade/subwoofergrill2.jpg) | After a few tries it sorta fits. Not 100% happy with it, but it will have to do. Again...its on the back of the cabinet, and im not smart enough to figure out how to fix it.( |
| (http://www.cdj.dk/arcade/controlpanel.jpg) | Here is my panel...a simple flat design with a slight angle. |
| (http://www.cdj.dk/arcade/cp_screw.jpg) | I wanted to change from normal screws to bolts, so I drilled a 6mm hole and bought some M6 bolts. |
| (http://www.cdj.dk/arcade/thread.jpg) | I also got my hands on some of these which should carry the panel just fine. I don't even know what these are called but it seemed like the way to go? |
| (http://www.cdj.dk/arcade/cp_hole.jpg) | Drilled a 11mm wide and 13mm deep hole in my 19mm MDF. This way it doesn't go all the way through. |
| (http://www.cdj.dk/arcade/thread_set.jpg) | They were not easy getting in straight, since they have a tendency to angle when you screw them into the mdf. Nevertheless I got all 4 of them in and they feel like they're not coming out any time soon. They break the mdf a bit when you fit them, but you won't be able to see this once the controlpanel is in place. |
Looking good so far. :applaud:
Nothing like routing/drilling a finished work-piece huh? Takes nerves of steel. I've had the same thoughts as you about bad planning.
It may be a little bigger than you wanted but that circle looks awful good for your first try. :cheers:
| (http://www.cdj.dk/arcade/shop2.jpg) | Another shipment of goodies arrived today :) This time from Gremlins Solution. It took more than 3 weeks to get here, but everything was neatly packed and I've only noticed a bent microswitchconnector on one of the joysticks. I've ordered the JLWs since a lot of people recommended those. They seem really good, at least a lot better than the X-Arcade sticks that first got me started on this project :) I'll also be using an IPac 2, which seems really easy to set up. |
| (http://www.cdj.dk/arcade/joyball.jpg) | Since the general colortheme of my cabinet is orange, I ordered some orange ball tops to go with the JLWs. |
| (http://www.cdj.dk/arcade/joybat.jpg) | I also ordered some battops, since thats really what im used to playing with. Unfortunately they don't come in orange, so they had to be in black. All my playerbuttons are going to be black anyway, so maybe black is ok. Im not entirely sure if im going to use the balltops or the battops. I guess I'll have to wait and see what looks best when the cabinet is closer to completion. What do you guys think? |
| (http://www.cdj.dk/arcade/wires.jpg) | I need some advice on what wires to use? I have tons of these installation wires in all sorts of colors...but they're rigid single strand and not the soft multistranded wires that I've seen most people use. Anyone have any recommendations on what wires to use? Think these will work? |
(http://www.cdj.dk/arcade/shop2.jpg) Another shipment of goodies arrived today :) This time from Gremlins Solution. It took more than 3 weeks to get here, but everything was neatly packed and I've only noticed a bent microswitchconnector on one of the joysticks.
I've ordered the JLWs since a lot of people recommended those. They seem really good, at least a lot better than the X-Arcade sticks that first got me started on this project :)
I'll also be using an IPac 2, which seems really easy to set up.(http://www.cdj.dk/arcade/joyball.jpg) Since the general colortheme of my cabinet is orange, I ordered some orange ball tops to go with the JLWs. (http://www.cdj.dk/arcade/joybat.jpg) I also ordered some battops, since thats really what im used to playing with. Unfortunately they don't come in orange, so they had to be in black. All my playerbuttons are going to be black anyway, so maybe black is ok.
Im not entirely sure if im going to use the balltops or the battops. I guess I'll have to wait and see what looks best when the cabinet is closer to completion. What do you guys think?(http://www.cdj.dk/arcade/wires.jpg) I need some advice on what wires to use? I have tons of these installation wires in all sorts of colors...but they're rigid single strand and not the soft multistranded wires that I've seen most people use.
Anyone have any recommendations on what wires to use? Think these will work?
| (http://www.cdj.dk/arcade/artworkon1.jpg) | Artwork applied! |
| (http://www.cdj.dk/arcade/artworkon2.jpg) | Another picture from the side... Some people have said, that they feel this artwork is wasted on an arcade and should be fitted on a jukebox instead. After seeing the artwork in place, I have to say im really happy with it. And finding a universal theme thats not tied to one single game was hard for me. |
| (http://www.cdj.dk/arcade/cpartwork.jpg) | The controlpanel...Im not looking forward to drilling this... There is a faint line about ½" from the top, where the controlpanel is put together...where it says "Volume, Pause and Exit". I had hoped the artwork concealed this, but it doesn't really cover anything. I don't think it's too bad though. The drawer under the controlpanel blends in nicely I think :) |
| (http://www.cdj.dk/arcade/tmolding1.jpg) | Applying t-molding :) |
| (http://www.cdj.dk/arcade/tmolding2.jpg) | Rubberhammer = need to have |
Looks pretty cool! what kind of material is it printed on?
Wow. :applaud: :applaud: :applaud:
It's not wasted, it looks great, it's unique, and you like it.....bump the haters..... :cheers:
:applaud: Lookin' awesome. I love how you have the rainbow on the side art wrap around and match the front art.
Looks pretty cool! what kind of material is it printed on?
It's a laminated vinyl foil. The same thing they use to "wrap" cars in when applying fullchasis commercials.
The print quality is not perfect, but it's pretty damn good. I can't recommend this, if you expect a 100% perfect print quality, but if you can settle for this result, then it's highly recommendable. Maybe different shop use different printers, so the quality could vary I guess.
Another big advantage is, that it's very easy to apply since the laminate is applied (by the shop) before the vinyl is added to the cabinet. That way the whole thing is rigid and it's impossible to get bubbles and other bumps.
Not too expensive either...400ish dollars with the laminate.
@dalgaard: Er det Twilight sagaen i baggrunden? Ville godkende andre SWAT medlememmer? ::) ::)
@dalgaard: Er det Twilight sagaen i baggrunden? Ville godkende andre SWAT medlememmer? ::) ::)
It's amazing what we can learn by the innocuous backgrounds of our build pics isn't it ;D
Google-translate?
| (http://www.cdj.dk/arcade/drilling.jpg) | Ok this was by far the most nervewracking part of the build. I wasn't sure how the laminate would react to the drill and I had thrown away the leftover pieces that I cut away when I applied the artwork. Luckily it was pretty easy to drill... :) |
| (http://www.cdj.dk/arcade/drilling2.jpg) | Also drilled holes on the sides for the coin/flipper button. |
| (http://www.cdj.dk/arcade/cp_backside.jpg) | The backside of the CP isn't very pretty, but now it was time for one of the most satisfying parts of the build. Installing the components... |
| (http://www.cdj.dk/arcade/cp_wired.jpg) | ...and wiring them. Cable management? Don't need it... I just know I'll regret this at some point...hehe. But for now I live with the dream, that my arcademachine will work for the next 20 years and that I'll never have to fix anything in there :) |
| (http://www.cdj.dk/arcade/cp_finished.jpg) | Tadaaa...CP finished! Tomorrow I'll install it and set up the IPac...and hopefully play my first games on the Starcade. |
That artwork is awesome! :applaud: I think it looks like the extended shafts make 'em a bit too tall, but maybe it's just the pictures. :cheers:
Hyperlaunch? Try disabling it for mame. The option is in HyperHQ somewhere under wheel settings. I believe this will resolve your issue.
Stunning!
That is one fine looking cab! i could look at these pics for ever, you should hire a fashion photographer to do a photo shoot!
(not that there's anything wrong with your pics)
Good job sir! :applaud:
Dalgaard-
I love everything about the cab, but my eye keeps getting drawn to the edge on your control panel. It looks really sharp in the photos. Do you have issues with arms resting on it? Or does it just look that way to me?
How do you make love to it without hitting the exit game button?
???
How did you manage the volume with your two buttons ?
Wow amazing cab. Very, very clean.
I have those exact same Logitech speakers. The sub and amp are decent, but the speakers themselves are a little too strong on the treble and weak on the midrange. Those car speakers surely sound much better. What you did is exactly what I would've done.
Wow....still warms my heart, that so many people like my little project. Thanks for all the nice comments. Im really enjoying this arcade and play it more often than I thought I would :) I've also installed some lightguns now, which opens the door for even more gaming. The guns are kept inside the arcade and I bring them out when I need to play lightgun games using the USB on the front. I didn't want to "scar" the cabinet by adding gunholsters or anything like that.How did you manage the volume with your two buttons ?
I've set the volume up and down to different keys (e.g. A and B). Then installed a small program, that translates normal keyinputs to most functions on your PC (in this case volume up and down respectively). I can't remember the programs name at this point, but if you need it let me know, and I can check for you :)
Yes could you tell the program ?
thx
Dalgaard I love your cabinet, good job!
What's the thickness of your side art vinyl laminated foil?
Envoyé depuis mon Nexus 7 avec Tapatalk
Dalgaard I love your cabinet, good job!
What's the thickness of your side art vinyl laminated foil?
Envoyé depuis mon Nexus 7 avec Tapatalk
I dont know the exact thickness...its really thin. Like paper thin, but then I've added a strong laminate on top of that.
Hope that helps.