Build Your Own Arcade Controls Forum
Main => Main Forum => Topic started by: rrobbone on December 19, 2018, 02:47:52 am
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Hi, I just signed up and I want to thank the members here for all of the help and advice over the past few weeks. The info I have gathered here has helped me to do something I have wanted to try for quite a while now.
Some background:
I worked at and managed video game stores at the corporate and locally owned level for years before moving out of retail. This includes new games and classic vintage stores as well. I was that guy behind the counter at the game store who warned you that the latest special new release really sucked, but you didn't listen to him and bought it anyway only to find he was right and tried to tell you, but then you cursed him for not issuing a refund the next day. After that tho, you respected his opinion and he led you to buy some real nice gems of games that you would never normally have bought otherwise, but really enjoyed and he really could've been a dick about it later but he wasn't pretentious and was still pretty cool after that and would talk about games with you every time you came into his store. He was really very sorry about all the add-on crap and warranty mess that he had to push on you every single time you just wanted a code card to refresh your XBox Live sub. He really was very sorry about all that, he didn't have a choice at that soulless, uncaring corporate run facility.
I have moved on professionally, but my love for gaming persists, so of course I've always wanted my own multi-cade. I have some experience setting up emulation on Raspberry Pi through Retropie, but I get lost when it comes to disc-based media or MAME.
I'm familiar with woodworking and the tools involved having been busy building electric guitars for four years. I have my own home based little production line that I work in my spare time. I sell handmade, finished guitar bodies for people who like to build their own complete guitars. Tools are my friends.
This project is intended as an Xmas gift for the fam and I didn't have a super long time to get it done. Because of this, I decided to build a self contained arcade control panel rather than going for a whole cab for the first go round. My Google-fu led me here, and I've used the information you've posted to help me along the way. Your threads have been an invaluable resource.
I'm getting close to the finish line, just have some finishing touches and wiring to do. I have experience in reading schematics from my guitar work, but it's the weakest part of my game, so to speak. I know I'll have some questions about wiring up this board, and this seems like a friendly forum so I decided to join, if for no other reason than to express my gratitiude for your help.
I'm building a four player module that is encased in MDF running a PI 3+ with simple HDMI cable run out to my nice, big, high def TV. At this point, I need to finish painting the box and wire it all up, then test, test, and hope for the best.
I took pictures through most of the build because members of a guitar forum I belong to like to look over my shoulder while I build stuff. I'd be happy to post a build thread here if there's any interest.
Thanks again for everything, I look forward to contributing here in whatever small ways I can.
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I love build threads - they are fun to watch.. and you have views .. Build away!
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starting an xmas build a week before xmas...............................
you'll fit right in. Start a project thread and put up lots of pix.
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Ok, build thread challenge accepted.
I started the project in mid-November, so it's getting towards the finish line. Just paint, wiring, and finishing touches. I'll start the build thread after I've worked on it some today.
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You're in for some late nights, my friend.
:cheers:
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You're in for some late nights, my friend.
:cheers:
Possibly... ;D
My step-son comes home from a visit with his dad's fam on the 26th and we're having Xmas then, so that's an extra day for me.
This is a super quick and dirty build, nothing like what resides in the hall of fame thread. Those are amazing, and send one's head spinning off into the wilderness of cool ideas.
I couldn't find many builds that were like what I saw in my head, so I just made up my own simple plan. When I start posting the thread, I know you guys will be quick to note mistakes I've made, easier/better paths I could've taken, and better componentry I could've purchased. I'm winging it here, folks.
I'll tell you right now that I angled the sticks for players 3 and 4 spots.
(...waits for the rotten tomatoes and poo to be thrown...)
I've since read that this is a cardinal sin, and a mistake many newbs make. I'll get roasted over this, I'm sure. But that's cool, being informed of the proper or better way to do things is one of the reasons I'm posting a thread here because I know I'll start another build at some point.
I started building guitars with the honest intention of just making one for myself, but I caught the bug - and now I make them because I enjoy the craft. I can't keep 'em all, so I sell them off. I'm pretty sure I'll be making another cabinet of some sort again after this project because I love the old school games so much and I'm having a blast building the darned thing.
Even with as many games as I was exposed to, I've got a lot to catch up on due to not being able to locate certain games I wanted to try (mostly in the NEO-GEO range) so my own little personal cab is now a need for me. I had never played Windjammers before...
There's only one game that I want, but don't have - and although I have some knowledge of console emus, I am lost when it comes to MAME. I'm sure I can find help here - if my usual method of blunt force problem solving doesn't work out.
I've got some room here on my office desk, sooooo.... I'm thinkin' mini bartop. One player or two? I dunno yet.
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You'll be a jaded grouch like the rest of us before you know it.
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You'll be a jaded grouch like the rest of us before you know it.
If you saw my guitar builds, you'd see I'm a maverick. But, with a sense of the traditional tried and true..... ;)
So, yeah... pretty much the worst kind of jaded grouch.
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Bah.
Would someone be kind enough to walk me through how to embed pics in the body of a reply? I'd like to place multiple pics at certain points to illustrate what I'm saying as I go along, not just have them batched together at the bottom of a post. I've gotten as far as attaching the pic, but can't figure out (or find via search) how to place the pic in the body of my post.
Thanks in advance!
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Would someone be kind enough to walk me through how to embed pics in the body of a reply?
Short version: Attach images to the current "Not a Project" sticky thread in Project Announcements (http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php/board,10.0.html), then use the (http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/Themes/Yabb_SE_Classic_2/images/bbc/img.gif) icon to insert "img" and "/img" tags in your post in this thread and paste the image link between the tags. You can also specify the desired width in pixels. (optional)
[img width=512]http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159054.0;attach=373654;image[/img]
(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159054.0;attach=373654;image)
Detailed version: There are step-by-step directions in this tutorial (http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php/topic,139723.msg1445482.html#msg1445482).
Scott
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Would someone be kind enough to walk me through how to embed pics in the body of a reply?
Short version: Attach images to the current "Not a Project" sticky thread in Project Announcements (http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php/board,10.0.html), then use the (http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/Themes/Yabb_SE_Classic_2/images/bbc/img.gif) icon to insert "img" and "/img" tags in your post in this thread and paste the image link between the tags. You can also specify the desired width in pixels. (optional)
[img width=512]http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159054.0;attach=373654;image[/img]
(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159054.0;attach=373654;image)
Detailed version: There are step-by-step directions in this tutorial (http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php/topic,139723.msg1445482.html#msg1445482).
Scott
Test!
(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=149895.0;attach=373656)
Success! Thanks for the assist, PL1!
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Build thread started...
http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php/topic,159065.0.html (http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php/topic,159065.0.html)