Build Your Own Arcade Controls Forum
Main => Project Announcements => Topic started by: Surfrdan on September 04, 2025, 12:14:51 pm
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22ish years ago I murdered a Mortal Kombat 3 cab with a J Pac and an ArcadeVGA card with a Debian based MAME PC. I think I sold it when moving house rather than try and move it. The history is a blur but I do have this photo as a memory of the good times.
Now I'm getting the urge to build a new one. Much as I'd love to use an Arcade Monitor again, I can't ignore the practicalities of modern hardware and will likely use a QLED 50" TV in portrait. I'm going to build the cab from scratch starting with the control panel. I've been enjoying scrolling through the CP albums on here for inspiration. I will update this thread as I progress.
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Good luck in the build! Just one thing I want to point out before you get too far into the design/build...
Portrait screens look great and can maximise the screen real estate you have but be careful when positioning the monitor. Ive found on mine that if you're setting a custom resolution (2160x2160) on mine it will be centered on the screen. My monitor was lower in the cab than I would have liked which meant I had a real job with layout files trying to get the games to appear exactly where I wanted them!
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Portrait screens look great and can maximise the screen real estate you have but be careful when positioning the monitor. Ive found on mine that if you're setting a custom resolution (2160x2160) on mine it will be centered on the screen. My monitor was lower in the cab than I would have liked which meant I had a real job with layout files trying to get the games to appear exactly where I wanted them!
That’s interesting to know. My initial inspiration had come from [mention]griffindodd [/mention]’s lovely implementation
https://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php/topic,169151.msg1776063.html
He mentions similar positioning issues under windows. I wonder if Linux would fare any better with custom. Xmodes. I don’t mind effort if the result is worthwhile. And I have a relatively short list of favourites I wish to emulate. All under MAME so far but I realise I have the capacity to go beyond that
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Go better than a QLED TV with one of these:
https://www.highway.net.au/arcade-parts/monitors-chassis/26-inch-4x3-lcd-monitor-for-arcade-machine-2880-2160/19866-1.html (https://www.highway.net.au/arcade-parts/monitors-chassis/26-inch-4x3-lcd-monitor-for-arcade-machine-2880-2160/19866-1.html)
Dedicated monitor to replace CRT. No need for those weird custom screen settings. I will be using one of these in the not too distant future myself.
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Go better than a QLED TV with one of these:
https://www.highway.net.au/arcade-parts/monitors-chassis/26-inch-4x3-lcd-monitor-for-arcade-machine-2880-2160/19866-1.html (https://www.highway.net.au/arcade-parts/monitors-chassis/26-inch-4x3-lcd-monitor-for-arcade-machine-2880-2160/19866-1.html)
Dedicated monitor to replace CRT. No need for those weird custom screen settings. I will be using one of these in the not too distant future myself.
Oh now that is very interesting! Pushes the budget somewhat but looks like it would be worth it.