Build Your Own Arcade Controls Forum
Main => Project Announcements => Topic started by: Arcadiac on April 02, 2004, 03:59:29 am
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After a month of searching, found this cab and here is the first look I got of it at the dealers shop. Got it home, took some more pix and proceeded to clean it up a bit to see what I had. Dusty, dirty but lots of potential. More soon. Thanks for being here for me, all input is appreciated. Arcadiac
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1st Look pic:
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Gloomy outside, glad at least part of my carport is still standing!
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Screen burn-in
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More dusty goodness
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Coin mechanism is still here
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This is all day-one stuff for me, been enjoying emulation for a few years now and can finally afford to get started on my own cab. I kept everything but the monitor (because of the burn-in) didn't dare try to plug this puppy in, too many loose wires and I'm allergic to electrocution. Looking forward to playing MAME on a real arcade cab. Ordered my I-Pac earlier tonite, I figure when it arrives I'll try it with the controls that came with the machine. Looks like the stick might me the coveted Wico leaf switch I've been reading about. I'll post pix of the underside of the CP layout as soon as I can.
PS, If I'm hoggin' up all the bandwidth with these pix or doing something wrong, just let me know, I'll clean it up. I just get a bit excited about this, can you relate?
Later, y'all, Arcadiac
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I just get a bit excited about this, can you relate?
yes... yes I can....When I brought my butchered berzerk home I was the exact same way ;D
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I think we can all realate to that. When I got my first cab it sat in the living room for about two days and all I did was tell my wife how beautiful it was and how awesome I was and how many hot chicks were going to be drawn to its emulating purr like moths to a light bulb!
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...all I did was tell my wife... how many hot chicks were going to be drawn to its emulating purr like moths to a light bulb!
I'm sure that went over well. ;D
I haven't even built my cab yet, but I'm sure my wife is getting tired of me talking about it. I have to build my son a toybox first. After I warm up my carpentry skills with that project it's time to start the center peice of the play room!
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rygar kicks ass...
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1st lesson learned: impatience WILL rear its ugly head, tempting you to take shortcuts.
I settled on what I think is a great color for the side and front panel of my cabinet. Went to Home Depot, had them mix up the $27 a gallon Behr gloss Donkey Kong Blue and excitedly headed home. After having gotten advice about how to cover that perpetually ugly gloss black that covered a few layers, side and front, I proceeded to ignore the advice given because I want my cabinet finished and I want it NOW! Put 2 coats of paint on the cab and this is what I got:
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Looks good until you get up close, then you see the flecks and roughness. The next morning I went outside to see how it had dried and to check the paint. The black paint had bled thru the new paint in spots. I tried to scratch off some of the new paint, checking for adhesion/durability, and it came right off! Damn!!
Lesson learned, follow advice, seek experience and follow thru with it. So its off to Home Depot again for sandpaper and Kilz primer to do the prep right before I repaint. Oh, well, I know you can relate on the impatientence issue. More next time.
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Sanded the cab w/60 grit. Put 2 coats Kilz2 primer and 3 coats of the gloss Behr enamel. Looks much better, smoother than I expected, pic really doesn't do it justice at all. Feel like I'm back on track.
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Waiting on parts, trying out different stuff....17" monitor w/the Rygar bezel, board temp nailed on for keyboard/mouse/controller. 18" GE undercabinet light for Marquee. PC on Ghetto stand!
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Decided on this (crowded) setup for now:
21' IBM branded Sony Trinitron
HP Pavillion a420n Specs:
3000+AMD Athlon XP Pro @ 2.16 Ghz
512 Mb
160 Gb HD
64 M Intel graphics
Altec Lansing 2.1 XA3021 Gaming Speaker System w/ Subwoofer @ 40 watts total
PS1 adaptoid type adapter w/mini Pro shock joystick
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Still bored waiting for parts...........mocked up a Marquee of my favorite game, GALAGA!
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Check out my MONSTER CP!!
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OK this boredom is getting out of hand! Keep in mind however that this work, f'ups included has literally spanned only 1 week. Not a bad bit of work for a first timer if I say so myself! Thanks again for your help, Rampy's site in particular. Catch ya soon.
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Humm, maybe a bigger monitor?
It looks kinda lost in that space.
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Looking good so far--could you scan in the instructions for rygar from the bezel that you have? Thats one of my all time fav games!
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Acids, I don't have the time/energy/desire to go with wiring/modification for using a real arcade monitor. Keeping it simple is my goal. Lighting/angle is deceptive too, there is only 3" left on each side and 4" at top and bottom, enough for a nice bezel. Your input is respected though!
Menace, I'd be happy to scan or at least send a digital pic to you, just enable yor e-mail and you got it!
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I'm curious what kind of joystick you are temporarily using. That would be great for 4 player games (I only have a 2 player CP). Based on the buttons, it looks like a PSX controller. What brand is it?
Thanks!
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The temporary stick is an INTERACT ACCESSORIES Pro Shock Mini Arcade Stick. Unfortunately too small for my King Kong size hands!
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Hi y'all, I didn't fall off of the planet on this project just had a few setbacks. I decided to follow the example of the person who was restoring the centipede CP. Ripped off all of the old Rygar laminate, went to WallyMart and got some CirtiStrip and proceeded to goop the hell out of the CP expecting this to be a relatively simple process as described in the aforementioned thread. WRONG! Apply gel, wait, nothing, repeat. That crap did nothing for me but cost me a days work. I ended up taking the CP to the self-serve car wash. The spray pressure removed most of the remaining adhesive/plastic. Now I'm left with a gummy, sticky mess of a CP! I'm off to my buddies place to take a belt sander to it. All of my parts have arrived and naturally I'm anxious to play! Just gonna prime/paint the CP for now so I can re-install the buttons/sticks that I have and then get on with planning additional controls. Don't take this as a slam on the person who posted the Centipede restoration, everyones experience will be different I understand. My CP had several layers of crap on it so maybe there was a better alternative than the CitrusStrip for finishing it, I don't know. Just please, when describing your use of a product or process, let us know to the best of your ability what the hell we are getting into as far as time/effort that it could take. I went to sleep a very frustrated MAMEr last nite, feeling that I has been mis-lead. All is well today however and I just wanna get on with it. Thanks again all for your help, hopefully my process will help out the next one who comes along. Be well, ARCADIAC!
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I'm not sure what Citristrip is, but I use Goo Gone.
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Thanks Peale, tried it also, no love.
BTW, the advice I took for using the CitruStrip came from the Oscar controls Centipede restoration page.
"After I removed the overlay, I stripped the cp down to bare metal using Citristrip paint remover. This remover literally melts the adhesive and paint right off and you just wipe it off with a rag."
WOW, I'm glad it was this easy for you, it just created a big mess for me.
My old CP must have had an extraordinary amount of revisons using who knows what paints and adhesives.
The sanding option proved fruitless as all it did was move around the gummy residue. I spent this afternoon traveling form body shops to paint stores to auto parts stores. The auto part store suggested aircraft stripper, but at $29 a qt. seemed like an expensive solution to me. Finally someone there suggested taking it to a machine shop and asking them to run it thru their parts washer. I took it there and because there was so much gummy residue from the citrusstrip, they decided to run it thru an oven to bake off what they could and the run a steel abrader? on it afterwards. I explained as best I could what I wanted when it was finished and they assured me that I would have a nice bare-metal panel when it is done. I won't get the part back until next mid-week so when it comes in I will update you guys on the results.
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Just apply the Goo Gone, wait about 3 minutes, then scrape it off with a razorblade. Worked great for me and only took about 30 minutes to clean up the whole CP. Then I did a little sanding and it's ready for a new life.
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For my centipede control panel I just used a metal brass brush on a high speed drill. It got rid of all the gummy stuff and got it down to bare metal. There is a good chance you'll gum up your friends belt sander, just get a brass brush, they are quite cheap and work really well.
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Just apply the Goo Gone, wait about 3 minutes, then scrape it off with a razorblade. Worked great for me and only took about 30 minutes to clean up the whole CP. Then I did a little sanding and it's ready for a new life.
I second the "razor blade" strategy. I used the CitriStrip and the blade and had good results.
oh, and as good as it smells... don't drink it ;D
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Well, I guess this is a moot suggestion now that you've taken the CP to a shop, but I would have tried acetone. Not sure if it would have done anything for you considering all the other options your tried.
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Sorry for the late post but I have been sick with a stomach virus and haven't made posting a priority. Thanks all for your suggestions but as stated in my last post I had tried all of the methods suggested and they didn't work due to the enormous amount of crap on the cp. The machine shop got the job done however and I am very satisfied with the results, a bare-metal cp. They baked the cp and then used an abrader to remove the residue. I since have primered and painted the cp gloss black rustolem, it looks great! My friend at the arcade shop where I got the cab sold me an 8-way stick and some used buttons with new switches for only $8! I installed the stick and buttons and the Ipac and have been playtesting ;D ever since.
When I receive my t-stick pluses and other parts I will test drive a couple of cp configurations to see what is most comfortable for me. I'll post some pics in the next few days to keep the thread a little more updated. Again thanks for all of the help, I couldn't do this without you guys! ARCADIAC!
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After the machine shop $15 to strip the CP.
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Make sure you buy a primer/paint that will adhere to the metal and impatiently let it cure for a couple of days.
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OOOOO....Shiny!!!!
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I settled on what I think is a great color for the side and front panel of my cabinet. Went to Home Depot, had them mix up the $27 a gallon Behr gloss Donkey Kong Blue and excitedly headed home. After having gotten advice about how to cover that perpetually ugly gloss black that covered a few layers, side and front, I proceeded to ignore the advice given because I want my cabinet finished and I want it NOW! Put 2 coats of paint on the cab and this is what I got:
I love that color of blue. How exactly did you ask them to mix it? I'm pretty sure Donkey Kong blue isn't the term they use is it? :D
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LOL can't remember the exact name, it was a Glidden color, They scanned the color sample and mixed it up in the Behr brand for me. I was going for Carolina Tarheel blue, BTW not an official color or endorsement! I can get the mix numbers or a color card if you really want it, just let me know. A pic of my co-conspirator and son Kevin playing one of his favorites follows. Thanks all ARCADIAC!
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Most recent pic w/ KDS monitor sitting inside, notice the ghetto brick propping it up in front! ARCADIAC!
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Yes if you don't mind and it wouldn't be much trouble. The color swatch might have the name of the blue also.
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21" KDS Pixeltouch monitor mounted in cab. I used Rampy's suggestion, removed the monitor from the metal casing (just removed the bolts on front and the screws holding the adjustment buttons in, now I can mount them somewhere more accessible!) simply used the old wooden monitor mounts/bezel, 1" trimmed off of the height, minus the metal support. Feels pretty sturdy, may shore it up in the back with more wood, not sure yet. Seems good as is.
I think I'm gonna settle for a 1-player CP for the time being. I want to stay with the original CP and every 2-player layout I've tried has been too crowded. I'm just not willing to give up the comfort of an uncluttered CP for the rare times someone may want to come over to play fighter games. So here's the result for now, work on the CP pending. Thanks again all for your help and input! ARCADIAC!
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looks like it's starting to really come together... I'm glad my site/example was of some modicrum of use to *someone*... that makes worth posting it right there...
I can definitely relate on the impatience tip... It was *really* hard to slow my self down and try to do things right... and I usually regretted it when ever I rushed a step... and it's those small things that make annoy me most about my cabinet...
good luck!
rampy
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Ok, here it is, actually finished about a month ago, finally got around to taking pix. Monitor bezel made of black posterboard glued to cardboard for strength. Screen shots printed on photo paper, cut out and glued to bezel. Then smoked plexiglass on top. CP holds the works together nicely.
LMK what y'all think and now its on to the next one(s)!! (Bought 4 empty cabs, 3 uprights and a cocktail today, more will be revealed!)
Thanks all, especially Rampy for his Diary of a Madman, really helpful stuff!!
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Bezel/CP close-up
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And one more for the road!!
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What's the cord hanging out of the coin door?
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that's a really good idea for the bezel... the screenshots behind the tinted glass, that looks really good. ;D
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What's the cord hanging out of the coin door?
Trackball/mouse
ARCADIAC!
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What's the cool stuff you covered your CP with?
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What's the cool stuff you covered your CP with?
Thanks! It's generic "Magic Cover" brand contact vinyl. $2 a roll at Big Lots. A blue marble color. ARCADIAC!