Build Your Own Arcade Controls Forum
Main => Main Forum => Topic started by: jasonbar on May 12, 2008, 01:11:50 pm
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Well, I seem to be all done w/ my software, & it's time to put the PC into the cabinet & hook up & configure the bajillion controls (SlikStik Quad, trackball, trackball light, analog stick, spinner, up/down spinner, 2x ACT light gun, rotary sticks).
I have a Dell tower & am going to put it on the floor of the cabinet & up against the left side, so I'll have easy access to the USB ports on the back. I won't push it to the back of the cabinet lest I hamper its cooling airflow that (I think) goes from the front of the PC case to the back.
So, what are people's preferred methods of anchoring the PC into the cabinet so that it's secure when shifting the cabinet around or even moving it. I'd prefer to put it in there nice & snug so that it can surve being on a dolly & going up & down stairs & such, yet I'll likely shock-mount it on some sort of rubber or foam feet too.
Thanks,
-Jason
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I just unhook the PC and take it out when moving it myself. Hooking everything back up to the PC is the easy part.
Mine's not secured in any way.
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I just sandwiched it in with big L-brackets (almost like shelf supports)... and it doesn't slide around. Then I put an L-bracket on the top, to pinch it down, so it doesn't want to go 'up'. I did the same thing with my bass speaker.
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I have mine dangling with a piece of twine for ventillation.
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gravity
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duck tape :D
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I hold it at knife point and tell it not to move :laugh2:
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I placed my on a shelf, then ran a piece of mdf across the top. That baby aint going no where.
I would have used duct tape, but I was all out, I used it all holding my cabinet together...
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I just sandwiched it in with big L-brackets (almost like shelf supports)... and it doesn't slide around. Then I put an L-bracket on the top, to pinch it down, so it doesn't want to go 'up'. I did the same thing with my bass speaker.
Thanks, Ronin (and all you smartypants out there... :))
I secured my subwoofer in a similar fashion--stuck it in the bottom back right corner & screwed in a handful of small L-brackets & just trapped it in the corner, using a couple of layers of 1/8" foam double-sided tape to give it some shock absorption.
My other idea, beyond L-brackets, was some thin-gauge strap steel (like a water heater strap system) across it in 2 directions.
Thanks,
-Jason
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I just sandwiched it in with big L-brackets (almost like shelf supports)... and it doesn't slide around. Then I put an L-bracket on the top, to pinch it down, so it doesn't want to go 'up'. I did the same thing with my bass speaker.
That's how I have my monitor supported ;) I have a 21" PC monitor, and it sticks out the back, so I just screwed a couple of shelf brackets on the inside to brace it...feels pretty solid and I don't think it's going anywhere. Probably not a permanent solution, but it'll do uuntil I come up with something better.
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I mount everything (PS, Mobo, drives) to a piece of plywood (which I then mount inside the cab) just like a normal game PCB, wired to JAMMA (with optional kick harness, depending on the machine).
To my mind, though, securing the monitor is job #1.
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I just sandwiched it in with big L-brackets (almost like shelf supports)... and it doesn't slide around. Then I put an L-bracket on the top, to pinch it down, so it doesn't want to go 'up'. I did the same thing with my bass speaker.
That's how I have my monitor supported ;) I have a 21" PC monitor, and it sticks out the back, so I just screwed a couple of shelf brackets on the inside to brace it...feels pretty solid and I don't think it's going anywhere. Probably not a permanent solution, but it'll do uuntil I come up with something better.
For my monitor, I have this super heavy 27" TV, very old school, so just using L-brackets under a 3/4 shelf would have been instant crashing and ripping my walls with it. I built an independent 2x4 structure that, while building, could be removed and replaced until I had everything in place.
I'm attaching a pic from a couple weeks ago, the only difference is that I adjusted my 'ski slope' into an angle that can hold the tv without sliding, I also affixed a 2x4 on the shelf part, holding the tv from ever slipping back. I'm a lot further along than this pic now and today I countersunk screws from the outside into the shelf and 2x4 'stand', now my cab is rock solid, no more 'creaking' if you push too hard to move the whole cabinet.
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I suggest reading this thread (lots of pics!):
http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?topic=45114.msg428120#msg428120
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I plan to use a couple of canvas straps with buckle tie-downs.
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Pop a few screws down thru the bottom of the case and into the base of the cabinet.
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I'm basically building shelves and a space/slot for the PC tower. It might move back and forth if the cab is tilted but it wont fall sideways.
Here's a mock of it.
(http://img241.imageshack.us/img241/5969/insidegv6.png)
And here is a side view of it. Note that the shelves will neither reach all the way to the front nor the back of the cab. This makes it easier for connecting, disconnecting and routing wires.
(http://img258.imageshack.us/img258/1077/sidedn6.png)
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my PC is not in the case, i have the components mounted to the inside of the cabinet using various methods. it works very well this way...although i am going to have to find a good way to mount my playstation 2 in my gun cabinet now...it just sits in the bottom of the cabinet right now behind the coin door.
(http://www.severdhed.com/images/cleanedup.JPG)
i used some angle brackets to mount the hard drive and power supply. the motherboard is mounted using the original brackets that held the arcade pcb in place.