Finaly announcing: Project Level 42

[Level42]

OK this is not a complete new cab I'm building, it's a conversion. Before you all go: eeeek, another Arcade cab demolisher, I can ease your minds: The cab is a general Jamma cab, called Play Scene. Tons of these were built in the UK in all kinds of different flavors and they have general "Play Scene" side art. I bought this one, since it was in a very good state and it was cheap. And because I'm into electronics and computers, and NOT into woodworking  So I thought, why build it myself when an available cab will do fine.

The name of the cab will become Level 42. Since most of you guys are from the US, you may not know what Level 42 is. It's a jazz-funk band from the 80's and 90's, still around these days (new album coming up !) and they're still my favorites.
You might remember Something About You. (www.level42.com)
So what better than to combine two loves: the band, and classic (80's !) arcade gaming.

OK here's what I wanted my cab to have:

1) True arcede style cab, did not want to build my own
2) Real aracde CRT
3) generaly: NO MICROSWITCHES ! Not on my joysticks, not on my buttons. I ended up with Suzo Inductive joysticks and "Knievl-style" LED-lit leave buttons.
4) great sound system
5) PC hardware fast enough to run most of the games OK
6) Cost as close as possible to nothing (no chance on that, but still I keep that in mind
7) nice artwork

Here's some artwork I've been thinking off.
http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?topic=43596.0
The marquee is pretty much settled.

I've had the cab around for quite some time and have already done quite a bit of work on it. However, the project got stalled a bit because I bought a Doube Axle cab that I repaired and restored a bit. Now that's done, it's back to the Level 42 project.

The sound part of the cab is pretty much finished. I wanted GREAT sound (I always  loved the bass sounds on DK Ms.Pac Man etc.). So I ended up with this:

http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?topic=42798.0

I only still need to build (parts bought already) a front volume control.

Of course I make mistakes, like everybody does. I thought 2 joysticks and 3 buttons per player would be fine for all games.....that was in my early BYOAC days
Anyway,  here's a pic of how it looked when it was still at the seller (the monitor was in horizontal position actualy). Notice the hideous square "fruit machine" (but lit !) buttons ! I replaced them with Knievl's solution of leaf switches and LEDs:
See second pic.

[Level42]

Internal pictures:

[Level42]

Don't look too much at the CP wiring, it's not like I want it to be in the end. Thing is, the metal CP is way too small, so I will be replacing it with a wooden CP, including trackball and spinner, and some extra buttons.

[Level42]

OK you will recognize: PSU, J-pac, HD, Asrock Mobo, ArcadeVGA (still need to fix this),DVD-ROM, wireles keyboard/mouse receiver. The JAMMA harness going to the CP   I put in a cable holder (round).

[Mark70]

Unusual cabinet design.  It almost looks like it was intended to be a driver.  Does the platform at the bottom hold your feet back so you have to lean over to play?

[Level42]

Definitly not a driver Actualy, the place to put your feet is quite nice, but on the othere hand the 25" screen sometimes makes you want to move away a bit from the cab. Usualy I got only one foot on the place when I stand. When I am sitting down on a stool, it's convenient to place both feet on it.

These cabs are being offered a lot here in Holland. I don't really like the lack of "hang-over" on the marquee/speaker part, but you can't have it all.

The cab is quite compact, and I guess that's what we need(ed) here in Europe

The monitor can be horizontal or vertical.

[Knievel]

Slick cabinet, those slanted cut-out areas on the bottom are screaming for some neon tubes or something.

[Level42]

Haha, great idea Knievl (who else could think of that !) Well maybe some of those very thin things in the top, so you can't actualy see them directly, just their light. ! Mmmm, very nice idea !!

Good you posted, made me think of the lit-LED thread I posted my implementation.

Here it is:
http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?topic=30565.40

Scroll down a bit to see how I made it in my metal CP (which is temporary as mentioned).

Thinking about it, did you ever do some more testing on back-lighting the transparant T-molding ? I'd really love to have that stuff, even without the back lighting, but ordering a full roll is a bit too much for me 

Also, in the CP you see the P1 joystick is the Suzo Inductive, the P2 is a "regular" Suzo, but that is just for now. I've got another Inductive here, but it's the version with the small ball handle (32 mm, compared to 38 mm). I found it was too small for my hands. I am in the very fortunate position to be able to buy directly from Suzo's headquarters. They are about 30 km's from my home, only trouble is they're only open on times I normaly work :S

Anyway, the 38 mm Inductive I have was the very last one they had in stock. It's probably been there for about 10 years. They still have a reasonable number of 32 mm handle versions.
I found a source in the US that is still selling the 38 mm handle version, so I will order one from there.

[clonestar]

Unusual cabinet design.  It almost looks like it was intended to be a driver.  Does the platform at the bottom hold your feet back so you have to lean over to play?

This style of cab, although usually slightly smaller, is quite common in the uk, at least they seem to come up on ebay.co.uk a lot, mostly already mamed but with the minimum of work done, i.e 2 stick 3 buttons no custom artwork.

[Level42]

Yup they've been exported to Holland in quite some numbers too. They regularly show up on www.marktplaats.nl, Holland's favorite 2nd hand stuff site.
I know a company who is trying to sell around 30 of them, but they ask insane prices.



They come in all sorts of styles:



This has the ugly bezel I meant. Also the CP is tilted towards the player, how on earth can you control the joysticks in a good way with that ?

The one I've got was close to my home, good looking and a great shape monitor and for a very good price:

[hypernova]

lululululu...check your PMs...lululululu.........................

[Knievel]

Thinking about it, did you ever do some more testing on back-lighting the transparant T-molding ? I'd really love to have that stuff, even without the back lighting, but ordering a full roll is a bit too much for me 

No actually, I may get at it someday. Having to buy a big roll was the main reason I didn't really pursue it. Nice of them to send me the samples though.

[Level42]

O, by the way, no comments on the way I did the PC stuff and wiring ? I know there are some neatnes haters here 

I think it looks TIGHT !

[somunny]

O, by the way, no comments on the way I did the PC stuff and wiring ? I know there are some neatnes haters here 

I think it looks TIGHT !

Looks real nice...  Two questions;

Where'd you get the mount for the cd-rom/dvd-rom drive?

What is that holding down the power supply?

Steve

[Level42]

Hey Steve, thanks !

1) The DVD-ROM mount is a "regular" 5.25" mount from an old PC which I "modified" somewhat by carefully hitting it with a hammer 
This way I was able to get the neccesary angle to mount it to the board. To be honest, it's only on one side, there's no room to make another on the other side and the drive is secure enough this way. (Use it rarely, expect to use it even less as soon as I install the Wi-Fi USB key.

2) That stuff, I even never knew how that was called in Dutch, let alone in English 
However the label is saying "spijkerband" which is something like "nailband" or "nailwire" maybe. You can get it here at most DIY stores and it's on a pretty big roll. You can fairly easy cut it to the length you desire, and it's pretty stiff and sturdy, but you can still bend it any way you want. Ideal for any applications where I don't know how to mount things in another way. I also want to secure my ArcadeVGA using this stuff. Also my (full-size hifi) amp is hanging on two pieces of this stuff:


The holes in the band make it easy to screw it to anything you like.

There's more about my audio solution here:
http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?topic=42798.0

[Level42]

Slick cabinet, those slanted cut-out areas on the bottom are screaming for some neon tubes or something.

In another thread (http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?topic=52154.0) I found these:
http://svc.com/lazerledred.html

They may be very suitable to light up the cut-out areas. Also, they're very cheap. I'll order a couple to see how they work out !

[Level42]

Well, due to 1) busy life 2) other hobby 3) making my cab playable BEFORE it was finished (yeah I know) progress on my cab is slowwwwwwwww.....

However, during my vacation in the US I had ordered lots of nice stuff for my cab and I hope to install things soon.

First step:
Recplacing the dull black T-molding with some flashy new red T-molding !

Had ordered 40 feet from www.t-molding.com (excellent, fast, great service and communication) and that was a good thing. The T-molding runs all the way down on the backside of my cab so I needed plenty.

OK, so I first removed the old black T-molding and that went very easy.
I thought about the cuts which I had to copy in my new T-mold for the outer edges, so I held the old T-molding along the new one and cut away. WRONG !!!! Later (while mounting it) I discovered that the cuttings were pretty much off......So, make cuts while mounting. However DO NOT do this when you use the glue-gun method.....see below:

Because the cab has been manufactured with particle board (is that the right name ?) the slot was quite wide. Following this, the new T-molding didn't stay in just like that. So I had to fix it somehow. I searched the forum, and tried some regular glue, but that would be impossible to use since it lasted WAY to long for the glue to dry. I decided to give the glue gun a try, and that worked out fine. The glue is nicely filling up, and the best thing is that it dries very quickly and holds the T-mold this way in place without wayting for ages. However, this is ALSO the trickiest thing about using the glue-gun, as I discovered later. All went pretty well. I worked from the front down side to the upper part. This because I needed a very straight cut on the bottom. A bad cut wouldn't be seen on the backside (and to be exact, the underside of my cab, since there was the end of the original T-mold).
However, when I came near the monitor part of the cab (those things always happen where you see it most) I somehow spend to much time and waited to long to push the T-mold in after glueing. The glue dried, and so formed bulbs of glue in the slot. Following this, I couldn't completely push down the T-mold to fit correctly. The next half hour I spent removing the glue rests from the slot, until almost no bulbs were visible anymore. It came out OK, but it's typicaly one of those things YOU will always see, where others will never notice. Everything else worked out fine.

Step by step guide for replacing T-molding (depends on your cab of course !!!)
1) remove old T-molding carefully by pulling
2) check the edge of the panel to be flat, check if there's any particles inside of the slot and remove them
3) put your new T-mold in the slot (DO NOT GLUE JUST YET !!!), following the corners. Be sure the mold is ALL the way in the slot (especialy at inner corners !) Then find out where your outer corners are and make the V shape cuts. I used a cutting pliers and tore the center stuff of the mold with anoter pliers. Be carefull !!
4) cut the end of the T-molding
5) heat up your glue gun
6) remove the T-molding
7) fill the slot wit glue and right after that put in the T-mold, work in lenghts of something like 20 cm. It is VERY advisable to have someone there to help you. You go on with the glueing and putting in the T-mold, the other persons keeps pressing on the T-mold where you just went. This is especialy important in the inner corners ! VERY IMPORTANT: KEEP GOING ! Be ready to easily reach every part of the cab that needs T-mold.

Luckely, glue-gun glue is quite forgiving, you can relatively easy remove it from flat surfaces, in half-warm and even cool state.
You use quite a bit of glue in this way, since it will also fill the slot. There is NO need to COMPLETELY fill the slot with glue. Spots in regular place is fine. Do put a little bit of glue on the inner and outer corners on the side of the panel (above the slot). This will make sure you get perfect corners that stay on.

End of the step-by-step guide

I had a little bit of doubt wether the red color would work out good on the cab. My wife first said she liked the black better. To let you decide by yourself I made a couple of pics with the cab with the new red on the left side and the old black on the right. I think it came out really nice. The red strikes the eye because it contrasts so good to the black panels on the sides.

One thing about the color: I must say I had expected the color to be a bit more vibrant red (like Ferarri Red), however it's more like a classy darkish red. Not bad at all for my cab !!! But if you would like a SHOUTING in-the-face color, this might not be it.

AFAIK there is only one color red in T-moldings, unless some other supplier is offering it from another factory, which I doubt.

Anyway, gonna do the second side of my cab now. About the colors on my cab: The metal that holds the marquee is more like an orange-like red. I doubt it will stay this way.....

[Level42]

Some more pics. I took these at night, so the flash might be spoiling the actual look a bit. Will see if I can do a daytime shot without flash.

[theCoder]

Great job.  I've got a couple of questions on the sound.

1)  How did you end up doing the volume control?  On the input side (from PC) or speaker side (out of amp). 
2)  What value of variable resistor did you go with?
3)  Did you leave the subwoofers open or did you close them in?

Thanks.

[Level42]

Thanks !

1) Got the potmeter laying around here still. That's because I haven't started on my final CP yet. I HAVE started on a "test"panel however. Spinner already mounted....needed more parts to install and now I've got them here....it will definitly go into the input side (from PC) because this signal is only 1 volt.

2) Gotta find that potmeter....it's the value suggested by the scheme from Oscar I guess...

3) I closed them in. I was lucky that the very lower part of my cab already was a "box"  the cover plate carried the power supply. I removed that since I use the PC power supply for everything now, so I could mount the amp on it...(sort of). They actualy are not subwoofers, just normal woofers coming from old (but great sounding Philips speakers).I re-used the isolation from the speakers inside the box.

Not sure if you saw it, but here: http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?topic=42798.0 you'll fing more about the sound part of the cab.

[Level42]

Finaly some pics of the finished T-molding. I'm glad I decided to replace the dull old black for the red. I think it really enhances the sides of the cab, makes it look a bit more sleek (less bulky). Especialy the bottom part is much improved by it.

Made some pics with and without flash, I can never decided what looks like the real thing...

I also replaced the yellow coin reject buttons by.......you guessed it....red one's
Also installed my new coin mech holder and mech but of course that's not visible.

[Level42]

And some more pics...