TOMATOCADE - Bartop - DONE!

[psychotech]

Greetings..

After surfing around the forum for a few months I at last have something to announce. For need of a better name I think it should be called the Tomatocade.. (After the 'legendary' "Attack of the Killer Tomatoes"

The Tomatocade is a bartop built around an old Compaq Armada 4130T laptop (a Pentium 100MHz with 80Mb memory, 1 GB HD and a 11,8" TFT screen) and as such won't be able to run too many games. Still, with DOS MAME 0.36 it manages most of the essentials (as I find 'em) like Space Invaders, Defender, Centipede, Pac-Man, Bombjack, Wizard of Wor, Track&Field, Zaxxon, Scramble, Donkey Kong, Section-Z, and so on..

The machine's dimensions are (WxDxH) 35,5cmx35cmX32cm (that's like 13,97"x13.77"x12.59") and the main materials used in this project are 10mm (0.39") MDF and 4mm (0.157") plywood ..along with a truckload of L-brackets of course. The front-end used (because of the laptop's limitations) is GameLauncher, a now discontinued FE that nevertheless works great even on a lowly machine like this project's laptop. And yes, I'm running MAME in Dos 6.22. There's also Win95a installed for the occasional maintenance needs.

The left-over harddisk space on the laptop is naturally used to its full potential ..it's now full of all the 1980's hardrock / heavymetal / etc. songs I could think of To annoy people with the stuff I use the DAMP jukebox..

At the moment the project is almost done ..all I have to do is decide what to use in place of t-moulding. Well, anyway..

------------------------- 050507
It IS done.
------------------------- 050507



Check out the site and give your comments on the forums and ..feel free to throw 'em rotten tomatoes on me .. The tomatoes WILL strike back

Visit TOMATOCADE @ http://www.telemail.fi/psychotech/index.html

[NIVO]

very very nice. Congrats on the build 

[SNAAKE]

thats hot ! how did you do that side ??

[psychotech]

Thanks for the compliments guys

The sides are finished with self adhesive vinyl I happened to find at a local mall.. I actually did spraypaint the machine plain red ..but as on second thought it looked kinda dull to me I started to search for an alternative. It's called COVER CRYSTAL. Anyway, it works ..and quite nicely even

[psychotech]

But ...where is N.A.M.E. ??

[NIVO]

ahh that, well....it was built for someone else and sent on its merry way. I am reserving N.A.M.E for a future as of yet undetermined project. Once my Bigtop is completed i am lookin into a jukebox next.

[WillBurne]

Wow!
Tomatocade looks great  I love the look of design and art/theme. Side art sets it off.
Great job!
I've got scrap mdf from present project,and was thinking about a bartop. After seeing this, I am certain. The side panel's profile is sweet.

[javeryh]

Wow!  Very nice job!  I love the art too - that's probably the only Tomatocade in the world!

[psychotech]

Again, thank U very much!

Lucky with the finish, I quess. If you could only see it in person.. Anyway, I'd like to think that it ain't that bad otherwise either, considering its my first ever 'cade.

And I absolutely have to say thank you to all the people here for sharing all your invaluable knowledge/experience/ideas/etc. I know I've learned a lot just by hanging around the forums reading and appreciating..

Hey, the website is about ready also... more pics etc.

[psychotech]

OK, couple of pictures.. just in case someone is interested..?

1: laptop's hinges were destroyed and here the pieces are velcroed together with 4 blocks of 18mm wood in between.

2: the speaker panel in place along with the laptop ..that's where the 2 pieces of 2mm lexan (plexiglass..) making the screen/bezel are sandwiched in..

3: a sideview just before installing the marquee and the vinyl coated plywood panels.. also the sides are not finished yet.

[theCoder]

I love the lines.  Good luck finding t-molding.  You may try finding something a little big, then use a flush trim router to make it flush.  How much does it weigh?  Very nice.

[danny_galaga]

tasty! and your site- tidy! nice work. ive just been trying to install dos mame onto an old laptop myself, but since i dont know what im doing i might be in trouble! but you obviously know what YOURE doing! well done (",)

[psychotech]

Hello again..

About the t-molding: I'm almost sure I won't be using it, but instead am contemplating two other options ..

a) using flat corner binding (ABS-plastic) used in finishing guitars..

or

b) using chrome (yes, plastic really) meant for car sides ..the chrome stuff's profile is quite alike the normal t-moulding and there're many widths available on about every car parts / tuning shops and the like.

Tomatocade WEIGHT: 8,3 kilograms = 18,2983678 pounds  (give or take 50 grams / 0.11 pounds)

And hey, theCoder, Partybox is really cool (as is danny_galaga's cocktail, for that matter ) and as you can quess, I've been eyeing the thread more than once in the past months...

danny_galaga: Don't know if I can be of any help, but what kind of issues are you having with that old laptop with dos etc?

[psychotech]

Here's the (almost final) cost breakdown for tomatocade including all the postage and handling fees paid. The only possible addition to this breakdown is the cost of the t-moulding/binding/whatever I've still got to choose.. (Just add something from $5 to $30 to the total depending on which option I'll ultimately go with ..see the above post)

(All the conversions we're done with xe.com - The Universal Currency Converter @ http://www.xe.com/ucc/)

So..

..I must be demented, but the laptop was actually 85Eur / $108 about 6 years ago. Anyway, I think the "now value" is still about the same..?

[danny_galaga]

danny_galaga: Don't know if I can be of any help, but what kind of issues are you having with that old laptop with dos etc?

basically my biggest problem with getting anywhere is that the laptop has a working floppy drive and a working cd rom drive which doesnt read cdrw. naturally, to make things hard, the floppy on my pc doesnt work. so when i go and install something on the laptop i get an error message like "the file MIDAS11.dll is missing". well, one) i cant find midas on the net anywhere! two) every little thing i need to add i have to burn another cd for. the last cd had audio32w.zip on it. a whole cd for a whopping 32kb! thats how i settled on mame32 .36v11. i had enough things on various cds by then to run it!  what im going to do is get another floppy somewhere (who uses floppy drives nowadays?) and have another go at putting dos mame on. i have some questions ill pm you about in the meantime.

oh, and the chrome stripping is a great touch (",)

[psychotech]

Might be, really.. 

Like in ..Pimp my Bartop 

[psychotech]

Just thought everyone should know that ...

Before the Alien, before the T-Rex. there was the Tomato!

Okay, so the tomato's not usually a vegetable known for having a homicidal disposition, but...
Actually, technically the tomato's a fruit not a vegetable...Whatever. Anyway. The plot. San Diego is menaced by a bunch of blood-crazed...err...killer tomatoes...and the military rushes into activity while the tomato threat begins to spread across the nation. Soon six-foot tomatoes are stalking the country, and they could be heading towards your house!

Almost certainly the best killer fruit movie featuring a song called "Puberty Love" ever made.

"Attack Of The Killer Tomatoes" will stun you in its aptitude and overall cheapness.

--------------------------------------

(The song "Puberty Love" was performed by Matt Cameron, who would later go on to be the drummer for Soundgarden and Pearl Jam.) ...!

--------------------------------------

(http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0080391/)

[art-ki-tech]

I give you an A- for creativity and craftsmanship. Good job!!!

[SithMaster]

whats even worse about floppy drives is they cost around 20 dollars.  thats crazy since anyone who ever bought a pc can just remove it from an older comp and install in the newer.  but being able to only hold 1.5 mbs is a turning off point since all the really cool illegal downloads take more then that.

[psychotech]

Thank's very much art-ki-tech ..If the comment was meant to be here ...as SithMaster's post seemingly wasn't Anyway, as I've seen your (business) site, I'll take the minus gladly !! Anxious to see the "Mili-cade" coming together.

As to the header...

What do YOU think.. Should I just left the Tomatocade as it is or should I finish it with the chrome moulding/striping/whatever I was contemplating?

About 50% of the people that have seen / played the machine have told me not to do anything to it (one even reminded me of how beaten up most of the machines used to be back in then, and that it would be much more authentic to leave it as it is...) when asked ..and the other half have had no opinion either way, maybe they didn't even notice there was (or might have been) something missing in the first place

Opinions..? Anyone?

[SithMaster]

sorry for being inconsiderate.

but i think that the chrome would look nice and maybe you should go for it.  my only concern would be if it didnt fit with the rest of the cab.  not physically but color scheme.  maybe just tape some on to see how it would look then choose?  id go for it though.  but im silly so......

[leapinlew]

Nice looking cabinet - I've been thinking of building on of these for work...

anyhow - about the t-molding... I think it currently looks find as is, but I wonder how it'll handle some dents/dings? That t-molding stuff does a good job of absorbing some hits. Without having a t-molding slot, I wonder how well an adhesive solution would hold...

Either way, it looks good.

[psychotech]

Well ..yeah, I agree, with you both Even as it looks quite nice as it is, I'm almost sure I'll finish it with the chrome moulding -sooner or later.

About the color scheme: As the main colors are black on the inside surfaces and quite a bright red with (more or less) a silver hologram decoration on the outside, I'd think that the chrome will suite it just fine ..

And yes, the only thing that has kept me from already buying and applying the chrome is just the question of how well it would hold..

Well, I'll let it be as it is for now and think about it in a few weeks... Now I REALLY have to start designing my next one...................

---------------------------------------------

Thanks for all the comments & advice.. If (spell when) I'll do another ???cade, I'm sure to announce it earlier

[psychotech]

...Well,

A few weeks later and after a few (almost) approving comments on the machine without the t-moulding etc. I've decided to leave it as it is now. So, there'll be no t-molding on the Tomatocade of any kind in the near future. Maybe it's just time to move on to different 'cades? Anyway.............

The Tomatocade is DONE!

[theCoder]

So......now what's next?

[psychotech]

Well...

That.. Is.. A.. Good.. Question! Actually just the one that I'd like to be able to answer !

Anyway, it won't be a dedicated driving cab, of that at least I'm already sure ... (Good luck with the Xcelerator, seems to be advancing quite nicely. Gonna be an experience when finished, I'm sure.)

Back 2 the question.. Main options at the moment are:

a) A (necessarily) bigger two player bartop/countertop. A tabletop hybrid between Tempest/Millipede/Bad Dudes Vs. Dragon Ninja. Go figure?

b) A Centipede "inspired" two player full size cabinet ..without a trackball! With two 8-ways and one dedicated 4-way. And.. Defender!! So, a couple more buttons per player than on Tomatocade..

c) No way I'm making another...

d) How about a Jukebox. A dedicated jukebox.. I already have the speakers, the amplifier and a spare computer...

Can't decide

Still, something's gotta be done ..

[MaMeNnO]

Quick question, how did you do the wiring of the KeyWiz Eco2? I'm in the middle of that myself. Maybe a picture... or two??? 
Thanks in advance!

[Stingray]

I love the killer tomatoes artwork. Thanks for giving me grin on a day when I really needed one!

-S

[slider2732]

Lovely looking thing...and not at all silly looking.
The chrome idea is a good one, my main problem is the adhesive on such things though.

Btw, reminds me of a Taito, not Tomato 

[psychotech]

Hey there..

MaMeNnO: As you have the same "no-solder" version of KeyWiz, I'm not really sure what you mean about how I did the wiring... Anyway, I hope the following txt and the pix are of use..?!

1) I used an ancient (flat) 40-pin IDE cable - as in the attached pictures.
(See also http://www.hardwarebook.net/connector/storage/ideinternal.html, might be of more use than my gibberish here...). I cut the joystick/push-button side's connector off and then separated the wires..

2) Having decided which wires I'd be using for my controls, I then cut the unused wires really short at the KeyWiz-end of the cable and sealed(/taped) them to avoid any possibility of a short circuit (Black tape on the pix)... I never disassembled the connector interfacing the KeyWiz as there's no need for that anyway ..

3) Finally, I made the ground connections and then just plain connected  the needed  IDE wires to the NO terminals of the switches.. As all of the switches were within 6 inches from the encoder I was able to just solder the IDE wires straight to the NO's.

Actually, there should  be nothing to it as long as you know the pin assignment of an IDE cable... See above link ;

And on that notion: A free tip to all .. http://www.hardwarebook.net/ - An oldie but a goldie..

Anyway, MaMeNnO, Good luck with the cab, Great profile!

Stingray: Thanks, Aren't tomatoes ...well, mostly ketchup nowadays* But, as I've always thought that arcades were meant to be fun ..your "grin" is much appreciated

*Do not forget that Return of the Killer Tomatoes! (1988) also introduced one George Clooney.. Even so, the tomatoes still rule !:)

slider2732: Thanks. Still (Can you imagine!!!), someone (somewhere) just might call, not necessarily the machines, but the people making these arcades, silly.. I really dont have that option anymore  Anyway, could you elaborate with that Taito reference? Links to Taito cabs would be much appreciated (for future inspiration)..!

PS. To theCoder's question above: Another option still ... I absolutely forgot the Jakks 5-in-1 joystick I bought about two years ago. So, make that option e) A Jakks/Namco bartop

How can you decide?!?!?!?!

[psychotech]

---------------------
Found this site (see the pic) following links from the BYOAC boards - lol - What can U say
---------------------

Dear Mr. DeutschMeister: You are absolutely right: That is what a bartop looks like.

About the name though; Look at the graphics.. Rent (or download) the movie.. Have a few beers.. Laugh a little.. Try not to take it all so seriously.. Maybe chance your name from DeutschMeister to something like Andy?

Come on, the world really is just a tomato.

All the best from yours truly ..and Fuzzy Tomato.

PS. FT wants to say that when you do and copy the design, feel free to call your creation anything BUT the Tomatocade.

[MaMeNnO]

Hey there..

MaMeNnO: As you have the same "no-solder" version of KeyWiz, I'm not really sure what you mean about how I did the wiring... Anyway, I hope the following txt and the pix are of use..?!
[...]

Thanks for your "gibberish"  and the photo's!

[slider2732]

Yep, no prob on the Taito reference...they seemed to have a cab design that swept inward toward the middle for a lot of games.

Searching the machines by manufacturer on klov.com should sort ya out

Here's some examples of that cab 'look'

[psychotech]

Hello there.. And thanks for the pix

MaMeNnO: ..good luck with the build ,)

slider2732: As far as I can remember (Dementia?), we never actually had any of those Taito cabs here in Finland (in the eighties'). Well, anyway.. I must have seen some of them on www.klov.com ..I quess?  The Tomatocade profile is of course an all original (yeah, well; almost) design and so "All lines, cuts and names are fictitious - No identification with actual cabs, in use or not, is intended." - Or something...

Build ..

[spriggy]

Well Done psycho..

As for another 'Taito' cab reference..  I built a corny themed 'Taito' bartop ('Jungle Mame'  ) a while ago..  Nice cabinets with a simple eye pleasing line.

....

[MaMeNnO]

Nice looking cab spriggy! Looks very clean. When I finish my upright, maybe... just maybe... but, first obstacle, my girlfriend! How will I convince her???

[spriggy]

Nice looking cab spriggy! Looks very clean. When I finish my upright, maybe... just maybe... but, first obstacle, my girlfriend! How will I convince her???

Got lazy.. should have finished the bezel and side art...  oops... hijacking the thread...  enuff of my crap!!

[psychotech]

Been away for a while, but...

Thank you spriggy. If I'm not actually demented, I did see your build (Can't remember if I posted any comments on it, though) while I was first trying to find info & inspiration for a Centipede-like upright..

Well, haven't build the upright, so far ..but I'm sure the lines in the Tomatocade have to owe at least something to the Jungle Mame design ..as I can't recall seeing any Taito cabs (as pictured above) here "then" or even later..

Anyway. I REALLY like the lines [Jungle Mame]. How did you do the sides?!! ...(surfing..2 jungle mame..)

[spriggy]

....
Anyway. I REALLY like the lines [Jungle Mame]. How did you do the sides?!! ...(surfing..2 jungle mame..)

If "how" means, how did I design the sides......
I built the whole thing around the 15" decased monitor via a cardboard mock-up.  I already had the orginal Taito cabinet dimensions when 'Wade' and myself compiled the sideart (currently up at the AAL).

I then just scaled down the original cabinet dimensions to suit the 15" montior ratio and drew it up on some cardboard (obviously cutting the cabinet just below the control panel.. in Bartop style)  I then made adjustments on the cardboard where clearances were enough.  EG.. I had to extend the depth of the cab slightly for safe clearance of the monitor neck.

[psychotech]

If "how" means, how did I design the sides......

   ..well, yeah ..that way you can honestly call it a Taito cab whereas mine just looks a lot like .. Anyway, I was actually referring to the finish of the sides. Is that reflective/shiny/etc. good looking green surface laminate or paint or..? If paint, how did you apply it ..spray, (foam)roller ??