My first cabinet - Smash TV to MAME Conversion

[PixelPeZ]

I scored a cheap cabinet on an auction site few weeks ago, and as it has been my dream for years, I'm converting it to a MAME cabinet.
Some pics:






It's in quite good shape, but some wear and tear here and there, some rust on the coin door and the speaker frame, some scraped paint and so on, but surprisingly the monitor is in really good condition, so I'm planning to keep it. The tricky part will come from the fact that I have a) no experience with woodwork or the like since grade school b) I don't have any other space to do this than my flats bedroom. It's going to be messy and I'm going to have to learn a lot in the process, but I'm really exited and believe it's going to be a lot of fun to do, but expect some frustration.

The plan is that I will stick a pc there, keep the monitor, new sideart and a marquee and an X-Arcade joystick.

This is where this forum undoubtedly will come in handy - my first question would be that is it possible to get electrocuted without discharging the monitor and starting to strip the thing apart? I'm scared to death of electricity, and getting shocked this way would really suck.
Also on the monitor matter, does it matter what type of VGA cable I use to do the 15khz hack? I found two types at the store, one looking like this
 
and the other without those .... things ... before the connector. I'm not really sure why they are there or what they do, so is it really better to use one or the other?

The other big issue will be the power and wiring. Luckily I have a few friends who are trained in this but still, does anyone have a good idea how to achieve the feat of having only one power switch for the monitor, PC, speakers and the marquee light, in the most easiest way possible... and so that it doesn't just cut off the PC's power, but will send it to shutdown mode.

So, any help welcome, if anyone wants any more pics or specific shots for restoration or whatnot, I'll be glad to help as well. Oh and I'm doing a custom MaLa layout, which I'm planning to freely release after it's done.

[Austin.Wolff]

The ones without the d-sub (the blue thing) are probably breakout cables.  I'd recommend those, because if you're going to go from VGA to arcade you're going to need to cut the d-sub off anyways.

[shardian]

Where are you located? There might be someone on here who would trade you cabinets so that Smash TV wouldn't have to be MAMEd. If you were local to me I would totally trade you a Dynamo ready to pop in a pc plus some cash.

[Paladin]

I think the 'things' he's talking about are the built in RF interference rings.
At least that's what I've always thought those cylinders are.

[PixelPeZ]

Where are you located? There might be someone on here who would trade you cabinets so that Smash TV wouldn't have to be MAMEd. If you were local to me I would totally trade you a Dynamo ready to pop in a pc plus some cash.

Sorry dude, I think there's a few miles between us, with me being located in Estonia and all ...
I think the shipping costs would be astronomical
But I do think I might be selling off the board and marquee....

[shardian]

Where are you located? There might be someone on here who would trade you cabinets so that Smash TV wouldn't have to be MAMEd. If you were local to me I would totally trade you a Dynamo ready to pop in a pc plus some cash.

Sorry dude, I think there's a few miles between us, with me being located in Estonia and all ...
I think the shipping costs would be astronomical
But I do think I might be selling off the board and marquee....

  Yeah that might be a bit of cash.

[PixelPeZ]

First design idea:


Since most cabinets are busy (or REALLY BUSY) designwise, I want to keep it simple, a few colors and just some fun colors and movement.
The clouds are a bit sloppy and repeating now, but the idea is to do something akin the clouds of dust in Zelda: Wind waker. 

I'll mess around with the colors a bit later on, but I'll try it as matte black on gloss black, and gold on black.

Should be interesting.

[TOK]

Its your machine to do what you want with, but might I suggest leaving the art and just doing "bolt on" mods like the control panel so it can be put back to original? I don't think there are many people here that like to see a clean, original, working machine get hacked up.

[missioncontrol]

 

you are ruining a perfectly good working game just for your MAMEZ? 

do they not sell MDF or plywood in Estonia?

[Zakk]

Seriously, leave the look of this cab as-is and just use a j-pac.   You'll thank yourself in the morning.

[shardian]

you are ruining a perfectly good working game just for your MAMEZ? 

do they not sell MDF or plywood in Estonia?

Yep, all you'd have to do is replace the top piece of the control panel. Your cost would be a 1/4 sheet plywood, 6 feet of t-molding, and one overlay from mamemarquees. If you made the new CP a little wider, you could even retain the Smash TV theme and the controls, while adding buttons in between the dual sticks. That would be a SUPER SWEET mame conversion.

[bfauska]

Yep, all you'd have to do is replace the top piece of the control panel. Your cost would be a 1/4 sheet plywood, 6 feet of t-molding, and one overlay from mamemarquees. If you made the new CP a little wider, you could even retain the Smash TV theme and the controls, while adding buttons in between the dual sticks. That would be a SUPER SWEET mame conversion.

Seconded.

[PixelPeZ]

Believe me guys, tearing this thing apart makes me sad to no end, I would LOVE to this be my "RESTORE" project, with a second cabinet running them mamez next to it. Unfortunately, all comes down to physical space- I have only my 2-room flat to do it in, building a new cabinet from scratch would require a garage, basement or a backyard, none of which I have access to. Not to mention that two cabinets wouldn't fit anywhere inside the flat either.

So I sat down with my girlfriend last night, she works in construction and knows a lot more about woodwork and such than me, and we came up with an idea. Since I work in advertising I have quite easy access to PVC, so what we thought was that we get two sheets of PVC, either paint them over (anyone have any experince with this?) or get them printed with the design, and then just bolt them to the sides, leaving the original theme intact for the future. PVC seems like a good light material to work with, easy to handle, quite cheap and easy to cut. Just that and some t-molding and the lower section I wanted to keep black as it is, so its just a bit of sanding and fixing and cleaning and repainting the coin door.
Inside the cabinet, however, I'm not that sure - I would like to keep the original board intact, so that it would take reconnecting a few wires should I get the Smash-TV craving. I'll keep the original control panel as is, so it can be just swapped when needed.
Doing it like this would really simplify everything and keep the project open for future restauration plans. What do you think?

[shardian]

You seem to be determined to turn that thing into a pink puffball, so go right ahead.

[HaRuMaN]

This thread makes me sad...   

[Zakk]

You can leave the cabinet as-is and just change the control panel...I don't see how bolting platic to the sides is going to do anything but make this a monstrosity.  People like that game!  If they see it, and THEN they realize that it's been Mame'd, what a bonus!  You can do it with a Jpac (as I mentioned earlier) or go with an arcadeVGA and put a computer and new panel on there.  What on earth are you thinking that you need it to be pink and white and whatever?!?!?   The guys that designed the artwork on that cabinet were professional artist working for one of the world's biggest arcade companies.  How is your pvc creation ever going to compete with that???

Mame this without wrecking it, then make a pink bartop unit from scratch.  Problem solved for everyone. 

[bfauska]

It seems to me like the PVC sheet idea isn't so bad, all it would do to damage the cabinet is put a few holes in the side for bolts. Add a custom CP top, and J-Pac and you're good to go, without much damage.

I do also agree with the idea that the original artwork is a great starting place, leave the sides, build a custom CP top, add the J-Pac, and again... good to go, although this time with an easy cohesive look and no damage.

Either way I don't think it's too big of a crime.

I think there is also a jamma switch of some sort. I don't know anything about it but I thought I saw it somewhere, if it does what I think then you should be able to switch from MAME to the original board and then swap over the CP and be back to stock Smash TV play. (Although, if your custom CP allowed, MAME does emulate Smash well as far as I know, so I don't know what the advantage would be.)

[SithMaster]

I think the plastic sides is a good compromise.

Im going to throw this in and it is just my opinion so you can ignore if you want to as it is your cab.  The only thing i would change is the cp and leave the art just because it is already there and it could work into a theme.

Now the next point to argue is over the bolting of said pvc.

(dont worry guys were slowly making him concede to our will)

[blueznl]

Let me be the devils advocate: if people like that original cab so much they should buy it from you. If nobody does, feel free to do with it whatever you want. Although I'm all in favor of restoration not all of us have the luxury of overly large basements. It's YOUR call, not someone else's.

[Stobe]

I'm as big a fan of Smash TV as anyone else.  But the bottom line is that we all know that noone is going over to estonia to "rescue" the cab.  So just let the owner do what he wishes with it.

As far as my 2 cents worth of advice, I'll second the notion of using a jpac.  Simply replace the top with a new board and use your own controls vs. an xarcade (more color choices, better quality, etc).

If you question your woodworking skills, check with Kenieval about one of his CP tops.  It might fit right on top.  Then you'll just have to mount it, attach your controls, connect a couple wires to the jpac (for the extra buttons) and you're done!  (I make it sound so easy).

As for your technical questions... the "thing" on the VGA cable is more or less a magnet to reduce RF interance.  Not a bad idea to have.

For your power question, just search the boards for (the hundreds) of posts about smart strips and their foreign equivalents.  That will be your "one switch" solution.  That and having a front end that can send a shutdown command to windows for you.

Good luck......you'll need it  (shameless Smash TV quote).

-Stobe

[TOK]

Let me be the devils advocate: if people like that original cab so much they should buy it from you. If nobody does, feel free to do with it whatever you want. Although I'm all in favor of restoration not all of us have the luxury of overly large basements. It's YOUR call, not someone else's.

Nobody told him he couldn't do it, in fact I prefaced my comments as did many others that it was his to do as he chose with. If you're looking to preserve the history and fun of classic games with a project like this, a good first step is not to destroy some of that history in the process.

Having a basement/space has absolutely nothing to do with that. That machine can easily be MAME'd in a totally reversible fashion.

[MaximRecoil]

A dedicated, working, unmolested "Smash TV" in good shape and you are going to ruin it? I would love to have that machine.

If you insist on "MAMEing" one of the coolest arcade machines ever (you know, so you can have the fake thing, rather than the real thing), you should really consider getting a J-Pac and making a new control panel top, and doing nothing else to it. That way you don't ruin anything, and it can easily be reverted back to its original condition.

[Namco]

I'll trade you that awesome SmashTV for this old thing I have laying around:


It would make a better candidate for Mame and I'm sure you can fit a nice big frankenpanel on it. I mean, who cares about old space shooter games anyway? 

[shardian]

I'll trade you that awesome SmashTV for this old thing I have laying around:


It would make a better candidate for Mame and I'm sure you can fit a nice big frankenpanel on it. I mean, who cares about old space shooter games anyway? 

In all honesty, I would totally take the Smash TV over Galaga. I'm a 90's brat.

[MaximRecoil]

In all honesty, I would totally take the Smash TV over Galaga. I'm a 90's brat.

I would take the Smash TV over the Galaga too. But either way, it is a shame to see dedicated, complete, and working machines get ruined for the sake of MAME, especially the ones that are widely considered to be classics or good games.

[BrentRadio]

Just buy some pink wrapping paper and wrap it up like a Christmas present.

[CheffoJeffo]

it is a shame to see dedicated, complete, and working machines get ruined for the sake of MAME, especially the ones that are widely considered to be classics or good games.

Agreed  ...  wait, what ?

 

[FrizzleFried]

Please...for the love of god...DO NOT destroy that Smash TV!  And...for the love of all that is good in this universe THROW AWAY THAT SIDE ART IDEA.

If you destroy that Smash TV,  hundreds of kittens die!

Please take my advice...

[rotheblog]

It would seem to me, that if this is your first game and you are looking to get advice on any aspect of the game, you might want to heed what people are kindly asking and not incite the ire of the board by doing anything to this awesome cabinet.  I can relate to the space issue....but this is a game that is some fashion you will be ruining.  A nice compromise may be if someone locally would offer to build you a cabinet to use....or give you one.

[Malenko]

I hate this guy in 6 posts, he just broke gensism's record of 8 posts.

[SirPeale]

Dude...complete, working Smash TVs are rare as hen's teeth these days because so many of them were converted.  Please, please trade this to someone for something that's Mame-worthy.  This isn't it.

[Namco]

You should've stripped it first, threw some dirt on it, and stuck an NBA Jam marquee on it, THEN took pictures and shared with the board. 

[More Cowbell]

If the cab was in rough shape I would not be so against it. But the fact that it looks freakin' new makes me throw up in my mouth a little envisioning pink clouds on the side.
Urp.

[WunderCade]

It wouldn't be soo bad if it weren't that the artwork you are planning on putting on that cab looks like a old prop from a Pepto-Bismol commercial. Can't you do better than that?

[psychotech]

Who'd want a cab like that.. Just remember to video it burning..!

Or, alternatively...

Where in Estonia are you? Tallinna?

How much for the cab? (EURO / €) How much more to send it to Helsinki, Finland? Come on, it's just something like 70km (45miles) ..

psychotech

[koolmoecraig]

For the love of God, leave that cabinet original.  Just change out the controls if you are going to MAME it.  Make it reversible.

[PixelPeZ]

sheesh, so much hate.
First of all, I'm not planning to "destroy" it. Anything I will do, I plan to be reversible, so that when the time comes, I will restore it as you guys all know and love.
I DO however plan on changing the sideart, not sure what method yet, but if I'll go the PVC route, then I'll use offset T-molding to cover the fact they have been changed. Regarding the design, since the thing is located in my bedroom, I'd much rather look at pink fluffy clouds when I wake up, rather than scantily-clad men with guns It may not be the final design nor is it that I "can't do better" but rather than is it indicative of the look I really do want. Are you guys saying that the designs with 10000 colors and characters and flying 3d texts with neon LED lights are better? Well, different tastes then I guess. And as said, I plan to do it in a way that would leave no more than a few screw marks to clean up later on, since some sanding and painting is really needed anyways.
And thanks to those who helped with the questions. I will look into the J-pac thing, but originally I thought X-arcade because it would be the easiest to hook up and install. I just planned a little mount around it so it would be just the same shape and size than the original.
psychotech:
En usko että tulen myymään konettani, vaikka me näin lähellä toisiamme asutaankin. Jos näitä liikkuisi enemmän, niin ehkä voisin harkita, mutta ei nyt MUTTA jos joskus tulen löytämään jotain, niin vaihtokauppa yhteen sun mahtavista Bartopesista kuulostaisi todella makealta kaupalta...

In conclusion - DON'T WORRY! I love old games just as much as all of you do, but the idea of playing A LOT of cool games with my friends that we used only to dream about versus just one ... well, A LOT really wins over. I'm a collector of games and systems like I guess a lot of you are, so I'm not on a quest to destroy something I, and all of you, really love.

[Zakk]

Don't bother asking for advice as you go along, as obviously you know better than all of us.


Oh, but PLEASE, be sure to post a pic of the completed cabinet.  Yours will surely be one of the most famous cabinets of all time, what with the pink fluffy clouds covering up those horrible men with guns.  I mean, what game nowadays has men with guns in it?  I'm pretty sure 99% of the new video game market is pink-cloud oriented now.

Επίσης, θα επιθυμούσα να επισημάνω ότι πρόκειται να γελοιοποιηθείτε για το υπόλοιπο των ημερών σας εάν προχωράτε ένας τύπος αυτό το τερατούργημα, για την αγάπη του Θεού βγαίνετε ακριβώς και αγοράζετε κάποια ξυλεία και κάνετε ένα ρόδινο χνουδωτό γλυπτό σύννεφων από την άδεια γρατσουνιών!!! που αυτό είναϊ Σας ικετεύουμε!!

[psychotech]

Oh..

Well, that offer was more (or less) just a tease anyway..

And your plan of doing reversible modifications sounds good 

PixelPez: En uskonutkaan, että olisit myynyt tuon koneen. Aina voi kuitenkin yrittää Ja kiitos kommentista! Onnea projektiin.

Keep up the good work 

Zakk: Mikä mättää? Näkyykö siellä niitä lepakoita? 

[Zakk]

Dammit, you know my Estonian is rusty....