Mega Cade Finished (Scratch Built)

[JZSlenker]

It's finally finished!  I started this project back in November of last year.  Totally built from scratch.  Thanks to the following...
Bill Burress - Hardware selection and integration
Jeff Gray - Cabinet Graphic design
Mark Gibson at Gibson Graphics - Print Work
Andy Warne at Ultimarc - I-Pac and Aim-Trak Setup
Youki at Atomic FE - Countless patches and help
Rebecca and Chase - allowing me to lock myself in the shop for days.

[Ginsu Victim]

Very nice!

Now to just get a bigger monitor in there.

[javeryh]

Real nice job - especially on the wiring and the neatness on the inside.  Got any more pics?   

[JZSlenker]

I'll take some more pics.  I didn't like the way TV's looked so I stuck with a 20" NEC.

[Gorotsuki]

That gun is sweet!
How's it working for you?

[JZSlenker]

The gun may be my favorite part.  I took an airsoft mp-5 and gutted it.  I put in a large motor with an offset weight.  When you pull the trigger, the gun vibrates.  I much prefer shooting games with a rifle.  I may ad a pistol at some point, but to start it had to be an mp-5.

A couple of little circuit board modules can be seen here.  One is a thermostat for the cabinet fan.  It was built around a Quad input NOR gate.  It speeds up the fan if the internal temp gets too high.  The second circuit board is a delay on circuit.  It keeps the speakers disconnected for 3 seconds after power is first applied .  This keeps the speaker "pop" from happening which was really annoying me.  It's built around a simple 555 circuit.  The lights in the marquee are LED strip lights.

Atomic FE is the front end. 

[JZSlenker]

I have a big problem with documenting projects.  I get too involved in them and forget to take pictures as I go.  Here are two that my wife took that I didn't even know about.  Cabinet is Birch plywood sides, CP and back.  Front is MDF.  Screen is behind 1/4" acrylic with the back painted black to create the bezel.  The light gun connects to the cabinet with a very rugged 5 pin XLR connector.

[bigpete405]

Really neat wiring I like it alot, and awesome work . Take more pics on your next build I'm sure the bug is going to bite again  . 

[chopps]

love this cab.  good job     just wondering how wide it is? 

[JZSlenker]

It's 25" between the sides.  I'm 6'4" so I changed some of the dimensions to make the cab a little higher than normal.

[ragnar]

How come the birch plywood?  I would normally think that would be selected for stain/polyurethane but the cabinet is painted black.  Curious is all.

Also, 11/10 on the wiring.  Very well done.  Overall, I think you did a beautiful job.

[Epyx]

Love the art, love the old school aesthetics but *really* love the inside organization. Definitely something I need to focus on with my project...rather than my usual bury it cause its out of sight 

[JZSlenker]

Thanks.  I'm pretty particular about wiring.  I do A/V rack wiring often for my job and being neat helps with troubleshooting.  As for the birch plywood I went that route for two reasons.  Reason one - Weight.  I didn't want it all made of MDF to make it a little lighter to move around.  Reason two, if it's not going to be MDF I need something that I can put a high quality oil based finish on.  Regular plywood takes a ton of work to get a good paint finish on.  Plus I don't like the way MDF tends to get nicked up on it's edges.

As for the artwork It makes me smile to hear you say that Epyx.  That is exactly what I wanted it to look like, sort of an updated old school graphic.  My friend is an after effects designer so he tends to think in terms of moving graphics, but he really captured what I wanted with these.

I've already started to think about my next project.  I need to recover financially from this project for a little while first.  If I did another upright I think I'd try something with a vertical 42" screen so I can get a decent looking large 4x3 display.  I really didn't like the way the TV looked when I was testing.  Another consideration may be a cocktail game or even pinball.