Author Topic: My machine came to life today! comments.. (Read 8074 times)

JoeB · « **on:** July 23, 2003, 01:38:28 am »

I'm about 80% finished converting a once beat up, converted multiple times, arcade machine to a gream mame box.

Today, I temporarly plugged in to the ArcadeVGA and IPAC, and turned it on. I was very happy to see the DOS window telling me to insert a floppy into drive A: with all the system statistics on the top! WOO HOO.. IT'S ALIVE!

The only small concern I have is the actual motherboard..
It's an AMD 2400+ XP, and what I've done is I've used a few plastic spacers, and screwed the motherboard to the sidewall of the arcade machine (rather than putting it inside a PC case.

So what do you guys think? Good thing / bad thing to have motherboard screwed to inside of machine rather than in case??

kspiff · « **Reply #1 on:** July 23, 2003, 01:54:16 am »

Congrats. Should be fine to have the mobo like that, as long as the spacers keep the solder side of the PCB from touching anything that would short it.

Generic Eric · « **Reply #2 on:** July 23, 2003, 03:17:03 am »

I'd like to see some pics. Got a website?

jjhlk · « **Reply #3 on:** July 23, 2003, 07:37:00 am »

I agree with kspiff: it'll be fine (afterall what is a PC case really - and they're usually cramped), but it's probably best not to let it touch a surface. You could put some (soft, not styro though it might work) foam between it and the cabinet.

u_rebelscum · « **Reply #4 on:** July 23, 2003, 08:04:10 am »

Make sure you have air flow over your MB. Otherwise you should be okay.

Oh ya, dust might be a little more of a problem without the case, but not much.

JoeB · « **Reply #5 on:** July 23, 2003, 09:57:15 am »

Here's a picture of the almost finished inside.

You can see:

- the WG 7000 series 25" monitor
- PC power supply
- PC Motherboard
- car amp
- 110V -> 12V power inverter (top left corner)
- isolating transformer (in front of it)
- power bar (has a build in relay.. turns everything on once the thing in the first slot turns on.. the monitor)
- emergency kill switch if door opens (inline with power switch to monitor)
- emergency power button to motherboard if PC doesn't auto start (can be reached by opening the coin door. It's the old service button.

JoeB · « **Reply #6 on:** July 23, 2003, 10:00:15 am »

Here's a closeup of the the moterboard is hanging with the powersupply. You can see that 2 spots on the motherboard are being used as backup ground spots. The ArcadeVGA is also installed. Luckly this MB has a locking mechanism on the AGP slot, but the card can still tilt out.. any ideas on how to stop that??

rampy · « **Reply #7 on:** July 23, 2003, 10:02:51 am »

zip ties! *shrug*

I think we wanted pictures of the OUTSIDE of yoru cabinet.. not your mobo/avga card =P

I've mounted my motherboard both ways... directly to some shelving at the bottom of a cabinet and within an existing pc case... I don't really have a preference. I do need a better way of securing the drives though =P (OSCAR had the quality suggestino of using velcro -- i had dismissed that because I didn't think the adhesive would hold enough on the wood... but it works for him... and he's the "captain" so...)

*Shrug*

rampy

JoeB · « **Reply #8 on:** July 23, 2003, 10:06:59 am »

Lastly, here's a closeup of the power hookup. As you can see, the old original AC/DC arcade PS was gutted, and only the bottom and front covers are left (only the bottom is visible here).

So a PC style plug is on the outside for a cable to plug in, this goes to a power switch on the back, next to the plug, and then to the special power bar.

The monitor itself connects through an isolating transformer. The power cable begins by going via a 3A fuse to the emergency door disconnect if cover opens, then to a switch at the top of the cabinet, then back down (in the way, the marquee plugs in.. this is the way the original cab was wired) lastly to the isolating transformer.

The reason the device that controlls what turns on is the monitor, is because I decided to reunse the original power wires and switches in the cabinet, and they seem to be too thin to be used with PC, but perfect for the monitor/marquee which is close to what there was there before!

JoeB · « **Reply #9 on:** July 23, 2003, 10:11:23 am »

here outside pic..

JoeB · « **Reply #10 on:** July 23, 2003, 10:12:09 am »

Another outside pic.. (speakers are not installed yet).

rampy · « **Reply #11 on:** July 23, 2003, 10:14:13 am »

ahhh.. very cool thanks.

Looks like it's going to be a very nice/clean project -> congrats!

Rampy

Thenasty · « **Reply #12 on:** July 23, 2003, 12:57:49 pm »

looks good.. You might want to widen the Player 1 and 2 awya from the center so you can always add TRACKball/Spinner/4-way stick when you realize that you need one. There is plenty of room for P1 to move to the left and p2 to the right.

Edgedamage · « **Reply #13 on:** July 23, 2003, 01:06:58 pm »

Nice looking cab inside and outside. Also you did not mention if it was you or the original owner who painted the inside of the cab with fire stop paint. But it is ALWAYS a good idea to paint a cab new or old with fire stop paint.

JoeB · « **Reply #14 on:** July 23, 2003, 01:14:10 pm »

fire stop paint!??

The white?? The white is just white primer/sealer.. I did it to stop any moisture from getting into the bottom and ruining the plywood.

The machine itself is an old wwf wrestlefest that at some point was converted to a Xmen children of the atom.

The machine was beat up REALLY REALLY BAD! chunks were missing from it, and the top was beat up so bad that I had to make the new top.

The entire cab was re-laminated by me.

Todd H · « **Reply #15 on:** July 23, 2003, 02:42:18 pm »

That cabinet style is the same one use by Arcadeshopper.com. Check out the pictures http://www.arcadeshopper.com/mame/assembledmame.htm. Nice looking cabinet BTW.

It makes me angry that I'm still in the beginning stages of my cabinet building.

Why must you people tease me so?

APFelon · « **Reply #16 on:** July 23, 2003, 02:47:37 pm »

This may be a little odd, but instead of mounting the mobo directly onto the cabinet wall, I went out and bought a cutting board (but any piece of wood would have worked, I guess) and mounted the mobo, floppy, CD-ROM and HD onto it, just in case I ever wanted to bench test it if I ever decide to upgrade anything.

Fine cabinet, BTW. Looks brand new!

APf

JoeB · « **Reply #17 on:** July 23, 2003, 03:32:40 pm »

Thanx!

Laminate kinda does that to old cabinets.. it's very easy to put on if you got the right tools.. saves a lot of time, and very easy to clean and is scratch resistant.

Any other reasons?

lokki · « **Reply #18 on:** July 23, 2003, 07:05:26 pm »

Quote from: rampy on July 23, 2003, 10:02:51 am

zip ties! *shrug*

I've mounted my motherboard both ways... directly to some shelving at the bottom of a cabinet and within an existing pc case... I don't really have a preference. I do need a better way of securing the drives though =P (OSCAR had the quality suggestino of using velcro -- i had dismissed that because I didn't think the adhesive would hold enough on the wood... but it works for him... and he's the "captain" so...)

*Shrug*

rampy

Hi,
I had a hard time figuring out how to fasten the HD and CD rom. Recently I had the AC in my house fail, and the technician that came to fix it, Had this roll of galvanized steel with holes in it. I asked him what it was and he said it was Pumber's tape.
went to Home Depot and asked for it, and they quickly pointed me to it. They had both plastic and metal based tape, bought a roll 10 ft ($2.56) plastic. And now Both CD and HD are secure.
(not the teflon tape)

scroll down to the bottom of this link if you want to know what I am talking about.

http://www.plumbingworld.com/tapes.html

Hope this helps someone.

MameMaster! · « **Reply #19 on:** July 25, 2003, 10:52:42 am »

....oh, to have that first time feeling again.

....nice cab!

I have screen envy. I only have a 19 incher. Your 25 incher make me green with envy

Good luck!

The MameMaster

Chris · « **Reply #20 on:** July 25, 2003, 12:20:14 pm »

Quote from: lokki on July 23, 2003, 07:05:26 pm

I had a hard time figuring out how to fasten the HD and CD rom.

I ripped the drive bays out of an old case that was headed for the trash. The 3.5" drive bays are mounted on the wall next to the motherboard, and the 5.25" bays are mounted to the top of the coin vault, so they are accessible through the coin door.

gtjoe · « **Reply #21 on:** July 25, 2003, 10:04:23 pm »

I attached my power supply, cdrom drive and hard drive to a plywood board using velcro. Won't even budge. I have to wedge a screwdriver in between the velcro tabs in order to remove them from the plywood board.

Cisco Kid · « **Reply #22 on:** July 25, 2003, 11:14:10 pm »

the easiest way to secure the motherboard and all the cards is to use a motherboard tray

... then mount the motherboard tray to the side of your cabinet like you have the motherboard now

all the cards (video, sound, NIC, etc.) would be secured to the tray ... no way there going to fall out.

you can pick one up from Addtronics for $20

http://www.addtronics.com/scripts/shopplus.cgi?dn=addtronics.com&cartid=%CARTID%&file=shopping_cart/part-list.htm

the "Motherboard tray for ET789X/ET689X (Non-Pentium 4)" should suit your needs ... unless your using a Pentium 4 motherboard ... then the "Motherboard tray for ET789X/ET689X. Upgraded Pentium 4 version" for $30 will get the job done nicely

Justin · « **Reply #23 on:** July 26, 2003, 08:11:37 am »

Quote from: JoeB on July 23, 2003, 10:06:59 am

The reason the device that controlls what turns on is the monitor, is because I decided to reunse the original power wires and switches in the cabinet, and they seem to be too thin to be used with PC, but perfect for the monitor/marquee which is close to what there was there before!

So, does this mean that when you want to power off your cab, you simply switch off your Monitor? If so, then your PC does not get a chance to shutdown properly.

Can you explain?

Dr. J · « **Reply #24 on:** July 26, 2003, 08:04:17 pm »

Joe B,
Great looking cabinet. I'm a big fan of the Konami style cabinets myself. It's the same design from crime fighters and TMNT cabinet (mine was tmnt).

Quote from: Justin on July 26, 2003, 08:11:37 am

Quote from: JoeB on July 23, 2003, 10:06:59 am
The reason the device that controlls what turns on is the monitor, is because I decided to reunse the original power wires and switches in the cabinet, and they seem to be too thin to be used with PC, but perfect for the monitor/marquee which is close to what there was there before!

So, does this mean that when you want to power off your cab, you simply switch off your Monitor? If so, then your PC does not get a chance to shutdown properly.

Can you explain?

I've had mine set up similar to this for over a year now and it's been no problem. The only time you really need to shut down properly is when you install something new or change something. Mine is a dedicated cabinet, and I only upgrade the mame version and roms every couple months. After that I make sure to shut down properly. Other than that I just throw the switch.

Edited: I do this with win98se. I didn't like the idea of it at first, but heard of others on this board doing the same. I gave it a try with a test hard drive and had no problems, and now I've been doing it with my full setup for about 1 year.

Also, I made mine with a pc case inside, but it probably doesn't matter either way. I used a case because it was simple to mount all the computer components in, and then I just bolted the case to the floor. I also have a hose running from outside the cabinet directly to the case where an inward directed fan helps draw a fresh air supply, then I have two other fans blowing out of the case into the cabinet. It was probably extra work, but I did it so the cpu would always have a cooler air supply.

Justin · « **Reply #25 on:** July 26, 2003, 08:34:05 pm »

Quote from: Dr. J on July 26, 2003, 08:04:17 pm

I've had mine set up similar to this for over a year now and it's been no problem. The only time you really need to shut down properly is when you install something new or change something. Mine is a dedicated cabinet, and I only upgrade the mame version and roms every couple months. After that I make sure to shut down properly. Other than that I just throw the switch.

You do this running Windows?! I can understand if you're running DOS, but Windows?

JoeB · « **Reply #26 on:** July 28, 2003, 02:01:26 pm »

Here's the reason behind the madness:

Most arcade machines that get mamed have wires for power that are rated just good enough for what is in it. A monitor is rated at only 85W and a jamma board not that much more.

So the power lines inside are about 20-22 gauge. But when you bring a PC to the picture (That might have a 350W power supply) those wires are not good enough.

You can always pull all the wire out, put new higher rated on/off switches, etc.. but that's too much work and $$$.

The easier thing to do is what I did (and others do). Have the monitor control everything. This way, when I turn on the monitor, it activates a relay in my special power supply that gives power to the rest of the outlets, and everything turns on. It's the actual power outlet that has a nice thick cable and plugs into the AC outlet!

Now, in regards to software:

- I have my motherboard set to turn on after AC power restore. So when it gets power, it automatically turns on, and WindowsXP boots!
- When I'm done playing games, I uses MAMEAWH to exit and shutdown.
- When the PC is fully shutdown, I flip the switch and everything else dies.

Now, you might think that because the PC was cleanly shutdown, when the AC is restored it won't power on.. but that's not true! Even after a clean shutdown, if the power is taken away (While the PC is off) and is returned, the PC automatically starts up!

Hope this helps...

Justin · « **Reply #27 on:** July 28, 2003, 02:51:45 pm »

Quote from: JoeB on July 28, 2003, 02:01:26 pm

Here's the reason behind the madness:

Most arcade machines that get mamed have wires for power that are rated just good enough for what is in it. A monitor is rated at only 85W and a jamma board not that much more.

So the power lines inside are about 20-22 gauge. But when you bring a PC to the picture (That might have a 350W power supply) those wires are not good enough.

You can always pull all the wire out, put new higher rated on/off switches, etc.. but that's too much work and $$$.

The easier thing to do is what I did (and others do). Have the monitor control everything. This way, when I turn on the monitor, it activates a relay in my special power supply that gives power to the rest of the outlets, and everything turns on. It's the actual power outlet that has a nice thick cable and plugs into the AC outlet!

Now, in regards to software:

- I have my motherboard set to turn on after AC power restore. So when it gets power, it automatically turns on, and WindowsXP boots!
- When I'm done playing games, I uses MAMEAWH to exit and shutdown.
- When the PC is fully shutdown, I flip the switch and everything else dies.

Now, you might think that because the PC was cleanly shutdown, when the AC is restored it won't power on.. but that's not true! Even after a clean shutdown, if the power is taken away (While the PC is off) and is returned, the PC automatically starts up!

Hope this helps...

Oh, so you ARE doing a clean shutdown then. Would be nice if powering down the PC automatically shut off the whole system. That s whay I have the PC as the 'trigger' in my power strip.

Too bad I have problems under this setup, and the whole thing misteriously powers on after a while.

JoeB · « **Reply #28 on:** July 28, 2003, 04:12:12 pm »

SOme PC motherboards have "wake on LAN" or wake on USB or NIC access.. check it and make sure it's all disabled!

Justin · « **Reply #29 on:** July 28, 2003, 04:25:08 pm »

Quote from: JoeB on July 28, 2003, 04:12:12 pm

SOme PC motherboards have "wake on LAN" or wake on USB or NIC access.. check it and make sure it's all disabled!

Dunno man... this thing doesn't power on by itself if I plug it to the wall. ONLY happens if I plug it to the 'special' power strip.

Someone else on this forum, with same powerstip, is experiencing the exact same problem. Oh well...


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Author Topic: My machine came to life today! comments.. (Read 8074 times)

Cisco Kid