Play Time - Vertical Bartop - UK Build

[Hornet]

Hi all I have been dabbling with Mame on and off since the early days when I had a dial up connection... and was free and single. How things change! 

I have also been lurking in the shadows of this forum in stealth mode for quite a number of years. I did have the urge and idea back in 2007 to start a project but it never got past the design stages.

Now I have 2 children, grey hair and a pretty damn good excuse to build something, that's how I sold it to the missus anyway. Unfortunately the missus has allowed me a budget of £0.00 to spend. As I am the type of person who likes a challenge the lack of funds has not stopped me. First off I decided to draw up a list of objectives which were as follows;

Ticks indicate the things I have done or obtained for the project.

1) It has to be small-ish! = Vertical Bartop
2) It needs to be competitive, (two kids and me) = Save High Score / 0.139 recompiled √
3) It needs to play a small collection of games = 2GB Compact Flash Card √ See 13 below
4) It needs 1 joystick, 5 play buttons, player 1 & 2 buttons and 2 service buttons = £24.11 inc. postage √
5) I need £24.11 = Sell items I have not used in a long time on ebay = £62.30 √
6) Small monitor = An old 19" LCD with no power adaptor and no stand, might be working still?? From a friend √ Tested and working! 
7) Need some MDF preferably 12mm = 18mm MDF and some 18mm ply from B&Q, off cuts bin £3.50 √
8 ) Cheap MOBO with ram, processor, sound and graphics = 3ghz P.4 with 2GB ram on board sound and graphics, donated by the next door neighbour √
9) Paint = 5lt of light blue tractor enamel, wrong colour mix so was free. √
10) Name for my project = Play Time √
11) Graphics / Decals = ?? Design a marquee and the control panel, but will decide how I am going to tackle these when I come to it.
12) USB encoder = KADE Minimus £10.00 Inc. postage (Ebay) √
13) Hard drive = old 500 gig sata kept from my last PC √
14) Sound, speakers and small amp = 1 x bass/mid, 2 x tweeters salvaged from other projects in the past. Still need an amp and also cross over, may make them??

Total Funds raised = £62.30
Total Spend to date = £37.61
Balance = + £24.69

So far its going well, I have all of the main parts to make something resembling the top half of an 80's arcade machine. Hopefully it will function like one too!

For anyone wondering, the name of my project, (Play Time) came about when I thought back to my child hood. I spent most of my child hood in care, (children's home). Luckily one of the homes I was moved to in the 80's had a games room, pool table and a shabby upright machine that played Breakout. The marquee had been replaced with a really bad one that simply read "Play Time", no graphics just a bad font in white on a black background. I decided to adopt this name and try to make in a bit more of an improved design. I was going to post the list above and how I chose the name the other day but thought, lets wait until I have some things scratched off the list and some photo's to accompany the first post.

[Hornet]

I decided to de-case the monitor to see if I could squeeze everything into the mdf off cuts I got. This would also dictate the shape of my bartop.





As can be seen, its going to be a tight fit.



I found a wall adaptor in my electrical parts box which matched the voltage and was rated 0.5 of an amp over what the monitor will draw. And hey presto, the monitor is alive!



Next was to hook up the hardware, reformat the hard drive and install XP as the OS. I didn't know what state the mobo and processor was in or if I could run the latest version of Mame on it. This would also dictate what FE I would use; Mala under XP or Cabrio under Linux. The mobo checked out fine but mame didn't like the on board graphics, so I made a few changes to mame.ini and we are good to go. Though I must check out Cabrio on my Linux machine some time, the GUI sure looks clean.



My lab/kitchen for bench testing relics.



A trip back to my workshop, there's not many people who can boast that they have a garden in their workshop. 





Here I am working out how wide the machine will be. The marquee I designed at 40cm wide but I don't want the bartop to be too wide, and at the same time I don't want it to be to tall with no width, (skinny). I settled on 36cm and decided to test for comfort and placement of the controls on the CP.



One of my concerns was the joystick placement and if my hand would be uncomfortable because of the winged sides of the cab. The mock up confirmed that it would be OK. I also took the opportunity to see what the player buttons would look like down one side. The layout shows 6 play buttons but I will only use 5 or maybe 3. I still need to decide if I want to play defender on this or make a dedicated machine, (horizontal screen) at a later date.  My favourite game by the way.



Had to use the hand saw to cut the control panel, kids had just gone to bed and I didn't want them hanging out the window wondering what all the noise was if I had got the rip saw out. Before you ask, I did do a risk assessment which is why the can of Iron Brew is there. I didn't want to die from thirst while sawing. I wish the kids wouldn't leave their toy's in my workshop though, they can be a bit of hazard.

Next is to cut all the mdf parts for the bartop and start assembling, should get this done tomorrow evening.

[EMDB]

I like the style of your artwork. And your workshop...

I'm curious about the CP and sideart.

You will need plexi for the marquee (and in front of the monitor), marquee retainer, glue, screws, get your artwork printed, etc. etc.

Don't tell the wife. It will cost a bit more... 

[Hornet]

HI EMDB, thank you for the pointers. Yes the art work has a question mark hanging over it. I had thought about approaching the local college reprographics department as I'm an adult student there, so may get a bit of a discount. If not control panel and side art could have a design painted on instead, again using what paints I have lying around.

I do have a couple of questions regarding the plexi over the monitor. Should it be 3mm thick or 5mm thick? I also like the idea of using a grey tinted plexi for this, would tinted be OK? I'm hoping I can get the plexi out of the money I have left over, if not then I will have to fish out some more items to sell on ebay.

The marquee retainer, I can fabricate from sheet metal. I always have some sheet metal in the garage for auto repairs and what not.

Screws and Glue I have, well a tube of Gripfill, (much stronger) again all left over from other projects.

EMBD you right about the Marquee and printing, this is going to be the biggest expense I think.

Can't wait for the kids to go to bed at 7pm so I can crack on again with it.

Thanks again EMDB 

[JDFan]

I like the style of your artwork. And your workshop...

I'm curious about the CP and sideart.

You will need plexi for the marquee (and in front of the monitor), marquee retainer, glue, screws, get your artwork printed, etc. etc.

Don't tell the wife. It will cost a bit more... 

Those things can be done on the cheap as well -- For my Bartop I found that the local hockey rink had a couple pieces of nice thick (1\2 inch) plexi sitting outside that had been broken during one of their games so they had replaced a couple panels (they had several scratches in some places but was able to find a large enough area unscratched to cut to size) - they were going in the trash so I repurposed them for my Marquee - bottom of CP front - and Bezel -- the artwork cost less than $8 to have the local office supply store print on a thick cardstock paper that I cut and mounted behind the free plexi and printed a couple stickers for the side on adhesive backed white paper they had in the clearance bin for $4.00 for 25 sheets. Then left the CP top just painted and it came out fine.

For the speakers check your local goodwill (second hand store) for some USB powered PC speakers and remove them from the enclosures if needed - should be able to get a decent pair fairly cheap and they come with everything you need.

 Using Parts I had laying around I spent a total of $40 for the joystick\buttons - $11 for the encoder (ZD encoder from Hong Kong) - $8 for artwork - $25 for 1 sheet of 1\2 inch MDF (only used half but was about the same cost to buy a full sheet rather than 2 1\4 sheet panels) and $7 for the aluminum for the marquee and bezel holder. So $62 pound sounds doable - just takes some scrounging and repurposing !

[Hornet]

Hi JDFan, wow that's a nice bartop you have made, I really like the marquee. I like projects like yours that cost next to nothing and utilise what would be waste, well done! Unfortunately ice hockey is not as big here in the UK as in USA/Canada. But it is used in other places that I might be able to scrounge some from. I don't live to far from an industrial park so might just look in the local phone book/Google for any business that work with plexi, (perspex or acrylic here in the UK) and see if they have any waste bits. Thanks for the good tips.   

I had thought about printing my own marquee and cp. As both would be under plexi I thought about having them printed on OHP, (over head projector) film and photographic paper. Its all food for thought at the moment.

Good idea with the speakers but as I have some here I might as well utilise these.  A crossover and small amp should not take much, I do have a huge electronics box with all sorts in. That said you just reminded me that I have a old 5.1 home cinema surround sound amp with built in cross over for a sub and monitors. I will have to go up in the lot for this as I'm sure its in a box somewhere.

Right I'm off to the loft! 

[JDFan]

Thanks -- yeah I was on a pretty tight budget myself but wanted to build one - luckily I had an old PC that was no longer used including the speakers and 15" LCD monitor and all the tools I needed as well as plenty of bits and pieces of wood and hardware (screws, paint, glue, etc.) so overall I only needed to buy the joysticks\buttons and encoder - the first build was made using some scrap particle board left over from some shelving I installed in our pantry but after getting the other parts still had enough in the budget for a sheet of MDF so decided to get it since I also found some plans that I liked the look of while waiting for the parts to arrive and the shelves weren't quite wide enough for the sides. Only real problem I ran into was I had downsized the original plans to 75% size and forgot to check to see if everything had room inside before building and there was not enough space for the PSU I had so wound up cutting out a hole in the back panel to gain the extra space I needed to fit it all inside (took awhile to figure out what to do and thought I might have to start over or find a smaller footprint PSU but it all worked out in the end !)

If you want a copy of the artwork I used let me know and I'll send you a pdf and\or psd copy of it (the marquee and lower panel are on one 11x17 sheet, the bezel on another and the side panel decal is also made to fit on an 11x17 sheet but I resized and rotated it to fit 2 on a single 8.5 x 11 sheet of sticker paper for my usage ( I originally recreated it for another member here that was looking for it and decided to use it on my bartop after seeing his thread ) I made them 11x17 since the local office depot has 11x17 printers that are cheap for prints ($.20 for black and white and about $1.50 for color on 80 - 100lb. glossy paper). My bartop is 16 inches wide so 11x17 worked out well giving a bit of excess for trimming to fit.

[Hornet]

Hi JDFan thank you for the kind offer of art work, I really like the Williams side art and would like a copy but for a future project. I do have email enabled if you wanted to either email me with an attachment or post a link to download.

Yes its something that had crossed my mind, and I therefore decided that I would let the hardware decided the design of my bartop. The thing I really like is the Pacman cab with the sweeping sides and laid down monitor. I'm glad I managed to have the sweeping sides albeit slightly different to the Pacman cab, I think it helps to keep reflections off the screen a bit, and my monitor will have a slight tilt on it which is good.

I have been hard at work with it again tonight, just taking a rest from it for 5 minutes. The bartop is nearly constructed, just have the bottom and back panel to cut and fix. I have decided that my control panel will be fixed and to gain access will be from underneath. The only reason for doing this is to keep it simple and costs down. I will post up some photo's later tonight, right lets get back to it.   

[Hornet]

OK now its taking shape.





Quickly zipped out the curves with the jigsaw and cleaned them up with some sandpaper, came out pretty good considering my method.





Next was to trace the layout lines and transfer them over to the other side panel. Unfortunately I didn't have any tracing paper so I used the next best thing, grease proof kitchen paper. I also included some datum lines so I could align everything correctly.





I then turned the tracing over and laid it on the other panel insuring it was the right way around. Then I scribbled over the lines to leave an imprint from the tracing.



Both panels with marking out for the battens to go.



I have some wings! I got so engrossed with the next stages that I forgot to photo but...



Da!Da! Its starting to look like a bartop. Tomorrow I will paint it and start fabricating the supports for the monitor.

I also found the amp in the loft but it is huge, I even de-cased it and its still too big. Shame as it would of done the job.

[JDFan]

Looking good ! It has a really nice shape -- too bad about the amp but I'm sure you'll figure something out (figure that's part of the fun in these type of builds and gives you even more satisfaction when it all comes together !) 

Here's a link to a 7z package with both a .png format and .psd format of the Williams Multi Game logo (the .psd still has the layers so making changes to the colors etc. in photoshop is easy with it, while the .png is flattened so ready to print in case you don't have the fonts I used or PS. ( https://www.dropbox.com/s/xzr3ogz223j9afg/Williams%20Multi%20Final.7z ) Feel free to use it or make any changes you want. Let me know if you have any problems downloading or unpacking.

[Hornet]

Thank you JDFan, I have downloaded the art work and it looks great, this is most kind of you. 

I am thinking about my next project already, I will start stuffing some funds away for it, so I have a better budget. I'm thinking along the lines of a Defender horizontal mame bartop, with a few extras. 

Yes I am really pleased with the way my current build is going, not bad considering I only have the evenings and I started a couple of days ago. I can't wait to get the soldering iron out, I enjoy working with wires and components. I will now search the internet for a schematic for a small amp, a 2 way cross over is extremely simple, (just a couple of components). Hopefully I should have something by the weekend. I also found some 12v led strips that I bought to go under the kitchen units, we decided against them in the end but I am sure I can use these to illuminate the marquee.

[Hornet]

Didn't get out until late today so only managed to get 3 layers of base coat on it.









Hopefully tomorrow I can get some time to get the control panel layout done, cut and fit the bottom of CP. I still have not decided if i will print or paint the CP.

[Hornet]

Managed to get the monitor mounts fabricated and installed today. Also fitted the bottom section to the control panel, just need to design that next so I can drill holes for the buttons and joystick.









Tomorrow evening I hope to get the speaker holes cut and give it all another coat of paint.

[JDFan]

Nice job on the paint so far --- and the monitor supports look nice and sturdy as well. 

[Hornet]

Thanks JDFan for the kind words. I did want to take the easy option and leave the back on the monitor and fix a timber strut across the back. Unfortunatly because I want the monitor on a slope and because the MDF panel I began with was already cut to a small size I have to think of ways of saving space. I just hope the monitor does not fail on me as I will have to modify the brackets. 

[Egg UK]

Great job here so far. Im impressed with what you've done and the quality on such a non-existent budget 

You seriously needed to post this before I started mine. 

[EMDB]

I don't think most so called low budget projects are really honest as 'got this donated by a neighbor', 'had that laying around already', 'used remainders of a previous project' does not truly mean it costed 0 bucks.

Still a nice project though 

[JDFan]

I don't think most so called low budget projects are really honest as 'got this donated by a neighbor', 'had that laying around already', 'used remainders of a previous project' does not truly mean it costed 0 bucks.

Still a nice project though 

True enough but I think the real meaning of low budget refers to out of pocket expenses and not the value of the parts used -- For me personally it was more being able to get it built without spending any money by reusing bits and pieces that were already on hand as much as possible - sure the PC system that was collecting dust in the closet had some value and a cost that would have had to be used to replicate the build but since it was already here there was no cost involved in obtaining it for the build. Same goes for the 1\2 inch Plexi - not everyone can obtain it free by going to the local hockey rink and scavenging a couple broken panels they were tossing out but for me it meant not spending the $ to buy some so I consider it free rather than adding in what it would have cost being added to the build's budget.

Figure out of pocket my build was less than $100 so I consider it a low budget build -- could I rebuild it for that cost or could someone else replicate it for the same probably not right now (though once I upgrade my current PC to keep current on new generation gaming requirements my current PC with the AMD x3 720 CPU and 5770 GPU that is getting a bit slow might see a new life in another build !!)

To me that still qualifies as a low budget build just like the build that reuses some Joysticks\buttons\etc. from an old cabinet a local convenience store was disposing of or uses a monitor sourced on EBAY for $10 rather than buying a new one for $100 - sure it technically would cost someone else $ to buy those exact parts to replicate the build but as far as I'm concerned if it is parts I find or source for free or at a low price then it would be considered a low budget build for me. 

And I actually enjoy seeing the ways that others go about sourcing parts and the deals they find and methods of using materials they find or have laying about rather than just spending as much as needed to buy them.

[Hornet]

You don't know me EMDB, I have the gift of the gab and ooze charm, so I'm told. I can and have been known in the past to leave my house with nothing, no money, and come home with all sorts of things, all given to me. I'm not scared to ask for something if I need it or would like it.

In fact the galvanised metal I made the LCD brackets from was a sheet 1.5m x 2m of 1.6 galvanised steel. One Saturday I was working on my Land Rover and had to do a small repair but ran out of sheet metal. The shop I buy metal from is closed Saturdays and I didn't know of any other shop that is open on Saturdays. So I drove down to a company that makes ventilation systems and walked straight in there, I asked for the boss and then told him that I was after a bit of sheet metal, he walked off and came back with a rather large sheet and galvanised steel... bonus I thought. I thanked him and asked how much he wanted for it and he replied its OK nothing. I know what to say, to who and how to charm people, that is honest.

That said, in a way I agree with you because all though it was free for me it did cost someone something at some point. A truly free product would be one that is made from free raw materials or discarded materials.

I have followed your project and would I be right in assuming you live in the Netherlands? The reason I ask is because I lived there too for 8 years. I left the UK with two carrier bags of clothing and £200 which at the time was worth 300 Euros. Within 1 hour of being there I had a soffie number, (tax number) within 2 I had a job , within 6 hours I had my own apartment. In Holland getting a job is not an easy thing to do unless you work black, (for cash in hand), to get your own apartment is even more of a challenge for most, unless you spend a lot of money to get it or can charm people. There's not many people I know who can do this, most people have everything set up before hand which has been done by the company they work for. That or they lack the courage in the first place to contemplate living abroad.

My recycling habit was adopted while I was out in Holland, my Dutch girl friend use to tell me off for being wasteful. At the time the UK had a throw away society and everything ended up in land fill sites, now its a different story but I still think we are behind Holland when it comes to recycling.

Trust me, if I say my project has cost me next to nothing then it is going to be the most honest statement of that fact you will ever come across.

Thank you for the kind words on my build.

Greetz
Darron 

JDFan I think what you have said in reply is also true, its good to recycle parts and better if you have the skills to modify an old, unused object/item to give it a new life. This for me is far more rewarding than buying everything new, prefabricated or even pre assembled.

Egg, I like your build, in fact I wish I had the budget for some of that laminate. It really looks good and should last a long time. Shame there are no companies in the area that I could approach for some, that said if someone reading would like to sponsor this build in return for some then please do message me. 

[TheDude]

Hey, great build !

I like the shape of it !

When it's finished perhaps you would let us publish pics of it at bartopmania ! (URL in sig)

I also dig the fact you recycle things !

Good luck with it !

[Hornet]

Hi TheDude I have kept all of the photo's and would be honoured to add it to the bartopmania website. I will finish the build first and add it once completed.

Thank you for your kind words. 

[TheDude]

Gee, thanks ! 

Always feel like a kiddie when I can get the pics of a nice bartop (well, I think it's turning into an addiction, but

there are worse than this one !  )

 

[Hornet]

TheDude its healthier than somethings in life, so it gets my vote. 

Just a quick update. I have had the last 2 days away from the project but I did design the CP and tidy up the marquee tonight.

[TheDude]

These monitor mounts are a nice idea.
I should have thought about something like that when I built my own vertical bartop ! 

Nice CP and marquee art ! Looks good !

[Hornet]

Thanks TheDude, yes I wanted to keep as much space as I could for the hardware, as the bezel will be fixed to the front of the mounts and the mobo will be fixed to the back.

Having a fresh look at the art, I am quite pleased how it has turned out.

Thanks again. 

[Hornet]

Another update.
Decided to paint the edge of monitor to clean it up a bit. I also bought some foam-core board for the bezel which I will also paint black, shame because I quite like it white, would look great with the white buttons.

Balance brought forward;  £24.69
- paint £6.75
- Foam Board £1.30
Total budget left; £16.64

I have the art work for the marquee and CP with the printers, which will cost £17.00 and I have had a quote for the plexi at £16.25. So I will have to raise some more funds, ebay here we come. 





I have also had a chance to get two coats of top coat on the bartop, but I am not happy with the finish. I will let it dry another day then cut it back and give it another coat. But below is where I am at.

[Hornet]

As I have chosen Mala as the FE I thought I would customise the screen a bit. I wanted to try and keep it clean and not too busy. Hopefully I have achieved this?

[Hornet]

Just a little update. The art work arrived from printers, and I was shocked at the quality, did a fantastic job. Unfortunately I did make a boo boo as I had to convert my working space so the colours changed slightly on the marquee. That said as there will be lights behind it I am not too bothered and will put it down to experience and not to be repeated.

I decided to use the art work for the cp to mark out for the buttons and joystick. The buttons and joystick are temporarily placed just for a quick photo as I am still waiting on the plexi, (acrylic) to arrive.

I still have the wiring to do, although I have made a small amp and shortened some of the cables just to keep it tidy. Now with hindsight and looking back I was brave to shorten the VGA cable, but it worked out all OK and working.


 

[Hornet]

As promised some photo's of the modified amp.

As you will remember I started with this cinema surround sound unit below.



With a bit of hacking and stripping out I managed to make it much more compact so that it fits within my bartop build. I basically kept two channels and stripped out the top board which I realised was to process analogue signals and turn them into digital. Who needs Dolby and digital surround sound anyway!

All circled in red is surplus to requirements.



I also pulled up the data sheets for the amp chips, (TDA7360) and noticed that they run quite nicely on 12v, on the board was a voltage regulator dropping the original voltage from 15v to 5v to supply the top board and some smaller IC's for mute and test functions. I decided to keep this as each channel can be muted independently or altogether. I will have it so that it mutes both channels together.


Just waiting for plexi to finish up the build now as I should get most of the hardware fitted tonight.

[DickTurpin]

This is coming along nicely Hornet. Do you have any tips from places you've brought parts in the UK?

[stavros693000]

Hi all I have been dabbling with Mame on and off since the early days when I had a dial up connection... and was free and single. How things change! 

I have also been lurking in the shadows of this forum in stealth mode for quite a number of years. I did have the urge and idea back in 2007 to start a project but it never got past the design stages.

Now I have 2 children, grey hair and a pretty damn good excuse to build something, that's how I sold it to the missus anyway. Unfortunately the missus has allowed me a budget of £0.00 to spend. As I am the type of person who likes a challenge the lack of funds has not stopped me. First off I decided to draw up a list of objectives which were as follows;

Ticks indicate the things I have done or obtained for the project.

1) It has to be small-ish! = Vertical Bartop
2) It needs to be competitive, (two kids and me) = Save High Score / 0.139 recompiled √
3) It needs to play a small collection of games = 2GB Compact Flash Card √ See 13 below
4) It needs 1 joystick, 5 play buttons, player 1 & 2 buttons and 2 service buttons = £24.11 inc. postage √
5) I need £24.11 = Sell items I have not used in a long time on ebay = £62.30 √
6) Small monitor = An old 19" LCD with no power adaptor and no stand, might be working still?? From a friend √ Tested and working! 
7) Need some MDF preferably 12mm = 18mm MDF and some 18mm ply from B&Q, off cuts bin £3.50 √
8 ) Cheap MOBO with ram, processor, sound and graphics = 3ghz P.4 with 2GB ram on board sound and graphics, donated by the next door neighbour √
9) Paint = 5lt of light blue tractor enamel, wrong colour mix so was free. √
10) Name for my project = Play Time √
11) Graphics / Decals = ?? Design a marquee and the control panel, but will decide how I am going to tackle these when I come to it.
12) USB encoder = KADE Minimus £10.00 Inc. postage (Ebay) √
13) Hard drive = old 500 gig sata kept from my last PC √
14) Sound, speakers and small amp = 1 x bass/mid, 2 x tweeters salvaged from other projects in the past. Still need an amp and also cross over, may make them??

Total Funds raised = £62.30
Total Spend to date = £37.61
Balance = + £24.69

So far its going well, I have all of the main parts to make something resembling the top half of an 80's arcade machine. Hopefully it will function like one too!

For anyone wondering, the name of my project, (Play Time) came about when I thought back to my child hood. I spent most of my child hood in care, (children's home). Luckily one of the homes I was moved to in the 80's had a games room, pool table and a shabby upright machine that played Breakout. The marquee had been replaced with a really bad one that simply read "Play Time", no graphics just a bad font in white on a black background. I decided to adopt this name and try to make in a bit more of an improved design. I was going to post the list above and how I chose the name the other day but thought, lets wait until I have some things scratched off the list and some photo's to accompany the first post.

Unfortunately the missus has allowed me a budget of £0.00 to spend...............you my friend are completely and utterly pusssy whipped 
just kidding. Welcome to the furum and your bartop is looking excellent...........well done

[DickTurpin]

Women are an expensive toy

[Hornet]

stavros693000 No I call it reverse psychology, I let her believe that I am being pusssy whipped. 

Hi DickTurpin, I can certainly recommend the companies I used.

Carl Gerry at www.designxpress.co.uk was extremely helpful. Their printing prices are unbelievably cheap, postage I thought was steep but when UPS knocked the door the next day I then realised what I had paid for. In total the CP and Marquee with postage worked out to be very competitively priced. The Marquee was printed on a film used for backlit posters. The CP I went for the outdoor vinyl just to make sure it lasts a long time. I could of probably got away with just a normal print as I covered the graphic with acrylic in the end.

The Acrylic again was all cut to size and was the cheapest company I could find. That said their service was fast and to my surprise everything fitted. They can also cut the button holes but because I was unsure of final placement I decided to do this myself. http://www.trentplastics.co.uk/2012/

For the buttons and joystick I used http://www.arcadeworlduk.com, very reasonably priced and they are extremely quick to post orders.

The keyboard encoder I got extremely lucky with and found a guy on ebay who had abandoned his arcade project. I managed to get him to just sell me his KADE encoder at a slightly reduced price. http://kadevice.com/

This is an extremely great bit of kit, the software is also very easy to use. I programmed it in seconds and tested it using the keyboard tester software found here; http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?topic=131879.0

I have just purchased the wire so I can wire up the controls, again very cheap and quick to post. http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/121136622213?ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1439.l2649

Hope you find this of help. 

[DickTurpin]

 That's spot on. I'll check them out. ARCADWORLDUK are fab .Thanks Hornet