Bartop Donkey Kong Jr. Project

[tabletoptitan]

Okay, I am a rookie here.  I have just started my very first arcade project and could use some guidance.  I am at a bit of a loss as to the size of the monitor and aspect to ratio to use in my cabinet.  The rough height is 29" and the rough width is 21".  I could go with a PC, or I have this old G4 iMac sitting around that I could use although I'm not sure the 16:9 aspect ratio would work well for the old school games I want to play.  Any suggestions?

Thanks!

[javeryh]

I think bartops should be designed around the monitor.  Pick out a nice 4:3 or 5:4 monitor (19" max for a bartop, IMO) and design around it.  You can't go wrong.  I personally don't like widescreen monitors but more and more people seem to be using them...

[r32]

I agree. It sounds weird, but design from the inside out, especially with regards to the monitor selection.

[tabletoptitan]

Cool.  I may just go with the G4, because it is sitting around collecting dust.  16:9 might be a bit weird for the old school games but perhaps I can do something creative with the bezel to mask?

[tabletoptitan]

I am using a plan from this cat:

http://bartoparcade.katorlegaz.com/

Enlarged the image file in photoshop and printed out life size using an HP DesignJet plotter

[tabletoptitan]

I cut out the MDF according to the pattern:

http://picasaweb.google.com/102344613262762093699/BartopProject?authkey=Gv1sRgCOHZmceip5KBvwE#5531064741002184690

[tabletoptitan]

Does anyone have an opinion on the kind of power strip to purchase?  I have seen many projects where the strip is mounted inside the cab with all of the other components plugged in.  Is there an advantage to having a particular kind of strip?

[BobA]

Any power strip that lets the computer control all the other outlets is prefered.  There are alot of different power strips available but the ones from sears when they can be found or the series I have linked to seem to be the most popular.

Smart Strips at Amazon

[tabletoptitan]

Thanks for the tip on the powerstrip!

Here are a couple of photos that capture the essence of what I am trying to accomplish with this cab:

[LeedsFan]

When I built my Donkey Kong bartop I used a standard 17" 3:4 monitor but the screen size was just too big for the finished project. The cab was a replica 50% size of an original DK cab so I wanted a 9" or 10" screen size to match. I messed around compiling my own version of Mame with a fake black bezel all round the edge of the screen to artificially create the size of playfield I needed. It was quite a bit of messing about as I was new to compiling etc.

But you don't need to do that now because there are sliders in later versions of Mame that can set the playfield to whatever size and position you like. The only problem is you have to set each game individually in the TAB menu. Once you know the setting it's easy enough to rinse and repeat for other games. But it would be handy if the Mame devs could have it optionally set for all games.

[kingchimp]

If you find the photo you want to post on the Picasa website, there should be a vertical grey bar on the right hand side with some photo information etc.

You need to tick the box titled Image only (no link), you should then be able to use the text in the Embed image box to post that picture on the forum.

(Don't forget to select the image size you want from the dropdown, otherwise you'll just end up with a tiny thumbnail)