My Candy Cab CP Project. Dont think this has been done before (I could be wrong)

[NipRing]

Actually before i go any further i have to make a statement...**No original Sega Blast City parts were harmed in the making of this project (well almost)**

So about 10 years ago i bought my first arcade machine. It was a cocktail stratovox for $50. At the time i was really happy to own a "real" arcade machine. I had planned on buying more, but American arcade machines are usually big and heavy. But eventually through the wonders of the internet i learned about Japanese arcade machines. What wasnt to like? Bigger screens (typically), sitdown style, lighter, and this thing called "jamma" (remember for me, 10 years ago i didnt know anything about arcades). Sold the cocktail for $250 and bought a Neo 29 for $500. Now my space is small and i dont really have room for more that 1 or 2 cabs at a time. But about 10 Japanese candy cabs have passed through my possession in as many years. But about 5 or 6 years ago i found this place . I was totally blown away by what people could make for themselves   . But my love for the Candy cab just could not be out weighed for a homemade woody. But i did decide to go mame instead of dedicated hardware. Cheap pc, arcade vga card and a j-pac and i was set for a few years. But in the back of my mind i new i wanted more options than what my standard candy cab metal control panel would offer.

My latest cab is a Sega Blast City with a tri-res vga monitor. So i decided to build a new "board" style pc. I spent quite a bit making it. Quad core processor, top cooling, SSD, 1TB + 1TB backup drive, decent video card, 800W power supply, new dvd drive, etc. The mobo has like 6 usb ports and i bought a pci-x1 usb card for a total of 10 ports..NO HUBS!



I decided to bypass the jamma harness and go the i-pac route. I removed the factory button harness and bundled it all up inside the machine. Using pcb feet and velcro i mounted the encoders under the CP. I bought length specific usb cables so everything looks like it belongs.






Here's the "well almost" that i was talking about above in the "No harm was done to this Blast". I really love light gun shooters. The only one i've ever owned (and still do) is Carnevil. But i never liked those Act Labs pc guns. But when Andy released the Aimtraks...oh yeah! So I mounted the led bar between the monitor and the bezel. I decided to grind away plastic from the back side of the bezel but its very thick and unless you take it off you would never know it.



Where to plug the guns in was another problem. So i decided to mount usb ports on the underside of the control panel like so


Anyway i bought a new panel that has 8 buttons per side which is better (more emu options, ps1 etc).

But that was only part of my plan. I bought a 1-1/2" trackball and a turbo-twist as well but I wanted this new panel's overlay to feel as close to authentic as possible. Please remember that i have very limited room on this control panel. The joystick body as well as the trackball body forced me to relocate the p1 and p2 start buttons from the factory layout. Here is the final result. I'm very happy with it.
























comparison shot

[emphatic]

Hey, that turned out quite alright.  Very nice USB port on the bottom of the panel surround.

[elkameleon]

I need one of these cabs, unfortunately every time I see one, they are exorbitantly priced...

[LeedsFan]

How good does the 1.5" trackball perform? And how much was is? I've seen the Happs one but the price was ridiculous.

[Paladin]

Nice job making the PC slide in without hitting anything!

[NipRing]

How good does the 1.5" trackball perform? And how much was is? I've seen the Happs one but the price was ridiculous.

This is a Traxsys brand trackball. i believe its intended for some sort of kiosk. It was the smallest footprint trackball i could find and there was no way I was going to but that damn happ one for $225  . I've searched for about 1/2 hour now on ebay (left feedback, auctions, etc.) and i cant figure out who I bought this from. And i dont see any for sale at the moment. I paid $35 plus shipping. A bare connector, some bare pins and the boxed trackball and instructions was what i received. I do remember the seller said it was his last one and he had mame trackball in his selling title. I had to but an optipac for or i probably could have hacked a usb cable but this was easier. For what it is, it works great. Its not in a commercial setting just at home for me and my family/friends using it.  So far the only minor problem i've run into is because of my limited space, rolling it up at a rapid speed is kinda tough because of the close proximity to the turbo-twist spinner.

And as far as the pc on a board, any pcb game hardware would be mounted the same way and slide into those holding brackets. I just took advantage of that. Plus its a piece of cake to work on now.

**EDIT** Also, Bender from this forum is the only person i know that has actually bought the happ 1-1/2" trackball and he says it sucks, too stiff.

[NipRing]

Found the ebay seller ->  tims3484  <- but i see he has none for sale at the moment.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&_trksid=p4340.l2557&item=110641208483&nma=true&rt=nc&si=rX7vwpfHG76tigDLr%252FlMLnQUa5Y%253D#ht_1215wt_1141

[Bender]

That CP looks Great! love the orange and purple balltops/buttons with the CP art!

Yeah I was not that impressed with the happ 1 1/2 trackball but I got it from Divemaster and it was a lot less than list, can't remember exactly but still way too much
Luckily I got a couple of the traxsys ones from that same seller on ebay and they work great and were relatively cheap
Maybe you can source them from somewhere else if tims3484 doesn't have any more

http://www.traxsys.com/OEMTechnology/PanelMountedTrackballs/38mmPanelMountedTrackballs/38mmPlasticBodyTrackball/tabid/1351/Default.aspx

[Floyd]

Hi NipRing! I would want talk to you about something but i can't send a private message to your profile.... Can you contact me at arcadelol@email.it.
Thanks!

[HaRuMaN]

Other than the placement of the 1-play and 2-play buttons, I like it!

[yakk11]

Do you like the position of the 1 and 2 player start buttons?  Do they get pressed accidentally a lot?  I am putting together a control panel similar to this for my Blast City and was considering doing the same setup, just without a spinner.  Looks great!!