Author Topic: Treasure Chest - Cocktail conversion (fixing problem, need help pls!) (Read 13343 times)

jimmy2x2x · « **on:** May 15, 2011, 04:51:59 pm »

Just won this

Very happy with £45.44 winning price, I will be collecting on the 24th - more pics and progress to follow

roguetel · « **Reply #1 on:** May 15, 2011, 05:26:17 pm »

That looks like a good project for sure!

I want one, too! I had forgotten about getting one until I saw yours. I will watch to see what you create with anticipation.

jimmy2x2x · « **Reply #2 on:** May 29, 2011, 08:04:21 am »

Got it home, stripped out the busted coin mech, coin box, old wiring and service switches - didn't find a penny

I have decased and dry mounted a panasonic 14" scart (rgb) TV and have it running via soft15k

TV is an almost perfect fit for the bezel and looks great!

Monitor needs to be raised about 1" to sit flush with the bezel.

Almost everything has fallen into place pretty easily, cant see any major issues with this project.

The only thing I'm not certain of is the control panels, at the moment there are 2 joysticks per player a 2way horizontal on the left, single fire button and a 4 way on the right.

I definitely want an 8 way on there and 3 fire buttons... need to have a think.

emphatic · « **Reply #3 on:** May 29, 2011, 08:56:46 am »

I really like the look of that bezel.

TV looks like a great fit as well. I just wonder how you're supposed to play comfortably with the controls mounted like that? What were they thinking?

jimmy2x2x · « **Reply #4 on:** May 29, 2011, 09:06:58 am »

Quote from: emphatic on May 29, 2011, 08:56:46 am

I really like the look of that bezel. TV looks like a great fit as well. I just wonder how you're supposed to play comfortably with the controls mounted like that? What were they thinking?

Make the player as uncomfortable as possible to prevent longer sessions and earn more cash

In all honesty, its not that bad when you are playing - just use your knuckle or thumb to fire!

I may well rework the CP's once I have finalised the layout.

ChurchOfSolipsism · « **Reply #5 on:** May 29, 2011, 02:58:27 pm »

Quote from: jimmy2x2x on May 29, 2011, 09:06:58 am

Quote from: emphatic on May 29, 2011, 08:56:46 am
I really like the look of that bezel. TV looks like a great fit as well. I just wonder how you're supposed to play comfortably with the controls mounted like that? What were they thinking?

Make the player as uncomfortable as possible to prevent longer sessions and earn more cash

In all honesty, its not that bad when you are playing - just use your knuckle or thumb to fire!

I may well rework the CP's once I have finalised the layout.

Ha I've played on that kind of set-up before and I'm surprised you don't mind it much, I got cramps and performance is usually pretty ---smurfy--- on it as well...

Grasshopper · « **Reply #6 on:** June 08, 2011, 05:27:09 pm »

Wow, nice looking cab, and from the pictures it looks to be in pretty good shape. For £45 I'd say you got yourself a bargain.

Can you tell me a little bit about it? It's a slightly unusual design. I've never seen one like that in the UK although I've come across a few similar looking cabs on the internet.

As far as the control panel is concerned, I agree it looks a little uncomfortable to play on. But I actually see that as part of the charm of cocktail cabs from that era. At that time most games were Space Invader clones where you only needed to move left and right and press fire. It was only when more sophisticated games came along that the vertical control panels became impractical.

jimmy2x2x · « **Reply #7 on:** June 08, 2011, 06:54:51 pm »

Hi, I was very happy with the overall condition for the price.

The cab is a Sega Special Dual 2 - a twin game system with Head On Part II + Invinco, manufactured in 1979, original controls had a 4 way stick for Head on and a 2 way for Invinco, sharing a single fire button.

As for design, its a typical UK cocktail in my eyes. Circa 1980 this style of machine was everywhere I went, pubs, clubs, seaside arcades etc.

Some other similar looking tables from that era.

DK cocktail, Nintendo

DK Junior, Nintendo

Space Invaders, Taito

Another variant.

This style is still sold today: http://www.gremlinsolutions.co.uk/products/voycocktail.htm

For me, when I think of a cocktail cab, this is what I think of.

I really wanted to keep the original design of having the controls hidden under the glass (when viewed from above) but after some experimentation I think I will have to have them protruding for improved ergonomics

Stay tuned, I will update soon with progress pics!

LeedsFan · « **Reply #8 on:** June 10, 2011, 06:19:42 pm »

You got a bargain there. And it looks like it cleaned up great! There's an arcade dealer near me in Leeds that has some cocktail cabs for sale and I'm considering one for a future project. Only thing is I don't like playing on them personally, but they do look cool in a home environment. The dealer near me has a Moon Cresta and a Missile Command among others. The Missile Command is in really bad shape but it still has it's original trackball and buttons. Would take a lot to restore but he says he has the original board.

Grasshopper · « **Reply #9 on:** June 13, 2011, 02:11:55 pm »

Quote from: jimmy2x2x on June 08, 2011, 06:54:51 pm

As for design, its a typical UK cocktail in my eyes. Circa 1980 this style of machine was everywhere I went, pubs, clubs, seaside arcades etc.

I don't know. I do remember the Taito cocktails very well. As you point out, they were all over the place at one point. IIRC most of them ran Space Invaders or Lunar Rescue. However, I don't recall seeing many (any?) cocktails like yours with a narrow strip of (fake) woodgrain around the edge. However, it was a long time ago so my memory might be playing tricks.

jimmy2x2x · « **Reply #10 on:** June 22, 2011, 06:20:41 pm »

I have decided on a name and have a preliminary instruction sheet

If there are any artistic types who could tidy this up for me, I would appreciate it!

PSD file: http://hotfile.com/dl/121732132/16ee14c/treasure_instruction_card.psd.html

ChurchOfSolipsism · « **Reply #11 on:** June 23, 2011, 09:20:03 am »

Nice theme! Make sure you carry it over to the frontend and use lots of stupid pirate sound samples ("Ahoy mate!!!")

Woodshop Flunky · « **Reply #12 on:** June 23, 2011, 09:31:13 am »

I really like the theme!

thatpurplestuff · « **Reply #13 on:** June 23, 2011, 01:23:10 pm »

Don't have time to do the entire thing, but I traced out the treasure chest for you. Attached is a PSD file that has the chest created with vector shape objects (so it can be reduced and enlarged without pixelation). Although not completely necessary because it isn't that noticeable, you may want to consider using a different paper texture since it appears that one has been enlarged a bit to fit that size. I also noticed that it still has some text that hasn't been brushed out about "whigs". Either way it's your call since it is only slightly pixelated... I'm probably more anal than most because I design for a living.

Love the pirate theme idea. Eyepatches should be mandatory when playing this machine.

jimmy2x2x · « **Reply #14 on:** June 23, 2011, 04:49:19 pm »

Many thanks 'Purplestuff! That's much better!

I have had a crack at the logo, changed the font for the text and tried to improve it a little.

PSD of above image http://hotfile.com/dl/121831101/671ec9c/treasure_instruction_card.rar.html

Aged version

Best so far

Old coin box door will become an admin panel, complete with lock (volume, gamelist management buttons etc)
volume dial sits there alone at the moment

This open area at the top next to the monitor will house a mouse, keyboard and remote control for the TV

Other side houses the PC

Speakers, air intake, harddrive mounted to the floor, chassis mounted to the wall

Power supply mounted to the inspection door

Innards

PC:
Athlon XP 3200+
768mb Ram
160gb HDD
Radeon 9800 pro agp
2.1 Subwoofer

Software:
XP 64
Maximus Arcade
Groovymame 64bit

Monitor:
Panasonic 14" tv running at 15khz, driven by groovymame @ correct refresh speeds

Got a few things on order
8gb SSD
IEC switched socket

Experimenting with various control panel options at the moment

Shot blasting and powder coating metal work
Spray painting bottom half of cab (black area) as well as the indsides of the cab

and about a million and one other little jobs!

jimmy2x2x · « **Reply #15 on:** June 25, 2011, 11:51:07 am »

Out of the various prototype CP's this is about the most comfortable and workable.

Sanwa JLF, Sega 4 way, Sanwa buttons

I don't have it wired atm, but it feels pretty good blind playing.

I might use the original Sega ball tops for the 4 way, sanwa top in pic for comparisson.

I will set about building a couple of these next, moving the panel down about 10mm and in towards the cab about 25mm.

shrunkenmaster · « **Reply #16 on:** June 25, 2011, 12:40:40 pm »

Coming along nicely my man!

emphatic · « **Reply #17 on:** June 25, 2011, 01:00:18 pm »

That looks sooooooooo much more comfortable for playing than the original panel.

jimmy2x2x · « **Reply #18 on:** June 25, 2011, 01:12:30 pm »

Cheers chaps, I know its as rough as a bears arse at the moment, but I want to get everything comfortable and working as I want it before I start on the cosmetics

Benevolance · « **Reply #19 on:** June 25, 2011, 01:29:27 pm »

Just gotta ask...is a second joystick really necessary? I know having the dedicated 4-way is great for authenticity, and the 8-way is great for versatility, but having both always seems crowded.

jimmy2x2x · « **Reply #20 on:** June 25, 2011, 01:51:36 pm »

Its a good question and something I have been toiling over for a while, looks wise I can use the smaller balltop to minimize the impact of the 4 way, like this:

and for function I will map the 4 way and 8 way to different inputs so I you nudge the other stick it won't affect the game in progress.

For the game selection I have in this cab, I really need both - I still get stuck on diagonals playing mspacman with an 8 way, and a 4 way only cab is too limiting for my tastes.

Another huge factor for me is finances - I am really on a shoestring at the moment and I happen to have this hardware on hand.

I would like to explore some of the fancy u360 or similar sticks, but I can't afford to buy them if I am not certain they will be right for me.

I built this panel for my upright last year and was sure I wouldn't need a dedicated 4 way, big mistake on my part - so I want to make sure this cab can play a decent game of mspacman

Nephasth · « **Reply #21 on:** June 25, 2011, 02:20:59 pm »

Are those buttons huge? Or is that black balltop just really tiny?

I don't know, maybe they just look big because their next to a 14" monitor...

jimmy2x2x · « **Reply #22 on:** June 25, 2011, 02:23:54 pm »

Scroll up for a comparison to a standard Sanwa 35mm balltop

Nephasth · « **Reply #23 on:** June 25, 2011, 02:28:10 pm »

What is that, about 20-22mm?

jimmy2x2x · « **Reply #24 on:** June 25, 2011, 02:30:46 pm »

19mm - the 4 way sticks+balltops came with the machine.

jimmy2x2x · « **Reply #25 on:** July 03, 2011, 11:21:28 am »

Made the coin/1 player / 2 player panel today

started with american white oak

cut out the front (already stained from here...)

and back

with buttons and bolts

another layer of stain tomorrow, then varnishing and its done.

emphatic · « **Reply #26 on:** July 03, 2011, 02:11:56 pm »

jimmy2x2x · « **Reply #27 on:** July 16, 2011, 02:42:35 pm »

Couple of in progress shots

Control panel shaped, plexi installed, t moulding installed

Illuminated player select buttons

Coin mech installed, complete with makeshift coin box and rough filling of existing holes!

Lots to do...

LeedsFan · « **Reply #28 on:** July 16, 2011, 03:08:41 pm »

This is looking great! Love the neat controls panels. For the joysticks instead of mapping them to all separate inputs you could just wire the earth through a toggle switch which you could hide somewhere (underneath perhaps). I've done this on two of my projects. Just flick the switch for 4-way or 8-way. When one is selected the earth for the other is disconnected so it cannot affect gameplay if it's knocked by accident. It would save you having to mess with setups in Mame between 4-way and 8-way. It may be possible with a .ini file I'm not sure. I'm sure someone else could explain if it is.

jimmy2x2x · « **Reply #29 on:** July 16, 2011, 03:40:17 pm »

Cheers, that is certainly an option. Having to use one of two sticks is always a problem.

I will have a play around with it.

jimmy2x2x · « **Reply #30 on:** July 16, 2011, 07:53:42 pm »

Final (I think) versions of the artwork.

I have decided against promoting how to change the current game on the instruction card, I will have a hidden button under the player select buttons to quit the current game. This button can be deactivated by a rocker switch in locked inside the coin box area along with a second rocker to activate the coin reject button to allow free play.

So I can lock the cab to 1 game only and coins only or have it multi game and free play (or any combination).

Woodshop Flunky · « **Reply #31 on:** July 16, 2011, 08:06:50 pm »

Love the artwork!

Grasshopper · « **Reply #32 on:** July 17, 2011, 05:42:23 am »

Looking good so far.

I have to say I'm really liking the look of that style of cocktail table. Could you do me a huge favour and provide dimensions?

Incidentally, I came across a very nice example of a similar styled table on youtube the other day:

jimmy2x2x · « **Reply #33 on:** July 17, 2011, 11:58:27 am »

Glass Top 34" x 22"
Total height of wooden shell = 18 3/4"
Total height with legs at full elevation = 27"
Do you need any more measurements?

Cheers

jimmy2x2x · « **Reply #34 on:** July 18, 2011, 12:22:29 am »

Ive been working on a theme for Maximus front end, this is what I have so far.

Sorry about the low quality, crappy camera combined with 640x480 interlaced crt!

Grasshopper · « **Reply #35 on:** July 18, 2011, 08:02:26 am »

Quote from: jimmy2x2x on July 17, 2011, 11:58:27 am

Glass Top 34" x 22"
Total height of wooden shell = 18 3/4"
Total height with legs at full elevation = 27"
Do you need any more measurements?

Cheers

Thanks for that. It appears to be the same overall size as the Taito tables.

With regards to your question, yes ideally I do need a few more measurements. When I get a moment I'll draw a diagram of what I'm after.

jimmy2x2x · « **Reply #36 on:** July 23, 2011, 01:44:04 am »

Another little in progress update

Think this will be the final front end layout, many thanks to forum user Sjaak for the sparkle animation

Instruction card artwork installed

CP art installed

Switches fitted (1 for disabling quit game function, 1 for disabling coin reject for credit - forcing coin operation only)

Shot of cab as it stands

Hoping! to get it all finished for next weekend.

emphatic · « **Reply #37 on:** July 23, 2011, 05:02:58 am »

I just have to ask, did you ever consider putting a black t-mold on the control panel to match the one already on the cabinet? Looking great otherwise.

jimmy2x2x · « **Reply #38 on:** July 23, 2011, 05:09:43 am »

It would definitely look better with black, but I happened to have just the right amount of white left to cover both panels and nothing else!

I'm stuck in a real ---smurfy--- job atm with very little spare cash so I'm pretty much winging it with what I have lying around.

There is quite a bit more I would like to do to really finish it, powder coating the metal work, reskinning the damaged laminate etc..

I'll have to see what happens

drventure · « **Reply #39 on:** July 23, 2011, 11:52:09 am »

+1 on the black tmold, but hey, use what you have, don't glue it in and you can always swap it out later...

Nice cab!

Sjaak · « **Reply #40 on:** July 25, 2011, 05:44:13 am »

Looking good, Jimmy

. I agree on the black t-molding, but it's easy to change that later...

jimmy2x2x · « **Reply #41 on:** July 27, 2011, 01:51:51 am »

Thanks, I will get some black t moulding as soon as funds permit!

I have hit a problem with the mounting of my control panels.

I am using the original metal mounting on the cab, then have 2 2x4" extensions running off the metal panel.
I had mounted these 2x4" wooden batons to the metal with t-nuts and they seemed to be holding great, not so after a few days play.
Im wondering if there is some other fixing method I can use, maybe some very strong adhesive (gorilla glue?)
or should I just bite the bullet and have a frame welded to the metal cp.

I really want something that can take the abuse of enthusiastic play over a long period.

Sjaak · « **Reply #42 on:** July 27, 2011, 02:35:35 am »

Did you use those small metal rings between the t-nuts? Those should help if the nuts are loosening.

drventure · « **Reply #43 on:** July 27, 2011, 07:56:31 am »

I'm not sure how you'd use tnuts for something like that.

Since it looks like you're wanting to bolt the wood battons to a metal structure, I'd probably go with a dual thread screw, lock washers and a nut.

The screw I'm talking about has a coarse wood thread on one end, and a bolt thread on the other. Drill pilot holes into the 2x4, screw the wood thread part in, then slip the bolt thread part through holes in the metal, and put washers and nuts on the other side of the metal piece.

Hope that makes sense, can't do a drawing right off....

jimmy2x2x · « **Reply #44 on:** July 27, 2011, 03:22:34 pm »

Quote from: Sjaak on July 27, 2011, 02:35:35 am

Did you use those small metal rings between the t-nuts? Those should help if the nuts are loosening.

Not sure what you mean there, in all honesty I think the t-nuts are the wrong fixings for such a large and heavy panel.

Quote from: drventure on July 27, 2011, 07:56:31 am

I'm not sure how you'd use tnuts for something like that.

Since it looks like you're wanting to bolt the wood battons to a metal structure, I'd probably go with a dual thread screw, lock washers and a nut.

The screw I'm talking about has a coarse wood thread on one end, and a bolt thread on the other. Drill pilot holes into the 2x4, screw the wood thread part in, then slip the bolt thread part through holes in the metal, and put washers and nuts on the other side of the metal piece.

Hope that makes sense, can't do a drawing right off....

Interesting, haven't worked with either of those.

so one of these, screwed into the wood

with locking washers and a normal nut?

frotter · « **Reply #45 on:** August 03, 2011, 02:32:03 am »

How awesome is this cabinet! (I clicked on your link in your signature after you commented on my post!)

The artwork is great and really makes it a great looking cabinet. Even though I said I wasn't going to have any artwork on mine, you might have just inspired something!!

Keep up the great work.


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Author Topic: Treasure Chest - Cocktail conversion (fixing problem, need help pls!) (Read 13343 times)

Nephasth

Nephasth