Bob's Bartop Cabs. Completed 11/14/2011

[BobA]

I am switching from Vertical monitors to Horizontal for a change.   Here is the template and the resulting sides cut out.  Darn pattern cutting bit threw the bearing so I just barely finished the sides.  Should keep me busy this Winter.  

Probably build them all with a new mini itx board and 17 or 19 inch monitor. Not 100% sure on the interface yet.   I love ipacs, minipacs and keywiz but the xin mo and other new interfaces look good too.

[equlizer]

been using the xin mo for just over a month now and no probs (yet)    2 player bartop, 9 buttons on each side

[BobA]

I have one too but have not hooked it up.  Used the 1 player version and it was fine.  There are a few problem  with the 1 player xin mo in usb ordering if you plug in a gamepad.   It takes over and you need to use a program to reassign the keys or leave the gamepad connected so the usb order does not change.  A 2 player would not have that problem as it is already 2 gamepads.

[BobA]

Got 4 of the 6 cabinets fully cut but found a 1/2 inch error in the back so will have to cut a few more pieces.  That is the problem with cutting in bulk.   One error repeated 4 times.  A bit smaller in depth than a weecade and has a different side profile.  More like a Northcoast Customs Ultimate Bartop II but with less depth.

[BobA]

This is the intel board I will be using is most of these cabs.  D525MW ITX

Link for specs

[Donkey_Kong]

Looks like it's off to a good start. Will you be selling these locally, or?

[BobA]

I sell them locally as shipping is a pain. Have had enquiries but the crating and shipping costs are horrendous.  Each one has some custom input from the buyer if something special is required such as a spinner or artwork. I do it to keep busy as I am retired and I love it when people are excited when they see one of the cabs.

[equlizer]

when all said and done with guts inside, about how much does it weigh?  What are the approx dimensions?  Are they 2 player or 1?

[BobA]

Will weigh about 35 lbs when completed.   19.5 inches wide, 23 inches tall, 15 inches deep.   Will fit a 17 inch or 19 inch LCD.  1 player on main control panel and 1 player on a game pad.  I find 2 joysticks too much for an 18 inch wide control panel but can set it up that way if someone wants one.

[SNAAKE]

I sell them locally as shipping is a pain. Have had enquiries but the crating and shipping costs are horrendous.  Each one has some custom input from the buyer if something special is required such as a spinner or artwork. I do it to keep busy as I am retired and I love it when people are excited when they see one of the cabs.

I do that too. sometimes I just build things just to get rid of it in like a week

[BobA]

Bit more work done on Cabinet 1. 

Back piece recut. 
Computer assembled and software installed. 
Parts gathering for final assembly. 
Monitor test fit 17 inch LCD.

Cabinet 2 ready for assembly.

[Unstupid]

Is the control panel supposed to overhang the cabinet sides?

[BobA]

It will probably be adjusted to be even when the LCD is permanently installed.  Just wanted the CP in there to make sure it had the proper depth.  The LCD will be taken off its stand and fixed to a 6 inch cross piece that screws into the sides.   At this point the angle and depth of the screen will be adjusted so the CP fits flush to the plexi that will be in front of the LCD. If there is any CP that is over the sides it will be painted black so that it will not show. Never know how the exact final fit will go until it is done  

[BobA]

Had to unmount the LCD to get at the back fan panel but it should go back in quickly since it is already marked and the holes are already there.  Got most of the parts but still waiting on an encoder (gamepad).  

Left to do:

Remount LCD
Mount Power Supply
Mount Motherboard
Mount Speakers
Drill control panel and install buttons, joystick
Wire Control Panel
Plexi for marquee and LCD
Graphics

Completed

[BobA]

Got the speakers taken apart.
I am going to try one of Vigo's Zero Delay Encoder Boards.  Looks like just the thing for a 1 player cab with player 2 on a gamepad.

[BobA]

Sorry seem to be having trouble with posting pics.
Resolved - Saint says housekeeping is required.  Out of space.

Only half the pic shows up.  JPG is under the posting size limit.  

Works great now.  Thanks Saint

[BobA]

Vigo's ZD Encoder info

Vigo's ZD encoder board came up as joystick 1 and when I pluged in the gamepad it came up as joystick 2. So MAME runs with almost no key changes.   The last multi I built in a vertical cab had the Xin Mo 1 player interface as joystick 1 and when I plugged in the gamepad it became joystick 1 and the Xin Mo became joystick 2 which messed up the key assignment.  I know I could have used controller remap but the faster solution was to keep the gamepad plugged in and do the key reassignment manually.

This encoder was much easier to setup.

On the down side the crimped on connectors do not fit .25 or .187 terminals.  They only fit the very small terminals on oriental buttons (.110).   This is probably not a problem as the wires need to be extended to connect to many of the buttons on my CP so new wire and crimp ons will be used.

Update: The controller comes with .187 connectors on the wires for the joystick.  The rest are .110 for oriental buttons.

Update: Vigo is offering the second run of  controllers with all .187 connectors and you can get 4 more button wire plugs to make all 12 buttons available.

[BobA]

Remounted LCD
Installed speakers and flourescent light
Buttons and joystick installed on control panel
Power button and pinball buttons installed

[Unstupid]

Those speakers look like they may cast some interesting shadows on your marquee

[leapinlew]

Those speakers look like they may cast some interesting shadows on your marquee

Unless they are real close to the marquee, it should be fine.

[BobA]

I thought of that so I mounted the flourescent high in the back and lined all the inside area of the marquee/speaker area with aluminum tape to reflect the light.  Shadows should not be a problem but will still have to test it to make sure.  

Tested on old marquee - Shadows are not a problem. Second photo does not show proper color but it looks ok in real life.

First pic with flash (hard to see illumination)
Second pic without flash (color not shown well but lights up great)

leapinlew +1

[BobA]

Wired all controls to encoder board.   Mounted motherboard and wired on/off switch.   Have to tidy up the wires and the electronics will be complete.

Note:  To mount the motherboard behind the LCD I had to extend the main power cable from the atx supply by 8 inches.  This required an extension cable as I did not feel like cutting and soldering all the wires in the power cable. You can see the extension cable in the second picture.

Most of the wires to the encoder had to be modified.   They were too short to reach the switches and the .110 connector did not fit most of my switches.  I used a daisy chained ground for most of my switches and joystick so that I only had to adapt 1 wire from the encoder to fit not 2.  The grounds on the encoder are all common so there is no sense extending the ground wire when a daisy chained ground can be used.  Even where the .110 connectors could be used the wire was too short to reach the pinball flipper buttons.

[404]

I sell them locally as shipping is a pain. Have had enquiries but the crating and shipping costs are horrendous.  Each one has some custom input from the buyer if something special is required such as a spinner or artwork. I do it to keep busy as I am retired and I love it when people are excited when they see one of the cabs.

and here i was literally two seconds away from posting a message asking how much you offer them up for.  

I'm going to end up building a weecade but i need to cut down the depth a bit to accommodate a dresser cabinet that it will be sitting on top of. My woodworking skills aren't that great.

You're cabinets look awesome. love the idea of mounting the itx motherboard behind the monitor mount.

[BobA]

Thanks for the compliment.  It is really too bad that shipping costs so much.  My other concern is the support for the cab if something goes wrong.  Long distance troubleshooting is very difficult.  So I will stick to local for now.   

[404]

Maybe its time for you to think about making an ikea style flat pack where guys can assemble the finished product. the ärcad  

In all seriousness. Your build has given me some great ideas. I'm not much of a wood builder, have far more experience with metals than wood. I'm still a bit worried that i will start this project and end up ruining it.

I was wondering why you would choose a full sized atx psu? are you running some other peripherals from the power supply? Just sort of seems like overkill with a small itx board and the size constraints of the cabinet.

[BobA]

I use the full size atx supplies because they are more affordable than the itx supplies and the added plugin.  They also have fans which help ventilate the cab. Some of my cabs have LCD monitors that run off 12V but most of them are AC powered monitors. The audio usually runs off 12V and the LEDs for the marquee when I am not using a florescent.  I cut and fit each cab by hand so the flat pack approach would not be affordable.  If I had CNC then the flatpacks would be a great idea.

[BobA]

Setback time.  Had the MB mounted and closed the back panel.  Of course the SATA connector for the drive bent when the door was closed and the cab would not boot without the HD.   Lowered the MB mounting position and that solved that problem.  I know there are right angle sata drive connectors but could not find any locally.  

Still to do:

1. Plexi for marquee and bezel

2. Graphics

3. T Molding

[404]

let me know if you still need an angled sata connector. pretty sure i have one around here i can snail mail to you.

[BobA]

Thanks for the offer 404.  Lowering the mounting of the MB solved the problem.   I will not mount the MB that high again.

[404]

yeah saw that but figured i would offer as i have a few of them here and would hate for you to rub up against the connector and bust the sata connector on the motherboard. I have actually done that to a motherboard and to a valuable wd raptor hard drive. Not fun. 

[BobA]

Plexi or lexan cutting tip.   Usually to trim an inch or less from my bezel or marquee plexi I use a trim bit in my router and a straight edge.  This is because the material is hard to remove with a scoring tool as it cracks in many places and is often uneven when you try to split it.   Well it is just a simple as scoring and parting large pieces if you put the small bit of plexi that usually cracks and splinters under the straight edge and clamp it down to the edge where you are going to separate the plexi.   With the smaller bit clamped firmly in place the larger part splits off cleanly and I do not have to mess up the shop with bits of shredded plastic.   See picture for small piece that was split off the marquee plexi with no mess or bother.  

[BobA]

Took 51 days this time.   First time build using this cabinet.

Completed  

[404]

Great work BobA, I'm 100% jealous. 

[BobA]

Thanks.  Don't be jealous just work on your Mame in a box and you will be surprised how good you will feel when it is completed.  Then on to the next project and the next and the next