My first Cab: Ult arcade ii Built with lots of Mods

[flashlight]

I originally was going for something simple like the Xarcade tankstick combined with the xarcade extension cabinet.

http://www.recroommasters.com/x_arcade_p/rm-xt-arc-t.htm

But after reading up on these forums and seeing how only a little more work and money could go from an x arcade i decided to go all out for a custom made 4 player panel, that would accommodate a bigger screen

Im sure everyone is familiar with the products from north west coast productions/mameroom

http://www.mameroom.com/Products_UAII_Kit.asp

and

http://www.mameroom.com/Products_Quad_Kit.asp

I didnt see any reason the quad panel didnt meet my needs for a 4 player panel. Though it took some routing to get the trackball panel flush mounted. I had to create a template and screw it into the top of the panel and test the depth repeatedly to get it just right. Absolutely worth it though!.

My control panel is pretty much a straight kit build using Groovygamegear components

4 Happ competition sticks
Lots and lots of chromalite buttons
1 true 4 way joystick
Track ball ice 2.5
TurboTwist spinner
1 led wiz (for now)
1 ipac 4
Gameongrafix control panel overlay



The existing 4 holes didnt work with the tru4 way which only had 2 holes rather than 4. I drilled 2 new holes but the joystick was slightly off center. It still had perfect clearance and range of movement but it was driving me crazy so i redrilled new holes horizontally across the hole rather than vertically.



This is my first arcade panel, I think my wiring came out relatively clean/organized. The wires are labeled at the button ends, and on the underside of the panel itself. I had to reinforce the sides/front of the control panel, i didnt like the front only being held on by the cam screws.

The glowing leds that are seemingly going to no where on the underside of the panel are something I came up with that I hadnt seen done in other projects outside of maybe some jukeboxes.

Unfortunately its hard to photograph, but im using 2 extra RGB leds as "ground effect" lighting under the left and right sides of the control panel. Its cool in person, its shared with the trackball RGB.








I couldnt leave a giant hole in the front panel. The sticker from GGG would have been fine if i didnt have the gaping hole to cover. but I got a pretty good deal on ebay for a 4 player coin door





Coin door never originally had any trace of lighting but I didnt let that stop me! where theres leds, 12 volts, and zip ties theres a way!

Ill admit i was inspired by DNA dans rotating monitor project. http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?topic=110471.0

While my setup doesnt have nearly the cool/wow factor as a motorized automatically rotating screen, mine allows for the same setup with a 27 inch 1080p monitor







With the ergotron LX i can pull monitor forward, rotate, and push back into place. There are no adjustments/wingnuts involved its just position and let go.

Its still a work in progress, but I wanted to share my tweaks on the basic kit design of the ultimate arcade, and get feedback on my work and ideas so far.

I still have a few more tricks up my sleeve once I get all the parts.  I have the plexi but havent quite figured out what to do about a bezel at the moment.

Update: December 2011 -  I wanted to add castor wheels to the bottom, but I didnt like the way the weight of the cabinet relied on the cams on the sides. I raised the bottom panel up into the case, added a new wooden panel underneath and dadoed the sides for the "new" bottom panel to slip into. I screwed/glued the bottom panel to the sides rather than using the cams, and the front door panel/angled back panel still use the cams to hold the sides together.

The bolts that hold the castors to the bottom wooden panel go through the mdf as well. The castor wheels arent visible, and only stick out from the bottom a half inch. I could have lowered it more but I anticipate needing to roll it on carpet. Unfortunately i seem to have lost pictures of the bottom panel before it was fully assembled. I will have to try to take new ones showing the notch/dado as best i can with the pieces in place.







Pictures of the underside to show the dado notch out of the side panels, and the 2x4 reinforcement to the bottom to secure the side panels to the new "bottom" panel.  Im aiming to take as much load off the side panels and cams as possible.

The castors have 1/2 inch clearance which should allow it to roll on most carpet without any trouble.

[Unstupid]

I think you need more buttons and joysticks!

[dandare]

and a driving wheel, flight stick, and light guns! 

I really like the multi coloured illuminated coin flaps (i believe thats the technical term) they look great!

[BobA]

That is a whole lot of buttons and wire.   Great work so far will watch to see it all come together. 

[gbeef]

Very nice effects you got there I love the coindoor

[flashlight]

Updated post to include new picture of light/speaker bar and 4x4 board to support rear panel. not fully visible is the 140 mm exhaust fan/vent hole in the top panel.



You can also see the hole i drilled for the monitor cables with grommit.

[Green Giant]

When you say 4x4 board do you mean 4 inches by 4 inches?

Is this rear panel also going to support a viewing platform for guests to stand and watch?

[flashlight]

Yes, thats a beefy 4 inch by 4 inch crosspiece. There is going to be a steel plate involved and some angular weight/steep pipes involved  I did say i had a few tricks up my sleeve!

[flashlight]

The end is almost in sight!

[flashlight]

Heres why i needed the 4x4



I know not many mame games use quadraphonic sound, but that didnt stop me from using an old CRT surround speaker stand i had in the attic since crts went the way of the dinosaur.

The side panel has a filter covered 140mm intake because the computer on the inside has a side fan positioned there:

There is also a fan grille covered exhaust 140mm fan in the top panel, and the now door hinged/locked rear panel.



Pardon my wiring its a work in progress (which will halt since its now functional) 
Theres a fully cased pc, subwoofer, power saving strip (which turns on/off everything with the pc), and dedicated 12 volt groovygamegear power supply that are all secured in place with L brackets:




I used a monoprice.com 6 port keystone panel on the angled rear panel, with the following:

1 hdmi + line in headphone jack+ 2 usb inputs to allow me to connect my control panel to my ps3, and allow audio/video from the ps3 to the monitor/arcade speakers. The line in also came in handy to hook up to mp3 player while i put the finishing touches on it.

The ethernet port is self explanatory

The second hdmi is actually hdmi out from the computer, to put whatever's on the pc screen on my tv. (Mainly for games I couldnt play at the panel using existing controls) For those ill use usb adaptors/extensions to n64, wii classic, ps2, or xbox 360 wireless controllers)

[flashlight]

Ive been busy finishing up the game room:





and videos

[yotsuya]

Nice! How fun!

[dandare]

Looks the business in there dude!  The cab looks great 

what are the other 2 machines? the look like funky jap fruit machines.

[Green Giant]

The arcade looks great, but now I can't stop wondering about those crazy things hanging on your wall.

What the hell is going on?  I see lights, sounds, transformers, and anime I think.

[flashlight]

Theyre pachinko machines! i wanted a pinball machine but theyre expensive and use up a lot of space, though i may consider a hyperpin machine in the future.

Pachinko machines are basically slot machines but upright, and use 1-3 thousand balls, but in order to get a slot roll, you have to get the balls to fall in the middle goal area. With the Knob you control how much force the ball enters the playfield with at the top, to try to guide it to fall into the goal.

Its like plinko from price is right, or peggle if the pegs stayed and you were aiming for a center goal at the bottom.

Every machine has different "themes", usually tv series, or movies. In my case, one is evangelion (version 6) and Macross. Depending on how well youre doing or winning, you get different animations on the lcd, or lights/animatronics in the playfield. If you watch video of the machines youll see a sample of the animatronics.

http://www.custompachinko.com/index.html has a great selection and great prices, Frank the owner is extremely helpful, and responds to emails/questions ridiculously fast.

[CustomPachinko]

Thanks for the plug! It is appreciated as we always can use new customers. If anyone is interested we are planning our next shipment from Japan and we have a short list of machines available for import at the following Link:http://www.pachitalk.com/forums/vendors-new-announcements/41994-spring-sale-2012-importation-announcement.html

All of our prices include shipping in the continental US and we are having a sale right now on all the machines we have in stock. Don't be afraid to ask any questions and we are normally very quick to respond. Thank you all for your interest.

-Frank

CustomPachinko.com
CustomPachislo.com

[Lormax]

I love how the one sold out machine is the one where the girl comes out in a bikini in the videos...hilarious

[Green Giant]

I love how the one sold out machine is the one where the girl comes out in a bikini in the videos...hilarious

After name dropping about it here, get ready for a run on the Star Wars machine.

[Richard_Nixon]

Those are the craziest things I've ever seen. Leave it up to the Japs to come out with something so crazy. I'm guessing all the text and everything in-game will be japanese?

[CustomPachinko]

Yes most of the text and sound is in Japanese, but many machines throw in some English here or there to be cool.

[flashlight]

Almost all of the audio is music/sound effects from the show, with the occasional dramatic scream/yell in japanese soundbite as things happen. There are videos for most machines on the custompachinko site, or youtube.

[rca420]

Nice build! How is the viewing angle for player 3/4 and are the joysticks for those players angled as well? thanks