Roller Controller Bartop

[ron310]

I found a touchscreen kiosk on eBay and bought it with the hopes of doing either a mega touch or jukebox. After much debate (and realizing a mega touch emulated does not exist) I have decided to go with a trackball based bartop instead. this is the hardware. After opening it up, you can see it uses a mini-itx intel board.. The monitor even has a row of LEDs at the top. . Once I got the onboard lvsd enabled for the monitor (which required a utility to download the bios off the machine and change it before reuploading it, I installed windows and mame and made sure the 1.6 ghz processor could handle it. It actually runs fine. I received my optipac and golden tee trackball in the mail, and now it's on to the cabinet design.

[rooter]

So you are just using the touchscreen as a regular monitor?
You should make one of the cool antique radio juke box dealies or something.

[drventure]

You should make one of the cool antique radio juke box dealies or something.

+1 

[BadMouth]

The Touchmaster series of touchscreen games works in MAME, but 1.6Ghz probably isn't going to cut it.
It doesn't hurt to give it a try.  Not worth dedicating a machine for, but would be a cool addition to your gamelist since you have a touchscreen.

[ron310]

I decided to scratch the trackball idea and instead i'm going with a six button/ joystick layout.
I've made some progress on the cabinet build.

I clamped the 2 sides together and sanded to get them even.


Then I did some bracing.


Started cutting for the control panel.


Rough cut the back.


Then sanded till they lined up nice.


Rough fit the bezel.


Here is where it currently stands.

[ron310]

I still have to:
Create the speaker panel.
Make some kind of access panel for the back.
Route out the t-molding slots
Create some kind of ventilation.
I'll need to sand everything more to get it perfect.
Then I plan on taking the whole thing apart, glue and screw everything, and wood fill anything thats not perfect.
Then i'll start the plexi work.
I was planning on wrapping the whole thing in self adhesive vinyl, rather than paint, but that's a long ways away.

[CoryBee]

This is looking pretty nice  Going to revamp my bartop design with mdf so i can use tmolding. Good luck.

[ron310]

I made some progress on the marquee

I routed out a channel on the top and bottom, so the plexi rails would sit flush

[ron310]

Cut slot for t-molding - this was way easier than I thought it would be.

[sharpfork]

I like the classic lines combined with a functional bartop form factor.


I think you pretty much have to find a use for the touchscreen or we will all be let down.

[ron310]

I am going to keep the touchscreen in there and add jukebox functionality to the bartop. This way the touchscreen is not a total waste. I started disassembling the speakers for under the marquee area. I'll post some more pics when I get a little further along.

[ron310]

Cut holes for the speakers and made the grills.

[ron310]

Started on the cp

[ron310]

More progress

[ron310]

Oops - probably should have checked the placement of the coin button. Going to have to redo that panel

[sharpfork]

Looking great!

I have a few questions:

• where did you get that white case from?
• Did you inset the plexi for the CP?
• where is the 25¢ button is from?

[ron310]

Thanks.
The white case came with the system. It was a kiosk system I got on eBay. You could get something similar at logicsupply.com.
The plexi is inset, I still have to drill the holes.
The coin button is from groovygamegear.com (search for nova gem)

[Drnick]

Did you ever get this one finished up?

[DeathDealer]

Did you finished it??

[ron310]

I did not finish it yet but have done some more work. I've been waiting to get more done before posting pics...

[05SRT4]

Where the coin button is located, is that going to hit the other top buttons? If its the same Coin button  I am using I had to off set it a little because it was hitting my other buttons. Build looks great!

[ron310]

Yea, I actually had to redo it. Here's how it looks now
I've really been slacking when it comes to finishing it, but mainly cause i already have a decent setup.
Here is my other bartop, with a player 2 setup next to it.

[05SRT4]

So is this one just to keep you busy or do you have other plans for it?

[ron310]

My bartop was a kit (northcoast customs, with some of my own changes) and then i did a similar one for a friend.
After doing those, I decided to try and build one from scratch (this one).
It was originally going to be a megatouch type bartop, but that didn't pan out. I was then going to do a roller controller bartop (hence the thread title), but after test playing most of the trackball games, I decided it probably would not get as much use as i planned.
It's got a touch screen, so i'll probably take advantage of that for selecting games, or add jukebox functionality to it.
Now I don't really have any plans for it, other than finishing it.

[ron310]

Some progress...
I needed to shorten the stick for the stainless ball top on my happ stick.
I had to make new grooves for the clips that go on it and also cut the shaft itself down in size.

I don't have a before pic, but you can see how much I cut off next to it.




I put the shaft in a drill and then held a hacksaw blade on it while it spun to cut the new grooves, then I did the same to shorten it, by holding the blade till it cut through.
I then spun it against a file to smooth the end off that I cut.
I also put a heavier spring in it to compensate for the additional weight of the ball top.
I patched the cutout in the top of the bezel (where the light originally sat) using an aluminum sheet, and then built it up using JB weld steel stick, and sanded it flush.

[GoYouSalukis]

Kudos for your hardcore DIY Machining! I never would have thought of tackling a job like that with a hand drill! Very ingenious!

[ron310]

Finished marquee plexi...

[monkeychunkuk]

Coming along nicely

[ron310]

I soldered up all of the connections:


Then tested the speakers, marquee light, computer, and monitor:


Then I disassembled all the electronics and started gluing everything together:


Once everything dries, i'll fill all the screw holes and imperfections with wood filler, sand and prime.

[ron310]

more progress...
I mounted the speakers using aluminum blocks on one side and the other slips under he bracing:
 

[ron310]

Then I made an area to hold the volume controls and started building up the base using jb weld steel stick.

[ron310]

I then re-did the bezel in thin particle board, as the metal one was not going to work, and also started bending the plexi for the control panel using a heat gun and a 25lb bar.

[ron310]

Started sanding and smoothing everything out.

Should be ready for primer and paint soon

[skjerk]

Very nice progress!
I like your all-in-one plexi-solution - but won't it make it difficult to get to the cp-bottom?

I'll be keeping an eye out for updates 

[matt4949]

watchin this one

[ron310]

Very nice progress!
I like your all-in-one plexi-solution - but won't it make it difficult to get to the cp-bottom?

I'll be keeping an eye out for updates 

I'm actually going to cut the plexi after the curve as it's a touch screen and I can't cover it.
The whole cabinet is glued together except for the bezel and 2 access panels.

I left the front bottom (under the CP) open so that it's easily accessible.
I wanted to make the cabinet as solid as possible, but also make it so that all the electronics were replaceable.
I ended up making 2 access areas. One in the back to access the monitor and pc, and the bottom front to access under the CP. I still have to do the panels to close them up, but I may do the cp one in plexi, depending on how nice the wiring looks. 

I forgot who suggested it, but I did the "mdf armoring"  (great idea) using a mixture of 2 parts water, one part glue.
It soaked it up and dried nice and solid. I'm going finish sanding it with super fine grit paper and prime it in the next few days. Pics to follow when it's primed.

[blueznl]

The holes left top and bottom of your speakers (ie. the round holes are larger than your oval speakers) will make everything sound 'thin'. Better close them with a little strip of left-over material.

[ron310]

Thanks for the tip. Should be easy enough to do with some scrap moulding.

[ron310]

 First coat of primer

[ron310]

Decided to tackle the speaker issue.