My Mame Cabinet (Finished ... at last!!!)

[PedroSilva]

Just to show a little WIP ... enjoy ...







Speaker hack




The emulation buttons






To be mounted ...


Some art ...  


Completly naked ...  


Bunggee jumpping view ...


Thats all folks .... for now I mean ...  

[pathdoc2]

Looks nice but why all the holes above the monitor?

[PedroSilva]

Looks nice but why all the holes above the monitor?

Ventilation ...
I've used Lusid's plans, but I'll close the back with a trap door and since the TV shell goes almost till the end of the cab, I'm afraid that that zone will heat up, so I made all the holes, and on the top of the cabinet the exaust escape. I'll add a fan on the lower part pointing up ... that should make a nice circulation of air.

[Bomber]

Won't the joysticks by the blue buttons get in the way of the other two joysticks? Or am I missing something?

[PedroSilva]

Won't the joysticks by the blue buttons get in the way of the other two joysticks? Or am I missing something?

Actually ... I asked myself the same question ...

The idea was to have them a little more appart or even side by side. When I started the design I saw that there wasn't enought space.
But them I decided to test them ... and surprise of the surprises ... your hand, when you grab a joystick, naturally makes an angle of about 40 degres ... so it's actually perfect and saves you a lot of space.

By the way .. they are not for simultaneous play ... it's a 4way on top and 8way on botton. I just did for tree reasons:

- Some two player game use 4way joy.
- Don't need extra buttons on both players
- You get a not so full of buttons CP, even distributed and with a nice design.

[Harakiri]

Perfect for now!



VIVA PORTUGAL CARALHO!  

[Stingray]

Ah, that's not a bad idea for joystick layout. I was wondering what you had going on there.

-S

[Sephroth57]

i like it except the joysticks on top, even though it may not hit your hand i think it just looks cluttered like that, and what is there like 5 games that use 2 4ways at the same time? might have been better to put the 4way in the middle out of the way of things. but thats my opinion

[MameMaster!]

....cool cab...great work!

One suggestion...since you have this holes in the top...you may want to run some colored lighting in there....it may look cool through the holes.

MameMaster!  

[PedroSilva]

i like it except the joysticks on top, even though it may not hit your hand i think it just looks cluttered like that, and what is there like 5 games that use 2 4ways at the same time? might have been better to put the 4way in the middle out of the way of things. but thats my opinion

Hi,

I agree with you ... it doesn't look very nice having them so close, but there was no free space to do it  another way ...   (don't know if you notice, but there's a trackball and a spinner on the midle - they are not mouted yet  )

Anyway, as I mentioned before, the primary idea was to have them side by side ... but ... no space  , and frankly, making a bigger CP, I think would be even worst ...

[PedroSilva]

....cool cab...great work!

One suggestion...since you have this holes in the top...you may want to run some colored lighting in there....it may look cool through the holes.

MameMaster!  

Hi,
Thanks. Regarding your sugestion, I was thinking of using smoked plexi or glass and normaly, the holes wouldn't appear ... but now you have let me thinking ... the marquee light will pass throw the holes   ... and it might make some reflexions on the glass ...

Any suggestions to block that

[delta88]

looks good, I just wanna toss my 3 cents in.. I have used a lot of pc speakers in stuff and I like to take the guts outta the case and mount either the original speakers froman arcade game or remount the pc speakers and then hide the conrols somewhere else.. lives a clean arcade style look to it... justa thought.

[paigeoliver]

Decent layout, but might I make one suggestion?

Instead of putting the 4-ways up and over, put them RIGHT NEXT to the 8-ways on the left. This works and works well. I have done it in the past. It looks cleaner, and allows you to hot switch over to the 4-ways easily mid-game if you wish. (Sometimes you want to switch over to 4-ways mid-game, like for puzzle games, and specific levels in certain games that just work better with a 4-way).

[PedroSilva]

looks good, I just wanna toss my 3 cents in.. I have used a lot of pc speakers in stuff and I like to take the guts outta the case and mount either the original speakers froman arcade game or remount the pc speakers and then hide the conrols somewhere else.. lives a clean arcade style look to it... justa thought.

Hi,

I know what you mean and it's my tought also ... but the front speaker you see ... well ... it's not the speaker  

I just use the box of it ... Why? Simple ... I need the very usefull controls ... ON/OFF .... VOLUME and, if you don't want to disturb your neighbours ... PHONES CONNECT ...  

The speakers I'll use are the car speakers that are on the "to be mouted" photo ...

Anyway ... I believe it will look good in (and discret), because it will be painted with the same color of the cabinet, except for the two button controls ... and because, since the grid of the speaker is empty, there will be some light effect coming from the marquee ...

Maybe you'll agree with me when its finished ...  

[PedroSilva]

Decent layout, but might I make one suggestion?

Instead of putting the 4-ways up and over, put them RIGHT NEXT to the 8-ways on the left. This works and works well. I have done it in the past. It looks cleaner, and allows you to hot switch over to the 4-ways easily mid-game if you wish. (Sometimes you want to switch over to 4-ways mid-game, like for puzzle games, and specific levels in certain games that just work better with a 4-way).

Hi,

Ya ... that was my initial idea ... but infortunatly ... there isn't enougth space ...  

The four ways are placed on the limit edge of CP ...

[paigeoliver]

Oh yeah, I can see the edge of the panel protrudes beyond the edge of the panel "box", thus not giving you enough room to do it on the player one side.

Also, I wouldn't reccomend making your panel hang off the edge of the "box" by more than a fraction of an inch, it would suck hard if it broke off.

Decent layout, but might I make one suggestion?

Instead of putting the 4-ways up and over, put them RIGHT NEXT to the 8-ways on the left. This works and works well. I have done it in the past. It looks cleaner, and allows you to hot switch over to the 4-ways easily mid-game if you wish. (Sometimes you want to switch over to 4-ways mid-game, like for puzzle games, and specific levels in certain games that just work better with a 4-way).

Hi,

Ya ... that was my initial idea ... but infortunatly ... there isn't enougth space ...  

The four ways are placed on the limit edge of CP ...

[PedroSilva]

Oh yeah, I can see the edge of the panel protrudes beyond the edge of the panel "box", thus not giving you enough room to do it on the player one side.

Also, I wouldn't reccomend making your panel hang off the edge of the "box" by more than a fraction of an inch, it would suck hard if it broke off.

Decent layout, but might I make one suggestion?

Instead of putting the 4-ways up and over, put them RIGHT NEXT to the 8-ways on the left. This works and works well. I have done it in the past. It looks cleaner, and allows you to hot switch over to the 4-ways easily mid-game if you wish. (Sometimes you want to switch over to 4-ways mid-game, like for puzzle games, and specific levels in certain games that just work better with a 4-way).

Hi,

Ya ... that was my initial idea ... but infortunatly ... there isn't enougth space ...  

The four ways are placed on the limit edge of CP ...

Well ... it's MDF 3/4 ... I believe that should'n be a problem ...  

[PedroSilva]

(Update)

That's rigth you guys ... after a little break, I'm resuming work ...  

The primer is done and I have also done the first layer of paint ... today actually ... and no photos yet ... it was very foggy and I don't want to damage my camera ...  

The front




The front and back doors, and the top CP.


The bottom CP


The back




The top front


I'll keep you informed ...  

[pcdoctor]

very nice

[menace]

I'm always impressed with the amount of work that people will put into their mame cabs--nice work!

[PedroSilva]

I'm always impressed with the amount of work that people will put into their mame cabs--nice work!

Thanks. But hey ... we can't do anything without work ... at least things well done  

Also ... I'm having more fun now ... making it .. then I will have playing it, thats for sure   I just love hand work and learning things ... I have never worked with wood or paint before ... can you image what I had to read to achieve this ... for me thats where the fun is ...  

[Stingray]

Looks like you and I were doing the same thing over the weekend. I painted mine as well. You're coming along nicely, keep at it.

-S

[Pixelhugger]

Wow.....those emulation buttons! I've been planning the exact same thing for my cab. And I mean exact....mounted at an angle tucked beneath the CP edge. I was calling it my navigation panel (for the front end). When I saw yours I thought you may have gotten the idea from my renderings in the Mission Control thread. Upon looking at the dates of the posts you had already BUILT yours before I had even posted renders!!    So I guess that's another example of convergent evolution!

I've gotta say that looks amazing. Really gives a sense of depth and finish to the CP. I'm eager to know how that's worked out for you. Are the buttons easy to access below the lip of the CP? They are mounted at an angle correct?

Great job on everything. It's shaping up beautifully. You say this is your first woodworking project!? My hats off to you! Thanks for knocking the bar up yet another notch.
 

[PedroSilva]

Wow.....those emulation buttons! I've been planning the exact same thing for my cab. And I mean exact....mounted at an angle tucked beneath the CP edge. I was calling it my navigation panel (for the front end). When I saw yours I thought you may have gotten the idea from my renderings in the Mission Control thread. Upon looking at the dates of the posts you had already BUILT yours before I had even posted renders!!    So I guess that's another example of convergent evolution!

I've gotta say that looks amazing. Really gives a sense of depth and finish to the CP. I'm eager to know how that's worked out for you. Are the buttons easy to access below the lip of the CP? They are mounted at an angle correct?

Great job on everything. It's shaping up beautifully. You say this is your first woodworking project!? My hats off to you! Thanks for knocking the bar up yet another notch.
 

Hi,

Thanks for the "fine" complements  

Let me star by saying that your project will look fantastic .. the design is simply great ...

Regarding the emulation buttons, it was by chance that the placement came to mind   ... at the begining, the idea was to have them on the sides of the monitor, but I gave up that idea because originaly, I wanted glass to cover the monitor (5 mm) and I figured it would be hard to cut the holes and I'm not good working with glass (I break them all  ).

Something like this (By the way ... it might look good on yours too ...  with dark blue buttons )

 _____________
|   _________    |
|O|                 |O|
|O|                 |O|
|O|                 |O|
|O|                 |O|
|O|                 |O|
|  |_________|  |
|                         |

Anyway what I really wanted was a CP with no emulation buttons ... I don't want to say bad things about some of the guys here, but I have seen some awsome CP's regarding design and materials used, and then,  full of emulation buttons   .... sorry guys ...

so I figured ... other then the playing stuff, just player 1 start, player 2 start and pause. Now let's "hide" the others and thats what I came up with ...



About your positioning question ... nop! They are mounted paralel to the ground and I really don't advice you to mount them angled ... it would be very hard to acess them for mounting and also for using. Even like this, it's not so easy to acess them (for mounting, not for using) ... I'll mount everyting before putting the CP, otherwise it will be difficult.

Anyway ... hope this helps to improve your project ...

[Stingray]

I agree, I've seen a lot of panels that seem really cluttered with an excess of buttons. That's a very elegant solution you have come up with there.

-S

[Pixelhugger]

Pedro- excellent use of ASCI art  

_____________
|

[BLACK KNIGHT]

looks good, I just wanna toss my 3 cents in.. I have used a lot of pc speakers in stuff and I like to take the guts outta the case and mount either the original speakers froman arcade game or remount the pc speakers and then hide the conrols somewhere else.. lives a clean arcade style look to it... justa thought.

Hi,

I know what you mean and it's my tought also ... but the front speaker you see ... well ... it's not the speaker  

I just use the box of it ... Why? Simple ... I need the very usefull controls ... ON/OFF .... VOLUME and, if you don't want to disturb your neighbours ... PHONES CONNECT ...  

The speakers I'll use are the car speakers that are on the "to be mouted" photo ...

Anyway ... I believe it will look good in (and discret), because it will be painted with the same color of the cabinet, except for the two button controls ... and because, since the grid of the speaker is empty, there will be some light effect coming from the marquee ...

Maybe you'll agree with me when its finished ...  

I have a speaker mounted in the same place as yours for the same type of reason.  Only what I did was to mount the speaker on the other side of the 3/4" plywood and drill little holes to the buttons.  Of course you can't reach the buttons because they don't protrude through 3/4'' board so I cut black pen caps and superglued them to the buttons to make the buttons longer.  It's almost not noticeable since my cabinet is black and I can get to my volume control nice and easy!

[PedroSilva]

Pedro- excellent use of ASCI art  

_____________
|

[PedroSilva]

I agree, I've seen a lot of panels that seem really cluttered with an excess of buttons. That's a very elegant solution you have come up with there.

-S

Thanks...

By the way, I love the colors you have choose to your project ... same as mine ...  

[PedroSilva]

looks good, I just wanna toss my 3 cents in.. I have used a lot of pc speakers in stuff and I like to take the guts outta the case and mount either the original speakers froman arcade game or remount the pc speakers and then hide the conrols somewhere else.. lives a clean arcade style look to it... justa thought.

Hi,

I know what you mean and it's my tought also ... but the front speaker you see ... well ... it's not the speaker  

I just use the box of it ... Why? Simple ... I need the very usefull controls ... ON/OFF .... VOLUME and, if you don't want to disturb your neighbours ... PHONES CONNECT ...  

The speakers I'll use are the car speakers that are on the "to be mouted" photo ...

Anyway ... I believe it will look good in (and discret), because it will be painted with the same color of the cabinet, except for the two button controls ... and because, since the grid of the speaker is empty, there will be some light effect coming from the marquee ...

Maybe you'll agree with me when its finished ...  

I have a speaker mounted in the same place as yours for the same type of reason.  Only what I did was to mount the speaker on the other side of the 3/4" plywood and drill little holes to the buttons.  Of course you can't reach the buttons because they don't protrude through 3/4'' board so I cut black pen caps and superglued them to the buttons to make the buttons longer.  It's almost not noticeable since my cabinet is black and I can get to my volume control nice and easy!

Yap ... that was another way to do it, or even use only the speaker board attached to the wood ...  

[Stingray]

By the way, I love the colors you have choose to your project ... same as mine ...  

To borrow Pixelhugger's term, I guess that's just another case of "convergent evolution".   I can't wait to see yours finished, looks like it's going to be a really nice one!

-S

[PedroSilva]

By the way, I love the colors you have choose to your project ... same as mine ...  

To borrow Pixelhugger's term, I guess that's just another case of "convergent evolution".   I can't wait to see yours finished, looks like it's going to be a really nice one!

-S

Man ... neither do I ... for me that's the worst part of it ... painting ... I only have weekends to do that, because I'm using a gun air compressed and the compressor makes a lot of noise ... so unable to paint during week days. That brings to one week for each coat I put  

Anyway ... after paint that should go faster ...  

[Stingray]

I'm lucky in the fact that I have access to a professional body shop. I had to load up my cab and truck it to the shop, but I was able to get all of my primer and paint work done in one weekend.

Have you decided on a theme for your artwork yet?

-S

[PedroSilva]

I think that I will not put anything, besides the marquee ... I don't know yet ... anyway, if I decide to put anything it will sure be Mame related ... after all none of this would happen if it wasn't for Mame ...  

[Stingray]

Good point.

-S

[PedroSilva]

All this talk about hidding the emulation buttons got me thinking  

Since the objectif is to hide them, why not really hide them ?



A piano hinge and some painted plexi, or even some artwork ...

What do you guys think ?

[Stingray]

That looks like a good idea to me. Having them under a hinged lid will probably save some confusion when your friends are playing it too.

-S

[PedroSilva]

Ok .. you hungry guys   ... more photos after the first layer of paint ...

CP Box


Doors and CP Top


The Cab










Thats wright ... I have some fun painting also ...


A friend of mine who works on a car cable factory brought me this ... can you imagine my happyness ...


Thats wright ... quick disconnects ...


Thats wright ... dozens of diferent colors ...


And finally ... colour tests ...

[Stingray]

Amazing how much difference a little color makes! That blue on black color scheme is really going to look good (but I may be biased)  

Congrats on the getting the free wire & quick connects. That will really come in handy.

-S

[Witchboard]

Everybody else may already know this, but what is that port on the top of your cab?  Not the vent, but the other thing.