First arcade cabinet project - Newbie

[Terr1]

Hey
I always wanted a MAME cabinet, and last year I bought a DIY 2 player full size kit from a fellow arcade builder, since I have ZERO tools / woodsworking skills

His model looks like this:


 (Pictures taken from bsam.dk)

I will make mine black instead of white, and some aluminium or red T-mold, and when the time comes, I will create my own control board decal. I will use the same top/screen decal for now though.
So after a year I thought I might use my vacation for something useful and started to work on my future arcade. The DIY kit I bought had the large cabinet sides pre-cut as well with CNC cut holes for the different fronts/shelves needed.

The first side completed:


The second side being prepared:


The rest of the items waiting to be put together:


My prototype control board, it seems to work fine:


I’m using cheap Zippy sticks and IPAC-2 and cable shoes, haven’t done any soldering yet, since it’s a prototype. I got the PC and all the software running (hyperspin + emulators).

I think I want two 4” car speakers at the top, instead of some default pc speakers, it looks better imo., esp. with front grills.
I have zero experience using car speakers, I saw some post here recommended this cheap amplifier:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Brand-New-2CH-Mini-Audio-Digital-Power-Stereo-Amplifier-AMP-/360668006787

Then I need to find out which speakers would work with this. It seems the amplifier outputs 2x20W, most speakers I have seen is 80W+, will these work with 20W? Or do I need to find some with less watt?

[wordsworth]

Then I need to find out which speakers would work with this. It seems the amplifier outputs 2x20W, most speakers I have seen is 80W+, will these work with 20W? Or do I need to find some with less watt?

It's fine and actually preferred if the speakers have a higher wattage rating than the amp. The amp can exceed the rating in bursts and having speakers that can handle those spikes is a good idea.

[Terr1]

Now I got my cabinet up and standing at least..
Still needs paint job and artwork stuff..

[Falk3r]

Lookin' good, man. Can you provide any details on pricing for the kit and who you bought it through? (assuming they have an online store) Sometimes I just like to see how foolish I was to go the "from scratch" route.

Any chance I can talk you into sourcing a larger monitor to pop in there? When that starts pushing out the vertical games, it's going to feel like a tight fit.

[Terr1]

It was pretty expensive, but not many choices in Denmark, and since it was my first build and I never touched tools before, I went for the safer route.. My next build will be the utilmate cabinet style, because its larger and I can get a bigger control panel. It was about 500$ with marquee and artwork except sides.. Ive spend the same on tools though

Power drill
Clamps
Router
Round saw
Jigsaw
Spadedrills, frostner drills, holesaw...

At least I got the tools to manually make the next one if I want to

What screen size would be recommended.. I guess 4:3 is prefered? The current is 19" 4:3.
My 19" 4:3 have more vertical screen size than my alianware 23" 16:9.

[Falk3r]

Hmm... yeah... on second thought, if you've got the 19" ready to go, it's probably not worth the trouble of finding something larger. For a few reasons:

1. It doesn't look like a big old CRT would fit in there
2. 20~21" 4:3 LCD monitors are about as big as they come -- and get very expensive very quickly

So, it's probably not worth another $500 for another 1~2" of diagonal screen size.


$500 for the kit doesn't sound bad at all... I probably spent $200 on MDF, $250 on laminate (expensive mistakes), $50 on screws and glue... and I don't want to add up all the new tools I've bought for my build.

[CaptainMarvel]

$500 for the kit doesn't sound bad at all... I probably spent $200 on MDF, $250 on laminate (expensive mistakes), $50 on screws and glue... and I don't want to add up all the new tools I've bought for my build.

Wow ... That seems like a lot.  Is it because of the geographical location in which you live?