Hi Everyone, New guy here.

[nitrogen_widget]

Hi,
I'm planing a build using this cabinet.


I picked this up from someone for free probably 10yrs ago intending to make a mame cabinet out of it & well, life happened so it's been sitting in my basement forgotten.
I retired my raspberry pi from XBMC duty when I got an OUYA and decided it wold make a good mame computer for the games in the late 80's I used to play.

I also have an older 21" 1024x768 4:3 LCD monitor that came with an old MCE PC someone gave me because both were dead.
I replaced some caps in the monitor and it worked for a few yrs until either the inverter board or the back light tubes went because all it did was power cycle with a kind of scary buzzing sound.
with the backlight circuitry disconnected the LCD powers up & if I shine a light through the panel I can see the "no video" image on the screen.
I've torn it apart & ordered a 5 meter  strip of LED lights & a power supply.
Why not?
If it works then I have a low power display for my low power computer.

If not well I can get 10yr old TV's from the thrift stores for about $30.

Anyways, any tips?
I think the cabinet just looks really cool & want to just clean it up & repaint the flat black parts.
I think if I add a 2nd button on either side of the controller I should be good with most of the older vertical games.

Just wondering if I should keep the leaf switch controls or order new ones.
I planned on wiring everything up directly to the PI's GPIO or just hacking up an old gamepad if I don't have enough inputs.
That's really about it right now until I get the cabinet cleaned up & all the left-over arcade parts taken out.
No boards, just some high power components I assume was for the monitor.

[KuddlKat]

I'm in the same boat regarding the controls.  I just picked up a Heavy Barrel this past weekend for $300.  It has the leaf-switches for the rotary joysticks and buttons, which are mostly working even though it smells like it's been sitting in someone's musty basement for 10 years.       Cabinet is so-so, and I'm happy that everything is in good working condition apart from the controls.

I just fixed a broken wire on the left rotary switch and really need to pick up contact cleaner since two days of online searching for cheap rotary joysticks has turned up empty.  New rotary joysticks exist, obviously, but I don't want to put too much $ into it just yet.  The buttons would be cheap and easy to replace... except it uses yellow, red, and grey buttons--and grey buttons apparently don't exist.

[nitrogen_widget]

Someone else on this forum used Rit dye to color white buttons if that helps.

[KuddlKat]

Rit?  Really?  Won't it rub off on fingers?  (Guess I should have ordered a couple extra white buttons!)

[lcmgadgets]

Welcome, nitrogen! Good luck on your build. That cab looks to b in fair shape, given that u got it free.

I understand the '10 year build' bit, I've managed to refurbish a coin door & a Star Wars yoke, & have incompleted some sketch ups & collected several boxes of buttons, sticks, interfaces & other parts, in about the same amount of time. The way 'real life' gets in the way really sucks.

 

[Generic Eric]

That is a super neat cab.  I can imagine using both doors in a variety of ways to access the the cab for admin or maintenance.  As cool as having the open back is, as soon as I push it against the wall, I need to pull it back out.

[eds1275]

Luckily for me, I can get my head and one arm/shoulder through my coin door. Luckily, plugging something in a usb slot is usually all I need to do inside. My machine has no back on the bottom section, and for anything serious (or vacuuming) I too need to pull it away from the wall.

[nitrogen_widget]

Rit?  Really?  Won't it rub off on fingers?  (Guess I should have ordered a couple extra white buttons!)

From what I read nylon based plastics will work.
Golf balls for example.
https://www.ritdye.com/content/dyed-golfballs

Welcome, nitrogen! Good luck on your build. That cab looks to b in fair shape, given that u got it free.

I understand the '10 year build' bit, I've managed to refurbish a coin door & a Star Wars yoke, & have incompleted some sketch ups & collected several boxes of buttons, sticks, interfaces & other parts, in about the same amount of time. The way 'real life' gets in the way really sucks.

 

Thanks!

Yeah, other projects too precedence.

Was cleaning out the basement & decided it was time to do something with it.
It’s been bitter cold over hear in the NE so I haven’t touched it this week because my basement is mid 30’s.
It warmed up yesterday & I took a better look at it. There is some separation of the plywood layers at the sides on the base.
I’ll try to get some glue in between them & throw a clamp on them tonight or the next.
The coin mechanisms move. But need oiling. (Probably a gross understatement.)

That is a super neat cab.  I can imagine using both doors in a variety of ways to access the the cab for admin or maintenance.  As cool as having the open back is, as soon as I push it against the wall, I need to pull it back out.

I never heard of that game before.

As long as I’ve had it I never really explored inside it.
The left door has a shielded piece of plywood on rails that slides out completely behind it.
So i'll probably mount everything on that.

I’m assuming that’s where the main boards were mounted. The power supply is still there with 5 & 12v outputs and a wiring harness with some tags saying “berzerk” on them along with a few small circuit boards. One looks like the amp for the speaker & the other looks & feels like something out of a CRT TV.

The isolation Transformer is there also at least I think that’s what it is.
It isn’t a flyback but it’s gigantic.
If the PSU is still good I can use it to power the LED’s I plan to use for the marquee.

Back to the “Berzerk” tags, I was planning to just  go over the wood on the cabinet with a sander to smooth  it out then  re-paint it black, but  now I’m wondering if there is anything cool under the black paint on the sides and if it’s worth getting some graffiti remover like someone else did in a recent project on the site to see.

the control panel is dark blue with light blue stars all over it. Did they swap control panels along with the marquee's? I don't know.

[yotsuya]

I was about to say, that's an old Stern/Beserk cabinet. If the harness is in good shape, you might be able to sell it on KLOV.

This is what you'll probably find under the paint:

[yotsuya]

BTW, I always thought the sliding door setup for the PCBs on Bezerk was a great idea. I'm surprised no one's ever really done it anywhere else.

[Generic Eric]

BTW, I always thought the sliding door setup for the PCBs on Bezerk was a great idea. I'm surprised no one's ever really done it anywhere else.

I sure would like to see some more pics of the large door on the left.  Is it metal or wood?

[nitrogen_widget]

I was about to say, that's an old Stern/Beserk cabinet. If the harness is in good shape, you might be able to sell it on KLOV.

This is what you'll probably find under the paint:

Harness doesn't look like anything was cut off but i'm sure I can find a manual easy enough so I can double check.




Now I have to at least attempt to strip the sides down. 
But, I need to put it on it's side so the graffiti remover doesn't cause streaks & I need it to be warmer so I can open the basement doors. WHOOOOO!!!
That stuff packs a kick.
That white spot of paint is going to be trouble I think.
This is actually pretty cool.

[nitrogen_widget]

BTW, I always thought the sliding door setup for the PCBs on Bezerk was a great idea. I'm surprised no one's ever really done it anywhere else.

I sure would like to see some more pics of the large door on the left.  Is it metal or wood?

Door is wood.

[Generic Eric]

Thanks.  I'm getting the jist of it this.  1 last question.  How wide is the door, and once you pull the board out, how much clearance between the vertical face to the right side of the door opening?

That's two questions.  Thanks in advance.

[nitrogen_widget]

I'll take some measurements tonight for you.

[nitrogen_widget]

Thanks.  I'm getting the jist of it this.  1 last question.  How wide is the door, and once you pull the board out, how much clearance between the vertical face to the right side of the door opening?

That's two questions.  Thanks in advance.

Door is 31" tall & 5 7/8" wide.
The piece inside the door is 3/8" smaller on the top,bottom,and latch side. It is flush where the hinges are.

With the board pulled out I have 3 5/8" of clearance.

[Generic Eric]

Thanks.  I'm getting the jist of it this.  1 last question.  How wide is the door, and once you pull the board out, how much clearance between the vertical face to the right side of the door opening?

That's two questions.  Thanks in advance.

Door is 31" tall & 5 7/8" wide.
The piece inside the door is 3/8" smaller on the top,bottom,and latch side. It is flush where the hinges are.

With the board pulled out I have 3 5/8" of clearance.

OP delivers!  Thanks!
 

[lcmgadgets]

That's my coin door! The bead blast/powder coat destroyed the decal, though, & it was in pretty good shape  . Oh well, I could find a new 1, or some custom art.

[nitrogen_widget]

Small update.
It's cold as heck in my uninsulated, unheated, stone walled basement.
Upper 30's on a good winter day & usually mid 30's on the really cold days so working down there just sucks plus i've convinced myself that the graffiti remover doesn't work so well in that temperature.

however, the heat gun I have does seem to work fairly well in breaking the bond with the original surface without ruining the original artwork.
Especially works better than the paint remover on the white oil based paint spot on the one side.
I did find a spot where some of the original paint is just missing.
I know I didn't do it.
But I can only work on it for so long before i get cold LOL! so just waiting for a warmer day.

If the rest of the artwork is mostly intact I'm thinking I'll either attempt to match the color & touch it up then clear-coat it or just clear coat it as it is since i'd rather have it look like it went through arcade hell being used and abused by 100's of people then look brand new.
But that is just me.

I've also collected the vector art I need for the control panel, bezel, & marquee should I decide to try & recreate those somehow.

Also, Does anyone have an original bat handle they could give me rough measurements on?
I think they are look damn cool. Just not $100 cool (the price for one online) and saw someone on the forums casting joy handles out of resin and thought I could do the same thing.

I've looked all over for dimensions but couldn't find them.
My best guess so far is to take a regular bat handle & just stretch it to 4".