Cybercade - Lots of construction photos added...still a lot to do!

[AzureKnight]

I'm going to start off with an oft repeated but still very applicable intro...I've been lurking on this forum on and off for a long time, heavily for the past 4 years.  As a kid I always dreamed of owning an arcade and now I've finally gotten enough remodeling done on my house that my wife has given me the OK to build my arcade machine (all you single guys with rows of cabinets I'm jealous  ).

Starting Aug 4th I'm on vacation for two weeks to put siding on my house and start on my arcade cabinet.  I'm not much of a woodworker but my uncle is and he'll be here to help out and I can't tell you how excited I am after planning/gathering parts for the last 4 years.

Onto the details! 

• Monitor:  Wells Gardner D9400 27"
• Joysticks:  2 Happ Competions (P1 and P2), 2 Happ Rotary (P3 and P4), Minigrip Flight Stick (P1 second joystick)
• Buttons:  Happ concaves standard microswitch
• Boards:  I-Pac 4 (and 2 to handle the flight stick), Ultimarc Rotary Interface
• Trackball:  U-Trak
• 4 Player Coin Door.
• Dell desktop tower running windows XP/Mala/Johnny5 for instruction splash screens.
• Emulators: Mame, NES, Sega Genesis, Atari 2600
• Spinner and Light gun to be added later.

My plan is to have the cabinet with body design similar to Gauntlet (a favorite of mine).  My original cp (you can see the artwork thread I posted a week ago in the artwork forum) was 48" and when I mocked it up in cardboard it was just too wide.  So I slimmed it down to 42" x 18".  lamprey, thanks for the input on the artwork thread, my rework tried to make things a bit more symmetrical (still not perfect but I do like it better).  For the marquee art the two large hex areas will be covered by a couple of speaker grills.

I will say...after lurking here for so long and reading thread after thread with incredible designs I just couldn't build a standard arcade cabinet anymore.  While I certainly don't have any illusions about creating something to rival some of the builds I have seen on this forum you guys have encouraged me to up my game some.  So with that in mind I'm adding a few "bling" features to the cab.

Instead of side art I have decided to go with a hexagon shaped infinity lamp (see photo below).  I saw one years ago and thought it was awesome so I have ordered a couple of one way mirrors and an led strip so that I can put an infinity lamp in each side. 

For the cp, I'm going to attempt something that I fear might  not work but time will tell.  If you look at my cp art I was going for a sci-fi glass touch screen look.  So I got to thinking about something Scott (PL1) posted in another one of my threads as well as what Sjaak did with his Dark Neon build.  What if I take a sheet of 1/8" hardboard and cut out 1/8" plexiglass panels where I have the hex glass panels in my cp art.  Then I can cut my artwork up and mount all the hex grid panels under the plexiglass and edge light the panels.  This will allow them to actually glow and create a bit of a 3D depth to the panel.  I'll put a 1/16" layer of plexi over the top of the entire cp.  I fear that description was pretty horrible so if it doesn't make sense please feel free to ask me to clarify!  If not I'll be posting pictures as I go.

So any thoughts on why that cp design is a mistake is certainly welcome!

Lastly I just want to close with a big thank you to all of you here.  I've learned a ton and more than that, found a group of people that share my passion for arcade games.  This has fueled my desire to complete this project. 

[AzureKnight]

I finalized the artwork and sent it off to GameonGrafix for printing last night!  I dropped some of the artificial glow effects as well as one of the layers below the player panels.  Since I've decided to try to use inset plexi to light up those areas those elements had to go due to depth.

I've posted the new art for anyone that cares.  Ironically I like it better without the glow so it is a win/win.

I also placed the order for all the plexiglass and mirrors for the side lighting.

[Slippyblade]

Interesting concept.  I'm following. 

[AzureKnight]

I had my two week vacation and as expected finished all the remodeling jobs I had planned, that meant the extra time was open for my cabinet construction!

Here are the results so far:



I am thrilled it is coming along so well.  In terms of cabinet construction I need to mount one back panel still and I have to add a lot of hardware (hinges to the cp top, clamps to hold the cp in place, clamp on the front of the cabinet which is hinged).

The only thing I am slightly disappointed with so far is the placement of the hex on the side.  I positioned it when the sides were laying flat and I was worried that they would  be too close to the monitor inside to not allow me to fit the mirrors and lights behind them.  So I went cautiously and moved them back and down.  I really wish they were higher, it turns out I had the room to do it.  I know I could plug and recut them but I think I'll just come up with some artwork to fill the space instead.  Overall that is a really nitpicky complaint.

The amount of routing work that went into the cp was crazy.  Because I am attempting to do the what I have dubbed the plexi/hardboard sandwhich on top of the control panel it meant that we had to route out the edges of the cp all the way around and then offset the t-molding slot so that it would all fit together under the t-molding.  It also meant I had to recess the bottom for my trackball and of course all the standard recessing for joysticks.  I've never used a router before this project and it was easier than I had feared and a lot of fun overall.

As for that crazy plexi/hardboard sandwich I was talking about I made some progress on that front as well.  I got the first section cut out of the hardboard and then started to work on the plexi. 



I've never really worked with plexiglass before (at least not since 8th grade shop class and that was over 25 years ago now).  I should have done myself a favor and made my artwork a lot simpler....but I didn't    That means getting a lot of small angled cuts in the plexi, I was able to score and break a longer cut or two, then my hope was to slowly score my way through the smaller cuts.  I'm sure anyone who has worked with plastic is now laughing at my ignorance, that was not going to happen in any reality that involves physics.  So my next attempt was to try my dremel rotary tool...I was worried about fracturing and more importantly melting but I figured I would give it a go.  I had some reinforced blades that were for cutting metal and the package said they were also good for plastics so I tried those.  I had to work slow in small pulses to avoid heating but in the end it worked incredibly well!!!!!   

In 15 minutes or so I had the top half of the piece ready to go.  Tonight I should have some more time to finish this piece and then I'll wire it up with the LEDs and see if all this effort is going to achieve the effect I am hoping for (edge lit colored panels for each player).



More to come soon (I also have more photos of construction but I took those on my camera and the port to unload them to my computer broke so it will take me a bit of time to get them off of my SD card).

[Slippyblade]

If you have access to a band saw or a scroll saw with variable speed it will make your plexi cuts a TON easier.

[AzureKnight]

Unfortunately I don't, only a Sabre or Circular saw.

[diablo846]

very nice soo far looks really good

[AzureKnight]

Thanks, progress has been slow due to lack of time.

I finished the first plexi cut out and got the beveled edge onto it.  I need to sand it down now.  I've also worked on the hard board some more as well so that has the cutout done for P1 and P2 and the template for cutting the others is all set.  Slow but sure progress.  It will never be accused of being a good job but I think it will be adequate and given it is my first time working with the material I am fairly happy so far.

I mocked up some LED lights with the plexi/hardboard a few nights ago and I wasn't happy with the outcome.  I was hoping to get by with a string of LED holiday lights I have as purchasing more for this beast is a bit of an argument with the wife right now.  But it just isn't going to work, they are too dim.  So I am investigating other LED options.

Does anyone know any good LED wiring tutorials?  I've looked a bit on the forum but didn't spot any, I'll look more later but if someone has it bookmarked....
 

[Generic Eric]

Does anyone know any good LED wiring tutorials?  I've looked a bit on the forum but didn't spot any, I'll look more later but if someone has it bookmarked....

Consider instructables, or adafruit.  What do you want the LEDs to do?  Do they change color or blink?  Around holiday season there is usually a new hack for a new string of LEDs because the controller changed. 

2 suggestions.  Put the LED part on hold, finish the rest of the cab.  You can always add that later.  A clear head and more research time will allow you to come back at it with a clear head.  If its finished other than the LED, the wife may notice when you finally do spend more money to find something that works. 

Post a picture of the string of lights you are using.  Show us the mock up.

Are you hacking the string of lights to make them do something different?  Or did you get them for cheap LEDs?

[PL1]

Does anyone know any good LED wiring tutorials?

Helps to know what LEDs and controller (if any) you plan on using. 

Are you doing single-color-always-on or single-color with animation or RGB with animation?

Check out this thread for several LEDwiz wiring diagrams.


Scott

[AzureKnight]

All very valid questions, I should have been more clear up front!

I'll get a photo tonight when I am home of what I have so far.  The lights I have are just a standard LED Christmas light string that I had used on my house for the holidays.  I was stealing it for the cab 

My thought is that the lumens on the christmas lights are just too low and a brighter LED would solve my problem.

The desired goal:  Steady color always on.  Blue lights running to P1, Red lights to P2, Green lights to P3, Yellow Lights to P4 and some White lights to the other areas.  If you look on my artwork linked above in the thread you should see the areas I am talking about.  Around each set of player controls is a "hex grid".  Those are what I am doing the plexiglass cut-outs for.  I want to bevel the edges of those plexiglass cutouts and edge light them so the outer edges of each cut out light up in the color of the player (or neutral white for the spinner/admin button).

The hardboard is cut out to hold the plexiglass cutouts (see photos above).  So the LED lights will be running up through the cp in pre-drilled holes up to the edges of the plexiglass cutouts to highlight them.  I am guessing 4-8 lights per big panel 

When I ran the Christmas lights up under the P1 panel...almost no lighting showed whatsoever, there was just too much light lost out the sides of the bulb and they just were not bright enough.  So I am hoping that a more powerful directional LED (I was looking at the ones for sale on GroovyGameGear) will solve the issue.

I appreciate the help everyone.



So (given my small understanding of wiring LEDs) I was going to not bother with a controller at all.  Just a direct wire with resistor coming from the PC power supply.  Basically I am looking for simple in this case.

[Generic Eric]

So (given my small understanding of wiring LEDs) I was going to not bother with a controller at all.  Just a direct wire with resistor coming from the PC power supply.  Basically I am looking for simple in this case.

Are they RGB leds? Or do you have different strands? 

[AzureKnight]

Other than the Xmas lights I don't have anything yet.  I was looking at buying these:

Blue Lights: http://groovygamegear.com/webstore/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=83&products_id=263
Green Lights: http://groovygamegear.com/webstore/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=83&products_id=265
Red Lights: http://groovygamegear.com/webstore/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=83&products_id=264
Yellow Lights: http://groovygamegear.com/webstore/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=83&products_id=266
White Lights: http://groovygamegear.com/webstore/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=83&products_id=267

But as I am still researching/learning how to do the LEDs they might not be my best option.  So if you have any recommendations I am all ears (or eyes in the case of a forum).

[PL1]

The desired goal:  Steady color always on.  Blue lights running to P1, Red lights to P2, Green lights to P3, Yellow Lights to P4 and some White lights to the other areas.  If you look on my artwork linked above in the thread you should see the areas I am talking about.  Around each set of player controls is a "hex grid".  Those are what I am doing the plexiglass cut-outs for.  I want to bevel the edges of those plexiglass cutouts and edge light them so the outer edges of each cut out light up in the color of the player (or neutral white for the spinner/admin button).
. . .
So (given my small understanding of wiring LEDs) I was going to not bother with a controller at all.  Just a direct wire with resistor coming from the PC power supply.  Basically I am looking for simple in this case.

What buttons do you have in mind?

You can mod buttons with LEDs like you linked, but you may want to consider buying buttons designed with built-in LED sockets and diffusers.

PROTIP: When you order the yellow LED buttons, make SURE that the vendor uses white (not yellow) LEDs in them, unless you want muddy orange buttons.   

Assuming that you use either GGG Spectralite or Paradise Arcade's translucent buttons, the easiest way to wire them is using two .250" daisy chains like these.

 

I like to turn the LEDs so the negative lead is on the side with the big black plastic tab on the switch holder -- black wire (-) goes with black tab and red (+) goes with the other tab like this.



BTW, you can run the Paradise 12v LEDs on 5v if you want to reduce the current draw like this.   


Scott

[AzureKnight]

I'm afraid I am not being clear (or attempting something really foolish). 

I am not lighting up the buttons.

I'll make sure I post the photos I have tonight but my intention is not to have the buttons light up at all.  The buttons will be in the plexiglass cutouts and the plexiglass will be lit.

For the moment I will do a little ASCII drawing, this is a profile of my cp.

 +  is hardboard
 -   is plexiglass
 =  cp wood
 L   LED light

   -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------    <-- Thin layer of covering plexi
   +++++-----P3-----+++++-----P1-----+++++-----P2-----+++++-----P4-----+++++   <-- The hardboard/plexi cutout mess
   ====L========L===L=======L====L=======L====L=======L====    <-- The wood CP with the LEDs coming up through it.


The plan here is to have the LED lights "hidden" under the hardboard portions and just lighting up the edges of the plexiglass cutouts.

This whole idea originated from a crazy thought I had.  The look of the art is to simulate a glass sci-fi looking touch screen for each set of controls.  So I got to thinking...what if I try to make each set of controls a plexiglass panel that lit up?  I don't know if I will succeed but that is the goal.

[AzureKnight]

PROTIP: When you order the yellow LED buttons, make SURE that the vendor uses white (not yellow) LEDs in them, unless you want muddy orange buttons.   

That is great to know, thank you.

Assuming that you use either GGG Spectralite or Paradise Arcade's translucent buttons, the easiest way to wire them is using two .250" daisy chains like these.

BTW, you can run the Paradise 12v LEDs on 5v if you want to reduce the current draw like this.   


Scott

Also very helpful, thank you.

[Generic Eric]

You want to do edge lighting like its done here?

[AzureKnight]

Eric,

Yes, sort of. 

As I mentioned in the first post of this thread Dark Neon was part of the inspiration for this.  But unlike his layout with has the entire plexiglass grooved and edge lit, I am attempting to edge light multiple smaller plexiglass inserts (what I have been calling the "cutouts").

Look at my photos above in the 3rd post.  There you can see the hardboard with the first hole cut out and the first plexiglass insert halfway cut (just the top of it is done at that point). 

I am attempting to edge light multiple places on the cp in different color.  There is another thinner piece of plexi sitting on top of the entire mess.

[PL1]

I'm afraid I am not being clear (or attempting something really foolish). 

I am not lighting up the buttons.

I'll make sure I post the photos I have tonight but my intention is not to have the buttons light up at all.  The buttons will be in the plexiglass cutouts and the plexiglass will be lit.

OK.  Now I'm getting the picture.

You're looking for a back-lit layer with a partly-translucent CPO on top.

HDPE like the quick-and-dirty 1/2" cutting board mockup here makes a great diffuser.



You could probably use 1/4" HDPE.

If you want to prevent the colors from bleeding together, cut the HDPE into the color areas and paint the edges between colors.


Scott

[AzureKnight]

Scott, that is an interesting option but I think I would have a different effect from that...

Let me add one more oddity to the mix here, my artwork.  I mentioned this in the original post but I will elaborate here.  I plan on cutting up my CP art.  Most of the art will live on top of the hardboard, but where the plexiglass inserts are, that art with the colored hex grids will sit below the plexiglass inserts.  In this case the HDPE would hide the artwork.

Now if I wanted to keep the art all on one layer, I could use the HDPE instead of the plexi as the cutouts and bottom light it all....that is a very interesting idea as well.

Assuming I understand what you are suggesting.  I'm not sure how that would look, it could be cool.

To take the crazy to the final level here is my ASCII with the artwork layer added in:

 +  is hardboard
 -   is plexiglass
 =  cp wood
 L   LED light
 A  artwork

   -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------    <-- Thin layer of covering plexi
   AAAAA                  AAAAA                 AAAAAA                AAAAAA                AAAAAA   <-- Artwork layer 1
   +++++-----P3-----+++++-----P1-----+++++-----P2-----+++++-----P4-----+++++   <-- The hardboard/plexi cutout mess
              AAAAAAAAA          AAAAAAAA            AAAAAAAA             AAAAAAAA              <-- Artwork layer 2
   ====L========L===L=======L====L=======L====L=======L====    <-- The wood CP with the LEDs coming up through it.

Will this crazy mess work?  I have no idea, in my head it sounds cool and I haven't seen anyone else try anything like it yet so I figured I would go for it.  I doubt I will ever have more than one cab, just the realities of my home life.  So I want to have some fun with this build and challenge myself and expand my skills.

If it works I'll be thrilled, if it fails I can just scrap all this stuff and have a nice normal CP 

[yotsuya]

I like the sound of the 3D idea and hope you can pull it off. 

[Generic Eric]

:erf:

Missed that. 

[PL1]

Without a diffusion layer between the LEDs and the 2nd artwork layer, you'll get hot spots.

An alternate approach is to edge-light the plexi part of the "hardboard/plexi cutout mess" by bending the LEDs horizontal and running the leads down through the CP.

Route a space for the LED in the under-side of the hardboard.


Scott

[diablo846]

azure you mentioned that you beveled the plexi i am not sure how thick the plexi is but if you want a nice polished look on the edges sand it down with fine sand paper till it is white in color and hit it with a torch... will give it a nice polished look, but will only work with plexi glass will not work with lexan try it on a scrap piece i think you will be happy with the results

[AzureKnight]

I took those photos last night:

Here you can see the core CP with the hardbard side by side with one of the plexiglass cutouts laying on top:


Hardboard lined up on top of the core CP:


With Plexiglass cutout in place:


This is a mocked up piece of wood that is simulating the core CP, I have some holes drilled into it and my Christmas lights fed up through the holes:


Mockup with the plexiglass lined up for reference:


Then entire mockup lights off:


The entire mockup lights on:


Lastly, I took a shot of the edge of the core CP where I routed down the thickness of the outer edge so that my T-molding will still fit with all of the hardboard/plexi on top.  The T-molding slot is offset as well but that is tough to see in the photo:


I should have snapped a photo with demo artwork in place but I didn't think of it, maybe tonight.

Overall the effect just isn't bright enough.  I think Scott's suggestion to tip the LED on edge is a good one.  I need to buy brighter LEDs I think, try to lay them parallel to the hardboard.  Both the hardboard and the plexiglass cutouts are 1/8" so I don't have a lot of room to cut into the hardboard, but I would like to at least reduce hotspots, while still maintaining the edge lighting of the bevel.

Any thoughts or other suggestions are very welcome in figuring this out.

[AzureKnight]

Missed that.

   No worries, I think most people just skimmed my original post and I understand why, "here is another first time builder cranking out a frankenpanel with -cade in the name, cool welcome to the club, I'll look at some photos as it finishes".

I suspect that because I have skimmed thread that way 

[AzureKnight]

Without a diffusion layer between the LEDs and the 2nd artwork layer, you'll get hot spots.

An alternate approach is to edge-light the plexi part of the "hardboard/plexi cutout mess" by bending the LEDs horizontal and running the leads down through the CP.

Route a space for the LED in the under-side of the hardboard.


Scott

I think this is a great suggestion, I would like to reduce the hotspots and I'm guessing it will help maximize the edge lighting as well.  I just don't have a lot of room to work with on a 1/8" thick hardboard.  I might have to route down into the core CP a bit too and try to angle it.  That's what scrap is for!

One question, this image looks like it has exposed wires, I'm pretty much a rookie in the electronics/wiring world.  Do I have to worry about that or is it fine because they are so low voltage?

[AzureKnight]

azure you mentioned that you beveled the plexi i am not sure how thick the plexi is but if you want a nice polished look on the edges sand it down with fine sand paper till it is white in color and hit it with a torch... will give it a nice polished look, but will only work with plexi glass will not work with lexan try it on a scrap piece i think you will be happy with the results

I have plexiglass, not lexan so that is fine.  I don't have a torch, are there other options?  Could I lightly run it through my stovetop flame?  Heat gun?  I know from what I have read that it has to be a quick pass or you warp/melt the piece too much.  I suppose I might be able to rent a torch.

With the artwork in place and this edge mostly facing the hardboard it won't be highly visible, so I guess my big question is will the fire polish make it light up better?

[Generic Eric]

I know it is difficult to take pictures of LEDS.  It looks like they are too far way.  I've bought some stuff for a project like yours, but its still on a shelf. 

I have LEDs very similar to the ones in this video.  Maybe you can do something similar.  The cool thing with that spool is you can cut shorter lengths from it.  Or connect it to more spools. 



Here are some instructables that go in detail about the different LED types.
http://www.instructables.com/id/Edge-Lit-Displays/
http://www.instructables.com/id/Edge-Lit-Acrylic-Sign/

[AzureKnight]

I know it is difficult to take pictures of LEDS.  It looks like they are too far way. 

The Xmas lights just barely poke out of the holes they are in so that they don't push up on the layer above.  I think Scott is right, I need to get them up out of the hole.  I also think the Xmas lights just diffuse too much of their light in every direction so it is lost.

I have LEDs very similar to the ones in this video.  Maybe you can do something similar.  The cool thing with that spool is you can cut shorter lengths from it.  Or connect it to more spools. 

I have a ribbon of LED for the side lighting I'm doing, they are cool.  I just couldn't figure out where to try to fit one into all of this.

[PL1]

One question, this image looks like it has exposed wires, I'm pretty much a rookie in the electronics/wiring world.  Do I have to worry about that or is it fine because they are so low voltage?

It's not wired up -- just slapped together a few bits to one-up your ASCII art.   

If you want to insulate the leads, just strip insulation off some wire and use that.

High voltage or low, unintentional short-circuits are never a good thing.


Scott

[AzureKnight]

It's not wired up -- just slapped together a few bits to one-up your ASCII art.   

If you want to insulate the leads, just strip insulation off some wire and use that.

High voltage or low, unintentional short-circuits are never a good thing.

That makes complete sense and it definitely is one up on my ASCII art 

OK, I'm liking this, I think I have to place an order for those LEDs that I can start playing with.

If I just want them steady on, I can just buy the right color LED and wire it into the PC power supply without any controller correct (with resistor of course)?

[PL1]

Easiest way to wire those Button Blaster LEDs is to use GGG euro-style terminals cut into 3-terminal pieces.

Mount the terminals on the underside of the CP and bend the LED leads into a U-shape for easy removal/replacement.   

   -- LED
  |
   -- Terminals

Connect one red wire to the molex 5v (red) and one black wire to the molex ground (black), daisy chain as many more as you want using the second red and black wires. 


Scott
EDIT: Also remember to calculate the current draw based on how many LEDs you use to ensure you use a large enough wire gauge.

[Generic Eric]

I really like where this is going.  Thank goodness this is Friday.  At this rate, there is a good chance Scott is going to have a full blown mock up.

+1

[AzureKnight]

I really like where this is going.  Thank goodness this is Friday.  At this rate, there is a good chance Scott is going to have a full blown mock up.

+1

 

Scott and Eric thank you, this is exactly what I need.  I'm going to place a GGG order this weekend after I do a bit more ready and some tinkering.  Thank you both.  More to come!

[PL1]

I really like where this is going.  Thank goodness this is Friday.  At this rate, there is a good chance Scott is going to have a full blown mock up.

+1

Just pulled parts out of the parts bins and bent one resistor.   


Scott

[diablo846]

azure you mentioned that you beveled the plexi i am not sure how thick the plexi is but if you want a nice polished look on the edges sand it down with fine sand paper till it is white in color and hit it with a torch... will give it a nice polished look, but will only work with plexi glass will not work with lexan try it on a scrap piece i think you will be happy with the results

I have plexiglass, not lexan so that is fine.  I don't have a torch, are there other options?  Could I lightly run it through my stovetop flame?  Heat gun?  I know from what I have read that it has to be a quick pass or you warp/melt the piece too much.  I suppose I might be able to rent a torch.

With the artwork in place and this edge mostly facing the hardboard it won't be highly visible, so I guess my big question is will the fire polish make it light up better?

[diablo846]

azure you mentioned that you beveled the plexi i am not sure how thick the plexi is but if you want a nice polished look on the edges sand it down with fine sand paper till it is white in color and hit it with a torch... will give it a nice polished look, but will only work with plexi glass will not work with lexan try it on a scrap piece i think you will be happy with the results

I have plexiglass, not lexan so that is fine.  I don't have a torch, are there other options?  Could I lightly run it through my stovetop flame?  Heat gun?  I know from what I have read that it has to be a quick pass or you warp/melt the piece too much.  I suppose I might be able to rent a torch.

With the artwork in place and this edge mostly facing the hardboard it won't be highly visible, so I guess my big question is will the fire polish make it light up better?

azure you mentioned that you beveled the plexi i am not sure how thick the plexi is but if you want a nice polished look on the edges sand it down with fine sand paper till it is white in color and hit it with a torch... will give it a nice polished look, but will only work with plexi glass will not work with lexan try it on a scrap piece i think you will be happy with the results

I have plexiglass, not lexan so that is fine.  I don't have a torch, are there other options?  Could I lightly run it through my stovetop flame?  Heat gun?  I know from what I have read that it has to be a quick pass or you warp/melt the piece too much.  I suppose I might be able to rent a torch.

With the artwork in place and this edge mostly facing the hardboard it won't be highly visible, so I guess my big question is will the fire polish make it light up better?

yes the polished edge will show the light better and yes you will have to do it fast, that is why i say use a scrap piece first you might not like the results after it is lit up but i am pretty sure that you will, something to keep in mind is the smoother the sand paper the faster it will polish due to the finer scrathes melting faster. And honestly azure i have never tried it with a heat gun i would be worried that you would have to hold it on there too long and the plexi would warp

[PL1]

If you do the flame polishing trick, be sure that no alcohol (Windex, etc.) comes in contact with it.

See the thread here for more info.




Scott

[Generic Eric]

zoinks indeed!  Listen to that guy.  He has a bandage on 2/3rds of his hand!

OTOH if you are making backlit plexi snow flakes...go for it!

[AzureKnight]

Easiest way to wire those Button Blaster LEDs is to use GGG euro-style terminals cut into 3-terminal pieces.

Mount the terminals on the underside of the CP and bend the LED leads into a U-shape for easy removal/replacement.   

   -- LED
  |
   -- Terminals

Connect one red wire to the molex 5v (red) and one black wire to the molex ground (black), daisy chain as many more as you want using the second red and black wires. 


Scott
EDIT: Also remember to calculate the current draw based on how many LEDs you use to ensure you use a large enough wire gauge.

Would those Eurostyle Terminals work if I bring 1 hot line in to a single resistor, then put say 4 wires coming out to four different LEDs (and of course 4 black lines, one to each LED as well).

That way I could basically have one euro connector/resistor feeding 4 blue lights for P1, one set for red lights for P2, etc.

[PL1]

Easiest way to wire those Button Blaster LEDs is to use GGG euro-style terminals cut into 3-terminal pieces.

Mount the terminals on the underside of the CP and bend the LED leads into a U-shape for easy removal/replacement.   

   -- LED
  |
   -- Terminals

Connect one red wire to the molex 5v (red) and one black wire to the molex ground (black), daisy chain as many more as you want using the second red and black wires. 


Scott
EDIT: Also remember to calculate the current draw based on how many LEDs you use to ensure you use a large enough wire gauge.

Would those Eurostyle Terminals work if I bring 1 hot line in to a single resistor, then put say 4 wires coming out to four different LEDs (and of course 4 black lines, one to each LED as well).

That way I could basically have one euro connector/resistor feeding 4 blue lights for P1, one set for red lights for P2, etc.

4 LEDs * 20mA (current draw per LED) * 5v (operating voltage) = 400mW (power per group of LEDs)

You could use a single 1/2 Watt (500mW) resistor of the proper resistance to feed 4 LEDs.

The limiting factor is the number of wires that you can secure in one position on the terminal strip.   

To avoid overstuffed/poor connections, use a 5-position (9-position if you want to include the grounds) jumpered strip similar to what AJ did for his RGB LEDs on The Blue Pill. (red, yellow, and blue wires are the jumpers)



The first position is the input, connected to the resistor, which connects to the first output and is jumpered to the three other outputs.

Each individual LED would need a 2-position strip to connect to the leads and act as an easy-change mount.

Full setup:

                  molex connector
                            |
      _____molex jumper strip__________________________________________
      |                                       |                                       |                                       |
__P1 jumpers___             __P2 jumpers___              __P3 jumpers___             __P4 jumpers___
|       |       |       |              |       |       |       |              |       |       |       |              |       |       |       |
LED1 LED2 LED3 LED4       LED1 LED2 LED3 LED4       LED1 LED2 LED3 LED4       LED1 LED2 LED3 LED4


Scott

[AzureKnight]

Scott,

Thank you so much.  That is exactly the advice/instruction I needed.  That is a great setup, ordering parts now...I'll keep you all posted as things progress.

[AzureKnight]

I'm overdue to post an update.  I've finished cutting out all of the plexiglass panels.  I have them all beveled and sanded down.  It was a lot of work and I'm sure the craftsmanship is not going to win any awards but I have to say I'm proud of the way they turned out so far for my first attempt at working with plexiglass.  I can say that the last one I did came out a lot faster and better looking than the first one so my skills decidedly improved.

Here is a shot of the cp with the panels all in place.



One thing I can say for sure, I didn't create my artwork with this plan in mind.  This idea evolved AFTER I had spent money to print the artwork.  Had that not been the case I would have made the panels much simpler in shape.  I put the artwork under the panel to see how it all lined up and I am pretty close.  P4 is a bit off but I'm pretty sure some black/grey paint will hide any misalignment well enough.  Getting all of this to line up perfectly has been difficult.

I received my LEDs and euro connectors from Groovy Game Gear in good time and I've begun to wire up a set of LEDs off of the PC power supply.  I will snap some photos of that as I get more done.  I have to say that I am really anxious to get one set wired up so I can experiment with mounting them in relation to the plexiglass panels.  I want to see how well they will light up.

If this fails epicly, when I am done crying, I may try a technique like wp34 used here in this Tron build:


I have also managed to get most of the rest of the hardware into the cabinet as well.  The coin door is mounted, the bezel is cut to size, the hinges are on the front door, the cp clamps are on, the top rear is mounted with bolts into insert screws so I can get to the back of the monitor if I ever need to.  The only hardware left is for the cp top mounting but I don't want to do that yet.

[AzureKnight]

Last night I sat down to do some soldering.  I haven't used a soldering gun since grade school shop class so I watched a few videos to refresh myself on the basics, grabbed my new shiny soldering gun and....waited....and waited....for it to heat up.  Finally, some heat so I tinned the tip....set the soldering gun to the scrap wire I was practicing on....and....nothing.....still nothing. 

The stupid piece of ---steaming pile of meadow muffin--- soldering gun that I bought ($20 at a local hardware store) wasn't strong enough to heat the wire sufficiently to melt the solder.  I ended up wasting all the time I had free last night with no progress.  It is really the first time I've completely wasted time on this since construction began and I know many of you here have had to do/redo things over and over.  But it was still really annoying.  I returned the thing this morning and I'm going to grab a 40 watt one on my way home (that one was 17 watt and I was too inexperienced to know that just isn't strong enough, my bad for not researching better I guess).

Hopefully tonight I get some free time to try again!

[PL1]

soldering gun

Two things:

1. Get a soldering iron like this. . .


. . . not a gun like this.


2. If the iron comes with a pointy tip like ST7 you may want to get a replacement tip more like ST2.


A flat tip surface makes better heat-conducting contact than a round tip surface.

You don't need a powerful iron, just a clean tip that makes good heat-conducting contact.


Scott

[AzureKnight]

Thanks Scott, that is good to know. 

I should have been more clear, the first one I got was a Weller wand style 17 watt soldering iron (I tend to call them all soldering guns which I shouldn't).


I was thinking about grabbing one of these on the way home from Radio Shack (which looks Exactly like your image ironically enough).  I know it is cheap but I'm hoping it will get the job done for this project.  I just don't have much cash to drop on a soldering iron  a this point.  My other option is one from Harbour Freight but that is $4 and I just don't trust it to work.
http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2062738

It does have a pointy tip so I can see if they sell alternate ones there. 

Out of curiosity are there any crimp connectors that work well with LED/resistors that I could just crimp them to the wires?

[Slippyblade]

The Radio Shack one is fine.  I've had one for years, just keep the tip clean and you are good to go.  Something to consider on your existing iron though...  remove the tip, clean the contact surface down where it mates with the heating element and then re-seat the tip.  If it's been a long time since you used it, the contact point between heat element and tip may have oxidized - and that stuff is a near perfect heat insulator.  Cleaning it off will allow the heat to transfer to the tip better.

[wp34]

I like your progress so far.  You will absolutely love having that monitor.  Are you planning to use GroovyMame to take advantage of the multiple resolutions it can display?

[AzureKnight]

The Radio Shack one is fine.  I've had one for years, just keep the tip clean and you are good to go.  Something to consider on your existing iron though...  remove the tip, clean the contact surface down where it mates with the heating element and then re-seat the tip.  If it's been a long time since you used it, the contact point between heat element and tip may have oxidized - and that stuff is a near perfect heat insulator.  Cleaning it off will allow the heat to transfer to the tip better.

Good to know about the Radio Shack one, that makes me feel better about buying it.  As for the existing one, it was brand new, first time used.  I returned it to the store this morning.

But I will keep this in mind about maintaining the new one.

[AzureKnight]

I like your progress so far.  You will absolutely love having that monitor.  Are you planning to use GroovyMame to take advantage of the multiple resolutions it can display?

To be fully honest, I didn't know that GroovyMame supported that.   

It certainly warrants looking into it and trying it out.  From a quick glance it looks like it wants to run on Linux with specific hardware.  I have an older XP desktop and I don't recall what video card is in it.  I'll have to look better when I get home.  I'm not sure I would be keen on doing a full wipe/Linux install.  I have MaLa/Emulators up and running now on the system.
 
 

[PL1]

are there any crimp connectors that work well with LED/resistors that I could just crimp them to the wires?

Use euro-terminals for the easiest connection, just like you did with the wires.   

just keep the tip clean and you are good to go.  Something to consider on your existing iron though...  remove the tip, clean the contact surface down where it mates with the heating element and then re-seat the tip.  If it's been a long time since you used it, the contact point between heat element and tip may have oxidized - and that stuff is a near perfect heat insulator.  Cleaning it off will allow the heat to transfer to the tip better.

Slippy speaks great truth here.   

At a minimum, when you're done soldering, clean the tip (wipe on damp soldering sponge) then re-tin the tip with solder to prevent oxidation/corrosion.


Scott

[AzureKnight]

I'm not sure I will have the room to use the Euro terminals.  The LEDs are going to be on top/in of the CP.  I need to get a set wired up to play with to determine the best position for them.

I know I say this a lot...but I don't care, thanks for the advice guys.  It makes life so much easier and more fun to learn from people that know their stuff.

[wp34]

I like your progress so far.  You will absolutely love having that monitor.  Are you planning to use GroovyMame to take advantage of the multiple resolutions it can display?

To be fully honest, I didn't know that GroovyMame supported that.   

It certainly warrants looking into it and trying it out.  From a quick glance it looks like it wants to run on Linux with specific hardware.  I have an older XP desktop and I don't recall what video card is in it.  I'll have to look better when I get home.  I'm not sure I would be keen on doing a full wipe/Linux install.  I have MaLa/Emulators up and running now on the system.
 

GroovyMame works with XP although you will need a specific graphics card.  You should be able to pick one up off eBay for $10-15 though.   

I can't recommend it enough.  Paperboy looks so good it almost brings tears to my eyes.   

[yotsuya]

Thanks Scott, that is good to know. 

I should have been more clear, the first one I got was a Weller wand style 17 watt soldering iron (I tend to call them all soldering guns which I shouldn't).


I was thinking about grabbing one of these on the way home from Radio Shack (which looks Exactly like your image ironically enough).  I know it is cheap but I'm hoping it will get the job done for this project.  I just don't have much cash to drop on a soldering iron  a this point.  My other option is one from Harbour Freight but that is $4 and I just don't trust it to work.
http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2062738

It does have a pointy tip so I can see if they sell alternate ones there. 

Out of curiosity are there any crimp connectors that work well with LED/resistors that I could just crimp them to the wires?

I dropped about $100 on a variable temperature Hakko soldering iron. Never again with the cheapies! 

[AzureKnight]

Last night I decided to give things another try and they didn't go well at all.  I opened the new soldering iron from Radio Shack with optimism.  This was a 40 watt model and I figured it would be stronger than the 17 watt model that failed me.  I set it up, let it heat for 5-10 minutes.  When I tried to tin the tip, nothing happened.  I tried near the tip, nothing happened.  I tried a spot lower down on the long tapered tip, and it was hot, melted the solder instantly.  But basically the only hot spots I could find were sporadic and near where the tapering ended on the tip.

Oh well, I thought, I'll just try to use the hot spots.  Hold the iron to the wire...nothing...the wire would warm but no matter how long I held it there (10 minutes in one attempt) the wire just wouldn't heat up enough to melt the solder.  Did I get a second faulty unit in a row?  Is the tip just cheap?  Do I just not know what I am doing?  How long should you have to hold the iron to the wire for it to get hot enough?

In the end my tendency is to blame the equipment, but others seem to succeed with it, so perhaps I'm just soldering impaired?  I wasted another hour with no progress to show for it.

So, would buying a new tip help?  Buying yet another iron (are the cheap ones that commonly faulty that I could have gotten two bad ones in a row?)?  Find someone who knows how to solder and ensure I'm just not screwing something up?  Give up on soldering?

I have to say the last option is looking really appealing, I don't have the resources right now to drop on a more expensive soldering iron (upcoming vacation, wife would kill me).  I honestly think that is the best answer is to just get good equipment.

That being said, is there any reason crimping is a bad idea?


I could finish the job like this in a night probably...is there any reason I shouldn't?

[yamatetsu]

This sounds like you try to heat the wire up so that it melts the solder. It doesn't work that way. You have to hold the tip of the solder iron on the solder, which will then melt. Now you can put it on the wire, where it will cool and get solid.

[AzureKnight]

This sounds like you try to heat the wire up so that it melts the solder. It doesn't work that way. You have to hold the tip of the solder iron on the solder, which will then melt. Now you can put it on the wire, where it will cool and get solid.

Yes, I did try to heat the wire to melt the solder...that is what the instructions on the iron said to do as well as several training videos I watched on Youtube:



Is that incorrect?

[yamatetsu]

I'm no expert at soldering, in fact, I suck pretty much at it, but I place the wire where it has to go, hold the solder near it and melt the solder with the tip of the solder iron. After that I remove the solder iron and let the solder get cool.

In your case, I would melt the solder over the leg of the LED and let it cool off, so that it clings to the leg. Then I would hold the wire near the cooled solder, heat the solder up, stick the wire in and let it cool off again.

Look at this video, start at about 7:15. It's in german, but you can see what he is doing.

[dkersten]

If your solder pen is way hot, then just melting the solder onto the cold wire will usually work, but it is not a good way to go.  Solder will not flow onto copper unless the copper is hot enough, but the super hot tip will heat the copper up fast and allow this method to work, but that much heat is dangerous. Copper is a REALLY good conductor of heat, and it will pipe that heat right to things that shouldn't be heated up like that, destroying electronic devices or even just melting the insulation or other plastic things around it.  If the heat isn't high enough, you might get the solder to start to flow onto the copper, but it will solidify too fast and you end up with a cold joint.  Flux will help molten solder flow onto the wire or terminal at a lower temp, but it still isn't a good substitute for using the right temperature and method.

Ideally you want to hit the wire (or terminal or whatever) first, then apply the solder when the wire is hotter (being careful not to overheat the wire), and then the solder will flow over the metal you are soldering.  This should only take a fraction of a second.  With a good solder pen, you can control the heat so you have just enough to melt the solder but not enough to cause problems with the surrounding electronics.  But at that temp, you probably won't get a good solder joint by just melting solder onto the cold wire. 

One method that works really well is to "tin" everything first.. Touch the solder tip to the wire, and after a brief moment, hit it with the solder and the solder will melt and flow right onto the wire.  Then do the same for the other wire, board surface, or terminal you are soldering to.  Then connect the two together, hold them as firmly together as you can, and hit the connection with a properly tinned solder tip, and the solder will briefly melt, the two ends will make contact, and the solder will solidify with decent contact being made between the two ends.  If you do this right, you can hold the wire or other parts less than an inch from the solder point and your fingers will never feel uncomfortably hot because you never apply too much heat, yet you get a good solder joint.  But if you move the connection before the solder is cooled off, you can get a cold solder joint that will be a poor conductor and can break off really easily.

You also don't want solder to be the connection between the two points, you want the solder to be surrounding the connection and holding it in place and sealing it up so it can't corrode.  Solder is not a great conductor in itself.

[PL1]

Last night I decided to give things another try and they didn't go well at all.  I opened the new soldering iron from Radio Shack with optimism.  This was a 40 watt model and I figured it would be stronger than the 17 watt model that failed me.  I set it up, let it heat for 5-10 minutes.  When I tried to tin the tip, nothing happened.  I tried near the tip, nothing happened.  I tried a spot lower down on the long tapered tip, and it was hot, melted the solder instantly.  But basically the only hot spots I could find were sporadic and near where the tapering ended on the tip.

Tip won't melt solder after iron warms up = definitely a defective iron or tip.

Take some solder when you return it and verify that the replacement works before you leave the store.

If they won't let you verify before you leave, get a refund and never go back to that store.

Oh well, I thought, I'll just try to use the hot spots.  Hold the iron to the wire...nothing...the wire would warm but no matter how long I held it there (10 minutes in one attempt) the wire just wouldn't heat up enough to melt the solder.

You have to hold the tip of the solder iron on the solder, which will then melt.

I agree with this part of Yamatetsu's post.

A little solder on the tip helps with heat transfer (greater surface area contact than with a solder-free tip)

The method you described is the best way to avoid cold solder joints while making sure you don't spend too much time (shouldn't take more than 2-3 seconds MAX) and cook the LED.

If you use the iron to apply the solder, it boils off the flux (assuming rosin core solder) before you can solder the joint.

If you use a separate flux source like a flux pen, Yamatetsu's method works.

The video he posted is a not-so great example of how to get mechanical and electrical contact. 

That being said, is there any reason crimping is a bad idea?

Crimps rely on the stranded wire being crimped compressing slightly which provides some outward pressure when the crimper releases.

Solid core wire doesn't compress = no outward pressure = much weaker crimp that can sometimes come loose with a slight twist.

Solid-core wire won't work well with crimps unless you bend it around in a tight overlapping loop like a paperclip and crunch the loop down a bit with pliers so it will fit into the crimp -- not easy, but it will work in a pinch.




Scott

[AzureKnight]

Thanks all, that helps, looks like it is back to the store for another return....third times the charm right?

[AzureKnight]

My third soldering iron finally met with success!!!    The tip still doesn't heat fully everywhere but most of it heats now.  I think I will buy another tip for it and see if that helps.  Regardless, I was able to solder up my first string of LEDs!!!

I wired them up to the euro-terminal which held the resistors and wired all of that to the 5v line on an aux 4 pin molex on my PC.  It wasn't the prettiest soldering but the shrink tubing hides all that anyways 




After a month of cutting/sanding plexiglass, cutting hardboard, lining everything up, working on the wiring, etc. I was thrilled when the LEDs fired up and I was even happier to see the panel light up the way I had hoped it would.

I tried several methods LEDs all on top, all on the bottom, spread around.

The lights all around just didn't do as good of a job lighting the panel:



The lights on the bottom worked well I thought but unfortunately I don't have the physical space on the CP below the panels to run the wires up.



I think this is the route I will go, all four lights on top.  In this photo I put a piece of my scrap artwork on top of the lights to see how bad the bleed there is.  And there is some, I think I can take care of that with a thin piece of plastic, or maybe electrical tape like I did on the far right light.  Overall I will say that these photos do not do the final product justice.  The hot spots on the panel are FAR less pronounced on the actual panel.  My phone camera just isn't that great and my good camera is somewhat out of commission.


Another round of big thanks  to all of you guys.  I was so happy to see this look as good as it does. 

Next up is for me to line up the exact holes for mounting these in the CP and cut out slots for the LEDs in the hard board.  My one remaining challenge is that the LEDs are a bit thicker than the hardboard, so I either have to recess slightly into the CP for the LED (and worry that I lose some glow) or I try to grind away part of the LED.  I saw one video online of someone that did this to make the LED thinner.  If anyone has any thoughts/warnings/technique suggestions on that topic I am very open to them.

 

PS. I'm cheering a lot here, because last night, when I was super excited to see a months worth of work result in success, my wife came into the basement.  I tell her "Look!!! It works!", her response, "meh, whatever...  "  She tolerates my hobby, barely, so I come here to share my excitement!
 

[Slippyblade]

Always feel like a little kid at Christmas when that power is applied the first time and things light up.  Oooooo, shiny!

Congrats on a major step on the path.

[PL1]

Looks good.   


Scott

[AzureKnight]

Work was slowed a bit by a vacation to Washington DC.  I'm back to work now.

Fiddling around with all that hardboard/plexiglass cutting/led test wiring was a slow process for me.  There was a lot of learning involved and I didn't do things as efficiently as I could have to be sure.  I say this because I find it funny that sometimes you can make a lot of "progress" but it just doesn't feel that way.   Other times you take a step and it feels like you are a leap closer to the goal.  That is what just happened for me.  I got the cab painted and it suddenly feels soooo much closer.



Tonight hopefully I can start mounting speakers/marquee and light.  Then on to the CP wiring of controls and LEDs!!!!!

[AzureKnight]

Painting is done, marquee is up with the speaker grills.  I tried to take a picture of it lit, but the lighting was crushing my poor phone camera.  The lighting on it came out really well though.  I also put up the bezel, some of the chrome T-molding and mounted the coin door.

These steps go faster and it is really all coming together.

[Slippyblade]

Good job so far.  But I really wanna see how that CP comes together.  That concept will make or break the cab.

[AzureKnight]

Good job so far.  But I really wanna see how that CP comes together.  That concept will make or break the cab.

You are quite right, so I'm building suspense 

Actually, I want to get all the construction done and then I can just focus on the wiring.  All my plexiglass is now cut for the button holes as of last night.  Tonight I will clean up the plexi edges and then it is on to wiring LEDs and mounting the CP hardware...

[Generic Eric]

How is this coming?  You had a real neat idea!

[AzureKnight]

It is going slowly, I had a small "distraction".  I had to gut a half bathroom and move a wall    That has pretty much sucked most of my free time for the last few weeks.  I'm done drywalling now so it will be paint/floor/toilet/cabinet installation.  I was going to hold off on that room until the spring but the timetable was moved up on me.  I'm still hoping to have the arcade machine functional by Thanksgiving...but it is going to be close.  I was going to hold off on posting another update until it was all glowing, but since you asked!

I got all the joystick bases top mounted.

I cut grooves into the hardboard for the LED lights to lay down in and point at the plexi panels and drilled the holes for the LEDs to come up through.


I then cut up the artwork...that was nerve wracking.  That was a point of no return really.  Up to this point I could scrap the idea and just lay the artwork flat.  I don't have a photo of the "top" layer of art but I'll post one soon.  Here you can see the cut out art sitting below the individual player plexiglass.  The LEDs are poking out and two of them have been taped down to stay aligned with the plexi.  The one button is just installed for now to play clamp and hold it all in place. 



Last shot has all the LEDs in and taped down.  I have a bit of wiring to do under the panel for them to all light.  I used Scott's suggestion to mount via the Euroterminal connectors and it worked great.  I have each player on a connection and they all work fine, I just have to wire up an input connector that can split out to each of the player connectors, but the bathroom has stalled that out. 



Once that wiring is done I will power it all up to test and see it in action, then I will pull those buttons and lay the rest of the artwork over the top of the hardboard and lay the top piece of plexiglass over top of all of it.  Then it will be on to the joysticks and buttons.  Honestly, I'm so anxious and excited to see it all up and running!!

I really didn't design my artwork with this concept in mind, the idea came to me after I printed.  So there are a lot of small angles and corners.  It was really tough to get everything to line up.  Things are off a bit here and there.  In the end though they don't jump out at you and I will probably be the only one that ever notices.

[AzureKnight]

You can also see in the second photo above, that I filed down the LEDs so that they would have a thinner profile and fit in the 1/8" thick hardboard.

[AzureKnight]

Here is the shot of the artwork once I cut out all the panels:



And now the moment anyone following this thread has been waiting for....everything lit.  I had a free half hour last night after putting the first coat of paint on the bathroom.   So I finished the wiring:





 

The camera does not do it justice at all.  It is perfect, they pop and glow beautifully without being over bearing.  There is almost no bleed outside of the panels themselves.  There are of course some hotspots but the are actually fainter than they are in the photo.

 

A very big thank you goes out to all of you that helped with advice so far on this thread (especially Slippyblade, Generic Eric and of course Scott/PL1).

Tonight I will hopefully get the rest of the art mounted then I can drop the top plexiglass cover on and start the CP wiring.

[horizon]

Nice work buddy!  Just read through this build!

[Louis Tully]

.

[AzureKnight]

Thanks guys, I like LED effects but the glowing buttons were just too much for me.  I loved the edge lit builds like Dark Neon but I wanted different colors for different players.  I settled on this "new" idea.  After working on it though I found out it wasn't fully new (and to be honest I'm not surprised).  There is another build on here that has inset edge lit panels but they are all the same color and done a bit differently.  I lost the link to it though...I have to find it and post it in here.  It was green with swappable panels (that should be enough for Scott to instantly know what build it is I'm guessing...)

I have you all to thank too, your great builds (Louis your Mario build is amazing) pushed me to think outside the box.  Now for the real fun!

[Slippyblade]

I have to say, when you first started talking about your concept, I didn't have a lot of faith in the outcome.  I love being proven wrong though.  This is coming together very neatly.  Good job!

[Generic Eric]

Looking great!  I'd like to do something like this for that broforce cab.

I think that new Akuma/evil Ryu could benefit from this treatment.

[PL1]

There is another build on here that has inset edge lit panels but they are all the same color and done a bit differently.  I lost the link to it though...I have to find it and post it in here.  It was green with swappable panels

Sounds like Weisshaupt's "The Ghost in the Machine" here.

   


Scott

[yotsuya]

 

[AzureKnight]

There is another build on here that has inset edge lit panels but they are all the same color and done a bit differently.  I lost the link to it though...I have to find it and post it in here.  It was green with swappable panels

Sounds like Weisshaupt's "The Ghost in the Machine" here.

   

Scott

As always, you are correct.  Thank you.   

[AzureKnight]

Looking great!  I'd like to do something like this for that broforce cab.

I think that new Akuma/evil Ryu could benefit from this treatment.

I have to say, when you first started talking about your concept, I didn't have a lot of faith in the outcome.  I love being proven wrong though.  This is coming together very neatly.  Good job!

Thank you guys!  I'm glad you like it so far  . 

Tonight I should have the plexi fully on.  I tried to fit the top piece last night and a few of the button holes just didn't line up perfect.  That has been my biggest challenge.  With the MDO + Hardboard + Plexiglass inserts + Artwork x 2 + Top Plexiglass all floating around layered up it is hard to keep it all precisely aligned.

It has been really fun though, knowing that many of you are enjoying watching along makes it even better.

[IAmDotorg]

This sounds like you try to heat the wire up so that it melts the solder. It doesn't work that way. You have to hold the tip of the solder iron on the solder, which will then melt. Now you can put it on the wire, where it will cool and get solid.

That's actually a good way to get cold solder joints. You always heat the component and melt the solder to it, not the other way around. That's why its important to have a properly powerful soldering iron with the right tip so you can heat the junction point fast enough to melt the solder before too much heat diffuses into the component.

[AzureKnight]

Some long over due updates to this thread.  Including a lot of photos that I took throughout the entire build but never posted.

First off, as has been noted in a few other threads I fixed several issues I was having with controls acting funny as well as the coin doors not working right and "coin error" messages popping up.  They were all due to the fact that I wired up my coin door switches wrong,  I assumed the prong closest to the ground was NO like my joystick/button switches but this wasn't the case, that was the NC prong.   

Next up, I have been completely trapped in Functional but not Finished mode.  I'm having so much fun playing all these games that I haven't seen in 20+ years.  It is great!!!   But that also means when I get a few hours of free time throughout the week I tend to play rather than work on it.

Up first some photos of the construction.  We basically cut all the MDO first like a kit and then did a full assembly.  We ended up using 2x4s for the framing, over kill to be sure but I wanted it stable.  The guy in the photo is my uncle, who is largely responsible for this cabinet actually being straight!  He taught me so much about wood working in this process.













The routing ended up so precise I didn't even need bolts to hold the joysticks in......I still used them of course.

[AzureKnight]

Here it is all assembled, the front door is fully hinged, the lower back panel is fixed in place.  The top back panel is held in by 4 bolts that go into set screws so that I can remove it if need be to access the monitor/lighting.  The marquee front is actually stair trim held in place by velcro so it can be accessed.

[AzureKnight]

Painting and T-Molding going in!

[AzureKnight]

And now on to the Hardboard/Plexiglass panels for each individual player.  This all sits on top of the wood CP but below the final plexiglass cover

[AzureKnight]

Some views inside, under the hood, from the back....I really, really need to clean up the wiring now that I have it all working.  I didn't want to bundle anything when it still had so many issues.

[AzureKnight]

The current state of things:

[bfauska]

Wow, some of the little bits of that cab are definitely different than my tastes but those colored glowing shapes around the each player's controls are pretty freaking sweet. Good work.

[harveybirdman]

Wow, some of the little bits of that cab are definitely different than my tastes but those colored glowing shapes around the each player's controls are pretty freaking sweet. Good work.

+1 I hate LED's and it KILLS me that there is a dedicated four way and a trigger stick on this (you better play LOTS of Afterburner), but there is no denying that the form of the player specific panels  and the CP overlay in general is mighty cool. 

[Generic Eric]

Looking forward to a pic of the game on with the lights out.

[AzureKnight]

Wow, some of the little bits of that cab are definitely different than my tastes but those colored glowing shapes around the each player's controls are pretty freaking sweet. Good work.

+1 I hate LED's and it KILLS me that there is a dedicated four way and a trigger stick on this (you better play LOTS of Afterburner), but there is no denying that the form of the player specific panels  and the CP overlay in general is mighty cool.

Thank you both I'll admit I'm happy that others find some merit in it, this forum helped me so much and it pushed me to try something new.  Like some here I'm not a fan of fully lit buttons and joysticks.  A few machines (Flynn's Arcade and a couple of others) have been done nicely but some are over the top for my tastes.  This was an attempt to add some effects without going over the top.

I'll be honest, I'm not 100% thrilled about the fact that it is a Frankenpanel.  But my Wife Acceptance Factor is very low, so this may be the only machine I may be able to build so it became a matter of Function over Form and try to make the nicest Frankenpanel I could.  Harveybirdman, I don't play much Afterburner but I do play Assault very regularly.  The intent was also to have a spinner on there for Tron giving the trigger stick some more use.  But I ran short of funds so I plugged a Zippy dedicated four way in that spot.  Given some time to work on the wife I am going to try to get her to sign off on another one...if that happens I'll most likely pull some controls off of this one and leave it a pure 4 player (I do get 4 players on it about once a month or so).

Eric, I'm working a double tonight but this weekend I will get a photo in the full dark.  I wish my photography skills were better, I honestly think the photos of the LED look kind of crappy.

Thanks for the kind feed back!

[coyo5050]

I like how each player specific panel ties in together with one color theme. Good use of negative space by not including any other graphics and letting those player panels be the design defines the CP well and makes the Frankenpanel seem much cleaner.  Your using Mala as your frontend?

[Generic Eric]

Eric, I'm working a double tonight but this weekend I will get a photo in the full dark.  I wish my photography skills were better, I honestly think the photos of the LED look kind of crappy.

Take your time.  Don't miss working doubles.  Anyway, consider adjusting some settings on your camera.

In the examples here, white, red, green and blue LEDs are installed on a Peggy 2 board. In dim room incandescent lighting, we gradually increased the shutter speed. Starting with low shutter speeds, the LED colors gradually become visible. As shutter speeds increase further, the camera sensor gets saturated and all of the LEDs appear white. Finding that sweet spot will vary depending on your camera, your LEDs, and the ambient lighting.
If you want to play around with your aperture and shutter speed, it will help immensely if you have a tripod. Longer shutter speeds are hard to do (even with image stabilization) without a tripod, and as you narrow your aperture, you’ll want to see how long you can extend your shutter speed. A tripod also lets you get multiple shots of the same subject with different settings so you can really compare your results.

[taylormadelv]

Makes me feel better about my wiring! Everyone here posts pics of immaculate wiring under their control panels. Nice to see a "candid" shot!

[Slippyblade]

Wire bomb!  *BOOOOOOOM*

[AzureKnight]

Wire bomb!  *BOOOOOOOM*

 

This is a construction thread, I will clean up the wiring but I figured why not show the mess as it exists today.  You can also see my foolishly purchased IPac2 on there as well.  I'll be removing that at some point also.

Your using Mala as your frontend?

Yes, I am using Mala.  I actually found a theme I liked and modified it some.