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

[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.