Messatsu Arcade (Atari Showcase and NARC conversion cabinet) first Build EVER!

[atxscarface]

I know this is a book! Sorry, a lot was done!

Project Inspiration:
Well I noticed that my old arcade sticks were not getting much use being only used for console games (PS3). One fine day mid-October, I was helping my dad run some Cat5 cable throughout the house and we came to the garage. Noticed my brother's old NARC cabinet sitting there and he had moved out years ago. Gave him a call and gave the ok to take the cabinet home. There you go, free NARC cabinet. Originally I figured I would restore it but it had too many problems that were beyond my knowledge at the time (CRT was busted, Coin door was jammed, Wiring was damaged, sound was garbled).

So, from there my first thought was to convert this cab into a MAME cabinet and update the components.

The joysticks and buttons I already had were a black and red theme, so rather than buying all new components I went with something to match the theme. Why not the 2 baddest mofos on SFIV that naturally have that black and red aura themed around them....Evil Ryu and Akuma)

I am a craigslist lurker and am always looking for deals. Luckily Lockhart, TX had a guy closing shop on an Arcade down there and I was lucky enough to grab half of an Atari 33 Showcase cabinet, half being the monitor side, no control panel. Hauled it from Lockhart to Leander, TX and began contemplating. Sure enough, noticed the monitor side of the Narc cabby easily detached when removing the four housing bolts from the inside, and wuala! We have ourselves our project!




What it plays:
Frontend for Hyperspin took some time but configured for the following systems:
Atari 2600, Atari 7800, Colecovision, Taito Type X, Nintendo, SNES, Naomi, Atomiswave, PS2, PSX, Neo Geo MVS, Sega Model 2, Sega Master System, Genesis, Dreamcast, Sega 32X, Pinball FX2, Future Pinball, 3DO, Gamecube, Nintnedo 64, TGFX-16, Mame, Daphne, CPSIII, Atari Jaguar.

Power and HDMI connection are easily accessible through the control panel to swap game system consoles. Currently PS3 is in the CP.

What was done:

Tear Down and Paint -
Detached monitor portion of Narc cabinet, leaving only the control panel.
Removed all prior wiring and components from both portions. Speakers, pcbs, wiring.....all gone! (Really wished the guy didnt see the original NAOMI board inside) Game was Ninja Assault
Removed original 33" Showcase monitor, not sure if it worked, had no way to test and didnt really intend to use it.
Removed Showcase cabinet top to gain better access for cutting mounts for widescreen flat panel.
Stripped all vinyl from Narc Control Panel, repainted using black Krylon Acrylic paint.
Attempted to strip all vinyl from the Atari 33, but was very difficult and I didn't have a belt sander, so sanded over the vinyl as best as could be done and painted the same black acrylic over the vinyl.

Reconstruction -
Started with the control panel and rebuilt the original sizing and shape but added additional routed holes to support the various games.
Added a shelf within the control panel to hold game consoles and make them easily accessible.
Added additional shelf for the speaker mounts for front speakers facing the players from the control panel.
Drilled button holes on either side for pinball games.
Drilled a larger hole for rubber grommet for easy access to speaker direct volume control and usb cable to charge touchpad
Remounted locking latches for control panel as the depth of wood I used was a bitter slimmer than the original and therefore the locking latches fell loose each time pressure was placed on the cp.
Filled in hole where the former monitor mounted, not sure what to do with it except cover it for now.

On the Showcase side, started with cutting holes to mount the intended widescreen tv, original dimensions of course were intended for a standard CRT type monitor
Removed grill guards and added speaker mounts for rear speakers on either side of the showcase cab.
Drilled a button hole on back of showcase cabinet for pc power on button.
Drilled a 120mm hole inside the pc box to allow the pc power supply fan a way to exhaust heat downward to the bottom of the cab.
Since the logitech speakers I purchased had a rather large subwoofer, I realized it was not going to fit beneath the Atari cab as I intended, so I added fan mounts to the large hole at the bottom to add a 200mm fan
Cut panel door for PC window box and mounted sheet metal for motherboard mount.
Remounted top of showcase cabinet.

Started shopping and buying components
built a small kick box that sits in between the control panel and showcase attaching each piece together for stability and covering of wires.

Put it all together, chose Hyperspin for the Frontend




What I Had:
2 Sanwa JLF joysticks with a matte red and black ball top, 1 with a hollowed out shaft for LEDs
4  Black Seimitusu buttons, and 1 Red Translucent button
6 Red Sanwa buttons
2 hacked PS3 Sixaxis PCBs, from Haruman, 1 I damaged trying to repair, nothing Haruman did (His work is top notch!) When I removed the pcb from the old stick I think I pulled on some of the wires and they came loose from the solder joints on the pcb, and if anyone knows, the PS3 pcb has some very tiny solder points. Had to replace.
1TB Western Digital HDD, 8GB DDR3 RAM, 250GB HDD for Windows.
USB hub and cables
Basic tool set, Skill saw, hole saws. Hammer, screws, drill......yata yata!
Very basic know how, and alot of time! Working from home helps.

What I Bought:
Tools -
Skill Plunge Router (New with Craftsman bits - $50 on Craigslist)
Step drill bit (After many previous times cracking plexi, I wasnt going through that again! - Lowes $43)
Various hardware, paint, and shelf mounts and plexi glass - (Lowes, Walmart, Home Deport - $175)

PC -
Intel i5 Processor 3.2ghz ($25 - Craigslist)
Processor heatsink and fan ($10 - Craigslist)
Asus Socket 1156 Motherboard ($20 - Craigslist)
Cooler Master 550W PSU ($15 - Craigslist)
Nvidia GTS 450 Graphics Card ($35 - Craigslist)
Dell 32" Flat Panel TV ($40 - Craigslist, had sound issues hence the price. Forced me to buy the next item on the list)
Monoprice HDMI selector with digital audio ($20 - Ebay)
200mm and 80mm red led fans ($20 - Ebay)
New Red T-moulding 60ft ($35 - Ebay)
Logitch X-530 PC speakers ($50 - Craigslist) Lots of BASS!

6 Black Seimtsu OBSN - 30mm buttons
4 Red Sanwa 30mm buttons
1 Smoke colored Translucent button
Toodles MC PCB - 1 order $95 - Focus Attack

And 2 barstools that happen to match! ($25 - Craigslist)




What needs to be done:
Find a red tube light for the marquee lighting, I just dont like the white. Seems to throw off the color scheme.
Add a window decal to the PC light box
Cable management for the PC cables.
Fine tune full screen issues with Demul 0.5.7 - hate this emulator with a passion but its the only one I could find that plays Atomiswave games.
Add PC Games
Purchase 2 CronusMax dongles for Killer Instinct play on XONE
Gameplay videos, my phone crapped out on me midway into the project so some pictures were lost!!

Things Considered:
Given that this is a conversion cab and putting two separate cabinets together, I realize the elbow room lost comparing an actual showcase CP compared to a standard standup cab. Oh well, 2 players will have to make room I guess. New CP may be considered in the far future.

Final Thoughts:
Have patience! Never stop trying, and appreciate the help around you! Glad to be at the point where I can enjoy and fix small issues I find as I go.

Special Dedications:
To the best bug testers I could find for the money - My Kids!! Thank you Emilly for doing the photoshop action on Evil Ryu, I know that took some time! My two sons Noah and Jonah, they have a knack for finding problems!!
My wife for having patience with me and not getting too pissed off when I charged too much on the card!
My family for understanding why I spent so much time in the garage, and knowing when to call me outside for a beer!
Haruman, Thanks for trying boss!
Everyone who helped make the marquee what it is!  - http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php/topic,142298.0.html
Focus Attack - Fast Shipping!
Gamemoulding.com
and thank god for Craigslist!
Gigapig, Chris Upchurch, and djvj from Hyperspin.fe - You guys rock!




LED lighting for control panel is sound reactive!

[Malenko]

looks good. I always hated the look of the NARC cabs, but its not a bad pedestal!