My first arcade build in over 13 years.. this one's for the boy.

[Phreakwars]

So I was able to get the guy who has a kitchen cabinetry shop to route me out a groove to make the LED joysticks fit properly. I finished off the daisy chains for the power to them, finished programming the computer that is going inside, and now have both joysticks fully operational and MAME controlled completely by joystick control.



When I had spoke with the consultant at recroommasters.com and asked about speakers... he recommended 4", but not over 5", so 4" is what I had originally purchased... however.. after examining the parts when they arrived, I noticed I could have EASILY added something bigger. So I made a trip over to Wally World and picked up a pair of 6.5" Sony X-Plod's. For reference... one could EASILY install a pair of 6x9's as well.



But anyways... got ALOT of it done... taking a breather ATM and gonna go for more in a bit...here is what it is looking like so far:

[mgb]

Lookin good.
Is your son excited

[Phreakwars]

Man, is he ever... he comes downstairs about every 20 minutes to see what I'm doing with it. He just went to bed about 1/2 an hour ago, hopefully I'll have it done before morning... unless I poop out and decide to take a shower and hit the hay... been sweating like a pig and I stink.. but still determined. 

[Phreakwars]

Here's a couple more photos of the build:







And last, but not least........THE FINISHED PRODUCT !!!!

[DaOld Man]

Looks great!!
 

Your son will enjoy it for many years.

[Phreakwars]

Addendum:

What I have learned and want to share..

First off, do NOT buy these joysticks from newegg or anybody else who sells them

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=9SIA4WA1HZ1752

They are complete ---steaming pile of meadow muffin---. Oh sure, they look cool, but the control on them are very sloppy. About the only way to get them to function half way decent is to use the restricter plates set on 4 way mode. My son said it's hard to control when he plays super pacman, Pacman, etc.. I played Donkey Kong Jr. and had a hell of a time. So I went ahead and ordered a couple of Mag-Stik Plus joysticks from ultimarc.com. These made the most sense, since they are capable of switching from 8 way to 4 way by pulling up and turning. Ideally, I'd like to purchase some J-sticks or servo sticks with the RGB sticks and a PacLED64. But pricing that all up.. it doesn't really come within my son's budget range. I'm paying for the Mag-Stik Plus joysticks myself since I am the one who purchased the crap LED joysticks in the first place. It wouldn't be fair to make my boy pay for my own mistake. So I'm thinking maybe later on... like around Christmas or in January when he has his birthday, I'll get him the RGB servo sticks and RGB concave buttons with the PacLED64 and we'll REALLY make that cocktail cabinet rock!!

Second... DAMN that was fun!! Think I might take all those spare joysticks and buttons left over from the swap and make another one... like maybe a bartop type MAME cabinet for my office. No need to purchase another iPac. the recroommasters.com kit came with 2 of them, all I'll have to do is pull the second one and wire all the wires into the first one and I'll have the spare iPac to use for another project as well... Now all I need to do is find a bartop cabinet kit to throw it all into. Hell, maybe I might do an upright cabinet.. who knows.. all I know, is I want to make another.

My son absolutely is enjoying his cabinet, even though the joystick controls kind of suck. He knows I have ordered new sticks and knows he'll just have to put up with what he has got until they arrive. No biggy. Even my WIFE enjoys playing on it... her game is Galaga. So maybe... just maybe... the next project I do might be for the ole' lady 

Third.. I noticed that the monitor can be raised just a bit more.. like maybe about an inch.. So I'm gonna make a trip to Menards and get some more washers and some longer bolts then what came in the kit and raise it up till it's about flush with the underlay board (OCD kicking in). All in all, recroommasters.com offers an excellent kit. Great way to make your very own arcade game!!

[epicrean]

How do you hook the led buttons up?   

[Phreakwars]

How do you hook the led buttons up?   

I used the power supply's 12v source by buying a couple of these from newegg:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16812196873

I spliced into the ends of them and put crimp ends on them (female) and made the 12v daisy chains end in the opposite (male) connector. This way I don't trash the power supply or splice into it... What if it went out? I'd have to buy another one to splice into if I didn't plan ahead and just buy extension molex cables instead. Your power supply can give you either 12v, or 5v connections for free. It's not hard at all to rig something up to take advantage of that output for LED lighting.

You'd only want an PacLED64 or so if you want flashy effects. For basic LED, just draw off the power supply. Most any given power supply should be able to handle a couple dozen LED lights without any issue.

I actually got rid of the LED joystick just because it sucked.. currently have a Mag-Stik Plus from ultimarc in it, and it kind of sucks too.. Gonna go back to the original joysticks that came with the cabinet,, but keep the LED buttons. My son can't handle short throw joysticks. He's used to the X-Arcade/Happ type throws. Personally, I LOVE the Mag-Stic, but then this isn't my cabinet, it's my son's.. He wants the Happ's back.

And here's an update video of how it all runs:



PS... FOR SALE.. 2 VERY SLIGHTLY USED ULTIMARC Mag-Stik Plus joysticks.

[pappascw]

I love these cocktail cabinets.  I'm building one for a local school auction and have a few questions?

Where did you get the graphics??  Do they have multiple to choose from.  I want a nice MAME/Multi layout but can only find a few.

Also did you have any success with raising the monitor?  I was thinking about that but then was concerned it may change the angle up so that the view got worse since you are now not looking down on it as much.

I also changed mine over to real glass.  More authentic look.  The plexi scratched alot on mine over the year.  Glass was only 30.00 but clips cost me another 18.

[Phreakwars]

Graphics were optional. I just gave them an idea of what I had in mind and let them design one for me. And yes, I was able to raise the monitor by using a bunch of washers and of course, longer screws, it is now flush with the top. My son loves what I've done with it. Although he is kinda hoping I can pull of the trim and replace it with LED lighting. I plan on changing out the fire buttons soon. I'm gonna use some ultimarc concave RGB's instead.

[pappascw]

Do you remember the screws spec?  Did you use a Dell 23 or diff brand monitor?

[Phreakwars]

Monitor is a viewsonic. I'm thinking the screws were 2".

[Phreakwars]

An update on this build. Kind of..

So one of the changes I made, I think was probably one of the best changes I could make, and that was to the speakers. The last minute decision to swap out the 4" speakers I bought, for some 6.5" speakers instead. This cabinet has some nice room, you could double it's use from an arcade game to a Jukebox, The Sony X-Plod's sound AMAZING. You crank that puppy up and play a music track, the whole room jams with you, with EXCELLENT bass. The cabinet enclosure is almost like it's own sound port. My son wants me to do a jukebox that plays 80's music with it. I'm almost thinking up "UPGRADING" to 8" speakers and maybe a beefier amp for jukebox useage.

Here's what I'm thinking of using inside:

http://www.amazon.com/PYLE-PLG8-3-8-Inch-Three-Way-Speakers/dp/B0007L8BY4/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top?ie=UTF8

recroommasters.com offers a 4 player version of the cabinet I bought. They should consider offering or one could easily do it themselves. Creating a panel on the side for a small touchscreen up front to make these things into Jukebox's as well. You could also use that space for LCD marquees.