Mistakes You Made

[yotsuya]

I know we had fun in Neph's New Arcade Console thread (and it *was* all meant in good fun), but honestly, a lot of the advice and feedback that we give, harsh or not, comes from experience. WE'VE made those mistakes. We've learned the hard way. We've wasted the money, we've ruined the materials, we've gotten the negative feedback from guests. No one's being mean or harshing the vibe, it's really truly constructive feedback.

So, with that in mind, what mistakes have you make in your cab building?

I'll start.

1. On my first cab, I did the "external mounted speaker grilles" thing. Some people don't see this as a mistake, but I think aesthetically, it breaks the illusion of it being an arcade cab, especially if they're more modern plastic or open-air grilles (like those Sony Xplod grilles). Every build I've done since then hides the speakers behind drilled holes or slots for the speaker as originally designed, or they use authentic grilles (think Midway cabs).

2. Again, on my first cab, I made a frankenpanel of sorts. I had a two player-six button setup, U-Trak, AND a Turbo-Twist spinner on a 24" by 8" panel. Sure, it all fit, but I had to rest my hand on TOP of the P2 joy to use the spinner. Also, the trackball was 2 inches from the glass bezel. When I redid the panel, I got rid of the trackball and the spinner and have been totally chuffed with the results.

3. My plan for the first cab was to play everything - MAME, ATARI, NES, SNES, SMS, all the consoles I loved playing. I got it all set up, then started playing the NES and SNES games I used to love.... and I hated it. I mean HATED IT. It doesn't feel natural, mapping the shoulder and trigger buttons to one of the other buttons was a joke, and really, those games weren't made to be played standing up for a long period of time. I ditched those games a few months later when I switched my cab over to Hyperspin and haven't regretted it for a single second ever since.

4. Finally, on this first cab, I thought swappable panels was going to be the way to go. So I rigged up a system where I used Cat5 and patch panels to swap things out quicker. But I soon learned that I didn't like crimping .187 Quick Disconnects on those super tiny thin wires. Also, it's not as neat as you would think it would be. Finally, I realized I was going to have to store these 4 or 5 panels I had planned SOMEWHERE.... Finally, I would swap a panel, plug in the USB retro controller, get ready to play... only to find out that the controller wasn't recognized, or that I had to remap the controls.  Ugh.

The best thing I ever did after building my first cab was revising it. 

[pbj]

The one that's really been bothering me lately is I did my TMNT control panel so that the edge of the panel digs into my palms when I play it.  Because I've got big hands and that's what I'm used to feeling.  When I had the opportunity to make it comfortable to play.  Shifting everything up two inches would have really changed the feel.

Oh well.  At least it maximizes distance between players in its current configuration.

[Nephasth]

Married a ---Bad words, bad words, whatcha gonna do? Whatcha gonna do when saint censors you?---.

[yotsuya]

Married a ---Bad words, bad words, whatcha gonna do? Whatcha gonna do when saint censors you?---.

Yeah, I know that one, but we were talking about arcade stuff, Griff-richer!

[harveybirdman]

I spent three weeks downloading PSX ISOs for my MAME setup.  I haven't played any in three years....

Nevermind that you cannot play Tenchu on arcade controls, it is stupid.

I made a six button panel for my MAME setup, buttons five and six are almost NEVER used.  Street Fighter and Mortal Kombat, just aren't that fun because I suck hard at them.  There is nothing fun about reaching over a  worthless row of buttons to play the games I do play.

My gameslist has 1300 games.  Guests are overwhelmed by choices and have a hard time settling on a game.

Bought expensive stuff for my cab that I didn't end up using, damaged by cab by trying to move it myself without a dolly.

[pbj]

I made a six button panel for my MAME setup, buttons five and six are almost NEVER used.  Street Fighter and Mortal Kombat, just aren't that fun because I suck hard at them.  There is nothing fun about reaching over a  worthless row of buttons to play the games I do play.

Takes 10 seconds to remap controls the first time you open a game so that you don't have dead buttons on your control panel.

[harveybirdman]

meh... never been worth it to me.

[Malenko]

I spent three weeks downloading PSX ISOs for my MAME setup.

Some console versions are enhanced over their arcade counterparts. Like Street Fighter Alpha 3 on PSX, world tour mode and all that jazz.




Ok so mistakes Ive made:
Had control panel at a terrible angle. Controls were at like 30* (as in fingers almost an inch higher than palms) unpossible to play for more than 10 minutes at a time.
Used cheap knock off parts , spend the money on the right sticks and buttons, its WORTH IT
Marble contact shelf paper, `nuff said
I once wrapped all my wiring in electrical tape.

[Ginsu Victim]

Marble contact shelf paper, `nuff said

I just laughed and everyone in the office looked at me.

[Slippyblade]

Oh man, I know I'm low on the experience totem, but I've got a couple.

Forgot the depth of buttons when laying out my CP.  Had player start buttons on the front of the CP...  that collided with the sticks. Had to drill a new panel with buttons moved like a 1/4".

Even if a screw isn't long enough to penetrate the panel, it will still extrude a dimple on the other side...  sand that down or it looks like ass when you paint. 

3/4" MDF is NOT actually 3/4"...  Therefore 3/4" T-mold has a slight overhang...

Pay attention to wire routing.  I've got speaker wires running right next to power supply wires.  So I have a constant low hum in the sound.

[Vigo]

I'll continue not publishing my mistakes and you should all just assume they were never made. 


To be honest, a bunch of the above I was guilty of. Maybe most of it. 

Not getting leveling legs. Either my woodwork or the floor of my 100 year old house was always slightly crooked. Once I used leveling legs, all became better.

Using that particle board stuff. Not the wood chip stuff, but that stuff that us used underneath laminate countertop.

Over-using a jigsaw. Hey, I was a broke college kid during my early stuff.

Angling my joysticks. All of them. P1, P2, P3 and P4. I got rid of that design very quickly. I am glad i did it as test panel.


And to be honest, I'm gonna keep making mistakes. Mistakes are fun to make, as long as you accept you are going to have to fix them or live with them. I am still planning to build a mahjong machine, that is a mistake waiting to be born.

[yotsuya]

Angling my joysticks. All of them. P1, P2, P3 and P4. I got rid of that design very quickly. I am glad i did it as test panel.

[Malenko]

Marble contact shelf paper, `nuff said

I just laughed and everyone in the office looked at me.

[yotsuya]

^^^ I just laughed and everyone in the office looked at me. Then I texted Malenko and made fun of him.

I consider Malenko one of the best builders on this board. Just goes to show you the power of learning and growing in this hobby.

[pbj]

That's not... horrible.  If the control panel wasn't angled it would be livable...

[Vigo]

Angling my joysticks. All of them. P1, P2, P3 and P4. I got rid of that design very quickly. I am glad i did it as test panel.

Let's count the problems with this picture. Ignore the spinner and trackball that were planned for that panel.

[Vigo]

That's not... horrible.  If the control panel wasn't angled it would be livable...

Yeah, seems pretty good for circa 2003-ish. Maybe ---smurfy--- by 2015 standards, but at least it is proportional.

[yotsuya]

That's not... horrible.  If the control panel wasn't angled it would be livable...

Yeah, seems pretty good for circa 2003-ish. Maybe ---smurfy--- by 2015 standards, but at least it is proportional.

If that's good for 2003-ish, I'm glad I didn't get into this until 2010. 

[yotsuya]

These are my first two MAME cabs. You can see my awesome mini-Frankenpanel in this photo in all its glory.

[Malenko]

it was 2001 2002 ish cause that's when I was renting the basement in that house.  That panel was also just a 2 player PSX "fight stick" with some marble contact paper and ricer car stickers on it. A "Blaze Home Arcade Twin Shock"

[yotsuya]

it was 2001 2002 ish cause that's when I was renting the basement in that house.  That panel was also just a 2 player PSX "fight stick" with some marble contact paper and ricer car stickers on it. A "Blaze Home Arcade Twin Shock"

What became of it?

[Ginsu Victim]

A mistake I *almost* made....
Before joining this community, I almost built my first MAME cabinet out of one of these I was given free:



I don't know how that would've even worked.

Edit:
Here it is in the background! (Oh, those holes on the CP were already there....not my mistake!)

[Malenko]

took it apart. TV went to my niece, PC went to my nephew, I hung onto the fight stick for a while till it ---steaming pile of meadow muffin--- the bed. Cab was the first victim of my circular saw, my 3rd pole position was the most recent. Same saw too.

[SavannahLion]

Not realizing that long soaked particle board offers NO resistance to an antique maul hammer head welded to a length of steel pipe. I walked with a limp for a week.

The smart thing was placing my all spare monitors on the floor, saved my back a lot of pain. The mistake was placing my all spare coin doors and boxes on the shelf directly above same monitors, causing my wallet to scream in agony.

Completely disassembling a cabinet of all its components, right down to the last screw... then forgetting which boxes I put half the parts in after completing the woodwork on the cabinet. Oh yeah, and destroying the monitor when the coin door landed on it. 

My personal favorite, forgetting the soldering iron was hot at some ---fouled up beyond all recognition--- up hour in the morning....

[JMB]

Making the cab playable before being fully finished. I swear it'll be 100% done one of these years.

[eds1275]

Using MDF. I know it's sort of a go-to around here, but I've used quality ply for the last few builds and will not go back. The dust, the weight, the pansiness to moisture... Sure the ply costs $60 and the MDF is only $40, but it's not a deal breaker. This hobby isn't really something that can be done well (scratch builds anyway) on a budget.

[yotsuya]

Using MDF. I know it's sort of a go-to around here, but I've used quality ply for the last few builds and will not go back. The dust, the weight, the pansiness to moisture... Sure the ply costs $60 and the MDF is only $40, but it's not a deal breaker. This hobby isn't really something that can be done well (scratch builds anyway) on a budget.

Yeah, I built a Tully-style jukebox for a friend of mine out of quality ply, and it was so light. I'm with you there! 

[jdbailey1206]

I once made the mistake of going to sleep with Bo Derek and woke up with Bo Diddley. 

[pbj]

I made the 'have a couple drinks, get glib, and say, "I can make one of these for like $500" and now get stuck telling a friend of a friend to ---fudgesicle--- off' mistake.  To my credit, it had been several years. 

After being barraged with, "can you make me a Donkey Kong with an Xbox One in it in two weeks" texts the next morning I apologized, briefly laid out how these cabinets run more like $800 minimum at-cost, and they TRIED TO HAGGLE ME DOWN TO $400. 

I referred them to Craig's List.

*sigh*

[Vigo]

Using MDF. I know it's sort of a go-to around here, but I've used quality ply for the last few builds and will not go back. The dust, the weight, the pansiness to moisture... Sure the ply costs $60 and the MDF is only $40, but it's not a deal breaker. This hobby isn't really something that can be done well (scratch builds anyway) on a budget.

  I'm riding this train. I have been using plywood and won't touch MDF. The quality sanded stuff is so easy to work with.

[jdbailey1206]

Using MDF. I know it's sort of a go-to around here, but I've used quality ply for the last few builds and will not go back. The dust, the weight, the pansiness to moisture... Sure the ply costs $60 and the MDF is only $40, but it's not a deal breaker. This hobby isn't really something that can be done well (scratch builds anyway) on a budget.

  I'm riding this train. I have been using plywood and won't touch MDF. The quality sanded stuff is so easy to work with.

Sanded plywood is nice!  Expensive but nice. 

[Howard_Casto]

I did my pacman repro out of furniture grade ply and will not go back.  It's well worth the extra cost to know that short of some rather extreme conditions it's NEVER going to fall apart. 

[wp34]

Has anybody tried MDO?  I'm taking my daughter to Menards tonight to buy materials for her Fix-it-Felix.  We are planning to try MDO since it has a plywood core and a smooth hardboard finish.

[eds1275]

MDO is hard to find without special ordering, but I would give it a chance. Apparently it costs as much as nice ply though.

[wp34]

MDO is hard to find without special ordering, but I would give it a chance. Apparently it costs as much as nice ply though.

You are correct about the price.  It was on sale for $60 a sheet.  All 5 sheets that Menards had were scratched really bad.  We couldn't decide how well that hardboard surface would hold up either.  If they would have had an unblemished sheet I would have bought one to try it.

[Howard_Casto]

Well hardboard is susceptible to swelling via moisture, is hard to paint due to it's treated finish and because of it's density eats though bits like nobodies business.  If plywood is the same price go with ply. 

I think MDO is more for something that you don't want to finish and yet you want a durable surface... like furniture for toddlers and ect.  It isn't for something you want to paint or finish in any way. 

[DaOld Man]

Married a ---Bad words, bad words, whatcha gonna do? Whatcha gonna do when saint censors you?---.

Been there. Done that.

But about the arcade making business...
I have made so many mistakes I dont even know where to start.
One that sticks out in my mind is using particle board (pressed wood, whatever that crap is called) on my first juke box, in an attempt to cut down on weight.
Never used particle board since and never will again (for this hobby anyway.)

[Vigo]

All 5 sheets that Menards had were scratched really bad.

My #1 complaint about Menards. It is like they source their wood based on unwanted leftovers from distributors, and if you need something very specific, it is a gamble. That has always been their problem. Back in the 60's when there was only one Menards, and it was only a lumber yard, my Grandfather owned a construction biz in the same town. They would steer clear of Menards when they could because the wood was always damaged and warped.

I still go there above home depot for wood because the "cut your own wood" model can get even more insane. You need 20 six foot boards of a certain wood, and they only stock ten footers, you will need to A) Sit and cut 20 boards by hand in the store, B) Look for scraps, or C) Grossly overpay for for an extra 80 feet of wood.

[pbj]

I don't think anyone buys wood at Menards except amateurs looking to build a deck that's going to fall down in three years.

[Generic Eric]

I took myself way too seriously.  I was going to have this sleek awesome cab that did everything.  It didn't.  A simple box is simple.  Why so many weird curves?  That isn't generic at all.

I used plans as guidelines.  I wanted to express myself as some sort of fantastic artist with an out of the box idea.  I never finished any of them.  I suffered for my art; it just suffered.

1/32" margin of error on dimensional lumber?  I've got this.