Finished! - Pocketz Driving Cabinet Deluxe

[pocketbikez]

webpage:
http://arcadegames.home.mindspring.com/driving/index.html



thanks  
-pocketz

[whammoed]

Very cool.  Love the side marquee...where did you get the idea for it...did any original cabinets have that sort of thing or did you just think it up?

[pocketbikez]

Very cool.  Love the side marquee...where did you get the idea for it...did any original cabinets have that sort of thing or did you just think it up?

thanks, i got the side marquee idea from the Akka Arrh prototype cabinet.

http://www.safestuff.com/aa.htm

[mozzer]

Nice work!

The graphics on the sides remind me of old style Taito lettering.

[RetroJames]

That is really, really awesome.  I love all of the attention to details and innovative features.  The side marquee, the voltmeter, the leds, really top notch!  

[Generic Eric]

sharp!

[whammoed]

Just realized how many cabs you have built...Wow!  They all look great.  I see this is the second time you have used a d9200.  Have you had any trouble with them, I have heard some complaints but I still bought one.  Haven't had trouble, but haven't used it much yet either.

[menace]

Thats very cool!  You've inspired me to get off my --I'm attempting to get by the auto-censor and should be beaten after I re-read the rules-- and finish mine

[pocketbikez]

I see this is the second time you have used a d9200.  Have you had any trouble with them, I have heard some complaints but I still bought one.  Haven't had trouble, but haven't used it much yet either.

i havent had any troubles with either d9200 or the u3100. i also saw the posts from people that've had problems with thier d9200 and it has me a little paranoid. i dont leave the cabinets running for days and days like i used to. but at the same time i think those broken monitors were isolated cases and i've been pleased with the quality of the wells gardner monitors.

[boyowilkins]

Brill looking cab - luv the curves!!!

What u going to do for your next project?

[whammoed]

Next Project?!?!?!?!?!  Geez give the guy a break, he's built 340 cabs already!   j/k
Anyway, on that subject, have you kept all your projects for yourself or were some for other people...if you kept them, that's some gameroom!
Keep up the good work, or maybe just take a nap.

p.s.  glad to hear a good d9200 story

[pocketbikez]

thanks for all the great feedback everyone! I feel my cabinets wouldnt turn out half as good if it wasnt for this website and all the cool people involved. half the time I'm planning/building them the thought of trying to impress the the members of arcadecontrols.com is always in the back of my mind.

i have kept all the cabs. i thought about selling the mini space invaders but i changed my mind.

i actually do have 2 projects left id like to accomplish. a dedicated vector cabinet. like a space dual conversion that plays star wars, tempest, space duel, and asteroids.

and finally a home theater pc that also runs mame. i would build a 4 player coffee table like contraption that hooks up to a Huge HDTV. when people are over we can play warlords and 4 player simpsons while sitting at the wrap around couch.

it may be awhile before i start on these tho.

[bdsjake]

nice work, unique solution to the 270/360 issue.  I'd always imagined removable control panels (or 2 cabs!), but your idea is pretty slick and well done.

[GSXRMovistar]

Thats looks REALLY nice, well done.

[bdsjake]

Hey pocketz, been thinking more about your control panel.  I 'm curious, what other designs did you consider?  Did you consider removable control panels?  Other than just building 2 cabs (one for a 360 wheel, second for a 270 wheel), I don't know what other options there would be.

I did for a while consider some type of quick attach steering wheel--just the wheel on the front side of the panel--so the guts for the 270 and 360 wheel would be there behind the panel, just as close to each other as possible.  Would use then the same pedal and shifter, and just move the wheel to whichever shaft was necessary.   But, I couldn't figure out a quick release mechanism that would feel sturdy and not "hacked".

thanks,

[Witchboard]

Good work.  I really like that cab.

[pathdoc2]

Excellent job.  Well executed.

[pocketbikez]

Hey pocketz, been thinking more about your control panel.  I 'm curious, what other designs did you consider?  Did you consider removable control panels?  Other than just building 2 cabs (one for a 360 wheel, second for a 270 wheel), I don't know what other options there would be.

I did for a while consider some type of quick attach steering wheel--just the wheel on the front side of the panel--so the guts for the 270 and 360 wheel would be there behind the panel, just as close to each other as possible.  Would use then the same pedal and shifter, and just move the wheel to whichever shaft was necessary.   But, I couldn't figure out a quick release mechanism that would feel sturdy and not "hacked".

thanks,

when i first started sketching the design i thought about solid mounting the shifter and play buttons, then have the spyhunter wheel and 360 wheel as removable boxed in components that would slide into a recess in the panel. i didnt get far with this but i was brainstorming how to make it as easy as possible to change panels, plug and unplug things, and keep things feeling like they were solid mounted. the spyhunter wheel is heavy and the mounting hardware behind the wheel is large so i wasnt looking forward to constantly removing and installing it from the panel.

then i mounted the spyhunter wheel and shifter into a mock up board just to wire it into the dualstrike interface and see if it would work. i set it up on a table right in front of the computer and put the gas pedal on the floor. after wiring everything up and mapping the controls i got to test play a few games. during test play it just kind of hit me that i could put both wheels on one panel and put the pedal and shifter in the middle. next i made a dual wheel mock up panel and tested it out, it felt comfortable so i went with that.

[Mr. Dude]

Awesome job man!  On all of your cabinets!!!

[Ghoward]

I like it but I like your first cab more....... but then again I would since I used parts of it in my cab.


Gary

[Wade]

Very nice job!!!

Wade

[GGKoul]

WoW!!!  Great Job and very Clean!!

[RayB]

Can you tell us how you went about creating the side art? I assume it was a stencil. How did you do it?

PS: I give this cab a 9/10. Great job!

[pocketbikez]

Can you tell us how you went about creating the side art? I assume it was a stencil. How did you do it?

The side art was done by taking a picture of the cabinet side and using a Outrun mini cabinet as inspiration I created my own graphic in Photoshop. I then printed it out at about 5" tall and used an Artograph Tracer projector to project the image on the cabinet sides. I used a thin Sharpie permanent marker to outline the shape, then filled in the lines with a fat black Sharpie. The finished result looks like the design was silkscreened onto the cabinet.


ps. i finally got to the end of outrun last night after playing it about 50 times.  

[teetu]

The side art was done by taking a picture of the cabinet side and using a Outrun mini cabinet as inspiration I created my own graphic in Photoshop. I then printed it out at about 5" tall and used an Artograph Tracer projector to project the image on the cabinet sides. I used a thin Sharpie permanent marker to outline the shape, then filled in the lines with a fat black Sharpie. The finished result looks like the design was silkscreened onto the cabinet.


ps. i finally got to the end of outrun last night after playing it about 50 times.  

Very creative way with the projector and all.
WAY TO THINK OUTSIDE THE BOX!