Author Topic: Stratch-built Pac cab (Read 7318 times)

OSCAR · « **on:** July 10, 2004, 06:12:09 pm »

My scrap wood & wire piles were getting out of control, so what better to do with them than to make another cab? I also had a 26" TV that I was getting sick of walking around in the garage, so I built a Pac cabinet to use up some of my leftovers, scraps, and extra parts.

I had traced a Pac cabinet and I checked it versus Jakobud's plans. Jakobud's profile was extemely close to what I had traced, so I just used his. In case anyone is wondering, the Two-Bit sideart fits Jakobud's Pac plans just fine.

I made a router template for the sides by plotting out a full size paper template at work, then taped it down to a piece of 1/2" particle board. Then I followed the outline with a razor to score the wood. Next I carefully followed the scored line in the particle board with a jigsaw to get the shape as close as I could. About another hour's work with a beltsander to make the profile "perfect" and the template was done. Cutting the cab sides out using a router with a template bit is a piece of cake, probably about 15 minutes of work to get 2 perfectly matching sides.

I wired the cab for jamma and put one of those cute little 9-in-1 jamma boards in it. I'm thinking I am just going to sell this cab since the reason for building it was to make some room. If I do keep it, I was thinking I might add a J-PAC to MAME the cab for more game selections. Right now I have the P2 start button wired as the Fire button because I didn't want to put a hole in the new cp overlay.

If it weren't for the Two-Bit artwork and the jamma board, this would have been about a $130 project, and $100 of that was the monitor chassis.

mozzer · « **Reply #1 on:** July 10, 2004, 06:41:56 pm »

Wish I had a scrap pile of materials that would turn into that!!!

Awesome job, as usual!

MiKman · « **Reply #2 on:** July 10, 2004, 07:05:59 pm »

Man that is sweet. You guys wip these cabinets off like it's nothing 2-3 a week. It took me 8 months to get my cabinet where it is :-) you must have one sweet shop full of all the right tools. Nice job Oscar.

pcdoctor · « **Reply #3 on:** July 10, 2004, 07:22:07 pm »

Oscar,
You talented show off!
You make me sick!
Is there any thing you can't create!
When my mame cabinet is created, I plan on buying your model 3 spinner with the Tempest replica knob.

Nefesis · « **Reply #4 on:** July 10, 2004, 09:28:32 pm »

wow... i stand in awe. out of curiosity, how much do you plan to sell ikt for?

etumor · « **Reply #5 on:** July 10, 2004, 09:48:17 pm »

In these pictures, the coin door panel looks waaaay paler than the side art. Is there really that much of a difference?

-Jeff "etumor"

SirPeale · « **Reply #6 on:** July 10, 2004, 09:48:54 pm »

Tell us more about the CP. Is that an original that you put new art on, or something you had made up?

Robin · « **Reply #7 on:** July 11, 2004, 06:40:32 am »

WOW looking very nice !
I think its a real CP

Robin

OSCAR · « **Reply #8 on:** July 11, 2004, 09:30:49 am »

I'm not sure how much I would sell it for, really. I'm thinking I might throw it on eBay and see what happens. It would be nice to get about $1000 for it since that is what I have in it with the artwork, jamma board, and monitor chassis.

The front panel artwork is exactly the same color as the sides. The cab was facing the sun when I took the pics, and the sun was just blinding yesterday. Not that it's a bad thing, we look forward to days like that here in Mich!

It's an original Pac cp. I have a couple of them that I've won on eBay. I think I paid around $30 for the cp, which was 100% complete and hadn't been converted. I couldn't have made one for that, much less add the original controls. Arcade Renovations sells a complete repro Ms Pac panel for $100, which really isn't that bad considering it would cost you $40 to buy just the overlay from Two Bit.

For the speaker, I used the $2 Parts Express 6 x 9. The part description on the site says they are 12 ohm, but what I got were 8 ohm speakers. That was pretty nice, considering I bought a couple boxes of them for other projects. [note: this is why I'm always running out of space, I tend to buy in quantities...

]

The speakers come mounted on what appears to be an automotive installation housing, but it comes right off. I noticed that these speakers are pretty punchy, too. I had to put a couple felt tabs behind the marquee because the speaker was making it rattle on Galaga explosions. The marquee was in tight, too!

Here the speaker can be seen behind the light fixture I made for the cab:

A box of the speakers:

Thanks for all the comments, everyone, as always!!

etumor · « **Reply #9 on:** July 11, 2004, 12:48:36 pm »

Amazing job. Can't thank you enough for these pictures, they'll be invaluable when I build my own Pac later. The shots of the control panel are a real education!

-Jeff "etumor"

OSCAR · « **Reply #10 on:** July 11, 2004, 01:10:14 pm »

Jeff,

The latches I used to hold down the cp are McMaster-Carr part number 1863A22. They look identical to the latches used on the Midway cabs, and they fit the strikes on a real Pac panel perfectly.

As you can see in the photo, I mounted the latches to a separate piece of 3/4" plywood that I notched out for the strikes on the cp. When the latches are installed properly, they snap close pretty hard. The reason for the plywood is so I could run some good 1-1/4" drywall screws through the latches, which secures them a lot better than some 3/4" wood screws. The plywood pieces also gives the cp a good surface to rest on right where it is latched, preventing the cp from bending at all when you snap it down.

Just let me know if there are any other pics you might like to see to help with your project.

etumor · « **Reply #11 on:** July 11, 2004, 01:57:42 pm »

Quote from: OSCAR on July 11, 2004, 01:10:14 pm

Just let me know if there are any other pics you might like to see to help with your project.

Well, since you offered...

I don't want you to go out of your way for this...seriously. But one of the things I'd love to see is pictures of the monitor mounting.

-Jeff "etumor"

OSCAR · « **Reply #12 on:** July 11, 2004, 03:07:56 pm »

No problem at all. I took a number of photos during the construction, more for my own documentation since I plan to build a few more of these. I'm thinking a Ms Pac or Galaga is next...

A TV tube doesn't have a frame like a typical arcade monitor, and because of the weight of a 26" CRT, I built a pretty sturdy mount for it. The first thing I did was to make a frame out of some scrap pieces of angle steel and wood to tie all four tube mounting ears together. I was afraid that the weight of the tube and the angle that it mounts at in this type of installation could possibly cause the metal band that goes around the front of the tube to slip if the mounting ears weren't tied together. Maybe that's not possible, but I didn't want to take any chances. I have the angle steel running between the short dimension on the tube, and the wood pieces along the long dimension.

Next I cut some pieces of 3/4" plywood and glued & screwed a couple pieces together. These large blocks mount to the inside of the cab to support the weight of the monitor. I would never trust screws to hold up a large tube like this, so I recessed tee-nuts on the exterior sides of the cab. Then I ran a couple 1/4" bolts through each mounting block, and finished off the outside of the cab by filling the recesses with bondo. The wooden side frame for the tube was screwed down into the wooden support blocks with some heavy 3" screws, like you would use on a wooden deck or patio. These screws don't really see much tension, they pretty much just keep the tube in the proper spot on the support blocks.

edit - I just noticed that you can see my "helper's" hand in the below photo. Everyone should have a 3 1/2 yr old helper when building a cab, it makes it much more interesting.

This project was all about recycling leftovers, so I reused the original TV bezel. What I did was make a wooden frame along the sides of the bezel to support the plexi the proper distance from the face of the tube, and then gave the entire thing a shot of flat black paint.

On the backside of the board where the top of the monitor is, I put a piece of aluminum angle to support the top of the plexi. The angle scrap was leftover from the piece I used for the marquee retainers. Then I masked off the tinted plexi so just the TV bezel would show, and painted the rest of backside of the plexi flat black, too.

patrickl · « **Reply #13 on:** July 12, 2004, 07:00:34 am »

Really amazing work. Great that you give us so much insight in how a proper cab is built. Thanks man!

Or are you just taking the credit for the handywork of the 3 1/2 year old helper

Quote from: OSCAR on July 11, 2004, 03:07:56 pm

This project was all about recycling leftovers, so I reused the original TV bezel. What I did was make a wooden frame along the sides of the bezel to support the plexi the proper distance from the face of the tube, and then gave the entire thing a shot of flat black paint.

Is there some rule of thumb for the distance between the tube and the plexi (or glass)? I'd assume too close and you'd get reflections, but too far away and it might be like looking down a tunnel?

MameMaster! · « **Reply #14 on:** July 12, 2004, 01:44:24 pm »

You're sick!.....the ability to produce such a fantastic cab as a "time filler w/spare parts"!.......damn you!!!!....OK, let me rephrase....damn you and ZAKK! (he's as bad as you are!).

......I wish one of you lived near me so I could visit. I would love to watch you guys build one of these in person.

......as ALWAYS a fantastic job. I hope you can sell it for even more than the 1K you're hoping for.

Long live OSCAR! (and MASSIVE MAME for that matter!)

MameMaster!

Mametrix-Reloaded · « **Reply #15 on:** July 12, 2004, 01:45:03 pm »

I'd be interested in a little more info on wiring the tv to a jamma harness. I know the dangers of working inside monitors and have rebuilt a few Electrohomes in my time, but I was curious if you used an adapter of some sort, or managed to wire up a direct connection?

-mike

albrigsr · « **Reply #16 on:** July 12, 2004, 02:14:03 pm »

Kelsey,

Can you provide the paint codes for the yellow paint on your cabinet?

Also, do you have any pictures which show the way you wired the CPU Coin comparator on your other mini-cabinet? Thanks!

-Scott

Karman · « **Reply #17 on:** July 12, 2004, 03:24:58 pm »

Quote from: Mametrix-Reloaded on July 12, 2004, 01:45:03 pm

I'd be interested in a little more info on wiring the tv to a jamma harness. I know the dangers of working inside monitors and have rebuilt a few Electrohomes in my time, but I was curious if you used an adapter of some sort, or managed to wire up a direct connection?

Kelsey can correct me if I'm wrong here, but I don't think he used any special adapters. I think he just used the 8liners monitor chassis.

Mametrix-Reloaded · « **Reply #18 on:** July 12, 2004, 04:18:57 pm »

ahh, didn't know about 8liners until now, and seeing as how I have 6 or 7 old 25" tv's laying around, I forsee a few more cabinets in my near future...

OSCAR · « **Reply #19 on:** July 12, 2004, 07:59:27 pm »

patrickl - Thanks! Yeah, the little one is the real brains behind it all, at least in her mind. It's true, kids do say the funniest things... Right after I installed the artwork, I asked "So what do you think of the new cab?" Without blinking an eye, she said to me "Well, let me show you what's wrong with it." If she isn't just a little clone of her mother...

albrigsr - I saved some scraps to take to HD to have them scanned for the paint codes, but I haven't been back there yet to get it done. I did save a strip of the yellow and cut it up into about 2" x 2" squares. If anyone would like one to see the color, texture, thickness, or whatever, just send me a PM with your address and I'll drop one in the mail to you. I only have about a half dozen, though. I do have to warn that the little pieces are a bit deceiving. When I look at the little pieces, I think that there's no way my cab looks that light, but sure enough, when I hold the piece up to the side of the cab, it matches right on. It must have something to do with such a large area of that color makes it look a little darker?? Perhaps if I paid more attention during my Physics Light & Magnetism course, I would have a better explanation.

I'll pull the little cab out and snap a few pics for you of the coin acceptor. All I did, though, was just use the supplied harness and I connected the +12V and GND to a spare connector from the PC power supply, and connect the coin output to the I-PAC. I didn't do anything fancy, it was actually a pretty standard hookup other than the +12V connection.

Mametrix-Reloaded - Karman is correct, I used an 8liners chassis with the TV. There is a thread in the Monitor forum regarding this particular tube and chassis.

Thanks again to mamemaster and everyone for the nice comments, I'm glad you like my scrap wood project!

Zakk · « **Reply #20 on:** July 12, 2004, 08:35:05 pm »

Mamemaster: I'm flattered, but to tell you the truth, when I get stuck on something, I e-mail Kelsey

I didn't even know how to weld until I saw some of the things he was doing with his spiffy welder, now I'm a welding fanatic. He's the king, no question!

Kelsey: Nice job, but you need to do up the monitor bezel graphics...need some tips? (oooh hoo! I couldn't resist!

)

pcdoctor · « **Reply #21 on:** July 13, 2004, 05:01:23 am »

Oscar,
What did your daughter say was wrong with the cabinet?

MameMaster! · « **Reply #22 on:** July 13, 2004, 08:44:56 am »

Quote from: Zakk on July 12, 2004, 08:35:05 pm

Mamemaster: I'm flattered, but to tell you the truth, when I get stuck on something, I e-mail Kelsey I didn't even know how to weld until I saw some of the things he was doing with his spiffy welder, now I'm a welding fanatic. He's the king, no question!

Kelsey: Nice job, but you need to do up the monitor bezel graphics...need some tips? (oooh hoo! I couldn't resist! )

.....you know....I was thinking about this.....a "get together" with you, Kelsey, John (Saint) and a few other key players in this little cottage industry may be fun (Ex. vendors of HotRod, IPac etc. etc.......you & Kelsey could conduct seminars on cab design, wiring, welding etc live with actual demonstrations. Maybe even participate in the next Philly Classic (or some other similar venue?)......or, a "how to" video!....hmmm...........my wheels are a turnin'...perhaps thats makes even more sense (don't forget I'm in advertising!.....this may be a fun idea)........

?......

Am I crazy ?......or is this "industry" ready for this?.... I wonder what kind of press we could get?.....I know a key anchor at MSNBC (she's on air)....that would be interested.....hmmmmmmm..........

Zakk · « **Reply #23 on:** July 13, 2004, 05:43:44 pm »

Turnout might be a bit slim, a bunch of us standing around going "fighters rule" "NO CLASSICS RULE!" ..."leaf switch is da bomb!" "MICROSWITCH OR DEATH!" "Frankenpanel!" ONE JOYSTICK ONE BUTTON, NEVER MORE!!"

Besides, Saint likes to steal wallets I've heard...

MameMaster! · « **Reply #24 on:** July 13, 2004, 05:54:13 pm »

...YOUR RIGHT!.....this should be Pay-Per-View!.....we'll get a ring and have you guys duke it out!.....even better!

Nefesis · « **Reply #25 on:** July 13, 2004, 06:34:48 pm »

Quote from: Zakk on July 13, 2004, 05:43:44 pm

Besides, Saint likes to steal wallets I've heard...

if that's how he gets the money to make all the great cabs and put up this website, maybe we should all start doing that

... just kindding, oh dear Creator of the book!!!

OSCAR · « **Reply #26 on:** July 13, 2004, 07:03:03 pm »

mamemaster - So what do you have in mind, perhaps Discovery Channel might be interested in "American Arcade: Long Live the Classics!", or something like that? I don't have enough tattoo's to be on a show like that, but I'm sure Zakk qualifies...

pcdoctor - It was the sideart. It was because Pac "doesn't look like that in the game!". Enter the mind of a 3.5 yr old... When I asked her what she thought of "the cab I made", she took it completely literal, I didn't specify that I didn't actually make the sideart, of course. A day doesn't go by that she doesn't crack me up about something, truly a fun age for a kid.

Zakk · « **Reply #27 on:** July 13, 2004, 09:04:18 pm »

Quote from: OSCAR on July 13, 2004, 07:03:03 pm

mamemaster - So what do you have in mind, perhaps Discovery Channel might be interested in "American Arcade: Long Live the Classics!", or something like that? I don't have enough tattoo's to be on a show like that, but I'm sure Zakk qualifies...

That's right, and I wear a wool cap down over my eyes when I make cabs...and all my cabs are lowriders, of course!!

whammoed · « **Reply #28 on:** July 14, 2004, 12:21:11 am »

Wow. Looks great. The inside looks so simple and clean I would think you weren't done yet. Great job again.

hyiu · « **Reply #29 on:** July 14, 2004, 12:24:56 pm »

damm..... oscar... GREAT JOB on the scrap pieces....

how come my pile of scrap pieces are just that ??..... pile of crap ??.... doesn't turn into a nice cool fun looking cab like yours ??..

anyway.... even my cab looks like a pile of scrap in comparsion.... damm....

DarkKobold · « **Reply #30 on:** July 14, 2004, 03:11:51 pm »

Oscar - few questions-
1st, where did you get the 9in1 jamma, how much did you pay, and did you get to select the game?

2nd, Where are you getting all of your tubes to put your 8-liners chassis on? I'm in Mich as well, so I'm hoping to get a 25" tube to save on shipping. I refuse to get a D9200, because turtles was 25, not 27.

3rd, how is it humanly possible to create a cab so beautiful in such a short time out of scraps? Unless.... there is something you aren't telling us..........

bdsjake · « **Reply #31 on:** July 14, 2004, 04:15:32 pm »

I'm also curious where to get the 9-1 board, and also the new power supply, and harness. Am thinking that set up would be nice in a cocktail cab if the board supports cocktail flipping mode.

thanks,

OSCAR · « **Reply #32 on:** July 14, 2004, 10:35:46 pm »

whammoed - Yeah, that's one of the nice things about a jamma cab, just one $15 jamma harness pretty much takes care of everything except for the AC wiring, which is also pretty easy. I've often thought that even when making a brand new cab, wiring it for jamma and then using a JPAC would be a very easy way to make it. Then you have the added bonus of being able to play jamma boards, too.

DarkKobold - LOL! Now that is funny! Truthfully, though, I rarely wear the cape in the workshop, I'm afraid it might get tangled up in the router.

I just get the tubes from local TV repair shops. The shop I get most of my tubes from leave the TV's out on the back loading dock, free for anyone to stop back and grab whatever they want. Make's it nice for a night time tube run...

This cab took me about 3 weekends to put together. One to build the cab, the second to paint & wire it, and the third to install the artwork and tweak it in. Then there were a couple nights that I had a few hours to spend refinishing the coin door, cp, do up the bezel, etc...

BTW, DarkKobold & bdsjake, you've got PM...

Thanks again everyone!!

Mametrix-Reloaded · « **Reply #33 on:** July 15, 2004, 05:51:44 pm »

Oh now that's not fair...

I want PM too... (hopefully with the same info that they wanted )

-mike

OSCAR · « **Reply #34 on:** July 16, 2004, 12:04:57 am »

Quote from: Mametrix-Reloaded on July 15, 2004, 05:51:44 pm

Oh now that's not fair... I want PM too... (hopefully with the same info that they wanted )

-mike

Heh, okay, you have PM, too...

Wade · « **Reply #35 on:** July 19, 2004, 11:17:03 am »

Kelsey,

Wow, you never cease to amaze me with the quality of your projects! And you whip them up so quickly, for me to make something nice I have to spend ages...

So how do you feel about the 9-in-1 board? Since you are familiar with both Mame and the original games, how do you think it compares? Does it have the slight jerk in certain games (like pacman) like Mame does? (or is that a vga-specific problem, I'm not recalling). Are all the sounds perfect, or can you tell it is an emulation board? I know that 95% of the people out there wouldn't notice these things, but I'm just wondering if an expert can tell. Personally, I think they are slick boards and even if they work just like Mame, I would be tempted to use them for such a project.

Also, do you have an original pac cabinet to compare the artwork? I wonder how much the colors match. Although, unless someone finds a really mint original, it's hard to know how much the original paint has faded or darkened from age. The original cabs had the blue paint splashes all over them, which it doesn't look like the new art has. How thick is the material? Did you apply it right on the wood, or did you coat it with paint or some kind of sealer first? I have never seen one fo the stickers up close, but I can't help but wonder how well they stick. It seems like it would take some skill to make it stick well.

Wow, that's a lot of questions!

Again, totally impressive job!! You sure are efficient with your use of materials and your time invested.

Wade

Nefesis · « **Reply #36 on:** July 20, 2004, 11:28:56 pm »

i've got another question... it looks like there are toggle switches in the coin door. what do they do (or maybe i should ask are they even toggle switches)?

whammoed · « **Reply #37 on:** July 20, 2004, 11:31:42 pm »

Toggle switches? I think you are looking at the coin reject buttons.

Nefesis · « **Reply #38 on:** July 20, 2004, 11:34:13 pm »

probably... it hought they were either toggle switches or push-in buttons. couldn't really tell from the picture.

Matt, GoC · « **Reply #39 on:** July 21, 2004, 02:19:16 am »

Oscar, what type of wood did you build that out of? It looks like wheatboard to me (I work with it every day where I work). If it is, could you elaborate on what you think of it? My cab is part wheatboard, part MDF, all incomplete

. I'd like to know how you'd paint it without it looking like crap. I've found spraypaint doesn't work well with it, unless you have primer under it. Thanks.

EDIT:
I'm almost certain that's wheatboard. It has the same color and "texture", and even leaves shine marks when scratched.

* Apocalypse Never pauses for a moment, then realizes he knows WAY too much about wheatboard...

Heh, that "me" switch is kinda cool.


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