Back to the 80's is alive and working

[teef two]

[I suspect this belongs in project announcements but I'll do that formally when I have good pics and a better finish.]

Well I am really, really pleased. Last night finally got all the bits working together in the cab and it actually plays games. I still have no sound as the AC97 on-board sound does not appear to be working so today I shall go and get a soundblaster live 5.1 card and stick that in.

My wood-working for the control panel box is not of the best and there is still a bit of filling, minor sanding and painting to do along with the addition of some new t-moulding but the main thing is it works. I never really believed it would be possible I could get this done but hey, it's happended.

I even got brave enough last night to wire my own molex extension cable for the marquee light and rip out the on/off switch from the case and wire it to a spare button which I'll mount on the back of the cab for ease of turning on.

Everything is plugged in to a "smart-strip" style extension lead so that when the pc is turned on the montor and speakers get power too.

Wiring is not the prettiest but it's hidden so only concerns me.

Overall I'd say that, yes, this cab could look a lot better but I'm not after design awards. I want something that plays the games I want with a layout I can live with.

The joy last night of starting 1942, tempest pac-man and such. A real sense of - Yeah, I did this. Joysticks work, spinner works, trackball works.

Things I need to finish off are (maybe some here repeated from above but I'm excited!):

Short term
--------------
1. Setting up Mamewah properly (currently test running using mame32)
2. Minor cosmetic work -  filing, sanding off corners, painting
3. Sound
4. New t-moulding
5. Get some sleep - seem to have been up till 1 am every day this week getting things finished.

Long term
-------------
1. Get Daphne installed and working.
2. Wire and set up coin door

And that's it. I'm not going to be constantly tinkering.

Next year I think I'll go on and build a cab from scratch, possibly a cocktail. First though I have to allow my wife to get over the shock of this one!

Things I would have done different if I had had the time:

1. Built from scratch - I think I would have learnt more woodworking skills and not had to make so many compromises.
2. Swappable panels - in the end the cost of doing this could not be justified to the boss!
3. Proper overlay for control panel - I went with a printout and some plexi. Whilst it's good enough for me I think an overlay would definitely give a better look.
4. Take more time on woodworking to give a better overall finish. Maybe invest in some higher quality tools.
5. Build caseless pc from scratch to mount inside cab for space saving reasons.

Things I count as major achievements (stuff I had never done before)
1. Building a control panel and panel box from scratch
2. Mounting a monitor
3. Wiring up monitor cable
4. Learning how to use quick disconnects
5. Wiring a PC start button
6. Extending a PC power cable
7. Learning to use a router (Tim Allen moment!)
8. Cutting and drilling plexi with no cracks first time!
9. Wiring control panel including trackball and spinner.

Anyway that's enough waffle from me. As I said pics will follow. Believe me, if I can manage this then I think anyone can.

[teef two]

Told you it probably did!

[currygoat11]

seem to have been up till 1 am every day this week getting things finished

yeah same here, sometimes until 2:30.... post some picts!

[teef two]

Here I am up late again. Been trying to get mamewah sorted but playing games got in the way! Anyway, some pictures on the result so far. Noticed in the photo's that you can see the monitor frame. In reality the smoked glass means you cannot really see that.

[teef two]

Two more pics; one screenshot and one of how it looked originally.