First cab - completed (pretty much)

[whatisk]

Been working on my first cab for a while now (built from scratch).
Finally got around to taking some photos.
It is based around an Aussie Lowboy.

The specs of the machine are:
P4 2.4 with 512MB RAM
Graphics and sound are onboard.
Running XP Pro, Mame v.95, Daphne, Visual Pinball and SKJukebox with Mamewah as the frontend.
Logitech 2.1 speakers.

The cabinet is being built at my parents house as Dad has all the tools and the space for construction.

I have a temp/POC control panel back at my place, so when it's time to take that apart and wire it into the cabinet, I will get a photo of it first.

Attached photos here are of the front and side view.

[whatisk]

I also have purchased a couple of 20 cent coin mechs. I haven't decided as yet whether I will be putting both in, or just one.

Also, as I am using a 21 inch PC monitor, I wanted to make sure that it would be held firmly in place and not possibly fall onto the PC below. To help with this, a metal frame was made and attached to the walls of the cabinet.

[hbm*rais]

   Hi Whatisk,

   Your project is looking good!  Keep the pictures coming :-)!

   How did you attach the metal frame to the cabinet's walls?

   What are the external dimentions of you cab?

   My first cabinet was a low boy, very similar to yours. Me and a friend, we did twin cabinets. You can find the thread here:

http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?topic=28763.msg240438#msg240438

   Let me know if I can help you with any tips. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did mine!

   Good luck!

[whatisk]

[whatisk]

The following few posts are more pictures of the monitor frame and how the monitor sits on it:

[whatisk]

And some more...

[whatisk]

Couple more... 

[whatisk]

Final one. I should really look at trying to get some sort of webpage going for this...

[AlanS17]

I've always liked the look of those things.

[whatisk]

Couple of pics of the POC control panel.
First is of the panel itself.
Second is my expert wiring job on the underside. There is a Keywiz in there somewhere 

[whatisk]

Couple more pics showing the drilled contorl panel (all except for the plunger button).

These pics give some idea as to how the finished product should look.

[whatisk]

Cab is now pretty much done.

At the moment as in order to get into it I need to take off the whole lower front panel (until I get around to making a coin door), I ended up using an old patch panel and network cabling to enable quick connecting and disconnecting of the buttons and joysticks.

It also helped keep the wiring a lot neater

[whatisk]

Here are some pics of the finished product.

Things left to do are:
Redo the marquee - I've figured out my Rasterbator printing problem.
Put a light behind the marquee.
Put in a coin door and box - at the moment if you put a coin in, it just falls to the bottom of the cab 

Any comments appreciated.

[DannyH]

Looks awesome.

The one think I would suggest is buying some plain black electrical tape and running it around the edge of the monitor then putting the bezel back on. This should clear up and of the "cream" colour from the screen

[whatisk]

Looks awesome.

The one think I would suggest is buying some plain black electrical tape and running it around the edge of the monitor then putting the bezel back on. This should clear up and of the "cream" colour from the screen

Thanks!

The bits where the cream is showing through is where I had the masking tape raised a little around the edges of the screen before spray painting the whole plastic surround (I guess that would be the bezel?). At a later stage, I am looking at getting some tinted glass or something like that to put over the top. In the meantime, I might get a black marker or something and colour in the unpainted spots.

[DannyH]

electrical tape is easier. I had to do it on my one, cost like 30cents a role or something. Its not a major thing just makes it look crisper and cleaner. Tinted glass is definately the go though for the screen, especially since its a normal monitor you can brighten it up if needs be.

I am currently debating on whether i should get tinted or plain, but think tinted will probably win out depending on the price

[whatisk]

electrical tape is easier. I had to do it on my one, cost like 30cents a role or something. Its not a major thing just makes it look crisper and cleaner. Tinted glass is definately the go though for the screen, especially since its a normal monitor you can brighten it up if needs be.

I am currently debating on whether i should get tinted or plain, but think tinted will probably win out depending on the price

I'll definitely look into the electrical tape as an option for the moment. Only thing is that it might look a bit weird as well because while the cab is done in semi-gloss, the area where the monitor is I did in matte to cut down on glare and reflections. If I put electrical tape around the edge if the screen it might look a bit weird being shiny while the rest of the area is more dull. I don't even notice it anymore - especially when playing 

[whatisk]

For those that may be interested, here is a photo of my plans. Has been scaled down and unfortunately I don't have any real nicely drawn ones. Just fairly rough scrawlings over several pages.

I will be endevouring to scan what I have so that those that are interested can have better ones to work from.

[GameOver]

Hey nice job!  And quick too.  Looks great & nice 'n compact!  Well done.

Where'd ya get those .20 mechs?  What coins/tokens do they accept?

Looks GREAT!   

[whatisk]

Hey nice job!