ZoGo Arcade: *update*: Cup Holders and trackball

[DannyH]

Well after talking to a friend who has had a cab for years I decided to embark on the journey since I had MAME and played a few keyboard games already.

I was thinking about building my controllers then was about to purchase the controls from ozstick when I saw an x-arcade dual stick going at a discounted rate. So I picked myself up a stick and thought now what.

After looking around at cabinets I decided I wanted something fairly compact for my apartment and came across a cabinet retailing for $2000 called the Urban Arcade, I loved it but being completely lacking in decent woodworking skills I realised there was no way I could build it.

So after some further browsing I saw my dream, an LAI 20" Lowboy. It was perfect, the right size and shape for my living room. I looked everywhere for one in my area and couldn't find one, I was told many a nightmare story that 2 years ago they were throwing them out on the side of the street and chopping htem up for fire wood  then I found one, it cost me $200 including shipping as it came 1000KM interstate.

That got here last week.

I bought myselg a compaq MV90 19" monitor for $30AUD on ebay and a P4 1.5Ghz 500MB Ram and 32MB video card for $200AUD and am now ready to mount things.

Last night I got the monitor in by screwing a length of 2x4 to either side as a guide and one on the control panel end as a stopper. I removed the back cover of the monitor, clipped off the plastic tabs and evened it out with some "oiled" wood. The monito now slides in and out of place from the back of the cabinet and sites about 1 - 2 inches from the glass

Tonight I will be putting a further brace beneath the monitor to hold som weight.

I will be cutting some more off the front corners to slide the x-arcade into a shelf and then screwing it in place so it sits pretty much flush with the current controllers.

I am also attaching a USB extension cable and screwing it to the front of the cab near the coin mech so I can plug in other controllers etc for my other emulaters.

The last thing will be to paint it all and by a new sheet of persplex or glass.

Here is a photo of the cabinet before it was shipped to me, I will provide further photos soon.


P.S. what do you think of names (it will be blue ont he sides with a black front) The names I am thinking of are.

- ZoGoCade
- ZoGo Arcade
- MetroCade

[DannyH]

Ok put the monitor in and the control panel. Next is paint and glass, some polishing and fixing up, a marquee and I am done.

Here are some picks. for you all...yeah it needs paint, I have converted a bashed up old cabinet

- Before doing anything

- After fitting a normal Computer monitor

- After fitting the x-arcade


- After fitting the x-arcade


- After fitting the x-arcade


These were taken with a mobile phone at night in my garage so lighting and quality isnt that good, it will start getting better as I add some colour to the machine.

[AlanS17]

where are you from?

[DannyH]

Lower North Shore of Sydney Australia

[Bones]

Going well. Are you planning on adding your own controls at a later stage?

[DannyH]

I will be building a couple more of these for friends and will be building my own controllers for them, I will be keeping one of them and then selling this one.

Cant wait to get the paint on this one!

[Thenasty]

WhatchaMamecallit 

[DannyH]

I think y GF wants me to call it ZoGo-Arcade, but me being no good at graphics etc and not being able to create a decentMarquee might just go with a pre made marquee

[DannyH]

Thought I should add my hardware in there too.


P4 1.5ghz
60GB HD
512MB Ram
32 MB TNT 2 Video card
19inch Compaq Monitor
Windows XP

Controllers:
X-Arcade dual Joysticks
PC Mag Light Gun
2 x PSX dual shock controllers
1 x PSX steering wheel and accellerator
1 x PSX light gun for time crisis

Emulators:
ePSX
MAME32
ZSNES
Nesticle
Gens32
Daphne
Visual PinMame

Front End: GameEx

a crap load of MP3's (it is also my iPOD database machine )

Also have over 200 PSX cdroms from all over the place.

The thing is stacked in all with over 4500 games, including SNES, MAME, PSX, NES and PC

[DannyH]

Right got the thing upstairs and is playable. Still needs to be painted but I had to give the thing a test run.

Will take some more pics on the weekend of how the monitor slides in and out and how it is fixed in.

I also need to put in a keyboard draw and a few minor bits and pieces. The girlfriend isnt realy happy about it

[shodokan123]

you went with an x-arcade... i should SLAP you... lol

[DannyH]

it was a cost and time thing. My complete lack of skill with woodworking didnt help.

My GF had a lot to say about it so I let her see the pre-made ones as oppossed to making my own and she liked the x-arcade the most and didnt want me to build it. So she is the boss

[DannyH]

So Over the weekend I painted my machine, there wasnt much blue paint around my parents shed so I mixed one up close to what i wanted.

Anyway painted the outsides blue and the inside black. Also updated the software on the machine and added my playsteation controllers.

I will add photos tonight.

To Do:
- Cut out Foam Board screen bezel
- By Glass for screen
- Cut out foamboard gap filler for gap where the keyboard draw was going to go.
- Buy and fit trackball
- Have th eboys around for a few beers and a test run

[DannyH]

Some more pics

[Bones]

That's a pretty bloody good looking finish. What type of paint is it and how did you apply? Brush or roller?

[arcadefever]

just missing a cool bezel and VOILA !!!!

[DannyH]

That's a pretty bloody good looking finish. What type of paint is it and how did you apply? Brush or roller?

Its a low sheen applied with a brush. 3 coats.

The reason I used low sheen was because the screws, bumps and texture doesnt show up unless your pretty damn close to the thing. So from other places in my living room you would have no idea there are screws in the side, except for the ones I didnt cover

Heres a tip for you. Use water based paint, it dries quicker and can give a damn good finish.

I will get the exact details of the paint, as in brand etc. My dad is a painter and decorater by trade so he gave me all the paint and the tips and technique on painting. Am well happy with it. Wanted a slightly brighter blue but with limited paint available it came out better than expected


And not wrong about the bezel. I am still thinking about doing and arty bezel but will do a plain black one on the weekend

[DannyH]

Once I get my trackball installed I will also be making a control panel overlay, the X-Arcade symbol annoys me

[DannyH]

Ok got myself 2 folding cup holders for the side of my arcade machine, they fold up and are about the size of a coaste
5-8CM by the same.

I will be screwing them directly into the side of the cab and the fact the fold up means they wont get in the way when moving the machine or moving

Also rather than shelling out the $100+ to get a trackball here in Australia I paid $10AUD and got a second hand Truedocks track ball mouse from ebay. The mouse ball is about the size of a pool ball and works a treat. I just need to paint it all black and try to find a suitable way to attach it to the machine.

If it ends up not being good enough I will buy a proper arcade trackball

[javeryh]

Also rather than shelling out the $100+ to get a trackball here in Australia I paid $10AUD and got a second hand Truedocks track ball mouse from ebay. The mouse ball is about the size of a pool ball and works a treat. I just need to paint it all black and try to find a suitable way to attach it to the machine.

If it ends up not being good enough I will buy a proper arcade trackball

I think you would have an easier time buying an eight ball or something instead of painting the trackball - they don't cost much.  Check out a billiards store or even a juggling store - the balls are standard sizes I think.

[DannyH]

i have a few pool balls from younger days at pubs that i will put on it. i shouldhave clarified, i wont be painting the ball but instead the unit round it.

juggling store is a top idea though, i might find something cool to go in it. cheers