Cocktail: Knights of the Arcade Table [IT WORKS!! (8.17.06)]

[whatzcrackn]

That looks pretty good to me!  I am curious to see how it will look on the final cabinet.

This is one of the 5 Star Wars characters I'm having drawn for my tabletop art:



Also, small update at www.knightsofthearcadetable.blogspot.com

how is the artwork coming along?  I am having no luck with mine

[javeryh]

It works!!!  After months of inactivity I was able to find some time this weekend to work on my cab again.  I wired up the P1 and P2 CPs and I was actually playing Ms. Pac-man!  (I couldn't figure out how to flip the screen for player 2 even though I set it to "cocktail mode").  I still have to wire up the 3rd CP, install the monitor, speakers, fans and buy a computer to run everything (I was using my laptop for testing).  I can see the finish line!

[javeryh]

OK, I figured out how to run Ms. Pac-man... the controls aren't as responsive as I'm used to (I'm using T-Stiks instead of the authentic Ms. Pac-man joystick) but I guess I will get used to the throw and clickiness after a while...

I need to figure out how to wire up the spinner, trackball and the coin door as well as how to wire up the 3 fans I have installed (hopefully it's enough to cool everything).  I also need to buy a computer to run everything (and put it together - something I've never done) and also figure out how to get the software running and the one-button power-up, etc.  I still have a long way to go even though 99% of the physical construction is complete... will it ever end???

[javeryh]

Updated!  06.14.2006.  I finished the control panels and wired 2 of them to the ipac, installed speaker/fan grills and a bunch of other miscellaneous things.  Here are some no-so-informative pictures.  You can read about it here: www.knightsofthearcadetable.blogspot.com and see close ups of the pictures for more detail.

Cab interior with some wiring and tabletop clips:


Partially wired ipac:


Speaker Grills (covered screw heads on left):


Player 1 CP with admin buttons installed:


Player 2 CP with admin buttons installed:


Player 3/4 CP with admin buttons installed:


Top and side upside down with black piano hinge:

[javeryh]

Updated blog again... www.knightsofthearcadetable.blogspot.com

[Hiub1]

Looking sharp! How big is the monitor going to be, and is it an arcade or tv?

[javeryh]

Looking sharp! How big is the monitor going to be, and is it an arcade or tv?

Thanks!!  I am going to be using a 19" arcade monitor - the Vision Pro 19" Horizontal Mount Monitor to be exact.  I've tested it and the games look fantastic - much more authentic than a computer monitor, IMO.

[javeryh]

OK, starting tonight and all weekend long I will be putting the finishing touches on my cabinet.  All of the computer parts have arrived so all I have to do is put everything in there, install the monitor and wire up the long CP... and that's it!  Well, minus the artwork for the tabletop and other miscellaneous stuff like lighting the coin slots and the plexi above the player 1 and player 2 control panels (which I will get to if there is time)... 

Oh, I also have to actually put the computer together which is something I've never done before (all of my home computers are Dells).  I'm really really nervous about this part because my fear is that I just won't be able to install the operating system (I'm going to use the XP discs that came with my laptop) and get everything running.  I also am going to try running MaLa as a frontend so I can have the game menu rotate appropriately depending on the controls that are touched and I haven't tinkered with that yet either...

I have tonight after work and then 2 full days though (wife and kid are at the in-laws) so I hope to be able to finish...  God I wish I could just leave work now... 

[vader]

Oh, I also have to actually put the computer together which is something I've never done before (all of my home computers are Dells).  I'm really really nervous about this part because my fear is that I just won't be able to install the operating system (I'm going to use the XP discs that came with my laptop) and get everything running.  I also am going to try running MaLa as a frontend so I can have the game menu rotate appropriately depending on the controls that are touched and I haven't tinkered with that yet either...

Looking great so far.  Not to be the bearer of bad news, but the discs that came with your laptop will most likely not allow to install the OS on another computer.  Especially if its a
Dell the discs came with.  This is done by MS to not allow someone to purchase a comp and install OS's on every Tom, Dick, and Harry's comp.

[javeryh]

Oh, I also have to actually put the computer together which is something I've never done before (all of my home computers are Dells).  I'm really really nervous about this part because my fear is that I just won't be able to install the operating system (I'm going to use the XP discs that came with my laptop) and get everything running.  I also am going to try running MaLa as a frontend so I can have the game menu rotate appropriately depending on the controls that are touched and I haven't tinkered with that yet either...

Looking great so far.  Not to be the bearer of bad news, but the discs that came with your laptop will most likely not allow to install the OS on another computer.  Especially if its a
Dell the discs came with.  This is done by MS to not allow someone to purchase a comp and install OS's on every Tom, Dick, and Harry's comp.

I thought so...  I don't know what else to do though...  I need an operating system and I can't pay $400 or whatever they charge these days for a new copy of XP.  I'm hoping there is some sort of limit on the amount of computers that you can install XP on (like at least 2!).  It seems a little crazy to me that if something went wrong with my computer it would also mean I had to rebuy XP.  Any ideas?

[vader]

If you own the retail version, you can install it on another computer provided you don't have it active on your existing.  MS does the online key validation which is a pain.

[gamecreature]

Sadly, Microsoft is kind of touchy about people doing that. Do you happen to have an older OS lying around? I'm running Windows ME and Mala on my puny little 300 Mhz computer and it plays the older games just fine (the cab boots directly to Mala - I can walk you through it). If you do happen to have an older OS and simply must have XP, the upgrade cost is $99. Buying it without the upgrade is $179 and there it gets interesting - because $50 more will get you a refurbished Dell with XP installed and a really nice processor and ram and all of the other bells and whistles.

One thing I would reccomend is make sure your computer is up and running the way you want it before you put it into your system. Just spread all of the components (mouse, keyboard, etc) on the floor and turn it on and make sure all of your files are where they need to be and you can play your games. You DO NOT want to trouble shoot your computer after it is put into the cabinet. If you have a home network, make sure the network cable is handy - instead of plugging and unplugging the cable from the CPU each time you want to change things in your computer, set things up so you're just plugging and unplugging it from your router. You've already got a power cord coming out of that thing, a network cable probably won't make too much of a difference.

[javeryh]

Sadly, Microsoft is kind of touchy about people doing that. Do you happen to have an older OS lying around? I'm running Windows ME and Mala on my puny little 300 Mhz computer and it plays the older games just fine (the cab boots directly to Mala - I can walk you through it). If you do happen to have an older OS and simply must have XP, the upgrade cost is $99. Buying it without the upgrade is $179 and there it gets interesting - because $50 more will get you a refurbished Dell with XP installed and a really nice processor and ram and all of the other bells and whistles.

I do not have an older OS lying around.  The only computers in my house are a desktop with Windows 98 and a laptop with XP.  They are both store bought machines.  My MAME computer will be the first one I've ever put together myself.  I'm not wed to XP (I'll run 98 if it will still work but I do want to be able to play KI, MKII and SFA3 - I'm not sure if the OS matters or not for that).  I do plan on running MALA with the Gamelauncher skin unless you create a vertical version of your skin  (since it's a three-sided cocktail I want vertical and horizontal support for the game lists).  I might take you up on your offer to walk me through booting to the front end directly - that's the effect I'm going for when I turn the cab on with the press of a button.

One thing I would reccomend is make sure your computer is up and running the way you want it before you put it into your system. Just spread all of the components (mouse, keyboard, etc) on the floor and turn it on and make sure all of your files are where they need to be and you can play your games. You DO NOT want to trouble shoot your computer after it is put into the cabinet. If you have a home network, make sure the network cable is handy - instead of plugging and unplugging the cable from the CPU each time you want to change things in your computer, set things up so you're just plugging and unplugging it from your router. You've already got a power cord coming out of that thing, a network cable probably won't make too much of a difference.

I do plan on setting up the computer outside of the box but I wasn't planning on linking it to a home network or anything - I wouldn't even know where to begin.  I have a DVD drive that I guess I could pop in if I ever wanted to add or remove files/games although setting up a wireless home network would be great - I just don't know how (I do have a wireless router for my laptop working though).  The more I think about this the more my head hurts - it is going to be tough!

[gamecreature]

I do plan on running MALA with the Gamelauncher skin unless you create a vertical version of your skin  (since it's a three-sided cocktail I want vertical and horizontal support for the game lists).

I'll add it to my exponentially growing list of things to do.

I might take you up on your offer to walk me through booting to the front end directly - that's the effect I'm going for when I turn the cab on with the press of a button.

You should be able to do it with Windows 98. For XP, you'll need to check out the topics on that subject in the software forum and on Wiki. The main thing to keep in mind is that you'll either need a boot disk or a network to access the guts - once you've done this thing, you'll lose access through the usual channels. Mine's on a network, so when I need to make changes, I can open up the computer through one of the other network computers and mess around without having to invoke the windows desktop on the game computer.

I do plan on setting up the computer outside of the box but I wasn't planning on linking it to a home network or anything - I wouldn't even know where to begin.  I have a DVD drive that I guess I could pop in if I ever wanted to add or remove files/games although setting up a wireless home network would be great - I just don't know how (I do have a wireless router for my laptop working though).  The more I think about this the more my head hurts - it is going to be tough!

Yep, it can be quite daunting, particularly if you've never done something like that before. Do you have a router or just a network card on your laptop? Windows has some built in wizards for home networking, but even that can be a headache, especially if something goes wrong. Just take it slow and don't do anything "permanent" until you're sure the hardware and software is functioning the way you like it. If that means you spend a few extra days booting to windows instead of your FE, so be it. It's preferable to the headaches of locking yourself out of your desktop and not having any way of getting back in!

[javeryh]

OK, I think I have everything properly plugged into my motherboard - 2 RAM sticks, SATA hard drive (ribbon) with power, DVD drive (ribbon) with power, the processor and heat sink and the PSU... Now how do I turn the damn thing on? I don't have a case so there's no button...

Also, what will hapen once I turn it on since there is no OS? Every computer I've ever used boots to windows...

I just dug out the discs that came with my Dell and the XP disc says "reinstallation CD MS Windows XP Home Edition Including Service Pack 2" on it. It also says to "only use this CD to reinstall the OS on a Dell computer." Looking in the manual that came with my computer under "reinstalling XP" it doesn't mention that you can't put it on another computer but I'm a little hesitant. I don't want to screw up my new computer by installing something that wasn't meant for it. I am so uneducated when it comes to this stuff I want to scream.

What are the chances of burning down the house today?

THANKS!

[vader]

OK, I think I have everything properly plugged into my motherboard - 2 RAM sticks, SATA hard drive (ribbon) with power, DVD drive (ribbon) with power, the processor and heat sink and the PSU... Now how do I turn the damn thing on? I don't have a case so there's no button...

Also, what will hapen once I turn it on since there is no OS? Every computer I've ever used boots to windows...

To turn it on.

On the edge of the motherboard you will see 2 rows of about 10 pins each paraell to each other.  Two of those pins ( side by side ) will power up the computer.  Just short them out with something metal ( screwdriver, you can remove the screwdriver after power on.

One problem you may have as far as your SATA drive is concerned.  Most earlier MB did
not support SATA natively any you would have to have a floppy drive hooked up to load the driver for it.   If your's doesn't and you do indeed have this disk, I believe you press F8 when it ask you if you need to load a 3rd party device driver.

Hopefully your MB is SATA native and you won't have to worry about it, other than that your on the right track

[javeryh]

Thanks - I actually just stole the power button from another computer so I'm going to give that a shot.  The wires are blue and white - does it matter which wire goes where?  The instructions that came with my motherboard say 2 pins are for reset and 2 pins are for power (the other pins are for LEDs) - I'm assuming I want to use the pins for power...  My plan is to use a mini-arcade button mounted on the outside of the cabinet to turn it on and off so I'll have to splice the current button with the new one when I'm ready.

Also, my motherboard is SATA compliant.  There are two SATA ports and I hooked the HDD into one of them.

I have everything ready to turn on (I'm afraid to for some reason...) but I think I'm just going to go and spend the $150 for XP to avoid these hassles - it will come in handy down the road when I build another cabinet anyways... it's lilke an investment or something...

[vader]

The blue and white wires are for reset, normally.......but vary from machine to machine.

You can use it or the screwdriver, doesn't matter.

Any motherboard with SATA connectors is compliant, but that doesn't mean it's native.

Big difference there.  Good chance though if your MB was made in the last year, you should
be ok

[javeryh]

WOO HOO!!! I powered it up and it freaking worked!!! The computer seemed to detect everything - the screen listed everything I connected (I think) and then said press F8 to SETUP. I turned it off from there.

I'm going to install XP and then configure everything to run MAME later this afternoon. Time to start measuring and prepping the cab for all of the internal pieces... holy crap I'm psyched - I can almost see the finish line way off in the distance...

[vader]

WOO HOO!!! I powered it up and it freaking worked!!! The computer seemed to detect everything - the screen listed everything I connected (I think) and then said press F8 to SETUP. I turned it off from there.

I'm going to install XP and then configure everything to run MAME later this afternoon. Time to start measuring and prepping the cab for all of the internal pieces... holy crap I'm psyched - I can almost see the finish line way off in the distance...

At this point, your still booting from the CD, but you are having good signs indeed

[javeryh]

There's no CD in my DVD drive... or are you talking about something else?  There was a CD that came with my motherboard - should I install whatever is on there first or do I wait and put XP on there first?

[vader]

There's no CD in my DVD drive... or are you talking about something else?  There was a CD that came with my motherboard - should I install whatever is on there first or do I wait and put XP on there first?

looks like we both misunderstood on that one.

Are you just seeing the post screen when your booting up
IE : showing cd drives, hard drives and such ?

You will need to install XP first then load whatever MB drivers you have.
IF you have internet connection, go to the MB site first and d/l the drivers
directly, their surely more updated than what came on your cd.

What model MB do you have ?

[javeryh]

I have this:  ECS 761GX-M754 (3.0C) w/XPM 3100+ AMD Athlon XP Mobile 3100+ Socket 754 SiS 761 GX Micro ATX Motherboard/CPU Set.  There are a few pictures of it on my site: knightsofthearcadetable.blogspot.com. 

I will not have an internet connection so I have to go with what's on the CD, I guess.  The screen that showed up when I powered it on was just in black and white text and it seemed to list the parts that I had connected to the motherboard...

I am going to attempt to install XP in a couple of minutes...

[javeryh]

OK, I got XP up and running... I called MS and they just gave me an activation key... sweet!  It's the cleanest desktop I've ever seen - just one icon for the recycle bin!  Now I have to install MAME and a frontend - are there any other programs I should have on there?  Like Flash or something?  Will MAME just run in and of itself?  THANKS!

[theCoder]

After I got my last machine set up with mamewah, I took a screenshot and made it the background image on XP.  That way when the machine is booting, you get the illusion that it is ready earlier.  It also helps cover up (a little) the fact that you're running windows in your cab. 

Also, I'm not exactly sure how I did this, but my XP machine boots up without requiring a login.  I believe it is because I didn't set up any accounts and left the administrators password blank. 

Good luck with your configuration.

[javeryh]

After I got my last machine set up with mamewah, I took a screenshot and made it the background image on XP.  That way when the machine is booting, you get the illusion that it is ready earlier.  It also helps cover up (a little) the fact that you're running windows in your cab. 

Also, I'm not exactly sure how I did this, but my XP machine boots up without requiring a login.  I believe it is because I didn't set up any accounts and left the administrators password blank. 

Good luck with your configuration.

That's a great idea - I think I'm going to also try to have the computer boot straight to the front-end but I don't know how to do that yet.  I am installing MAME right now and I guess I just want to put all the ROMs in there instead of picking and choosing (how else will I uncover those hidden gems?)... couple of questions:

1.  Do I just copy each and every rom file, every sample and every chd to their respective folders?

2.  What about all variations on the different games? I don't want 10 variations of a game to appear in the game menu (I'm using gamelauncher right now) - I think it has something to do with parent roms but I'm not sure how that works.  For example, I think pacman.zip doesn't work on it's own because you need puckman.zip or something but I don't want both Pac-Man and Puck-man to appear as choosable games...  I hope I'm being clear enough...

THANKS!!!

[javeryh]

Well, I don't have any new pictures because my wife has our camera but I managed to install the computer inside of the cabinet this weekend.  I haven't mounted the monitor yet - that will probably be the last thing I do but I have connected a computer monitor so I can tinker/tweak the software and front end.

Holy crap what a mess - I even used ties to bunch wires together but somehow it still looks messy.  I haven't even really started wiring the controls yet but I think I can keep that pretty organized since I am the one determining wire length (I can run wires along the sides of the cab instead of stretching across the middle to power a fan or connect the HDD to the motherboard, etc.).  Damn, pics would really help...

It's my first computer build and I'm pretty proud that I got it to work (with the help of some BYOAC members, of course).  Tomorrow I am going to drill the final holes in the cab (after painfully taking everything out):

1.  4.5" hole in the botton for third fan
2.  1/8" hole for power switch
3.  1/4" hole for volume control (I have to cut and then splice the controls after threading the wire through the hole)

Once I get this done and everything back in there I can wire the controls starting on Wednesday.  I imagine the trackball and spinner will give me the most problems...

[theCoder]

1.  Do I just copy each and every rom file, every sample and every chd to their respective folders?

2.  What about all variations on the different games? I don't want 10 variations of a game to appear in the game menu (I'm using gamelauncher right now) - I think it has something to do with parent roms but I'm not sure how that works.  For example, I think pacman.zip doesn't work on it's own because you need puckman.zip or something but I don't want both Pac-Man and Puck-man to appear as choosable games...  I hope I'm being clear enough...

THANKS!!!

1)  When you install mame (I use mame32) it will automatically create a number of subdirectoriies.  The main ones I'm concerned with are /roms and /snap.  The roms go in the roms directory (duh) and the screen shot images go in the snap directory.  Another directory of interest is /samples which contains supporting sound files. 

2)  Don't even try to deal with all 5000+ roms.  I did a bunch of searches on the words "mame" and "top 10" or "top 25" or "top 100".  After compiling the list, I came up with about 100 or so games that make sense.  Of those, only about 15 actually got played over the 2 years I had that cab.  Also, a few of my favorite games did not make the list (star castle and ripoff for example).  To answer your question more directly, I would delete the .zip files from the rom directory for all but one version of any given game.  You might want to find which one works best on your machine because sometimes a clone may work better than the original.

[javeryh]

That's a good idea - the 5,000+ game list is just too out of control.  It takes a solid 2 minutes to just scroll from Arkanoid to Street Fighter - unacceptable.  I'm just worried about missing out on some hidden gem that I'll never get a chance to play...

[gamecreature]

I have an "All Games List" and a "Favorites" list on MaLa. One of the things I like about MaLa is that I whenever I find (or remember) a game that I want on my favorites list, I can easily copy it from the all games list without having to exit MaLa. Just hit the Player Two button to open up the menu, select "Game List" and then "Add Selected Game" then pick the list you want the game to be added to. Much more fun to browse and play the games and then put them on your list of favorites. 100 games is much easier to navigate than 2000!

[javeryh]

Wow that sounds cool.  This weekend (starting tonight) I'm going to sit down and figure out how to:

1.  Install MaLa to run MAME
2.  Change the default layout
3.  Manage ROMS (hiding clones and creating various "playlists")

I am computer retarded though so this could take forever.

[NightGod]

Another thing I did was go in and make 27 lists, one for each letter of the alphabet and one for the number titles. Speed things up alot when you know what game you want to go to and don't have it in your favorites list.

[javeryh]

Wow that sounds cool.  This weekend (starting tonight) I'm going to sit down and figure out how to:

1.  Install MaLa to run MAME
2.  Change the default layout
3.  Manage ROMS (hiding clones and creating various "playlists")

I am computer retarded though so this could take forever.

1.  Done
2.  Done
3.  Not so much... haven't tried yet though...

I'm just going to load ALL roms and chd files to the apropriate folders in MAME and then use MaLa to sort everything.

Also, is there a place I can download all of the SNAPs?  There is a post by NIVO in the Software forum but it doesn't work anymore...

[javeryh]

Crap!!!  So close...  All I have left to do is attach the top of the monitor to the tabletop (it is attached to the side panel alrerady) and then attach the hinged door to the base with the piano hinge and fire it up.

ONE FREAKING THING!!!!   

I just don't know how to do it exactly so I decided to sleep on it instead of rushing through it and messing it up.  I need to somehow make a shim exactly 2-1/16" thick and roughly 13" long and 1-1/4" wide.  Then I need to drill a hole all the way through the 2-1/16" side to accept a lag bolt.  I don't have a tablesaw and I don't have a drill press.  Hmm... I'm so stuck...

[javeryh]

OK, I lied... here's the definitive list of things I have to do to finish (or at least all I can think of):

Construction:
1.  Monitor mount with shims to table top
2.  Drill holes in base and install leg levelers
3.  Drill hole for speaker volume controls
4.  Splice speaker controls and thread through hole
5.  Mount volume control underneath long CP with velcro
6.  Wire coin door switches to ipac
7.  Set coin door to accept tokens
8.  Wire coin door LEDs to power supply
9.  Wire plexiglass LEDs to powersupply
10.  [Figure out how to remove CPs]
11.  Seal any gaps in CPs
12.  Connect monitor and top to base unit with piano hinge
13.  Seal any gaps between bezel and monitor
14.  Plug monitor into motherboard
15.  Install glass clips to hold glass in place
16.  Install t-molding around CP3
17.  Glue grommit for power supply plug in place
18.  Apply admin button stickers

Other:
1.  Print artwork to scale on vinyl at www.mamemarquees.com
2.  Apply artwork to tabletop

To Buy:
1.  Two (2) 2-1/16" x 13" x 1-1/4" shims for monitor mount
2.  Plexiglass for CP1 and CP2 lighting
3.  LEDs for CP1 and CP2 lighting and coin door lights
4.  Admin button labels

Computer Set-Up:
1.  Install and configure MaLa (hide all non-parent ROMs / pick skin)
2.  Install and configure NES and SNES emulators
3.  Hide Windows operation as much as possible upon boot up and power down

I think this will all be doable in a weekend (minus printing the art) as a lot of these tasks are very small but necessary.  My biggest headache will be figuring out a way to remove all of my CPs for maintenance.  I had planned on using molex connectors for each wire but when they arrived I really didn't have the knowledge on how to put everything together (sockets, pins, plugs and receptacles) and I was under a tight schedule to finish the wiring (I'll give them a try on my next project).  Anyway, I have a bunch of wires going from each button directly to the ipac.  They are neatly tied so I'm guessing somewhere I'll cut them all at the same spot and install a plug of some sort - I just don't know what type of plug or how to go about making the connections...

I'm so close I can taste it!!

[javeryh]

Finally - I found the camera!  Here are some shots of the interior...






You can see that there are a ton of wires inside - I don't know how some of you maintain such clean cabinets.  The speakers/subwoofer was the main culprit - there is a power cord, two cords to the individual speakers and a cord for the volume control unit (which you can see just sitting in the coin box - I haven't decided where to mount it yet).  I just ended up bunching the wires with ties - I guess I could have cut the wires to the proper length and reattach them with some electrical tape but that seemed like a lot of unnecessary work.

The power supply wires to the fans were also hard to keep neat and I also have an extra wire running from the underside of the third CP to the motherboard (the twisted black and green wire) for the power button to the computer.  One press turns everything on and another press powers everything off.  I really like this feature (I still have to do a ton of software tweaking like getting the computer to boot to the FE, manage the games, install NES/SNES emulators, etc.).

I'll post some more pics in a little while... thanks for looking!!!

[javeryh]

I asked this over in the Main Forum but I haven't got a response yet so I thought I'd ask here.  I'll try to explain this as best as I can because the only picture I have now (below) is crappy and doesn't really show what I need but here goes...

I am mounting the monitor inside my cocktail.  I have already mounted it to the side panel (sucessfully, I think) and the only thing left to do is mount it to the top.  The picture below shows the way I mounted it to the side panel (but of course being the dumbass I am I didn't snap a pic of the part giving me trouble).  In the very upper left you can see the bracket on the monitor frame that will attach to the top.  I need to make a shim EXACTLY 2-3/32" thick (and roughly 13" long and 1-1/4" wide) so the frame can be attached to the table top the same way it is attached to the side.

Once I have the shim made, how should I attach it so it is secure?  I am going to be using some lag bolts to fasten the monitor frame to the shim but I think for maximum support the lag bolt should run through the shim and into the tabletop itself.  I do not have a drill press though so this is going to be tough.  I want this thing to be very very secure (obviously).  I should also add that drilling through the top is not an option.  Any ideas on how to accomplish this?

THANKS!!

[loadman]

Looking Good 

[currygoat11]

Once I have the shim made, how should I attach it so it is secure?  I am going to be using some lag bolts to fasten the monitor frame to the shim but I think for maximum support the lag bolt should run through the shim and into the tabletop itself.  I do not have a drill press though so this is going to be tough.  I want this thing to be very very secure (obviously).  I should also add that drilling through the top is not an option.  Any ideas on how to accomplish this?

I can tell you how I did it. Here is what mine looked like:
http://home.comcast.net/~currygoat55/images/IMG_4818.sm.jpg
http://home.comcast.net/~currygoat55/images/IMG_4820.sm.jpg

First obviously I cut out the shims themselves. See picts. I attached the shims to the tabletop BY THEMSELVES. I drilled out pilot holes for fairly heavy duty wood screws, then drilled out a larger hole (width of the screw head) in the same hole about 1/3 of the way down. This way the wood screws lie below the surface about 3/4" or so. I used I believe 3 wood screws for each shim. I didn't have a drill press or anything. I eyeballed it and was successful. IMPORTANT: when the wood screws penetrated 1/2 way through the tabletop I heard splintering sounds!  What happened is that the tabletop is made of 2 pieces of wood glued together and the wood screw was separating the 2 pieces. So this is problematic. I ended up screwing only 1/2 way through the tabletop so as to not separate/damage the tablestop. You could avoid this by pre-drilling a pilothole maybe 3/4 through the tabletop to ensure the wood screw doesn't try to separate the tabletop pieces. Of course I'm assuming your tablestop is made of 2 pieces of wood glued together. Dunno.

After that was done, I drilled out pilot holes for heavy duty lag bolts and attached the monitor.

Note that securing to the tabletop gives you extra strength but it's not the end-all-be-all. Most of the weight is really held by the hinged door side.

hope this helps a bit.

[javeryh]

Once I have the shim made, how should I attach it so it is secure?  I am going to be using some lag bolts to fasten the monitor frame to the shim but I think for maximum support the lag bolt should run through the shim and into the tabletop itself.  I do not have a drill press though so this is going to be tough.  I want this thing to be very very secure (obviously).  I should also add that drilling through the top is not an option.  Any ideas on how to accomplish this?

I can tell you how I did it. Here is what mine looked like:
http://home.comcast.net/~currygoat55/images/IMG_4818.sm.jpg
http://home.comcast.net/~currygoat55/images/IMG_4820.sm.jpg

First obviously I cut out the shims themselves. See picts. I attached the shims to the tabletop BY THEMSELVES. I drilled out pilot holes for fairly heavy duty wood screws, then drilled out a larger hole (width of the screw head) in the same hole about 1/3 of the way down. This way the wood screws lie below the surface about 3/4" or so. I used I believe 3 wood screws for each shim. I didn't have a drill press or anything. I eyeballed it and was successful. IMPORTANT: when the wood screws penetrated 1/2 way through the tabletop I heard splintering sounds!  What happened is that the tabletop is made of 2 pieces of wood glued together and the wood screw was separating the 2 pieces. So this is problematic. I ended up screwing only 1/2 way through the tabletop so as to not separate/damage the tablestop. You could avoid this by pre-drilling a pilothole maybe 3/4 through the tabletop to ensure the wood screw doesn't try to separate the tabletop pieces. Of course I'm assuming your tablestop is made of 2 pieces of wood glued together. Dunno.

After that was done, I drilled out pilot holes for heavy duty lag bolts and attached the monitor.

Note that securing to the tabletop gives you extra strength but it's not the end-all-be-all. Most of the weight is really held by the hinged door side.

hope this helps a bit.

Awesome!  Thanks for the detailed explanation.  I've been referencing your site A LOT during my build.  Those pictures are great. 

I still have a slight problem and I should have thought of this earlier but I already fastened the monitor to the side panel using the lag screws.  I do not want to unscrew them to fit the other shim because I'm afraid of weakening the joint and not being able to line up the monitor perfectly again...  I think I'm going to try and glue the shim to the top and clamp it in place somehow and then for added support I'm going to use either L-brackets or possibly pocket screws if I can drill them properly.  I don't know... I guess I'll find out when I actually go to attach everything.

I read what you said about how attaching the monitor to just the side panel is enough support and I was so tempted to close up the box and test it but I chickened out.