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Author Topic: So I built a sawboard - now this Party Box? Americade? Bubble-something?  (Read 27687 times)

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DrewKaree

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Re: So I built a sawboard - now this Party Box? Americade? Bubble-something?
« Reply #120 on: January 13, 2006, 03:16:17 am »
[li]If I want to have the PC go with this thing anywhere, I'm gonna have to build a box underneath to hold everything, kinda like an udder, and drill a hole in the CP base. No other way to do it.

You're saying you can't put a motherboard in that box ? even those tiny-factor ones ?
These boards are so small, they just ought to fit in.

Looking great BTW.

Micro-ATX board will only fit sideways due to having to keep the keyboard/mouse connectors facing inwards which then creates problems with the video card, the proc/heatsink/fan, or memory slots blocking a button or joystick hole.  That's what I meant when I said I shoulda bit the bullet and spent another $100 on an ITX board.  :-\

That CP is, side-to-side, as wide as an aircraft carrier, but it's only about 9 inches from front to back at its widest point (7.5 interior).  I'm leaning towards going with the "udder", because I originally wanted to build a showcase cab, but I realized I was getting away from that and would most likely not finish the pedestal unless somehow forced to do so. 

Also, I like the setup as it is, but I may cut another CP top and throw a trackball on there.  I really wanted a trackball, but it just doesn't look like I'll be able to fit it on there without cramming it in there uncomfortably.

Odd isn't it?  A CP that's 5+ feet wide, yet too small to house a PC inside it!  :P
« Last Edit: January 13, 2006, 03:22:01 am by DrewKaree »
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c64rulez

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Re: So I built a sawboard - now this Party Box? Americade? Bubble-something?
« Reply #121 on: January 13, 2006, 03:54:45 am »
What is the height of the inside ?
Why do you need a vga card ? There's agp onboard, no ?

Did you actually try to place such a board inside ?

DrewKaree

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Re: So I built a sawboard - now this Party Box? Americade? Bubble-something?
« Reply #122 on: January 13, 2006, 06:38:01 am »

What is the height of the inside ?


2.5 inches.  I need an AGP card because I need S-video, one more reason I didn't pick up an ITX board.  Onboard S-vid hasn't gotten real good reviews around here either, and the fact that I haven't seen an ITX board with onboard S-vid just sealed the whole deal with that. 

I just got all the stuff in today and (didn't set it up, just testing clearances) plugged all cards and chips in, and laid the proc/hs/fan on top of the socket.  Buttons hang too low to clear some stuff, and a few caps are in the way of a joy.  I picked one of the smaller boards I could get, the problem is that the smaller dimension is the width (I need the length) and it's not small enough to plug cables in without SERIOUS kinks if they'll work at all.

It's no big deal to hang the box underneath because like I said, I wanted to do a showcase to begin with, and this will make me want to actually work on the pedestal.  My plan with the showcase was to house the PC inside the pedestal and have the cables snake into the CP anyway, so this completes that step for me. 

The black pipe will be easily removes, yet allow me to take it around until I complete another CP.  It'll also allow me to see if I need to go 4-player for the next one as well.  My kids, their friends, and my buddies will DEFINITELY utilize the 4-player panel, but if taking it to parties doesn't show a need for a 4-player panel, I'll simply build a smaller one. 

This isn't my first setup, but everything else I built was a "cab" cab, so I never had to worry about these issues.  This won't be my last project either, so swapping out parts as PC parts evolve isn't a big deal. 

An "udder" is probably bringing up some horrible mental images for folks, but I'm not worried.  It's not gonna be some gigantic monstrosity, just tall enough and wide enough to house my PC.  Picture gutting your PC and laying all the parts out on the table, and then plugging everything back in so that it works.  That's all this'll be.

It's not like I'm putting a flat front on a machine that begs for a curved front ;)

Oh, and the CP is getting scrapped to fit a trackball.  Case closed on that one.
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c64rulez

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Re: So I built a sawboard - now this Party Box? Americade? Bubble-something?
« Reply #123 on: January 13, 2006, 06:50:50 am »
Quote
2.5 inches.

Point taken.
Of course once there's a VGA card addon, it's out of the question

Quote
It's not like I'm putting a flat front on a machine that begs for a curved front
But it begs for 3 more inches, no ?

Seriously, what if you cut a square hole at the cp bottom (say, the size of an ITX board),
and attach an opentop box under it, so you can put that ITX board inside.
You then have a combined height for the motherboard (bottom box + cp inside), and maybe
the "underbox" would not protrude as much.
Just an idea...

DrewKaree

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Re: So I built a sawboard - now this Party Box? Americade? Bubble-something?
« Reply #124 on: January 13, 2006, 07:02:30 am »
I was already gonna rout out a recess for the micro-ATX board before finding out it'll suck.  I've got half an inch I can remove from the CP bottom, so there isn't much more I can take out.  The entire thickness of the sides is only 3.5 inches.  The only reason I'm not digging the larger opening in the CP bottom is that if I make the PC box/case/udder, it'll be just to house the PC parts, and will be removed when the pedestal is completed anyway, at which time all the cables will be fed through that same nice small hole to connect to the PC that'll be installed in the pedestal. 

With 2.5", any controls can be mounted while maintaining a small footprint, height-wise.  It STILL seems a tad tall to me, so to my eye, 5 inches would look like a small tug-boat ;D
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c64rulez

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Re: So I built a sawboard - now this Party Box? Americade? Bubble-something?
« Reply #125 on: January 13, 2006, 07:07:16 am »
(another idea)  :angel:

what if you put the whole pc in a second box, fitted exactly for it, and
just make a connection between the two (like a docking station)

It will still stay portable.

DrewKaree

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Re: So I built a sawboard - now this Party Box? Americade? Bubble-something?
« Reply #126 on: January 13, 2006, 07:26:19 am »
So you're saying something like (and EXCELLENT idea ;) ) I could make rails underneath the CP and have the PC box slide into the rails, making the CP mobile AND stationary ("docked" to the pedestal when built)!  Something like a sliding dovetail or a simple drawer slide contraption.

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MikeDeuce

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Re: So I built a sawboard - now this Party Box? Americade? Bubble-something?
« Reply #127 on: January 13, 2006, 01:22:03 pm »
Looks really great so far.

It seems like you are set with your solution, but just FYI, in case you wanted to keep it slick for any reason, do you think these would work:

http://www.markertek.com/SearchProduct.asp?off=0&sort=prod

I could even see two of those used with a riser card like this: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=5831801418&category=1484

Just a thought :)

c64rulez

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Re: So I built a sawboard - now this Party Box? Americade? Bubble-something?
« Reply #128 on: January 13, 2006, 06:12:48 pm »
So you're saying something like (and EXCELLENT idea ;) ) I could make rails underneath the CP and have the PC box slide into the rails, making the CP mobile AND stationary ("docked" to the pedestal when built)! Something like a sliding dovetail or a simple drawer slide contraption.


No rails. No pedestal (What is it for anyway ?). No dovetails.
Just a plain plug-in-that-socket thing.
I guess it's easier to say than to do...

DrewKaree

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Re: So I built a sawboard - now this Party Box? Americade? Bubble-something?
« Reply #129 on: January 13, 2006, 07:18:24 pm »
Looks really great so far.

It seems like you are set with your solution, but just FYI, in case you wanted to keep it slick for any reason, do you think these would work:

http://www.markertek.com/SearchProduct.asp?off=0&sort=prod

I could even see two of those used with a riser card like this: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=5831801418&category=1484

Just a thought :)

Not sure what the markertek thing is.  That link said I needed cookies, and I've been there before.  I think that search was specific to your PC.  Were you showing the pass-throughs they've got?  If so, that was the plan so I'd just have to plug in.  Lemme know what that link was though. 

The riser card won't work.  It jacks the video card up 1.5 inches, and then turns it sideways, putting it closer to the underside of the CP (and controllers :-\ ). 

C64, you've GOT to look for Hulkster's showcase cab.  That will demonstrate what a showcase cab is, and the pedestal will be blatantly obvious.  I'm betting a showcase cab isn't common in your neck of the woods and that's why you don't know, but once you see that, all should be sorted out.

Well, I made CERTAIN I'd have to cut a new CP today so I wouldn't just live with this.  I busted out my slat wall bit to show you guys what it does and how it'll look.  I did this freehand, and the cut is a little wierd at first, and I can see I'm gonna need an edge guide

Here's a pic showing how the entrance hole looks, and the progression.  The first pic is a smaller chunk, second one is the entire cut.  I'm off to a party, and then I'll post the rest when I get back tonight/tomorrow

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DrewKaree

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Re: So I built a sawboard - now this Party Box? Americade? Bubble-something?
« Reply #130 on: January 13, 2006, 07:19:49 pm »
Meh.  I'll throw these pics up and modify this later to 'splain.

Okay.  You saw the bit earlier in this whole thread (it was the one with the blue on it) and the pics above show the start.  That circle looks to be about the width of a regular button hole, and once you plunge it down into the material, you move it to wherever you want.  Underneath, there's a channel getting routed the same width as the original hole, and above, there's a nice little cutout to drop all the wiring in and allow you to easily pull the wiring out if need be, or hide it/keep it OUT of the friggen way!  I LOVE this bit and this idea!

The first pic shows the octopus that is a power supply.  I figured that'd be a good example, since there's a fistful of wiring coming off of all of 'em unless you've got a modular powe supply.  This one just came out of the box, so the wires still have that freshly folded kink in it.  This made it a tad difficult to deal with at first.

The second pic shows how the wires will enter the channel, and how they exit.  This clearly isn't the straightest cut in the world, so you should get a pretty good idea of how well this will work for keeping your wiring clean.  You don't even need to stuff 'em in there, but that's what I did.  I suppose if you really wanted to, you could throw something in the channel after you've got everything all run to cover it all up, but all I'm gonna do is stuff a biscuit or something in there in a few spots to keep everything under there once it's all run.

The third pic shows somewhat just how deep the channels are.  I've stuffed all that wire into that channel on the side, and it's no longer visible.  While making the wiring completely invisible wasn't my goal, if need be, I was able to stuff 3 of the wire sets coming out of the power supply into one side of the channel.  With some time and effort, I could have concealed all of them, since they were almost completely concealed just by running something down the channel to push the wiring in there.  I'm REALLY digging this idea!

There IS a bit of a downside to this.  You need to have a shop vac to clean out the sawdust in the holes.  Also, if you're using MDF, this probably won't be a problem since there is no "grain" or any plies to deal with, but in plywood, I had to take an allen key and run it along the channels with the "L" of the allen key running into the channel to loosen up the crap that was trapped in there to be able to shop vac it out.  For the amount of runs I have to do, I can deal with this little bit of inconvenience, and like I said, probably not an issue with MDF.

You DO NOT need a plunge router to use this bit.  It certainly would help, but it isn't vital.  I wasn't going to bother with taking the motor body out of the fixed base to throw in the plunge base, so I used the fixed base for this example.  Also, in case you're following along and somehow missed it, these pics were taken on the CP you saw cut out above.  I purposefully wrecked that CP to force myself to cut a new one and redo the arrangements of the buttons/joys and give myself room for the trackball.  I'll see if I can find a link for the router bit used here and post it so if anyone wants to use this method they can. 
« Last Edit: January 14, 2006, 12:03:09 pm by DrewKaree »
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Re: So I built a sawboard - now this Party Box? Americade? Bubble-something?
« Reply #132 on: January 14, 2006, 02:38:30 am »
Quote
C64, you've GOT to look for Hulkster's showcase cab. That will demonstrate what a showcase cab is, and the pedestal will be blatantly obvious. I'm betting a showcase cab isn't common in your neck of the woods and that's why you don't know, but once you see that, all should be sorted out.

In my neck of the woods nothing is common, espacially the woods.
I checked out his project and he did a fine piece of work.
I'll have to finish my ongoing project before I dive into the next one, but
I think that a real portable solution needs to be like a "zoomed laptop".
What I mean is something like a standalone cp structure (pc inside) that has an LCD
display (say 19") attached in a laptop manner (somehow...)



I also saw this:

Quote
Hulkster's giving me direction for how he wants his pics set up, and after I get a few more measurements from him, I'll do a cut list, and you can use his pics w/measurements to piece out the cut list and kinda use the pics as your own "assembly guide".
« Last Edit: January 14, 2006, 04:13:08 am by c64rulez »

DrewKaree

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Re: So I built a sawboard - now this Party Box? Americade? Bubble-something?
« Reply #133 on: January 14, 2006, 04:45:42 am »

I also saw this:

Quote
Hulkster's giving me direction for how he wants his pics set up, and after I get a few more measurements from him, I'll do a cut list, and you can use his pics w/measurements to piece out the cut list and kinda use the pics as your own "assembly guide".  I think it's gonna be nicer/easier than hulkster lets on

Do you have them ?


I've got his pics, and some measurements, but not all of 'em.  Jakobud has a measured drawings set of a Dynamo on his site, which is what Hulkster said made him decide to go with that style of cab.  Look on the main page in the "look here" sticky.  I think Jako's somewhere in there.

Quote
Quote
I'm off to a party, and then I'll post the rest when I get back tonight/tomorrow


Do you party, Drew ?

Like a rockstar baby!  An old phlegmatic arthritic rockstar with incontinence ;D
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DrewKaree

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Re: So I built a sawboard - now this Party Box? Americade? Bubble-something?
« Reply #134 on: January 14, 2006, 04:55:00 am »

  Were you showing the pass-throughs they've got?  If so, that was the plan so I'd just have to plug in.  Lemme know what that link was though. 

Ah sorry about the bum link, it was the right angle vga adapters (maybe this one will work)
http://www.markertek.com/SearchProduct.asp?item=MGC%2D15RAX1&off=5&sort=prod

Thought maybe they might help you avoid strange kinks in the cable.

No dice again.  It's using your search parameters, which means your cookies are what that link is looking for.  You gotta hit the exact page of the item.  I'll look those up and post a pic if possible.
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Re: So I built a sawboard - now this Party Box? Americade? Bubble-something?
« Reply #135 on: January 14, 2006, 12:23:37 pm »
You’re always in control of your behavior. Sometimes you just control yourself
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Re: So I built a sawboard - now this Party Box? Americade? Bubble-something?
« Reply #136 on: January 25, 2006, 09:53:53 pm »
man, how come i never looed at this before? you kin do all them there woodworky things!



(",)


ROUGHING UP THE SUSPECT SINCE 1981

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Re: So I built a sawboard - now this Party Box? Americade? Bubble-something?
« Reply #137 on: April 09, 2006, 05:55:52 pm »
Well, I've been doing some work in sporadic bursts as the weather gets nicer, so this little chunk of updates wasn't done in one day, even though there doesn't seem to be much done at all ::)

I wanted to recess the joys, although not as much as some have done, so I decided to throw together a little jig.  In hindsight, I should have made a better jig so I could use it repeatedly, but I didn't have that kind of patience or time.

I used some decking fasteners and some scrap and threw this together.  The decking fasteners go face down, so the router just runs along the 2x material. 
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Re: So I built a sawboard - now this Party Box? Americade? Bubble-something?
« Reply #138 on: April 09, 2006, 06:04:34 pm »
In order to throw that big hunk of junk wood in the right place, what I did was throw some short bolts through the holes in the joys and mark out where it needed to lie.  The first pic shows this - the bolts simply sit in place while I trace the outline.

The second pic shows the jig wrapped around the joy when it's in place.  Essentially, you throw the jig down, run your router bit's bearing around the inside of the jig, and you've got a hole or recess that's the same size as the item you want to fit in there.

The third pic shows just HOW close it is to the size of the joystick base.  This would prove to be my undoing, since I never took into account that curve, nor did I figure my corner chisel would have amazingly grown legs and walked off.  I removed the corners of the first recess with a chisel, utility knife, and mallet.  That would prove to work, but was far from quick.  Later on, you'll see that I decided to simply reposition the jig and make "Mickey Mouse" ears at each corner.  If I do another jig, I'd build it to add those in.  Some folks may not like the look, but I appreciate the extra wiggle/fiddle room they give me, and if I wish to remove the joys, I have someplace I can pull from, instead of wedging something in there, or pushing from the top.
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Re: So I built a sawboard - now this Party Box? Americade? Bubble-something?
« Reply #139 on: April 09, 2006, 06:20:13 pm »
I also got the wiring slot cut.  This was demonstrated earlier, but the difference this time was to throw an edge guide on the router and mark out where I wanted the entrance/exit holes to be. 

The first pic shows first two holes, although they're filled with sawdust. ;D  If you look on the lower part, you can see the pencil marks where the holes are.  This should give me two holes per side and a main exit hole in the center. 

The second pic shows the final two holes, and the middle one is buried underneath a mound of sawdust.  Cutting the corners with the edge guide on wasn't too difficult, but it wasn't easy enough to let me get a nice clean straight line.  As you can see in that pic (and it's almost identical on the other side too) there's a wobble that just wasn't possible to get rid of the way I attacked the situation. 

When I finally do the main never-to-be-redone-again panel, I'll simply move to the middle of the point with the edge guide, have a helper turn the router off, move the edge guide to the other side of the point, turn it back on, and move on down the next angled side.

The last pic shows how it ends, and how each hole is created.  In case you don't know, that's a plunge router base, and it IS NOT necessary to have one in order to use this bit, it just makes it nicer and easier to deal with.  All it really helps to accomplish in this application is make the holes cleaner looking, which has absolutely nothing to do with how they function.  The router is in the non-plunged stage.  Simply plunging it down and letting it un-plunge creates the hole, and moving it along creates the channel.
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Re: So I built a sawboard - now this Party Box? Americade? Bubble-something?
« Reply #140 on: April 09, 2006, 06:34:30 pm »
This last set of pics shows how everything looks when it's done.  I was using a variable-speed router, and in routing this time, I turned it up just a touch, and there seemed to be far less crap left in the channel.  Still needed some cleaning up, but everything came out with the shop vac this time, instead of needing to work the channel with a paperclip and then vac it all over again.

The first pic shows my son doing the tough work for me ;)  He's prolly getting tired of this not being done, but at least he's generally a willing helper if I ask him.  He's actually more interested in the empty Pole Position I have in the basement that will be next (or second to next, or who the heck knows - not enough time in the day and too many ideas and projects to do or re-prioritize ;) ).  I may actually set that one up to work with one of his consoles for him to take with him when he goes to college.  He doesn't know that I'm planning on giving it to him yet, because he'd be bugging the snot out of me to get this one done ;D

The second pic shows everything all cleaned up and lookin' purdy.  If you look at the joystick recesses, you'll see the difference.  The squared-off one is the first option.  I scrapped that QUITE quickly.  Way too fiddly, way too annoying.  The second one shows the "Mickey Mouse" ears, and I like that setup a lot better.  If I create a proper jig, I'd still do it that way.  Lots nicer to me for the reasons listed above.

You can see how the entire channel is done, and the entrance/exit holes along the line.  The wires now simply need to slide in there, and will come out in the center of the whole CP.  Haven't yet decided if I'll use something to fill in the gap after the wires are ran, or if I'll just leave that open.  Ideas of what to use or how to fill will be appreciated to help with that decision.
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Re: So I built a sawboard - now this Party Box? Americade? Bubble-something?
« Reply #141 on: April 09, 2006, 06:51:23 pm »
Dats Fdriggin huge (said with best Scotty impression).
Still reading up on this thing, but it is looking great.
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Re: So I built a sawboard - now this Party Box? Americade? Bubble-something?
« Reply #142 on: April 09, 2006, 07:05:05 pm »
Dats Fdriggin huge (said with best Scotty impression).

Wait'll you take your eyes off of that and look at my CP!  ;)
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Re: So I built a sawboard - now this Party Box? Americade? Bubble-something?
« Reply #143 on: April 10, 2006, 04:33:34 am »
It's kind of big. I suppose.....

Living the delusional lifestyle.

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Re: So I built a sawboard - now this Party Box? Americade? Bubble-something?
« Reply #144 on: April 10, 2006, 12:44:56 pm »
Dats Fdriggin huge (said with best Scotty impression).

Wait'll you take your eyes off of that and look at my CP!  ;)
But captain it's sooooo fdrriggin heeyuge.

I just spent some time (probably too much) reading up on yer  thread. That's a hell of a lotta work.
It is nice to be able to go outdoors and work. Sure snow is great and elves love the sh!t, but it sure slows the building process. Looking forward to seeing how you pull this off. It is a comedy of errors. Although anyone who has built a cab fells yer pain.
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Re: So I built a sawboard - now this Party Box? Americade? Bubble-something?
« Reply #145 on: April 10, 2006, 01:55:09 pm »
All that matters is how I pull the success of the final product out of ---my bottom---, much to everyone's amazement ;D

My brother-in-law's philosophy fits here.  The mark of a good carpenter that you can't tell where his mistakes are.  I'm just telling you all my dirty laundry.  I shoulda just sprung a final pic on you and said "BLAM!  Here it is.  Suck it, Trebek!"
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Re: So I built a sawboard - now this Party Box? Americade? Bubble-something?
« Reply #146 on: April 11, 2006, 06:18:30 pm »
This is definitely going to be made into a pedestal for a showcase cab.

Now that I'm done with the machining for the top, I started laying out stuff today.  I can get the mobo to fit in there without a button or joy hitting it, but adding the CPU fan and the video card takes the height above what I need it to remain under.

The pedestal for this will have to be detachable, so I can take it to one or two parties to see how well it goes over and what gets played at parties so I can determine if I want or need to build an identical one out of MDF to tote around, or if the group I hang out with is better suited for something else.

I'm gonna stack the deck beforehand though and set it up with any 4-player game, some stuff from a few of the party game threads here, and a few oldies-but-goodies like Space Invaders, Ms Pac, Galaga, Frogger, etc.  If I don't need to re-build it, I'll damn sure know what I have to build for next time.

Spar varnish is going on next (why I waited this damn long is a mystery to me too, so shut up ;) ) and I've fastened the joys and buttons to the top.  Mebbe a shot of that later tonight. 

Side note on the buttons - my kids tested it out a while back and really started taking notice of what's used on the games they play.  The middle buttons will be convex while the two outer buttons will be concave.  I tried it as well and agree with their comments.  Their middle fingers seem to get "stuck" with a concave button, but they don't like how it feels like their fingers are sliding off a convex button and sometimes screws up a move for them on an all-convex setup.  I've got buttons for all-concave, but I'm gonna leave it like that and see how it works and how they like it since I went out and bought the danged convex buttons to test 'em out.  If they decide against it, I'll have some white convex buttons to sell.  If they realize they'd like an all-convex setup after all, I'll have some red and blue concave buttons to trade or sell. :P
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I'm definitely going to read through this as I apparently need to have Kinko's print up my marquee for the Pink Ms Pac... none of the usual vendors will go anywhere near it.

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I'm definitely going to read through this as I apparently need to have Kinko's print up my marquee for the Pink Ms Pac... none of the usual vendors will go anywhere near it.

Make sure to get the color profile for your printer so stuff looks right, and add your own registration marks to your print with whatever instructions you want directly on an open area of the print.  That way, there can be no argument if they screw it up.  It'll say right on the dang thing what it's supposed to be.
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Cool.  I just need to find out what registration marks are. 

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Sorry dude, but I named my project Party Box.  I had no idea you were considering that name.

What is the status of your cab?

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Sorry dude, but I named my project Party Box.  I had no idea you were considering that name.

What is the status of your cab?

I think you've mistaken me for someone who would either be upset that you named yours something I considered, or would care if you were upset that I might name mine the same thing ;D

I don't believe I'll care one way or the other.  As for the status, I believe it'll get finished either within the next few weeks, or it'll be left idle until November when my job pretty much comes to a standstill.  Either way, the name of my project is fairly inconsequential to me, and if it happens to be the second iteration by that name, so be it.. :cheers:
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Re: So I built a sawboard - now this Party Box? Americade? Bubble-something?
« Reply #152 on: January 11, 2007, 11:16:05 pm »
BUMP!

(Psst, it's past november)

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Re: So I built a sawboard - now this Party Box? Americade? Bubble-something?
« Reply #153 on: January 12, 2007, 02:52:39 am »
BUMP!

(Psst, it's past november)

DOH!

Thanks for reminding me, dagnabbit ::) ;)

I have actually just recently come to a decision after having this thing starting me in the face every day and it's now come down to money, as in "I need some". 

I'm ditching the old (still new though) system I was going to put in here and instead I'm going with a mini-ITX mobo and a 1U power supply.  Here's links to the 3 mobos I'm deciding on and a pic of what one of these things look like

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813181021

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813181020

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813181019




In case you're unfamiliar with these things, they're a mobo with an embedded processor.  They've got less processing power, but for this application, it's got more than enough power - although I'd like to find out if anyone knows just HOW much power it's got and what version of MAME I'd be best using with it.  I know this will run v0.55 no problems, but I have no idea HOW much higher I can go with MAME. 

The other thing these boards have going for them is power consumption and size.  The power supply I've got picked out is a simple 300W one for a 1U rackmount, seen here: www.pcpower.com linky - click me!

The mobo solves two problems in one.  The 1U power supply is only 2 inches tall, and a 300W psu is WAY more than I need to power the mobo.  As for the size of the mobo, it's under 7" square, so I'll be able to place it just about anywhere I want.

Lastly, I need a stick of RAM for the thing, since I don't have one - but that's it. I've already got the hard drive for this thing just sitting there waiting.  Problem is, I'm looking at $400 for this new PC setup.  The wife has no problems with me spending that, but I know I don't have it right now.  We're supposed to get snow this weekend, so I'll have some cash if I have to go plow.

Using that mobo, for initial setup, I'll simply attach an IDE cable to an optical drive and install everything, and if I ever need to add/modify anything, I can simply use a USB key, so I don't have to worry about that. 

I've also had enough time to think about it making a solid wood top.  I wish I had a decision on that ;D  I'll be running pass-through's for the power cable and S-video as I originally envisioned, but I still haven't hammered anything out about what I want the legs to end up like.  Pipe and fittings are quick and easy, which I hate knowing ;D

So....that's where I sit right now - $400+ short.  I'll most likely finish the wiring sometime soon and post some pics of everything I can do except the PC installation and perhaps some shots of where I'm gonna try to put everything.

Thanks for the shove! ;D
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Re: So I built a sawboard - now this Party Box? Americade? Bubble-something?
« Reply #154 on: January 12, 2007, 09:51:38 am »
Good luck with that mobo - I love the idea. I've used several different machines for MAME and noticed that different video cards do different things (especially outputting to a television). Ultimately, I had to use a pci video card instead of the onboard intels.

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Re: So I built a sawboard - now this Party Box? Americade? Bubble-something?
« Reply #155 on: January 12, 2007, 11:28:12 am »
you may want to look into DTX  which is a new standard being pushed by amd. 

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Re: So I built a sawboard - now this Party Box? Americade? Bubble-something?
« Reply #156 on: January 12, 2007, 07:06:29 pm »
you may want to look into DTX  which is a new standard being pushed by amd. 

I had taken a look at that while looking at the newer ITX boards, and while I'm a huge AMD fan, the size of the ITX mobo's are really the deciding factor on this, not to mention the probable cost difference of such a new item.  I very well may switch this out later on though, once prices come down.  I've got something in mind that I simply can't do with any mobo larger than the ITX board, so if I could scavenge it at a later time, that'd be good too.

Good luck with that mobo - I love the idea. I've used several different machines for MAME and noticed that different video cards do different things (especially outputting to a television). Ultimately, I had to use a pci video card instead of the onboard intels.

I'm not certain on the quality the board will put out via S-vid, but given the situation and reviews on at least one of the boards I've seen above, it's a pretty decent picture when used as a DVR, so I'm thinking I should be ok there. 
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Re: So I built a sawboard - now this Party Box? Americade? Bubble-something?
« Reply #157 on: April 14, 2007, 08:27:21 pm »


Someday soon (hopefully) I will be building my new CP and would like to use your joining method. Maybe. Color me stoopid, but I just can't figure out how the angles of the biscuit slots line up cause you didn't take pictures of that part... ???







You must have to clamp the piece in a bench vise and hold the tool flush with the angle?


Nice work. Should hold good.  ;)






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Re: So I built a sawboard - now this Party Box? Americade? Bubble-something?
« Reply #158 on: April 15, 2007, 12:08:26 am »


Someday soon (hopefully) I will be building my new CP and would like to use your joining method. Maybe. Color me stoopid, but I just can't figure out how the angles of the biscuit slots line up cause you didn't take pictures of that part... ???

You must have to clamp the piece in a bench vise and hold the tool flush with the angle?


Nice work. Should hold good.  ;)


Nah, take a look at this pic:



The fence moves.  If your angles aren't identical though, you'll have some figuring to do in order to have the biscuit slots to line up.

Because the fence moves, which you should be able to see in the pic above, you can hold the end of the fence against the workpiece. 
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Re: So I built a sawboard - now this Party Box? Americade? Bubble-something?
« Reply #159 on: April 15, 2007, 12:19:14 am »
When I first saw that pic I immediately had flashbacks of a shark attack!  :scared

Man I am such an idiot. I hadn't realized that the biscuit jointer's fence has that adjust ability. Er I mean I never tried it cause I didn't know when I would ever need it to adjust in that fashion...till now. Sweet!! That is a cool feature.


Any progress on this project or did ya just give up? It's been like eleventy months!!  ;D
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