My First Arcade

[Harpal]

firstly Hi to everyone on the forum, i am a newbie from London(UK),
well i always loved arcade games and as my mate has a streetfighter 2 jamma cab i am always over there playing it until yesterday i bought my first cab, cost me 300pounds including delivery (which took me ages to save up, but well worth it), it is a video master cab, i got 6 games with it - wwf superstars,major titles,shadow warrior,streetfight 2 champion edition,track and field,vigilante...plus one pcb which is dead, also the guy gave me a j-pac, even though i Will have to study abit more before i will be able to use it......
do you think that was a alright price i did look around and it was well hard specially as i live dead on in London and as i drive a moped, no hope of collecting and most ppl were charging just too much for delivery which i could not afford as i only work part time and am still in uni....
anyway me and my mate are trying to build a whole cab, we do have more then enough wood(which we say we borrowed from a building site lol ) only thing we will need is,cp,joy stick,buttons,marquee few more bits and pieces....
i got these plans of this site

but not really show on what to build as we are confused in building a full side Mame cab or a mini version Mame cab....
can you guys help me out and let me know what will be the best to build and more easier to build as i don't have much time on my hand and would like to finish it quickly......
will be grateful for any help....

[RayB]

i don't have much time on my hand and would like to finish it quickly....

Won't happen! I'm going on 2 years now with mine! 

[fredster]

Well Mate, that's a bitoalright then eh?

Don't go by RayB.  I did mine in a weekend once I had the parts.  I just converted one. 

All you are doing is putting a computer in a big box and hooking up wires to the control panel.  Drill a couple of holes and spend about an hour wiring it.

Some people want to make it a creative masterpiece.  I wanted one that worked. It all depends on your wishes. If you want to build one from scratch, now you'll have to figure out the plans.  That could take awhile.

[Harpal]

Ithink i go with the quick weekend solution, just want to make one quick as possible and maybe next time i will take more time doin it....
i will post the plans i will be using up on here soon as i get back from work.....
bloody hell its2:26pm already still need to have a ---Bad words, bad words, whatcha gonna do? Whatcha gonna do when saint censors you?---....
chat later...

[Jabba]

Here is a site where he built one in 24 hours....

http://chris.polymathic.net/cabinet/index.shtml

Watch out though, these projects have a way of sucking every dollar out of yer pocket...

[RayB]

Fredster's right. Skip all the BS related to custom artwork and all that. That's what really sucks up time.

[fredster]

Yeah, I just painted mine different colors on the side. Painted it mostly Orange on the sides, and Black on the front.  I did print the Marquee at work, so that's kinda cheating.

I already had the control panel mostly setup.  It was a stargate that had been converted to an *ugh* vigilante.  All I had to do was take a spade drill and put in the other holes. 

The wiring was the hard part.  That and getting the Computer monitor in it so it wouldn't fall out if I moved it.  I just took some 2X4's and slamed it in there.

It's okay, but it only plays games with joysticks, and it doesn't play 4 way games very well with an 8 way joystick, but it works.

I'm planning on expanding upon it when I run into a good generic midway cab like they use for Golden Tee conversions at an auction.  Sometimes you can pick one up pretty reasonable with a coin door and marquee light in it.

Then I'll splurge a little time and add a trackball and a spinner in it.

[Harpal]

Cheers for the site, well i kind of have it all done, and the wiring must be the hardest part but i kinda cheated on that and bought a PC Arcade Controller from eBay, as one of my mate is using one and also well easy to put in.....
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/PC-Arcade-Controller-2-Player-version-for-MAME-cab_W0QQitemZ6235743497QQcategoryZ3945QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
also i need to buy buttons and a joy stick, has anyone ever used one of those neon light buttons, which have a led in them, i really like em but not too sure on how there would look once i have installed them, for the control panel over lay i was  going to use a black roll of sticky back velvet, its the same feel as a pool table,
oh and am going with the mini Mame plans, just having a small arcade cab will look so cute!!!
specially when i have mates around especially girl...
one more thing how do you put a copy of the diagram up, as i reallywant Ur opions on the diagram and wanted to know if you might change anything about it or just keep it how it is......

[Harpal]

here are the pics of my cab

[fredster]

Harpal,

Put it in the Project Announcements forum.

[Harpal]

oh forgot to add, found out how to add pics,
and i bought double dragon today from the market you believe that i was just walking pass and this guy had his stuff out like all different things and with the computer parts i show the PCB, i look at it and it look like one my mate got so i ask the guy how much, he goes i ain't got a clue Wat it is, might be a motherboard for a old computer, so i told him its a game, and he goes wellhave it for a few pounds then, so i said OK, is that a bargain of the century or Wat,
for anyone living in London(UK) this game was bought from western international market, so get urself down there for some bargains.....
oh so soon as i got home i put it into my cab and it came straight away, but there seems to be a piece on it  busted i will investigate it later  and let you know hat it could be might be a dip switch as i don't think i so one on the board......
oh and am i allowed to post the diagrams i am going to use to build my mini pacman cab, pls let me know anyone as i really would like some idea on what you allwould think about, and if you would change it in any way or do anything differently.....

[Harpal]

cheers for that my mistake

[Jabba]

Harpal, sounds like you got quite a deal there. So you're saying that the arcade cabinet picture you posted is what you bought for a few pounds? If so, sweet!

Yes, you are allowed to post a diagram here. You should probrably start a new thread in Main forum though with your question and a picure of your diagram, as not too many people will look here in this sub-forum.

Oh yeah, and one last thing.... You might try to separate your main ideas into paragraphs to make it easier to read your posts. I find reading your text quite hard. No disrespect intended though...

[Harpal]

non taken,
i have then a new topic in the project group now for my first bild on a arcade