(1) good new stock cab

[Timoe]

I will build (1) good new stock cab for use with mame.  There will be no new designs here.  No ground breaking technology or joinery.  Just a simple solid machine.

This will be my first cabinet.

[mccoy178]

Good luck!  It will be a blast.  There is nothing better then seeing those tiny victorys at the end of the day.

[Timoe]

Thank you.  I'm really looking forward to cutting the first piece.  I've planned long enough.  It will likely be another month before I start cutting.  I figure I'll kill the time by posting pics of the bits and pieces I've collected over the years for this cab.

[Timoe]

Per the second picture up top there ^, I'm going to be using 4 Happ Competition joysticks with Stainless Steel bat tops from Slikstik.  (2) blue and (2) chrome.

Two things to note here:

1. the stainless steel sticks are a lot heavier than normal.  Its a good idea to upgrade to a heavier spring in the joysticks base.  Slikstik wont send em with your sticks though unless you ask.

2.  the shaft on the replacement stick is smaller than the original; resulting in an ugly gap between the dustwasher and the stick.  The sollution is to use a dustwasher from a 49-way stick or a Happs Ultimate stick.

[dweebs0r]

Hooray!  Another Timoe project 
I'm just glad I dont owe you money for this one!

Cant wait to watch this one go together.

-Dweebs

[miles2912]

We are with you all the way.  Looking forward to the build.  Take a lot of good pics!

D-

[Havok]

Are you planning on using all those joysticks? Frankenpanel, with two player Smash TV?

[Timoe]

Are you planning on using all those joysticks? Frankenpanel, with two player Smash TV?

Haha, no I wont be using all those sticks.  I was just showing off.  It will probably be a smaller than average 4 player Control Panel with:

4 competitions
1 J-stick
1 spinner
1 trackball

and no Admin buttons.

But I do plan on making a smaller 2-player panel down the line with the Wicos.

[miles2912]

For the record I have 4 admin switches on my CP.  We use all of them - 2 mouse and and 2 more buttons.  Pause and a credit/escape button.  There is always a new update or game I want to try so the mouse buttons are always used.  The credit button gets the most use  .  Cheap friends.  The pause is very helpfull when the phone rings and I have 100k on Galaga and 2 men left.

All the butons are on a hidden switch in the CP that will deactivate them in case I want the cab in 'party mode'.  That way I don't have to babysit it and they have to put quarters in.  So far I have not locked it down.

D-

[Timoe]

Ah, mouse buttons do seem like a good idea.  Especially since I'm going to have a trackball.  I just have to find a place to put the mouse buttons.


I've been thinking of making an admin panel, maybe above the Control Panel on the monitor bezel or something.

[Tahnok]

All the butons are on a hidden switch in the CP that will deactivate them in case I want the cab in 'party mode'.  That way I don't have to babysit it and they have to put quarters in.

You charge your friends to play when they're at your party?!

[theCoder]

Ah, mouse buttons do seem like a good idea.  Especially since I'm going to have a trackball.  I just have to find a place to put the mouse buttons.

I've been thinking of making an admin panel, maybe above the Control Panel on the monitor bezel or something.

You can set it up so the player 1 buttons 1 & 2 buttons are the mouse left & right buttons.  Mame can be configured to use these. 

Regarding admin buttons, on my current project I'm going to have 5 admin buttons providing the following 11 keys:  Stop (esc), Start (Enter), Player 1 Start, Player 2 Start, Player 3 Start, Player 4 Start, Coin, Pause (P), Tab, Yes (Y), and No (N).  Using the IPac controller, you get a "shift" key with the player 1 Start button.  The Stop (Esc) button is an red arcade pushbutton, and is Pause (P) when shifted.  The Start (Enter) button is a green arcade pushbutton and is Tab when shifted.  These two buttons are going to be in the top left corner of the panel.  The other three buttons are smaller and will be in the top right corner.  They are the Player 1 Start button (which is the shift for other buttons).  The Player 2 Start button is next and is the Player 3 Start when shifted, and finally the Coin button is the Player 4 Start button when shifted.  The Player 1 action 2 & 3 buttons will be "Y"es and "N"o when shifted.  I'm planning on showing the shifted values graphically with a smaller font and/or some subtle color near the buttons.

Good luck on your project.

[Timoe]

^ I like your idea to put mouse buttons on the CP and use them as player 1 buttons.  I will have two buttons near the spinner that I can wire to the trackball and use for mouse buttons and set it up in mame so that mouse buttons 1 and 2 equal P1 buttons 1 & 2.

Thanks Coder

[Timoe]

Much of this cabinet will be designed around parts that I already have on hand.

A. because its cheaper for me if I already own the junk

and

B. because I bought some really cool parts when I first got caught up in this hobby.

When I first discovered www.happcontrols.com and BYOAC, I went nuts.  Every two weeks or so I'd buy or trade for a new type of joystick or a couple of buttons.  It was $12 here and $30 there for about a year.

I amassed a collection of parts, and I hope someday to use them all.  We'll see.

In my newb(ier) days I had grand dreams of this Gigantor 9 player arcade cabinet with rotating controls, monitors, wheels and speakers.  Every part of the beast spinning and blinking.

So, I'll make the Four-Player-Frank-en-Cade.  Only now I'm trying to make it as small and tasteful as possible and hopefully not as cluttered as I originally planned.

blah, blah, blah..... lets see some pictures.

 

[Timoe]

Coin Door Madness

Here's the coin door I bought almost 2 years ago.  Its been sitting in a box in my garage and I've thought about selling it much of that 2 years.

[dweebs0r]

Although a four player panel appealed to me too, I realized that there are not very many times when more than two people would be playing the machine and not really that many 4 player games to play anyway.  So thats why I wanted the 2 player Smash TV design.

-D

[Timoe]

during my parts crazed insanity I picked up some

replacement blue coin reject buttons
SANTORO's tokens both BYOAC and MAME variety
new coin mechs to accept the new Tokens as well as quarters
new coin reject button inserts that say "insert token or quarter"


Here are pics of me replacing the buttons.

First I replaced the printed insert in my new buttons.  They're held together with an e-clip.  It was real easy to swap out the inserts and changing the coin mechs was a snap.

Replacing the coin reject buttons was more work than I expected.

[Timoe]

Ya have to remove the whole coin assembly just to access the bezel for that coin reject button.  And I had to break out my socket set for those little screws.  It wasn't too bad, it was just more than I expected.

And here's a finished shot at the bottom.

[Timoe]

Although a four player panel appealed to me too, I realized that there are not very many times when more than two people would be playing the machine and not really that many 4 player games to play anyway.  So thats why I wanted the 2 player Smash TV design.

-D

I agree with your statement competely.  However, I have a four player coin door, an IPAC4 and four stainless steel joysticks.  And I just cant part with that stuff.

I will occasionaly have visitors that would want to play 4-player MarioKart64  or something and then this set up will pay off.

I will keep the joystick layout such that 2player SmashTV will also be an option.

[Timoe]

This will be a familiar sight for many of you. 


It is a milestone for me. 


I have finally received Notice to Proceed from the mini-boss.  

[Timoe]

I spent most of the today cutting MDF.  I've washed my hands numerous times and taken a shower.    My hands still REAK of MDF.

I am so glad to have gotten this messy step out of the way.

[Timoe]

thank you Father's Day

[mccoy178]

No Fathers Day picks?   Only two picks of the cutting?  Is this not the same Timoe "eye" know?

[Timoe]

Hardie Harr HARRG! 


heres an extra pic taken with me goode eye

[MYX]

I spent most of the today cutting MDF.  I've washed my hands numerous times and taken a shower.    My hands still REAK of MDF.

I am so glad to have gotten this messy step out of the way.

Yeah, what ever. Then you gotta glue and sand it and you'll reak all over again. Then you will reak of primer then of paint. I guess what I am trying to say is ...Dude, you reak! 

Saturday and Sunday I got to work a little too. It is amazing how a black shirt can become MDF color so quickly.

[Timoe]

I'm thinking about using two (2) IPACs on this cabinet.  One IPAC2 dedicated inside the cabinet for the coin door and maybe an admin panel with pause, exit, enter, tab and mamewah controls.  Then one IPAC4 in the control panel.  I'm thinking this will make it easier for me if I ever want swappable panels since I know I like to build control panels.

My questions are:

1.  Will I have a problem in Windows XP with (2) keyboards (IPACs) connected simultaneously?

2.  Will I need to use (1) IPAC in Ps/2 and (1) IPAC in USB?

3.  What do you think?

[(+_+)]

Why don't you use  I-Pac4 and a couple of these Hagstrom IOX36 Breakout Boards. You can set it up in such a way that you just have to unplug your flat cable from the Breakout board to swap your panels. Also you can use the shift capability of the I-Pac4 to host your admin keys. I believe there are PS/2 Y shaped splitters out there if you need to attach more than one keyboard.

http://www.hagstromelectronics.com/products/accessories.html

Another option if you need more inputs is the KE72 keyboard encoder. I have one and think it's great.
http://www.hagstromelectronics.com/products/modules.html

[Havok]

I'm thinking about using two (2) IPACs on this cabinet.  One IPAC2 dedicated inside the cabinet for the coin door and maybe an admin panel with pause, exit, enter, tab and mamewah controls.  Then one IPAC4 in the control panel.  I'm thinking this will make it easier for me if I ever want swappable panels since I know I like to build control panels.

My questions are:

1.  Will I have a problem in Windows XP with (2) keyboards (IPACs) connected simultaneously?

2.  Will I need to use (1) IPAC in Ps/2 and (1) IPAC in USB?

3.  What do you think?

I have a similar setup in my cab, but I use GGG stuff. The Keywiz (PS/2) controls the coin door and admin panel. The GPWiz's (USB) are my hot-swappable control panels...

[markrvp]

Timoe:

You shouldn't have any problem using two Ipacs simultaneously.  If you are using an Ipac2 AND an Ipac4 - all USB - then it will report to Windows as THREE (3) HID compliant keyboards. 

You will need to reprogram one of the Ipac boards so that they are not reporting the same inputs - imagine if you connected two keyboards to your computer - pressing X on one is the same as pressing X on the other.

The issue I see is that you will have to do some remapping in MAME to use the inputs you reprogram your other Ipac for.  If it were me, I would just stick with an Ipac4 and use Molex connectors or serial cables or some other type of multi-wire connector between the controls and the Ipac.  That way if you want to swap panels, you just disconnect the connectors to the Ipac and leave the Ipac in the cabinet.  You can hot swap controls this way.  It also saves money on buying an encoder for each panel - and the biggest benefit is you don't have to have custom maps which can get lost in MAME.

[dweebs0r]

You could also use a GP-Wiz as the smaller encoder:

http://groovygamegear.com/webstore/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=76_81&products_id=234

It would show as a USB gamepad and its a little cheaper. 

Buy the solder version and wire it up nice and clean.

-D

[Timoe]

I like Mark's idea to use the molex connectors.  It seems like a lot more work (thanks mark    )

But it will free up another encoder that I already have for some other use.  Plus I think I can pull it off and make it look clean.

Any suggestions on connectors?  (db25, specific type of molex?, etc)

 I'd imagine it would be nice to have a separate connector for 1up, 2up, 3up, 4up and admin, yes?  This way I can easily connect a 2 player panel or three player panel or whatever.


Maybe I should do the same thing with 2-3 optiwiz's?  for my future multi-spinner multi trackball panels.

[theCoder]

I used 2 25 pin D type connectors on my last project.  I wired one male, and the other femail to make sure they don't get switched around.  I also used a 9 pin D connector to connect the pinball buttons and coin door switch to the CP.  Soldering these things is a major pain.  I picked up a magnifying glass "helping hands" soldering thing at Radio Shack.  It really helped.

[Timoe]

I finally feel like I

[Timoe]

For extra support due to the wheels, I've added a 1/2" piece of plywood over the 5/8" mdf floor. 

I used 2x2 supports and I glued and screwed them prior to laminating the pieces.  The side panels are then glued and screwed to these 2x2 pieces.

[Timoe]

A BYOAC member that goes by CamSauce has offered to help me with the control panel ART for a trade.

Note:  I would highly recommend this guy.  He's not only skilled, but patient and creative as well. 


Here is a sample of the art design for this cabinet.  Keep in mind This is a Stock Mame Cab.  My goal is to use all "off the shelf" parts, designs and art.

What do you think of the control layout?

My only concern is the 4-way stick might need to move to the right a little for arm clearance, though I usually play 4-way games with my right arm.

[Timoe]

For this project I found myself set on a certain pair of speakers.  They are car audio speakers.  I like their color scheme and they sound great.

My concern is that car audio speakers usually dont have any kind of magnetic shielding and may wreck havok on my monitor.

A year or so ago I read a post here about a website that sells magnetic shielding products.

http://www.lessemf.com/mag-shld.html

Here is what I did:

I bought two products, Mag Shield and a Joint Shield.  I used two layers of each on each speaker.  I sealed it all up with duct tape.

The shielding is not TOTAL but prior to shielding, the speaker would pick up a paper clip without direct contact.  After shielding, the speaker WILL NOT pick up a paper clip even with direct contact.

The change is substantial.

[Timoe]

I've never really built anything like this before but I figure I will have a harder time trying to install speakers, speakergrille, marquee retainer, etc upside down after the whole cabinet shell is built.

I decided to mount all the hardware to the speaker panel prior to construction.  I'm going to do the same thing with the Marquee light since I figure my drill wont fit in the small marquee space.

The speaker grilles are 4" from Happ.  The screw holes line up perfectly with the speaker mount holes so the same screw holds both onto the panel.

note:  those L-brackets at the back of the panel are spaced 1/4" from that edge so that when installed I can slide the bezel and the monitor plexi in between the L-bracket and this panel.

[theCoder]

What, no pinball buttons? 

What kind of material is the speaker shield made of ?  It looks like thin steel.

What kind of amp are you going to use to drive the car speakers?

Nice job so far.

[Timoe]

What, no pinball buttons? 

I know this wont be the last panel I build, so I'll probably use pinball buttons on the next panel.  Maybe they'll get added to this one if I ever get PinMame up and running

What kind of material is the speaker shield made of ?  It looks like thin steel.

Yes, it is thin steel.  Its pretty solid too and inexpensive.

What kind of amp are you going to use to drive the car speakers?

I'm going with the Creative Labs Inspire 2.1 Computer speaker set up.  I like that it has a volume control and headphone jack dongle thing that I am thinking of hacking into my admin panel.  Or I'll just mount it on the back of my control panel with velcro.

Nice job so far.

"so far"  indeed.     Thank you.



I'm also thinking of putting some bright blue leds behind the speakers.  That might be silly.  I dunno.  Maybe the marquee light will light them up?

[Timoe]

I used T-nuts for mounting the top section of the cab.

I'm going to wait to do the black caulking and the touch up paint until the very end.

[Timoe]

...Update continued from 1st page.

[dweebs0r]

Looks great Tim.  Are you going to laminate the sides in a different color or will it still use the black and blue theme?

Are you building a new control panel for this one or will you use the one in the first set of pics?

-D

[Timoe]

Looks great Tim.  Are you going to laminate the sides in a different color or will it still use the black and blue theme?

Are you building a new control panel for this one or will you use the one in the first set of pics?

-D

I've thought about laminating the top in blue and then using black tmolding on the top.  But nobody sells blue formica near me and I've never seen any blue formica that I like.

So it will be all black.

I did put a sampling of the art design and control panel layout towards the bottom of the first page of this thread tho.

I'm really looking forward to building the control panel for this thing.

[lettuce]

Looking good!, im making the same cab at the moment, but your've manage whats taken me a few months in a few weeks!!! Im a bit concerned about the hight my CP sits on my cab at the moment, as it sits about 7" high, and when looking at the cab from the side doesnt look in prospective with other designs i have seen. Could you show us a pic with the CP sitting on the cab when your done?

[Timoe]

Here is my sunday update.

I laminated the upper section of the cab and primed the inside.  I also installed the monitor bezel supports.

There are two little pieces of 1 x 2 towards the back that rest on top of the monitor shelf.

They enable me to place the upper section on top of the lower section by myself. They also make the bolts and holes line up.

[Timoe]

I put some high gloss enamel swiss coffee in the marquee area.  I guess I'm hoping it will help reflect the marquee light.

[Timoe]

I originally had (4) locking casters for the base.  I found that even when they were all locked that the cabinet could "jiggle".  I could imagine it "jigglin'" during heavy gameplay so I switched out the front two casters with stationary casters.

[dweebs0r]

 

Looks great as usual.  Keep up the good work.

-D

[Timoe]

I had to see what this looked like with the bezel in place.  I didnt even have to cut it.  Perfect fit.

[Timoe]

Nothing new this week.  See attached photo.

[Timoe]

   ^  Thats pretty much where I've been this past week.  As you can see I have a series of computers, a laptop and Xbox networked as I attempt to transfer various files to the new brain of this beast.

I've almost got the whole computer configured and optimized.  I just need to get ePSXe and Chankast up and running and then I will switch MALA to run as the shell.

I'm thinking of adding a Jukebox also.  Any other recommended additions?

[Timoe]

Oh and I ordered the artwork from www.MameMarquees.com last night.  I cant wait to see it.

The artist for the CPO, CamSauce, has graciously offered the artwork up to Mamemarquees so perhaps it can be made available to you?

[Timoe]

I cut the plexi for the marquee and painted the interior of the monitor area.

Here are a few new pics.

[Timoe]

My work on the cabinet itself is getting pretty close to complete.  Today I installed the power button and cleaned up the wiring for the speakers, marquee and power button.  I also installed the back to the marquee area.

My intention was to prevent light from the marquee from spilling out to other areas of the cabinet.

[Timoe]

Oh and I got the tmolding installed

[Timoe]

Oooop, the artwork arrived so I guess I have to start on the control panel. 

This is my favorite part.  So here goes:

When I ordered the Control Panel Overlay from Mamemarquees.com I asked for the non-laminated, non-adhesive backed product since this will be going under a lexan top.  I also asked mamemarquees to print me an extra CPO on cheap paper that I could use as a template.

I used the template to mark my holes since the unlaminated CPO is so delicate.

[Timoe]

Here is my routing template for the lexan top.

Oh and the marquee is installed.

[Timoe]

I'm pretty proud of having a 4-player panel that is so small.  Its gonna be tight for the rare 4 player games but perfect for the 2 player Total Carnage and Smash TV. 

[Knievel]

Looking good Tim. The orange marquee really pops with the blue t-mold!

I'll be checking back, I enjoy watching someone other than me build a CP.

[theCoder]

My intention was to prevent light from the marquee from spilling out to other areas of the cabinet.

On my last cab I used duct tape inside the marquee box to keep the light in.  Too cheesy?  Works for me.

[dweebs0r]

Great title change.  I saw "Re: I MAME'd my Prototype Defender Cab!!!!" in my Inbox and immediately had to click.

Everything is looking good Tim.  I wasnt sure I would like the blue and orange together but like Knievel said, it really strikes out at you.

And I didnt realize you were going for a 4 player panel with the configuration.  Now I get it.  Duh.  Wow, thats going to work out really good.  I dont think Ive ever seen a 4 player set up like that. 

-D

[Timoe]

Looking good Tim. The orange marquee really pops with the blue t-mold!

I'll be checking back, I enjoy watching someone other than me build a CP.

I also work in construction.  Just prior to one of my almost daily trips to Home Depot I read your post about the solid core 20gauge wire at Homey D's.  I never thought to check that area for wire.

So you may see many similarities to your CPs in this thread.  That, and I will also be using the Knievel method of top mounted joysticks.

[Timoe]

My intention was to prevent light from the marquee from spilling out to other areas of the cabinet.

On my last cab I used duct tape inside the marquee box to keep the light in.  Too cheesy?  Works for me.

There is a piece of duct tape or two on this cab already. 

[Timoe]

18 months ago when I started planning for this cab it was going to be straight blue and black.  I was going to use the blue atomic logo for the side art even back then.  But then I discovered this BYOAC message board.  Its not that I saw blue and black all over, I really like blue and black but it looks so TOUGH.  and Arcades to me aren't about tough, its about fun and I didn't want the cab to be so dark.  I wanted to bring in a little more color and strange contrasts.

Pixel's Orange Atomic Logo offered just the contrast I was looking for.  I'm still unsure how the translucent buttons will look directly on top of the orange CPO.  We'll see....

Everything is looking good Tim.  I wasn't sure I would like the blue and orange together but like Knievel said, it really strikes out at you.

And I didn't realize you were going for a 4 player panel with the configuration.  Now I get it.  Duh.  Wow, that's going to work out really good.  I dint think Ive ever seen a 4 player set up like that. 

-D

[Timoe]

Here is my Lexan overlay.  This was real easy.  I started by clamping my lexan to the CP, I flipped it over and ran a 5/8" spade bit through each hole.  (except the spinner hole which took a 3/8" bit and then was finished)

[Timoe]

Then I flipped the thing over and used a laminate trimmer with a flush trim bit to clean out the holes.

[Knievel]

Looking good Tim, have you ever used used Plexiglass(Acrylic)?
A little trickier to work with but I've found it's much more resistant to scratching.

As for the Homey D's, don't blame me if your doorbell rings everytime you coin-up.

[Timoe]

I'm sure when this lexan overlay gets too scratched I will use it as a template for routing a Plexiglass overlay.

I had the lexan in stock from a previous build (dweebs' panel).  But no, I've yet to work with acrylic other than marquees and simple square pieces here and there.

Looking good Tim, have you ever used used Plexiglass(Acrylic)?
A little trickier to work with but I've found it's much more resistant to scratching.

As for the Homey D's, don't blame me if your doorbell rings everytime you coin-up.

[Timoe]

ooop

[Timoe]

I have finished with the routing of the the panel (except the t-mold slot)

I will probably clean it up some with some sanding but all in all the finished product will be great.

I was really worried that the 3" hole I cut for routing the plexi around the trackball would not line up once the mounting plate was installed. I was worried the joystick wouldnt be centered in the joystick hole in the plexi.  In both cases I was relieved to find that everything came out right on target.

[Timoe]

here are some before and after photos...   


...as you can see I routed it by EYE!

[camsauce]

Put the artwork down on the CP already, I gotta see...  I gotta see!!!

[Timoe]

Put the artwork down on the CP already, I gotta see...  I gotta see!!!

OK

[Timoe]

Here are some shots of the backside.

[johnperkins21]

Awesome! Camsauce did an excellent job, and those brushed metal tops look fantastic. This is going to be a very nice looking cab that you should be extremely proud of.   

[Timoe]

Awesome! Camsauce did an excellent job, and those brushed metal tops look fantastic. This is going to be a very nice looking cab that you should be extremely proud of.   

Thank you.  I cant wait to get it fully operational.

Today was LED-Wiz day.  All those resistors!  Below is a pic of how far I got tonight.

[camsauce]

Put the artwork down on the CP already, I gotta see...  I gotta see!!!

OK

That looks AWESOME!  I'd take her out on a date but I prefer 2 player's to 4     Wait till you see the underside of my CP, I guarantee it looks 800% crappier than what you've accomplished.  Keep up the good work!

[miles2912]

We are going to have to have a Southen Calif MAME meet.  All these great looking cabs..  too bad they are a pain to lug around. 

It is looking great man keep up the good work!

Don

[Negativecreep0]

always wondered what's the height on these UA2 cabs?

[Timoe]

One thing I like about the groovygamegear products is that they just work the first time you try them.

[Timoe]

some pics

[lettuce]

Looking sweet gezzer!! Your wiring looks so much more pleasing to the eye than my effort, though it is my first time  . I did go about it the hard way though, and didnt use any of the groovygamegear products for some strange reason, idiot!!, so had drill my buttons and power all my leds from a PC PSU unit 12 volt

[dweebs0r]

Great job as usual Tim.   
You stay up all night working on that thing?
Sure way to tick off the wife.   

-D

[Timoe]

You stay up all night working on that thing?

I decided to quit at around 2am.  As long as I can still get up I get no stress!

[Timoe]

always wondered what's the height on these UA2 cabs?

Mine comes in at 6' 3" in height and 28.25" wide.  I'm not sure how deep it is, probably medium.

[Timoe]

We are going to have to have a Southen Calif MAME meet.  All these great looking cabs..  too bad they are a pain to lug around. 

It is looking great man keep up the good work!

Don

Actually, 30% of the best cabinets come from southern california.  Its true.

[Timoe]

Finished the CP wiring today.  Oh, I was cursin myself for not making this thing a 2 player panel!   

[Timoe]

I was happy to find that my old Ipac4 still worked.

[loadman]

If I was allowed to build a cab (wife  ),  my design would be similar to yours

Nice Wiring job.  I'm terriablewith that sort of thing

As soon as it works I shut the lid.  My exuse to friends is I ran out of cable ties

 

[TehJefe]

Great, right when I get to the wiring phase of my cab, everyone else is doing theirs... ridiculously well. 

Now when I start wiring all Im going to be thinking about is your job..

I guess it's good that I have good examples to work off of.. but it would also be nice if I had some attainable goals.

[lettuce]

Just have a look at my wiring in my thread, thats an attainable goal! 

[theCoder]

Your ground wires appear to be one continuous piece of wire.  Is this true?  If so, how do you strip the insulation?

Nice wiring job.  Soldering is much better than connectors.

[Timoe]

Your ground wires appear to be one continuous piece of wire.  Is this true?  If so, how do you strip the insulation?

Nice wiring job.  Soldering is much better than connectors.

Yes, I used just two continuous wires for the grounds.  I have attached a pic that shows my automatic wire stripper resting on the panel.  When used in the middle of a length of wire it just sorta pushes the insulation out of the way.

This is my first time soldering a control panel.  I have always used quick disconnects and thankfully so since most of my previous panels have already been disassembled!

Soldering and an automatic wire stripper have SEVERELY reduced my wiring time.  And my fingers don’t feel like they've been hammer-smashed like they did when I used the quick disconnects.

Also, I highly recommend the solid core wire that Knievel uses.  That stuff is really nice to work with.

[psychotech]

Oh well, maybe I'll just abandon and burn my 99% done bartop ..With only 1 joystick and 8 buttons in all I've already greated a nest of wires beyond imagination..

Or.. Wait a second, I could always blame the no solder version of Keywiz Eco I bought ... No? No ;(

[MikeDeuce]

 

Looks awesome! I like the arrangement, too... no spinner/trackball injuries

[mccoy178]

This looks great Timoe!  Nice clean wiring and great overall design.  I can appreciate the time it takes to wire a cp correctly.  Just trying to keep up with Knievel is difficult, but it looks like you read his book.  Again, sharp looking cabinet and great artwork.  Also, how fun was all that soldering on the led's?

[patm95]

Looks great, you are starting to give me inspiration.

[Hockeyboy]

Wow, that is impressive!!

Now that we've moved into our brand-new home, I have the go-ahead to start my project...seeing yours I know I will be asking tons of questions from all you "vets" -- a friend is giving me an old TMNT cab for free.

Thanks for the inspiration! 

[Knievel]

Looks real sharp Tim.

Nothing cooler in arcade-land than CP pics with lit buttons. 

[Timoe]

A year or two ago I picked up this 25" TV made by Sharp.  It has an S-video input and it remembers the last input selected after power off.  However, if you unplug it while it is powered on and then you plug it in again later, it will not automatically power on.

Why does this matter?

Because I want to use a Bits Lit'd Smart Strip so that I can power on my machine with one button.  Also the TV will be hidden behind a bezel and plexiglass so the power button and IR reciever will be inaccessible.

This is what I did:

I used a mending plate.  A mending plate is a flat piece of metal.  I made spacers out of pieces of a Bic ball point pen. and I screwed the mending plate directly to the face of my TV to physically hold down the power button.

Now when I plug it in or power is run through the smart strip the TV powers on automatically.

(holding the power button down on the TV does not cause this TV to poweron/power off/power on/power off)

[Timoe]

Fully assembled

except for:  Admin Panel at bottom of bezel and Fold Down Drink Holders on the side of the CP

I cant wait to get this thing powered up.

[psychotech]

Congratulations 

That's absolutely awesome, good to see it finished.

[camsauce]

Awesome job Tim!  It's funny how close we were to finishing our cabs, I just powered mine on this morning at about 2am. 

[Timoe]

Still working out some kinks..

I finished the coin door wiring.  The stock bulbs weren't cutting it so I replaced them with some 4-cluster SuperBright Leds.  I used a molex "type" connector to hook this thing up to my Ipac.

[Timoe]

Here are some shots of the molex "type" connector for the coin door.  I will use a similar connector for the admin panel.

[Timoe]

Here is the admin panel that will go in front of the monitor bezel.

[lettuce]

What frontend is that your using??

[Timoe]

That is MaLa.

The little arcade cabinet on the screen there, when I scroll through the games the control panel on that little cabinet changes to reflect the control scheme.  Be it trackball, spinner, 3-button, 6-button, 2 player one at a time or 3 player simultaneous.  Its pretty cool.


until I can get help with a custom skin......

[camsauce]

You talkin' to me ?  I've been under a cave..  now that family reunion season is over it's time to get back to the important stuff, like making skins etc.

[Timoe]

Keyboard drawer, cupholders and volume control.

I've been sitting on the cupholders for over a year now.  Today a review of the exact same cupholders appeared on Retroblast.com.  Go figure.  I've got another pair of them if you want em.

The volume control slash headphone jack is held on with industrial velcro.  I like to be able to make subtle adjustments to volume at any time.  I also like that I am the only one in my household that knows its location.

[Timoe]

Trackball installation and lighting.

I mount the control panel top to the control panel box using dowels in the four corners.  They are perfectly aligned and snug so the weight of the CP keeps the panel in place even during intense use.

The control panel box is held to the cabinet with industrial velcro.  It works quite well and I dont have to reach up and under for any panel clamps and what not.

[Timoe]

Admin Panel.

Thank you CamSauce and Divemaster.


Oh and the admin panel is just far enough away and low enough that it doesnt get touched during golden tee.

[Timoe]

I'm thinking for my next panel I should do something with:

(2) Happ Optical Rotary Sticks
(1) Ultimarc 360 analog
(2) spinners with big 3" knob for driving games

I have attached a picture of my initial ideas.  Any opinions?

I tried out Forgotten Worlds using a spinner in one hand and a joysitck and a button in the other.  Wow that game is fun but it would be nice to have the right controls.

[Knievel]

Missed those final pics before Tim, everything turned out great..the admin panel is REALLY sharp.

Afraid I don't have any 2nd panel opinions, one has always been enough for me.

[Timoe]

Thank you.  I'm having alot of fun with this thing.  I'm messing with the jukebox software at the moment.

I spent almost a half hour playing Forgotten Worlds the other day and it got me thinking about how nice it would be to play that game, 2 players with rotaries.  And Ivan Ironman Stewarts OffRoad with 2 spinners with 3" tops.

[SNAAKE]

AWSOME CABINET ! excellent effort and neat wiring !

 

[mmarx82]

WOW, your cab came out great. I'm about to start a project myself. It will be a 4 player cab similar to yours. I picked up two great ideas while viewing this post.

1. The top mounted joysticks. I wanted top mounted joysticks but couldn't figure out how to do it. Now I know.

2. The wiring job is superb. I'm ditching the idea of using quick connects for this method.

I've already started to log my project at home. When it gets closer to assembly time I'll start posting my project online. I have all my buttons and joysticks already. I just have a couple of major (for me it's major) purchases before I can go much further. A monitor, the LED's w/Led Wiz, car amp w/speakers, and the coin door w/mech's.

[Timoe]

Here are my Rotary panel layout ideas.  I am open for suggestions.  If you are right handed, do you use a rotary stick with your right hand or left?

[nullb0y]

the new subject is evil and if u do i will HUNT U DOWN!
 

[rbarr110]

Wow everything came out looking great.  I have a question for you regarding the 4p panel.

I am currently (ongoing for 6 months) in the process of trying to come up with a configuration for a 4p panel that is also layout friendly so I can play Smash TV.

The 4p setup is more for my kids and their friends, but was wondering how your panel felt for 4p, it looks a bit tight?  But it also is perfect for Smash TV and other dual joy games.  How wide is your panel?

Thanks

[Timoe]

I believe the panel is 43 inches wide.  Honestly, I have not tried a game with 4-players yet.

(I have no friends)   

[Stingray]

Just popping in to say it turned out great, Timoe! Great work!

-S

[rbarr110]

I believe the panel is 43 inches wide.  Honestly, I have not tried a game with 4-players yet.

(I have no friends)   

Go to a local pub, buy 3 people some drinks and invite them over to play. 

Nothing makes friends quicker than free drinks. 

[Timoe]

The 4p setup is more for my kids and their friends, but was wondering how your panel felt for 4p, it looks a bit tight?  But it also is perfect for Smash TV and other dual joy games.  How wide is your panel?

The panel is actually 44 1/4" wide.

I tried a games with people in the player 1 and player 3 positions (right next to each other) and it is a little tight but no more tight than a 2 player game of Street Fighter on a Dynamo cab.  I'd a magine a packed four player game would be enjoyable.

If I made it wider, I worry that players 3 & 4 would have a less than ideal viewing angle.

...plus I really like Total Carnage and Robotron.




*****Thank you Stingray******