Galaxian Themed Bartop w/ Trackball

[bishmasterb]

Here's a new bartop unit based off the same plans as my PacMan bartop.

This one is powered by a de-cased Macintosh G3 (formerly blue and white tower) and a 14" VGA monitor. The trackball is a hacked-apart Kensington Turbo Mouse that works surprisingly well (much better than I anticipated).

[bishmasterb]

Obligatory Marble Madness shot:

I'm also working on a separate control panel that will plug into this unit with dual joysticks (one 8-way and one 4-way) and six buttons.

[bishmasterb]

Here's a shot of the back. The computer is located in the space beneath the monitor; it's a tight fit, but everything manages to squeeze in.

[bishmasterb]

I still have a few things to finish:

* Minor updates to artwork (labels for admin buttons)
* Swap white trackball out for green (if available)
* Raise up the monitor slightly (it's sitting a little low)
* Install a power switch for the cab, and a power button for the computer
* Install a keyboard encoder

[theCoder]

Nice Job.  I like the white/black/green.  Are you considering any side artwork?

[vrf]

Very nice work!

I'd love to know how you did the trackball, if you have any pics or further info.

[bishmasterb]

I'd love to know how you did the trackball, if you have any pics or further info.

Here's a series of pictures that should explain it fairly well. Let me know if you have any questions.

[bishmasterb]

Are you considering any side artwork?

I'd like to...just have to find the time!

[KenToad]

Nice work, Bishmasterb.  The control panel layout is striking.  Put some side art on there for sure. 

This gets me thinking:  A trackball is the one missing component from my own bartop's modular cp library.

Cheers,
KenToad

[bishmasterb]

Nice work, Bishmasterb.  The control panel layout is striking.  Put some side art on there for sure. 

This gets me thinking:  A trackball is the one missing component from my own bartop's modular cp library.

Thanks. I really like your bartop, the control panel is great. I haven't tried a swappable panel on any of my bartops yet, although this one will have an external panel.

[vrf]

Here's a series of pictures that should explain it fairly well. Let me know if you have any questions.

Yup, a picture is worth a thousand words. Thanks!

[KenToad]

Nice work, Bishmasterb.  The control panel layout is striking.  Put some side art on there for sure. 

This gets me thinking:  A trackball is the one missing component from my own bartop's modular cp library.

Thanks. I really like your bartop, the control panel is great. I haven't tried a swappable panel on any of my bartops yet, although this one will have an external panel.

Thanks, Bishmasterb.  It was seeing bartops like yours that gave me the inspiration to make my own.  I especially wanted to try to capture the flavor of the original cab without exactly just shrinking the original design.  You showed me the importance of color and theme, rather than replication.  So thanks, really. 

And what kind of external panel are you planning?

[bishmasterb]

It'll just be a simple control panel designed to sit in front of the cabinet, at the same height as the built in control panel, with (1) 8-way, (1) 4-way and (6) pushbuttons. I've got a bunch of emulators loaded on the Mac (TG16, 2600, etc.) that I'd like to be able to play on this one as well. Paint, t-molding and CPO theme will match the cabinet. If my Happ order arrives before the weekend, I should have it done by then.

IIRC, your bartop didn't have lexan covering the artwork, correct? Did you print up artwork on some sort of laminate that doesn't require a protective piece of lexan or plexi? If so, what did you use and how has it worked out?

I've seen some stuff printed on heavy duty 3M material (perhaps it was called 3M Stamark?) but I've never been sure where to get it.

thanks

[KenToad]

Yeah, no lexan for me, I went the slightly ghetto route of having my art printed on decent printer paper and then covering that with clear contact paper.  It seems durable and looks good to me.

 
Ian

[bishmasterb]

Stupid question:

I'm deciding how to wire up the three buttons to the left and right of the trackball. The Kensington Turbo Mouse has four buttons, I was contemplating simply connecting up three of those.

Does MAME support 3 mouse buttons?

Alternatively, Kensington produces software that lets you map mouse buttons to keystrokes which I could use, but I'd rather not do anything that might prevent me from using it as a regular mouse in MacOS.

[Hiub1]

You can map any button in MAME to a mouse button if you'd like? You could put those 3 buttons to use on the mouse and not change the usability of the computer.

[bishmasterb]

You can map any button in MAME to a mouse button if you'd like? You could put those 3 buttons to use on the mouse and not change the usability of the computer.

Well, I actually ran MacMame and poked around, and lo and behold...it comes with a profile for the TurboMouse. I've messed around with it a little and tried to assign the mouse buttons to Player 1 Buttons 1, 2 and 3, but have not had any luck yet, although I'm sure I'll figure it out.

Here's the external control panel, still waiting for controls though.

[bishmasterb]

Update: Got the final controls mounted this evening.

I ruined my Mac USB keyboard over the weekend by trying to use the keyboard encoder from it in this cab. Even though I've used several keyboards on other projects, I managed to pull up a trace and ruin the circuit board. Guess I'll be ordering an IPac soon.

[NIVO]

great craftmanship on that external controller. Very well done bish.

[bishmasterb]

Thanks. I think I ended up imitating jcrouse's external panel on his bartop.

I'm going to have a total of three external panels, which will probably be connected via USB.

The large panel is going to support 4 players.

[theCoder]

Good work man, very clean. 

Weight is a big concern for me on my current bartop project.  How much does the base unit weigh?  Is it a pain to lug around?

[bishmasterb]

Lug around!?   

No, you definitely wouldn't want to lug one of these around. If I have to carry one, I normally slip the monitor out the back. Fully loaded with a PC and monitor, they're about 80 pounds I'm guessing.

I have a Tron cab that that uses a notebook/LCD setup, and is a bit smaller than the Namco style cabs, and it is only about 30 pounds.

Are you planning on moving yours around frequently?

[theCoder]

I'm thinking of bringing it to parties about once every couple of months.  I also want to bring from downstairs to the kitchen upstairs during an occasional gathering.  It has to be light enough for my wife to easily handle.  Lower weight and smaller overall size are my primary goals.  I'm shooting for 25 pounds or less.

[captainpotato]

I'm thinking of bringing it to parties about once every couple of months.  I also want to bring from downstairs to the kitchen upstairs during an occasional gathering.  It has to be light enough for my wife to easily handle.  Lower weight and smaller overall size are my primary goals.  I'm shooting for 25 pounds or less.

Then you'll either want a five-inch CRT (ie - a tiny cabinet) or an LCD. My WIP bartop isn't light - I can just lift it and manoeuvre it somewhat okay, and that's only because I have long arms. I've only got a 14-inch monitor in it. I used plywood, so that's saved a bit of weight as well.