now with less whining. still no progress though.

[toe.]

well... after lurking about for just under a year i
have decided to take the plunge... though somewhat foolishly.
i have no useful wood working skills and no computer/ electrical skills.
i do however have a fire extinguisher so i figure that balances out
the game a little bit. 

HOORAY FOR ME!

the first stage, which was the foolish part, was buying an ipac4 without
having a plan of what to do with it. 
but i think i have settled for something simple(- ish) like a two player fighter
and, if all goes well, next year something more complicated assuming
i havent burnt my house down.

in terms of the cabinet, i decided on modifying an arcade paradise 3 as
that was the cabinet i first read about (via another site) and subsequently
pointed me to you guys. figure pay a little tribute to the guy that pointed
me here.

i havent yet ordered more parts as money is short and i need another week.
so i thought i would post this quickly and ask questions as they come up.

[Crafty]

Welcome and good luck..

Ask all the questions you want but check around for available info on this forum first..

There is a high probability that the question has already been asked and answered..

[Orclord]

I'd suggest you also buy a first aid kit and start a swear box.....

That way you get a small fortune at the end of the project...

 

Good luck with the build...

[leapinlew]

i havent yet ordered more parts as money is short and i need another week.

Well that confirms it.... your an arcade cabinet builder now....

Soon your measure of value will be in the form of arcade parts. For example:

Dinner at a steak place = 1 ipac
McFood value meal = 4 buttons
new shirt = 1 joystick

Soon you'll be walking around hungry and in tattered clothes like the rest of us.

[deadkenndys1105]

Thats how I veiw money.

[Crafty]

Soon your measure of value will be in the form of arcade parts. For example:

Dinner at a steak place = 1 ipac
McFood value meal = 4 buttons
new shirt = 1 joystick

Soon you'll be walking around hungry and in tattered clothes like the rest of us.

You Forgot

Completed Personalised Arcade Cabinet that you built

PRICELESS !!!!

Mind you it wont feed you, but then again...
When all your friends flock around for a game ask them to bring food   

[toe.]

Progress!!!!
 


well actually no...not really
i did manage to create a list of parts that i will want and
what games i wish to play.

parts  via happs or some such:
Super Joystick 4-way, 8-way Microswitch
Over/Under Door with Cashbox and Full Metal Enclosure
Imonex $.25 USA Coin Mech
White Pushbutton with Horizontal Microswitch
Black Pushbutton with Horizontal Microswitch
Blue Pushbutton with Horizontal Microswitch
1 Player, White
2 Player, White

games (much simpler to state emulation type):
MAME (uh.... yeah)
NES
SNES
N64

i realize the N64 stuff causes issues (adaptoid thingy 
here i come) but i needs me some Zelda. 
other parts i know will cause me no end of pain.
GUNS!!!!
stupid guns!!! stupid addiction to police trainer!!!
STUPID EVERYTHING!

aside from that the day was fairly quiet. have arranged
two freebie computers for this ( and the next) project.
badgered a buddy  into helping with the wiring.
started working on graphics for the side. lazy afternoons
in a graphic design shop can be well spent and spent
slacking off. free vinyl work helps too. HOORAY!

have money-ish now.... per se....
off to a wedding tomorrow/ thursday ish... money go bye-bye.
DANG IT!
but next week... ah... yes....  bills, harbour freight.. massive ordering
from all over the dang place....
then mac and cheese for awhile. 

.... i cant believe this is the stress im getting for trying to give the
early out people at my poker game something to do.

[johnperkins21]

then mac and cheese for awhile. 

Dude, Top Ramen is really the way to go. You can't beat 10 cents a meal anywhere.

[DrTongue]

Hey... if you need any advice on building your cab feel free to ask me, I am also currently building a cab with the AP3 plans. Just got it painted.

http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?topic=54650.0

Good luck on your project.

[toe.]

money day!!!
off to buy parts.


side thoughts... dont play games without having
the cabinet first. it just makes you jittery.

and knowing is half the battle.

[miles2912]

I hope you are ordering from PonyBoy or Divemaster.  They will save you a small fortune in shipping and their prices are much better than happs.

My advice is plan and plan some more.  KNow how all the pieces will fit together before you start the cab.  Make a sawboard if you don't have a big table saw.  Straight edges are a must.    MIght want to try and get the coin door off of e-bay.  You can find some good deals.

Have fun.

D-

[toe.]

 
well...
i would dearly like to say that progress has been made.
to that i say... BUL

i would like to say that i made some smart choices....
  that too i did not do.

how i am reasonably near budget i do not know.

i ordered parts weeks ago. i did not order from ponyboy
most likely because i am dumb.

lots of shipping , a part i didnt mean to order and a dart
board  (what the hell am i going to do with this?) later and
there is a  pile of crap in my living room that is beginning
to amuse the roommies with its massive lack of progress.

i am beginning to understand the irritating side of this
particular hobby. if i had the choice to start over next
time i would take up knitting or something,

maybe i need motivation in the forms of massive yelling
from someone local who will get me up at the wee early
hours of the morning to do the things that need to be
done (if you are in the albany, ny area and want to yell
at an idiot feel free to drop me a line) like a sadistic drill
sargent or something.

anywhoo... im still looking for a tv or monitor and a
computer with which to make this darnded thing work.
must buy wood.... must buy more tools and hardware.

must cry... openly... like a little girl with blond curls... for
several hours.

i wish i had a complicated project like pixelhugger's.
then i would have something to justify (not really) the
sheer amount of time ive wasted not working on my
time waster.

is time waster a good name for a cabinet?

im so screwed 

[Havok]

Get back to work on that cab you sissy!

[Havok]

What is your major malfunction?

Where's the updates?

 

[theCoder]

Based on what I've read so far, you really need to get cutting some wood.  You can plan, worry, and complain all you want, but until...

  you've cut some wood (at least a couple of pieces too small),
  drilled some holes (then patched the few in the wrong place),
  mounted a monitor (at the wrong angle the first two times),
  wired your power supply (then another after it caught fire)
  wired your controls (then debugged your errors),
  and configured your software (several times over before it is working, then a few more times to get it the way you like it)

...you really won't get any farther than you are today.  Also, based on your admittedly limited wood working, electrical, and other skills, your first attempt will probably not be anywhere as nice as some of the other cabs you've been admiring.  But hey, just slap a coat of paint on it and get playing.  What would you rather have, your current "pile of crap" of non-functional parts or a "pile of crap" cab that is fun to play along with some valuable learning's to carry forward on your next one?

[toe.]

merely lamenting my lack of time at the moment.
timing has pretty much worked like this:
girlfriend anniversary thingy
bills
my birthday (my weekend was planned away for me by the girlfriend)
different bills
work function
yet another set of bills (i dont think this set was mine)
girlfriend's birthday
moving

perhaps i should have started this in th winter
when nobody wants to do anything

i was hoping to have interesting pictures of a fire
by now.... perhaps with me in the background
scratching my head as if i had no idea how it happened.

the pile of things i can order or doodle or be brought
by someone else at the end of the day grows...
the wood is still absent.

not meaing to whine... im just banging my head
against the wall. most of the people io know dont really
"GET" the project and are thus not helpful or understaning
of how frustrating this is.

[NightGod]

Seriously-get out there and buy some MDF and at least start sketching out some cab plans on it-you'll feel a million times better holding that first piece.