Finally! building a cabinet from scratch

[MaMeNnO]

Hi all!

Being thinking a while of building an Arcade cabinet, I left the thinking fase and started to really build one.
After some research on the net I came across arcadecontrols.com and I must say this is the place to be! 
I'm going to build a cabinet based on the dimensions of the centipede cabinet I saw at http://www.retrospieler.de.
Two days ago I bought the wood and one side is drawn. I don't have a router or fancy CNC machine, so I have to help me with the tools I (and my father in law) have.

I will put some pictures here and I'll keep you informed of the progress.

I think I might also ask some questions of you guru's around here! 

Well, my adventure in the wonderful world of cabinets started!

PS. this cabinet is being build in Holland 

Should have posted this in "Project Announcements" i guess... 

My front end, Finally! building a front end from scratch

[MaMeNnO]

here are some pics from the the wood and joysticks I ordered from www.arcadeshop.de It took a week and a day to get from Germany. It's the nearest place for me to buy.

Here the wood is cut into some more to handle pieces


I use "betonplex" I don't know what's it called in English. It's real nice wood with a hard and smooth toplayer.


The dimensions. Yep, the metric system. You do the math!


The sticks and buttons!


I do the design in A9CAD from A9Tech. The freeware is real good! Wel at least good enough for me. Check it out at http://www.a9tech.com/

[danny_galaga]

nice start  . there at least two others from the netherlands here- patrickl and level42. what type/size monitor will you be using?

[Lutus]

As long as you have pictures and have actually done something and ordered parts then I would definently say that qualifies your project as belonging in "project announcments".   

Keep it up.  That is some interesting wood you got there by the way.   

[quarterback]

Keep it up.  That is some interesting wood you got there by the way.   

Boo-yah!

[TehJefe]

Just be especially careful not to scratch or scuff that shiney top layer... thatd be a real pain.

[MaMeNnO]

nice start  . there at least two others from the netherlands here- patrickl and level42. what type/size monitor will you be using?

I'll use a 19" pc monitor to start with. I'm thinking of taking off the cover and put it in a metal frame. Then I want to fix the bottom part with a hinge so I can change the angle because I don't know for sure what will be a nice angle.

Just be especially careful not to scratch or scuff that shiney top layer... thatd be a real pain.

Yeah, that's what I have experienced (on the edges) this weekend  I should have bought MDF... that would have been so much cheaper!

Hopefully I can find the time to post more pictures to night.

And what do you do when you discover that the design you got from the internet isn't really what you want, AFTER you bought and cut the wood??? Right, you just glue the controlpanel area on the side.
The pictures will speak for them selves. That will definitely get me some posts with  in!!!

[MaMeNnO]

T-molding is very hard to get in Holland. Actually I don't know if it really can be purchased, because every where I ask they either say "I don't know what you mean" or "Maybe there and there" or just "No". Called a manufacturer today. He could maybe make some. I mean, a special made T-molding (just for me!  ). But that would have cost me a little... 80 euro's ($101) for the die, price per feet and a minimum order of 1000 meters (333 feet)! I could start a T-molding site my self with that! 
I think I just order some red T-molding from tmolding.com, but then customs and shipment will cost me more then the stuff it self I guess. No, I'm sure because I've already asked them... $13 to just get the T-molding from US to Holland. Hey, I've spent a fortune on the wood, just spent a "fortune" on the T-molding!

[Lutus]

Where are these pictures you speak of??

I could use a laugh!

[MaMeNnO]

Where are these pictures you speak of??

I could use a laugh!

I'll post them later on to day.

About the design, I have some picture of that. I made some minor adjustments afterwards, but just for you guys (and girls?!) to have an idea...

Side


Front


Controlpanel


I've left out the top, bottem en back, because the're not really interesting. Unless...
All measurements are in centimeters (cm). The design is still changing. I'll post the final designs when all is finished.

hmm... the pictures don't come out really good 
That's because of IE.

[MaMeNnO]

Here is the promised update with some pictures of the progress to far.

On one side the lines where drawn and the wood was clamped together, so the wood wouldn't move while sawing. A circularsaw was used to do the sawing.


The roundings where done with a hand- and machinefile.


The controlpanelarea... I hear you say "The what???". As I earlier mentioned I wasn't pleased with the design afterall, so I made a few adjustments. This ment that I had to glue the controlpanelarea on the side, because original the marquee and controlpanel had the same width. The wood was allready cut and If I just placed the marquee 16 cm (6.2") to the back, that would have left to less space for the monitor to fit, hence this solution.


The complete side... well, allmost! 


The complete side!


For the fillets (the right term for this I looked it up, but you never know) to have the right angle I used a saw that could be adjusted in steps of 1 degree...


the saw I used. It works really nice. I think there are more ways to do this, but I was glad I could use this.


The fillet lined up.


The perfect length screw to hold the fillets.


Dowelholes to fix the controlpanelarea together with some glue.


Yes, it's fixed! Thank god that worked.


Just some clamps to hold everything together. I used some little plastic bags to prevent the pieces of wood glued to the wood due to spilled glue.


Well, that's it for now. Next weekend I'm on a trip to Rome  so, no progress till next week I'll guess. Hey, I have job!  So most of the time I just can work on it in the weekends.

[theCoder]

Next weekend I'm on a trip to Rome...

Beware of the private taxi's.  They'll rip you off blind.  The official city cabs are great however.

The things we go through to correct our early (bad) decisions and screw-ups.  I swear they take up half the build time.

[MaMeNnO]

The things we go through to correct our early (bad) decisions and screw-ups.  I swear they take up half the build time.

O no... I sure didn't want to hear that! But then again, I explicitly didn't set an enddate for the project. I'll pay extra attention at every decision.

[_) (V) (-)]

I explicitly didn't set an enddate for the project.

I don't think any project here ever has a real 'enddate' 

Seriously tho Mamenno, I really like that classic finished wood cabinet look! It really adds an element of class and stands far above all the black laminated  particle board cabnets.

I venture to say my wife might even tolerate something looking like this in our living room as it will have more of a 'furnature' look to it.

Is it possible to put some kind of protectant on the finish?
You know, something to help avoid minor damages like scuffs and scratches?

[MaMeNnO]

I explicitly didn't set an enddate for the project.

Seriously tho Mamenno, I really like that classic finished wood cabinet look! It really adds an element of class and stands far above all the black laminated  particle board cabnets.

Uhhh...  eventually the cabinet will be white with red T-molding, seriously. I want to apply a few layers of white with a hard varnish top coat to avoid the damages. I also like the shiney look.

[_) (V) (-)]

 
To each his own I guess! 

[MaMeNnO]

Well today I bought some small stuff. A handfull of quickdisconnects to put on the connectors of the joysticks and buttons (cherry switches)...


...and a few plasticconnectors to go between the encoder (I don't no which one yet) and the wire from the sticks and buttons.


Speaking of an encoder I thought of buying an I-PAC2, but an KeyWiz ECO2 (non-solder) will also do. Price wise the KeyWiz is in favor. I don't know about specific pro's and con's. Has any one experience on these two encoders?

I-PAC2 $39.00:


KeyWiz ECO2 $20:


I will just have two sticks, 6 buttons per stick, a one and two player button, credit button and I think max. 4 admin buttons.

[Havok]

I can add support for the KeyWiz - I have that and a couple of GPWiz controllers, and they work flawlessly!

[postalp123]

I-Pac's are amazing as far as I'm concerned.

I've bought four of them all said and done and every time Andy keeps impressing me with his customer service.

A Mini-Pac will give you enough inputs (28 total) and is barely larger than a credit card. Couple it with the optional premade wire harness and your good to go.

Ultimately the Keywiz & "Pac" line of products are both good, but the support & setup software you get with the "Pac" line of products puts it above and beyond.

Great work so far, keep it up!

[MaMeNnO]

Thanks for the comment. I think I will go for the KeyWiz. I hope they deliver their goods faster then their answers by email.  Maybe to busy delivering the goods 

Haven't said a word about the PC I'm going to use. It's gonna be a PIV 2.53Ghz that should be plenty 
I going to dismantel the PC and will also rip a few parts from it. I think I'm not going to use the DVD writer or firewire card. It will also be a lot lighter without the case and such. I'm going to reinstall it completely'. For the frontend... no choice made yet, but it has to be simple and nice looking. I'll be running mame107 on the PC. Allthough I have too much games, I made a list of about 200 games. Guys who are running just everything out there I can not understand.

For the monitor I'm going to use a 21" PC monitor. There are plenty cheap ones out there on marktplaats.nl (sort of local EBay for the Dutch market... very popular!). Don't know if I will ever going to use a true arcade monitor. I'm no Arcade purist.

Well this weekend I'm going to be working on my cabinet again. The trip to Rome delayed the progress, but it was worth while! 

[MaMeNnO]

Today I have finished all fillets on both sides. It took more time then I had expected. When one side was finished I used this tool... What is it called in English 

...to copy the angles from the finished side. It was a real good help this one. I can recommend it.

You can copy an angle and then use the tool to draw a markingline on the wood...


I've used it also to adjust the angle of the circularsaw...


Just to check if everything was ok...

Yes! The angle is perfect. As I said a real handy tool. Couldn

[rolls rolex]

My first thought was "what the heck did you do with the wood, it's all stained" but it's a tree shadow 
I'm curious how many more tools your father in law has, it's starting to look very good 

[MaMeNnO]

My first thought was "what the heck did you do with the wood, it's all stained" but it's a tree shadow 
I'm curious how many more tools your father in law has, it's starting to look very good 

Thanks! Well, we didn't touch the router yet. That will be used shortly.

I can add support for the KeyWiz - I have that and a couple of GPWiz controllers, and they work flawlessly!

The KeyWiz is on it's way! 

I will start soon with a prototype of the controlpanel. Just to check if the sticks and buttons work well for me. I'm not planning on connecting it all together. On the other hand, it might be helpfull to play a few games to check it really plays ok.

[MaMeNnO]

When I came back from work today my girl friend said "There was a package delivered for you.". Immediately I responded with "From America?". She said 
Can't be that difficult when you see the package... (she never read this board  )

Quickly I looked for the package on the table and... yeah, it's the KeyWiz ECO2! (non-solder  )
So, now I can really do something with the buttons and sticks I allready have for 2 months. 

Right... photo's rock (a photo says more then...    ), so here are a few...

Is this package from the US?!


What's in the package...


May I present the KeyWiz!


Oops, and it's back...

[Stobe]

Looks great so far.

Just curious, have you measured the clearances of your buttons/sticks atger they are mounted on your CP?  The distace between what will be your CP top and CP bottom looks a little tight.

Keep up the great work.

-Stobe

[MaMeNnO]

Just curious, have you measured the clearances of your buttons/sticks atger they are mounted on your CP?  The distace between what will be your CP top and CP bottom looks a little tight.

To be honest? No, not exactly. As I countersink the sticks that should give me enough room to work with.

[MaMeNnO]

Today was day three of the cabinet. To bad I can almost just work on the weekends. This day was the build day. I saw the cabinet come to life a little bit. It

[rolls rolex]

Is that the white t-molding or just smoothly sanded?

[MaMeNnO]

Is that the white t-molding or just smoothly sanded?

No t-molding. The wood has a brownish top layer and the inside is sort of white. So, just a little sanded. The cabinet will be white with red t-molding.

[johnm160]

That is a T-bevel. Very useful tool

Today I have finished all fillets on both sides. It took more time then I had expected. When one side was finished I used this tool... What is it called in English 

...to copy the angles from the finished side. It was a real good help this one. I can recommend it.

[MaMeNnO]

That is a T-bevel. Very useful tool
[...]

Thanks for the translation.

Today I got my t-molding. I got it from t-molding.com. They even threw a couple of samples in the package. Also the routerbit was in the delivery. Better test that first on a little not-to-be-used-for-the-cabinet piece of wood. Before I...

My red t-molding...


Samples t-molding...


Routerbit...

[MaMeNnO]

The last few days I was all exited about getting my IDE cable for the KeyWiz Eco2. So when the shop called they had it, I drove by and collected it. That evening I cut the cable, stripped the coat till I was left with lose wires. Well, just plug it in and... WTF!  it doesn't fit!. Just looked at the IDE connector to see there was a contact missing.

I just assumed it would go ok, otherwise I wouldn't have cut the damn thing! Yeah, I know, "assumption is the mother of all F#@K ups". Sometime, just sometime on a real bad moment I get myself in this pitfall.

Now I know there are 40pin connectors with 40 contacts instead of 39. The difference for harddrives and motherboards.
I got a real 40pin connector from my boss and connected the wires from the other cable. It's a bit of work, but then you've really got something... I hope. The connections should be ok I guess. Maybe I should test them first with a multi-meter. Ok, some pictures...















Well looks good so far.

[MaMeNnO]

Today was a day without touching any wires, so I can't do anything wrong... or can I? The marquee plates are now in place and also the holder for the glass. The door at the back is also in place with a piano hinge. Works great! The groove for the t-molding was next. I was really excited about doing this. After getting the routerbit from the US I couldn't wait to use it. First a test piece. Yep, perfect! The t-molding fits beautifuly. The first side went kinda, well bad. That is, the controlpanel part. I went to fast on that part and as a reaction I pulled the router out... BIG mistake! Never, ever pull a spinning router out a t-molding groove!  First, hold and wait till it stops and then pull it out. The routerbit slammed against the wood and it came out the router. Luckly the bit wasn't broke or something, otherwise I would have had a big problem. Anyway, here are some pictures.

The marquee plates...


The marquee holders...


Door with pianohinge...


The door hangs...


Closeup of the pianohinge...


T-molding routerbit...


The final groove...


The T-molding fits OK...


Oops, little accident...

[WunderCade]

I was just wondering why you went for the bookshelf-look for your arcade cabinet?

It is a rather unique twist, but it really makes me want to put my stereo, some books and maybe an accent plant or two in it rather than play games on it.

Just my take.

[psychotech]

Looks great. I'll be spying 

[dudebozo]

i like your progress so far.  keep it going dude.  i hear you on the foul ups with the router.  i had a similar incident with mine...well...there was a cat in my backyard and my dog felt that the shortest path to get the cat was under my saw horses...well...luckily nothing too terrible happened.  but yeah, keep up the great work. 

[MaMeNnO]

I was just wondering why you went for the bookshelf-look for your arcade cabinet?

It is a rather unique twist, but it really makes me want to put my stereo, some books and maybe an accent plant or two in it rather than play games on it.

Just my take.

Wait till it's finished, then we'll talk again  BTW the brownish you see now, will be completely gone. It will be white with red t-molding. The front inside will be black. The side art is in progress.

Looks great. I'll be spying 

No problem!

i like your progress so far.  keep it going dude.  i hear you on the foul ups with the router.  i had a similar incident with mine...well...there was a cat in my backyard and my dog felt that the shortest path to get the cat was under my saw horses...well...luckily nothing too terrible happened.  but yeah, keep up the great work. 

Yeah, some things you have to run into yourself. Too bad for me.

[MaMeNnO]

I wasn't sure the connector I made was fully perfect. So, I thought I'd better use a multi-meter to confirm every wire on the connector is OK. I took the meter and touched every pin. I was glad to see that everything was OK. When everything is all wired up and something isn't working, then you have to check that everything is allright. It's better to do it upfront.

Houston, we have contact! 


All the ends of there wire were stripped and twisted... very boring!


Not to much of an update, but that's all I can do this weekend.

[MaMeNnO]

Before I make a definitive CP I thought I better make a test one first, because it's the first time I ever made one. Are the sticks and buttons in the right place? Does the whole thing work fine for me? Just some questions I want the answers to before I make the real thing.
I started out to get a cardboard box, because it's easy to work with.

First some holes. You can also see my screw up. I was just to busy drawing and cutting that I forgot that the buttons and stick should be the other way around on the right side.  So, I started allover again and kept saying stick left, buttons right, stick left, buttons right, stick... 


The layout...





Added some text just for fun...


I want to router out the stickplate from the top of the CP and then attache a slim plate over the whole CP. That way I can hide  the bolts of the sticks... BUT I have second thoughts about that it. I think it's much easier to router from the bottom and mount the sticks from there. That way you can see the bolts, but it's not that bad I guess.

Anybody specific concerns about this?

I also ordered some more parts. Trumpet nets, CP clamps, coinslot-mech and locks. I expect them early next week...

[psychotech]

..!

If you haven't done so already.. DO NOT leave the joystick mounting bolts/plates above the CP!

You've already built a great looking cabinet, so don't go the 'easy way' now as you're 'getting there'. Won't be that much more work to make a plexiclass CP cover ..actually why not just clamp them together and cut both at the same time after you're sure of the final layout.

Well yeah, according to the pictures of the joysticks of choice ..undermounting (without routing, at least) might be an issue depending on the depth of your CP..? Or maybe not???

Anyway.. still spying.

[theCoder]

If you haven't done so already.. DO NOT leave the joystick mounting bolts/plates above the CP!  ...Won't be that much more work to make a plexiclass CP cover

What he said!!!  Do a search on this site for Plexiglas and CP.  A lot of people have written it up.  I wrote up my experience on the PartyBox project (see reference below).  Go the extra mile and add some cool artwork and hide those screw heads.

Look'n good.

[MaMeNnO]

If you haven't done so already.. DO NOT leave the joystick mounting bolts/plates above the CP!

I would just go for the bolts, not the plates, noway! That way I could also easily remove the sticks without to break up the complete CP.

The CP is 18 mm (7/10") thick, so I have enough room to work with.

[theCoder]

How often do you think you will need to replace your sticks?  In my case, once installed, they've never come out.  But that's just my experience.  You're milage may vary.

[MaMeNnO]

If you haven't done so already.. DO NOT leave the joystick mounting bolts/plates above the CP!  ...Won't be that much more work to make a plexiclass CP cover

What he said!!!  Do a search on this site for Plexiglas and CP.  A lot of people have written it up.  I wrote up my experience on the PartyBox project (see reference below).  Go the extra mile and add some cool artwork and hide those screw heads.

Look'n good.

I just took a peek at your PartyBox. Man, that's a more than excellent write up!
I was planning on using plexiglas. Would that be sufficient? I mean, just plexiglas with artwork on it to hide everything (bolts/stick plate)?

How often do you think you will need to replace your sticks?  In my case, once installed, they've never come out.  But that's just my experience.  You're milage may vary.

You're right! I'm looking for excuses to do it some other way. Thanks for waking me up! 

[MaMeNnO]

Today I did some minor things. I couldn't do much, coz I haven't yet the stuff I ordered. The order is shipped. Early next week it should be delivered.
OK, what I did today. Fixed some strips to support the front glass plate. I don't know whats regular, but I did it myyyyyyy way... sorry bout that.
Also I bought a lamp for the marquee. I tested it with a advertising paper. It lit it enough. Not to much, coz I don't like wearing sunglasses during Elevator Action.
I also took the cabinet apart for the painting job. That way it can be done much easier.
The pictures...

The little support thingies. At the bottom the plate rests on a strip. The glass looks more clear on the photo then it really is. It has a bit of a tint. Not really dark, but I liked it this way. They called it 'bronzeglass'.


The lamp came without a wire, but my father in law had a spare wire that was connected.


The marquee lamp. It's a 13Watt TL.


Well, there it is. Ready to be painted.

[MaMeNnO]

Finally! The last parts for my cabinet arrived. 
Not much to update, but it is always fun to really touch the parts you ordered. The coinselector is fully mechanical. A small contact (top right, the little black thing with the wire) has to be screwed to it. When a coin is dropped in the selector it will fall through the wire. The switch will make contact and sends a signal to the KeyWiz which translate it accordingly.
The rest is much more straight forward, locks trumpet nets and CP clamps.

[MaMeNnO]

I don't know exactly how others are constructing the CP, but I'm planning on doing it like this:



The coverplate and plexiglass will be 3mm (3/10"). The sticks will be between the cp and the coverplate. The buttons will go through all layers. That way they will also clamp the plexiglass a bit, but not on the sides...

Questions:

1. Is this very common? Or am I completely going the wrong direction?

2. How should I attach the plexiglass? Can't use glue because you can see that through the
    plexiglass and makes things pretty ugly.

I like to hear what YOU have to say about this.

I should have checked the post of Timoe first! That gives a pretty good idea! 

[theCoder]

I'm no expert, with only one overlay CP build.  In my case, the top side was held down by the buttons.  The front edge is held down by friction with the t-molding.  Its working fine for me.

[MaMeNnO]

@theCoder: I'm thinking of putting a small bolt on each corner. There will be no t-molding on the CP, so no friction there.

Ok, time for a little update.

I've been busy with wiring the cardboard CP to look if it's all working. Well, it is working! I planned on wiring the whole CP, but I decided otherwise. So, one side of the CP was wired. The joystick was connected to the J1 inputs. I connected 3 buttons, instead of 6 and only the one player button was set to active.

The first time not all the buttons and the one player button were wired correctly. When that was corrected, I was in for a test round. Because I didn't wire a coin button and some admin buttons, I had to connect my keyboard now and then to be able to select a game and put in some credits. It was just a test, so it didn't bother.

The test brought to light that playing ms. pacman with an 8-way stick is... well, ---smurfy--- as hell! I really have to think about this, because I want to be able to play SFII also, but ms. pacman too! Also, I want to be able to play SFII in 2 player mode, so one 8-way and one 4-way isn't an option.

I'm actually thinking in maybe building a joystick myself. I think it shouldn't be that hard, but maybe there are here some people with an opinion about that.

2 weeks ago I bought a big monitor for the cabinet too! It's a 22" IIyama. I'm planning on making a frame and decasing it, so it can be connected to the cabinet.

Ok, some pictures...

Before the wiring...


It's a test, so i didn't bother myself with any soldering...


All ground wires put together...


I did bother myself with crimping some wires to the quickdisconnects...


The wires were put in a euro style terminalblock...


The keywiz with the self made connector was connected to the other end of the terminalblock...


Even when it wasn't hooked up to the computer, my daughter found it great to play with!


The monitor...


PIV 2,53 Ghz, 1G RAM, 80G HD, ASUS Ti4200 128Mb


Well, that's it for now. All the parts are primed and made ready for the real painting job. My father in law does a great job here I checked it out today and found that the nice furniture/stained like brownish finish is completely gone! When all painting is done, it will be white and black with red T-molding. I can't wait!

There will be also a coindoor on the front. No prefab kinda thing, a self made door, but... that's for the next update.

[theCoder]

 I wouldnt try to make a joystick.  You can pick up a switchable 4-way/8-way joystick.  Ultimarc.com has a great one that your switch by pulling up and rotating.  They get around $25 for them.  Good stuff.

[rolls rolex]

I'm confused, those Suzo's are switchable right? I know you had trouble finding out how to switch them but.... well like i said i'm confused  It's impossible to switch them?

[MaMeNnO]

@theCoder: What does BYOAC stands for?   besides, building your own joystick would be fun too!

@monkeyman: Yep, it's switchable, but not without opening the CP and that's unacceptable for me.

[rolls rolex]

Oh i see, so it's bad planning 
Just be sure that you like the look of 2 different joysticks on your cab. You might wanna think about getting 2 new ones. I don't think it will be a problem selling these Suzo's without a loss, add a couple of pushbuttons to make it an attractive package for Marktplaats (Dutch Ebay).

[AlanS17]

Finally! The last parts for my cabinet arrived. 
Not much to update, but it is always fun to really touch the parts you ordered. The coinselector is fully mechanical. A small contact (top right, the little black thing with the wire) has to be screwed to it. When a coin is dropped in the selector it will fall through the wire. The switch will make contact and sends a signal to the KeyWiz which translate it accordingly.
The rest is much more straight forward, locks trumpet nets and CP clamps.

Where did you find those speakers grills? How wide are they? I need to cover the speaker holes in cocktail cabinet, and those look almost perfect!

[rolls rolex]

Here Alan.

http://www.arcadeshop.de/product_info.php?products_id=435

[MaMeNnO]

monkeyman, that are the small ones. Look for these
http://www.arcadeshop.de/product_info.php?cPath=83_90&products_id=418
They are 11.2 mm (4 2/5") wide.

[rolls rolex]

Nothing new yet?  I've been waiting for updates for 2 weekends now  

[MaMeNnO]

Thanks for the interest!

Well, there are some things going on behind the scenes. The cabinet is going through a paint job right now. I haven't made any pictures yet... 

This week the final finish goes on and then I'll have to ship it from my father in law's place to mine. Then I have to carry it up two stairs where it's going to be assembled. The computer and monitor have to be build in. O wait, I'll put the T-molding on before that.

My control panel isn't ready yet. I have decided on the layout, but haven't printed it out and drilled any holes. The artwork is also still in progress. The CP and then the marquee artwork has priority now. I have tried some little things, but this takes longer because of the lack of experience with Adobe Illustrator. When I want to do something, sometimes I first have to find out how that can be achieved. Don't worry, I'm getting there.

I also came up with a name for the cab... Arcade Action!

[MaMeNnO]

Today I took a few pictures of the painted side, coindoor and the plate where the speakers go. The painted parts look really good, allthough when you look really close, you can see it is painted. The parts that were painted white, was done with a paint roller. First everything was primed and after that two layers were paint rolled. The paint has a gloss finish.

The black parts where done with spray paint, because only a relatively small part had to be done. The coindoor is made out of a piece of wood and a thin metal plate. Everything is glued together. A coinmech and lock (both silver metal look) will be fitted in the holes. The coinmech goes in the big hole...

The holes in the speaker plate will be covered with the trumpet nets (see pictures above somewhere).

Painted side...


Speaker plate...


Coindoor...


This weekend I think I can start to assemble everything (again), but then permanent.
As always, I'll keep you guys posted.

[MaMeNnO]

The coindoor is assembled! This week it was spray painted for the last time. Today I put in the coin selector and the lock. I really like the way it turned out.
Tomorrow I'll get the other pieces and then start to put it together again.

For now, some picture of the coindoor.

Front and side...
   

Other side and seen from above...
   

Wait! I also did some designing on the CP. Here is what I have so far, but I need some inspiration... quick!  Ignore the white border and tiny lines. They where just used as reference.



Wha'd ya think?

[leapinlew]

@theCoder: What does BYOAC stands for?   besides, building your own joystick would be fun too!

Then why bother buying a keywiz when you could build one?  I think what theCoder was saying is there are plenty of alternatives instead and that you may want to consider all your alternatives before you spend lots of money and waste lots of time. The Ultimarc 360 is looking to be an ultimate switch on the fly stick and worth checking out.

Sure it's Build Your Own Controls - but at some point, you decide to buy pre-fab stuff. Building your own buttons would be tough. 

[leapinlew]

2. How should I attach the plexiglass? Can't use glue because you can see that through the
    plexiglass and makes things pretty ugly.

See how your plexi fits. On my Control Panels - one of them needed some carriage bolts to hold down the plexi - my other one the plexi fits nice and flat and I can just use the buttons to hold them down. You drill out plexi before?

[leapinlew]

Wha'd ya think?

It's a great start. I like the blue and the red, I think you need something else to give it some visual interest. A grid or some additional artwork to provide some depth.

What about admin buttons like Pause, Credit buttons (could be useful since you only have 1 coin slot), and a dedicated quit button?

[MaMeNnO]

@theCoder: What does BYOAC stands for?   besides, building your own joystick would be fun too!

Then why bother buying a keywiz when you could build one?  I think what theCoder was saying is there are plenty of alternatives instead and that you may want to consider all your alternatives before you spend lots of money and waste lots of time. The Ultimarc 360 is looking to be an ultimate switch on the fly stick and worth checking out.

Sure it's Build Your Own Controls - but at some point, you decide to buy pre-fab stuff. Building your own buttons would be tough. 

Actually I planned to hack a keyboard, but after some research I wasn't sure I it would work fine. So, you're right at that point I desided to bye the KeyWiz Eco2. I also took the advise of theCoder and ordered two mag stick plus joysticks from Ultimarc.

2. How should I attach the plexiglass? Can't use glue because you can see that through the
    plexiglass and makes things pretty ugly.

See how your plexi fits. On my Control Panels - one of them needed some carriage bolts to hold down the plexi - my other one the plexi fits nice and flat and I can just use the buttons to hold them down. You drill out plexi before?

I didn't drill out plexi before. I think I should clamp the plexi between some wood and then use a drillstand to drill it out.

It's a great start. I like the blue and the red, I think you need something else to give it some visual interest. A grid or some additional artwork to provide some depth.

What about admin buttons like Pause, Credit buttons (could be useful since you only have 1 coin slot), and a dedicated quit button?

The one in the middle at the top will be used for the Shazaaam! function of the keywiz in combination with the other buttons. There will be a dedicated credit button, but that will not be part of the CP.

[leapinlew]

Cool... Let me know what you think of the magstiks. I didn't like mine that much - I do like the looks of the u360, but I don't want to spend the money right now to check it out.

Good luck on your build.

[theCoder]

Dont get me wrong, there are plenty of opportunities to create your own controls on these projects.  You just have to pick your battles. 

On the artwork, I would recommend a transition from blue to red at the center.  In Illustrator, I believe you have a lot of control over the transitions.  You could make it go from blue to red fairly tight and toward the center.  This would give you mostly blue on one side, then maybe about a 2 inch wide transition, then red on the other side.  You might also play with some 3-D features such as drop shadows and bezels.  There are tons of tutorials on the web for this stuff.

For admin buttons, on my last project I put in two large buttons for start and stop (enter and esc.) plus three small admin buttons (players 1 & 2 start and coin).  With the shift of player 1 start I had hidden buttons for 3 (player 3 start), 4, Y, N (yes & no for Windows dialog boxes), and P (pause).  Also, if you go with hidden button functions, make sure you document them somehow, either by labling the button or with a cheat sheet on the front glass.

Nice job on the coin door.

[MaMeNnO]

@theCoder: I took your advise (again ) aan did some tweaking a changing on the CP artwork. I experienced with dropshadows. It really gives the CP more depth. I'm also trying to make some graphics to give it a more visual interest, but that harder then I thought. I'll post some pictures this evening.

The cabinet is put together a the t-molding is in place on one side. I have to use some glue for a little part, because of the little incident with the router... I will never pull a spinning router out the t-molding groove again!

[MaMeNnO]

As planned everything was put together. The t-molding went really smooth... on one side. The other side with the little accident didn't come along to well  , but eventually that was solved. Not with glue, but with a piece of thin cardboard! I folded around the part that goes in the groove and I really had a hard time getting it in, but once it did, it didn't move.

A few more pictures

The marquee with the TL and speaker...


Painted and t-molded...






Speaker plate...


With the paint on and the t-molding in place, it starts to look like something...

[psychotech]

Well ....

"starts to look like something..."

Come on - That looks GRREEAAATTT!

[rolls rolex]

Very cool  I see there's enough room for a 2nd cab 

[MaMeNnO]

Thanks for the comments!

A second cab... I thought of that. Maybe a bartop. I think that's as much as my girlfriend will allow me to.
BTW the Suzo joysticks are on "marktplaats".

[MaMeNnO]

I've been playing around with Illustrator and came up with this...



I used Gaussian blur (around buttons and black graphic at the bottom), drop shadows (player I and II), 3D effect (stars), glowing (direction arrows) and some transition in colours (background and stars).

OK, your turn to give your opinion... or not  , but don't give critic without an alternative

[theCoder]

... don't give critic without an alternative

Oh, come on, I want to throw tomatoes with no strings attached.

[MaMeNnO]

Then you better do it when I don't look 

Now that I look at the artwork, it's not really Arcade like... but I do like the way it looks *sigh*

[javeryh]

I also ordered some more parts. Trumpet nets, CP clamps, coinslot-mech and locks. I expect them early next week...

Where id you get these?  How much?  And what's the diameter?  I need some round speaker hole covers for a pair of 2.5" diameter holes. 

Your cab is looking great so far - and very well documented!

[MaMeNnO]

Where id you get these?  How much?  And what's the diameter?  I need some round speaker hole covers for a pair of 2.5" diameter holes. 

Your cab is looking great so far - and very well documented!

Thanks, I do the best I can.
I've got them from...
http://www.arcadeshop.de/product_info.php?cPath=83_90&products_id=418

They are 11.2 mm (4 2/5") wide and $2.17 a piece

[theCoder]

I would have commented on this on my last post, but your image link was broke.  The stars are a bit distracting.  I would also play with trying to make the light blue borders around the buttons have a 3-d half round look.  This is done with inner & outer shadows and embossing features.  Much better than your original.

[MaMeNnO]

Today I tried a totally different style for my CPO. I love it more than the first one.

[quarterback]

Today I tried a totally different style for my CPO. I love it more than the first one.

Totally different look than your previous one!  I like it.  Looks kind of old-school arcade to me.  Reminds me somehow of the game "Carnival"

[rolls rolex]

This one looks way better no doubt about it, it looks more like a natural design. The other one looks more like a bunch of pictures put together. I really love the orange, yellow, blue that's a great combination and indeed more old school. But are you sure it will match the white/red cab and how about your black/yellow/red buttons?

[MaMeNnO]

This one looks way better no doubt about it, it looks more like a natural design. The other one looks more like a bunch of pictures put together. I really love the orange, yellow, blue that's a great combination and indeed more old school. But are you sure it will match the white/red cab and how about your black/yellow/red buttons?

I've also been thinking about the buttons. You got a point there. I also have yellow ones!
I guess I should have six red and green to go with the joysticks I'm having a vision of... an order... an button order!
About the colours in combination with the cabinet, there is white, black and red in the CPO!
I could give it an other go now that I've got the hang of it.

[javeryh]

I also like the newly designed artwork!  Very nice!

[MaMeNnO]

Thanks for the support of the last CPO. I decided to use it. I might do a little tweaking on the colours. To be sure it will look allright, I printed a part of the CPO and put it on the CP board in the cabinet to have a more then virtual look. I'd imagined it on the CP with my eyes closed, but that didn't do it.





Beside this I did a few little things. I bought some wire for the CP. In three colours, red, green and black. It was sold at lengths of 5 meter (16' 1/6"). That should be enough for 12 contacts (joystick=4, 6 buttons, 1 player (I and II) start, 1 quit/credit) on one side and 12 on the other (red/green) and the Shazaaam! button. I'll have 41 cm (16") on average for each contact. My CP is 60 cm (24") wide.



I put the monitor in the cabinet to look how it would fill it up. I must say, it goes well with dimensions of the cabinet. I'll make a bezel of cardboard first. Then I can still mess around with it and tweak till I'm satisfied. Then I'll make one out of black cardboard or maybe some thin flexibel wood and then spray paint it. I have a little left from the speaker plate and the top inside (everything above the CP).



I did put some 90 degree metal supports to the bottem plate and sides to firm it up a little. There will be some weight on it from the monitor, so a little extra support just in case.

[MaMeNnO]

I just sum up all the costs. Always a painful thing, but it's for a good cause, so who's counting?

None the less, I was curious right now the counter stands at 584,86 Euro ($779,74 with the current exchange rate of 1 euro = 1,333200478 dollar)

That's inclusive wrong choice of wood and a pair of other sticks and some screw ups.

I'll just say it quick to my girlfriend... or maybe not. Hey, hobbies cost money! I guess you'll all know...

[tranq]

Well, you're not married....and, if you don't give her any less attention, can she complain?   I think not.......uh, unless yer not giving her any more.

[Loki]

Isn't €584 worth $777 ? ... or am I wrong here ^^;
Anyway, looks nice so far!

(I'm also Dutch btw)

[Timoe]

oooh and ah that CPO is gonna look great!

[MaMeNnO]

Isn't €584 worth $777 ? ... or am I wrong here ^^;
Anyway, looks nice so far!

(I'm also Dutch btw)

Well good to hear. Monkeyman is also Dutch. Eventually we'll take over!
Oops, little mistake... your're correct, actually it is $779,74.
(Edited in the above post).

Are you building a cabinet too?

[MaMeNnO]

oooh and ah that CPO is gonna look great!

Thanks! It better be or I'll have to design something else. For now I don't have second thoughts. Maybe I'll adjust the background colour from back on both sides to white in the middle.

[Loki]

Well good to hear. Monkeyman is also Dutch. Eventually we'll take over!
Oops, little mistake... your're correct, actually it is $779,74.
(Edited in the above post).

Are you building a cabinet too?

I'm already on a quest for world domination... so guess when I have the time I'll take over this forum too 

At the moment I'm just looking around here and trying to get some ideas.
I'd really like to build a cab for mainly Neo Geo and pinball games...

[MaMeNnO]

Well, you're not married....and, if you don't give her any less attention, can she complain?   I think not.......uh, unless yer not giving her any more.

We have a kid and a house together. In my opinion that counts more then being married But no, she can't complain.

[MaMeNnO]

Well good to hear. Monkeyman is also Dutch. Eventually we'll take over!
Oops, little mistake... your're correct, actually it is $779,74.
(Edited in the above post).

Are you building a cabinet too?

I'm already on a quest for world domination... so guess when I have the time I'll take over this forum too 

At the moment I'm just looking around here and trying to get some ideas.
I'd really like to build a cab for mainly Neo Geo and pinball games...

Plenty of ideas around here! I can tell you it's very addictive once you start building one.

[rolls rolex]

Oh man, i stand corrected  This looks awesome, i'm really into the whole bright colorful design. Check out the red tmolding with that orange  How about some orange and blue pushbuttons it will look great on the red part. Not sure how it will look on the green part, maybe you should do it all red? I also saw orange joysticks, that would just finish it 

[MaMeNnO]

I have two red Mag Stik Plus from Ultimarc. That costed me a little fortune, but they are great! switchable from the top without opening the CP and that was what I was looking for.

Right now I'm gonna have a design session for the bezel en marquee. Can't wait so see that on the cab!

[spacies]

Looking good.

Loving the Fonts on the CP.

I want some of those sticks too.

Don't stop now, you want to be playing on this over XMAS!!!!

[MaMeNnO]

Sooooo much ideas... so little time to spend

I think there might be a chance that I could play then. I don't have a deadline though.

[spacies]

Heh,

I know what you mean.

The more you look around the more ideas you want to incororate into your cab.
Never fear, when this one is finished, start another.
And when the other is nearly done, sell the first and so on...and so on...and so on.

    

[MaMeNnO]

Heh,

I know what you mean.

The more you look around the more ideas you want to incororate into your cab.
Never fear, when this one is finished, start another.
And when the other is nearly done, sell the first and so on...and so on...and so on.

    

Sell my baby?! I've seen it get born and raised it my own. We played Donkey Kong, Ms. Pacman together...  oh no, couldn't do that.

BTW I just noticed that the extra depth of the cabinet was not unnecessary. The door can just close now. I remember seeing quite a few (to many!) photo's with monitors sticking out at the back. That was a good choice!

[MaMeNnO]

Today I planned to drill some holes and make space for the joysticks, but due to strange result after printing I decided to delay that.
I printed the layout and adjusted the paper properties before printing. I taped two sheets of A4 together, so I could print the whole length in one go. I thought that was more handy then tape it later on. I don't know what happened, but after measuring it with a joystick plate, it was way, way off.
Then I printed it with adjusting the paper. The printed joystick plate was spot on!?

This week I'll print the marquee, CP and layout for drilling at a print shop in one go on the same printer and everything in one piece. Then I'm sure everything measures up OK. The centering I did as follow in Adobe Illustrator.

The layout of just the buttons and joysticks. This will be used for drilling holes and such.
It is placed on a different layer then the design of the graphics. All the objects are exact measures from the real joysticks and buttons. The circles for the buttons are the outer measurements. Be careful to use the right drill size! Otherwise the buttons will fall through...


To be able to see through the graphics and see the layout make select the whole layer
and make everything transparent for, say 25%. All the graphics become a bit vague.


Now turn off the design layer and go to the layout layer and select the things you want
to move. After that switch back to the other layer and make it visable.

Drag it in place and use the arrow keys to make the finer adjustments.


Everything is in place and ready for printing.

[MaMeNnO]

Today I brought the marquee and controlpanel to the printshop. For the marquee I can take four options:
- Normal paper (tried that... no, not an option)
- Waterproof paper ( haven't seen it, but seems to be an option)
- Blue back paper (yep, the back is blue )
- Backlit paper (milk white back on transparent layer)

The last one is the most expensive, but I hope to see where that extra money went! It's the stuff that is especially used for these kinda things. 24" x 7" will cost me around $84,50... when I check mamemarquees.com they charge $17,95 (without shipping)!

Just sent a question to mamemarquees.com what the total costs would be.

The final marquee...


The final controlpanel...


For the joysticks, I didn't know if the top red nob just should come off or that I should take the whole stick apart. As the pictures show all had to be disassembled. I wanted to know how well the red ring would fit within the direction arrows.

 

The red ring fits beautifully!


The layout of the controlpanel that I didn't dare to use...


From the picture above you can also see that I took off the plastic cage of the monitor. I didn't really decased it fully, because that wasn't necessary. I'm gonna use the bolds on the lower left and right hand corner to secure it to the plate of the monitorstand. I also placed a little support strip behind the monitor.

[MaMeNnO]

Today I collected my marquee on backlit and my CP on vinyl.
The marquee is maybe a little light. The CP looks great... from a distance that is. In closeup (see pictures) you can see colours are flowing a little on the edges. That's to bad. I don't know if you guys ever experienced something like that. The thing is, it is not on all parts, but the text 'Arcade actioN' is the most obvious.

I allready cut the holes out for the buttons and they just fit perfectly.











 

[Kaytrim]

I'd take them back and demand a refund. That bleading is bad. 

[leapinlew]

I'd take them back and demand a refund. That bleading is bad. 

Thats pretty harsh. First off, I'd say decide if your happy with it or not. If your not, see if the printer can make it right. If you are happy with it - move along.

I would keep it - in this hobby you can either build machines or spend forever trying to reach this perfection nirvana which doesn't exist.

Your call! Give the printer the option to make you a satisfied customer if you are unhappy.

[MaMeNnO]

It's what leapinlew says. I'd allready decided to move along. I didn't cut out those holes for fun! I find it to expensive to give it an other try.
My own simple HP inkjet printer does it a bit better, allthough that was on paper.

[MaMeNnO]

Just pictures for now, coz something went wrong and I lost the whole post!
Maybe I edit this post with some explaining later on...

[Edited 30-12-2006 14:25 GMT]
Finally I could set myself to type in the lost post again... but this time first in notepad!

I had did some mindbreaking how to do the mounting of the sticks.

underneath
For this to look nice I actually had to have longer shafts for the sticks. If I would do it this way, then almost only the nob would stick out. So, no option.

topmount with coverplate
After thinking alot about this, it would have took my some hours to finish it. Not even in a satisfactionary way. The plate would add extra tickness. The idea was too countersink all the parts that stick out in the coverplate. Lots of work.

countersink from underneath and countersink bolts from top
This would have been a good option, but this way I had to router out a great deal from underneath. The bolts a had to countersink from the top. I could use some woodfill to get rid of the holes. Because the CP plate is 18mm (little less then 3/4") there wouldn't be enough wood to carry the metal joystick plates. Topmounting the bolts wasn't an option I wanna use.

Inserts
Then I thought of making inserts for just the joystick area. I thought about it and I couldn't think of any bad side effects, so that was the way to go.

The inserts sticked a little out of the rest of the CP, so I slamed all corners with a hammer. That wasn't enough so I made the dent a little deeper.
 

 

Once I had the inserts glued there was no way I could ever use a screwdriver to thigten the screws that hold the mechanism with the cherry switches. My father in law said "You better use some loctite here!". I guess the name says it all.


Lock bolts hold the metal joystickplate in place. From underneath I used a ring and a ring with little hooks/pins (don't what it's called). The normal rings to prevent the nut to go into the wood. The otherone so it won't get loose.

 

[theCoder]

Love the close up photos.  How did the joystick cover plates work out?  If they are lower than the surface, you can skim coat them with some drywall mud.  Or you can use wood putty mixed with a little water.  This is going to look nice with your CP artwork.

[MaMeNnO]

Love the close up photos.  How did the joystick cover plates work out?  If they are lower than the surface, you can skim coat them with some drywall mud.  Or you can use wood putty mixed with a little water.  This is going to look nice with your CP artwork.

Thanks. The cover plates worked out fine! Really. Glad I decided to work with that option. I'm excited about the end result.

[MaMeNnO]

Before the vinyl could be glued on, I had to sand (by hand) the woodfill around the joystick area. With a little woodblock and a sanding sheet the work didn't take to long. The result was excellent! I couldn't feel any seam at all. I had to protect the joystick switches from dust. For that I took two little plastic bags to cover them up. With some tape on the baggies and on the top a sand or saw dust was noooooo problem!



 

Well, the end result is so-so. I had to sort of brush the glue on the vinyl and on the CP. That's because I used contactglue. The risc of getting glue through the holes of the vinyl on the otherside of the vinyl is present. After doing it (yeah...  ) I'd better used some grips to hold the vinyl in place. I my case some glue got on the otherside of the vinyl just below the buttonholes on the right.





To hold down the CP on the cabinet I bought some snaplocks. Very handy, not expensive and easy to fit. I'll still have to see how it gone work when playing some games. For now it feels OK. I used two of them, left and right.
I was thankful to see that the locks could not only used straight, but also in a 90 degree angle.

 

[rolls rolex]

Too bad you had a glue accident, that stuff can be pretty tricky. I can't wait for an overview picture with the buttons in place 

[Neilyboy]

very nice so far man.. im looking forward to some finished pics!! very nice

Neil

[MaMeNnO]

Too bad you had a glue accident, that stuff can be pretty tricky. I can't wait for an overview picture with the buttons in place 

Yeah, to bad. After some spray varnish allmost everything is gone. About an overview picture, that's underway. I wired all buttons and sticks last week. Today I wanna wire the KeyWiz to the terminalblocks and then... the long awaited moment to be able to play the first game on the cabinet!

very nice so far man.. I'm looking forward to some finished pics!! very nice

Neil

If I have to believe some people here, a cabinet is never finished. I'll post this week some nearly finished pics. The side art and such is still something I have to work out.

[MaMeNnO]

Here's a little update of the wiring job I did so far. I didn't want to solder anything as all switches can can take quick disconnects. This made it for me easier. It made it also more flexible if I want to change something.

I started with the ground (black wire). For the inputs I used red wire. My father in law sat down next to me when I did the wiring. I explained what my plan was (this used to be part of his job) and he said how I could do that the most easiest and cleanest way. I used little loops to wire the ground contacts. When you do it like this you can use one long wire without ever cutting it for except the terminating quick disconnect.

Make two cuts in the wire and remove the part between the two cuts...


Bend the cleaned wire and put it in the quick disconnect.


Finally, press the quick disconnect together and connect the quick disconnect to the contact.
For the next contact measure the wire that you need by dragging it to the next contact and
repeat it from picture one. That´s all!
Here you can see the little loops. The starting point here is the top right quick disconnect (that was
changed later on for convenience).


The KeyWiz is placed in the middle. I've put kinda foam stuff underneath for isolation and to keep it free
from the CP.


For the inputs I did the same thing, but for these everytime only just one little wire is needed. Clamp the
wire in the quick disconnect. Measure it to the terminal block and screw the other end in here.


The nearly completed wiring. Nearly as the KeyWiz needs to be hooked up to the terminal blocks.

[meltman]

Clean wiring job. Very nice work.

[psychotech]

Yes, my words exactly..

Clean wiring job. Very nice work.

It's all in the details, some might say... 

[Timoe]

Turn it over already so we can see the top! 

[MaMeNnO]

Thanks for the comment!

Turn it over already so we can see the top! 

That's planned for today... relax, calmness will save you

[MaMeNnO]

As promised some photo's of the top of the CP. It's playable now! Just did my first test shoot with 1942! Wow, what a blast! Those sticks (mag stik plus from Ultimarc) did a real good job. Some complain about the short throw, but I really like 'em!

It's to bad that the pattern of the vinyl shines through. This became apparent after spray varnishing the CP I think I'm gonna straight for making a next CP!





I also took a shot of the marquee with the light on. I guess the light should be dimmed a little, because I can't make a photo from the whole cab without over exposing the marquee.



Not as clean as the wiring of the CP, but playable...


Well, lots of things that I can work on.

[Kaytrim]

As promised some photo's of the top of the CP. It's playable now! Just did my first test shoot with 1942! Wow, what a blast! Those sticks (mag stik plus from Ultimarc) did a real good job. Some complain about the short throw, but I really like 'em!

I have a pair of old T-Stick plus joys and I am very disappointed in playability in 8-way mode.  The problems are most apparent in Robotron where the cardinal directions are difficult to maintain.  Could you try out a few games of Robotron and let me know how these new Mag-Sticks play?

[rolls rolex]

Cool 

Forget about the CP, just finish the cab. Just give it a go with this CP as see how it feels.  You never know what might bug while playing, the proof is in eating the pudding or something 

[MaMeNnO]

As promised some photo's of the top of the CP. It's playable now! Just did my first test shoot with 1942! Wow, what a blast! Those sticks (mag stik plus from Ultimarc) did a real good job. Some complain about the short throw, but I really like 'em!

I have a pair of old T-Stick plus joys and I am very disappointed in playability in 8-way mode.  The problems are most apparent in Robotron where the cardinal directions are difficult to maintain.  Could you try out a few games of Robotron and let me know how these new Mag-Sticks play?

Sure. I'll see this weekend how things go.

[theCoder]

Thanks for the wiring pics.  Did you have any problems with the wiring or did all contacts work first try?

Your artwork really goes with the t-molding.

Very nice. 

[MaMeNnO]

Thanks for the comment.

The contacts worked first time. I made sure there was enough bare wire for the quick disconnects. I'm more affraid of the wires connected to the connector on the KeyWiz. They're very thin. Unless something snaps off I'm not replacing 'em anyway.

[MaMeNnO]

Just played some Street Fighter II. Then suddenly I was thrown back to the desktop and I was asked what I wanted to do with the 'sticky keys' 
Because some buttons use shift, ctrl etc. and if you press them quickly and to much this will become apparent.

You can easily turn 'em off. Here's a post with a link to guide you http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?topic=50943.msg497531#msg497531

[blueznl]

dutchies galore :-) (yes, another one)

wow, that machine is great! now i need to re-read this whole thread... i'm seriously thinking about building my own cab, just haven't made up my mind yet to do something classic, or something fancy...

(i especially have to figure out where you got some of those parts)

[MaMeNnO]

Stop thinking, start building!

Got the parts from Germany, US and some wood from Holland! BTW don't use the 'betonplex' stuff. To expensive and nothing but trouble.

PS. Welcome.

[MaMeNnO]

There hasn't much changed on the cabinet itself. Only wired everything completely and replaced the black buttons for red/green ones.

I've been busy building my own front-end (Yamf, Yet Another Mame Frontend). It's built in VB6.0. Nothing world shocking or something, but just the fun of making it myself. I'm no VB guru so I had to figure out some things, but I have something I like! Mr. Google was very helpfull in finding things for me. Some screen shots maybe at the end of the weekend.

This weekend I wanna do the final things for the monitor and bezel. Still not done...  

[blueznl]

Well, as you suggested, I ordered the parts... once they arrive the real things starts...

[Kronos]

really nice cab... 

[MaMeNnO]

Well, I've been away from this post a long time... to long I guess. That's because of a lot of reasons, but the main was that I lost myself in building my own front end. I was nearly finished and I could play on it! That's a damn pitfall! You should prevent yourself from putting in the computer and screen, before every other thing is finished.

Here's a picture from an early version of the front end and a not painted bezel. On this picture there's still a glass plate. In the end I didn't use it anymore. This was because of the last little adjustments.


Here you can see the painted bezel and a far more advanced version of Yaff. Yaff stand for Yet An other Front end Front end. I named it first Yamf (Yet An other Mame Front end), but Yaff sounded and looks better. I was inspired by a program that's used for compiler build on unix like machines, Yacc (Yet An other Compiler Compiler).

The features of Yaff are still under development and a few have to be add. I'll make a post in the Software forum with a more detailed description and background. Finally! building a front end from scratch.


This is the bezel and the speaker area.


The coindoor missed a little box at the back where a plastic box could be placed to catch the coins (1 euro coins).


Yaff!


Here's the marquee with the light on. The light was a bit to bright, so I placed some papper over it to diffuse it a little. Work well. The retainers were spray painted black. That made a big difference!


The finished side. Nearly finished, because I still don't know what side art I'm gonna design. I was planning on doing a custom design for Elevator Action. Later on I had some more ideas of a more generic design, but I still haven't decided.


The full cab, front


The full cab, back

[theCoder]

...Yaff stand for Yet An other Front end Front end. I named it first Yamf (Yet An other Mame Front end), but Yaff sounded and looks better. I was inspired by a program that's used for compiler build on unix like machines, Yacc (Yet An other Compiler Compiler).

YAFF is definitely easier to say.  How about YAMS, Yet Another Menu System?  But then again, I don't know too many people that like yams.  There are a lot of "Yet Another" named programs out there.  I wrote a large scale reporting / graphing system called YARG - Yet Another Report Generator.  I thought of writing my own Mame front end, but the existing ones are very feature rich. 

Good job on this project.  It looks very crisp and clean.

[MaMeNnO]

I thought of writing my own Mame front end, but the existing ones are very feature rich. 

Good job on this project.  It looks very crisp and clean.

Thanks Coder. There's no doubt there are many feature rich FE's, but making it your own is more than half the fun! I tried a few, but my experience was that it didn't work intuitive enough.

[Freeplay]

MaMeNm0

I've just read your Cab Build from start to finish.

I must say.. you've done a great job of documenting your project.
Most people tend to forget to take time to take the pics and make the posts.

It was most enjoyable read.. and you cab came out great.

[psychotech]

Well..,

that is a great cab!

Like the others, I'll thank you for the good documentation and congratulate you on a cab well done!

..we're just waiting for more info on your custom FE ..and you know ..MORE PIX - of EVERYTHING !½!

[MaMeNnO]

MaMeNm0

I've just read your Cab Build from start to finish.

I must say.. you've done a great job of documenting your project.
Most people tend to forget to take time to take the pics and make the posts.

It was most enjoyable read.. and you cab came out great.

That's good to hear! Thanks for that. I wanted to document the project as good as I could.
Actually, I hate those posts where people only show a few pictures of the end result.

@psychotech, thanks again and I'll start the post right now!

[MaximRecoil]

Here's a little update of the wiring job I did so far. I didn't want to solder anything as all switches can can take quick disconnects. This made it for me easier. It made it also more flexible if I want to change something.

I started with the ground (black wire). For the inputs I used red wire. My father in law sat down next to me when I did the wiring. I explained what my plan was (this used to be part of his job) and he said how I could do that the most easiest and cleanest way. I used little loops to wire the ground contacts. When you do it like this you can use one long wire without ever cutting it for except the terminating quick disconnect.

Make two cuts in the wire and remove the part between the two cuts...


Bend the cleaned wire and put it in the quick disconnect.


Finally, press the quick disconnect together and connect the quick disconnect to the contact.
For the next contact measure the wire that you need by dragging it to the next contact and
repeat it from picture one. That´s all!

I *really* like your father-in-law's method of making ground loops. It is very clean and secure. I have used this method on two of my machines since I read this post of yours some time ago, to replace the stock ground loops in the OEM JAMMA harnesses. It is a lot stronger than how the factory did it, which was the typical method of a bunch of short sections of wire daisy-chained via the crimp on QD's. One of those short sections of wire even pulled out/broke off from the QD as I was removing the old ground loop. That would never happen with your father-in-law's method.

[MaMeNnO]

Yeah, when he told me this method, I immediately was convinced that this was the way to go.

He will be happy to hear that his method is adopted by you and maybe others, but then again this forum is to inspire/help others.

[Mirickle]

Nice work! I especially like your CP overlay.

Question: being a fellow Dutchie, I will also use metric-system-sized wood for my little MAME project. T-molding.com only lists t-molding dimensions in imperial units. Which size t-molding did you use for 18mm wood? My guess would be 3/4", but I am not 100% sure...

[blueznl]

Hey, more dutchies :-) You're planning to order anything soon? I guess I'll need to order some stuff as well, perhaps we could order a bundle?

[Mirickle]

Hey, more dutchies :-) You're planning to order anything soon? I guess I'll need to order some stuff as well, perhaps we could order a bundle?

Maybe some stuff from GGG, but it might be a while before I get round to actually starting my project (first I will have to decide what the project will be (bartop, fullsize, 1P, 2P etc...).

[blueznl]

Heh :-) I planned a bar top originally, but in the end (ie. right now, or about right now  ) I decided to settle for a full sized stand up. It's just that every time I start working on it, Real Life Interference (TM) gets in the way. At least I just bought the wood... And I have some of the other stuff, such as buttons, sticks, a trackball, etc... It's just that, now summer is mostly over, suddenly working on it becomes less interesting