A lonely worklog amongst a sea of inspiring projects....

[Amra]

And so begins the story of my cabinet, a story that is yet to be fully written.

So where to begin?  I suppose the best place is to start from the beginning...

I have been collecting parts for an arcade cabinet for about two years, not the highest priority thing on my list, but if I came accross something that would work well for my cabinet, it was purchased.

The intent from the start has been the same, to build a professional looking cabinet, for as little money as possible.  The intended goal had been set at most $1500 dollars, though the wishful goal was $1000, a tall order to be sure.  Building a professional cabinet for less then fifteen hundred dollars needs every corner pinched to be sure, but in these past two years, I have found many great deals that immensly assisted in keeping this goal managable without sacrificing too much quality.

So to begin with, I imagine a list of items procured for this project at reasonable prices is in order.

20 Black Pushbuttons @ $0.99 each: purchased about two years ago when I build a control panel
1/2 Player Buttons @ $0.99 each: same as above
2 P360 Joysticks @ $24.99 each : Not sure about now, but a couple years ago, every three months these were half price, so I bode my time and purchased them when they were on sale.
IPac @ $39.00 : Bought about same time as above Items

Great Deals!
27" Sony Trinitron Presentation Monitor KX-M270 @ $25.00 : Thrift Store, working perfectly so far!
6.5" Sony XPlod Speakers @ $20.00 : Amazon.com
40Wx2CHx4Ω Jensen Amp @ $4.5 : Thrift Store
2 Player Over/UnderCoin Door @ $21.50 : EBay
Happs 3" Trackball @ $30.00 : Ebay
ScanDo 1024 ScanConvertor @ $50.00 : Ebay

Expensive Parts
2 Sheets 4'x8' Black Laminate @ $42.99 each : This was a reluctant must for a professional looking Job IMO
3000+ AMD MB/CPU Combo @ $119.99 : PC Club Special
512MB PC3200 RAM @ $69.99 : Also PC Club
250GB SATA2 HDD @ $79.99 : PC Club
3 Sheets 3/4" MDF @ $19.96 each : Home Depot

Miscellaeneous
40' T-Molding @ $21.10 : Tmolding.com
Piano Hinge @ $7.99 : Ace Hardware
Polycarbonate @ $15.10 : Lowes
Happs Monitor Bezel @ $13.65
Happs Marquee Retainer @ $12.55
Power Supply Station @ $4.50 : Thrift Store
Flourecent Light Fixture @ $8.95 : Ace Hardware
ATX Computer Case @ $20.00 : USA Computer Outlet
AT Power Supply @ $1 : Thrift Store
4x Caster Wheels 3" @ $6.95 each : Home Depot

Running Total so Far: $1040.07

I am under my max budget of $1500, though over my wishful budget of $1000.  Also I didnt include things like woodglue and screws because I keep a stock of them regardless, for other projects and the like.  Most prices include shipping, though I dont really count shipping as project cost anyways, no more then I count how much I spend in soda while working on the project.

And alas the photos, these are of me cutting out the first side.  The next step is to smooth it up and cut out the second peice using the first as a template.

The first cuts!!

[Amra]

And so continues the story of my Cabinet...

With the first side cut out, the next step was to smooth up all the edges so it could be used as a template to but out the second side precisely like the first.

Most important part here was the pattern cutting bit, purchased at Woodcraft for $16.99, at this point I think it also important to mention that tools purchased throughout the project are not included in the price as they can and will be used for many other projects, and I have been trying to build up my woodshop tool collection for some time anyways, so they are necessary evils.

The pattern cutting bit made cutting out the second peice super easy and only the corner for the control panel needed to be touched up with the Jigsaw after I was finished, so I was quite pleased in this regard!

First step was to attach the bit to the router, as shown with the gratuitus Mt Dew shot.

Secondly we attached the template to the other board with screws, making sure the screws were at least flush with the board so the router wouldnt notice them, the third picture is the template mated with the bottom peice of wood before cutting.

We then checked the depth and set it using the bottom edge as a guide so the peice would cut nicely.

Next picture is to show that when we approached the sawhorse, we stopped, slid the wood past the sawhorse so that the bit would not cut the sawhorse as we continued the project.

The next picture is a picture of the control panel corner that will be touched up with a Jigsaw later.

The rest was finished, and the last picture is the completed two sides of the cabinet. 

Its strange how when you draw it out on the board before you cut it it seems so small and you are scared it will be too small, wondering if you should maybe change the size by an inch here or there... only when you cut it out you find it to be larger then you thought it would be... and glad you didnt add any more size or it would have been too big!!

Also, its probobly pretty important to note that this will be modeled after a Midway Mortal Kombat Cabinet.

[Amra]

Had finally recieved my Coin Door amidst this process, and while it was it fair condition (meaning no parts were missing), it was in dire need of some TLC.

Ironically I cannot seem to find any of the "Before" pictures I took... If I find them I will post them.

The first pic is simply a picture of the case after I completely disassembled it and used paint stripper to remove all the old scratched and less then steller paint.

The second picture is after I painted it and reassembled (Sorry for no real good inbetween shots).  I used Rustoleum Hammered finish (supposed to be black, but has a dark grey appearence)

The third picture is simply to show the custom decals I printed and added into the coin reject buttons.  The symbol is the Kanji for eternity.  Its something I try and add to all my projects somewhere, like an autograph of sorts.

[javeryh]

Very nice progress so far!  I can't believe how patinet you were in stockpiling parts.  Keep it going!!!

[Kaytrim]

I agree with javeryh on both counts. 

You made some real good deals on the parts over the last two years.  It really shows your patience in the process.  Listen if you continue to find deals like those let us know.  I am sure that there are people on the boards that are always looking for cheep parts for their next project.

[leapinlew]

Good job on acquiring parts - now that your to the build, you must work a bit more quickly before you change your mind on things. Changing my mind has cost me a decent amount of money.

As for shipping on items. I definetly count it since you can get raped at Ebay if you don't pay attention to the shipping costs. Shipping costs have caused me to decide against an item.

Good luck with the build and enjoy the process.

[Organic Jerk]

Reading this thread has officially put me into patient mode..

Before this point, for some reason, I felt like I was taking too long or I just wanted my cab finished already so I can play it. I was getting frustrated about it, like I have some mental deadline... 

Your progress is looking great and you really put me into perspective...lol


It just goes to show what time and effort is really about and how much it can pay off in the end

 

[Amra]

Thank you for the kind words everyone!

There have been a few things that I have changed my mind on in the past week, but mostly simple things so far, such as I decided to make a sliding drawer for the control panel, as you will see below, but this was pretty simple as far as modifications go.

I am certain I will run into some Problems, but given the time Ive spent contemplating the various aspects of the project, I am certain they will be minimal (rather I hope they will be minimal).

Again thank you everyone, and criticism, suggestions, and other hints, tips or ideas are both welcome and appriciated!


Continuing on the project, remaining front and back assembly peices were cut and the basic Mock Up of the cabinet was completed.  I decided to assemble everything using no glue and only screws as a dry run, to see what would need to be adjusted, changed or the like.  This way when I feel the cabinet looks proper, I can simply remove all the screws, and the entire project be in peices again, then I can laminate, paint, trim, route tmolding slot and reassemble with glue.  The two sides will be laminated last, after final assembly, as the laminate will hide the screw holes.

The lower front is screwed to a template block to hold in place while assembly continues.  The edges were mitered to fit flush against each other, there is a 1/16 gap that should not be evident on the final assembly.  This happened because of the miter needing to be sanded smooth, as it was cut using a jigsaw which isnt the best medium for miters.

Then the speaker board and top board were cut out using scrap from the side panels.

[Amra]

The control panel was designed based on the Mortal Kombat design, but modified to account for additional components (trackball, possible spinner if can be included and look asthetic).

I have not decided on what kind of print to design for the control panel yet, so as of yet it is a blank canvas.  I will worry about that near completion as I dont want to change my mind at the last minute on what design I like, so for now it will simply stew in my mind.

The control panel was slightly modified as it was original going to be just a control panel, but I have read about many people needing access to the Keyboard if there are any issues, and I didnt want it to be difficult to access or unsightly, so I felt a drawer was necessary, but I did not want to have to modify things too much to accomidate this, and I also wanted it to be near invisible under normal operation.  The below shows how this was accomplished.


The first pic shows what I do to overcome the shortness of my T-Square, seems like its always just a few inches short, luckily the carpenter square is my friend!


The second picture shows my trusty Jigsaw... and while I dont want to get on a soapbox, I used to have a black and decker before I purchased this one, and I absolutely must say, there is absolutely no comparison, a quality Jigsaw makes the cuts far smoother, much faster and safer, as you arent "pushing" the jigsaw through the wood, you are only guiding it as it cuts the wood.  Amazing what a difference quality tools make.


The first three peices were cut and mocked.  I then built the sliding drawer and placed it inside the panel.

There was a small problem with this design, notice in the next pic with the drawer removed and the top panel in place the small overhang, the drawer will not open with this overhang, as the top of the drawer would hit the overhang as it pulled foward.  Furthermore it would ruin the desire to have the control panel open as most control panel do by flipping toward the user away from the screen...

So after a few minutes contemplating a solution for both... an idea was born that solved both issues.  The front drawer panel was removed from the slide and cut along the horizontal and that peice was sanded and attached above the drawer, the drawer was then sanded to compensate for the 1/16 loss of wood from the blade.

A lip was routed on the bottom to allow for easy gripping of the drawer.  This is the final front of the control panel, so it was dissassembled and reassembled using glue and smoothed, the control panel is mostly completed, Four old roller blade wheel bearings will be mounted against the wood on the inside to keep the drawer from tipping when pulled out, that process will be completed shortly.

[Amra]

Control Panel glued and assembled, and so I was just going to show the current state of affairs of the project, arcade project box is still just a mock up, but the control panel is completed.

Also a picture of the current state of affairs on the workbench... Yikes!  Time for an intervention!

The next important peice to complete was to modify the power box so it would be turned on by the computer.

I got two of these for two dollars and fifty cent, one was modified one was not, the first one shows was it originally looked like, the second shows what it looks like after the modification.  The third shows what it looks like opened and the last shows the actual relay, which is a 12v controlled relay, which I wired to the +12 and Gnd of a molex connector so that a computer PS harness will plug into it, and when the power on the computer is turned on it will engage the relay, which is a 125v@30amp max load, more then sufficient for this project. The computer will not be on this load in case your wondering, this will only control the lights and Monitor.

[Chris]

Good job on acquiring parts - now that your to the build, you must work a bit more quickly before you change your mind on things. Changing my mind has cost me a decent amount of money.

Truer words were never spoken.

[Amra]

Spent a large portion of the day waiting for contact cement to dry... yeah, that wasnt the most exciting thing.

On the bright side, I got most of the control panel laminated today! Took a test peice or two to remember the process...

Ok, for anyone who has never laminated before, let me give you fair warning, patience is a necesssity, waiting between peices for the contact cement to dry is a long and arduous process.  Mostly because you are so anxious that it just wears you out.

Anyhow, after laminating the control panel, the top was attached and the sliding drawer was finished.

I took a couple (per side) skate bearings, with the spacing bushings, trimmed the bushings and screwed them onto the wall of the control panel, this purpose is two fold, one is the bearing will provide leverage against the drawer to prevent it from tipping from its own weight when pulled out, secondly there is a screw in the wood that stops against the bearing on both sides to prevent the drawer from being able to be pulled out.  The keyboard was installed and checked for clearance, and there is plenty of room, with at least half an inch to spare.  I am pleased with the way the control panel came out.

There is still the matter of painting the sides of the drawer and seams with black paint.  The edge was attempted to be laminated, but the edge of the wood sucks the cement up like a sponge and would need to be sealed with glue or something first, so they will simply be painted black to match the laminate.  This will be done probobly tomorrow after work, assuming its not raining.

[theCoder]

It wasn't quite clear, but I take it the Bosch jigsaw works better than your old Black & Decker? 

Also, are you going to use t-molding?  If so, standard 3/4" t-molding will be a bit too small.

Great progress.

[MaMeNnO]

Wow, great progress on a great looking cab!
Like the pictures you took. Nice to see everything is so well documented.
Without a doubt it will look professional.

BTW 40' of T-molding? What besides the cabinet are you going to T-mold?

Why isn't that I-pac on the expensive part list???

[Amra]

It wasn't quite clear, but I take it the Bosch jigsaw works better than your old Black & Decker? 

Sorry for the lack of clarity, but yes, the bosch is unmeasurably better then my old B&D.

Also, are you going to use t-molding?  If so, standard 3/4" t-molding will be a bit too small.

The laminate is only 1/32, and black edged, so the 1/64 on each side should be negligible as the edges will also be painted. If this is in-adaquate I will purchase the next size up in TMolding and trim the excess, though I hope this isnt necessary, but your right.  Its one of those time will tell things...

It will also be slightly small for the Control panel including the 1/8" plexiglass, to overcome this,  I am going to bevel and polish the plexi, If I find that to be lacking or unaesthetic, then  I will procure some 5/8" wood so that it will be 3/4 with the plexi.

BTW 40' of T-molding? What besides the cabinet are you going to T-mold?

Its only sold it lengths of 20, and by my estimates I will need about 25', so it was necessary to get too much, lol.  I havent figured out what to do with most of the rest, though I will be able to use a small amount to close up the seam between the stove and the counter to keep stuff from falling between, so hard to keep clean.

I suppose the IPac is a little pricey... but its less then fifty so its was a bit iffy ;x

I wont be able to work on the cabinet until monday, working my real job all weekend :\

[Amra]

Didnt get much done, but was able to cut the holes adn mount the speakers into the speaker panel, figured I would throw it on here... keep forgetting my camera when I go to work on it to make construction pics... ::sigh::  Sorry bout that...

Anyhow, next step it to decase the monitor and mount it on a peice of wood for mounting into the cabinet, also need to cut the hole for the coindoor.

[miles2912]

Looking great.  I love the lines of your cab.  I swear the hardest part about making my cab was the dam artwork.  Software, building and installation was a snap.  Coming up with good looking art is hard.  Keep it up!


D-

[MaMeNnO]

BTW 40' of T-molding? What besides the cabinet are you going to T-mold?

Its only sold it lengths of 20, and by my estimates I will need about 25', so it was necessary to get too much, lol.  I havent figured out what to do with most of the rest, though I will be able to use a small amount to close up the seam between the stove and the counter to keep stuff from falling between, so hard to keep clean.

I suppose the IPac is a little pricey... but its less then fifty so its was a bit iffy ;x

I wont be able to work on the cabinet until monday, working my real job all weekend :\

At t-molding.com is sold per foot.

[Amra]

At t-molding.com is sold per foot.

Really?  Thats strange, Thats where I purchased mine, and when I ordered it, there was a drop down menu that offered 20, 40, 60, 80, 120ft.  But then, I never thought to try changing quantity in my cart or anything... So thats could be my err...




The first picture is the monitor I will be taking apart for the cabinet, as you can see the colors are nice and vibrant, so I am pleased with its appearance and believe it will work great for the Cabinet.

Noting the second picture, you can see that the only form of input for this monitor is Composite.  While some may consider this a downside, I think it is a plus, as it is designed around composite input, I should get the most out of this lower end connection.  This monitor was made back in 1986, so it is in need of a cap kit also (a little red bleeds, but not a lot)

The third picture just shows the model # and information.

The first thing I did when I removed the cover is discharge the monitor and remove the PCB, which took nearly no time at all.  Removing the monitor itself took a while however, the case needed to be disassembled to bare to remove it.  When I was finished removing everything I noticed some built in backets that would be perfect for holding the monitor when mounted in the cabinet.

And this is the removed tube, its huge... and heavy!

Naturally had to check for any burn-in or anything... looks beautiful to me!

Now its time to disassemble the Cabinet and rebuild it with support bracing and brackets, and glued.

[Amra]

Well, ran into an "almost" problem, but luckily I was able to work around it. *whew*. 

I built the inside of my case from wall to wall exactly 25", so after removing the monitor and attaching the brackets and measureing from outside edge to outside edge of the brackets, it was exactly 25 1/8", which is two 16ths too large!  its because the brackets attached to the picture tube had a peice that centered them in the holes on the monitor ears, note in the above post the large ears on the side of the monitor, the brackets that those fit into have ears that would prevent it from fitting.  Luckily the peice to center the bolt in the hole could be removed. It would be slightly offcenter in the hole, but still be able to be bolted down. Good enough for me


Finally disassembled the entire cabinet for rebuilding and gluing, and built a few support bars for various areas.  And started reassembling and this time using glue.  Also cut out the coin door.

Hopefully will add some square beading along some of the edges for additional support.

[Amra]

Looking great.  I love the lines of your cab.  I swear the hardest part about making my cab was the dam artwork.  Software, building and installation was a snap.  Coming up with good looking art is hard.  Keep it up!

My girlfriend and brother are trying to convince me to hand draw the art for the cab.  Its a tall order, so Im a little hesitant, but I can always color it and fix it in photoshop... So its definantly an option.  If not, I will simply compile something from things I have available to me. 

Definantly difficult to come up with some artwork that looks good though, I havent even really put much thought into the artwork yet...

[theCoder]

You might browse the images at www.klov.com.  They claim to have more than 4,000 video machines cataloged and documented.  Perhaps you can get some ideas from there.

[Amra]

You might browse the images at www.klov.com.  They claim to have more than 4,000 video machines cataloged and documented.  Perhaps you can get some ideas from there.

Yeah, I will most definantly spend some time there, see if I can get some ideas for artwork.


I got more done then I can show, but the batteries in my camera died, so I couldnt take but a few, they were almost dead yesterday but I was hoping to eek out a few more and get my moneys worth (need to buy some new NiMH instead of using alkaline)

So, I test fitted the monitor, attached the speaker panel, tacked some beading along the edges of most of the cabinet using my trusty brad nailer...

What you cant see that I also got done today due to battery death, was that I routed the slot for the TMolding, laminated the the middle front panel for the coin door area, and the left panel beside the coin door.  The angles made it extremely difficult to trim, finally bult a jig and used a fluted bit on the router.  Such a pain. Also painted the inside edges black (used flat black, but might go over it with a satin).

More to come tomarrow.

[MaMeNnO]

Again, looks great your progress. A more then perfect fit for the monitor I would say.

[Amra]

Funny thing about that perfect fit... ended up having to take then entire mounting bracket off both sides and build a new one from scratch.  There was this metal housing that needed to be mounted about 3/4" behind the monitor and those brackets were preventing it from making contact, so I thought for about an hour and came up with a solution, seems to work pretty well I must add.  Problem is the batteries in my camera are still dead and I havent purchased batteries yet, will get some today (in the P.M.) for sure.

The picture below is of the metal housing that must be mounted behind the monitor.

The other progress I made was finished laminating the rest of the coin door, permanently mounted the speaker panel, and remounted the picture tube, with the metal cover this time.

Also wired my trackball to an old mouse circuit board, per the example found Here

I will put up pictures tomarrow, have a good night everyone.

[Amra]

And the story continues....

Figured I would show the pictures of the progress prior to todays work, and then the work that was completed today (which while small, was very important.

The first picture is the one of the front of the cabinet, with the front three panels laminated and the coin door installed.

The second shows the new bracket for the monitor I had to build after removing the old one.

The third picture shows the same bracket in its entirety.

The fourth picture shows the metal frame that forced me to rebuild the bracket.  The fifth picture shows why, as you can see there is a screw that is needed to hold the bracket on.

The next picture shows the head of the tube, this is shot from the top angling into the cabinet, so there is plenty of room for the circuit board, and the monitor will not be poking out of the back of the cabinet (yay!).

---------

Today on the other hand, I completed a few small things, laminated one side, trimmed the bezel to fit, trimmed the marquee retainers, added a couple more support bars and trim beading. 

If you noticed I said "Laminated one side".... well, theres a good reason for this.  Everything that has been laminated so far was done with a single sheet of laminate, the one side, the control panel, the front of the cabinet, the speaker panel... there just wasnt enough to do two sides, so one more sheet is necessary.  I purchased the first sheet about a couple weeks before Christmas at Home Depot, and since it was Christmas I figured I would save some money for Christmas and purchase only one sheet, as this would give me enough to do most of the laminating, and simply pick up the next sheet after Christmas on my next paycheck.  That was today.

So I go into Home Depot and goto the area were the laminate was, and there were stoves in its place.  I searched High and Low, and finally feeling they might have hid it somewhere else in the store, I inquired at customer service, and was told... "We dont carry that anymore, we closed it out and wont be getting anymore.". WTF was the only thing going through my head.  In disbelief I searched high and low for the counter area associate and asked him, sure enough he verified they no longer carried laminate. 

*edit* went back to home depot the next day because I went to four other places and noone had laminate, and those who did have laminate didnt have solid black.  How frustrating... So I went back to see if I could have a sheet ordered, since they no longer carried it, well this time there was this cute little button that had more intelligence in her pinky then more then half the rest of the staff, she told me that they recently built a loft area for additional stoves/washers/driers and such, and in the process lost a storage bay, which resulted in there being no room for the laminate.  She said they were the only store that stopped carrying it and the other stores should have it, even went out of her way to call the other store and make sure they had some and in the right color, had to drive for twenty minutes to get it, but at least I got it...

Things left to do on the Construction end... laminate the other side, complete the control panel, add the T-Molding, cut and trim Lexan, wire everything together, program the front end... still a long list but we are on the last stretch, and its looking a lot like an arcade cabinet right now!

Tomarrow I will stop by builders warehouse and see if they have any laminate, if not then I will have to go about twenty miles to the nearest Lowes and check there.  Will also see how much some Graylite glass 25x26.5x0.25 will cost me, perhaps smoked plexi if I can find it.  Plus have to work tomarrow.

Anyhow, the last picture is what the cabinet looks like so far.

[Amra]

Not really much to say, I edited the above post, finally got the last peice of laminate and finished the second side of the cabinet. 

Attached the caster wheels, and cut the plexi for the monitor cover and the marquee, will soon install the marquee retainer, and design a marquee.

This next week will be wiring, setup, computer installation, etc etc.   Will have pictures as it progresses.

[theCoder]

Did you have to trim the bezel?  Any difficulties with it?

[Amra]

I did have to trim the bezel...

Im not sure if everyone does it the same way as me or not, so I will describe the process I used, might help someone (might not).

I measured the full size of the bezel, and marked the center on all four sides on the back side.

Then I measured the opening of the monitor casing horizontally, I cut this number in half and measured from the center mark on the bezel toward the outside of the bezel in both directions.

I then sandwiches the bezel edge (with the bezel facing down) in between two peices of wood with the edges flush, and pulled the edge of the bezel out to my two marks, then used clamps to secure the wood down, making sure the two peices sandwiching the bezel are flush.  (you might need fairly thin wood wood for the peice under the bezel if the bezel part gets in the way, I used a 3/4"x2" peice for the bottom)

Now with the excess showing, I use the flush trim bit from the router  and trim the excess off the bezel. 

I repeat this process for the other directions, measuring from the middle of the monitor to the top and middle of the monitor to the bottom.

[Amra]

Sorry no responce in a day or so, been wiring and mounting all the hardware on the inside *much longer task then I expected it to be*

First thing was to mount the monitor board to the wall of the cabinet.  This was something that actually took a long time, because first I must have sat there for a couple hours debating whether to remove the circuit board from the plastic chassis, or leave it together.  Ultimately the "leave the plastic on" won because there are actually about four circuit boards all on this one plastic chassis and I couldnt come up with a good reason to dismantle it.

Then I mounted the computer on the other side wall now I think it would have been better to orient it a different way, but this is nothing more then aesthetic desire, So theres no reason to completely redo it simply to make wires less close to the outside edge.  Next I mounted a power supply that would drive the amplifier, and then mounted the amplifier above it. I set the power supply station below the computer and set the scan convertor beside it on the bottom. 

The wires between the audio amp and the power supply is a terrible rats nest and will be cleaned up by getting one of those project boxes from Radio Shack and installing it between them and putting all the wires inside.  This I think will look fairly decent.

There are wires coming from the circuit board to the monitor however that are not entirely pleasing to the eye, but there seems little I can do to make this perticular thing look decent. (perhaps some split loom wire holder?)

Also spent about $40 dollars at Ace Hardware tonight, purchased aluminum L bracket for the bottom of the monitor, and some hardware, screws and some latches for holding the control panel in place.  The L bracket will accent the silver trim on the speakers, as well as give the user a place to store coins.

To mount the hard drive, I used my nibbler to cut up an old Hard Drive holder from the same case as the motherboard holder came from. I also cut out a CD Rom Holder too, which will also be mounted, but that will probobly be tomarrow night.


Also attached the TMolding and the Marquee Retainer.  The last picture is what the current stage of the cabinet face looks like, It is certainly starting to come together! I dont have the contol panel on it in this picture because Im about to start wiring it and drilling it and all.

[johnperkins21]

Awesome progress, and I love the quarter rail.

[n88n]

I have a question from a total beginner....

Why are people breaking apart the PC and not just putting the whole tower inside the arcade?  Is it a space thing or just a preference?

thanks!!

[johnperkins21]

I have a question from a total beginner....

Why are people breaking apart the PC and not just putting the whole tower inside the arcade?  Is it a space thing or just a preference?

thanks!!

I believe it's two-fold. First is personal preference, to maintain some of the authenticity. If you look in a real arcade machine, that's how it's set up with the mobo exposed inside the cab. And secondly, it helps with the heat. PC cases trap a lot of heat, and then when you stick that inside a box, it's even more heat. You're taking away one of the heat enclosures, so less chance of your CPU overheating.

That's how I see it anyway. Someone else may have more or different reasons.

[Amra]

Perkins is absolutely right, I personally am doing it solely for ventilation.  Right now my CPU runs at 29ºC, going up to about 33ºC during computational processes, This would be difficult to achieve with a case enclosed inside of a structure, especially with poor ventilation...

In fact a large portion of tech calls to places like Gateway/Dell/Geek Squad are resulted from people accidently covering their computers ventilation holes with papers or dust collection over time and the heat build up over time starts causing erratic behaviour, lock ups and other problems.

Some people do it to maintain authenticity, but I think thats a minority.

[Amra]

The moment that I got video for the first time is what must have been equivocal to how Dr Frakenstein felt when he said those famous words.... Its ALIVE!!!

It was such a great thing to actually get something up on the monitor, gave me a feeling of accomplishment, and I am far from finished!

So, the first picture is nothing more then a boot screen showing that there is no boot device availible...

And introduce problem.  Strangely it took several hours to figure out this rather simple problem.   After connecting everything up and starting the computer, the MB wouldnt recognize my HDD.  Scared I got a bum HDD I installed it into my main computer, where it was immidiately recognized, so while I had it there, I partitioned it, formatted it and copied all my emulation, music and misc files to the new HDD.  Now, I knew for certain the problem was not the hardware... what could it be, wires?  So, I reattached the HDD to the Cabinet and changed the cables, checked the power cables and verified all was connected securely.  Fired it up and again... not recognizing HDD.  Checked CMOS for some secret setting I might be overlooking, SATA was set to IDE, so shouldnt be any problems... Restarted still no HDD, Cleared CMOS, Set Fail Safe settings, restarted, Still no HDD..... Rinse, washed and repeated several times.  Finally decided to read the instruction Manual.  This MB only supports 150MB/s SATA Drives.... NO WONDER, this drive is 300 MB/s.   So, set the 150MB/s Limiting Jumper and restarted, VIOLA! Hours of my life gone because Im not humble enough to RTFM.  Lesson Learned.

So, with the HDD now being recognized, the next step was to install Windows... but what OS should I install?  Win98 and use DOS?  Go with XP?  About this time, the words of my old A+ Software teacher rang in my Head.. You cant install Win98 on an SATA Drive, only XP.  Well, that was an easy decision.

So, I began installing XP.  45Min later when this was completed, I installed all the drivers for the MB and Hardware I had.

After finally starting up able to do whatever I wanted, I reset all the settings in the MAME32 that I copied earlier, and fired up a game just to test (This is where a lot of us falter on the construction of our project, but since I havent even finished the Control Panel yet, this shouldnt be too bad of a hang up, I plan on finishing the Control Panel LAST, for that very reason.

So... lastly is a picture of MK.  I wasnt really sure what settings to use, so I turned out most of the lights in the house and took a low length exposure photo.  Doesnt show the colors as well as they look in person, but most of you already know how much better these look in person.

So, Next on the list is to start setting up the front end, set up the various emulators, wire up the power switch, inserted coin switch, lights for the insert coin button, layout the control panel, work on the artwork for the marquee and control panel, tidy up the wiring... the list goes on. 

I can see the finish line though... and Ill try and take some really nice pictures when everythings done. 

Thanks for the kind words everyone, your encouragment is much appriciated

[n88n]

thanks for clearing up the exposed PC question.  That makes a lot of sense from a heat stand point, a pc trapped in a case trapped in a wood box.

great work on your project.  I would love to get going on my own as I would just freak out to be able to play MK and Street fighter on a real stand up.  Maybe if I win the lotto I will have enough expendable cash to finance a project like this.  At least for now I can look at yours!

great work and and I can't wait to see it totally finished.

[Amra]

Built a large portion of the control panel today,

laid out the concept,and measured everything to ensure there will be room for the trackball later (waiting on the trackball mounting bracket (want it to be flush as well except for the ball).

Then I drilled the holes, and decided to route the joysticks so they would be flush on the underside of the control panel, providing a slightly longer throw. I decided not to make a template for this and just routed the joysticks flush freehanded, and finished the corners using a chisel, thats why they arent that nice looking, but noones gonna see em so no big deal.  Also ground out the top of the Joystick holes so that the bolts that would hold the joysticks would be flush with the Control Panel Top, I dont really want any visible bolts,  Just a personal preference there.  Mainly so that when I mount the artwork, you wont be able to see any bolts

Then I used a flush trim bit to trim the outside of the plexiglass, and used a roundover bit to put a bevel on the edge of the plexi where the edge meets the TMolding, Routed the Plexi in the button holes by using a plunge router and 1/2" fluted router bit to make the starter holes and the flush trim bit to make em the same size as the button holes.

Probobly wont wire it up for a bit, want to get more done before I start playing games and thus stop making progress...

Overall this build is coming along quite well, a lot of people will look at it and think it is too much black, but there is actually still a lot left to do that will change the overall look (well, at least thats the current plan)

Heres the pictures of what I completed today, now is time to start one of the most difficult parts of the entire project... artwork.  Something that strikes fear into the hearts of men!  Need to think of something to put into the Marquee, like a name, and what kind of theme/style I want the art to be... theres just so much to think about and do regarding the artwork...

Any thoughts on the layout/control panel?

[Amra]

Couple of small updates, nothing major yet, still working on concepts and ideas for artwork, I havent worked much on the artwork though for the simple fact that I dont really have many ideas for what my theme should entail.  Its a silver/black theme, but havent decided on whether its a chrome type thing, or perhaps a technology oriented theme... well, its a pretty broad concept, so I need to ponder it a little while longer.

Since it was taking so long to ponder, I went and committed the mortal sin of completing the preliminary wiring of the control panel, as usual this was only "to verify the operation of the IPAC, the Buttons and Controllers", hopefully this dirty, quick and almost pathetic wiring job will be cleaned up, but I needed to do something, and since the artwork wasnt "coming", I went ahead and did it... now Im afraid it will NEVER get done... Ok, hopefully that statement is premeditated sarcasm, lol.  Due to the rather crude nature of the wiring job, unless someone request to see a picture, I will not shame myself by showing it..

Next wired up a momentary toggle as the ON switch on top of the cabinet, I figured this would be the most authentic place, since this is where I have seen most ON switches on different classic Arcade Machines.

Also bought some latches to keep the control panel from moving, it is quite stable after adding the clamps, pushing on the control panel moves the whole cabinet instead of just the control panel.  Also, these clamps are made with holes so the control panel can be locked in place, unecessary, but a bonus

I wired the coin door so that the lights would work, and so that an inserted coin would register a credit, there is also a shift+button combination for entering a coin, but sometimes I like to hear the kaplunk of an inserted coin... makes the experience seem more real.