wonderland - yet to build

[blueznl]

Okay, I'll bite the bullet.

Once my house is done (pretty soon now, just a bit more painting and do some work on the first floor) I'll be ready to (finally) build my Mame cabinet. I have been promising myself already for years to build one, so it's time :-)

Living in the Netherlands (ja, nog een Nederlander :-)) may not make it that easy to get the parts, but looking at the other Dutchie's results it should be okay.

I would love to see some comments. I've been watching these boards for a while now, and some of the work is pretty damn impressive, and though I can't wait to start, I want to do it right the first time. Well... okay, perhaps not perfect, but at least acceptable :-)


Concept.

Upright, relatively small, not a humongous bezel, to stand in the corner of the kitchen, usable as a jukebox, movie player, dance machine, arcade cabinet. Base monitor size is 20". Swappable control panel. All accessoiries stored inside.

I want to make the side panels REMOVABLE for maintenance. Haven't got a clue yet how but I'll find a way :-)

Style? Probably a bit like the Centipede cabinets. Simple looks, in other words. Markings / colours? Dunno yet.

Screen.

I got a few 20" CRT's laying around, so my first ever cabinet is going to have one of those. I've been thinking about using a 19" TFT which should be about the same size effectively, but those cost money... perhaps in version 2.

I hate those enormous bezels, so the cabinet is staying relatively slim.

One of the things I haven't seen people do yet (perhaps I didn't look in the proper place) is the use of car window foil, the stuff that's one way and blackish. Put in front of an LCD or CRT it would hide effectively everything behind it, giving the machine a dark and clean look. It may even hide a rotating TFT would one inclined to use one. Anyone ever tried this?

I'm tempted to go rotating, but I've managed to convince myself not to do that in v1 :-)

Control Panels.

No enormous control panels either (don't like the looks of them) so to play numerous games I'll have to cook up a swappable control panel. I have an idea how to get them swappable and stable.

Panels I probably wanna use are

- A two player 2x 8 way with 6 or 7 buttons per player

- A one player (ultramarc 360?) analogue board with buttons in a mixed N64 / Sega layout (okay, it's not arcadish, but it's fun :-))

- Perhaps a four way? Dunno yet.

- Whatever else catches my fancy :-) (I like good old Red Alert 2 a lot, so I just may be tempted to create a mouse / button control panel just for that one...)

Unused control panels should be stored INSIDE the cab, as should any eventual extras such as a light gun or joysticks. (Ah, light gun... any good, those new ones? I wonder if I could put those vertical bars behind a 'darkened' glass panel...) If possible all unused panels should go in a drawer of sorts.

For connecting the swappable panels I probably go for an USB2 plus a few RJ45's. The swappable panels would then either feature a USB compatible controller board, or would be wired up to a few RJ45's with the actual controller board inside the main cab.

On the sides I'm going to add some recessed pinball buttons. (I hate the 'bolted on' look that is often associated with them, why not make a small recessed section and mount them in there? Looks a lot cleaner.)

I plan to put a small trackball and some standard buttons on the fixed part of the cab, to control any other (Windows based) software. I expect the machine to be used by the kids as well, and it may even double as a video player. A good easy accessible (keyboard) drawer might do the job just as well. Anybody knows of a good compact wireless keyboard? (Most are too wide.)

To accomodate multiple players I was thinking about making USB connectors accessible from the outside. I've seen other people do that as well and it makes sense.

I'm very tempted to build the kids a dance pad, I know they would love it.

Sound.

Dunno yet. Probably some cheap 3.1 / 4.1 / 5.1 speaker set with an external contral that I can somehow 'hack'. I may abuse the Labtec 4 speakers + woofer that I got here on my regular machine, and get something new in place. Probably better is to get something with a headphone connector already in place.

But it should definitely feature some kind of woofer. Dunno how I'm going to get everything in :-)

Computer.

Computer hardware's going to be an Asrock XP2800 with 512 MB and one or two 120 GB HDD's. That should keep me busy for a while :-) Dunno about the video card yet, probably an AGP GeForce4Ti that I still got laying around somewhere.

I noticed that even on my Amd64 3000 some (admittedly non-Mame) games don't run too well. Should I put in better hardware? Or is this already overkill?

Software.

Software then, probably Mame32 or Mame32Plus, and I'm writing my own frontend (unfortunately, but I was just not impressed with the multi emulator functionality of many things out there, on top of that I don't need to support a zillion games, just a few is good enough). Other stuff is probably Project64, Visual Pinball, Atari800 Win, and Daphne.


What am I missing?

[MaMeNnO]

Welkom!

My cabinet was also inspired by a centipede. I like your concept, but what is it going to be most of the time? A Arcade machine? Jukebox? Dance machine?
You could make a unconventional design because of all those different usages.

Removeable sides??? Sounds like you have to build a really massive frame, because the sides and all make it stable. I'm curious about the design.

A big screen is nice. 20" sounds ok. I bought a 22" from marktplaats for 50 euro.

For sound, I use two speakers and a subwoofer. That's more then enough for me. What games can take advantage of more then that?

Don't forget to make lots of pictures. Pictures rock!

About joysticks, think about what length shaft you'll need in relation to the tickness of your CP.

About the PC, more is better if you can affort it, but how much of the time is it really needed?

Think of what you're going to order (www.arcadeshop.de) and do it once, because of the shipping costs.

Missing?
- Coindoor
- Keyboard encoder (KeyWiz, I-PAC, or...)

Seems you have enough ideas left for the next couple of... years!

Succes met de bouw (ook van je huis!)

[blueznl]

What it's going to be most of the time... mmm... dunno :-) Time will tell :-)

I expect it to be most of the time to be an Arcade box (1942 :-)) with a good dose of Jukeboxing in there. I'm going to use the video out to hook it up to my regular television (which would be great in combination with a dance pad :-) or allows playing DVD's that the regular DVD palyer doesn't swallow).

The idea was to build the whole unit in two sections. Each unit is a somewhat rectangular shape, a 'box'.

The bottom box would contain PC, keyboard, control panel, etc. The top box would contain the monitor. Recessed grips would make them more transportable.

I was planning to build those boxes using multiplex with some reinforced ribs. However, I was planning to cut 'openings' or windows' in the left and right sides to decrease weight and allow easy access when the side panels are removed. Of course, there should be a hole on the top ie. bottom to allow connection between the two.

By bolting the two blocks on top of each other I then would have a self supporting unit with openings on the side, good for maintenance :-) Then just 'hang' in the side panels and it's a closed box. This way I should be able to move the whole unit without any problems.

Good remark on shaft length. Didn't think about that yet. And thus will have to check.

I am NOT going to use a coin door, and yes. I forgot to mention the encoder. It's probably going to be an I-Pac.

I've been thinking about a non-standard design, but couldn't come up yet with anything that LOOKS nice. Suggestions welcome :-)

Hmm, come to think of it, does anyone know a trackball that can be mounted VERTICALLY?

[blueznl]

Skip that trackball. I'm going to add a little touchpad. Either on the side of the cab (that's a bit unusual :-)) or perhaps below or above the monitor. I want to be able to control windows in those moments there is no (proper) frontend available. I find touchpads somewhat more comfortable than trackballs for this.

[MaMeNnO]

I only have a keyboard in the cabinet for those moments. Once it is installed those moments of controlling windows are very, very rare.

[blueznl]

Yeah I know, but my machine is going to be somewhat multi functional, and I don't trust wife and kids enough to swap a control panel :-) I guess I'll start with a keyboard with mousepad and see how things go, at least I have a fallback plan as there's probably not enough space (and money :-)) to install trackballs on every control panel :-)

[blueznl]

(Hmmm. Is there a feature that I'm missing that makes posting of images easier?)

I'm considering to stay away for a moment from a full sized cab. The reason? I just got my hands on an old laptop that is perfectly 'guttable' :-)

Also, it keeps the scale of the project a bit smaller, keeps the costs lower, AND will give me a good excuse to own two cabinets :-)

So, any comments on the drawing above? (Use right mouse button to view, until I've figured out how to make more sexy clickable images.)

The idea is to make a little Mame box with a detachable control panel, which is stowed in the backside of the box when not in use. By keeping a few buttons on the front, it may be just possible to control the box even without the control panel, and use it as a portable jukebox or something similar.

Another interesting aspect of this config is that horizontal / vertical games are easier now... just turn the whole box on its side :-)

By using USB only stuff cabling would be quite simple and limited to the control panel. Illuminated buttons may not be an option though this way (though it just may work with a decent usb hub and energy efficient leds).

(I'd be tempted to paint it I-Pod white, but as it's carried around it will get easily damaged so that may not be such a good choice.)

Dunno about the exact dimensions yet, I would have to cram in the powerblock of the laptop, a small amp, two speakers, and a little in the way of power supply, but it shouldn't be too hard.

Acceptable, or hopeless?

[leapinlew]

Also, it keeps the scale of the project a bit smaller, keeps the costs lower, AND will give me a good excuse to own two cabinets :-)


Acceptable, or hopeless?

You might be in for a bit of a surprise here. I've built a few cabinets and the mini was the most complicated to do. As for cost.... it cost near the same as any of my big cabinets.

[blueznl]

I see what you mean, the difference is: I had *huge* plans for my fullscale, so now I can leave out some things :-) but I see the point.

Some parts still cost the same, regardless if it's used for a mini or not, it's just that the mini takes one stick less, a few buttons less, less wood, no pc parts (as I have this laptop now) and less paint ;-)... then again the mini will eat up an encoder and a stick just like the real thing...

(Anyway, who cares about the cost... Living in the Netherlands means I was planning to buy enough parts for two cabs anyway to decrease shipping, so there :-))

The design above is just an idea... I'd probably make it a little more 'arcady' by angling the screen, perhaps add some easy way to carry it, and probably make it a bit higher to allow for better speakers.

I'm wondering though what stick to use, probably an 8 way, I don't think I'll need an Ultramarc 360 in this one, or should I? Anything serious I forgot? Or is this so ugly that I should run and hide now? :-)

[Kaytrim]

Nice idea for a portable cab.  I see a few problems in your design though. 

The first one is the CP sliding around as you play.  Make sure you put some rubber feet on that thing to help hold it in place.  You could also turn the monitor around so you see it when you open the unit with a fold down CP.  Kinda like a big fat laptop.    Then you wouldn't have the problem I talk about below.

Another thing is that you would need two interface boards, one for the CP and the other for the buttons on the face.  Or you could set up some kind of hardwire connector and keep the interface board in the main box.  I used CAT-5 connectors in my modular CP.  You would more than likely need at least 2 CAT-5 connections for what you have there.  Another option is to go ahead and purchase the U360 joystick and connect the CP buttons to that.  Then use an interface board for the buttons on the face of the unit.

[blueznl]

i guess with so few buttons i'm tempted to do a joystick hack, they come for under 10 bucks these days... and on usb, who's gonna' stop me putting one joystick in the back unit and one in the control panel? that way there would only be one usb cable from unit to control panel

and no, NO fat laptop that just feels wrong... (though i see your point :-))