Bartop for Dad Centipede Style ** Deliverey ** 6/10/07

[Kaytrim]

Marquee Printed and ready for installation.  I can still make a few changes but I like the way it turned out.  If anyone has any suggestions I am still open to improvements.   

[theCoder]

If you are concerned about exposing a fan/hole in the top of your cab, you could put both the input and output on the bottom.  With the volume of air so small in a bartop, if you have any airflow at all, there will be very little difference in temperatures from the top to bottom.  You could put a fan on one side sucking air in, and a fan on the other side, drawing the air out.  If possible, you would want the input fan blowing directly at your hottest component (usually the CPU.)  You can quiet them down a lot by slowing them down with a 30 - 80 ohm resistor, or go with a more expensive fan as leapinlew recommended.

On your marquee, I assume these are games your Dad likes to play? 

Great progress so far.

[polaris]

Marquee Printed and ready for installation.  I can still make a few changes but I like the way it turned out.  If anyone has any suggestions I am still open to improvements.   

im not 100% with the dad bit, i think it needs artwork or something, to stop it from standing out so much as different from the rest, just my thoughts

[Kaytrim]

Minor update...
Marquee installed, ventilation holes cut, external power cord installed, Compact Flash drive is installed and loaded with SpyStyle's DOS CD (28 sec boot).

Next items on the list include loading the roms, printing and applying the side art, applying the CP art, installing the rest of the controls, final install of the monitor Plexiglas and final testing of the setup.

I'll have some pics later.

TTFN
Kaytrim

[Kaytrim]

Time for some pics.......

Construction is complete except for wiring the Trackball and sealing the side art.  Let's start with the finishing of the control panel.  I started out piecing the prints together.  Not the best job mind you but it is ok for now.  After they were one piece I sprayed them with several coats of a clear lacquerer.  Once the lacquerer was dry I trimmed it down and sprayed the back with some adhesive and stuck it to the CP.  After cutting the holes I returned the CP to the cab.

[Kaytrim]

Now to the controls.  I don't have a pic of the admin buttons but they are on the bottom of the CP hidden from plain site.  Pause is on the left and quit is on the right.  This way there is no accidental pressing of these buttons.  Here you can see the controls installed both from the top and underside and finally with the wiring in place.  I still have to wire the trackball.

[Kaytrim]

I mentioned previously the cooling plan I had.  Here you see the fan that I am using to move the air from the bottom to the top sections of the cab.  I also have two 7/8" holes in the bottom of the CP and at the top of the cab to let the air flow through.  In the first and second pic you can also see the power cable system I used.   I hacked an old non working power supply for the plug and cord.  Cut the hole in the back panel, soldered the power strip and used hot glue to seal it all in place with two screws on the front.

[Kaytrim]

The marquee is also in place.  As you can see in the pics it is lit nicely by the 4 button blaster LEDs from GGG.  Not too bright so it won't blind the player whose eyes will be quite close while using the controls.  You can also see that I have the plexiglas in place with the tint applied.  All you can see is the light from the monitor, sorry for the bad focus and flash.

[Kaytrim]

And the icing on the cake, the side art.  I assembled the pieces better than what I did for the CP and trimmed it down.  Next I used the same adhesive and attached them to the sides.  I still need to seal the artwork with some clear lacquerer to protect it though.  I also installed the t-molding at this point.  I am calling the construction phase complete.  All I need to do is finish the install of the software and it is ready for delivery.

TTFN
Kaytrim

[Kaytrim]

I now have Game Launcher working.   I used the information in this thread to finish the setup.  I am using Spystyle's CD for DOS and MAME.  He has just started working on his project again just in time for my project.

I cannot get my mouse hack to work properly so I ordered an OpitWiz from GGG.  This way I can finish this bad boy for delivery this coming weekend.

I am still thinking on printing the Centipede marquee full scale to replace the one that is in the cab currently.  Does anyone else agree?

TTFN
Kaytrim

[Kaytrim]

Ok final tally of parts and pieces.

Hardware
17" Dell branded CRT monitor rotated vertically
Dell computer PIII 760mhz processor
Matrox video card
512 MB RAM
512 MB Compact Flash card
CF to IDE adapter
CD Drive
PS/2 Keyboard
Hacked Power strip
Powered speakers

Controls
T-Stick plus joystick, modified
3" Bestons trackball
3 Action buttons
2 Player Start buttons
2 Admin buttons
1 power button
1 NovaGem CDR coin button
KeyWiz max
OptiWiz PS/2 connector

Software
DOS 7.0
DMAME .085
GameLauncher

Aesthetics
4 button blaster LEDs for marquee
Automotive tint kit for monitor plexiglas
Artwork printed on photo paper
Marquee printed on transparency paper

Construction materials
3/4" MDF
1 1/2" drywall screws
Loctite Construction adhesive
pinewood cleats 1/2" square profile
1/8" Plexiglas sandwiched for Marquee, single sheet for monitor
12" piano hinge
2 europien style hinges
2 cam locks - 7/8" depth
White and Dark Blue paint
Clear Coat spray paint
Bondo
20 gauge stranded wire
quick disconnects
hot glue sticks
3M drywall corner bead spray adhesive

Thank you to everyone who followed this thread and made comments along the way.  It has been a good learning experience.

TTFN
Kaytrim

[leapinlew]

 

Nice work! I'm really liking how well the marquee is lit. Good job.

[Kaytrim]

Nice work! I'm really liking how well the marquee is lit. Good job.

Thanks Lew,

The LEDs are about 15" back from the marquee and evenly spaced about 3" apart.  Sanding the back plexi on both sides was the key to dispersing the light evenly.  Randy says that his button blaster LEDs put out over 1000 mcd.

Kaytrim

[Kaytrim]

I got the cab into the garage the other day so I could put clear coat on the side art.  Even though this is a bartop style it is still quite heavy and hard to handle by yourself. 

The last part I needed has arrived today, a PS/2 Opti-Wiz from GGG.  I trashed two mice trying to get a hack and gave up.  I'll install this little gem tonight.  All I need to do is a little tweaking of the software and it is off to Dad's with a little surprise in the trunk.

TTFN
Kaytrim

[unclet]

I did the same type of marquee as you, but I decided to have the "Dad's Arcade" text overlay the little marquees.   In my opinion, this tends to allow the "Dad's Arcade" text to stand out more when you approach the cabinet.   

I would recommend doing something like this since the little centered "Dad's Arcade" on your marquee was hard to distinguish among the other marquees next to it when I first saw it.  Just my opinion.

here is pic to show you what I did .....

[Kaytrim]

Thanks for the suggestion unclet.  However the marquee is the least of my problems right now.     The trackball is going haywire, see post in main forum.

Kaytrim

[Kaytrim]

I was able to finally find the problem.  It seems to be related to certain rom files.  After going through the small I was able to keep Centipede, Millipede, Capcom Bowl and Krazy Bowl for trackball games.

I am going to print off a full size Centipede marquee and call it done.  Then I can deliver it tomorrow.

TTFN
Kaytrim

[BobA]

Always seems to be some little gotcha at the end .  Glad to see you got it working.  Your Dad is a lucky man.

[Kaytrim]

Delivery Complete

Dad is pleasantly surprised and will get hours of enjoyment out this project.  I'll have a few pics to post later.  The cab 'just fit' in the back of our car, Toyota Prius.  I have also saved a link to this thread on his computer so he can read about all the work I put into this little project at his leasure.

TTFN 
Kaytrim

[Donkey_Kong]

Looks great Kaytrim, hopefully you have pictures of it set up at Dads house. 


So, how long before FrankenMame is done, week or two? 

[Kaytrim]

Looks great Kaytrim, hopefully you have pictures of it set up at Dads house. 


So, how long before FrankenMame is done, week or two? 

I wish that is all the time I needed.  Unfortunately I have other things that need done first.

TTFN
Kaytrim

[psychotech]

Great!

That really turned out good

..and so, what next ?

psychotech.

PS. Thank you for all the pictures

[Kaytrim]

Great!

That really turned out good

..and so, what next ?

psychotech.

PS. Thank you for all the pictures

Thanks for all the comments psychotech.  Next item up for bids is something small and easy to carry.  There is no monitor nor is there a PC involved.  The artwork will be custom.    The final item will be for sale.  If you need a bigger hint look at my avitar.

[Kaytrim]

Delivery shots.  I was darn lucky to fit the cab in the back of our Prius.  We wonder if Dad's wife is more excited than Dad about the machine as you can see in the first shot.  She was really amazed at the attention to detail I put into this project.  I didn't have time to get the bezel artwork done so I had to give instructions on how to use the machine.  It was all worth it though as you can see in the final pic.

[Chris G]

Very cool - glad it all worked out KT.

[psychotech]

Nice!

Congratulations ..to all involved, actually 

---------------------------

On another note, how's the trackball..?

See "Main" for additional trackball trouble    /

[theCoder]

Congratulations.  It must feel great to build one for your Dad.  I would have paid $20 to be there when you delivered it. 

You know, you have just single handedly started the demise of his health.  We will be in the house, playing the part of a vidiot.  No more football, extreme skateboarding, or marathon runs.  His sports buddies will wonder what happened to him.

Great job.

[Kaytrim]

Got an update this last weekend.  Dad says the machine got a serious workout with family and friends.  He also got tones of surprised looks when he told them that I built it.   You could hear the pride in his voice over the phone. 

Mission Accomplished.

[stephenp1983]

It really looks great, I'm glad he is enjoying it.  My dads going to be totally suprised about his as well