Author Topic: Kiwi MAMErs? (Read 4651 times)

Apollo · « **on:** June 05, 2003, 05:59:03 pm »

Just wondering how many Kiwi MAMErs are members of this forum. As it is VERY hard to get parts etc in New Zealand it might be useful to be able to either trade amongst ourselves or offer tips on sourcing parts in NZ.

Hoagie_one · « **Reply #1 on:** June 05, 2003, 06:10:33 pm »

i see nothing

Apollo · « **Reply #2 on:** June 06, 2003, 06:45:01 pm »

Oh well seems I am the only New Zealander on this forum. I feel so alone lol.

Thumpa · « **Reply #3 on:** June 07, 2003, 05:35:41 pm »

Im in NZ.Christchurch.
I got a mame cab running Megadrive and snes as well.
Me and my mate both have cabs.My friends one is a 19 inch vertical done on the cheap but works well but mines a 29" namco sitdown type.
Where are you and what do you have?.

We got a lot of our parts from Coin Cascade...those guys that run the timeout centres.They strip a lot of cabs for the tube and controls and make new cabs.They biff out heaps and its cool to go through there stuff out the back and help yourself.
Thumpa

Apollo · « **Reply #4 on:** June 07, 2003, 07:04:22 pm »

You are soooooo lucky living in Christchurch ( home of Coin Cascade for those that don't know ). I live in Hamilton and I deal with a coin cascade rep up here. I would love to be able to look through all their "junk".
I have just started my cab, I have cab, coin mech, glass bezel and Street Fighter controls that I got for NZ$65 can you believe it? Soooo cheap.
I'm going to use a horizontal 19' arcade monitor, ArcadeVGA card and an IPAC ( gotta save my $ first though ).
What did you use for interface and PC? What did you spend etc? Email me if you prefer.

julesmail_nz@yahoo.com

Rom · « **Reply #5 on:** June 07, 2003, 09:45:26 pm »

I live in Auckland and I've spent a lot of money on just the cabinet. A lot of money.. and a lot of time and it's still not finished!! <sigh>
I took on the project after picking up a 20" monitor cheaply. Unfortunately that was where the bargains ended.

Materials alone have cost me well over $500. I wanted to have something that I could call my own, hence I've designed something which is not the norm. No pictures at this stage, I had started to document it but got lazy buying film so when I do put up a site it will be a bit disjointed when it comes to the construction section.
I got myself a coindoor through someone in Christchurch that scoured the Coin Cascade site. Yep definitely sounds like the place to go.

Where abouts are you sourcing your monitor and at what cost? I've been toying with the idea of getting an arcade monitor to get a more authentic looking image.
The monitors they sell on the Coin Cascade site seem resonably priced to me though I don't know if they would work with the AraceVGA graphics card. Do Coin Cascacde sell the odd second Monitor? if I could get a 25-26" screen a bit cheaper than the new ones it would be a bonus.

aumameman · « **Reply #6 on:** June 07, 2003, 10:06:32 pm »

Im Aussie. A suggestion, checkout www.ozstick.com.au its surly cheaper to inport from Australia than from the US

Thumpa · « **Reply #7 on:** June 07, 2003, 10:35:47 pm »

I paid about $950 nz for my 29 inch 15khz monitor.And then i stuck it back in the Namco EX2 cab they took it out of.Seems in NZ customers want stand up cabs , but I wanted a sit down one just like on those telecom adds where the blue arcade machines fly through the air.
I got cab and console buttons / joysticks for free from same crowd when i brought the monitor.
You can buy cheaper if u dont want a game board(as i did)
Im running j-pac and arcadevga card and im stoked.
Just upgraded to mame .69 and thinking about closing the covers and calling it finished.But maybe i will run an mp3 jukebox with it as well......
Thumpa

Apollo · « **Reply #8 on:** June 08, 2003, 02:38:18 am »

I'm going to use a 19" 15KHz standard arcade monitor. I think I must be getting some good deals because the same guy I got the cab from is selling me the monitor, power supply, wiring, transfomer and another control panel for $200! SWEET. Should be arriving in the next couple of weeks. The only problem is the control panels are fairly small ( not much room for 2 player Street Fighter ). However I am sacrificing space for cost saving at the moment. My next project I will go a bit more luxury, big screen, custom controls etc. This first cab is just practice really.

Thumpa · « **Reply #9 on:** June 09, 2003, 06:33:49 am »

heres a pic of my cab after i cleaned it up / removed jap ciggy burns and painted it metallic candy blue.It was a while ago , so ill take some more phots soon

Thumpa · « **Reply #10 on:** June 09, 2003, 06:38:54 am »

and here's the before / after shots of the consoles.(I got a spare to compare).It was hard work to get a smooth surface but worth it.
I now cringe when kids rub their grubby paws all over my nice shiny cab.

Thumpa

Rom · « **Reply #11 on:** June 09, 2003, 04:45:15 pm »

Quote from: Apollo on June 08, 2003, 02:38:18 am

I'm going to use a 19" 15KHz standard arcade monitor. I think I must be getting some good deals because the same guy I got the cab from is selling me the monitor, power supply, wiring, transfomer and another control panel for $200! SWEET. Should be arriving in the next couple of weeks. The only problem is the control panels are fairly small ( not much room for 2 player Street Fighter ). However I am sacrificing space for cost saving at the moment. My next project I will go a bit more luxury, big screen, custom controls etc. This first cab is just practice really.

Where abouts are you sourcing this monitor? That seems a reasonable price. Does this guy have any other monitors for sale or was this a one off?

Rom · « **Reply #12 on:** June 09, 2003, 04:48:02 pm »

Thumpa, that's an impressive looking set up you have there. I like the sit down nature of those cabinets too. Mine is a stand up but I'll get some stools for it

Thumpa · « **Reply #13 on:** June 12, 2003, 06:03:15 am »

thanks,
I brought 2 stools for this but u sit too high,and with chairs you sit too low....now where is my hacksaw?.

All the bits except the monitor were free which was cool.
I also replaced all the electrolytic caps on the monitor boards as the unit I think is from around 1992 in Japan.That way i'll get a few more years out of it.
Also grabbed extra buttons (yellow fire and red select).
Last I heard ,there was still cabinets behind the factory ,but a lot had been affected by weather and vandels.Still theres new stuff being dumped all the time.
I think I reached an all time low when me and my friend turned up with a trailer and grabbed all we could to take home only to face angry wifes!!.Im allowed to bring it in to my computer room when all finished.
Ill post a new picture in the weekend of cab running
Thumpa

Rom · « **Reply #14 on:** June 14, 2003, 04:50:53 pm »

In looking at getting an arcade monitor it looks like would of been cheeper to buy a cabinet.

Something like yours would of been ideal. For me the only satisfaction will come from saying I built my own, but boy oh boy the amount of time I've spent on it I'm not sure if when it's finished and people ask about it if I'll say, "yep, this is my pride and joy" or .. "don't ask!" lol.

Apollo · « **Reply #15 on:** June 15, 2003, 12:37:38 am »

I got my NZ$60 cab+street fighter control+smoked bezel+duel coin mech from the local Coin Cascade rep. If you give them a call or drop them an e-mail they are very helpful.
By the way I have changed my MAME plans. I'm going to by a working Street Fighter off this same guy for NZ$450 and convert it. It's got a 25" monitor and I have decided that the 19" monitor in my other cab just ain't gonna do it 4 me.
If anyone wants a cabinet for a 19" arcade monitor ( vertical or horizontal mount ) including working duel coin mech with micro switches & mint smoked bezel ( i'm going to keep the control panel for spare parts ) you can pick it up from me in Hamilton for free or pay the delivery and I will send it to where you are. It is already sanded and primed. Just e-mail me if you are interested.

Rom · « **Reply #16 on:** June 15, 2003, 01:26:47 am »

Wow, you must be on good terms with this guy. They were offering me a cabinet with 25" screen for $980. A case of who ya know aye?

Anyways, I've gone past the point of no return in building my cabinet to just drop it and buy one. If I was it would probably be something like what Thumpa has.

I'm very keen on getting a 25" screen and the best price I have so far is from pacman.co.nz for $380. It's a Kortec, must be the standard brand in N.Z. Really wish I could find some more info on them though. The guy at pacman.co.nz did say that a number of people have bought them to be used with an ArcadeVGA card so that's a good sign. Hopefully I'll be looking at getting this in early july. I have some time off work then that I hope to use to finish the construction of the cabinet.

Apollo · « **Reply #17 on:** June 15, 2003, 04:43:23 pm »

I went to look at the Street Fighter game yesterday. It's in awesome condition but one side of the screen is a bit blurry and the clours are wrong ( like it needs degaussing ). I think it might be just the machine next to it, it's very close to another game and I think maybe the speakers from the other game are stuffing it up. I'm going to buy it anyway. Thanks for the Pacman.co.nz link I didn't know about that, I guess if the monitor is stuffed I can get another one from them. Cheers.
Boohoo AllBlacks by the way, very sad, and the ref sucked LOL.

emam · « **Reply #18 on:** July 03, 2003, 01:04:54 am »

Hi Apollo, I am the friend Thumpa is refering to. I have 2.5 mame cabs at present. My first is a single stick, 4 button vertical machine that has cost me less than $100 (plus PC Pentium 233). I'm running Arcadeos and dosmame. I made two boards. One for converting the joystick & Buttons for the PC games port and the other to combine the video syncs and turn the signals to the 19" arcade monitor on/off (this is controlled by arcadeos). This is great for single stick, 2button games, ie Galaga. Everything is controlled by the 4 buttons (game select/exit etc). Event the coin mech works. I first gutted the cab, remade the base and coin box compartment. Painted it black Rewired it, Replaced all of the locks and through a Pc into it.
My second cab is a MAME32 job. It has a 19" PC monitor (RGB input). I made the stick converter for the games port and a VGA to RGB converter. Monitor, Console and Cab were free. Put in new light, Stereo speakers, new locks, fans in the back to keep the monitor coolish, new base and wheels. I don't have a PC inside, Instead I have a socket panel at the back were I plug in an external PC (Video, Audio, Games port). Plays all horizontal games very well. Vertical games aren't too bad. Cost to make? about $30 if that
The 0.5 cab is in progress, but that is going to be a 2 stick 5 buttons per stick machine.
All my machine are built without spending too much money.
Coincascade is a good source of bits and pieces, but not monitors. Speaking of monitors. Some 25" monitors are medium res. So if you are going to use the video card that Thumpa used make sure your monitor is low res. Could be an expensive mistake.
I have a 25" med res monitor if anyone is interested. Vsyncmame can be setup to output med res freq with the right video card. If anyone has a good 19" low res monitor for sale I could be interested if the price is fair

F|end · « **Reply #19 on:** July 03, 2003, 10:52:20 am »

Well, it seems that i'm the only Portuguese here!

I've saw people of all over the world but none of them are Portuguese...

I'm an unlucky bastard!

Rom · « **Reply #20 on:** July 06, 2003, 05:32:27 pm »

Quote from: emam on July 03, 2003, 01:04:54 am

Coincascade is a good source of bits and pieces, but not monitors. Speaking of monitors. Some 25" monitors are medium res. So if you are going to use the video card that Thumpa used make sure your monitor is low res. Could be an expensive mistake.
Quote

Hi, interesting about the monitor. I'm looking at getting 25" one myself though I'm curious what brand monitor you're refering to. It's not a Kortec is it?

Apollo · « **Reply #21 on:** July 06, 2003, 06:36:18 pm »

Arrrrgghh!
I've just realised I may have made a big mistake. I have a cab being delivered in a couple of weeks that I ordered from the Coin Cascade guy and it has a 25" monitor in it. I just assumed it was going to be low res and I would use ArcadeVGA card to interface! How do I interface to a med res monitor? I have no clue lol.

emam · « **Reply #22 on:** July 06, 2003, 07:11:46 pm »

Hi Rom,

Not sure what brand the monitor

. Most of the monitors I've seen are not very easily identified. The one I
have was from coincascades junk pile. I already had a tube, so I just grabbed the monitor from a sitdown/in
machine, and repaired it.
According to thumpa the arcadevga video card can support medium res. I'll have to check that one out.
Cheers

Thumpa · « **Reply #23 on:** July 07, 2003, 05:39:15 am »

Quote from: Apollo on July 06, 2003, 06:36:18 pm

Arrrrgghh!
I've just realised I may have made a big mistake. I have a cab being delivered in a couple of weeks that I ordered from the Coin Cascade guy and it has a 25" monitor in it. I just assumed it was going to be low res and I would use ArcadeVGA card to interface! How do I interface to a med res monitor? I have no clue lol.

you should do some homework over at the Ultimarc site message board
I found this thread that may help

http://www.ultimarc.com/messages/3935.html

thumpa

Rom · « **Reply #24 on:** July 07, 2003, 07:17:22 am »

Hmm reading that reply Thumpa I get the feeling that a low res monitor would run at 15 kHz but medium runs at 24 kHz. Is that the case?

emam · « **Reply #25 on:** July 07, 2003, 04:09:51 pm »

Hi Rom,

Yes your feelings are correct.
I emailed Ultimarc yesterday to ask if the ArcadeVGA card supports 24Khz (med res). Andy from Ultimarc said no just 15khz.
There may well be third party drivers out there for 24khz support (see Thump's comment)

Cheers

Apollo · « **Reply #26 on:** July 07, 2003, 04:44:58 pm »

Crisis averted. I rang the arcade guy last night and he told me it is standard res ( low res arcade monitor ). He also told me it has 2 input plugs on the monitor board one for low res and one for med res? Weird, I don't know what kind of monitor it is yet but I've never heard of that. Oh well it arrives this coming weekend, yeeha!

Rom · « **Reply #27 on:** July 08, 2003, 02:37:40 am »

Thanks emam,

Looking back at the emails concerning the 25" screen I see I had asked if it was 15kHz and was told yes. Hopefully that is the case. I'm still building my cab and will pick up a monitor in the next few days. Unfortunately I won't be able to test it till I get some money together to build the computer side of things. <sigh> What was originally going to be something put together in a few months will now probably be done in a year.

On a side note, do any of you guys have web sites up for your hobby? I don't at the mo mainly as I don't have anything worthwhile to show.

Thumpa · « **Reply #28 on:** July 09, 2003, 01:06:05 am »

Quote from: Rom on July 08, 2003, 02:37:40 am

On a side note, do any of you guys have web sites up for your hobby? I don't at the mo mainly as I don't have anything worthwhile to show.

Hmm...not sure.Do you think this internet thing will catch on???
LOL.
Emam is the pratical one,maybe one day.


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