2players ghetto Bartop cabinet

[djcalle]

Hello Everybody, I am new to this message board.
It's been more than 2 years since I first decided to have a go with a mame project.
I first wanted a full size cabinet, but there's no way it would fit  in my apartment.
Then I planned on building a micro cabinet based on a jakks tv joystick and a Psone tft.
Something like this…



It's just a draft, I am still not sure about the dimensions and screen viewing angle.



I made a cardboard model of it, and adjusted the size somewhat.
 
I put this on hold because I couldn’t find the jakks tv joystick, it was sold out everywhere I checked.  So I'll continue this later.

Meanwhile, I decided to gather all the  parts I already had, and see what could be done with it.

Here's what I got so far

The goal:

2 player ghetto bartop cabinet  ("ghetto" is for the parts used, and the overall low cost of the project)

Computer:

HP Vectra P3 550mhz 128 ram (small design) free

Controls:

1 WDK Control panel from an eurogame cabinet (I found 2 of those on ebay for 5 eur each (I connected the other one through 2 USB pads and gave it to a friend)) 5eur

1 used ps/2 keyboard for keyboard hack. free

Wood:

I found 6 pieces of 60x100cm laying on the street… free


Monitor:

17" Hercules tft monitor 70eur

Speakers:

Arowana 2.0 3eur


Will add more soon...
+++

 
 

[TOK]

That looks a lot like the 25th Anniversary Pac Man bartop.


I think your design looks better with the marquee, but I'm not a fan of the low control panel that doesn't line up where it did on the "real" cab or the resulting empty space it leaves behind the panel.

I think it would look better if they had just copied the upper part of the machine and had the CP in the correct location related to where the sides curve.

[djcalle]

TOK, I agree with what you're saying about the control panel, the thing is I tried to obtain a good compromise between original looks and practicality.

I want it to be enjoyable to play, and since it's very small, the main issues are:

enough room for the hand
not blocking the screen with either the hand or the marquee


the cardboard model seems to have enough room for the hand and a clear view of the monitor

I haven't found a better solution for this problem yet

[Stobe]

The first model (with the large vertical blank space) made it look like it was going to have a rotating CP.  Which I think would be a first for bartops. 

[djcalle]

no, I was just aiming at good ergonomics, but it ain't pretty!

[briktop11b]

Looks cool. I made a jakks pacman mini bartop not to long ago. Here is the post if you want to check it out  http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?topic=75237.msg782844#msg782844  , maybe it will give you some ideas. Good luck, and keep us posted.

[djcalle]

Briktop, Good work man!

Is it playable for an adult?

It looks quite deep, is it on purpose?

If you had to do it again, what would you change?






No update on the 2p ghetto bartop yet, my shop has been flooded by an upstairs toilet, greaaat! Thank you neighbour!

Beware, this thread might smell a little.

[briktop11b]

It is very playable. It is the plug and play with four different pacman games. The joystick doesnt feel authentic but i really wanted to keep the pacman stick. It has the perfect viewing angle when on a bartop. I didnt think it was that deep. I probably could have made it about 2 inches less deep but i didnt want to risk not fitting everything inside. I think it is the perfect size for a submini and i would not go any smaller with the screen size (its about 5 inches). I did this fast and on the cheap. If i did it again i would route the edges for the t-molding instead of adhesive tape, i would also order the artwork from mamemarquees instead of printing my own on plain sticky back paper, its not durable enough. I have it so that when its pluged in it comes on. I would like to somehow wire a switch to the back side for an on off switch. Maybe later. Thanks for the comments. Good luck with the flood.

[djcalle]

Back to the topic.

A rough sketchup model, I will now make a cardboard version to see if everything fits.
The cp width is 60 cm/23.6" in and the total height is 70cm/27.6"

[leapinlew]

The reason I chose to build the cabinet narrower than the cp is because the screen is a 17" and a small screen in a large cabinet looks ridiculous to me

Same here. I built the Widowmaker using a very similar design.

[djcalle]

Leapinlew,
Nice projetcs man!
Good work on the tempest bartop! good design!

I had not seen any 2 players bartops design like "ours" before though.