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New Cab Builder! A few questions.....

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johnnyr:
Hello everyone,

A few weeks ago I decided I was going to build a MAME cabinet, and have found this forum to be most useful so far. I figured I had lurked enough and it was time to introduce myself.

So far I've purchased the UAII Kit from mameroom.com, the x-arcade tankstick (which is out of stock right now until MAY , grrrr) and have gotten my computer lined up as well as a 27inch TV with svideo. I don't know if it has the power-return features or not. But I'm getting it for next to nothing so I'm not complaining. Now that you know a bit about what I'm doing, on to the questions:

1. One button to rule them all

So far I'm thinking I will get a smartstrip surge protector, that will turn on everything once I turn my computer on. To turn my computer on, I was thinking of doing one of three things:

a. Wire a new power button to the leads on the motherboard, and mount the button on the outside of the cab somewhere.

This is what I think would be the coolest, but that would mean I have to drill a mounting hole for the button, run the wire from the inside of the computer to the outside, and splice the wire from the button to the wire coming from the pc. Perfectly doable, I just don't know how safe it is to have that wire running from inside the pc, as well as the work involved in getting it mounted.

b. Just open the coin door and hit the power button on the computer to turn everything on

c. Somehow wire the reject button on the coin door to turn on the computer. This is good, and won't require any mounting of a separate button, but I don't know how to actually do it.

With that said, I am concerned about the tv power always being pulled, as opposed to the tv being "turned off". Do any of you know if this has a negative effect on the life of the tv? If so, what is my alternative? Since the bezel will cover up the tv's IR port, how else can I turn it on? Especially if it doesn't have power-return) Any ideas or suggestions would be welcome.

2. Light Guns

Ok, I know this comes up a lot here. A lot. But I still don't have a feel for what the consensus is for the best light gun for use with mame. I've looked at the Act-Labs guns, a bit too pricey right now. The LCD TopGun is cool, but I don't see how I can make the sensor bars work with my cab, so they are out. And Finally, the GunCon2 guns, I really haven't been able to garner much info other then the fact that they may or may not work with the current driver and MAME version.

So..I know there isn't a "perfect" solution for light guns on the PC, but what is my best bet?

3. Hiding Windows and FE

The last thing I still need to figure out is how to hide windows, so that when I power up the machine, it goes right into my FE. I have been reading this article, is this:http://www.gameex.net/Community/InstantSheller/tabid/73/Default.aspx still the most up-to-date and easiest way to do this?

Also, this will be a matter of opinion, but what FE offers the best visual experience, along with being very practical and usable. AKA what's your favorite FE. Right now I'm eying Atomic FE.

4. Powering the Reject Buttons

This one is pretty self explanatory. I have an old computer power supply, and I need to power the reject buttons on the coin door. Can someone point me to a guide of how I can do this? (Without burning my house down) Should I use something other then the power supply to power them?

5. Speaker Grills

I would like to do something other then just the holes cut-out-of-the-wood look the UAII currently has, and plan on putting some sort of speaker grill to at least make it LOOK more professional. Any ideas on speaker grills that will work to cover the pre-existing ones on the UAII?

5. Access to Cabinet

Last question, I promise. (for now!)

How difficult is it to move the cabinet once everything is in it? Is that even recommended? The reason I ask is that I can't seem to figure out exactly how I'm going to do things. I was going to build the cab, move it to where it will stay (against the wall) and then put in all the components. Then I realize how the heck am I going to get the TV, computer, x-arcade, etc, and wire it all up, all without having access to it except for the small coin door spot (remember this is on a UAII unit.) Does the UAII still have plenty of room to get into the back with it up against the wall? (I know the top part of the cab has kind of an angle to it) I know this is really a stupid question, but I really just can't figure it out. I'm sure once I get all the parts in I would be able to...but I wanted to get your guys's opinions on it, so that I don't end up doing things the hard way.

Anyway, that's all I have right now. I know this is a LOT of questions, so thanks for reading my insanely long post.  Everything is on order, and I will be sure to post a building log and review when I get everything in. I'm hoping the Tankstick will come into stock well before may, because it would kill me to have to look at my ready to go cab with no CP.  :'(

Thanks,

John

Nemss316:
Welcome to the great hobby!

1. One button to rule them all

A lot of people want that full authentic look on their cabinet, with one switch to power everything. Its going to depend on your personal preference. Currently, I just have a powerstrip to turn on everything, except the PC. My PC is encased, so I just flip open my coin door, and the power button is right there in front of me. Not a big deal to me, but again, its going to depend on your personal preference.

2. Light Guns

I honestly cannot comment on these, as I don't have them installed on my cabinet (I hope to have them one day however!)

3. Hiding Windows and FE

I would recommend going through all of the FE's to see which one you prefer. I went with Mala, as its easy to set up, and use. Hiding your Windows is very easy to do, all you do is put your FE program (Mala, AtomicFE, etc) into your windows startup folder. Make sure you take out any othe programs that are in there however, except for the ones needed.

4. Powering the Reject Buttons

I have mine hooked with my Jamma connector, so I can't comment on the coin doors. I wouldn't imagine it would take a lot to power them, but maybe someone can actually answer your question, instead of just putting in words here.  :blah:


5. Speaker Grills

I was fortunate enough to have speaker holes in my cabinet when I got it. I would check the Projects forum for some really nice ideas. The Wiki is your best friend also!

5. Access to Cabinet

Plan! Plan! Plan! Take your time, and realize that you are going to be taking hundreds of small steps. Plan out ahead of time to figure out exactly what you want. You have options that can help you. You can check your local Craigslist for old gutted cabinets (thats what I did. I just got lucky and had an old PCB and jamma connector in it!), or if you do go the route of building your cabinet, take your funds you plan on spending, and realize that you are probably going to spend more! Check the cabinet designs (again, Wiki!) to figure out what type of cabinet you want, your control panel, your layout of buttons, etc.

I would also recommend getting your frame built first, make sure it is exactly how you want it, and then go from there. I would recommend taking your time, and patience, when wiring your cabinet. Nothing worse than having a button go out, then having a mess of wires to deal with! Also, I would load whatever programs you are wanting to run before you install the PC in your cab.

I would highly recommend you get the Project Arcade book if you have not yet. Give it a solid read through, and also read through the Wiki thoroughly.

Everyone here is extremely helpful, and I have been working on my cabinet on an off since November, and its still no where near I want it to be! Don't be afraid to ask questions, if you have any!






Turnarcades:
zzzzz... just kidding. To be fair, these are some fair questions and many do not yet feature in the Wiki due to the varied nature of the hardware (Think PC power switch wiring etc.).

Here's my take anyway;

Wire the power button to a pushbutton mounted under your control panel to keep it out the way.

--- Quote ---b. Just open the coin door and hit the power button on the computer to turn everything on
--- End quote ---
We do this on our cabs for simplicity and to keep the PC easily-swappable rather than soldering bits on like wires for the power button. Of course our design allows for this, with the PC right behind a full-width door - you need to be sure your PC fits behind your coin door.

Put everything into the powerstrip. As long as your socket is surge protected, the powerstrip avoids surges by turning the other devices on with a slight delay, so it's doubtul your TV will suffer.

Light guns.... best bet is LCD Topguns, which isn't saying much. They're the nicest looking and the best I've tried, but be prepared for IR interference, lengthy calibration and head-scratching MAME integration (MAME's fault in all fairness).Might do better to hang fire for some new developments.

FE.... we use Mamewah, which is great and a very 'lightweight' FE once you learn the .ini file structure and easily skinned how you want. Hyperspin seems the most visually impressive, while Mala allows for cpviewer features and button lighting features. There are better solutions than instant sheller - look for one that involves a bit of registry editing as this will prevent XP loading many background services that sap performance.

You should be able to power your coin door functions using a 12v line from your PC.

As for access to your cabinet - fit castors. Two fixed at the rear, two swivel at the front.

johnnyr:
Thank you both for the information, it's very helpful. I just have one follow up question.


--- Quote from: Turnarcades on March 20, 2009, 11:05:28 am ---
As for access to your cabinet - fit castors. Two fixed at the rear, two swivel at the front.


--- End quote ---

I was thinking of doing this, but I'm worried that the cabinet will no longer be supported by the sides, but instead just the bottom shelf. I don't know that the UAII was designed for that, and am worried about the weight. How should I mount the castors? Which type of castor should I get?

Thanks!

Turnarcades:
If you're concerned, add some extra wood underneath for strength. We make even our 4-player cab with castors, fitted into the base which is mounted 'up inside' the bottom so there is just a little clearance from the floor with the sides. Our 2-player upright weighs about 80kg so we use castors rated at 360kg/set. Don't be fooled into getting castors where the entire set can only just take the weight of the cab - as I once found out the hard way, you need castors that can take the full weight of the cab at each corner if needed - when moving the cab the weight distribution can change slightly and if it tips onto 2 or worse still, 1 wheel it needs to be strong enough not to buckle.

The X-Arcade probably comes in at around 100kg (close to 250lbs) so look for some castors that can take that.

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