1/2 Scale Sega Genesis/Megadrive Cabinet

[mini77]

Well, this is my first cab, and done really to test the water with my somewhat 'basic' woodworking skills.  Literally, to see if I could cut it (pun intended)   My intention is to make two 'slim' mame cabs afterwards.

Its around 36" high, 15" wide and 15" at its deepest and constructed from pine furniture board.  It'll house the internals of a Sega Megadrive, with the cartridges being loaded by a slot in the front.

[mini77]

Here's a shot of the internals (and the mess of the dining table my mrs keeps reminding me about.

The monitor is a cheap 15" LCD TV (shown here before being decased).  The speakers and amp were gutted from a cheap pair of PC speakers and the Megadrive board is from a Megadrive 2.

[mini77]

Tomorrow I hope to get the controls fitted.  I've cut up a pad and soldered wires to Happ buttons and joystick.  Then its lots of sanding to clean up my cuts I think.    Everything has been cut with a jigsaw - at the least I really must get myself a circular saw I guess.

[severdhed]

very cool idea...i like it alot. 

do yourself a favor, spend the money and get a circular saw and a router.  it is amazing how easy things can be when you have the right tools.  even cheap ones from harbor freight or something would be fine.  i got a $25 trim router and that is all i used, but man did it make a difference.

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=44914

i can't wait to see the finished product..keep those pics coming

[mini77]

Got quite a bit done over the past couple of days (good weather helps).   The controls are wired up to a hacked Genesis pad, did some staining and some sanding and some more staining and some more sanding.... 

[IG-88]

Very cool indeed.     I'll be interested to see how well you like playing the games with a joystick vs. a pad.

[mini77]

I always played it with a stick as a kid, having had a Spectrum for the 10 years previous also using a stick (Konix Speedking for those who remember those).  Pads felt awkward to me at the time and I was far more comfortable using a stick.   I guess kids would think about that the other way round these days.

[mvsfan]

theirs a big thing thats been bugging me about this project because ive thought of doing it too.

years ago, their was a company that sold linkable cartridge banks for the megadrive, for people who were too lazy to switch cartridges, or so i saw it.

they held 6 cartridges and were selectable with a button. you can also link more than one together. if anyone knows what they were called or where to get some, let me know.

you know what im getting at here. they were essentially worthless when they came out but are now - perfect for a project like this.

thanks.

[mvsfan]

if i ever got ahold of those id call it Geneo. heh.

[IG-88]

I hear ya when it comes to joysticks. I got 2 generations of kids (2 marriages). My older teens (who only visit occasionally) look at my cabs with this befuddled look while my 4 & 5 yr olds wouldn't know what to do with a joypad.

It's funny. As I set here typing I'm watching all of them play the bartops while the PS2 and 360 set there unplugged. 

[mini77]

theirs a big thing thats been bugging me about this project because ive thought of doing it too.

years ago, their was a company that sold linkable cartridge banks for the megadrive, for people who were too lazy to switch cartridges, or so i saw it.

they held 6 cartridges and were selectable with a button. you can also link more than one together. if anyone knows what they were called or where to get some, let me know.

you know what im getting at here. they were essentially worthless when they came out but are now - perfect for a project like this.

thanks.

You mean the DS-16 that came in the retail kiosks?

http://cgi.ebay.com/Sega-Genesis-Store-Kiosk-DS-16-Demo-System_W0QQitemZ390037269061QQihZ026QQcategoryZ139971QQcmdZViewItem

[Nipedley]

That's looking like a nice little project you got there I'm a huge sega fan too, I have the 'full size' megadrive (megatech) cabinet! Personally I think megadrive games play great with joysticks. Funnily enough the one I have from 1989 isn't that different from yours save for the lcd

I find it's a great way to get the kids interested in retro games, they always want to play it just because it's an arcade machine instead of an old console

[Pinball Wizard]

theirs a big thing thats been bugging me about this project because ive thought of doing it too.

years ago, their was a company that sold linkable cartridge banks for the megadrive, for people who were too lazy to switch cartridges, or so i saw it.

they held 6 cartridges and were selectable with a button. you can also link more than one together. if anyone knows what they were called or where to get some, let me know.

you know what im getting at here. they were essentially worthless when they came out but are now - perfect for a project like this.

thanks.

You mean the DS-16 that came in the retail kiosks?

http://cgi.ebay.com/Sega-Genesis-Store-Kiosk-DS-16-Demo-System_W0QQitemZ390037269061QQihZ026QQcategoryZ139971QQcmdZViewItem

Wow. That is a cool system that they used for the kiosk. Wonder how hard it would be to make your own.... (yet another project ont the list).

[mvsfan]

theirs a big thing thats been bugging me about this project because ive thought of doing it too.

years ago, their was a company that sold linkable cartridge banks for the megadrive, for people who were too lazy to switch cartridges, or so i saw it.

they held 6 cartridges and were selectable with a button. you can also link more than one together. if anyone knows what they were called or where to get some, let me know.

you know what im getting at here. they were essentially worthless when they came out but are now - perfect for a project like this.

thanks.

You mean the DS-16 that came in the retail kiosks?

http://cgi.ebay.com/Sega-Genesis-Store-Kiosk-DS-16-Demo-System_W0QQitemZ390037269061QQihZ026QQcategoryZ139971QQcmdZViewItem

no, they were sold by a private company back when Genesis was really hot, for home console use. a friend of mine bought one and i really thought he was lazy as heck wasnt worth my money thats for sure.

it had a cartridge slot adapter that went to the bank and it had its own power supply, and it was also linkable. you could plug another one into the last cartridge slot, power it up and now had 11 games to select from.

what a great thing for a project though.

yes it was similar to the sega kiosks in stores. i think that was part of their marketing of this thing.

im just wondering cause it wasnt a great seller, im wondering if they had tons left over and their might have been a warehouse somewhere stacked with those things.

i just wish i could remember the name of the damn thing.

[SavannahLion]

I remember those. They were advertised in issues of EGM as well as others. I think it was called the Video Jukebox VJ (I remember the advertisement without the carts in the guys head. I also recall a version promised for the SNES and I've heard rumors of one for the NES and SMS (doubtful). My friends and I dreamed of one for the N64 as well.

There used to be a bay area shop that advertised them asking over $100 a pop for the beasts, yet according to forum posts, these things were never made it to retail. It's possible, I've seen the kiosk units but never the Jukebox VJ. If they existed, it would have shown on eBay at least once by now. But I digress, a $100 accessory for a console that probably cost $150 new (or whatever they cost at the time) that was at its peak and obviously on its way out.

I used to oogle that ad every time it appeared in EGM. But for as much as the mail order catalog was asking for it, I could buy at least five or six used games. To a tween on a short budget, those games were infinitely more valuable.

[mini77]

That's looking like a nice little project you got there I'm a huge sega fan too, I have the 'full size' megadrive (megatech) cabinet! Personally I think megadrive games play great with joysticks. Funnily enough the one I have from 1989 isn't that different from yours save for the lcd

I find it's a great way to get the kids interested in retro games, they always want to play it just because it's an arcade machine instead of an old console

I took the cab to work with me yesterday (being this size it fits nicely in the back of the car), and as expected there was a fair amount of interest from young and old alike.  My friend's 4 year old son had never seen a joystick in his life, and had no idea what to do with it.  The first 10 minutes was full of 'I can't do it' and 'what's this for?'.  I'm happy to say he picked it up soon after and managed to get through Green Hill Zone acts 1 and 2 by himself on Sonic.  More importantly he enjoyed himself for a good hour on there.

[javeryh]

Damn that's cute.

[severdhed]

man..thats awesome...makes me want to build one for my son

[Franco B]

Very cool indeed! I love the cart slot. I can imagine it is really satisfying changing carts like that

[solid187]

Love it...nice job!