fixed betting odds mame conversion.

[saleem]

this will be one of my ongoing projects along with my other.

just purchased this off ebay for £120.will pick up from birmingham tomorrow and thats 133 miles from me.


will update with pics when i get it home,this is what the seller put with the auction.

[saleem]

after nigh on 270 miles (thanks to my neighbour brian) and like 5 hours'ish it is finaly here.

some pics give you idea what is in these when they are out there in the shops if you didnt know.

touch screen monitor,stereo speakers and cool hinge setup.


control panel,i think it has nuts holding it in place so that ideal when it comes to replacing it for 2 controls +6 buttons each.see the greyer area near the buttons,i think that detachs.


even got an epson printer and i think some kind of shuttle pc in there,thats the harddrive enclosure thats sticking out,i pulled it out to show you it.


a pic of the whole bottom setup,working coin mech,cash box.the pc setup,i think there are volume controls there on the right side of the pc?


the monitor from the rear.


detachable bottom,see the set of wheels?that turns it into a candy cab type upright.


i got quite a bit of work with this one.i want to keep as much of it in there that i can,i will keep the pc and the monitor (obviously) i will ditch the printer.i need to find out exactly what them buttons are on the side of the pc,i think its volume.there lots of wiring going on so i dont want to pull anything essential out.the cp wants removing (its a panel type i think) and replacing,2 sticks,buttons,encoder.i think i will stick a spinner in there also (who knows even a trackball)

the time is late here in uk,sos for crappy pics,the cab just needs to be cleaned good of all the scuff marks and it is hardly scratched.all in all for £120 it is a solid bargain and i think i will enjoy this one.

if you like it you pay for it,i dont think the idea of paying £1400 for one of these is up my street but,for hobbyist to do some work and save some big bucks i think its realy nice cab,its actualy pretty sturdy,trust me.i even slated a guy,candycabs for his but,his topic was like a pun (i thought it was) than just an hobby related project.i aint selling mine.i can vouch now for the sturdiness of a fobt cab.but,as they come there is an awfull lot going on in there.

any tips and i will thankyou in advance.

[saleem]

removed the parts from around the cp area:


these parts i think need making again,they are steel if i aint mistaken,the only alternative otherwise with the cp control panel part (which has the buttons) would be to cover it over with something stiff and hard and the same for the bottom then redrilling the button/controller config.

will look around for candidate replacement material and look at my options.

there is a forum member who i know is handy with a router and makes templates for members (is it you franco?) will think about that person (sorry if it isnt you franco) but,i see.

reformatted the mini-itx tower (its a corker,its a nehemiah 1ghz,it has 256mb ddr crucial (can upgrade to higher memory) its running a 30 or 40gb hdd at the mo.i am just having probs with gameex as when i try to put it on the hdd it starts to install then wants to download stuff from the net and i aint sorted and am struggleing to get to grips with the internet connection on this mini-itx tower.it has ethernet/lan,i installed the ethernet drivers for it (i think i got right one) but,i am struggling,so i will get it sorted and running mame  (hopefully)

then i will be shopping for controls,i am thinking led this time,i had 6 led lights on this machine on the harness it was using is a load of quick disconnects so i assume there is room for more buttons on it.

the cab is chockablock with harness's though,it is wired good and proper.

if anyone has suggestions for the control panel bits i have posted pic of,i am open to suggestions.

thanks.

[saleem]

i removed basicly everything i think i wont need,the looms the job lot and that was an hell of a lot of looming and bits,note box etc.i even found £2

i am running and extension lead into the cab from behind,i basicly substituted the power lead with an extension.i wired the marquee light to a plug and it works fine.i am running a standard kettle type lead to the monitor and i set the pc up for mame.i think i messed up as i think i updated gameex with all the games not just the ones i have on mame32,will have to recheck gameex settings.

so this is the setup:

i gotta decase the pc and i will mount it onto a piece of board (thoughtfully)
it has a 512mb graphics card (i think) an audigy 4 sound card,2.26ghz celeron and i just fitted a 30gb hdd.

marquee light and monitor:

just got to get someone to do a marquee art for me,it will have to be transparent.probably mame logo.speakers are working,i kept the volume controls and the loom and it works.

inside the cab:

i will have to give it a bit of an hoover out before i put the pc components inside.i will also have to see if i can utilise the fan,i think its 220v,so i am wandering if a standard plug will power it?

oi removed the bottom of the cab so now it is more candy cab in appearance.am waiting on an hole saw as i am gonna attempt to redrill the holes for the 2 controllers and the 6 buttons for each controller.i thought i would use the color schemes that naomis use.

will update thread with pic of the pc when its decased and fitted to the board to see what you think.

i got a lot of bits from this cab,looms,a receipt printer,note validator,the mini itx tower,it just seems to struggle for me with gameex,it works fine with mame32 (perhaps its the front),i got a very nice controller board,i think it handled the cash taking components,there were quite a few wires with connectors attached to it.so i am selling some stuff on ebay,get a bit of the money back i payed for it.

thanks.

[Franco B]

sorry but,i just dont like it,all plastic moulded.trying to be modern and stylish while being (well) just plastic.they aint nearly as good looking as most standup wooden or mdf cabinets.and i seriusly doubt they are as robust as wooden or mdf one.

when i look at it,i am trying to like it and there is something saying i just dont like it cos its all moulded,theres no craftmanship in it away from a spray job and a cp,all the works done with machines,and its just pressed plastic.
 

Its funny how someone changes there mind once they get a bargain

I think you want some help from me in the form of a template or something? I'm not sure what you meant but if I can help then you only have to ask

Btw, my English isn't very good but your posts are very hard to read. A litle punctuation and proof reading would help you, and all of us, no end 

[saleem]

the only reason i didnt like the cabs that candycabs has is they are cabs he makes for selling,at £1400 i dont think a fobt is up my street,the fobt is not built of loads of parts.

i understand that they are more robust now i have one here.all i can say is i am shocked at how this cab is cosmeticaly sound considering it was in a bookies!

if i mess up the cp i will only have to think of other options ie:materials,thickness of material and the work involved to fit it.so if i mess up i will message you and let you know exactly what is what with the cp and if we arrange something then that would be cool.so i will try to hole saw the holes out as it is like 2mm or so steel.replacing it with another material even if its wood would be the option if i mess up.

suprisingly i saw the very same cab candycabs showed here with the blotchs on ebay,at that time the bidding was £600 i thought "you people are mad,the cab is blothchy" he even had it on £1400 buy it now,it disappeared day after.so somebody bought it on buy it now or something happened.

i cant help the way i post,this is the only way i know how to type english.
 

[saleem]

pc fitted to piece of wood:

just put rubber pads where the screws went in,i put a nylon washer on each screw.just a 2.2ghz celeron,30gb hdd,theres 1gb memory in 2 sticks so i will remove one at some stage.i hotglued the power and hdd cage in place.

2 bottons existed on top the machine:

i wired the green button to power on the pc and the yellow one to reset the pc,the buttons just need cleaning,wont clean the cab till i know i finished most of jobs on it.

i like the buttons,they are sanwa type but,dont have sanwa on the microswitchs,i like them so much i bought 6 red ones and 6 blue sanwa obsn-30.

and this is the mess inside:


just need to sort out the cp and the other 2 facias i removed off the cab.i need to decide what sticks i will use,i am not too hot on sanwa,will make my mind up.i just swayed from regular arcade buttons,i think they are too big,i like the round feel of the two buttons i pictured earlier and i knew sanwa were same.

i need to replace the extension with a better one that has trip and get 1 kettle lead for the pc instead of nicking my regular pc's lead.then attach the extension on the back off the bottom also i need to obtain marquee art,will have to buy it from someone.

[emphatic]

It would look nice if you created some sort of move sticker holder where your ashtray used to be. It will look very empty otherwise, but a move sticker (for your frontend for example) will look spot on.

You really just need two pieces of metal to hold a glass strip on top of your sticker, like I did on my chinese cab (used to have an ashtray as well):

[saleem]

this is the prob,the way to go?the ashtray bit (money holder whatever)sits in there flush as it is now,in fact it is slightly raised just a fraction,to overlay it would just increase its height so i thought replace,i like the idea you suggested but,i thought a replacement bit (from who/where i dont know) manufactured with holes for 1p/2p and credit and pause.

i thought replacement with volume for the monitor part that lifts up,i can run the wires even though it will be a long run.

its just all these parts are steel,about 1mm perhaps 1.5mm,so its my first time working with steel.if i knew where i could get these parts made with laser cnc or similar i would have looked that direction even though its at a cost.

am just waiting on the buttons to arrive,i marked out where i want to cut for the sticks and buttons,i am just unsure of size.they say the obsn-30 are 30mm hole size (thats what the 30 stands for) i just dont want to go rushing in and find its something like 28mm and then its all knacked up.

i like the cp,can i ask you if you got it like that,did you convert it to the way it is,is the machine an arcade cab or other machine converted.is the cp made of steel or did you sustitute it for something else and if its another material what material is it?

thanks.

[emphatic]

i like the cp,can i ask you if you got it like that,did you convert it to the way it is,is the machine an arcade cab or other machine converted.is the cp made of steel or did you sustitute it for something else and if its another material what material is it?

thanks.

Thanks, the CPO is my own design: http://www.emphatic.se/xiongba.html#CPO (the link will take you to the restoration I did of the panel on the Chinese p-o-s Xiong Ba cabinet I bought for way too much cash.

[Franco B]

am just waiting on the buttons to arrive,i marked out where i want to cut for the sticks and buttons,i am just unsure of size.they say the obsn-30 are 30mm hole size (thats what the 30 stands for) i just dont want to go rushing in and find its something like 28mm and then its all knacked up.

Yep you will want to cut 30mm holes. Most jap action buttons are 30mm apart from 24mm start buttons and the larger 40mm buttons

[saleem]

i started work on the cp.its about 1.5mm steel,hole saw was no good,it came in handy for marking out the holes but,i had to revert to drilling and a jigsaw with a blade for cutting metal.was a pain,hot shards of steel flying round the place.

i test fitted the buttons:

samwa,red left player,sky blue right player.

just a bit more filing out just to make some fits less tight and to adjust one or two buttons so they are all square with each other.

then its a case of choice of contrller sticks (am undecided) then i can cut out the holes for the sticks and the holes for bolting them in.

then its just a overlay for the cp.

the astray/coin part of the cp will follow.was thinking,yellow and green button for 1p/2p and black button either side for credit and pause.as far as i am aware sanwa dont make marked buttons with 1p/2p on them.

[saleem]

i have given up on the steel cp.i am using it as a template shape for fabricating another.i got some vinyl today and when i fitted it because of all the old holes from when it was used as a fbot and with all the bumps from the soldered on threads for the nuts it looked pretty bad,just cutting the holes for the buttons in the vinyl was rwal bad and all hell broke lose.

so like i say,it is being used now so i can mark the shape of the replacement.

i put one together and it fits great,just gotta sort the method of fixing it in posistion as the steel one was bolts and nuts but,the bolts were welded to the cp.

i think i will actualy do it again tomorrow as i placed the buttons too far from each other and if i put them closer i think it will be better for the fingers and give me some room for fitting a spinner (hopefully.

so heres the one i done but,not my final:


hopefully the sanwa sticks will arrive from andy at ultimarc tomorrow,i can put another cp together,get the buttons closer,get the sticks posistions sorted and hopefully i might squeeze a spinner in there.so i think some time tomorow uk time i will post again with hopefully the final panel.

[saleem]

heres my second attempt and hopefully the final one:


theres space around it to allow me to curl the vinyl i am going to use over the edges so if it was snug fit i wouldnt be able to get it in,hence gap all way round.

buttons close together,good on the fingers,the sanwa sticks came today so the holes are cut for them,i will countersink the m5 bolts i use for fixing them in place.i managed to gain some space for the spinner and i put a button hole in the best place i could so i can put a button with it.hopefully i can use that button for fire purposes,considering i am right handed so i will use the spinner with my left and fire with my right.

i will use a minipac and i also got an optipac.

so anyone who knows about spinners and fire buttons can you tell me if i can use the spinner with the button i put near it for firing?

this will be the first cp i am wiring up,i have only done jamma up to now.

[Franco B]

The CP looks much better 

Are they Sanwa buttons? I can't stand them myself. I love my Seimitsu's though.

I presume you have Sanwa JLW's judging by your hole positions? They are nice joys, I have a pair in my Jamma woody.

Did you not fancy a nice curved Jap layout? The Japanese/American hybrid looks a bit funny but if it works for you.....

In regards to your spinner question I am going to install one in one of my Net Citys. I'm just going to use one of the player two buttons for fire, probably button 1 or 4. You don't necessarily need a dedicated spinner button as you can map it to any of the others. Will look neater IMO.

[saleem]

thanks for answer,i always see spinners on their own,2 buttons,1 button beside them,that many ways i just thought a dedicated fire button would be best.i never realy thought about curved button layout,just never entered my mind,i just chose the obvious way,also one that would have been friendliset way to setout on the cp,i am not technicaly minded to make complicated layouts like that.

just waiting now so i can get some woodfiller for the sticks bolts,then i can put the vinyl on and put the buttons in.

yes thems sanwa buttons.

after this panel theres the other small one on the cp what used to be the ashtray (whatever) that is where i will fit credit,pause and 1p/2p.

[Franco B]

[sales pitch]

By the way, if you did want a Jap layout I sell drilling/routing guides for the standard Sega layout:





Are your buttons screw in or snap in? If they are screw in you may need to recess the back of the CP.

Luckily I sell routing templates for that too



So you end up with something like:



[/sales pitch]

[saleem]

luckily i had thin mdf board sheet i found.it was thick enough but,not too think or thin.if i mess up and need to start again i will contact you for the templates.

[emphatic]

thanks for answer,i always see spinners on their own,2 buttons,1 button beside them,that many ways i just thought a dedicated fire button would be best.

You've done a really great job with that panel there, but if I may suggest something, while you're at it, do a dedicated panel for spinner with buttons instead, and perhaps even a 1-player (alternating 2-player) with 1 joystick, 4 buttons, 2 start buttons (this will take care of most or even all of the 1-player games out there). Then on the wiring side under the wood in your panel, you have some nice connectors, one for P1 and another for P2, and you can of course hook up the spinner to the player 1 connector as well. But most people with MAME cabinets does consider changing out the panel is too much of a hassle. Most real candy cabs have these connectors under the panel.

[saleem]

problem with me is that things like that are just way above me.i am sure i could do what you said but,i am such a lazy person it took me ages just to get the cp thats there done.

i am gratefull for all the suggestions and i think i am getting the jist but a spinner with a dedicated button the way it is now is complicated enough.

as long as the vinyl gos on ok and i like the look and fit i will keep the cp as it is,if i mess up i can try again with a different layout/config.

like i say its just getting my head around how to get a spinner to work as p1 when running games like tempest/arkanoid.i thought it would have been the case that it has to be configured in mame32 and once its touched it will kick in and take over disabling p1 joystick?

my first time wiring my cp and like i said previously i got a minipac and an optipac at hand.i will look at the wiring diagrams ultimarc has as i got the harness with the minipac and suss it when the time comes.

now its a case of filling the bolt holes in and vinyl the cp and then its buttons to fit and i got to fix the cp down as well.

[emphatic]

problem with me is that things like that are just way above me.i am sure i could do what you said but,i am such a lazy person it took me ages just to get the cp thats there done.

like i say its just getting my head around how to get a spinner to work as p1 when running games like tempest/arkanoid.i thought it would have been the case that it has to be configured in mame32 and once its touched it will kick in and take over disabling p1 joystick?

It is your cab, mate. 

IIRC, you just add "-mouse" to your command line, and all games that are controlled with a dial will use your spinner (unless you have more mice attached, there shouldn't be any issues) and you can also setup MAME to use several buttons to have the same MAME input (i.e. P1 button 1) so you'll be able to do it all with software.

[saleem]

got off ---my bottom--- and sorted the cp,bit more tweaking perhaps but,nigh on there:

just waiting on the button to go with the spinner,it will be red.got 2 white,a yellow and green buttons coming.then i can start the ashtray area.got a piece of thin steel already cut by someone,just needs the holes sorting out,dont know if i can manage that in mdf board,might give it a try though as it drills better for button holes.

so heres waiting on buttons.

sorry pic aint the best as its late at night uk.

[emphatic]

It looks nice. Is it fastened yet, or just held down by gravity?

[saleem]

nothing a bit of hotglue didnt stick.
 
if i got time (should have) i will start the next bit of the cp,where the player buttons etc will go.

i think the idea most have is they cut away at the cp for these things and replace it with one big panel rather than 2 pieces,that way theres no ashtray area to have to deal with.
 

[saleem]

a bit more work done to the cp.


just got to do the last bit where theres a bit cutout,that is where i will put the credit/pause 1p/2p button.the credit/pause will be sanwa white and the 1p sanwa yellow and 2p sanwa green.hopefully i get it done this weekend then i can wire up the minipac and it will basicly be done then.

if the sound isnt up to scratch might throw creative pc speakers in,dont know yet till time comes but,at the mo the sound is too low for my liking.

on a side note.i got £39 for the receipt printer and £60 for the pc that was inside this machine when i got it so i payed like £20 for it,still 1 or 2 bits and bobs to sell.

[Franco B]

Looks great saleem 

Sounds like we both got a bargain I picked my new one up yesterday. I'll post those pics you wanted.

[syph007]

Looks good, the only thing I would have done differently is not put a button for the spinner and just used player buttons.

[saleem]

wired the minipac in bar the 1p/2p and credit/pause button as i have not sorted the panel out for them.

messed around thinking that i was doing everything right,my xarcade worked no probs,this no way,then i realised that it was actualy a uhid,now i got correct stuff for sorting it hopefully.in am sure its marketted as minipac yet its uhid.

edit:

it dont matter that its uhid apparently it gets treated the same way as a minipac would.

after messing with it,trying to watch ufc104 last night,or should i say early hours this morning and still getting nowhere,i managed to get the uhid recognised by the pc.

i made a big blunder which i went to bed thinking about,the ground.i attached it today and amazingly the 1p joystick could navigate gameex 

i managed to mess with the minipac programming utility and it also managed to programme the uhid successfully,prob is,i need to wire up the credit/pause and 1p/2p buttons.

i can see the buttons being pressed in the utility but,i am still pretty lost with it.

i will sort the last bit of the cp or should i say the area at the bottom of the monitor bezel this week some time,fit the buttons,wire them up and see what results i get.i can always google and ask cant i?

its my first time with a minipac/uhid so i am clueless with it,i only done jamma and that was wiring buttons not the full loom.

[saleem]

big update!

after several attempts at the cp i have finaly settled after months of messing and thinking with this:


franco suggested the button layout to be more authentic to the candy  cab layout,i used thin mdf and its melamine covered,i had some left over from my control panel project.its realy nice iron on stuff,as far as i know we cant get it here in uk,its the band-it that yous in usa get:


this is my final layout for cp,i wont be changing it.i got the 2 buttons on the monitor bezel,i just used the original part,fitted thin mdf where the note acceptor would have been with hot glue and then drilled the holes for 2 buttons,melamined then trimmed and sanded and then cut out holes and fit buttons.

view from front:


just got 1 more piece above where the sticks and buttons are then its minipac and wiring and a small marquee art to do,some grill for that hole in the bottom door (can be for air) and its done.

not realy loads done to it realy,i dont want to take something that dont need much doing to it and fandangle it all.no fancy art as i like the clean white of it unlike the colored ones that i see going round,once paint is applied thats it,no turning back so i keep a clean lovely machine like is.

will update when last bit is fittied and when wired up.i am realy lazy person so it took this long.

[emphatic]

That looks really good. I'm so used to Candies being white that I really don't like other colors for them.

[saleem]

my first machine was an invaders and it went and blew up on me big time,thats what happens when you rush.lost lots of money.now every cab i get i am real careful,cant afford not to be here in uk,its too expensive.

i kept it as close to what i got it like intentionaly,i like white and it was and is in realy tip top shape,it aint got big scratchs or gauges and its lovely.it runs mame great with xarcade sticks and i got round to finalising everything i done to panel.i might as long as it dont ruin it,put a spintrak on there,i wont if i think its risky (thats why its not there at mo) i aint wanting to spoil it,i can use my spinner for another project.

i got other things to sort as i have a jamma that needs some artwork round monitor bezel and marquee.i bought 2 tabletops and they need glass now as i did the work required to them to make them nice looking.

[saleem]

decided to finish the cp,buttons etc.i fitted my spintrak with room to spare,i fitted the remaining part of the cp and i put the 1p/2p buttons in,the yellow is 1p the green is 2p:


front view:


the player controls speak for themselves,the white buttons will be,credit and pause i think,the yellow 1p start and the green 2p start.

aint realy happy with the fit of the start button panel fit,i might remove it at later date as it dont sit flush enough in the middle,nothing to worry about at the mo but,i will get around to it at later date.

so now all that is left to do is wire it all up and see what happens.i aint clued up on minipac and i get this feeling i will mess up but,thats another story.