Check out my cool rotating monitor plans

[erics]

Hi All.  Long time reader, first time poster.

I just finished designing and building my first cabinet and came up with a rotating monitor design that was pretty easy to build out of easily available parts and so far has worked awesomely (knock on wood).  Since I learned so much from this board, I wanted to share my plans.  I posted them on my blog at http://ericmanarcade.blogspot.com.  Check them out, especially if you are thinking about doing a rotating monitor.  If you're interested in more details, leave me a comment and I can post more details and photos.

Enjoy.

[phatmeat]

 Good idea ..  Interested to see more..

[erics]

I added a lot more details including lots of photos on http://ericmanarcade.blogspot.com.

[Kevin Mullins]

Simple AND effective. 

That doesn't look like it would be too terribly hard to make it automated either. 

[Ummon]

Yeah, way cool idea for the monitor rotation. How soft are the skate wheels?

I dunno about motorizing that, though.....where would it connect?

Neat CP, though I wouldn'tve dedicated one of the sides to a single stick and buttons, but rather a yoke or something. Even standing up though (which I don't prefer, anyway), I would sacrifice some comfort by using the dual stick side for single-player games, as I have always done on my panel - P1 stick, P2 buttons.

[Kevin Mullins]

I dunno about motorizing that, though.....where would it connect?

The lower skate wheels hold most of the pressure from the weight, so my first thought was to drive one of those wheels. A rubber wheel of sorts on the end of  a motor shaft pressed up against one of those wheels should do it. Not going to be turning it at high rates of speed or anything.
Just a theory anyways.

[erics]

Yeah, way cool idea for the monitor rotation. How soft are the skate wheels?

The skate wheels are pretty hard rubber.  I don't think you could dent or bend them.

Neat CP, though I wouldn'tve dedicated one of the sides to a single stick and buttons, but rather a yoke or something. Even standing up though (which I don't prefer, anyway), I would sacrifice some comfort by using the dual stick side for single-player games, as I have always done on my panel - P1 stick, P2 buttons.

I thought about that, but my dual sticks are 8-way and they're off center.  The main reason though was just that I liked the classic look of a single, centered ball-top joystick.  To each their own I guess.

The lower skate wheels hold most of the pressure from the weight, so my first thought was to drive one of those wheels. A rubber wheel of sorts on the end of  a motor shaft pressed up against one of those wheels should do it. Not going to be turning it at high rates of speed or anything.
Just a theory anyways.

I tried and you can indeed rotate the monitor by spinning one of the lower skate wheels.  It seemed like it took a bit of torque though.

What kind of motor would you use?  Would the magnetic field of the motor mess up the monitor colors?  I was thinking that I'd need to use some kind of belt drive to keep the motor as far as possible from the CRT.

[Ummon]

What kind of motor would you use?  Would the magnetic field of the motor mess up the monitor colors?  I was thinking that I'd need to use some kind of belt drive to keep the motor as far as possible from the CRT.

Look into what people have done. And google motorized systems - amps relative to torque and stuff.