Author Topic: Project...um...First Timer!!!! (Read 10512 times)

kjeffery · « **on:** November 03, 2009, 05:35:22 pm »

Hows it going all. I just purchased my first cabinet and plan on making a nice mame cabinet with it. Just 2 players with 6 buttons each and frontend all controlled by joystick and buttons, no keyboard or mouse. I just picked this baby up today for a whopping 40$. Cab is in really good shape with no water damage, just usual scratches and knicks.Plan on sanding down, Krilz oil based primer then satin black water based latex main coat and blue t molding.The guy sold it cheap. I put a want add on craigslist and said he had one in his auto repair shop sitting int he back covered up cause the monitor went out. Anyone got a idea what brand cabinet or what original games was in it? The games turns on and I can here it say Time Killers. I would like to fix the monitor for the mean Time until I order my parts so I can play it. Any help is grateful.
So was 40$ a good deal..hehehe.Im in davenport,ia if anyone is near by and can help me. pretty much know how to do everything but would be cool to have a friend help

how it sits now

opt2not · « **Reply #1 on:** November 03, 2009, 07:36:46 pm »

$40 is the right price! Looks like its an old Dynamo HS-1. Could have been a Street Fighter 2 or Final fight at some point, though they were pretty popular so I wouldn't know why they'd want to convert it. Does the sides look painted? When you sand it down there might be some original art there... any tags inside?

A general rule of thumb is to never mix your oil-based and water-based painting products together. That's just asking for trouble. If you're going with water-based Acrylic Latex, then I'd suggest finding a good Primer to match.

kjeffery · « **Reply #2 on:** November 03, 2009, 09:00:33 pm »

so should i just use oil based primer and oil based latex satin black? it was repainted , i can see brush marks and some kind of textured paint,almost like bed liner.no markings anywhere

opt2not · « **Reply #3 on:** November 04, 2009, 12:39:05 am »

Yup, keep your oils with oils, and waters with waters.

When you sand it down, let's see whats underneath there. Could give you some clues to what it was previously.

DCsegaDH · « **Reply #4 on:** November 05, 2009, 03:05:47 pm »

That's a strange button layout, I didn't know they came like that. I like Dynamo cabinets, but the only problem I have is the control panel, it seems a little small to me, but other than that its a great cabinet!

kjeffery · « **Reply #5 on:** November 05, 2009, 04:01:05 pm »

yeah the layout is wierd but ill be changing it to the street fighter layout or similar.another thing i like is there is no carriage bolts for the joysticks .the bolts are welded or something and flush. control panel is big enough for me and my buddy. oh yes, i just scored a free 21inch viewable pc crt monitor for free off craigslist.dang its so cheap to do this.just put want adds on craigslist and get stuff for super cheap. ill be ordering my tmolding, joysticks, pushbuttons and interface monday and getting painting supplies as well and getting the monitor today

kjeffery · « **Reply #6 on:** November 05, 2009, 06:51:42 pm »

looks like the monitor was only a 19...is that too small...i might just use it for now until i can get a bigger one..i want at least 21..but 19 is ok for now

DCsegaDH · « **Reply #7 on:** November 05, 2009, 07:31:33 pm »

Yeah, IMO the Street Fighter layout is the best choice for most games.

Turnarcades · « **Reply #8 on:** November 05, 2009, 10:06:45 pm »

Easily. If you can hear the Time Killers sounds, chances are the PCB is fine and the monitor was buggered - if you know someone with a JAMMA cab, plug the PCB in to see if it works and sell it. Not a gret game, but has limited novelty value. Most of these cabs I saw as Street Fighter 2 online, so it probably was intended for that and just had the c.p hacked up with bits shoved on for Time Killers.

kjeffery · « **Reply #9 on:** November 05, 2009, 10:15:23 pm »

Yeah the pcb works and was plan on selling it on here for fairly cheap. Yeah you can tell the control panel was hacked up. Time will tell when i start sanding it and see whats underneath the paint. so is 19 inch fine for this cab..just for the mean time

Turnarcades · « **Reply #10 on:** November 06, 2009, 10:33:12 am »

Don't forget a 19" CRT PC monitor will only have about a 17.5-18" viewable screen and the rest will be covered up. Depending on the dimensions of the cabinet itself this may or may not look out of place. If I were you I'd hunt for the maximum 21/22" CRT monitor, which will give just under 20" viewable area and look a lot better.

Chicken McNobody · « **Reply #11 on:** November 06, 2009, 11:43:45 am »

My P.O.W. dedicated cab is that same style, and I always thought it was a 17 inch monitor. But it actually is a 19, so it does feel small for the size of the cab. I would even see about squeezing a 23-25 incher in there, I think it should handle it.

kjeffery · « **Reply #12 on:** November 06, 2009, 04:15:01 pm »

Yeah I will eventually when I find a good deal but as for now I got the 19 inch in there. I took a crt monitor out fo its case and put it in the old casing for the original and it fits perfect.Ill post pics later cause it was a little more and just plopping it in there. I had to cut wires and extend them and all to make it how i wanted it

kjeffery · « **Reply #13 on:** November 06, 2009, 06:39:41 pm »

Pics of the monitor mounted. I just used the metal casing from the original arcade monitor and put a crt in there. The screen size is 19 inches like the original and fits pretty good besides the mounting but its very very sturdy and isnt going no where how I did it. I also had to move the crt electronic board down a little for it to fit just right. you can see what wires i cut to extend so i could move it a little because before there was hardly any wire to work with. i also had to cut some wires just to get the tube disconnected from the board and then butt connected them back together and had to ground a couple spots. Works perfect!!! Will show some pics later fo it on. I am picking up a peace of greylite 14 next week so the cardboard bezel in there now will not be visible. By the way that's the stock bezel that cam with just sprayed painted it black cause it was all faded out. I am happy how easy that monitor fitted

here you can see how mounted the electronic board tray for the crt

kjeffery · « **Reply #14 on:** November 07, 2009, 11:42:14 pm »

Did some sanding tonight. Did half of one side and didn't find any old graphics underneath, looks like it was just an original a black cabinet. Taking for ever to sand using a palm sander and 120 grit. But once it was sanded it is very very smooth almost to smooth to be true, and might only need to hit it when its done with 300-500 grit and prime it. Ill post pics sometime tomorrow.

kjeffery · « **Reply #15 on:** November 08, 2009, 04:46:34 pm »

Dang just about killed myself not using a respirator. Finally found my good respirator mask in a box today

kjeffery · « **Reply #16 on:** November 08, 2009, 05:39:23 pm »

Here is some pics of the sanding process. Going to buy some 80 grit Wednesday to speed up the process then hit it with 120 then 220 to finish it then primer and 2 coats primer sanding with 220 in between then 2 coats of final color. Also going to start bondoing the control panel. Thats not rust just dirty adhesive. whats the cheapest thing o strip it off with and the fastest

Tools of the trade today

opt2not · « **Reply #17 on:** November 08, 2009, 07:37:59 pm »

Get yourself some Goo-gone. That stuff works great to get that adhesive off, you can find it at any hardware store. Just drench it with Goo-gone then let it sit for a bit, the adhesive will come off with a wipe.

kjeffery · « **Reply #18 on:** November 08, 2009, 07:45:15 pm »

Im hitting up the home depot tomorrow and getting everything for painting and such and stopping by a glass shop to get my greylite 14. Is 1/8 dark enough enough to hide the bezel and just see the monitor when it comes on?

kjeffery · « **Reply #19 on:** November 10, 2009, 10:41:53 am »

Got everything fully sanded with 80grit last and will be doing 120 grit then a 220 and get it ready for paint. also filled in some holes with bondo. pics to come tonight and hopefully get my control panel stripped and fill in that weird layout.looks like my order from groovy gamer will be here friday if im lucky

mwong168 · « **Reply #20 on:** November 10, 2009, 01:22:32 pm »

That is a sweet deal for the cabinet my friend. I paid more then that just for my coin door without the coin cartridge mechanism and coin box

If you are ever looking for original control panel artwork check out Scott at mamemarquees.com His work and quality is top notch, my friend has the exact same cabinet restored to SF2:CE

kjeffery · « **Reply #21 on:** November 10, 2009, 04:45:01 pm »

Yeah I plan on ordering my marquee form there

kjeffery · « **Reply #22 on:** November 10, 2009, 08:42:19 pm »

Updated pics from last night.

DCsegaDH · « **Reply #23 on:** November 11, 2009, 01:11:58 am »

Nice job sanding! I can't wait for some pictures

kjeffery · « **Reply #24 on:** November 11, 2009, 01:18:40 am »

Got some more done tonight. Started working on the control panel. I using fiber glass on the underside to fill in the holes I dont want then on top Im sanding then putting bondo up top and sand them level and drill new holes and using spray bed liner to put on the control panel, it will be like a rugged texture finish and when I get my plexi cut for it Just the sides and the bottom of the control panel will have then texture cause Im spraying the back side of the plexi black. I also primed the sides and front. I used Kilz which is really thick, it will definitely needed to be sanded due to how thick it goes on.

kjeffery · « **Reply #25 on:** November 12, 2009, 12:29:58 am »

Got one side painted today and looks ok, I used a foam roller and can see some streaks and little uneven but its only the first coat but Im sure it will look better after 2 more coats. Everything else is ready for paint. I also filled in all the holes on the control panel I didnt need with bondo and is really even and smooth. Ill be drilling new holes tomorrow and maybe painting it with the bed liner. Ill post pics tomorrow of what I got done.

kjeffery · « **Reply #26 on:** November 14, 2009, 08:15:41 am »

Well it was finally a little warmer yesterday..around 58 degrees and I put on my final coat of paint. I used kilz oil based primer and rustoleum oil based satin black and a smooth foam roller. To anyone doing this and not getting god results, I was not getting good results either but after I sanded it with 500 grit and put on my 3rd coat it was like a whole new paint job. Yes there is imperfections in the paint here and there and might night be professionaly smooth, but it looks hella better than it did before and this was my first time painting stuff like this.Here is the pics along with pics of the progress of the control panel. These are not the buttons Im using just testing them. I still haft to drill the holes for the each of the players 6 buttons. Let me know what you think!!! Just dust in the pics of the cab if you was wondering.

kjeffery · « **Reply #27 on:** November 14, 2009, 09:30:34 am »

Well basically its going to be a waiting game now until my wife gives me more funds to buy a computer, speakers and marquee and light. my t-molding,interface, buttons and joysticks should be in next week from groovygamegear.com. this weekend ill probably drill the holes for the buttons and and cut out the plexi for the control panel. I am going with the deep space blue t molding with player one controls being blue and player 2 controls being red. Im getting the mame blast marquee from mamemarquees.com. will post pics of the goodies when i get them. so would a 1.5ghz with 1gb ram good enough to play mk3 and metal slug and such and the street fighters? I have just bought a house and will be closing before thanksgiving so i hope to have this 90% done before i move at the end of this month

kjeffery · « **Reply #28 on:** November 14, 2009, 12:33:24 pm »

well just tried to drill the holes for the buttons and i must say hole saws suck. it chewed my bondo and control panel all up, now im redoing the bondo and gonna use a uni bit, which doesn't cut it just scraped the sides making the hole larger and larger. also the drill bit that steadies the saw bent on my first hole. im taking it back to lowes

Turnarcades · « **Reply #29 on:** November 14, 2009, 01:39:50 pm »

Most people will agree that patching a metal panel is very difficult work and especially when it comes to re-drilling, difficult to do. I wouldn't blame your hole saw, I'd say it's just due to the difference in material consistency between filler and cast metal. You've done great clean-up work on the rest of your cab (proud of ya mate), but it may be a better idea to ditch the metal panel and either cut a new one from metal using that as a template, or switch to wood which is much easier to work with and cheaper to reproduce should you cock up.

kjeffery · « **Reply #30 on:** November 14, 2009, 02:11:10 pm »

Im just gonna cut a rectangle in the metal panel where the buttons need to be and place a piece of plexi over it with the holes drilled like they should, so the plexi would hide the rectangle and the button holes would just be in the plexi and ill support it with another piece of sheet metal underneath it,so it doesn't crack when playing hard, unless the plexi is storing enough to hold the buttons by it self. let me know if you dont get what im talking about

Turnarcades · « **Reply #31 on:** November 15, 2009, 11:19:05 am »

Unless your plexi is very thick I'd seriously advise against this. Having no kind of bracing directly behind it gives the potential for cracking with the stresses placed on the buttons, particularly with the narrow sections between buttons. Usually, when using plexi it finds strength ang rip by the fact the buttons themselves help clamp the plexi down to the wood backing whilst in use, and add resistance in all directions in terms of tensile strength.

If you really want to stick with metal, you would be best to weld a new plate over the hole, then blend it with 'liquid metal' type filler, not bondo. That way, when you re-drill the bit will bite evenly and create a cleaner hole.

kjeffery · « **Reply #32 on:** November 15, 2009, 11:42:31 am »

dont have a welder and wont pay anyone to do it. i hacked it up pretty bad last night. im just gonna buy a street fighter control panel for dynamo type cab and use it since everything is cut how i want it besides a couple admin buttons which is no big deal, it might just take me longer to get or find one. see one on ebay for 70$ shipped. looked liked nos, you think it will fit my cabinet it looks the same, unless you have a source for cheaper ones

http://cgi.ebay.com/Dynamo-Black-Arcade-Unpopulated-2plyr-Control-Panel_W0QQitemZ120476214363QQcmdZViewItemQQptZLH_DefaultDomain_0?hash=item1c0cf1245b

Turnarcades · « **Reply #33 on:** November 15, 2009, 01:35:06 pm »

OK I suppose, but why the hell are the joysticks aligned so high compared to the buttons? For 70 bucks I'd go with making your own

kjeffery · « **Reply #34 on:** November 15, 2009, 03:21:12 pm »

just found a guy 15 mins from me who is gonna let me go in his warehouse and has couple control panels i want and some glass for the front. he also has a dynamo cabinet with a 26inch he will let me have for 200 working. i dont know what game it is but i might get it after i get done with my mame. ill take pics of the warehouse when i go. i think he control panel hes giving me is from a Nintendo game but he diDnt say which one. i told him to give em a name or email me a pic. but going into a arcade warehouse IS GOING TO BE SWEET

kjeffery · « **Reply #35 on:** November 16, 2009, 05:42:50 pm »

look!!!!!!!!!!!1 i just got some of my goodies from groovygamegear.com
ill post some pics form tonight cause im putting the tmolding on

kjeffery · « **Reply #36 on:** November 16, 2009, 11:51:55 pm »

here are some pics from tonight, im sorry for the dust particles!!! just have that marquee in there until i order a mame themed one

kjeffery · « **Reply #37 on:** November 17, 2009, 10:30:19 pm »

here is a better pic after dust has settled in garage

kjeffery · « **Reply #38 on:** November 19, 2009, 08:10:50 pm »

Well picked up my computer today that Im using in here. Its a 1.7ghz amd athlon xp(rated at 2ghz) with 512mb ram and 20gb hd. Will be perfect for street fighter and mortal kombat games. Got this baby ready to go off craigslist for 15$
Ill be removing case panels and putting it in cabinet this weekend

kjeffery · « **Reply #39 on:** November 20, 2009, 09:20:17 am »

can anyone tell me why this runs so slow? im using mame version .115 and it is just horrible on every game and takes for ever to load. my specs are 1.5ghz athlon xp, 512mb ram and 20gb hd and maybe the integrated 8mb video is a slow down? which version of mame should i use?

Bloinkxp · « **Reply #40 on:** November 20, 2009, 09:57:32 am »

What OS are you using?
Windows XP really needs a GB of RAM to stop the Harddisk from using the pagefile as much.

MameUI can be "intense". Have you considered backing down to maybe Mame .71-86? On my older MAME machine I was around that level for that vintage processor. I would download that version of mame and maybe use http://mamedev.emulab.it/clrmamepro/datfiles.htm manipulate a few test roms to that version.
I am using a Mini-ITX running .55 and had to do the same to get some decent performance.

Good Luck!

Neverending Project · « **Reply #41 on:** November 20, 2009, 01:17:04 pm »

Sorry for being OT, but I just saw that PC case and noticed a PowerMac G4 right there in the side!

DillonFoulds · « **Reply #42 on:** November 20, 2009, 02:40:31 pm »

@ Neverending Project: Crazy Apple fans these days...

@kjeffery: i was running mame .135 on an Athlon xp 2600+ with 512mb ram no sweat. It would play literally all the older games (up to and including the Metal Slugs) without much slow down. The main reason i upgraded was to replace the video card, as it was causing some tearing. I don't see that cpu and ram combination being a problem for the classics. Try disabling some of the xp features. I disabled nearly every service, turned off the skinning, had a plain black background... basically nix all the crap you really don't need...

kjeffery · « **Reply #43 on:** November 20, 2009, 04:39:53 pm »

Im am going to try installing tinyxp which only uses 40mb of ram when its installed and see if it works. i might also upgrade the video card with something like a 64mb card

RobbyMac · « **Reply #44 on:** November 20, 2009, 04:57:41 pm »

Im shoebox testing this whole mame thing (newbie) with an old celeron D 1.2 ghz and mame .135 (using the built-in video on the m/b). I also run tiny xp (friggin awesome).
I found it would skip and bog down alot unless I switched to directdraw 'mode' and even then I had to have it 'skip frames' automatically.
Later, I added an agp card (nvidia 440 something or other) because it had an S-Video port (my goal is to connect to a 27" tv). When this card was used, i had no skipping issues like I had previously. I've read that everything run through cpu and not video, but in this case it made a difference (I'm still learning).

Having said all this, I did not try any blitz, dark legacy, etc... All i was testing/running was the usual arcade classics.
I can't tell you if that pc is good enough or not, as I'm finding out as i progress in this project. But I think the video card (probably any video card other than built in) would make a difference. If you have spares lying around, try it out.

kjeffery · « **Reply #45 on:** November 21, 2009, 12:38:24 am »

Quote from: Bloinkxp on November 20, 2009, 09:57:32 am

What OS are you using?
Windows XP really needs a GB of RAM to stop the Harddisk from using the pagefile as much.

MameUI can be "intense". Have you considered backing down to maybe Mame .71-86? On my older MAME machine I was around that level for that vintage processor. I would download that version of mame and maybe use http://mamedev.emulab.it/clrmamepro/datfiles.htm manipulate a few test roms to that version.
I am using a Mini-ITX running .55 and had to do the same to get some decent performance.

Good Luck!

I am having a problem on the older versions too. They do run a hella lot better but half the games dont work and half of them are centered and not full screen

kjeffery · « **Reply #46 on:** November 21, 2009, 03:44:44 pm »

Just swapped processor out and put in a amd athlon xp 2100 and put in a geforce 2 mx400 with 64mb ddr and put another 256mb ram in it, so ram is 768 now, wish me luck bout to go and try to see what mame does now

kjeffery · « **Reply #47 on:** November 21, 2009, 03:57:34 pm »

WOW!!!!!!!!! Its like a whole new computer. Every game I played ran smooth as hell, even Killer Instinct and Metal Slug Games. I guess switching from on board to a actual video card helped allot and adding a little better cpu and ram worked. Im using version .120 of mame a mgalaxy and runs great

DillonFoulds · « **Reply #48 on:** November 21, 2009, 04:06:22 pm »

Told you, until you start needing to worry about some 3d games you'll have some issues. The other rom that wouldn't run great for me was diehard.zip. I haven't given it a shot on my lastest setup, but i'll try back and report. It's not a big step up from where i was at before.

kjeffery · « **Reply #49 on:** November 21, 2009, 04:18:29 pm »

Nah, I dont plan on running 3d games ever. Im getting a dedicated area 51 and cruisin usa when i get my 8k rebate for buying a house. Already got a warehouse 2 hours from me and getting them for 500 each

Turnarcades · « **Reply #50 on:** November 21, 2009, 04:57:23 pm »

http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?topic=98001.0

Check out mybrief comments in this thread on PC specs which I've covered in detail in the past. You don't need a high-spec machine or additional video cards if you software is chosen and programmed carefully. If you're at this point of building and not looking at proper command line emulators and a properly set up front-end, you really should be.

kjeffery · « **Reply #51 on:** November 21, 2009, 06:49:39 pm »

Well I got it how I wat it running. Im using mamewah now and boots straight to it when windows loads up

kjeffery · « **Reply #52 on:** November 22, 2009, 11:47:38 pm »

Well got the computer mounted and just used sell tappers straight to the bottom of the cabinet and its very stable and isnt going to slide nowhere. I got the keywiz mounted with the plastic pcb holders from the old pcb that was on the original game. I fired it up and it loads straight to the front end, dang I wish I had some money to buy a control panel because Id play it. My volume control and usb ports will be behind the bottom door so I can open it and have them for easy access.Here is a list below of what needs to be done

Greylite 14 for the screen
New Mame Marquee
Speakers
Control Panel
Install and wire controls
Smart power strip

Plan on having this done in 2 weeks. Im moving into a house I just bought in a week and will finish it when I move. Here are some pics. It feels good getting this far and will better in 2 weeks when its done. Sorry for the crappy camera pics


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